address 
an end ; impart a direction to, as toward an ob- 
ject or a destination ; aim, as a missile ; apply 
directly, as action. [Still used, in the game of 
golf, in the phrase "to address a ball," and 
sometimes in poetry.] 
Imbrasides add rest his javeline at him. Chapman, Hind. 
Good youth, address thy gait unto her. Shak., T. N., i. 4. 
Then those eight mighty daughters of the plough 
Bent their broad faces toward us and address'd 
Their motion. Temtiisnn, The I'rincess, iv. 
3. To direct the energy or force of; subject to 
the effort of doing; apply to the accomplish- 
ment of : used reflexively, with to : as, he ad- 
dressed himself to the work in hand. 
This was a practical question, and they [the framers of 
the American Constitution] addressed thenneliies to it as 
men of knowledge and judgment should. 
Lirell, Democracy. 
4. To direct to the ear or attention, as speech 
or writing; utter directly or by direct trans- 
mission, as to a person or persons: as, to ad- 
dress a warning to a friend, or a petition to 
the legislature. 
The young hero had addrrwd his prayers to him for 
his assistance. Dryden. 
The supplications which Francis [BaconJ addressed to 
his uncle and aunt were earnest, humble, and almost ser- 
vile. Macaulay, Lord Bacon. 
5. To direct speech or writing to ; aim at the 
hearing or attention of ; speak or write to : as, 
to address an assembly ; he addressed his con- 
stituents by letter. 
Though he [CassarJ seldom addressee the Senate, he is 
considered as the finest speaker there, after the Consul. 
Macaulay, Fragments of a Roman Tale. 
Straightway he spake, and thus address'd the Gods. 
M. Arnold, Balder Dead. 
6. To apply in speech; subject to hearing or 
notice: used reflexively, with to; as, he ad- 
dressed himself to the chairman. 
Our legislators, our candidates, on great occasions even 
our advocates, address themselves less to the audience 
than to the reporters. Macaulay, Athenian Orators. 
7. To direct for transmission ; put a direction 
or siiperscription on : as, to address a letter or 
parcel to a person at his residence ; to address 
newspapers or circulars. 
Books . . . not intended for . . . the persons to whom 
they are addressed, but ... for sale, are liable to customs 
duties upon entering . . . Colombia. U. S. Postal Guide. 
8. To direct attentions to in courtship; pay 
court to as a lover. 
To prevent the confusion that might arise from our 
both addressing the same lady, I shall expect the honour 
of your company to settle our pretensions in King's Mead 
Fields. Sheridan. 
She is too fine and too conscious of herself to repulse 
any man who may address her. 
Lowell, Among ray Books, 2d ser., p. 316. 
9. To prepare ; make ready : often with to or 
for. 
The five foolish virgins addressed themselves at the 
noise of the bridegroom's coining. Jer. Taylor. 
Turnus addressed his men to single fight. 
Dryden, ^Eneid. 
60 
ing in intercourse; accost: as, Sir is a title of 
address; he is a man of good addrctts. Hence 
3. The attention paid by a lover to his mis- 
tress; courtship; pi. (more commonly), the acts 
of courtship ; the attentions of a lover : as, to 
pay one's addresses to a lady. 
As some coy nymph her lover's w;inn nihl,-> ** 
Not quite indulges, nor call quite repress. 
I'OJH', Windsor Forest, 1. 19. 
Tell me whose address thou favour's! most. 
Addison, Cato, i. 4. 
A gentleman . . . made his addresses to me. Addixim. 
4. An utterance of thought addressed by 
speech to an audience, or transmitted in writ- 
ing to a pei-sou or body of persons ; usually, an 
expression of views or sentiments on some 
matter of direct concern or interest to the per- 
son or persons addressed; a speech or dis- 
course suited to an occasion or to circum- 
stances : as, to deliver an address on the events 
of the day; an address of congratulation; the 
address of Parliament in reply to the queen's 
speech. 
It was, therefore, during a period of considerable polit- 
ical perturbation that Mr. Bright put forth an address 
dated January 31st, 1837. 
J. Barnett Smith, John Bright, p. 23. 
5. A formal request addressed to the executive 
by one or both branches of a legislative body, 
requesting it to do a particular thing. 
The Constitutions of England, of Massachusetts, of 
Pennsylvania, authorized the removal of an obnoxious 
judge on a mere address of the legislature. 
tl. Adams, John Randolph, p. 132. 
The power of address, whenever it has been used in this 
commonwealth, has been used to remove judges who had 
not violated any law. w. Phillips, Speeches, p. 161. 
6. A direction for guidance, as to a person's 
abode ; hence, the place at which a person re- 
sides, or the name and place of destination, 
with any other details, necessary for the di- 
rection of a letter or package : as, what is your 
present address f the address or superscription 
on a letter. 
