‖n. [ Gr. 'adelfo`s brother. ] (Bot.) A “brotherhood, ” or collection of stamens in a bundle; -- used in composition, as in the class names, Monadelphia, Diadelphia, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. 'adelfo`s brother. ] (Bot.) Having coalescent or clustered filaments; -- said of stamens; as, adelphous stamens. Usually in composition; as, monadelphous. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. Alpes the Alps, said to be of Celtic origin; cf. Gael. alp a high mountain, Ir. ailp any huge mass or lump: cf. F. Alpes. ] 1. A very high mountain. Specifically, in the plural, the highest chain of mountains in Europe, containing the lofty mountains of Switzerland, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor breath of vernal air from snowy alp. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hills peep o'er hills, and alps on alps arise. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: Something lofty, or massive, or very hard to be surmounted. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The plural form Alps is sometimes used as a singular. “The Alps doth spit.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A bullfinch. Rom. of R. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Sp. alpaca, fr. the original Peruvian name of the animal. Cf. Paco. ] 1. (Zool.) An animal of Peru (Lama paco), having long, fine, wooly hair, supposed by some to be a domesticated variety of the llama. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Wool of the alpaca. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A thin kind of cloth made of the wooly hair of the alpaca, often mixed with silk or with cotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to the Alps. [ R. ] “The Alpen snow.” J. Fletcher. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains; specif., a reillumination sometimes observed after the summits have passed into shadow, supposed to be due to a curving downward (refraction) of the light rays from the west resulting from the cooling of the air. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ G.; Alp, gen. pl. Alpen + stock stick. ] A long staff, pointed with iron, used in climbing the Alps. Cheever. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Alpestris. ] 1. Pertaining to the Alps, or other high mountains; as, Alpestrine diseases, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Growing on the elevated parts of mountains, but not above the timber line; subalpine. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ L. alpha, Gr. 'a`lfa, from Heb. āleph, name of the first letter in the alphabet, also meaning ox. ] The first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to A, and hence used to denote the beginning. [ 1913 Webster ]

In am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Rev. xxii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

Formerly used also denote the chief; as, Plato was the alpha of the wits. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In cataloguing stars, the brightest star of a constellation in designated by Alpha (α); as, α Lyræ. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. &unr_; + &unr_;, the first two Greek letters; Heb. āleph and beth: cf. F. alphabet. ] 1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The simplest rudiments; elements. [ 1913 Webster ]

The very alphabet of our law. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Deaf and dumb alphabet. See Dactylology. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A learner of the alphabet; an abecedarian. Abp. Sancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Cf. F. alphabétique. ] 1. Pertaining to, furnished with, expressed by, or in the order of, the letters of the alphabet; as, alphabetic characters, writing, languages, arrangement. English has an alphabetical writing system. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Literal. [ Obs. ] “Alphabetical servility.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. in alphabetical order.
Syn. -- abecedarian [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In an alphabetic manner; in the customary order of the letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The science of representing spoken sounds by letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The expression of spoken sounds by an alphabet. Encyc. Brit. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To arrange alphabetically; as, to alphabetize a list of words. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To furnish with an alphabet. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. of or pertaining to alphanumerics.
Syn. -- alphanumeric, alphameric, alphamerical [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. (Computers) using or consisting of only alphabetical and numerical characters; -- contrasting with binary or control. alphanumeric characters
Syn. -- alphanumeric, alphanumerical, alphameric, alphamerical [ PJC ]

n. 1. a character set that includes letters and digits and punctuation marks. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. (Photog.) A sensitized paper for obtaining positives by artificial light. It is coated with gelatin containing silver bromide and chloride. [ Eng. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Physics & Chem.) a particle emitted at high velocity from certain radioactive substances. It is identical to the helium nucleus, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. Rays of such particles are called alpha rays. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

