admiralty 
vision of the High Court of Justice, the judge in it being 
appointed by the crown as one of the judges of the High 
Court. The English court of admiralty is twofold, the in- 
stance court and the prize court. The civil jurisdiction of 
the instance court extends generally to such contracts as 
are made upon the sea, and are founded in maritime ser- 
vice or consideration. It also regulates many other points 
of maritime law, as disputes between part-owners of ves- 
sels, and questions relating to salvage. It has likewise 
power to inquire into certain wrongs or injuries committed 
on the high seas, as in cases of collision. In criminal mat- 
ters the court of admiralty has, partly by common law 
and partly by a variety of statutes, cognizance of piracy 
and all other indictable offenses committed either upon 
the sea or on the coasts when beyond the limits of any Eng- 
lish county. The prize court is the only tribunal for de- 
ciding what is and what is not lawful prize, and for adjudi- 
cating upon all matters, civil and criminal, relating to prize, 
or every acquisition made by the law of war which is either 
itself of a maritime character or is made, whether at sea 
or by land, by a naval force. In Scotland the cases for- 
merly brought before this court, which has been abolish- 
ed, are now prosecuted in the Court of Session or in the 
sheriff court, in the same way as ordinary civil causes. In 
the United States the admiralty powers are exclusively 
vested in the federal courts. They extend over the great 
lakes and navigable rivers. Droits of admiralty. See 
droit. High Court Of Admiralty, an ancient English 
court, held before the lord high admiral of England or his 
deputy (styled judge of the admiralty), with cognizance of 
all crimes and offenses committed either upon the sea or 
upon the coasts, out of the body or extent of any English 
county. It proceeded without jury, a method contrary to 
the genius of the law of England. Stephen. 
admirancet (ad-mlr'ans), . [< OF. admirance, 
< admirer : see admire and -ance.] Admiration. 
[She] with great admiraunce inwardly was moved, 
And honourd him with all that her behoved. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. x. 39. 
admiration (ad-mi-ra'shon), n. [< late ME. 
adinyracion, < OF. admiration, < L. admira- 
tio(n-), < admirari, admire : see admire.'] If. 
Wonder ; astonishment ; surprise. 
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the 
saints, . . . and when I saw her, I wondered with great 
admiration. Rev. xvii. 6. 
Your boldness I with admiration see. Dryden. 
2. Wonder mingled with approbation, esteem, 
love, or veneration ; an emotion excited by 
what is novel, great, beautiful, or excellent : 
as, admiration of virtue or goodness; admira- 
tion of a beautiful woman or a fine picture. 
Where imitation can go no farther, let admiration step 
on, whereof there is no end in the wisest form of men. 
Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., III. 2. 
If it should be here objected, as Cicero objected to 
Cajsar, " We have matter enough to admire, but would 
gladly see something to praise," I answer, that true ad- 
miration is a superlative degree of praise. 
Baton, Essays, etc. (Bonn ed.), p. 486. 
There is a pleasure in admiration, and this is that which 
properly causeth admiration, when we discover a great 
deal in an object which we understand to be excellent. 
Tillotson. 
3f. The quality of exciting wonder or sur- 
prise; marvelousness ; admirableness. 
Admir'd Miranda ! 
Indeed the top of admiration. 
Shak., Tempest, iii. 1. 
4. An object of wonder or approbation : now 
only in the phrase tlie admiration of. 
He was the admiration o/all the negroes. 
Irmmj, Sleepy Hollow. 
Note of admiration, an exclamation-point (!). To ad- 
miration, in a very excellent or admirable manner ; in a 
manner to elicit admiration. 
They have curious straw worke among the mums, even 
to admiration. Evelyn, Diary, March 28, 1646. 
[He] . . . moulded heads in clay or plaster of Paris to 
admiration, by the dint of natural genius merely. 
Lamb, Old Benchers. 
admirative (ad'mi-ra-tiv), a. and . I. a. Ex- 
pressing admiration or wonder. [Bare.] 
II. t n. The point of exclamation or admira- 
tion (!). 
admiratively (ad'mi-ra-tiv-li), adv. In an ad- 
mirative manner; admiringly. [Bare.] 
admire (ad-mir'), . ; pret. and pp. admired, 
ppr. admiring. [< F. admirer, OF. admirer, ear- 
lier amirer, = Sp. Pg. admirar = It. ammirarc, 
< L. admirari, wonder at, < ad, at, + mirari 
(for *mirari), wonder, = Gr. peidav (for *ajtei- 
Sav), smile, = Skt. \/ smi, smile : cf. smile, 
smirk.'] I. trans. 1. To regard with wonder or 
surprise ; wonder or marvel at : formerly used 
literally, but now chiefly in an ironical or sar- 
castic sense, with reference to meaning 2: as, 
I admire your audacity. 
Neither is it to be admired that Henry, who was a wise 
as well as a valiant prince, should be pleased to have the 
greatest wit of those times in his interests. 