Mrs. Dangle, shall I beg you to offer them some refresh- 
ments, and take their address in the next room ? 
Sheridan, The Critic, i. 2. 
, 
To-morrow for the march are we addrejis'd. 
Shak., Hen. V., iii. 3. 
Hence 10f. Toclothe orarray; dress; adorn; 
trim. 
Other writers and recorders of fables could have told 
you that Tecla sometime addressed herself in man's ap- 
Bp. Jewell, Def. of Apologie, p. 375. 
11. In com., to consign or intrust to the care of 
another, as agent or factor: as, the ship was 
addressed to a merchant in Baltimore. 
H.t intrans. 1. To direct speech ; speak. 
My lord of Burgundy, 
We first address towards you. Shak., Lear, i. 1. 
2. To make an address or appeal. 
The Earl of Shaftesbury, having addressed in vain for his 
majesty s favour, resorted by habeas corpus to the King's 
M anvil, Growth of Popery. 
3. To make preparations ; get ready. 
Let us address to tend on Hector's heels. 
Shak., T. and C., iv. 4. 
They ended parle, and both addressed for fight. 
Milton, P. L., vi. 29(i. 
address (a-dros'), . [= F. adresse, n. ; from the 
verb.] 1. Power of properly directing or 
guiding one's own action or conduct; skilful 
management; dexterity; adroitness: as, he 
managed the affair with address. 
Here Rhadanmnthus, in his travels, had collected those 
inventions and institutions of a ci\ Mixed people which he 
had the address to apply to the confirmation of his own 
authority. ./. Adams, Works, IV. 505. 
There needs no small degree of address to gain the repu 
tation of benevolence without incurring the expense. 
K/H-fii/itn, School for Scandal, v. 1. 
2. Direction or guidance of speech; the act or 
manner of speaking to persons ; personal bear- 
7. In equity pleading, the technical description 
in a bill of the court whose remedial power is 
sought. 8. In com., the act of despatching or 
consigning, as a ship, to an agent at the port of 
destination. 9f. Formerly used in the sense 
of preparation, or the state of preparing or 
being prepared, and in various applications 
arising therefrom, as an appliance, array or 
dress, etc. N. E. -D.=Syn. 1. Tact, cleverness.-2. 
See port. 4. Oration, Harangue, etc. (see speech), lecture 
discourse, sermon. 6. Residence, superscription. 
addressee (a-dres-e'), . [< address, v., + -ee*.] 
One who is addressed; specifically, one to 
whom anything is addressed. 
The postmaster shall also, at the time of its arrival 
notify the addressee thereof that such letter or package 
has been received. 
Reg. of the U. S. P. 0. Dep., 1874 iii. 52 
The strong presumption this offers in favour of this 
youthful nobleman [Lord Southampton] as the addressee 
of the sonnets is most strangely disregarded by Shaksperian 
specialists of the present day. JIT. and Q., eth ser., X. 22. 
addresser (a-dres'er), n. One who addresses 
or petitions. Specifically (with or without a capital 
letter), in the reign of Charles II. of England, a member 
of the country party, so called from their address to the 
king praying for an immediate assembly of the Parlia- 
ment, the summons of which was delayed on account of its 
being adverse to the court ; an opponent of the court party 
or Abhorrers. They also received the name of FttUtantn 
and afterward that of Whig*. See abhorrer 
addressful (a-dres'fui), . Skilful; dexterous. 
Mallet. 
addressing-machine (a-dres'ing-ma-shen"), . 
An apparatus for placing addresses on news- 
paper-wrappers, etc. 
addressiont (a-dresh'on), n. [< address. Cf. 
compression, etc.] Th'e act of addressing or 
directing one's course; route; direction of a 
journey. 
To Pylos first be thy addression then. 
Chapman, Odyssey, i. 438. 
addressmentt (a-dres'ment), n. [< F. adresse- 
ment (Cotgrave)": see address and -meat.] The 
act of addressing; the act of directing one's 
attention, speech, or effort toward a particu- 
lar point, person, or object. 
addubitationt (a-du-bi-ta'shon), n. [< L. atl/lit- 
Utatus, pp. of addubitare, incline to doubt, < ad, 
to, + dubitare, doubt : see doubt.] A doubting ; 
insinuated doubt. 
That this was not a vniuersall practice, it may nppeare 
by St. Austins ,ifl,liihil,,lii,n. 
J. Denison, Heavenly Banquet (I(il9). p. :i5:i. 
adductor 
adduce (a-dus') ( v. t.; pret. and pp. adduced, 
ppr. adducing. [< L. addueerc, lead or bring 
to,_<ad, to, 4- duiTi-r, lead: see duct, duke] To 
bring forward, present, oroffer; advance; cite; 
name or instance as authority or evidence for 
what one advances. 
