alliance 
Alliances, at once offensive ami defensive, have one of 
the usual and more important characteristics of confeder- 
ations. Woolscy, Introd, to Inter. Law, 103. 
We must resolve to incorporate into our plan those in- 
gredients which maybe considered as forming the charac- 
teristic difference between a league and a government ; 
we must extend the authority of the union to the persons 
148 
alliteration 
sembling a pear in shape. Also called ai-ocado- 
in the upper jaw, into which the long teeth of the under 
jaw fit, and feet much less webbed. Their habits uiv less 
aquatic. They frequent swamps and marshes, and may *.. 
be seen basking on the dry ground during the day in the alligator-terrapin (al i-ga-tor-ter a-pin), n. 
See avocado. 
of the citizens the only proper objects of government which are swimming. In winter they borrow In file mud of 
A. Hamilton, federalist, No. 15. swamps and marshes, lying torpid till spring. The female 
heat of the sun. They are most active during the night, 
The largest of them attain the length of 17 or 18 feet. They 
live on fish, and sometimes cateh hogs on the shore, or dogs 
which are swimming. In winter they burrow in the mud of 
, . 
name of the common snappine-turtle of Amer- 
I stood i* the level 
Of a full-charg'd confederacy, and give thanks 
To you that chok'd it. Shale., Hen. VIII., i. 2. 
The utility of a confederacy, as well to suppress faction, 
and to guard the internal tranquillity of states, as to in- 
crease their external force and security, is in reality not a 
new idea. A. Hamilton, Federalist, No. 9. 
Tile coalitions of nearly all Europe, which resisted and 
finally humbled the Grand Monarch, are among the most 
righteous examples of measures for preserving the balance 
of power which history records. 
Wuolsey, Introd. to Inter. Law, 44. 
alliance (a-H'ans), v. t. [< alliance, .] To 
unite by confederacy; join in alliance; ally. 
[Bare.] 
It [sin] is allianced to none but wretched, forlorn, and 
apostate spirits. Cudwarth, Sermons, p. 62. 
alliantt (a-li'ant), n. and a. [< P. alliant, OF. 
aliant, ppr. of alter, ally: see ally 1 , v.'] I. n. 
An ally: as, " alliants, electors, princes, and 
states," Wotton, Reliquise, p. 532. 
II. a. Akin; united; confederated. Sir T. 
More. 
allice, allis (al'is), . [Var. of earlier allowes 
lays a great number of eggs, which are deposited in the 
sand, and left to be hatched by the heat of the sun. The 
alligators are distributed over tropical America, but are 
not known to exist in any other part of the world. Among 
Alligator-terrapin (Chelydra serfentina}. 
, Chelydra serpentina. So called from the length 
of the neck and especially of the tail in comparison with 
ica, 
jp 
the small, thin shell, into" which the members cannot be 
completely retracted, the general appearance of a saurian 
being thus suggested. It is found from Canada to Florida, 
and westward to Louisiana and the Missouri. Also called 
aUigator-tvrlif. See Chelydra and mappina-turtit. 
alligator-tortoise (al'i-ga-tor-tdr'tis), n. 
Same as alligator-terrapin. 
alligator-tree (al'i-ga-tor-tre), n. The sweet- 
gum tree, Liquidamuar Styraciflua, of the south- 
ern United States. 
alligator-turtle (al'i-ga-tor-ter'tl), n. 1. Same 
as alligator-terrapin. 
The elongated tail of the animal is very characteristic, 
and . . . has . . . given rise to the popular name, alliga- 
tor-turtle. Stand. Nat. Ilist., III._452. 
compact form so that they can be handled; a 2. A similar fresh-water turtle, Macrochelys 
Alligator (Alligator mississifpunsis}. 
the fossils of the south of England, however, are remains 
of a true alligator, A. hantoniensw, in the Eocene beds of 
the Hampshire basin. Leather made from the skin of the 
alligator is widely used. 
3. A local name of the little brown fence-lizard, 
Sceloporus undulatus, common in many parts of 
the United States. 4. A machine for bringing 
the balls of iron from a puddling-furnace into 
the table, and is often seen in the markets of the coun- 
tries it inhabits 
UJ..LAW) CVAU9 \_*. */ '" L Oil. Ui. ' .U lil'l HtH/tt/OO '"*-V ** j n -i ' " ~ 
for alone, < F. alose, "a shad (fish)" (Cotgrave) : squeezer. 5. A peculiar form of rock-breaker, lacerttna, of the family Chelydrida;, with very 
see Alosa.] An English name of a soecies of alligator-apple (al'l-ga-tor-ap'!), n. The fruit l n g tail and neck, it is found in the United states 
JTexas, and up the Mississippi valley to 
allice-shad, allis-shad (al'is-shad"), n. Same alligator-fish (al'i-ga-tor-fish), n. 1. An ago- 
as allice. noid fish, 1'odothecus acipenserinus, with a com- 
alliciatet, allicitet (a-lish'i-at, a-lis'it), v. t. pressed tapering body, about 12 polygonal 
[Irreg. < L. allicere, allure : see allect.] To at- plates on the breast, 9 spines and 7 rays in the alligator-wood (al i-ga-tor-wud), n. The wood 
tract; allure; entice. dorsal fins, gill-membranes united to the isth- of a mehaceous tree, Guareagrandifolia, of the 
alliciency (a-lish'eu-si), i. [See allicient.] The mus, and the lower jaw shutting within the up- West Indies, 
power of attracting; attraction. [Rare.] P er - It is about a foot in length, and is common a {ji(Pl> k'-j: fe ee alme*. 