Dryden, Pret. to Fables. 
One hardly knows whether most to admire the stupid- 
ity of such a degradation or to detest its guilt. 
Farrar, Marlb. Sermons, iv. 36. 
2. To regard with wonder mingled with ap- 
probation, esteem, reverence, or affection ; feel 
admiration for; take pleasure in the beauty 
78 
or qualities of; look on or contemplate with 
pleasure. 
The fact seems to be, that the Greeks admired only 
themselves, and that the Romans iitlinireil only them- 
selves and the Greeks. Macaulay, History. 
And Enid woke and sat beside the couch, 
Atlmiriii'i him, and thought within herself, 
Was ever man so grandly made as he ? 
T''n inimn, Geraint. 
II. iii trans. 1. To wonder; be affected with 
surprise ; marvel : sometimes with at. [Nearly 
obsolete in the literal sense.] 
Let none admin' 
That riches grow in hell. Milton, P. L., i. 690. 
I admire where a fellow of his low rank should acquire 
such a nobleness and dignity of sentiment. Henry Brooke. 
I more admire at a third party, who were loyal when 
rebellion was uppermost, and have turned rebels (at least 
in principle) since loyalty has been triumphant. 
Dryden, Ded. of Plutarch's Lives. 
2. To feel or express admiration. 
I'll report it, 
Where senators shall mingle tears with smiles ; 
Where great patricians shall attend, and shrug, 
I' the end admire. Shak., Cor., i. 9. 
3. To feel pleasure ; be pleased : as, I should 
admire to go. [Colloq., U. S.] 
admiredt (ad-mird'), p. a. Begarded with won- 
der ; wonderful ; astonishing. 
You have displac'd the mirth, broke the good meeting, 
With most admir'd disorder. Shak., Macbeth, iii. 4. 
admirer (ad-mlr'er), n. One who admires; 
specifically, one who pays court to or manifests 
his admiration of a woman ; a lover. 
For fear of Lucia's escape, the mother is ... constantly 
attended by a rival that explains her age, and draws off 
the eyes of her admirers. Tatter, No. 206. 
admiringly (ad-mlr'ing-li), adv. In an admir- 
ing manner ; with admiration ; in the manner 
of an admirer. 
admissibility (ad-mis-i-bil'i-ti), n. [< admis- 
sible, after F. admissibilite.] The quality of 
being admissible. 
admissible (ad-mis'i-bl), a. [< F. admissible, 
< ML. admissibilis, < L. admissus, pp. of admit- 
tere, admit : see admit.] 1 . Capable or worthy 
of being admitted or suffered to enter. 
They were admissible to political and military employ- 
ment. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
2. That may be allowed or conceded ; allow- 
able : as, your proposals are not admissible. 
3. In law, capable of being considered in reach- 
ing a decision : used of evidence offered in a 
judicial investigation. 
No confession is admissible when made in terror. 
H'. Phillips, Speeches, p. -200. 
admissibleness (ad-mis'i-bl-nes), . The qual- 
ity or state of being admissible or allowable. 
admissibly (ad-mis'i-bli), adv. In an admis- 
sible manner ; so as to be admitted, entertain- 
ed, or allowed. 
admission (ad-mish'pn), n. [< ME. admyssion, 
< L. admissio(n-), < admissus, pp. of admittere, 
admit : see admit,] 1. The act of admitting or 
allowing to enter ; the state of being admitted; 
entrance afforded by permission, by provision 
or existence of means, or by the removal of ob- 
stacles : as, the admission of aliens into a coun- 
trv; the admission of light into a room by a 
window or by opening the window. 
Some minds seem well glazed by nature against the ad- 
mission of knowledge. 
George Eliot, Theophrastus Such, p. 91. 
2. Admittance ; power or permission to enter ; 
entrance ; access ; power to approach : as, to 
grant a person admission. 
I ... applied to one of the vergers for admission to 
the library. Irving, Mutability of Lit. 
3. The price paid for entrance ; admission fee : 
as, the admission was one dollar. 4. Eccles. : 
(a) In the Church of England, an act of a 
bishop accepting a candidate presented to a 
benefice. (6) In the Presbyterian churches, 
especially in Scotland, a similar official act of 
a presbytery admitting a minister to his church. 
5. The act of expressing assent to an argu- 
ment or proposition, especially one urged by 
an opponent or adversary; hence, a point or 
statement admitted ; concession ; allowance : 
as, this admission lost him the argument. 6. 
Acknowledgment; confession of a charge, an 
error, or a crime : as, he made full admission of 
his guilt. 
Maggie had no sooner uttered this entreaty than she 
was wretched at the admission it implied. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, vi. 9. 
7. Inlaw: (a) A voluntary acknowledgment 
that something is true. Admissions in an action 
may be made by a party to it, or by his attorney, in writ- 
ing or in open court. Other admissions, whether by word 
admittatur 
or act, may be proved against a party if they were made 
by him or by one authorized by or sufficiently identified 
with him. (ft) The act of receiving evidence of- 
fered upon a judicial investigation, as compe- 
tent for consideration in reaching a decision. 
