accoutrement 
2. pi. Dress in relation to its component parts ; 
equipage; trappings; specifically, the equip- 
ments of a soldier except arms and clothing ; 
equipage for military service. See equipage. 
In robes of peace, accotit rements of rest, 
He was advanc'd a counsellor. 
/'</*</, Fume's Memorial. 
Among piled arms and rough accoutre >n< /<'<. 
Trnnymn, The Princess, v. 
accoyt (a-koi'), v. t. [< ME. acoien, < OF. acoicr, 
2uiet, < - (L. ad), to, + coi, quiet: see coy 1 .] 
. To render quiet ; soothe. 
And with kind words accoyd, vowing great love to mee. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. viii. 69. 
2. To dishearten ; daunt ; subdue. 
Then is your carelesse courage accoyed. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal. (Feb.). 
accraset, t 1 . ' See acraze. 
accreaset (a-kreV), v. i. [Formerly also ac- 
creace, accress, < ME. acresen, increase, < OF. 
acreistre, later accroistre, mod. F. accroftre = Sp. 
acrecer = It. accrescere, < L. accrescere, grow, 
become larger by growth, increase: see ac- 
cresce (a later form, after the L..), increase, de- 
crease, etc., and der. accrue."] To increase. 
Accrescere., to increase, to accreane, to add viito, ... to 
accrew, to eeke. Florid. 
Such as ask, why the sea doth never debord nor accreace 
a whit. D. Person, Varieties, 1 8 0, 24. (A'. JS. D.) 
accredit (a-kred'it), . t. [< F. accrediter, ear- 
lier acrediter, accredit, < ac- (L. fid), to, + credit, 
n., credit (see credit, .); =Sp. Pg. acreditar 
= It. accreditare, accredit, similarly formed.] 
1. To give credit or credence to ; repose confi- 
dence in ; trust ; esteem. 
Such were the principal terms of the surrender of Gra- 
nada, as authenticated by the most accredited Castilian and 
Arabic authorities. Pregcott, Ferd. and Isa., i. 15. 
His party will . . . protect and accredit him, in spite of 
conduct the most contradictory to their own principles. 
Scott. 
2. To confer credit or authority on; stamp with 
authority. 
With the best writers of our age, accredit is "invest with 
credit or authority," to which may be added its diplo- 
matic sense, "send with letters credential." 
F. Hall, Mod. Eng., p. 284. 
I am better pleased indeed that he censures some things 
than I should have been with unmixed commendation ; for 
his censure will . . . accredit his praises. 
Vowper, Letters, xliii. 
Hence, specifically 3. To send with cre- 
dentials, as an envoy. 
According to their rank, some agents of foreign govern- 
ments are directly accredited to a sovereign, and others 
to his minister of foreign affairs. 
Woolsey, Introd. to Inter. Law, | 91. 
4. To believe ; accept as true. 
He accredited and repeated stories of apparitions, and 
witchcraft, and possession, so silly, as well as monstrous, 
that they might have nauseated the coarsest appetite for 
wonder. Southey, Life of Wesley, II. 198. 
6. To ascribe or attribute to ; invest with the 
credit of : followed by with. 
Mr. Bright himself was accredited with having said that 
his own effort to arouse a reforming spirit . . . was like 
flogging a dead horse. McCarthy, Hist. Own Times, jcl. 
accreditatet (a-kred'i-tat), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
accreditated, ppr. aecreditating. [As accredit + 
-ate 2 .] Same as accredit. 
She bowed, kissing the Thracian's hands, who would not 
resist it, to accreditate the beginnings of his Love to be of 
estimation. 
Sir A. Cokaine, tr. of Loredano, Dianea, IV. 3. (.v. E. D.) 
accreditation! (a-kred-i-ta'shon), n. The act 
of accrediting, or the state of being accredited. 
Having received my instructions and letters of accredi- 
tation from the Earl of Hillsborough on the 17th day of 
April, 1780. Mem. of R. Cumberland, I. 417. (X. E. D.) 
accrementitial (ak're-men-tish'al), a. [<L. as 
if *accrementum (found once, but a false read- 
. ing), addition (< accrescere, increase: see ac- 
cresce, and cf. excrement, increment), + E. -itial.] 
In pnysiol. , of or pertaining to the process of 
accrementition. 
accrementition (ak"re-men-tish'on), n. [< L. 
as if "accrementum, on analogy of accrementi- 
tial, q. v. The regular form would be *accre- 
mentation.] Inphysiol., the production or de- 
velopment of a new individual by the separa- 
tion of a part of the parent ; gemmation. 
accrescet (a-kres'), v. i. [Later form of accrease, 
q. v., after orig. L. accrescere, increase, < ad, 
to, + crescere, grow: see crescent, and cf. ac- 
crue.'] 1. To increase; grow. [Rare.] 2. 
