ament 
axils of scales or bracts ranged along a stalk 
or axis ; a catkin. The true ament or catkin is artic- 
ulated with the branch and is deciduous ; it is well seen 
in the inflorescence of the birch, willow, and poplar, and 
in the staminate inflorescence of the oak, walnut, and 
hazel. Also written amentum. 
amenta, n. Plural of amentum. 
Amentaceae (am-en-ta'se-e), n. pi. [NL., < L. 
amentum: see ament and -acece."] A general 
term for plants whose flowers are arranged in 
an ament or catkin, formerly considered, under 
various limitations, as forming a natural group, 
but separated by later botanists into several dif- 
ferent orders, as Cupuliferce, Salicacece, Plata- 
nacece, Myricaccce, etc. 
amentaceous (am-en-ta'shius), a. [< NL. amen- 
taceus : see ament and -aceous.] In hot. : (a) 
Consisting of or resembling an ament : as, an 
amentaceous inflorescence. (6) Bearing aments : 
as, amentaceous plants. 
aniental (a-men'tal), a. [< ament + -a/.] Per- 
taining to or having aments or catkins. 
amentia (a-men'shia). . [L.. want of reason, 
< amen(t-)s, out of one's mind, < a for ab, from, + 
men(t-)s, mind: see mental. Cf. dementia.'] Im- 
becility of mind; idiocy or dotage. Formerly 
sometimes called amenty. 
amentiferous (am-en-tif'e-rus), a. [< L. amen- 
tum (see ament) + J'erre = E. Sear 1 .] Bearing 
catkins. N. E. D. 
amentiform (a-men'ti-form), a. [< L. amen- 
tum (see ament) + forma, form.] In the form 
of an ament or catkin. 
amentum (a-men'tum), .; pi. amenta (-ta). 
[L. : see ament.'} 1. Same as ament. 2. jn- 
ciently, a strap secured to the shaft of a javelin, 
to aid the thrower in giving it force and aim. 
amentyt (a-men'ti), n. See amentia. 
amenuset, v. The earlier form of aminish. 
amerce (a-mers'), v. t.; pret. and pp. amerced, 
ppr. amercing. [< ME. amcrcen, amercien, < AF. 
amercier, fine, mulct, first as pp. in the phrase 
cstre amercie, which is due to the earlier phrase 
cstre a merci, be at the mercy of, i. e., as to 
the amount of the fine: see mercy.'] 1. To 
punish by an arbitrary or discretionary fine : 
as, the court amerced the defendant in the sum 
of $100. 
But I'll amerce you with so strong a fine, 
That you shall all repent the loss of mine. 
Shak., R. and i., iii. 1. 
2. To punish by inflicting a penalty of any 
kind, as by depriving of some right or privilege, 
or entailing some loss upon. 
Millions of spirits for his fault amerced 
Of heaven. Milton, P. L., i. 009. 
.Shall be by him aniearat with penance dew. 
Spenser, Sonnets, Ixx. 
amerceable (a-mer'sa-bl), a. [< amerce + -able.] 
Liable to amercement. Also written amercia- 
lle. 
amercement (a-mers'ment), n. [< ME. amerce- 
ment, amersement, amerciment, < AF. amerci- 
ment, amerchiemcnt (> ML. amerciamentum, >E. 
amerciament), < amercier, amerce : see amerce.] 
1. The act of amercing, or the state of being 
amerced. 2. In law, a pecuniary penalty in- 
flicted on an offender at the discretion of the 
court. It differs from ajine, in that the latter is, or was 
originally, a fixed and certain sum prescribed by statute 
for an offense, while an amercement is arbitrary. The 
fixing or assessment of the amount of an amercement 
is called a/eerment. 
They likewise laid amercements of seventy, fifty, or 
thirty pounds of tobacco, as the cause was, on every law 
case throughout the country. Beverley, Virginia, i. U 93. 
[He] mute in misery, eyed my masters here 
Motionless till the authoritative word 
Pronounced amercement. 
