albedo 
albedo (al-be'do), n. [L., whiteness, < albus, 
white.] Whiteness; specifically, the propor- 
tion of light falling on a surface and irregularly 
reflected from it: as, the albedo of the moon. 
albeit (al-be'it), conj. [< ME. al be it, al be it 
that, like al be that, alwere it so that, etc., in con- 
cessive clauses, al being the adv. all, found also 
joined with though and if, with the subjunctive 
of the verb be: see all, adi-., 2 (b), and cf. al- 
though.] Although; notwithstanding that. 
Whereas ye say, The Lord saith it ; albeit I have not 
spoken. Ezek. xiii. 7. 
Albeit so mask'd, Madam, I love the truth. 
Tennyson, Princess, ii. 
Albert cloth. See cloth. 
Albert coal. Same as albertite. 
Albertia (al-ber'ti-a), n. [NL., < Albert (Prince 
Albert).] 1. A genus of free Rotifera, or wheel- 
animalcules, having a lengthened and vermi- 
form body, and the trochal disk reduced to a 
small ciliated lip around the mouth. Held by 
Schmarda to constitute with the genus Scison a separate 
group, Peroxotrocha. They are internal parasites of va- 
rious oligochffitous annelids, such as the earthworm. 
2. A genus of dipterous insects. Kondani, 1843. 
3. A genus of crolenterates. Thomson, 1878. 
Alberti bass. See bass*. 
Albertiidae (al-ber-ti'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Al- 
bertia + -iila;.] A family of rotifers, or wheel- 
animalcules, of which the genus Albertia is the 
type. See Albertia. 
Albertine (al'ber-tin), o. Of or pertaining to the 
younger and royal branch of the Saxon house 
which descended from Albert (G. Albrecht), 
Duke of Saxony (1443-1500) Albertine tracts, 
pamphlets dealing with economic subjects, written about 
1530 under the auspices of the Albertine branch of the 
Saxon house, and in opposition to a debasement of the cur- 
rency proposed by the Ernesti ne branch of the same house. 
The Albertine tracts, according to Roscher, exhibit such 
sound views of the conditions and evidences of national 
wealth, of the nature of money and trade, and of the rights 
and duties of Governments in relation to economic action, 
that he regards the unknown author as entitled to a place 
beside Raleigh and the other English " colonial-theorists " 
of the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. 
Encyc. Brit., XIX. 356. 
Albertist (al'ber-tist), n. [< ML. Albertishc, pi., 
< Alberlus, Albert.] An adherent of the philos- 
ophy of Albertus Magnus, a German scholastic 
philosopher (1193-1280). The Albertists were only 
recognized as a distinct school in the university of Co- 
logne in the fifteenth century. This school was an otf- 
shoot from that of the Thomists, from which it differed 
concerning many points of logic, physics, and theology. 
It was attached to the college of St. Lawrence. The differ- 
ences which separated the Albertists from the Thomists 
were insignificant. Among other points, the former held 
that logic is a speculative, not a practical, discipline ; that 
universals in re and pout rein are identical (see universal, 
n.); and that the principle of individuation (which see) is 
matter. 
albertite (al'ber-tit), n. [< Albert, name of a 
county in New Brunswick, where this mineral 
is found, + -ite 2 .] A hydrocarbon, pitch-like 
in appearance, and related to asphaltum, but 
not so fusible nor so soluble in benzine or 
ether. It fills a fissure in the lower carboniferous rocks 
at the Albert mine in New Brunswick. It is used in the 
manufacture of illuminating gas, and of illuminating and 
lubricating oils. Also called Albert coal. 
albertype (al'ber-tip), n. [< Joseph Albert, 
name of the inventor, + type.] 1. A method 
of direct printing in ink from photographic 
plates. See photolithography. 2. A picture 
produced by this method. 
albescence (al-bes'ens), n. [< albescent.] The 
act or state of growing white or whitish. 