The magnetical allicienc,/ of the earth. Sir T. Browne. fr . m ^fjf* <! S i o 1 un ^ northward. 2. Any ago- j^ 1 "? 6 ' aluneate, "* 
md; a fish of the family Agonia.it (which see), &U1B. . See allic 
[< L. allisio(n-), < alli- 
_ , adlisvs, strike against, 
throughout their length, and" one 'of them work- < arf > to, + l&dere, strike, hurt by striking: 
. ing by a double lever. It suggests an alligator, see lesion. Cf. collision, elision.] A striking 
alllgartat, n. An old form of alligator. B. Jon- alllgatorid (ali-ga-tor'id), n. One of the Al- against; beating; collision. [Bare.] 
. liaatoritlte. Islands . . . severed from it [the continent) by the bois- 
alllgatet (al i-gat), v. t. [_< L. alhgatus, pp. of Allieatoridse (al'i-ea-tor'i-del. a. vl. TNL < terous ;<> of the sea. Woodward, 
alhgare, 
The magnetical alliciencu of the earth. Sir T. Browne. fr ., m I J*P* PS^ northward. 2. Any ago- jj-Uj? 6 ' allineate, etc. See aline* 
allicient (a-lish'ent), a and , [< L alii- alffiatorirceps W^^^riffl^t(S8-K),.. [<L., 
cter>)s, ppr. of allicere, allure: see allect.] I. surgical forceps with short 'jaws, having teeth *. adlidere, pp. atlisus, adlisvs, s 
a. Enticing; attracting [Rare.] throughout their length, and one of them work- < <?, to, + Icedere, strike, hurt 
I '"' ThatWMC1attl ' aCS ' 
Cf. ally 1 , 
unite by some tie. 
Instincts alligated to their nature. 
Sir M. Hale, Orig. of Mankind, p. 375. 
God's waies are not as mans, neither is he bound to 
means, or alligated to number. 
R. Perrot, Jacob's Vowe (1627), App., p. 14. 
alligation (al-i-ga'shon), n. [< L. alligatio(n-), a 
binding to, a band, < "alligare : see alligate.] 1. 
The act of binding ; the state of being bound 
or united. [Rare.] 2. The name of several 
rules or processes in practical arithmetic (see 
below) for ascertaining the relations between 
the proportions and prices of the ingredients of 
a mixture and the cost of the mixture itself per 
unit of weight or volume. Also called the rule 
of mixtures Alligation alternate, an arithmetical 
process used in ascertaining the proportions of ingredients 
of given price which will produce a mixture of given cost. 
The proposition is indeterminate, and the rule of alliga- 
tion gives only particular solutions. Alligation me- 
dial, the operation by which the cost of a mixture is 
found when the prices and proportions of the ingredients 
are given. 
alligator (al'i-ga-tor), H. [A Latin-looking 
(NL.) adaptation of early mod. E. alligater, al- 
Kgarta, allga.no, alegarto, alagarto, also simply 
lagarto, < Sp. el lagarto, lit. the lizard : el, the, 
< L. ille, that ; lagarto, < L. lacertus, lizard: see 
lizard. The prop. Sp. name is caiman or la- 
garto de Indias; Pg. caimao. The E. form has 
given rise to NL., F., and Pg. alligator, and Sp. 
aligador.] 1. Any American member of the 
family Alligatorida; or the family Crocodilida;; 
an American crocodile ; a cayman ; a jacar6. 
An alligator stuffd, and other skins 
Of ill-shap'd fishes. Shak., R. and J., v. 1. 
alliterate (a-lit'e-rat), v. i. ; pret. and pp. allit- 
_, erated, ppr. alliterating. [<ML.*alliteratus,-pp. 
Crocodilida;, and with some authors forming only of "alliterare, < L. ad, to, + litera, littera, let- 
a subfamily (Alligatorina;) of the latter; by ter: see literate.] 1. To begin with the same 
most naturalists now judged to be distinct. The '"**"- "" " ' 
typical genus of the family is Alligator; other genera are 
Caiman and Jacare (which see). According to Huxley's 
i. Skull of Alligator. a. Skull of American Crocodile. 
