A M A 
and longer than it; bending in at the end ; two of them 
fliorter; aptheroe oval, incumbent. Piftillum : germ o- 
vate ; ftyle in the fituation and form of the ftamens ; ftig-, 
mas two, fharp. Seeds: an ovate, one-celled nut, of 
the fame length with the c^\\x.—F.Jfential Charadcr. Co¬ 
rolla : tubulous; limb fmall, quinquefid; nut ovate, 
one-celled. 
This is a native of Surinam. The ftem is three feet 
in height. The flowers in a fimple terminal raceme, a 
foot long, with about three flowers on a pedicle. Braftes 
ovate, feflile, a little longer than the flowers, which are 
yellow, nodding, and grow all on one fide of the ftalk. 
AMAS'TRl'S, or Amastro, a feaport of Aratolia, 
but its two harbours have been long ago choaked up with 
fand, and there now remains little of its ancient fplendour, 
except fome ruins. 
AMA'TA, the wife of King Latinus. She had be¬ 
trothed her daughter Lavinia to Turnus, before the ar¬ 
rival of Alneas in Italy. She zealoufly favoured the in- 
tereft of Turnus, and, when her daughter was given to 
ZEneas, flte hung hcrfelf. 
To AMA'TE, v. a. [froma and mate.'] Toaccompany; 
to entertain as a companion. It is now obfolete : 
A lovely bevy of fair ladies fate, 
Courted of many a jolly paramour, 
The which did them in modeft wife amate, 
And each one fought his lady to aggrate. Fairy Queen. 
To terrify; to ftrike with horror. In this fenfe, it is de¬ 
rived from the old French word matter, to crulh or fubdue. 
AMA'THIA, one of the fifty Nereids, according to 
Homer. 
AMA'THUS, a very ancient town in the fouth of Cy¬ 
prus-. fo called from Amathus the founder ; or, according 
to others, from Amath, a Phoenician town facred to Ve¬ 
nus, with a very ancient temple of Adonis and Venus: 
and lienee Venus is denominated Amathufia. According 
to Ovid, it was a place rich in copper-ore, and where the 
inhabitants became Cerafoe, or horned. Now called Limijfo. 
Amathus, anciently a town of the tribe of Gad, be¬ 
yond Jordan; but whether at a greater or lefs diftance 
from it, is not fo eafy to determine. Eufebius places it 
in the Lower Peraea ; Reland, in Ramoth-Gilead. Ga- 
binius, proconful of Syria, eftablifhed five juridical con¬ 
ventions in Judea ; two of which were on the other fide 
Jordan; one at Gadara, the other at Amathus. 
AMATHU'SIA, a furname of Venus, taken from a 
city in the ifland of Cyprus, particularly dedicated to her. 
AMATO'RCULIST, f. \_amatorculus, Lat.] A little 
inlignificant lover ; a pretender to affeftion. 
AMATO'RII MuscuLi, in anatomy, a term fome- 
times ufed for the obliquus fuperior and obliquus inferior 
mufcles of the eye, as thefe mufcles aflift in ogling or 
drawing the eye fideways. 
A'MATORY, adj. \_amatorius, Lat.] Relating to love ; 
caufing love.—It is the fame thing whether one ravifli 
Lucretia by force, as Tarquin, or by amatory potions 
not only allure, but neceflitate, her to fatisfy his luff, and 
incline her effectually, and draw her inevitably, to follow 
him fpontaneoufly. Bramham. 
AMATRI'CE, a city of the kingdom of Naples, in the 
farther Abruzzo, upon the confines of the pope’s terri¬ 
tories, and the marquifate of Ancona. 
AMAURO'SIS,/ [ap.avgyc-ij, q. d. darknefs, Gr.J a 
deprivation of fight, the eye remaining fair and feemingly 
unaffefted. See Medicine. 
To AMA'ZE, v. a. [from a and maze, perplexity.] 
To confufe with terror. To put into confufion with won¬ 
der. To put into perplexity : 
Go, heav’nly pair, and with your dazzling.virtues, 
Your courage, truth, your innocence and love, 
Amaze and charm mankind. Smith. 
Amaze,/ [from the verb amaze."] Aftonifhment; con¬ 
fufion, either of fear or wonder. 
