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

n. Abortment; abortion. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. acusement. See Accuse. ] Accusation. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. avertisement, formerly also spelled advertissement, a warning, giving notice, fr. avertir. ] 1. The act of informing or notifying; notification. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

An advertisement of danger. Bp. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Admonition; advice; warning. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Therefore give me no counsel:
My griefs cry louder than advertisement. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A public notice, especially a paid notice in some public print; anything that advertises; as, a newspaper containing many advertisements. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. avisement, F. avisement, fr. aviser. See Advise, and cf. Avisement. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Counsel; advice; information. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And mused awhile, waking advisement takes of what had passed in sleep. Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Consideration; deliberation; consultation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tempering the passion with advisement slow. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. affranchissement. ] The act of making free; enfranchisement. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v., n., a., n. Same as Amortize, Amortization, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. amusement. ] 1. Deep thought; muse. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Here I . . . fell into a strong and deep amusement, revolving in my mind, with great perplexity, the amazing change of our affairs. Fleetwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being amused; pleasurable excitement; that which amuses; diversion. [ 1913 Webster ]

His favorite amusements were architecture and gardening. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Diversion; entertainment; recreation; relaxation; pastime; sport. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of appeasing, or the state of being appeased; pacification. Hayward. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Appraise. Cf. Apprizement. ] The act of setting the value; valuation by an appraiser; estimation of worth. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. arrondir to make round; ad + rond round, L. rotundus. ] A subdivision of a department. [ France ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The territory of France, since the revolution, has been divided into departments, those into arrondissements, those into cantons, and the latter into communes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Advisement; observation; deliberation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. soubassement. Of uncertain origin. Cf. Base, a., Bastion. ] (Arch.) The outer wall of the ground story of a building, or of a part of that story, when treated as a distinct substructure. (See Base, n., 3 (a).) Hence: The rooms of a ground floor, collectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

Basement membrane (Anat.), a delicate membrane composed of a single layer of flat cells, forming the substratum upon which, in many organs, the epithelioid cells are disposed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steel made directly from cast iron, by burning out a portion of the carbon and other impurities that the latter contains, through the agency of a blast of air which is forced through the molten metal; -- so called from Sir Henry Bessemer, an English engineer, the inventor of the process. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. bouleverser to overthrow. ] Complete overthrow; disorder; a turning upside down. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement. ] (Arch.) A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [ 1913 Webster ]

A casement of the great chamber window. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a casement or casements. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Chastise. ] The act of chastising; pain inflicted for punishment and correction; discipline; punishment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shall I so much dishonor my fair stars,
On equal terms to give him chastesement! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have borne chastisement; I will not offend any more. Job xxxiv. 31. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of debasing or the state of being debased. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. ] Also, sometimes, Anglicized (Ordnance) An accidental blowing off of, or other serious damage to, the breechblock of a gun; also, a removal of the breechblock for the purpose of disabling the gun. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A despising. [ R. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ . See Disfranchise, Disfranchisement. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. déboursement. ] 1. The act of disbursing or paying out. [ 1913 Webster ]

The disbursement of the public moneys. U. S. Statutes. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is disbursed or paid out; as, the annual disbursements exceed the income. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Uneasiness; inconvenience. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of disfranchising, or the state of being disfranchised; deprivation of privileges of citizenship or of chartered immunities. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sentenced first to dismission from the court, and then to disfranchisement and expulsion from the colony. Palfrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Disguise. [ R. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Disposal. [ Obs. ] Goodwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. the next word. ] Diversion; amusement; recreation. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. ] A short ballet, or other entertainment, between the acts of a play. Smart. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. aisement. See Ease, n. ] 1. That which gives ease, relief, or assistance; convenience; accommodation. [ 1913 Webster ]

In need of every kind of relief and easement. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) A liberty, privilege, or advantage, which one proprietor has in the estate of another proprietor, distinct from the ownership of the soil, as a way, water course, etc. It is a species of what the civil law calls servitude. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Arch.) A curved member instead of an abrupt change of direction, as in a baseboard, hand rail, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. éclaircir. See Eclaircise, v. t. ] The clearing up of anything which is obscure or not easily understood; an explanation. [ 1913 Webster ]

The eclaircissement ended in the discovery of the informer. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. ] (Surg.) The operation performed with an écraseur. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Embase, v. t. ] Act of bringing down; depravation; deterioration. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Embushment. ] An ambush. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr s'empresser to hasten. ] Demonstrative warmth or cordiality of manner; display of enthusiasm.

He grasped my hand with a nervous empressement. Poe. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Cf. Casement. ] 1. The act of encasing; also, that which encases. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) An old theory of generation similar to emboîtement. See Ovulist. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. endossement. ] Same as Indorsement. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Releasing from slavery or custody. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Admission to the freedom of a corporation or body politic; investiture with the privileges of free citizens. [ 1913 Webster ]

Enfranchisement of copyhold (Eng. Law), the conversion of a copyhold estate into a freehold. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of erasing; a rubbing out; expunction; obliteration. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. espousement. ] The act of espousing, or the state of being espoused. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. excusement. ] Excuse. [ Obs. ] Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. franchissement. ] Release; deliverance; freedom. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The flesh of horses used as food.
Syn. -- horseflesh. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. The act of imbursing, or the state of being imbursed. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Money laid up in stock. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Imposition. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Casement. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act or process of inclosing with a case, or the state of being incased. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which forms a case, covering, or inclosure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Fury; rage; heat; exasperation; as, implacable incensement. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Increase. [ R. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Indorse; cf. Endorsement. ] [ Written also endorsement. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act of writing on the back of a note, bill, or other written instrument. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is written on the back of a note, bill, or other paper, as a name, an order for, or a receipt of, payment, or the return of an officer, etc.; a writing, usually upon the back, but sometimes on the face, of a negotiable instrument, by which the property therein is assigned and transferred. Story. Byles. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Sanction, support, or approval; as, the indorsement of a rumor, an opinion, a course, conduct. [ 1913 Webster ]

Blank indorsement. See under Blank.

a. [ Mega- + Gr. &unr_; sing, mark: cf. F. mégasème. ] (Anat.) Having the orbital index relatively large; having the orbits narrow transversely; -- opposed to microseme. [ 1913 Webster ]