( Drawn from specimens in Am. Museum of Nat. Hist., New York. ) 
the teeth very unequal, the flrst and fourth of the under 
jaw biting into pits in the upper jaw; the premaxillo- 
maxillary suture straight or convex forward ; the man- 
dibular symphysis not extending beyond the fifth tooth, 
the splenial element not entering into it ; and the cervi- 
cal scutes distinct from the tergal. The Crocodilida; have 
the head longer ; the teeth unequal ; the first maudibular 
tooth biting into a fossa, the fourth into a groove, at the 
side of the upper jaw ; the premaxillo-maxillary suture 
straight or convex backward ; the mandibular symphysis 
letter or sound, as two or more words in im- 
mediate or near succession; agree in initial 
letter or sound ; make an alliteration. 
The "h" in harp does not alliterate with the "h" in 
honored. S. Lanier, Sci. of Eng. Verse, p. 309. 
2. To use alliteration. 
The whole body of alliterating poeta. 
Encyc. Brit., VIII. 411. 
alliterate (a-lit'e-rat), n. [< alliterate, v., in 
allusion to literate, .] One given to the use 
of alliteration. [Rare.] 
Even the stereotyped similes of these fortunate alliter- 
ates [poets before Chaucer], like "weary as water in a 
weir" or "glad as grass is of the rain," are new, like na- 
ture, at the thousandth repetition. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 257. 
alliteration (a-lit-e-ra'shon), w. [= F. allitera- 
tion, < ML. alliteratio(n-), < * 'alliterare : see allit- 
erate, .] The repetition of the same letter or 
sound at the beginning of two or more words 
in close or immediate succession; the recur- 
rence of the same initial sound in the first ac- 
cented syllables of words; initial rime: as, 
many wen, >any winds. 
jipt alliteration's artful aid. 
Churchill, Prophecy of Famine, 1. 283. 
Puffs, jjowders, patches, Mbles, Wllet-doux. 
Pope, E. of the L., i. 138. 
Verse in which alliteration is essential, and other rime 
ornamental, is the prevailing form in Anglo-Saxon, Ice- 
landic, Old Saxon. Specimens are found in Old High Ger- 
man. Alliteration in these languages even ran into prose. 
F. A. March, A.-S. Gram., 606. 
Though the word alliteration seems to have been in- 
not extending beyond the eighth tooth, and not involving 
2. leap.] [NL.] More specifically, a genus of 'I 16 s Pliial elements ; the cervical scutes sometimes dis- vented by Pontanus in the fifteenth "century,' tiie Romans 
large lizard-like or saurian reptiles the tvoe of Jl 110 ,* ' m Sf ter s al > sometimes united with them. All were certainly aware that the device was in use among 
fha fomilv 477.V././S,..; ju. ~,.,X^r the living Atttgatondae are confined to America. The Cm- " 
the tamily Alhgatoridce, order Crocodiha, for- codilidce were supposed to be confined to the old world 
merly tamily Crocodilida;, order Sauria. See Al- until the recent discovery of a true crocodile in America. 
ligatorida;, Crocodilida;. The tvne of the aenus in A In S encral appearance and economy the members of the 
two families are sufficiently similar to be confounded in 
popular language. Both families belong to the section of 
the order Crocodilia in which the nasal bones enter into 
the formation of the narial aperture, the contrary being 
the case in the section which includes the Gangetic croco- 
,1:1 gavial, Gavialis gannetieus. 
luciuii or A. mtisissippiensis of the United States. The 
genus formerly included the cayman and the jacare which 
have been made types of the two genera Caiman and 
Jacare (which see). A true American crocodile, Croco- 
dilus americamu, long overlooked or confounded with 
the alligator, has lately been found in Florida and the 
- ., ..- , re ., ,u..u ... *,o,.ua a,,u uie , 
West Indies. The alligators differ from the true croco- alligator-pear (al'i-ga-tor-par), n. The fruit 
diles in having a shorter and flatter head, cavities or pits of the Persea gratissima of the West Indies, re- 
themselves. Trans. Amer. Philol. Ass., XV. 59. 
Alliteration was a characteristic of old Teutonic poetry 
(Anglo-Saxon and Middle English, Old Saxon, Icelandic, 
etc.), terminal rime, as a regular feature, being of later 
(Romance) introduction. The lines were divided into two 
sections, the first having regularly two alliterating syl- 
lables, the second one ; but by license or mere accident 
four or more alliterating syllables might occur, as in the 
last line of the extract from Piers Plowman. The alliter- 
ating syllable was always accented, and was not neces- 
sarily initial, as written; it might follow an unaccented 
prefix, as ar-raye in the extract. The vowels, being all 
