n.; pl. Acrimonies [ L. acrimonia, fr. acer, sharp: cf. F. acrimonie. ] 1. A quality of bodies which corrodes or destroys others; also, a harsh or biting sharpness; as, the acrimony of the juices of certain plants. [ Archaic ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Sharpness or severity, as of language or temper; irritating bitterness of disposition or manners. [ 1913 Webster ]

John the Baptist set himself with much acrimony and indignation to baffle this senseless arrogant conceit of theirs. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Acrimony, Asperity, Harshness, Tartness. These words express different degrees of angry feeling or language. Asperity and harshness arise from angry feelings, connected with a disregard for the feelings of others. Harshness usually denotes needless severity or an undue measure of severity. Acrimony is a biting sharpness produced by an imbittered spirit. Tartness denotes slight asperity and implies some degree of intellectual readiness. Tartness of reply; harshness of accusation; acrimony of invective. [ 1913 Webster ]

In his official letters he expressed, with great acrimony, his contempt for the king's character. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

A just reverence of mankind prevents the growth of harshness and brutality. Shaftesbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an acronycal manner as rising at the setting of the sun, and vice versa. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. 'akro`nychos at nightfall; 'a`kros + ny`x night. ] (Astron.) Rising at sunset and setting at sunrise, as a star; -- opposed to cosmical. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word is sometimes incorrectly written acronical, achronychal, acronichal, and acronical. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. 'akro`nyktos; 'a`kros + ny`x, nykto`s, night. ] (Astron.) Acronycal. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. 'a`kros extreme + &unr_; sound. ] The use of a picture symbol of an object to represent phonetically the initial sound of the name of the object. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Egophony. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Agonies [ L. agonia, Gr. &unr_;, orig. a contest, fr. &unr_;: cf. F. agonie. See Agon. ] 1. Violent contest or striving. [ 1913 Webster ]

The world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Pain so extreme as to cause writhing or contortions of the body, similar to those made in the athletic contests in Greece; and hence, extreme pain of mind or body; anguish; paroxysm of grief; specifically, the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. [ 1913 Webster ]

Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly. Luke xxii. 44. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Paroxysm of joy; keen emotion. [ 1913 Webster ]

With cries and agonies of wild delight. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The last struggle of life; death struggle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Anguish; torment; throe; distress; pangs; suffering. -- Agony, Anguish, Pang. These words agree in expressing extreme pain of body or mind. Agony denotes acute and permanent pain, usually of the whole system., and often producing contortions. Anguish denotes severe pressure, and, considered as bodily suffering, is more commonly local (as anguish of a wound), thus differing from agony. A pang is a paroxysm of excruciating pain. It is severe and transient. The agonies or pangs of remorse; the anguish of a wounded conscience. “Oh, sharp convulsive pangs of agonizing pride!” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. agremoyne, OF. aigremoine, L. agrimonia for argemonia, fr. Gr. &unr_;. ] (Bot.) (a) A genus of plants of the Rose family. (b) The name is also given to various other plants; as, hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum); water agrimony (Bidens). [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The Agrimonia eupatoria, or common agrimony, a perennial herb with a spike of yellow flowers, was once esteemed as a medical remedy, but is now seldom used. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. alimonia, alimonium, nourishment, sustenance, fr. alere to nourish. ] 1. Maintenance; means of living. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) An allowance made to a wife out of her husband's estate or income for her support, upon her divorce or legal separation from him, or during a suit for the same. Wharton. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. allonyme, fr. Gr. &unr_; other + &unr_; name. ] 1. The name of another person assumed by the author of a work. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A work published under the name of some one other than the author. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Published under the name of some one other than the author. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Amphictyonies [ Gr. &unr_;. ] (Grecian Hist.) A league of states of ancient Greece; esp. the celebrated confederation known as the Amphictyonic Council. Its object was to maintain the common interests of Greece. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Sexual propagation. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Origin unknown. ] (Iron Work) A piece of malleable iron, wrought into the shape of a bar in the middle, but unwrought at the ends. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Anemone. Sandys. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. anonyme. See Anonymous. ] 1. One who is anonymous; also sometimes used for “pseudonym.” [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A notion which has no name, or which can not be expressed by a single English word. [ R. ] J. R. Seeley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being anonymous; anonymousness; also, that which anonymous. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He rigorously insisted upon the rights of anonymity. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; without name; 'an priv. + &unr_;, Eol. for &unr_; name. See Name. ] Nameless; of unknown name; also, of unknown or unavowed authorship; as, an anonymous benefactor; an anonymous pamphlet or letter. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an anonymous manner; without a name. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being anonymous. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;; 'anti` + &unr_; contest: cf. F. (16th century) antagonie. See Antagonism. ] Contest; opposition; antagonism. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Antagony that is between Christ and Belial. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