Ermming, King and Book, I. 285. 
Also written amerciament. 
Amercement royal, in Great Britain, a penalty imposed 
on an officer for a misdemeanor in his office. 
amercer (a-mer'ser), n. One who amerces. 
amerciable (a-mer'si-a-bl), a. Same as amerce- 
able. 
amerciament (a-mer'si-a-ment), n. Same as 
amercement. 
American (a-mer'i-kan), a. and n. [= F. 
Americain ='Sp. Pg. \i" Americano D. Ameri- 
Jcaan, n., Amerikaansch, a., = G. Amerikaner, n., 
Amerikanisch,a,., = Dan. Amerikaner, n., Ameri- 
Icansk, a., = Sw. Amerikan, n., Amerikamk, a., 
< NL. Americanus, < America, so named from 
Americus Vesputius, Latinized form of Amerigo 
VesDueci.] I. a. 1. Pertaining to the western 
hemisphere ; belonging to or situated in either 
North or South America : as, the Amazon and 
other American rivers. 2. tri a more restricted 
sense, pertaining to the United States : as, an 
174 
American citizen American alcornoque, leather, 
Organ, etc. See the nouns. American aloe. See Agave. 
American bowls, same as ninfirint. American In- 
dians. See Indian. American party, in U. s. hist., a 
political party which came into prominence in 1853. Its 
fundamental principle was that the government of the 
country should be in the hands of native citizens. At first 
it was organized as a secret, oath-bound fraternity; and 
from their professions of ignorance in regard to it, its 
members received the name of Know-nothings. Ignor- 
ing the slavery question, it gained control of the govern- 
ments of several Northern and Southern States in 1854 and 
1855, and nominated a presidential ticket in 1856; but it 
disappeared about 1859, its Northern adherents becoming 
Republicans, while most of its Southern members joined 
the short-lived Constitutional Union party. An antima- 
sonic party of the same name appeared in 1875, but gained 
very few votes. See Native American party, below. 
It appeared in this, as in most other Free States, that 
the decline or dissolution of the American, or Fillmore, 
party inured mainly to the benefit of the triumphant 
Democracy. //. Greeley, Amer. Conflict, I. 300. 
American plan, the method of hotel management com- 
mon in the United States, which is based upon the pay- 
ment by gueste of a fixed sum per diem covering all ordi- 
nary charges for room, food, and attendance. See Euro- 
pean plan, under European. American system, a name 
originally used for the principle of protection by means 
of high tariff duties in the United States, as intended to 
countervail the unfavorable commercial regulations of 
European countries, or to promote American as against 
European interests. Native American party, in U. S. 
hurt., an organization based on hostility to the participa- 
tion of foreign immigrants in American politics, and to 
the Roman Catholic Church, formed about 1842. In 1844 
it carried the city elections of New York and Philadel- 
phia, and elected a number of Congressmen. It gained 
no further successes, and disappeared within a few years, 
after occasioning destructive riots against Roman Cath- 
olics in Philadelphia and other places. 
U. n. A native or an inhabitant of the western 
hemisphere, or, specifically, of North America : 
originally applied to the aboriginal races dis- 
covered by the Europeans, but now to the de- 
scendants of Europeans born in America, and, 
in the most restricted or popular sense, to the 
citizens of the United States. 
Americanism (a-mer'i-kan-izm), n. [< Ameri- 
can + -ism.] l! Devotion to or preference for 
the United States and their institutions ; prefer- 
ence for whatever is American in this sense ; 
the exhibition of such preference. 2. The con- 
dition of being a citizen of the United States. 
Great-grandfathers of those living Americans, whose 
Americanism did not begin within the last half century. 
The Century, XXVII. 678. 
3. A custom, trait, or thing peculiar to Amer- 
ica or Americans; in general, any distinctive 
characteristic of American life, thought, litera- 
ture, etc. 
