the Vatican- 1 
from a private col- 
lection. 
Amulets of va- 
amuck 
amuck. () To rush about frantically, attacking all who 
come in the way. Hee extract. 
In Malabar the persons of Rajas were sacred. . . . To 
shed the blood of a Raja was regarded as a heinous sin. 
and would be followed by a terrible revenge. ... If the 
Zamorin [emperor of Calicut] was killed, his subjects 
devoted three days to revenge ; they ran mn<'l, as it was 
called, killing all they met until they were killed them- 
selves. If the Raja of Cochin were killed, his subjects rnn 
amok for the rest of their lives. 
J. T. Wheeler, Short Hist. India, p. 1-20. 
Hence (&) To proceed in a blind, headstrong manner, 
careless of consequences, which are most likely to he dis- 
astrous. 
Satire's my weapon, but I'm too discreet 
To run a-muck, and tilt at all I meet. 
I'n/if, Im. of Horace, Sat. i. 69. 
[Sometimes written in two words, and treated as a noun 
with the indefinite article. 
And runs an Indian muck at all he meets. 
Dryden, Hind and Panther, iii. 1188.] 
amula (am'u-la), n. ', pi. amulas, amulce (-laz, 
-le). [ML., dim. of L. ama: see ama.] Same 
as ampulla, 2 (a). 
The archdeacon who follows taking their amulas of 
wine and pouring them into a larger vessel. 
Encyc. Brit., XVI. 609. 
amule (am'ul), n. Same as amyl?. 
amulet (am'u-let), n. [Formerly also amulette, 
late ME. amalette, amlette, < F. amulette = Sp. 
Pg. It. amuleto = D. G. Dan. Sw. 
amulet = Russ. amuletii, etc., < L. 
amuletum (in Pliny), a word of un- 
known origin.] Some object su- 
perstitiously worn as a remedy 
for or preservative against dis- 
ease, bad luck, accidents, witch- 
craft, etc. Amulets have been used 
from ancient times, and are still worn 
in many parts of the world. They con- 
sist of certain stones, or plants, or of 
bits of metal, parchment, or paper, with 
or without mystic characters or words. 
The gospels and saints' relics have been 
used in this way. The Mohammedans 
use diminutive copies of the Koran hung 
around the neck. From the heathen 
and the Jews the custom passed into 
the primitive Christian church, where it 
was long maintained in spite of the de- 
crees of ecclesiastical councils and the 
protests of the more intelligent clergy. 
rious forms have been found in the catacombs, many of 
them inscribed with the word ichthys, fish, because this 
represented the initials of the Greek words for Jesus 
Christ, Son of God, Saviour. (See ichthys.) They were sus- 
pended from the neck or affixed to some part of the body. 
See phylactery, 3. =Syn. Amulet, Talisman. An amulet 
is supposed to exert a constant protecting power, ward- 
ing off evil ; a talisman, to produce under special condi- 
tions desired results for the owner. 
amuletict (am-u-let'ik), a. [< amulet + -4c.] 
Pertaining to or possessing the virtues of an 
amulet: as, amuletic medicines. 
ainun (am'un), n. [Hind, and Beng. aman, 
amun, winter rice, sown in July and August, 
and reaped in December.] Same as aghanee. 
amurcosityt (am-er-kos'i-ti), n. [< amurcous : 
see-osity.] The quality of being amurcous. Ash. 
amurcoust (a-mer'kus),a. [< L. amurca, another 
form of amurga, < Gr. au6pyr/, usually a/i6pyn^, 
the watery part that runs out when olives are 
pressed, < ajiipynv, press, squeeze, prob. akin to 
ajifkyuv, milk, = E. milk, q. v.] Full of dregs 
or lees ; foul. Ash. 
amusable (a-mu'za-bl), a. [< F. amusalle : see 
amuse and -able.] Capable of being amused. 
Trying to amuse a man who was not amusable. 
Mrs. Oaikell, Sylvia's Lovers, v. 
He was otherwise not a very (unusable person, and off 
his own ground he was not conversable. 