= Sy~a. 2. Admittance. Ailmi*i'in. Sue iiilmittance. 
admissive (ad-mis'iv), . [< LL. odmtofoM (used 
once in sense of 'permissive'), < L. admissus, 
pp. of admittere, admit: see admit.'] Tending 
to admit ; having the nature of an admission ; 
containing an admission or acknowledgment. 
A compliment which is always more admissive than ex- 
cusatory. Lamb, Elia. 
admissory (ad-mis'o-ri), a. [< L. as if "admis- 
sorius, < admissor, one who grants or allows, 
(.admittere, pp. admissus, admit: see admit.] 
Granting admittance ; admitting. 
admit (ad-mit'), v. ; pret. and pp. admitted, ppr. 
admitting. [< ME. admitten, amitten, amytten, < 
OF. admettre, amettre, < L. admittere, lit. send 
to, < adj to, + mittere, send : see missile.'] I. 
trans. 1. To suffer to enter; grant or afford 
entrance to: as, to admit a student into col- 
lege; windows admit light and air; to admit a 
serious thought into the mind. 
Mirth, admit me of thy crew. Milton, L' Allegro, 1. 38. 
O, I am a brute, when I but admit a doubt of your true 
constancy ! Sheridan, The Rivals, iii. 2. 
2. To give right or means of entrance to : as, 
a ticket admits one into a theater; this key 
will admit you to the garden. 3. To permit to 
exercise a certain function; grant power to 
hold a certain office: as, he was admitted to the 
bar; to admit a man to the ministry. 4. To 
have capacity for the admission of at one time : 
as, this passage admits two abreast. 5. To 
grant in argument; receive as true; concede; 
allow: as, the argument or fact is admitted. 
It was admitted that the heavy expenditure which had 
been occasioned by the late troubles justified the king in 
asking some further supply. Macaulay, Hist. Eng. t vi. 
It is so hard for shrewdness to admit 
Folly means no harm when she calls black white ! 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. 36. 
6. To permit, grant, allow, or be capable of: 
as, the words do not admit such a construction. 
See II. 7. To acknowledge; own; confess: 
as, he admitted his guilt. = syn. Acknowledge, Ad- 
mit, Confers, etc. (see acknowledge) ; to let in, receive, take 
in. 
II. intrans. To give warrant or allowance ; 
grant opportunity or pel-mission: with of: as, 
circumstances do not admit of this ; the text 
does not admit o/this interpretation. 
Economy is a subject which admits of being treated 
with levity, but it cannot so be disposed of. 
Thoreau, Walden, p. 33. 
To answer a question so as to admit of no reply, is the 
test of a man, to touch bottom every time. 
Emerson, Clubs. 
admittable (ad-mit'a-bl), a. [< admit + -able. 
Cf . admissible.] Capable of being admitted or al- 
lowed. Sometimes spelled admittible. [Bare.] 
admittance (ad-mit'ans), n. [< admit + -ance.] 
1. The act of admitting. 2. Permission to 
enter ; the power or right of entrance ; hence, 
actual entrance : as, he gained admittance into 
the church. 
[Bacon's philosophy] found no difficulty in gaining ad- 
mittance, without a contest, into every understanding 
fitted ... to receive her. Macaulay, Lord Bacon. 
3f. Concession ; admission ; allowance : as, the 
admittance of an argument. 4f. The custom 
or privilege of being admitted to the society 
of the great. 
Sir John, . . . you are a gentleman of excellent breed- 
ing, ... of great admittance. Shak., M. W. of W., ii. 2. 
5. In law, the giving possession of a copyhold 
estate. = Syn. 1 and 2. Admittance, Admission, intro- 
duction, initiation, reception, welcome, access. In the 
separation of admittance and admission, the latter has 
taken the figurative senses, while not yet wholly aban- 
doning to the former the literal ones. Hence in its figura- 
tive use admission has meanings that admittance has not. 
When admission has the literal meaning, its use is gener- 
ally broader, having less deuniteness with respect to place. 
No admittance except through the office ; admission to 
the harbor ; admission to the peerage ; he gave no admis- 
sion to unkind thoughts ; admission of a fault. Perhaps 
admission implies somewhat more of selection or judg- 
ment passed upon the person admitted : as, admission to 
society. 
He [the traveler] must obtain admittance to the conviv- 
ial table and the domestic hearth. Macaulay, Hist. Eng. 
When once love pleads admission to our hearts, 
In spite of all the virtue we can boast, 
The woman who deliberates is lost. 
Addison, Cato, iv. 1. 
It is to M. Guizot that I was . . . obliged for admission 
to the French archives. Bancroft, Hist. Const., Pref. 
admittatur (ad-mi-ta'ter), n. [L., let him be 
admitted, 3d pers. sing. pres. subj. pass, of 
admittere, admit : see admit.'] A certificate of 