See Saint Anthony's Fire, under Saint. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. antimonium, of unknown origin. ] (Chem.) An elementary substance, resembling a metal in its appearance and physical properties, but in its chemical relations belonging to the class of nonmetallic substances. Atomic weight, 120. Symbol, Sb. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It is of tin-white color, brittle, laminated or crystalline, fusible, and vaporizable at a rather low temperature. It is used in some metallic alloys, as type metal and bell metal, and also for medical preparations, which are in general emetics or cathartics. By ancient writers, and some moderns, the term is applied to native gray ore of antimony, or stibnite (the stibium of the Romans, and the sti`mmi of the Greeks, a sulphide of antimony, from which most of the antimony of commerce is obtained. Cervantite, senarmontite, and valentinite are native oxides of antimony. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Antiphonies [ See Antiphon. ] 1. A musical response; also, antiphonal chanting or signing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An anthem or psalm sung alternately by a choir or congregation divided into two parts. Also figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]

O! never more for me shall winds intone,
With all your tops, a vast antiphony. R. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; a word used in substitution for another; &unr_; + &unr_;, &unr_;, a word. ] A word of opposite meaning; a counterterm; -- used as a correlative of synonym. [ R. ] C. J. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ } n. [ NL. aphonia, Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; voiceless; 'a priv. + &unr_; voice: cf. F. aphonie. ] (Med.) Loss of voice or vocal utterance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Archegonium. ] (Biol.) Spontaneous generation; abiogenesis. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Astonied p. pr. & vb. n. Astonying. See Astone. ] To stun; to bewilder; to astonish; to dismay. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The captain of the Helots . . . strake Palladius upon the side of his head, that he reeled astonied. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

This sodeyn cas this man astonied so,
That reed he wex, abayst, and al quaking. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Astrogeny. -- As`*tro*gon"ic a. [1913 Webster]

n. 1. the relation that exists when things occur at unrelated times.
Syn. -- asynchronism, desynchronization, desynchronisation, desynchronizing [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; slackness; 'a priv. + &unr_; tone, strength, &unr_; to stretch: cf. F. atonie. ] (Med.) Want of tone; weakness of the system, or of any organ, especially of such as are contractile. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An aboriginal or autochthonous condition. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Auto- + Gr. &unr_; a sound. ] (Med.) An auscultatory process, which consists in noting the tone of the observer's own voice, while he speaks, holding his head close to the patient's chest. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Balconies [ It. balcone; cf. It. balco, palco, scaffold, fr. OHG. balcho, palcho, beam, G. balken. See Balk beam. ] 1. (Arch.) A platform projecting from the wall of a building, usually resting on brackets or consoles, and inclosed by a parapet; as, a balcony in front of a window. Also, a projecting gallery in places of amusement; as, the balcony in a theater. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A projecting gallery once common at the stern of large ships. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ “The accent has shifted from the second to the first syllable within these twenty years.” Smart (1836). [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Baronies [ OF. baronie, F. baronnie, LL. baronia. See Baron. ] 1. The fee or domain of a baron; the lordship, dignity, or rank of a baron. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In Ireland, a territorial division, corresponding nearly to the English hundred, and supposed to have been originally the district of a native chief. There are 252 of these baronies. In Scotland, an extensive freehold. It may be held by a commoner. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. bary`s heavy + fwnh` a sound, voice. ] (Med.) Difficulty of speech. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Betonies [ OE. betony, betany, F. betoine, fr. L. betonica, vettonica. ] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Betonica (Linn.). [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The purple or wood betony (Betonica officinalis, Linn.) is common in Europe, being formerly used in medicine, and (according to Loudon) in dyeing wool a yellow color. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Consisting of bone, or of bones; full of bones; pertaining to bones. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having large or prominent bones. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bony fish (Zool.), the menhaden. --
Bony pike (Zool.), the gar pike (Lepidosteus). [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ F. boutonné, fr. boutonner to bud, button. ] (Her.) Having a bud or button, or a kind of trefoil, at the end; furnished with knobs or buttons. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cross bottony (Her.), a cross having each arm terminating in three rounded lobes, forming a sort of trefoil. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Containing or resembling brimstone; sulphurous. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Bryony. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; windpipe + &unr_; sound. ] A modification of the voice sounds, by which they are intensified and heightened in pitch; -- observed in auscultation of the chest in certain cases of intro-thoracic disease. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. bryonia, Gr. brywni`a, fr. bry`ein to swell, esp. of plants. ] (Bot.) The common name of several cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Bryonia. The root of Bryonia alba (rough bryony or white bryony) and of Bryonia dioica is a strong, irritating cathartic. [ 1913 Webster ]