Homlls, A Modern Instance, xxii. 
amuse (a-muz'), . ; pret. and pp. amused, ppr. 
amusing. [Early mod. E. also amuze, ammuse, 
ammuze; < F. amuser, < a- (L. ad, to) + OF. 
muser, stare, gaze fixedly, > E. mw.se 2 , q. v.] 
1. trans. If. To cause to muse ; absorb or en- 
gage in meditation ; occupy or engage wholly ; 
bewilder; puzzle. 
People stood amused between these two forms of ser- 
vice. Fuller. 
Amuse not thyself about the riddles of future things. 
Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., iii. 13. 
2. To keep in expectation, as by flattery, plau- 
sible pretenses, and the like ; delude ; keep in 
play. 
He amuxed his followers with idle promises. Johnson, 
Bishop Henry . . . amused her with dubious answers, 
and kept her in suspense for some days. 
Surtft, King Stephen. 
3. To fix the attention of agreeably; engage 
the fancy of ; cause to feel cheerful or merry ; 
entertain; divert: as, to tvumxe an audience 
with anecdotes or tricks, or children with toys. 
A group of mountaineer children amusing themselves 
with pushing stones from the top. 
H'. Gilpin, Tour of the Lakes. 
189 
It would be arnvmng to make a digest of the irrational 
laws which bad critics have framed for the government 
of poets. M'li'iti'l'tii. Mnnre's I'.ynm. 
While the nation groaned under oppression . . . [Tem- 
ple] itiHtixi'd himself by writing memoirs and tying up 
apricots. Macaulay, Sir William Temple. 
= Syn. 3. AIHIIXI', Diivrt, Knti'i-tiiiit, tt>'<iuih'. occupy, 
please, enliven. Amuse may imply merely the prevention 
of the tedium of idleness or emptiness of mind : as, I can 
iiiuiixt' myself by looking out at the window; or it may 
suggest a stronger interest : as, I was greatly amuned by 
their tricks. Din'ft is to turn the attention aside, and (in 
the use considered here) to something light or mirthful. 
Entertain is to engage and sustain the attention by some- 
thing of a pleasing and perhaps instructive character, as 
conversation; hence the general name rntrrtainmrnt for 
lectures, exhibitions, etc., designed to interest in this way. 
"Whatever anni>n>x serves to kill time, to lull the faculties 
and banish reflection ; it may be solitary, sedentary, and 
lifeless: whatever diverts causes mirth and provokes 
laughter ; it will be active, lively, and tumultuous : what- 
ever entertains acts on the senses and awakens the under- 
standing ; it must be rational and is mostly social. " Crabb. 
BcfiitUe is, figuratively, to cheat one out of weariness, of 
dull time, etc. The word is as often thus applied to the 
thing as to the person : as, to beguile- a weary hour ; to be- 
guile one of his cares. 
I am careful ... to amuse you by the account of all I 
see. Lady Montagu, Letters, I. 110. (N. E. D.) 
The stage its ancient fury thus let fall, 
And comedy diverted without gall. 
Dryden, Art of Poetry, iii. 777. 
There is so much virtue in eight volumes of Spectators 
. . . that they are not improper to lie in parlours or sum- 
mer-houses, to entertain our thoughts in any moments of 
leisure. Watts. 
The reason of idleness and of crime is the deferring of 
our hopes. Whilst we are waiting, we beguile the time 
with jokes, with sleep, with eating, and with crimes. 
Emerson, Nominalist and Realist. 
Il.t intrant. To muse ; meditate. 
Or in some pathless wilderness amusing, 
Plucking the mossy bark of some old tree. 
Lee, Lucius Junius Brutus. 
amusee (a-mu-ze'), n. [< amuse + -eel.] The 
person amused. Cartyle. [Bare.] 
amusement (a-muz'ment), . [< F. amusement : 
see amuse and -ment.~\ If. Absorbing thought ; 
meditation; musing; reverie. 
Here I ... fell into a strong and deep amusement, re- 
volving in my mind, with great perplexity, the amazing 
change of our affairs. Bp. Fleetwood, Pref. to Lay Baptism. 
