a. Resembling Achilles, the hero of the Iliad; invincible. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a mythical Greek hero of the Iliad; a foremost Greek warrior at the seige of Troy. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. Achillis tendo. ] (Anat.) The strong tendon formed of the united tendons of the large muscles in the calf of the leg, an inserted into the bone of the heel; -- so called from the mythological account of Achilles being held by the heel when dipped in the River Styx. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., a needle. See Aglet. ] 1. A needle-shaped peak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An instrument for boring holes, used in blasting. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. See Aglet. ] 1. A point or tag at the end of a fringe or lace; an aglet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of the ornamental tags, cords, or loops on some military and naval uniforms. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a propeller designed for propelling airplanes.
Syn. -- airscrew, propeller, prop. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ OF. alecret, halecret, hallecret. ] A kind of light armor used in the sixteenth century, esp. by the Swiss. Fairholt. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. allectare, freq. of allicere, allectum. ] To allure; to entice. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. allectatio. ] Enticement; allurement. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ LL. allectivus. ] Alluring. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Allurement. [ Obs. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. See Allege. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This spelling, corresponding to abridge, was once the prevailing one. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. allegatio, fr. allegare, allegatum, to send a message, cite; later, to free by giving reasons; ad + legare to send, commission. Cf. Allege and Adlegation. ] 1. The act of alleging or positively asserting. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is alleged, asserted, or declared; positive assertion; formal averment [ 1913 Webster ]

I thought their allegation but reasonable. Steele. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) A statement by a party of what he undertakes to prove, -- usually applied to each separate averment; the charge or matter undertaken to be proved. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Alleged p. pr. & vb. n. Alleging. ] [ OE. aleggen to bring forward as evidence, OF. esligier to buy, prop. to free from legal difficulties, fr. an assumed LL. exlitigare; L. ex + litigare to quarrel, sue (see Litigate). The word was confused with L. allegare (see Allegation), and lex law. Cf. Allay. ] 1. To bring forward with positiveness; to declare; to affirm; to assert; as, to allege a fact. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cite or quote; as, to allege the authority of a judge. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To produce or urge as a reason, plea, or excuse; as, he refused to lend, alleging a resolution against lending. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To bring forward; adduce; advance; assign; produce; declare; affirm; assert; aver; predicate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Allay. ] To alleviate; to lighten, as a burden or a trouble. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being alleged or affirmed. [ 1913 Webster ]

The most authentic examples allegeable in the case. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Allegation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Allegation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

With many complaints and allegements. Bp. Sanderson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who affirms or declares. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. See Alegge and Allay. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Also . (Biogeography) Pertaining to or designating the humid division of the Transition zone extending across the northern United States from New England to eastern Dakota, and including also most of Pennsylvania and the mountainous region as far south as northern Georgia. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. 1. Of or pertaining to the Allegheny Mountains, or the region where they are situated. Also . [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. [ From the Allegheny River, Pennsylvania. ] (Geol.) Pertaining to or designating a subdivision of the Pennsylvanian coal measure. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ OE. alegeaunce; pref. a- + OF. lige, liege. The meaning was influenced by L. ligare to bind, and even by lex, legis, law. See Liege, Ligeance. ] 1. The tie or obligation, implied or expressed, which a subject owes to his sovereign or government; the duty of fidelity to one's king, government, or state. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Devotion; loyalty; as, allegiance to science. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Loyalty; fealty. -- Allegiance, Loyalty. These words agree in expressing the general idea of fidelity and attachment to the “powers that be.” Allegiance is an obligation to a ruling power. Loyalty is a feeling or sentiment towards such power. Allegiance may exist under any form of government, and, in a republic, we generally speak of allegiance to the government, to the state, etc. In well conducted monarchies, loyalty is a warm-hearted feeling of fidelity and obedience to the sovereign. It is personal in its nature; and hence we speak of the loyalty of a wife to her husband, not of her allegiance. In cases where we personify, loyalty is more commonly the word used; as, loyalty to the constitution; loyalty to the cause of virtue; loyalty to truth and religion, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hear me, recreant, on thine allegiance hear me! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

So spake the Seraph Abdiel, faithful found, . . .
Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,
His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Loyal. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ F. allégorique, L. allegorius, fr. Gr. &unr_;. See Allegory. ] Belonging to, or consisting of, allegory; of the nature of an allegory; describing by resemblances; figurative. “An allegoric tale.” Falconer. “An allegorical application.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Allegorical being . . . that kind of language which says one thing, but means another. Max Miller. [ 1913 Webster ]