Vol. L No. 45. 
A M A 3.93 
AMA 2 EDLY, adv. [from amazed.) Confufedly; with 
amazement ; with confufion : 
-Stands Macbeth thus aniazcdly ? 
Come, filters, cheer we up his fprights. Shakefpeare. 
AMA'ZEDNESS, f [from amazed.'} The flate cf be¬ 
ing amazed; aftonifhment; wonder; confufion.— I was 
by at the opening of the farthel, heard the old ffcephcrd 
deliver the manner^how he found it; whereupon, after .1 
little amazednefs, we were all commanded out ot the cham¬ 
ber. Shakefpeare. 
AMA'ZEMENT, / [from amaze.\ Such a confuted 
appreber.fion as does not leave reafon its tuil force; ex¬ 
treme fear; horror.: 
But look! amazement on thy mother fits ; 
O ftep between her and her fighting foul : 
Conceit in weakeft bodies itrongeft works. Skakefpeare. 
Extreme dejedtion. Height of admiration. Aftonifli- 
ment; wonder at an unexpected event.—They knew that 
it was he which fat for alms at the beautiful gate of the 
temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement 
at that which had happened unto him. Ads. 
AMA'ZING, part. adj. [from amazef Wonderful ; 
aftonifliing.—It is an amazing thing to fee the prefent de¬ 
flation of Italy, when one conliders what incredible mul¬ 
titudes it abounded with during the reigns ot the Roman 
emperors. Addifon. 
AMA'ZINGLY, adv. [from amazing .] To a degree 
that may excite aftonifhment; wonderfully.—If we arife 
to the world of fpirits, our knowledge of them muff be 
amazingly imperfeCt, when there is not the lead grain of 
fand but has too many difficulties belonging to it tor the 
wifeft philofopher to anfvver. Watts. 
AM'AZON, or Orellana, a river of South America, 
which has its fource among the Andes, in Peru, not far 
from the South Sea, from w hence running eaftward, it 
pours into the ocean direCtly under the equinoctial line. 
This largeft of all rivers is, at its mouth, 150 miles broad, 
and 1500 miles from its mouth, thirty or forty fathoms 
deep. It runs at lead 3000 miles, forms during itscourfe 
many iflands in itfelf, receives near two hundred other 
rivers, many of which have a courfe of 500 or 600 
leagues, fome of them not inferior to the Danube, or the 
Nile; and, in pouring itfelf into the ocean, repels the 
briny waters of the fea, to the diftance of many leagues 
from the land. 
AMAZO'NI A, is that part of South America which the 
aboriginal Indians ftill poffefs. It is fituated between the 
equator and twenty degrees of fouth latitude ; its length 
is 1400 miles, and its breadth 900. It is bounded on the 
north by Terra Firma, and Guiana ; on the eaft by Brafil; 
on the fouth by Paraguay ; and on the weft by Peru. 
The air is cooler in this country than could he expeCted, 
confidering it is fituated in the torrid zone. This is partly 
owing to the heavy rains which occafion the rivers to 
overflow their banks one half of the year, and partly to 
the cloudy atmofphere, which obfeures the fun great part 
of the time he is above the horizon. Dining the rainy 
feafon this country is fubjeCt to dreadful dorms of thunder 
and lightning. The foil is extremely fertile,- producing 
cocoa-nuts, pme T apples, -bananas, plantains, and a great 
variety of tropical fruits; cedar, red-wood, pak, ebony, 
log-w'ood, and many other lorts of dying wood ; alfo 
tobacco, fugar-canes, cotton, potatoes, balfam, honey, 
&c. The woods abound \vith tigers, wild boars, buffaloes, 
deer, and game of various kinds. The rivers and lakes 
abound with fifh. Here are alfo fea-cows and turtles ; 
but the crocodiles and water-ferpents render fifliing a 
dangerous employment. 
' The natives of this country, like all the other Ameri¬ 
cans, are of a good ftature, have handiome features, long 
black hair, and copper complexions. They are faid tu 
have a tafte for the imitative arts, efpeciaUy painting and 
fculpture, and make good mechanics. Their cordage is 
3 II . made 