Reasons ^ond 
I shall ndiliire iii due time to my peers. 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. 313. 
The speculations of those early Christian theologians 
wild adduced the crying of the new-born babe in proof of 
its innate wickedness. J. Fish, Cos. Phil., I. 105. 
= Syn. Adduce, Allege, Assign, Advance, Offer Cite Offer 
and assign are the least forcible of these words. To offer 
is simply to present for acceptance. We may offer a plea, 
an apology, or an excuse, but it may not be accepted. We 
may assign a reason, but it may not be the real or only 
reason which might be given by us. We may adraiiee an 
opinion or a theory, and may cite authorities in support of 
it. Allege is the most positive of all these words. To al- 
lege is to make an unsupported statement regarding some- 
thing ; to adduce, on the other hand, is to bring forward 
proofs or evidence in support of some statement or propo- 
sition already made : as, he alleged that he had been robbed 
by A. B., but adduced no proof in support of his allegation. 
I too prize facts, and am adducing nothing else. 
Channing, Perfect Life, p. 177. 
Toa/fe^the real or supposed primeval kindred between 
Magyars and Ottomans as a ground for political action 
... is an extreme case. 
E. A. Freeman, Race and Language. 
To some such causes as you have assigned, may be 
ascribed the delay which the petition has encountered. 
Washington, in Bancroft's Hist. Const., I. 372. 
The views I shall advance in these lectures. 
Beale, Bioplasm, 2. 
If your arguments be rational, offer them in as moving 
a manner as the nature of the subject will admit. Sw(ft. 
adduceable (a-du'sa-bl), . [< adduce + -able.'] 
See adducible. 
adducent (a-du'sent), a. [< L. adducen(t-)s, 
ppr. of adducere: see adduce.] Bringing to- 
gether; drawing one thing to or toward an- 
other ; performing the act of adduction ; having 
the function of an adductor: opposed to abdu- 
cent : chiefly or exclusively an anatomical term, 
applied to certain muscles or to their action. 
See adductor, a. 
adducer (a-du'ser), n. One who adduces. 
adducible (a-du'si-bl), a. [< adduce + -ible.~\ 
Capable of being adduced. Sometimes (but 
very rarely) spelled adduceable. 
Here I end my specimens, among the many which might 
be given, of the arguments adducible for Christianity. 
J. //. Newman, Gram, of Assent, p. 478. 
adduct (a-dukf), v. t. [< L. adductus, pp. of 
adducere: see adduce.] If. To draw on; in- 
duce ; allure. 
Either impelled by lewd disposition or adducted by hope 
of rewarde. Time's Storehouse, p. 680. 
2. In pliysiol., to bring to or toward a median 
line or main axis. See adduction, 2.- 
The pectineus and three adductors adduct the thigh 
powerfully. H. Gray, Anat., p. 412. 
adduction (a-duk'shon), . [< ML. adductio(n-), 
< L. adducere, pp. adductus: see adduce.] 1. 
The act of adducing or bringing forward some- 
thing as evidence in support of a contention or 
an argument. [Bare.] 
An adduction of facts gathered from various quarters. 
/. Taylor. 
2. () In pJiysiol., the action of the adductor or 
adducent muscles. (6) In surg., the adducent 
action of a surgeon upon a limb or other mem- 
ber of the body ; the position of a part which 
is the result of such action : the opposite of ab- 
duction. In either use, adduction consists in bringing a 
limb to or toward the long axis of the body, so that it 
shall be parallel therewith or with its fellow ; or in bring- 
ing together two or several similar parts, as the spread fin- 
gers of the human hand, the opened shells of a bivalve 
mollusk, etc. 
adductive (a-duk'tiv), . [< L. as if "adduc- 
tivus, < adducere, jjp. adductus : see adduce.] 
Adducing or bringing forward. 
adductor (a-duk'tor), . and a. [L., a pro- 
curer, lit. one who draws to, < adducere, pp. 
adductus : see adduce.] I. . ; pi. adductors 
(-torz) or adductores (ad-uk-to'rez). In anat. 
and zool., that which adducts ; specifically, the 
name of several muscles which draw certain 
parts to or toward one common center or median 
line : the opposite of abductor. The word is also ap- 
plied to various muscles not specifically so named ; thus, 
the internal rectus of the eye is an adductor of the eyeball. 
The muscles which close the shells of bivalves are generi- 
cally termed adductors. See cuts under Lniufllihranrhiata. 
Waldhtimia, and Productidct. Adductor arcuuni, the 
adductor of the arches, a muscle of the side of the neck 
of some Batraehia, MS Mnmimnia.- Adductor branclii- 
arum, the adductor of the gills, a muscle of some ISatra- 
cAio, as Uenebranchut. Adductor bre vis (the short ad- 
ductor), adductor longus (the long adductor), adductor 