Black bryony, a plant (Tamus communis) so named from its dark glossy leaves and black root; black bindweed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Ornamented with a large number of buttons. “The buttony boy.” Thackeray. “My coat so blue and buttony.” W. S. Gilbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Cacophonies [ Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;; kako`s bad + &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_; sound: cf. F. Cacophonie. ] 1. (Rhet.) An uncouth or disagreable sound of words, owing to the concurrence of harsh letters or syllables. “Cacophonies of all kinds.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) A combination of discordant sounds. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med.) An unhealthy state of the voice. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a natural family comprising the dragonets.
Syn. -- family Callionymidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Carbon + -yl. ] (Chem.) The radical (=CO), occuring, always combined, in many compounds, as the aldehydes, the ketones, urea, carbonyl chloride, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Though denoted by a formula identical with that of carbon monoxide, it is chemically distinct, as carbon seems to be divalent in carbon monoxide, but tetravalent in carbonyl compounds. [ 1913 Webster ]

Carbonyl chloride (Chem.), a colorless gas, COCl2, of offensive odor, and easily condensable to liquid. It is formed from chlorine and carbon monoxide, under the influence of light, and hence has been called phosgene, or phosgene gas; -- called also carbon oxychloride. It is used in chemical synthesis, and was also used as a poison gas in World War I. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. [ Cf. LL. cassidonium, F. cassidoine. See Chalcedony. ] (Bot.) (a) The French lavender (Lavandula Stœchas). (b) The goldilocks (Chrysocoma Linosyris) and perhaps other plants related to the genus Gnaphalium or cudweed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Ceremonies [ F. cérémonie, L. caerimonia; perh. akin to E. create and from a root signifying to do or make. ] 1. Ar act or series of acts, often of a symbolical character, prescribed by law, custom, or authority, in the conduct of important matters, as in the performance of religious duties, the transaction of affairs of state, and the celebration of notable events; as, the ceremony of crowning a sovereign; the ceremonies observed in consecrating a church; marriage and baptismal ceremonies. [ 1913 Webster ]

According to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof shall ye keep it [ the Passover ]. Numb. ix. 3 [ 1913 Webster ]

Bring her up the high altar, that she may
The sacred ceremonies there partake. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ The heralds ] with awful ceremony
And trumpet's sound, throughout the host proclaim
A solemn council. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Behavior regulated by strict etiquette; a formal method of performing acts of civility; forms of civility prescribed by custom or authority. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ceremony was but devised at first
To set a gloss on . . . hollow welcomes . . .
But where there is true friendship there needs none. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Al ceremonies are in themselves very silly things; but yet a man of the world should know them. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A ceremonial symbols; an emblem, as a crown, scepter, garland, etc. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Disrobe the images,
If you find them decked with ceremonies.
. . . Let no images
Be hung with Cæsar's trophies. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A sign or prodigy; a portent. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Cæsar, I never stood on ceremonies,
Yet, now they fright me. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Master of ceremonies, an officer who determines the forms to be observed, or superintends their observance, on a public occasion. --
Not to stand on ceremony, not to be ceremonious; to be familiar, outspoken, or bold. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Chalcedonies [ L. chalcedonius, fr. Gr. CHalkhdw`n Chalcedon, a town in Asia Minor, opposite to Byzantium: cf. calcédoine, OE. calcidoine, casidoyne. Cf. Cassidony. ] (Min.) A cryptocrystalline, translucent variety of quartz, having usually a whitish color, and a luster nearly like wax. [ Written also calcedony. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ When chalcedony is variegated with with spots or figures, or arranged in differently colored layers, it is called agate; and if by reason of the thickness, color, and arrangement of the layers it is suitable for being carved into cameos, it is called onyx. Chrysoprase is green chalcedony; carnelian, a flesh red, and sard, a brownish red variety. [ 1913 Webster ]