acropodium 
rodurt ijlum. [Little used in either of these two 
games.] 3. In art, an elevated pedestal l>enr- 
iug a statue, particularly if raised from the 
substructure on supports or feet ; the plinth of 
a statue or other work of art, if resting on 
feet. Ed. <;>iill<iuin<. 
acropolis (a-krop'o-lis), . [L., < Gr. oxpimws, 
the upper city, < ixpof. highest, upper, + xSbt, 
a city: see police.] The citadel of a Grecian 
city, usually the site of the original settlement, 
and situated on an eminence commanding the 
The Acropolis of Athens, from the southeast. 
surrounding country. When the city spread beyond 
its earlier limits, the acropolis was generally cleared of its 
inhabitants and held sacred to the divinities of the state, 
whose temples were upon it. The acropolis of Athens 
contained the most splendid productions of Greek art, the 
Parthenon, the Erechthenm, and the Propylrca. 
acrosarcum (ak-ro-sar'kum), n. ; pi. acrosarca 
(-ka). [NL., < Gr. <kpof, at the end, + o-apj 
(aa'pK-), flesh.] A name given by Desvaux to a 
berry resulting from an ovary with adnate calyx, 
as in the currant and cranberry. 
acrosaurus (ak-ro-sa'rus), .; pi. acrosaiiri 
(-ri). [NL., < Gr.' uxpoc, extreme, + aavpof, a 
lizard: see Saumn.] An extraordinary fossil 
reptile, with 30 or 40 teeth and a broad cheek- 
bone process, occurring in the Triassic sand- 
stones of southern Africa. 
AcrOSOma (ak-ro-so'mii), n. [NL., <Gr. anpav, 
top, peak, extremity, + cufia, body.] A genus 
of orbitelarian spiders of the family Epeiridte 
(or Gastracanthidai), having the sides of the ab- 
domen prolonged into immense horns, whence 
the name. It is a tropical genus with many 
species. 
acrospire (ak'ro-spir), n. [Formerly aker-, 
ackerspire; < Gr.' <kpoc, at the top, + amipa, a 
coil, spire, > L. spira, > E. spire, q. v.] The first 
leaf which rises above the ground in the ger- 
mination of grain ; also the rudimentary stem 
or first leaf which appears in malted grain ; the 
developed plumule of the seed. 
acrospire (ak'ro-spir), v. i.] pret. and pp. aero- 
spired, ppr. acrospiring. [Formerly aker-, acker- 
xpirc; from the noun.] To throw out the first 
leaf ; sprout. 
acrospired (ak'ro-spird),p. a. Having or exhib- 
iting the acrospire: especially, in malt-making, 
applied to the grains of barley which have 
sprouted so far as to exhibit the blade or plu- 
mule-end, together with the root or radicle. 
acrospore (ak'ro-spor), n. [< Gr. aKpof, at the 
end, + o-TTopo, seed: see spore.] In bot., a form 
of fruit in J'eronospora, a genus of microscopic 
fungi, borne at the ends of erect simple or 
branching filaments of the mycelium. The term 
is als.. applied generally to the reproductive organs of 
fungi when they are developed at the apex of the mother 
cell or sporophore. 
acrosporous (a-kros'po-rus), a. Having spores 
naked and produced at the tips of cells : applied 
to one of the two modes in which fruit is formed 
in fungi. For the other method see ascigerous. 
across (a-kros'), prep. phr. as adr. and prep. 
[< late ME. acros (also in cross, and in maner of 
a cros);<a'3 + cross.] I. adv. 1. From side to 
side; in a crossing or crossed manner; crosswise. 
Who calls me villain; breaks my pate across? 
Shak., Hamlet, ii. 2. 
With arms m-r*.s. 
He stood rettevting on his country's loss. Dfydrii. 
57 
|In the exclamation, "Good faith, arnuw.'" Sliak., All's 
Well ii. 1, the allusion is to striking an adversary cross- 
\\i.-r with the spear in tiltinj; instead "f by thrusting, the 
former beiim rnnsiilerrd dis^rai-ffnl.J 
2. From one side to another ; transversely; in 
a transverse line: as, what is the distance 
across f I came across in a steamer. 
At a descent into it (cavern "f Vanclusel of thirty or 
forty feet from the brink where we stood was a pool of 
water, perhaps thirty feet <vo.v*. 