To accrue. See accrue, v., 2. 
accrescence (a-kres'ens), n. [(.accrescent; = 
Sp. acrecencia = It. accrescenza, increase.] 1. 
The act of increasing; gradual growth or in- 
crease ; accretion. 
40 
The silent accrwencr of belief from the unwatched de- 
positions of a general, never eoiitnidirtt-d, hearsay. 
Coleridye, Statesman's .Manual (1839), App. K, p. 296. 
2. That by which anything is increased ; an 
increment. 
accrescent (a-kres'ent), a. [< L. accrescen(t-)s, 
ppr. of accrescere," grow : see accresce.] In- 
creasing; growing. Specifically, in Imt., applied to 
parts connected with the llower which increase in size 
after flowering, as frequently occurs with the calyx, invo- 
lucre, etc. 
accrescimento (iik-kresh-i-men'to), n. [It. : see 
accresce.] In music, the increase of the dura- 
tion of a sound by one half, indicated by a dot 
after the note. 
accrete (a-kref), r. ; pret. and pp. accreted, 
ppr. accreting. [< L. accrctus, pp. of accrescere : 
see accresce.] I. intrans. 1. To grow by ac- 
cretion ; gather additions from without. [Rare.] 
"We see everywhere wasted cliffs and denuded shores, 
or accreted shingle-banks and sand-hills. 
A", and y., 7th ser., II. 62. 
2. To be added ; adhere ; become attached by a 
process of accretion. 
Centres about which thought has accreted, instead of 
crystallizing into its own free forms. 
G. S. Hall, German Culture, p. 161. 
H. trans. To cause to grow or unite. 
accrete (a-kref), a. [<L. accretus, pp. of ac- 
crescere : see accresce.] Grown together ; formed 
by accretion ; accreted. 
accretion (a-kre'shon), n. [<L. accretio(n-), 
< accretus, pp. of accrescere, grow : see accresce 
and accrete.] 1. The act of accreting or accres- 
cing ; a growing to ; an increase by natural 
growth ; an addition ; specifically, an increase 
by an accession of parts externally. 
The phrase " living language," used with reference to 
facts, must import perpetual excretion and accretion of 
substance, involving or producing assimilation, develop- 
ment, and renewal. F. Hall, Mod. Eng., p. 18. 
A mineral or unorganized body can undergo no change 
save by the operation of mechanical or chemical forces ; 
and any increase of its bulk is due to the addition of like 
particles to its exterior : it augments not by growth but 
by accretion. Owen, Comp. Anat., i. 
2. Inpathol., thegrowing together of partsnor- 
mally separate, as the fingers or toes. 3. The 
thing added ; an extraneous addition ; an ac- 
cession : commonly used in the plural, and re- 
stricted to accessions made slowly and gradu- 
ally by some external force. 
He strove to pare away the accretions of age. 
Merimle, Hist. Romans, V. 150. 
4. In taw: (a) The increase or growth of prop- 
erty by external accessions, as by alluvium 
naturally added to land situated on the bank of 
a river, or on the seashore. When the accretion 
takes place by small and imperceptible degrees it belongs 
to the owner of the land immediately behind, but if it 
is sudden and considerable it may belong to the 
state, (ft) In Scots law, the completion of 
an originally defective or imperfect right 
by some subsequent act on the part of the 
person from whom the right was derived. 
accretive (a-kre'tiy), a. Of or pertain- 
ing to accretion; increasing or adding 
by growth; growing; accrescent: as, 
"the accretive motion of plants," Glan- 
rille, Seep. Sci., ix. 60. 
accrewt, accrewet, and v. Obsolete 
spellings of accrue. The spelling is retained in 
the clipped form crew 1 (which see). 
accriminatet (a-krim'i-nat), v. t. [< ac- + crim- 
inate (cf. Sp. acriminar, exaggerate a crime, 
accuse) : see criminate.'] To charge with a 
crime. 
accroacht (a-kroch'), i: t. [<ME. acrochen, 
< OF. accrochcr, fix on a hook, hook up, < a- (L. 
ad), to, + croc, a hook, a crook: see crook and 
crochet. Cf. encroach.'] 1 . To hook, or draw to 
one's self as with a hook. 2. In old laws, to 
usurp : as, to accroach royal power to one's self. 
accroachmentt (a-kroch'ment), . The act of 
accroaching; encroachment; usurpation, as of 
sovereign power. 
accrual (a-kro'al), n. The act or process of ac- 
cruing; accretion. 
accrue (a-kro'), " [Also written accrew (now 
obs.), < late ME. "acrcwe, found only in the 
clipped form crewe(>K. crew), and in the verb 
acrewe, accrue ; < OF. acrewe, acreue, that which 
grows up, to the profit of the owner, on the 
earth or in a wood, later " accreue, a growth, in- 
crease, eeking, augmentation" (Cotgrave), orig. 
fern, of acreu, "accreu, growne, increased" 
(Cotgrave), (AF. acru), pp. of acreistre (AF. 
acrestre), later accroistre, mod. F. accrottre, < 
L. accrescere, grow, accrease, accresce, in- 
crease : see accrease, accresce. Hence by abbr. 
accumbent 
rrue, crete: see crcw^, and cf. recruit."] If. An 
accession ; addition ; reinforcement. 