2. The state of being amused; mental enjoy- 
ment or diversion; moderate mirth or merri- 
ment due to an external cause. 
Among the means towards a higher civilization, I un- 
hesitatingly assert that the deliberate cultivation of pub- 
lic amusement is a principal one. 
Jevons, Social Reform, p. 7. 
3. That which amuses, detains, or engages the 
mind; pastime; entertainment: as, to provide 
children with amusements. 
During his confinement, his amutfemfnt was to give poi- 
son to cats and dogs, and see them expire by slower or 
quicker torments. Pope. 
= Syn. 3. Entertainment, Diversion, etc. (see pastime), 
sport. 
amuser (a-mu'zer), n. One who amuses; one 
who provides diversion. 
amusette (am-u-zef ), n. [F. (dim. of 'amuse), a 
light gun, a toy, amusement, < amuser, amuse.] 
A light field-cannon, invented by Marshal Saxe, 
designed for outpost service. Larousse. 
amusingly (a-mu'zing-li), adv. In an amusing 
manner. 
amusive (a-mu'ziv), a. [< amuse + -we.] Hav- 
ing power to amuse or entertain the mind; af- 
fording amusement or entertainment. [Bare.] 
A grave proficient in amusive feats 
Of puppetry. Wordsieorth, Excursion, v. 
amusively (a-mu'ziv-li), adv. In an amusive 
manner. 
amusiyeness (a-mu'ziv-nes), n. The quality 
of being amusive, or of being fitted to afford 
amusement. 
amyt, n. [< ME. amy. ami, < OF. (and mod. F.) 
ami, m., amie, f., < L. amicus, m., arnica, f., a 
friend: see amiable, amor. So the fern, per- 
sonal name Amy, which is, however, partly 
(. F. Aimee, < L. amata, fern, of amatus, beloved, 
pp. of amare, love.] A friend. 
"Thou bel amy, thou pardoner," he seyde. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Pardoner's Tale, 1. 32. 
Amyclaean (am-i-kle'an), a. [< L. Amyclasus, Gr. 
'A/n/laZof, < L. Amyclce, Gr. 'AuitKAai.] Of or per- 
taining to Amyclffi, an ancient town of Laconia, 
Greece, or to a town of the same name in La- 
tium, or to the inhabitants of either. According 
to one tradition the inhabitants of the former city, or ac- 
cording to another those of the latter, were so frequently 
alarmed by false rumors of invasion that a law was made 
prohibiting all mention of the subject. The result was 
that when the invasion came no alarm was given, and the 
city was taken; hence the phrase Amyelcean silence. 
Amyclaean brothers, Castor and Pollux, twin sons of 
/CHS and I.eda, born, according to one form of the legend, 
at Amyelu! in Laconia. 
amygdaloid 
amyctic (a-mik'tik), a. [< Gr. AutwrunSf, lacer- 
ating, < a/ii<aae/v, lacerate, scratch, tear.] Ex- 
coriating; irritating. .V. E. I). 
amyelencephalic (a-mi^e-len-se-farik or -sef- 
a-lik), (i. Same as amyelenfepkalotu. 
aiuyelencephalous (a-mi"e-len-sef'a-lus), a. 
[< NL. a>iii/<li>icii>/i,tlnx, without sp'inal cord 
and brain, < Gr. a/tiie/tof, without marrow, + 
iyK0a/.of, brain: see o-l 8 and myelenceplialmi.] 
In teratol. , having neither brain nor spinal cord ; 
wanting the myplencephalon. 
amyeli, . Plural of amyelus. 
amyelia (am-5-el'ia), n. [NL., < Gr. apvefof: 
see amyelous.] Congenital absence of the spi- 
nal cord. 
amyelotrophy (a-mi-e-lot'ro-fi), . [< Gr. 
afiiietof, marrowless (see amyelous), + -Tpotyia, 
< rptyetv, nourish.] Atrophy of the spinal cord. 