. (Physics & Chem.) Rays of relatively low penetrating power emitted by radium and other radioactive substances, and shown to consist of positively charged alpha particles (helium nuclei) having enormous velocities but small masses. They are slightly deflected by a strong magnetic or electric field. Compare beta ray and gamma ray. Because the rays penetrate only a small distance in dense matter such as living tissue, small pellets of radioactive substances emitting alpha rays have been used to cause local destruction of tissue, as in cancer therapy. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; barley meal + -mancy: cf. F. alphitomancie. ] Divination by means of barley meal. Knowles. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Alpha- + -ol as in alcohol. ] (Pharm.) A crystalline derivative of salicylic acid, used as an antiseptic and antirheumatic. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Of or relating to Alphonso X., the Wise, King of Castile (1252-1284). [ 1913 Webster ]

Alphonsine tables, astronomical tables prepared under the patronage of Alphonso the Wise. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ }, n. [ G. Alpenhorn. ] A curved wooden horn about three feet long, with a cupped mouthpiece and a bell, used by the Swiss to sound the ranz des vaches and other melodies. Its notes are open harmonics of the tube. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ } n. [ F.: cf. Sp. & Pg. alpiste. ] The seed of canary grass (Phalaris Canariensis), used for feeding cage birds. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Alpes Alps + -gen. ] Growing in Alpine regions. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Alpinus, fr. Alpes the Alps: cf. F. Alpin. ] 1. Of or pertaining to the Alps, or to any lofty mountain; as, Alpine snows; Alpine plants. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Like the Alps; lofty. “Gazing up an Alpine height.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of perennial rhizomatous herbs of Asia and Australia and Polynesia having ginger-scented rhizomes.
Syn. -- genus Alpinia, genus Zerumbet, genus Languas. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A climber of the Alps. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. auris ear + scalpere to scrape. ] An earpick. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Law) A piece of parchment, or paper, containing a recognizance or bail bond. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. an athlete who plays baseball.
Syn. -- baseball player. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a pen which has a small metal ball as point of transfer of ink to paper, at the tip of a cylandrical and non-refillable reservoir of ink; -- short for ballpoint pen.
Syn. -- ballpoint pen, ballpen, Biro. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Incapable of being penetrated by balls from firearms; bulletproof. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

{ } n. One whose occupation is to post handbills or posters in public places. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. bi- + sulphate. ] (Chem.) A sulphate in which but half the hydrogen of the acid is replaced by a positive element or radical, thus making the proportion of the acid to the positive or basic portion twice what it is in the normal sulphates; an acid sulphate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. bi- + sulphide. ] (Chem.) A sulphide having two atoms of sulphur in the molecule; a disulphide, as in iron pyrites, FeS2; -- less frequently called bisulphuret. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) A salt of sulphurous acid in which the base replaces but half the hydrogen of the acid; an acid sulphite. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. bi- + sulphuret. ] (Chem.) See Bisulphide. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) 1. A grey cetacean of the Dolphin family, of several species, as Delphinus Tursio and Lagenorhyncus leucopleurus, of Europe. Also Tursiops truncatus -- a synonym?
Syn. -- bottlenose dolphin. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. The puffin. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. a north Atlantic beaked whale with a bulbous forehead.
Syn. -- bottle-nosed whale, bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Baseball) 1. an open area in a baseball stadium, off the playing field, where pitchers may warm up by throwing a number of trial pitches before playing. [ PJC ]

2. [ collective ] the relief pitchers on a baseball team. Contrasted with starters. [ PJC ]

n. (Zool.) See Bullhead, 1 (b). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An exceptionally advantageous position from which to extol one's ideas; -- applied especially to the presidency of the United States, which was described thus by President Theodore Rossevelt. [ PJC ]

n. the Rock of Gibraltar, a limestone promontory at the southern tip of Spain; associated with Britain.
Syn. -- Gibraltar, Rock of Gibraltar. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ From the language of the Indians of Carolina, where Catesby discovered this tree in the year 1726. ] (Bot.) A genus of American and East Indian trees, of which the best known species are the Catalpa bignonioides, a large, ornamental North American tree, with spotted white flowers and long cylindrical pods, and the Catalpa speciosa, of the Mississipi valley; -- called also Indian bean. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Cisalpinus; cis on this side + Alpinus Alpine. ] On the hither side of the Alps with reference to Rome, that is, on the south side of the Alps; -- opposed to transalpine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A pit where coal is dug. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A place where charcoal is made. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]