The towne of CalU and the forN tin rralinuts \vriv not 
supplied with anie new accrnreg of soldiers. 
Huliiifhi-d, Chron., III. 1135 1. 
Should be able . . . to oppose the Fivnrh by tin- mvrm'uf 
Scotland. M. <;,,:/,,-,i,i. Annals Hug., III. 283. (X.K.II.) 
2. A loop or stitch forming an extra mesh in 
network. 
There are also accrues, false meshes, or quartering*, 
which are loops inserted i" any given row, by which the 
number of meshes is increased. En,-<i<-. Hi-it., XVII. ::.">'.'. 
accrue (a-kro'), v. i. ; pret. and pp. accrued, ppr. 
accruing. [Also written accrew (now obs.), < 
ME. acrewe, v., < "acrewc, n. : see accrue, .] 
If. To grow; increase; augment. 
And, though powre faild, her courage did <<,, n 
Spenser, F. Q., V. v. 7. 
2. To happen or result as a natural growth; 
come or fall as an addition or increment, as of 
profit or loss, advantage or damage ; arise in 
due course : as, a profit accrues to government 
from the coinage of copper; the natural in- 
crease accrues to the common benefit. 
To no one can any l>eneflt accrue from such aerial 
speculations ... as crowd almost every book in our lan- 
guage that we turn to. F. Hall, Mod. Eng., 1'ref. 
That pleasure which accrues from good actions. 
J. F. Clarke, Ten Great Relig., 11. 5. 
3. In law, to become a present and enforcible 
right or demand. Thus the right to set up the statute 
of limitations against a claim accrues by lapse of time ; a 
cause of action on a note does not accrue till the note 
becomes payable. 
accrued (a-krod'), p. a. In her., full-grown : an 
epithet applied to trees. 
accruement (a-kro 'ment), n. 1. Accrual. 
2. That whicE accrues ; an addition ; incre- 
ment. 
accruer (a-kro'er), n. [< accrue + -er 6 , as in 
user, trover, waiver, and other law terms, where 
-er represents the F. inf. suffix.] In law, the 
act or fact of accruing; accrual. Clause of ac- 
cruer, a clause in a deed or bequest to several persons, 
directing to whom, in case of the death of one or more, 
his or their shares shall go or accrue. 
acct. curt. In com., a contraction of account 
current. Originally written /c, a symbol now 
almost exclusively used for account. 
accubation (ak-u-ba'shon), n. [<L. accuba- 
tio(n-), < accubare, lie near. esp. recline at ta- 
ble, <ad, to, + cubare, lie down. See incubate 
and accumb.] 1. The act of lying down or re- 
clining ; specifically, the ancient practice, de- 
rived from the Orient, of eating meals in a re- 
cumbent posture. Among the Greeks at the time of 
the Homeric poems this practice had not yet been adopted ; 
but in historical times it obtained in general among both 
Greeks and Romans, and it is illustrated in early vase-paint- 
ings. It was customary to eat reclining diagonally toward 
Accubation. An ancient dinner. 
the table, resting on couches, either flat on the breast 
or supported on the left elbow in a semi-sitting position. 
Cushions were provided to relieve the strain upon the el- 
bow and the back. The table was usually a little lower 
than the couches, for convenience in reaching the food. 
See triclinium. 
Which gesture . . . cannot be avoided in the laws of 
aceubation. Sir T. Bromte, Vulg. Err., v. 6. 
2. In med., lying-in; confinement; accouche- 
ment. Syd. Soc. Lex. 
accumbt (a-kumb'), v. i. [<L. accitmbere, lie 
near, esp. recline at table, < ad, to, + "cutnbere 
(in comp.), a nasalized form of citbare, lie 
down. See accubation.] To recline, according 
to the ancient fashion at table. See accuba- 
litni. Bailey. 
accumbencyt (a-kum'ben-si), n. [< accumbent : 
see -cu.] The state of being accumbent or of 
reclining. 
accumbent (a-kum'bent), a. and n. [< L. accum- 
ben(t-)s, ppr. of accitmbere : see 
accumb."] I. a. 1. Leaning or 
reclining, in the manner of the 
ancients at their meals. See 
accubation. 
The Roman recumbent (or more 
Accumbent Ovule properly accinnttent) posture in eating 
(Thlatfi arvtnst). was introduced after the first Punic 
war. Arbltthnot, Anc. Coins, p. 134. 
2. In bot., lying against: applied to the cotyle- 