amyelous (a-mi'e-lus), a. [< NL. amyelus, < 
Gr. afive^of, marrowless, < a- priv. + uveMc,, 
maiTow: see myelon."] Without spinal mar- 
row : in teratol., applied to a fetus which lacks 
the spinal cord. 
amyelus (a-mi'e-lus), H. ; pi. amyeli (-11). [NL. : 
see amyelous.] In teratol., a monster charac- 
terized by the absence of the spinal cord. 
amyencephalous (a-ml-en-sef 'a-lus), a. A con- 
traction of amyelenceplialous. 
amygdalt (a-mig'dal), n. [< ME. amygdel, AS. 
amygdal, an almond, < L. amygdala : see amyg- 
dala.] 1. An almond. 2. A tonsil. 
amygdala (a-mig'da-lii), n. ; pi. amygdala; (-le). 
[L., an almond ; ML. and NL., a tonsil : see al- 
mond.] 1. An almond. 2. A tonsil. 3. A 
small rounded lobule of the cerebellum on its 
under side. 4. A small mass of gray matter in 
front of the end of the descending cornu of the 
lateral ventricle of the brain. Also called the 
amygdaloid nucleus. 5. [cap.] In zoiil. : (a) 
A genus of echinoderms. (6) A genus of mol- 
lusks. 
amygdalaceous (a-mig-da-la'shius), a. [< L. 
amygdalaceus, similar to the almond-tree, < 
amygdala, almond : see almond.] Akin to the 
almond: as, a mygdalaceous plants. 
amygdalae, . Plural of amygdala. 
amygdalate (a-mig'da-lat), a. and n. [< L. 
amygdala, almond, + -ate 1 .] I. a. Pertaining 
to, resembling, or made of almonds. 
II. re. 1. An emulsion made of almonds; 
milk of almonds. 2. A salt of amygdalic acid. 
amygdalic (am-ig-dal'ik), a. [< L. amygdala, 
almond, + -ic. ] Derived from almonds Amyg- 
dalic acid, an acid (C 2 oH26i2) obtained from bitter al- 
monds. 
amygdaliferous (a-mig-da-lif'e-nis), a. [< L. 
amygdala, almond, + ferre = E. feeorl.] Pro- 
ducing almonds ; almond-bearing: sometimes 
used as nearly synonymous with amygdaloidal, 
that is, of a rock containing amygdules. 
amygdalin (a-mig'da-lin), . [< L. amygdala, 
almond, + -j2.] A crystalline principle (C 2 o 
H 2 7NO]i + 3H 2 O) existing in bitter almonds, 
and in the leaves, etc., of species of the genus 
Prunus and of some of its near allies. It was the 
earliest known of the numerous glucoside bodies existing 
in plants. Its aqueous solution, mixed with emulsin, is de- 
composed, yielding hydrocyanic acid and bitter-almond oil. 
amygdaline (a-mig'da-lin), a. [< L. amygda- 
lintis, <Gr. a/aryda).ivo<;, < afivyia).t!, almond: see 
almond.] 1. Pertaining to or resembling the 
almond. 2. Pertaining to the amygdala of the 
brain. 
amygdalitis (a-mig-da-lTtis), n. [NL., < ML. 
amygdala, tonsil (see amygdala, 2), + -itis.] In- 
flammation of the tonsils. 
amygdaloid (a-mig'da-loid), a. and H. [< Gr. 
almond (see almond), + fWof, form.] 
I. a. 1. Al- 
mond-shaped. 
2. Pertaining 
to or resem- 
bling amygda- 
loid. 3. Per- 
taining to the 
amygdalae; ton- 
silar. Amygda- 
loid nucleus. 
See amygdala, 4. 
Amygdaloid tu- 
An Amygdaloid (Diabase) with calcite bercle, a promi- 
nodules or amygdules. nence in the roof 
of the terminal por- 
tion of the descending cornu of the lateral ventricle of the 
brain, formed by the amygdaloid nucleus. 
II. . The name given by geologists to igne- 
ous rocks or lavas of various composition, of 
which the most obvious external feature is 
that they have an amygdaloidal structure. (See 
amygdaloidal.) The basalts are the rocks which are 
