n. same as American sign language, the sign language used in the US.
Syn. -- American sign language, AMESLAN [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. & i. [ AS. āslacian, slacian, to slacken. Cf. Slake. ] To mitigate; to moderate; to appease; to abate; to diminish. [ Archaic ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. & a. [ Pref. a- + slant. ] Toward one side; in a slanting direction; obliquely. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ The shaft ] drove through his neck aslant. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

prep. In a slanting direction over; athwart. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is a willow grows aslant a brook. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & adv. [ Pref. a- + sleep. ] 1. In a state of sleep; in sleep; dormant. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fast asleep the giant lay supine. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

By whispering winds soon lulled asleep. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In the sleep of the grave; dead. [ 1913 Webster ]

Concerning them which are asleep . . . sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 1 Thess. iv. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Numbed, and, usually, tingling. Udall. [ 1913 Webster ]

Leaning long upon any part maketh it numb, and, as we call it, asleep. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. & a. [ Pref. a- + slope. ] Slopingly; aslant; declining from an upright direction; sloping. “Set them not upright, but aslope.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- + slug to move slowly. ] Sluggishly. [ Obs. ] Fotherby. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The light yielded by the combustion of illuminating gas. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A gas jet or burner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. hâtelettes broil, for hastelettes, fr. F. haste spit; cf. L. hasta spear, and also OHG. harst gridiron. ] The edible viscera, as the heart, liver, etc., of a beast, esp. of a hog. [ Written also harslet. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ar. maslaq: cf. F. masloc. ] (Med.) An excitant containing opium, much used by the Turks. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. missellane, misceline, miscelin, meslin, fr. miscellane. See Miscellane. ] 1. A mixture composed of different materials; especially: (a) A mixture of metals resembling brass. (b) A mixture of different sorts of grain, as wheat and rye. [ Written also meslin, mislin, maselyn, mastlin. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A vessel made of maslin, 1 (a). [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Mead eke in a maselyn. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Composed of different sorts; as, maslin bread, which is made of rye mixed with a little wheat. [ Written also meslin, mislin, etc. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. mesel, OF. mesel, LL. misellus, L. misellus unfortunate, dim. of miser. See Miser. ] A leper. [ Obs. ] [ Written also meazel, and mesel. ] Wyclif (Matt. x. 8. ). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A tapeworm larva. See 2d Measles, 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See 2d Measles. ] Infected or spotted with measles, as pork. -- Mea"sled*ness, n. [1913 Webster]

n. [ From 1st Measle. ] Leprosy; also, a leper. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. in form, but used as singular in senses 1, 2, & 3. [ D. mazelen; akin to G. masern, pl., and E. mazer, and orig. meaning, little spots. See Mazer. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Med.) A contagious viral febrile disorder commencing with catarrhal symptoms, and marked by the appearance on the third day of an eruption of distinct red circular spots, which coalesce in a crescentic form, are slightly raised above the surface, and after the fourth day of the eruption gradually decline; rubeola. It is a common childhood disease. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Measles commences with the ordinary symptoms of fever. Am. Cyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Veter. Med.) A disease of cattle and swine in which the flesh is filled with the embryos of different varieties of the tapeworm. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A disease of trees. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. pl. (Zool.) The larvae of any tapeworm (Taenia) in the cysticerus stage, when contained in meat. Called also bladder worms. [ 1913 Webster ]

German measles A mild contagious viral disease, which may cause birth defects if contracted by a pregnant woman during early pregnancy; also called rubella. [ PJC ]

a. 1. Infected with measles. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Containing larval tapeworms; -- said of pork and beef. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Contemptibly small in quantity; meager; absurdly insufficient or bad; as, a measly few dollars for all that work. [ PJC ]

n. [ See Tasse a piece of armor. ] A piece of armor formerly worn to guard the thighs; a tasse. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. & v. t. See Teasel. [ 1913 Webster ]