albescent (al-bes'ent), a. [< L. albescen(t-)s, 
ppr. of albescere, become white, inceptive of al- 
bere, be white,< albus, white.] Becoming white 
or whitish ; moderately white ; of a pale, hoary 
aspect; bleached; blanched. 
albespinet (al'be-spin), . [< ME. albespyne, < 
OF. albespine, later aubespine, mod. F. aubepine 
= Pr. albespin, < ML. "alba spinus, the white- 
thorn (-tree), in ref. to the whiteness of its bark 
as contrasted with the blackthorn : L. alba, fern, 
of albus, white; spinus, the blackthorn, sloe- 
tree, < spina, a thorn, spine : see spine.] The 
hawthorn, Cratwgus Oxyacantha. 
albicans (al'bi-kanz), . ; pi. albicantia (al-bi- 
kau'shi-a). [NL., sc. corpus, body: see albi- 
cant.] One of the corpora albicantia of the 
brain. See corpora albicantia, under corpus. 
albicant (al'bi-kant), a. [< L. albican(t-)s, ppr. 
of albicare, be white, < albus, white.] Becom- 
ing or growing white. N. E. D. 
albicantia, . Plural of albicans. 
albication (al-bi-ka'shon), n. [< L. albicare, pp. 
*albieatus, be white : see albicant] In hot., a 
growing white ; a development of white patches 
in the foliage of plants. 
130 
albicore (al'bi-kor), n. See albacore. 
albiflcationt (aFbi-fi-ka'shon), n. [< ME. albifi- 
cacioun,<. ML. albijicatio(>i-),<.albificare, whiten : 
see albify.] In alchemy, the act or process of 
making white. Chaucer. 
albiflorous (al-bi-flo'rus), a. [< NL. nlbiflorus, 
< L. albus, white, + flos (flor-), a flower.] In 
hot., having white flowers. 
albifyt (al'bi-fi), v. t. [< ML. albificare, < L. al- 
bus, white, + -ficare, < facere, make.] To make 
white; whiten. 
Albigenses (al-bi-jen'sez), n.pl. [ML., > F. Al- 
bigeois, inhabitants of Albi.] A collective name 
for the members of several anti-sacerdotal sects 
in the south of France in the twelfth and thir- 
teenth centuries : so called from Albi, in Lan- 
guedoc, where they were dominant. They revolted 
from the Church of Rome, were charged with Manicluean 
errors, and were so vigorously persecuted that, as sects, 
they had in great part disappeared by the end of the thir- 
teenth century. 
Albigensian (al-bi-jen'si-an), a. and n. I. a. 
Pertaining to the Albigenses. 
By the middle of the fifteenth century, the ARrigensian 
heresy had been nearly extirpated. 
Pretcott, Ferd. and Isa., i. 7. 
II. n. One of the Albigenses. 
albin (al ' bin), n. [< L. albus, white. See al- 
biiio.] A mineral of an opaque white color, re- 
garded as a variety of Bohemian apophyllite. 
albiness (al-bi'nes), n. [< albino + -ess.] A 
female albino. 
In them [the negative blondes) the soul has often be- 
come pale with that blanching of the hair and loss of color 
in the eyes which makes them approach the character of 
albinesses. 0. W. Holmes, The Professor. 
albumen 
Albizzia (al-bits'i-a), n. [NL., < It. Albizzi, a 
noble family of Tuscany, who first brought the 
silk-tree into Italy.] A large genus of legumi- 
nous plants of tropical Asia and Africa, allied 
toAcddtl. Many are trees furnishing a hard, strong, 
and durable wood. A. Julibrixxin (the silk-tree) and 
A. Lebbek are frequently cultivated for ornament in the 
Mediterranean region and in America. The bark of an 
Abyssinian species, A. anthelmintica, known as mesenna 
or besenna, is an effective tamiafuge. 
albq-carbon (al'bo-kar"bon), n. [< L. albus, 
white, + E. carbon.] A solid residuum of crea- 
sote Albo-carbon light, a light produced by carbu- 
reting ordinary burning-gas by the volatilization of albo- 
carbon, which is placed in cylindrical chambers about a 
nils-burner. 
albolite (al'bo-lit), n. Same as albolith. 
albolith (al'b6-lith), . [< L. albus, white, + Gr. 