Al`le*gor"ic*al*ly, adv. -- Al`le*gor"ic*al*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. allegoriste. ] One who allegorizes; a writer of allegory. Hume. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of turning into allegory, or of understanding in an allegorical sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Allegorized p. pr. & vb. n. Allegorizing. ] [ Cf. F. allégoriser, fr. L. allegorizare. ] 1. To form or turn into allegory; as, to allegorize the history of a people. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To treat as allegorical; to understand in an allegorical sense; as, when a passage in a writer may understood literally or figuratively, he who gives it a figurative sense is said to allegorize it. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To use allegory. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who allegorizes, or turns things into allegory; an allegorist. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Allegories [ L. allegoria, Gr. &unr_;, description of one thing under the image of another; &unr_; other + &unr_; to speak in the assembly, harangue, &unr_; place of assembly, fr. &unr_; to assemble: cf. F. allégorie. ] 1. A figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principal subject is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances. The real subject is thus kept out of view, and we are left to collect the intentions of the writer or speaker by the resemblance of the secondary to the primary subject. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything which represents by suggestive resemblance; an emblem. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Paint. & Sculpt.) A figure representation which has a meaning beyond notion directly conveyed by the object painted or sculptured. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Metaphor; fable. -- Allegory, Parable. “An allegory differs both from fable and parable, in that the properties of persons are fictitiously represented as attached to things, to which they are as it were transferred. . . . A figure of Peace and Victory crowning some historical personage is an allegory. “I am the Vine, ye are the branches” [ John xv. 1-6 ] is a spoken allegory. In the parable there is no transference of properties. The parable of the sower [ Matt. xiii. 3-23 ] represents all things as according to their proper nature. In the allegory quoted above the properties of the vine and the relation of the branches are transferred to the person of Christ and His apostles and disciples.” C. J. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

An allegory is a prolonged metaphor. Bunyan's “Pilgrim's Progress” and Spenser's “Faërie Queene” are celebrated examples of the allegory. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. allégresse, fr. L. alacer sprightly. ] Joy; gladsomeness. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It., dim. of allegro. ] (Mus.) Quicker than andante, but not so quick as allegro. -- n. A movement in this time. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It., merry, gay, fr. L. alacer lively. Cf. Aleger. ] (Mus.) Brisk, lively. -- n. An allegro movement; a quick, sprightly strain or piece. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 1. one of two or more alternative forms of a gene that can have the same place on homologous chromosomes and are responsible for alternative traits.
Syn. -- allelomorph [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. either of a pair of Mendelian characters that may occur in an organism as a consequence of variation at one gene locus. [ PJC ]

adj. 1. of or pertaining to alleles. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; of one another + Gr. morfh` form. ] (Biol.) One of the pure unit characters commonly existing singly or in pairs in the germ cells of Mendelian hybrids, and exhibited in varying proportion among the organisms themselves; same as allele, 2. Allelomorphs which under certain circumstances are themselves compound are called hypallelomorphs. See Mendel's law. -- Al*le`lo*mor"phic a. [1913 Webster]

As we know that the several unit characters are of such a nature that any one of them is capable of independently displacing or being displaced by one or more alternative characters taken singly, we may recognize this fact by naming such characters allelomorphs. Bateson. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

adj. 1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an allelomorph. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } n. [ L. alleluia, Gr. &unr_;, fr. Heb. hallēlū-yāh. See Hallelujah. ] An exclamation signifying Praise ye Jehovah. Hence: A song of praise to God. See Hallelujah, the commoner form. [ 1913 Webster ]

I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia. Rev. xix. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. allemand German. ] 1. (Mus.) A dance in moderate twofold time, invented by the French in the reign of Louis XIV.; -- now mostly found in suites of pieces, like those of Bach and Handel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A figure in dancing. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Alemannic. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ All + anerly singly, fr. ane one. ] Solely; only. [ Scot. ] Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ From ealra, alra, gen. pl. of AS. eal. The d is excrescent. ] Of all; -- used in composition; as, alderbest, best of all, alderwisest, wisest of all. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ For ealra, the AS. gen. pl. of eal all. ] Same as Alder, of all. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. of or pertaining to allergens or allergenicity. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. causing an allergy or an allergic reaction. [ PJC ]

adj. 1. of or pertaining to allergy. allergic reaction [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. 1 having an allergy or peculiar or excessive susceptibilty especially to a specific factor allergic children
Syn. -- hypersensitive, hypersensitized, sensitized, supersensitive, supersensitized [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a physician skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. hypersensitivity to a particular substance. “an allergy to bee venom so severe that a second sting may be fatal” [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. [ F. alérion, LL. alario a sort of eagle; of uncertain origin. ] (Her.) Am eagle without beak or feet, with expanded wings. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Alleviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Alleviating. ] [ LL. alleviare, fr. L. ad + levis light. See Alegge, Levity. ] 1. To lighten or lessen the force or weight of. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Should no others join capable to alleviate the expense. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those large bladders . . . conduce much to the alleviating of the body [ of flying birds ]. Ray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To lighten or lessen (physical or mental troubles); to mitigate, or make easier to be endured; as, to alleviate sorrow, pain, care, etc. ; -- opposed to aggravate. [ 1913 Webster ]

The calamity of the want of the sense of hearing is much alleviated by giving the use of letters. Bp. Horsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To extenuate; to palliate. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He alleviates his fault by an excuse. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To lessen; diminish; soften; mitigate; assuage; abate; relieve; nullify; allay. -- To Alleviate, Mitigate, Assuage, Allay. These words have in common the idea of relief from some painful state; and being all figurative, they differ in their application, according to the image under which this idea is presented. Alleviate supposes a load which is lightened or taken off; as, to alleviate one's cares. Mitigate supposes something fierce which is made mild; as, to mitigate one's anguish. Assuage supposes something violent which is quieted; as, to assuage one's sorrow. Allay supposes something previously excited, but now brought down; as, to allay one's suffering or one's thirst. To alleviate the distresses of life; to mitigate the fierceness of passion or the violence of grief; to assuage angry feeling; to allay wounded sensibility. [ 1913 Webster ]