I hate this shallow Americanism which hopes to get 
rich by credit, to get knowledge by raps on midnight 
tables, to learn the economy of the mind by phrenology, 
or skill without study. Emerson, Success. 
4. A word, a phrase, or an idiom of the Eng- 
lish language which is now peculiar to or has 
originated in the United States. 
Many so-called Americanixm* are good old English. 
Da vies, Sup. Eng. Gloss. 
Americanist (a-mer'i-kan-ist), n. [< American 
+ -ist; = F. Americaniste = Sp. Pg. America- 
nista.] One devoted to the study of subjects 
specially relating to America. 
As distinguished from an American, an Americanist is 
a person of any nation who prominently interests himself 
in the study of subjects relating to America. 
The American, VII. 6. 
Americanization (a-mer"i-kan-i-za'shon), n. 
[< Americanize + -ation.] Tfie act or process 
of Americanizing, or of being Americanized. 
It has come to be the custom to characterize as an 
Americanization the dreaded overgrowth and permeation 
by realism of European civilization, and the rapidly grow- 
ing preponderance of manufacturing industry. 
Pop. Set. Mo., XIII. 395. 
Americanize (a-mer'i-kan-lz), v. t. ; pret. and 
pp. Americanized, ppr. Americanizing. [< Ameri- 
can + -ize.] 1. To render American in char- 
acter; assimilate to the customs and institu- 
tions of the United States. 
It is notorious that, in the United States, the descen- 
dants of the immigrant Irish lose their Celtic aspect, and 
become Americanized. H. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., 82. 
The line of argument has been adopted by the right 
honourable gentleman opposite with regard to what he 
terms americanizing the institutions of the country. 
Gladstone. 
2. To naturalize in the United States. [Bare.] 
Americomania (a-mer'i-ko-ma'ni-a), n. [< 
America + mania.] A craze for whatever is 
American. [Bare.] 
Their Americomania, he seems to consider a criminal 
heresy. Monthly Rev., XXVII. 527. (N. E. D.) 
ameristic (am-e-ris'tik), a. [< Or. d- priv. + 
//.-/Mordf, divided, divisible, verbal adj. of /tepi- 
fctv, divide, < pipoc., a part.] In zool., not di- 
ametrometer 
vided into parts ; uusegmented : distinguished 
both from ettmeristic and dysmeristic: as, "am- 
eristic flukes," E. E. LanJccster, Encyc. Brit., 
XII. 555. 
amest, n. Same as amice. 
ames-acet, See ambes-ace. 
amesst, " Same as amice. 
Ametabola (am-e-tab'6-la), n. pi. [NL., < Gr. 
d/ierd/3o/lof, unchangeable : see ametabolous.] In 
zool., insects which do not undergo metamor- 
phosis. In Macleay's system of classification, a term 
borrowed from W. E. Leach to designate a subclass of In- 
ttecta by which the myriapodous, thysanurous, and anoplu- 
rous "insects" should be collectively contrasted with the 
true insects, which undergo metamorphosis. Myriapods 
being excluded from the class Jmecta, and lice being lo- 
cated with insects that are not thoroughly ametabolous, 
Ametabola is by some authors restricted to the collem- 
bolous and thysanurous insect*. The term is correlated 
with Hemimetabola and with Metabola. 
M'Leay has formed them [Myriapoda] into two orders, 
Chilopoda and Chilognatha, raising them, together with 
the two other orders, Thysanura and Anoplura (or Para- 
sita, Latr.), and certain annulated vermes, into a distinct 
class, to which he applied the name of Ametabola, which 
Leach had proposed only for the spring-tailed insects and 
lice. J. 0. Wettwood, in Cuvier's Regne Animal (trans.), 
(1849, p. 483. 
ametabolian (a-met-a-bo'li-an), a. and . I. 
a. In coiil., relating or pertaining to the Ame- 
tabola. 
II. n. One of the Ametabola. 
ametabolic (a-met-a-bol'ik), a. [< Or. auerd- 
jioAof, unchangeable (see ametabolous) ; or < a- 18 
+ metabolic.'] Not subject to metamorphosis. 