A(0or, a stone.] A cement made by mixing pul- 
verized calcined magnesite with fine silica. It 
forms a hard, durable compound which can be molded, 
and is found very useful in repairing stonework and as 
a preservative for various materials of construction. 
Alb Sunday. [See oJfe 1 and Sunday. Cf. Whit- 
sunday.'] The first Sunday after Easter: so 
called because on that day those who had 
been baptized on Easter eve wore their white 
robes for the last time. Also called Low Sun- 
day. 
albuginea (al-bu-jin'e-S), n. [NL., fern. (se. 
tunica) of an assumed L. "albugineus : see albu- 
gineous.] In anat., a name (properly tunica al- 
buginea) applied to several membranes: (a) To 
the fibrous covering of the testis beneath the 
tunica vaginalis (sheathing membrane) ; (b) to 
the similar fibrous covering of the ovary be- 
neath the peritoneum; (c) to the sclerotic or 
white of the eye. 
albinism (al'bi-nizm), n. [< albino + -ism; = 
F. albinisme = Pg. albinismo.] The state or albuginean (al-bu-jin'e-an^ a. [< L. a, 
condition of being an albino ; leucopathy ; leu- 
cism. In {rot., a condition of flowers or leaves in which 
they are white instead of having their ordinary colors, ow- 
ing to a persistent deficiency of the usual coloring matter : 
to be distinguished from blanchiny or etiatation, where the 
color returns on exposure to light. Compare erythrvsm. 
Also written albinoutm. 
Albinism being well known to be strongly inherited, for 
instance with white mice and many other quadrupeds, and 
even white flowers. 
Danrin, Var. of Animals and Plants, p. 115. 
albinistic (al-bi-nis'tik), a. Same as albinotic. 
albino (al-bi'no), n. [< Pg. albino, orig. applied 
by the Portuguese to the white negroes they 
met with on the coast of Africa (= Sp. It. al- 
bino, > F. albinos). < albo, now alvo, = Sp. It. 
albo, < L. albus, white.] 1. A person of pale, 
milky complexion, with light hair and pink 
eyes. This abnormal condition appears to depend on an 
absence of the minute particles of coloring matter which 
ordinarily occur in the lowest and last-deposited layers 
of the epidermis or outer skin. Albinos occasionally occur 
among all races of men. 
Hence 2. An animal characterized by the 
same peculiarity in physical constitution. A 
perfect albino is pure white, with pink eyes ; but there 
may be every degree of departure from the normal color- 
ation, exhibiting every variation in paleness of color or in 
spotting or marking with white, such pallid or pied indi- 
viduals being called partial albinos. An albino is always 
a sport or freak of nature, as when one of a brood of crows 
or blackbirds is snow-white ; but albinism tends to be- 
come hereditary and thus established, as in the case of 
white mice, white rabbits, and white poultry. Any al- 
bino, therefore, is to be distinguished from an animal that 
is naturally white, like the snowy heron or polar bear, or 
that periodically turns white in winter, like the arctic fox, 
polar hare, or ptarmigan. Some animals are more sus- 
ceptible to albinism than others, but probably all are lia- 
ble to the deficiency or total lack of pigment which con- 
stitutes this affection. 
