n. An insoluble solid alcohol (C12H25OH) with an unbranched paraffin chain, used to make detergents, such as sodium lauryl sulfate.
Syn. -- lauryl alcohol [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. a baseball game in which one team's pitchers allow the opposing team only one hit.
Syn. -- one-hitter [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. a game in which a pitcher allows the opposing team only 2 hits.
Syn. -- two-hitter [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a game in which a pitcher allows the opposing team only 3 hits.
Syn. -- three-hitter [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a game in which a pitcher allows the opposing team 4 hits.
Syn. -- four-hitter [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a game in which a pitcher allows the opposing team 5 hits.
Syn. -- five-hitter [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ LL. abacinatus, p. p. of abacinare; ab off + bacinus a basin. ] To blind by a red-hot metal plate held before the eyes. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For obeisance; confused with F. abaisser, E. abase. ] Obeisance. [ Obs. ] Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Ivory black or animal charcoal. Weale. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. abalienatus, p. p. of abalienare; ab + alienus foreign, alien. See Alien. ] 1. (Civil Law) To transfer the title of from one to another; to alienate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To estrange; to withdraw. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause alienation of (mind). Sandys. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abalienatio: cf. F. abaliénation. ] The act of abalienating; alienation; estrangement. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. (Zool.) A univalve mollusk of the genus Haliotis. The shell is lined with mother-of-pearl, and used for ornamental purposes; the sea-ear. Several large species are found on the coast of California, clinging closely to the rocks. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 (Electricity) a unit of electrical current equal to 10 amperes.
Syn. -- abamp [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. 1. Forsaken, deserted. “Your abandoned streams.” Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Self-abandoned, or given up to vice; extremely wicked, or sinning without restraint; irreclaimably wicked ; as, an abandoned villain. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Profligate; dissolute; corrupt; vicious; depraved; reprobate; wicked; unprincipled; graceless; vile. -- Abandoned, Profligate, Reprobate. These adjectives agree in expressing the idea of great personal depravity. Profligate has reference to open and shameless immoralities, either in private life or political conduct; as, a profligate court, a profligate ministry. Abandoned is stronger, and has reference to the searing of conscience and hardening of heart produced by a man's giving himself wholly up to iniquity; as, a man of abandoned character. Reprobate describes the condition of one who has become insensible to reproof, and who is morally abandoned and lost beyond hope of recovery. [ 1913 Webster ]

God gave them over to a reprobate mind. Rom. i. 28. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Unrestrainedly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Law) One to whom anything is legally abandoned. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who abandons. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. abandonnement. ] 1. The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment. [ 1913 Webster ]

The abandonment of the independence of Europe. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mar. Law) The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Com. Law) (a) The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege, as to mill site, etc. (b) The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband, or child; desertion. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Careless freedom or ease; abandon. [ R. ] Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Abnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abased p. pr. & vb. n. Abasing. ] [ F. abaisser, LL. abassare, abbassare ; ad + bassare, fr. bassus low. See Base, a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To lower or depress; to throw or cast down; as, to abase the eye. [ Archaic ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Saying so, he abased his lance. Shelton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cast down or reduce low or lower, as in rank, office, condition in life, or estimation of worthiness; to depress; to humble; to degrade. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. Luke xiv. ll. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To Abase, Debase, Degrade. These words agree in the idea of bringing down from a higher to a lower state. Abase has reference to a bringing down in condition or feelings; as, to abase the proud, to abase one's self before God. Debase has reference to the bringing down of a thing in purity, or making it base. It is, therefore, always used in a bad sense, as, to debase the coin of the kingdom, to debase the mind by vicious indulgence, to debase one's style by coarse or vulgar expressions. Degrade has reference to a bringing down from some higher grade or from some standard. Thus, a priest is degraded from the clerical office. When used in a moral sense, it denotes a bringing down in character and just estimation; as, degraded by intemperance, a degrading employment, etc. “Art is degraded when it is regarded only as a trade.” [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Lowered; humbled. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Her.) [ F. abaissé. ] Borne lower than usual, as a fess; also, having the ends of the wings turned downward towards the point of the shield. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Abjectly; downcastly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. abaissement. ] The act of abasing, humbling, or bringing low; the state of being abased or humbled; humiliation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. He who, or that which, abases. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an abashed manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. ébahissement. ] The state of being abashed; confusion from shame. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being abated; as, an abatable writ or nuisance. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abated, p. pr. & vb. n. Abating. ] [ OF. abatre to beat down, F. abattre, LL. abatere; ab or ad + batere, battere (popular form for L. batuere to beat). Cf. Bate, Batter. ] 1. To beat down; to overthrow. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The King of Scots . . . sore abated the walls. Edw. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bring down or reduce from a higher to a lower state, number, or degree; to lessen; to diminish; to contract; to moderate; to cut short; as, to abate a demand; to abate pride, zeal, hope. [ 1913 Webster ]

His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. Deut. xxxiv. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To deduct; to omit; as, to abate something from a price. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nine thousand parishes, abating the odd hundreds. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To blunt. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To abate the edge of envy. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To reduce in estimation; to deprive. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

She hath abated me of half my train. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Law) (a) To bring entirely down or put an end to; to do away with; as, to abate a nuisance, to abate a writ. (b) (Eng. Law) To diminish; to reduce. Legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets. [ 1913 Webster ]