Applied to those insects, such as lice, which do not pos- 
sess wings when perfect, and which do not, therefore, pass 
through any well-marked metamorphosis. 
ametabolous (am-e-tab'o-lus), a. [< Gr. a/te- 
rd/3o?.of, unchangeable, < a- priv. + //Era/3<Uof, 
changeable: see Metabola.] Ametabolic ; not 
subject to metamorphosis. 
In the series of ametabolous insects there are some with 
masticatory, others with suctorial, mouths. 
Huxley, Anat. Invert., p. 365. 
ametallous (a-met'al-us), a. [< Gr. a- priv. + 
HfraAAov, mine (taken as 'metal': see metal), 
+ -ous.] Non-metallic. JV. E. D. [Rare.] 
amethodical (am-e-thod'i-kal), a. [< Gr. d- 
priv. (a-!8) + methodical, q. v. Cf. Gr. a/if- 
rodof, without method.] Unmethodical; irreg- 
ular: without order. Bailey. [Rare.] 
amethodistt (a-meth'o-dist), n. [<Gr. d-priv. 
(a-!8) + metnodist, q.'v. ; or directly < Gr. aui- 
SoSof, without method (< a- priv. + //0ooof, 
method), + -ist.] One, especially a physician, 
who follows no regular method; a quack: as, 
"empiricall amethodists," Whitlock, Manners of 
English, p. 89. 
amethyst (am'e-thist), n. [Early mod. E. ame- 
thist, amitist, amatist (also amates, amatites), < 
ME. amatist, ametist, -iste, < OF. amatiste, ame- 
tiste, mod. F. amethyste = Pr. ametnysta = Sp. 
amatista, ametista, -to = Pg. amethysta, ame- 
tista, -to = It. amatista = D. ametist, -thist, -thyst 
= G. amethyst = Sw. ametist = Dan. ametyst, < 
L. amethystus, < Gr. afteOvaros, the precious 
stone amethyst, also the name of a plant, both 
so called because supposed to be remedial 
against drunkenness, < autOvoroc, adj. , not drunk- 
en, < a- priv. + *ue6vaT6f, verbal adj. of p.cOi.<eiv, 
be drunken, < ftSe, strong drink, = E. mead 1 , q. 
v.] 1. Aviolet-blue orpurple variety of quartz, 
the color being perhaps due to the presence of 
peroxid of iron. It generally occurs crystallized in 
six-sided prisms or pyramids ; also in rolled fragments, 
composed of imperfect prismatic crystals. Its fracture is 
conchoidal or splintery. It is wrought into various articles 
of jewelry. The finest amethysts come from India, Ceylon, 
and Brazil. 
2. In her., the color purple when described in 
blazoning a nobleman's escutcheon. See tinc- 
ture. 3. The name of a humming-bird, Calli- 
phtox amethystina Oriental amethyst, a rare vio- 
let-colored gem, a variety of alumina or corundum, of ex- 
traordinary brilliancy and beauty ; amethystine sapphire. 
amethystine (am- e- this 'tin), a. [< L. ame- 
tltystinus, < Gr. a/iEfK'arivof, < apiffoaTot;, ame- 
thyst: see amethyst.] 1. Pertaining to or re- 
sembling amethyst; of the color of amethyst; 
purple ; violet. Anciently applied to a garment of the 
color of amethyst, as distinguished from the Tyrian and 
hyacinthine purple. 
Trembling water-drops, 
That glimmer with an ainethustine light. 
Bryant, Winter Piece. 
2. Composed of amethyst: as, an amethystine 
cup. 
ametrometer (am-e-trom'e-ter), n. [< Gr. 
aficrpof, irregular (< d-priv. + /itrpov, measure), 
+ ficrpav, measure.] An instrument used in 
the diagnosis of ametropia, consisting of two 
lamps arranged upon a bar, and capable of 