3. A plant the leaves of which are marked by 
the absence of chlorophyl, or whose flowers are 
exceptionally white. See albinism. 
albinoism (al-bi'no-izm), n. Same as albinism. 
albinotic (al-bi-not'ik), a. [< albino + -otic, as 
in hypnotic and other words of Gr. origin.] Af- 
fected with albinism ; exhibiting leucism; being 
an albino. An equivalent form is albinistie. 
albione (al-bi-6'ne), n. [NL., after L. Albion, a 
son of Neptune?] A sea-leech; a leech of the 
genus Pontobdella. 
albion-metal (arbi-on-met'al), n. [< Albion, 
poetic name of England (< L. Albion, Gr. 'Ahfttuv, 
an ancient name of Britain), + metal.] A com- 
bination made by overlaying lead with tin and 
causing the two to adhere by passing them, un- 
der pressure, between rollers. 
albite (al'bit), n. [< L. albus, white, + -ite 2 .] A 
triclinic soda feldspar; a common mineral, usu- 
ally white or nearly white, occurring in crystals 
and in cleavable masses in granite veins, also 
as a constituent of many crystalline rocks, as 
diorite and some kinds of granite. See feldspar. 
albitic (al-bit'ik), a. [< albite + -ic.] Pertaining 
to or of the nature of albite ; containing albite. 
(albugin-), whiteness, a white spot, + -e-an.] 
Same as albugineous. 
albugineous (al-bu-jin'e-us), a. [< L. as if *al- 
bugineus (>Sp. Pg. It. a'lbugineo), the more cor- 
rect E. form being albuginous = F. albugineux = 
Sp. It. albuginoso, < L. 'albuginosus, < albugo (al- 
bugin-), whiteness: see albugo.] Pertaining to 
or resembling the white of the eye or of an egg. 
Equivalent forms are albuginean and albuginous. 
Albugineous humor, the aqueous humor of the eye. 
Albugineous tunic, the albuginea (which see). 
albuginitis (al-bu-ji-ni'tis), n. [< albuginea + 
-itisT] Inflammation of the tunica albuginea of 
the testis. See albuginea. 
albuginous (al-bu'ji-nus), a. Same as albugin- 
eous. 
albugo (al-bu'go), n. [L., whiteness, a white 
spot, < albus, white.] A disease of the eye, 
characterized by deep opacity of the cornea. 
Sometimes called leucotna. 
Albula (al'bu-la), n. [NL., fern, of L. albulus, 
whitish, < albus, white : see able 2 , ablet.] A ge- 
nus of fishes distinguished by their whitish or 
silvery color, tvpical of the family Albulida!. 
albulid (al'bu-lid), n. A fish of the family Al- 
bulida; a bonefish, lady fish, macab6, or French 
mullet. 
Albulidae (al-bu ' li-de), . pi. [NL., < Albula 
+ -wto.] A family of abdominal fishes having 
an elongate body covered with silvery scales, 
conical head with produced overhanging snout, 
small mouth, and pavement-like teeth on the 
sphenoid and pterygoid bones. Only one species, 
Albula wipes, is known. It is generally distributed in 
tropical seas, and is known in the West Indies and Florida 
as the ladytitth and bonejigft. It is interesting from modi- 
fications of structure of the heart which suggest the ga- 
noids. See cut under ladyjiith. 
Albulina (al-bu-H'na), n. pi. [NL., < Albula + 
-ia.] In Guuther's classification of fishes, the 
fifth group of Clupeidae. The technical characters 
are the mouth inferior, of moderate width and toothed, 
the upper jaw projecting beyond the lower, and the inter- 
maxillary juxtaposed to the upper edge of the maxillary 
bones. The group corresponds to the family Altntlidce. 
Preferably written AUndince, as a subfamily. 
album (al'bum), n. [L., prop. neut. of albus, 
white.] 1. In Bom. antiq., a white tablet, on 
which the names of public officers and records 
of public transactions were written, and which 
was put up in a public place. 2. A book con- 
sisting of blank leaves variously prepared for 
special purposes, as for the reception or pres- 
ervation of autographs, photographs, verses, 
" sentiments," etc. 3. A book expensively 
printed or bound, containing short selections 
of poetry or prose, usually illustrated, and in- 
tended as a gift or an ornament. 4f. In law, 
white (silver) money paid as rent. 
albumen (al-bu'men), n. [L. ; albumen ovi, the 
white of an egg; lit., whiteness, < albus, white.] 
1. The white of an egg; hence, an animal and 
vegetable principle which occurs in its purest 