C. D. Warner, Roundabout Journey, u. 
3. Adversely; eontrarily : as, "things go 
across," Mir. for Mags., p. 344 To break across, 
in liliiinj to allow one's spear by awkwardness to be broken 
across the body of one's adversary, instead of by the push 
of the point. 
One said he brake, across. Sir P. Sidney. 
II. prep. 1. From side to side of, as opposed 
to along, which is in the direction of the length ; 
athwart ; quite over : as, a bridge is laid across 
a river. 
[The hoys] will go down on one side of the yacht . . . and 
bob up on the other, almost before you have time to run 
across the deck. Lady Bramey, Voyage of Sunbeam, I. n. 
2. Transverse to the length of; so as to inter- 
sect at any angle : as, a line passing across an- 
other. 3. Beyond ; on the other side of. 
O love, we two shall go no longer 
To lands of summer across the sea. 
Tennyson, Daisy. 
Across lots, by the shortest way ; by a short cut. [Colloq. ] 
To come across, to meet or fall in with. 
If I come across a real thinker, ... I enjoy the luxury 
of sitting still for a while as much as another. 
0. H". Holmes, The Professor, i. 
acrostic 1 (a-kros'tik), n. anda. [ = F. acrosticlie 
= Sp. Pg. It. acrostico, < Gr. anp<xni%iov, a/cpo- 
arixk, an acrostic, < d/cpof, at the end, + ertjftt, 
row, order, line, < areixetv (*/ *<mx), go, walk, 
march, go in line or order, = AS. stigan, E.sty 2 , 
go up. The second element would prop, be 
-stick, as in distich; it has been assimilated to 
the common suffix -ic.~\ I. n. 1. A composition 
in verse, in which the first, or the first and last, 
or certain other letters of the lines, taken in or- 
der, form a name, title, motto, the order of the 
alphabet, etc. 2. A Hebrew poem in w r hich the 
initial letters of the lines or stanzas were made 
to run over the letters of the alphabet in their 
order. Twelve of the Psalms are of this charac- 
ter, of which Psalm cxix. is the best example. 
II. . Pertaining to, of the nature of, or con- 
taining an acrostic : as, acrostic verses. 
acrostic' 2 ! (a-kros'tik), a. [< across (crossed, 
crost), confused with acrostic 1 .] Crossed ; fold- 
ed across ; crossing. [Bare.] 
act 
thing added to the end of a psalm or hymn, as 
a doxology. 
acroter (ak'ro-ter), . Same as it/->-<>{< rinm. 
acroteral (ak'-ro-te'ral), a. Same as arrotirial. 
acroteria. . Plural' of acroteriitm. 
acroterial (ak-ro-te'ri-al), a. [< acroterium. } 
Pertaining to an acroterium : as, acroterial or- 
naments. An equivalent form is acrntcriil. 
Acroteria. 
Hypothetical restoration of the gate of the Agora of Athena 
Archegetis at Athens. 
acroterium (ak-ro-te'ri-um), ii. ; pi. acroteria 
(-a,). [L., < Gr. aKparf/piov, pi. impur^pia, any 
to'pmost or prominent part, the end or extrem- 
ity, in pi. the extremities of the body, the 
angles of a pediment, < anpof, extreme.] 1. 
In classic arch., a small pedestal placed on the 
apex or angle of a pediment for the support of 
a statue or other ornament. 2. () A statue 
or an ornament placed on such a pedestal. (6) 
Any ornament forming the apex of a building 
or other structure, or of a monument, such as 
But what melancholy sir, with acrostic arms, now 
comes? Middleton, Family of Love, iv. 4. 
acrostical(a-kros'ti-kal), a. Sameasacrosftc 1 . 
[Rare or unused.] 
acrostically (a-kros'ti-kal-i), adr. In the man- 
ner of an acrostic. 
acrosticism (a-kros'ti-sizm), n. [< acrostic 1 + 
-ism.] Acrostic arrangement or character, 
acrostolium (ak-ro-sto'li-um), n. ; pi. acrostolia 
(-a). [NL., < Gr. a/cpoord/Uov, defined as the 
same as afoaarov, L. aplustre, which, however, 
referred to the stern of a ship (see aplustre) ; 
also the gunwale of a ship, prop, the extremity 
of the ship's beak ; < a/cpof, at the end, + cmftof, 
a ship's beak, 
an appendage, 
prop. arma- 
ment, equip- 
ment, < orA- 
MIV, arrange, 
equip.] An 
ornament, of- 
ten gracefully 
curved and 
elaborately 
carved, surmounting the bows of ancient ships. 