To abate a tax, to remit it either wholly or in part. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ See Abate, v. t. ] 1. To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as, pain abates, a storm abates. [ 1913 Webster ]

The fury of Glengarry . . . rapidly abated. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be defeated, or come to naught; to fall through; to fail; as, a writ abates. [ 1913 Webster ]

To abate into a freehold,
To abate in lands (Law), to enter into a freehold after the death of the last possessor, and before the heir takes possession. See Abatement, 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To subside; decrease; intermit; decline; diminish; lessen. -- To Abate, Subside. These words, as here compared, imply a coming down from some previously raised or excited state. Abate expresses this in respect to degrees, and implies a diminution of force or of intensity; as, the storm abates, the cold abates, the force of the wind abates; or, the wind abates, a fever abates. Subside (to settle down) has reference to a previous state of agitation or commotion; as, the waves subside after a storm, the wind subsides into a calm. When the words are used figuratively, the same distinction should be observed. If we conceive of a thing as having different degrees of intensity or strength, the word to be used is abate. Thus we say, a man's anger abates, the ardor of one's love abates, “Winter's rage abates”. But if the image be that of a sinking down into quiet from preceding excitement or commotion, the word to be used is subside; as, the tumult of the people subsides, the public mind subsided into a calm. The same is the case with those emotions which are tumultuous in their nature; as, his passion subsides, his joy quickly subsided, his grief subsided into a pleasing melancholy. Yet if, in such cases, we were thinking of the degree of violence of the emotion, we might use abate; as, his joy will abate in the progress of time; and so in other instances. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Abatement. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. abatement, F. abattement. ] 1. The act of abating, or the state of being abated; a lessening, diminution, or reduction; removal or putting an end to; as, the abatement of a nuisance is the suppression thereof. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The amount abated; that which is taken away by way of reduction; deduction; decrease; a rebate or discount allowed. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Her.) A mark of dishonor on an escutcheon. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Law) The entry of a stranger, without right, into a freehold after the death of the last possessor, before the heir or devisee. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

Defense in abatement,
Plea in abatement, (Law), plea to the effect that from some formal defect (e.g. misnomer, lack of jurisdiction) the proceedings should be abated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, abates. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Provided with an abatis. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. abatture, fr. abattre. See Abate. ] Grass and sprigs beaten or trampled down by a stag passing through them. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. p. [ Perh. p. p. of a verb fr. OF. abaubir to frighten, disconcert, fr. L. ad + balbus stammering. ] Astonished; abashed. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. ab + axis axle. ] (Bot.) Away from the axis or central line; eccentric. Balfour. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. abbé. See Abbot. ] The French word answering to the English abbot, the head of an abbey; but commonly a title of respect given in France to every one vested with the ecclesiastical habit or dress. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ After the 16th century, the name was given, in social parlance, to candidates for some priory or abbey in the gift of the crown. Many of these aspirants became well known in literary and fashionable life. By further extension, the name came to be applied to unbeneficed secular ecclesiastics generally. Littré. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. abaesse, abeesse, F. abbesse, L. abbatissa, fem. of abbas, abbatis, abbot. See Abbot. ] A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks. See Abbey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Abbeys [ OF. abaïe, abbaïe, F. abbaye, L. abbatia, fr. abbas abbot. See Abbot. ] 1. A monastery or society of persons of either sex, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy; also, the monastic building or buildings. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The men are called monks, and governed by an abbot; the women are called nuns, and governed by an abbess. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The church of a monastery. [ 1913 Webster ]

In London, the Abbey means Westminster Abbey, and in Scotland, the precincts of the Abbey of Holyrood. The name is also retained for a private residence on the site of an abbey; as, Newstead Abbey, the residence of Lord Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Monastery; convent; nunnery; priory; cloister. See Cloister. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abbreviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Abbreviating. ] [ L. abbreviatus, p. p. of abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See Abridge. ] 1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. abbreviatus, p. p. ] 1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [ R. ] “The abbreviate form.” Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An abridgment. [ Obs. ] Elyot. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Shortened; relatively short; abbreviate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. abbreviatio: cf. F. abbréviation. ] 1. The act of shortening, or reducing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The result of abbreviating; an abridgment. Tylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or letters, standing for a word or phrase of which they are a part; as, Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mus.) One dash, or more, through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, or demi-semiquavers. Moore. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL.: cf. F. abbréviateur. ] 1. One who abbreviates or shortens. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of a college of seventy-two officers of the papal court whose duty is to make a short minute of a decision on a petition, or reply of the pope to a letter, and afterwards expand the minute into official form. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Serving or tending to abbreviate; shortening; abridging. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An abbreviation; an abbreviated state or form. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An abridgment; a compendium or abstract. [ 1913 Webster ]

This is an excellent abbreviature of the whole duty of a Christian. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Abdera, a town in Thrace, of which place Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher, was a native. ] Given to laughter; inclined to foolish or incessant merriment. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. Abderita, Abderites, fr. Gr. 'Abdhri`ths. ] An inhabitant of Abdera, in Thrace. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Abderite, Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Per. ābdast; ab water + dast hand. ] Purification by washing the hands before prayer; -- a Muslim rite. Heyse. [ 1913 Webster ]