These ornaments frequently figured among trophies, as it 
was customary for the victor in a naval combat to take 
them from the captured ships. 
acrotarsial (ak-ro-tar'si-al), a. Of or pertain- 
ing to the acrotarsium. 
acrotarsium (ak-ro-tar'si-um), n. ; pi. acrotar- 
sia (-a). [NL., < G"r. d/tpo?, at the top, + rapa6(, 
the sole of the foot: see tarsus.] 1. In zodl., 
the upper surface of the tarsus ; the instep of 
the foot. 2. In ornith., the front of the tarso- 
metatarsus, this segment of the limb being 
called tarsus in ordinary descriptive ornithol- 
Acroterium. Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, Athens. 
the anthemia of Greek tombstones or the dec- 
orations of some modern architectural balus- 
trades. Compare antefix. Also called acroter. 
acrothymion, acrothymium (ak-ro-thim'_i-on, 
-um), .; pi. acrotliymia (-a). [NL.,< Gr. aKpoc, 
at the top, + 9bfiot> thyme: see thyme.] In 
pathol., a rugose wart, with a narrow basis and 
broad top, compared by Celsus to the flower of 
thyme. Also called thymits. 
acrotic (a-krot'ik), a. [Irreg. < Gr. titpfayf, an 
extremity, < o/cpof, extreme, at the top, on the 
surface.] Inpatliol., belonging to or affecting 
external surfaces : as, acrotic diseases. 
acrotism (ak'ro-tizm), n. [< Gr. a- priv. + 
KpoVoc, sound of beating, + -ism.] In patliol., 
absence or weakness of the pulse. 
acrotomOUS (a-krot'o-mus), rt. [< Gr. aupmo- 
/ioc, cut off, sharp, abrupt, < axpof, extreme, at 
the top, + -Topos, < rcftveiv, cut.] In mineral., 
having a cleavage parallel to the top or base. 
acryl (ak'ril), it. [<acr(olein) + -yl.] In chem., 
a hypothetical radical (CH 2 :CH.CO) of which 
acrylic acid is the hydrate. 
acrylic (a-kril'ik), a. [< acryl + -ic.] Of or per- 
taining to acryl Acrylic acid, CH 2 :CH.COOH, a 
pungent, agreeably smelling liquid, produced by the oxi- 
dation of acrolein. This acid is monobasic, and its salts 
are very soluble in water. 
Acryllium (a-kril'i-um), H. [NL., appar. < Gr. 
anpov, extremity (with ref. to the pointed tail), 
+ dim. term. -i'Miov.] A notable genus of 
guinea-fowls, family Numididw. The only species 
is A. vulturinum of Africa, having the head and upper 
part of the neck nearly naked, the fore part of the body 
covered with elongated lanceolate feathers, and the tail 
pointed with long acute central rectrices. The genus was 
found 
Ogy. [The terms acropodium, acrotarnum, and acrodac- 
h/him have varying senses with different writers, or as ap- 
plied to ditlVren't animals ; properly, the first of these covers 
the other two, as a whole includes the parts of which it con- 
sists. They are little used in any sense. See farms.] 
acroteleutic (ak'ro-te-lu'tik), n. [< Gr. a/cpo- 
Tcle'vTuw, the fag-end, esp. of a verse or poem, 
< ikpof, extreme, + Tc).evTt/, end.] Eceles., any- 
ounded by (}. K. (iray in 1840. 
act (akt), . [< ME. act = F. acte = Sp. Pg. 
auto and acto = It. atto ; partly (a) < L. action 
(pi. acta), a thing done, esp. a public transac- 
tion, prop. neut. of actus, pp. of agere, do; and 
partly (6) < L. actus (pi. actiis), n., the doing of 
a thing, performance, action, division of a play, 
< agere, lead, drive, impel, move, cause, make, 
perform, do, = Gr. ayeiv, lead, drive, do, =Ieel. 
