A registry mark given by underwriters (as at Lloyd's) to ships in first-class condition. Inferior grades are indicated by A 2 and A 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

A 1 is also applied colloquially to other things to imply superiority; prime; first-class; first-rate. [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The first three letters of the alphabet, used for the whole alphabet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A primer for teaching the alphabet and first elements of reading. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The simplest rudiments of any subject; as, the A B C of finance. [ 1913 Webster ]

A B C book, a primer. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ It. See Chapel. ] (Mus.) (a) In church or chapel style; -- said of compositions sung in the old church style, without instrumental accompaniment; as, a mass a capella, i. e., a mass purely vocal. (b) A time indication, equivalent to alla breve. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ F., lit., on horseback. ] Astride; with a part on each side; -- used specif. in designating the position of an army with the wings separated by some line of demarcation, as a river or road. [ 1913 Webster ]

A position à cheval on a river is not one which a general willingly assumes. Swinton. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ [ L. ] (Logic & Math.) With stronger reason. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Geol.) A period in the American eocene, the lowest in the tertiary age except the lignitic. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖r /mhw>, n. A plant (Macrochloa tenacissima) of North Africa; also, its fiber, used in paper making. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ It., according to the breve. ] (Old Church Music) With one breve, or four minims, to measure, and sung faster like four crotchets; in quick common time; -- indicated in the time signature by &unr_;. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L., fostering mother. ] A college or seminary where one is educated. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (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 ]

(Med.) A chronic contagious affection of the skin, prevalent in the tropics. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Bot.) The resiniferous tree Agathis Dammara, of the Moluccas. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

A beautiful mottled and curled wood, used in cabinetwork. It is obtained from the Pterocarpus Indicus of Amboyna, Borneo, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Zool.) A bark beetle that makes and feeds on ambrosia{ 4 }. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

‖ [ L., from board and bed. ] (Law) A kind of divorce which does not dissolve the marriage bond, but merely authorizes a separate life of the husband and wife. Abbott. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. (Geography) The capital city of Andorra. Population (2000) = 22, 390. [ PJC ]

(Bot.) A tropical plant (Cajanus indicus) and its edible seed, a kind of pulse; -- so called from Angola in Western Africa. Called also pigeon pea and Congo pea. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ From Angostura, in Venezuela. ] A bitter aromatic bark, obtained from a South American tree of the rue family (Galipea cusparia, or Galipea officinalis). It is used used as a tonic, in medicines, liqueurs and bitters. U. S. Disp. [ 1913 Webster WordNet 1.5 ]

See Angostura bark. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ } a. [ Gr. 'an priv. + 'o`psis sight. ] (Med.) Defect or absence of sight; blindness. [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

‖ [ L. a (ab) + posterior latter. ] 1. (Logic) Characterizing that kind of reasoning which derives propositions from the observation of facts, or by generalizations from facts arrives at principles and definitions, or infers causes from effects. This is the reverse of a priori reasoning. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Philos.) Applied to knowledge which is based upon or derived from facts through induction or experiment; inductive or empirical. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. a (ab) + prior former. ] 1. (Logic) Characterizing that kind of reasoning which deduces consequences from definitions formed, or principles assumed, or which infers effects from causes previously known; deductive or deductively. The reverse of a posteriori. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Philos.) Applied to knowledge and conceptions assumed, or presupposed, as prior to experience, in order to make experience rational or possible. [ 1913 Webster ]

A priori, that is, from these necessities of the mind or forms of thinking, which, though first revealed to us by experience, must yet have preëxisted in order to make experience possible. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L., strong water. ] (Chem.) Nitric acid. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖‖‖ } n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'a priv. + &unr_; a tube. ] (Zool.) A group of bivalve mollusks destitute of siphons, as the oyster; the asiphonate mollusks. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Paper impregnated with saltpeter. The fumes from the burning paper are often inhaled as an alleviative by asthmatics. [ Archaic ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

‖ [ L., the complaint having been heard. ] (Law) A writ which lies for a party against whom judgment is recovered, but to whom good matter of discharge has subsequently accrued which could not have been availed of to prevent such judgment. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A solution used as a vehicle in applying bronze pigments. In addition to acetote, benzine, and a little pyroxylin, it contains amyl acetate, which gives it the odor of bananas. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ n., . [ Native name. ] (Bot.) The nut of the Brazilian tree Myristica Bicuhyba, which yields a medicinal balsam used for rheumatism. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

A controversy (1886 -- 93) between Great Britain and the United States as to the right of Canadians not licensed by the United States to carry on seal fishing in the Bering Sea, over which the United States claimed jurisdiction as a mare clausum. A court of arbitration, meeting in Paris in 1893, decided against the claim of the United States, but established regulations for the preservation of the fur seal. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Bot.) A kind of grass (Cynodon Dactylon) esteemed for pasture in the Southern United States. It is a native of Southern Europe, but is now wide-spread in warm countries; -- called also scutch grass, and in Bermuda, devil grass. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Bot.) The large white lily (Lilium longiflorum eximium, syn. Lilium Harrisii) which is extensively cultivated in Bermuda. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Zool.) A Brazilian dipterous insect of the genus Trypeta, which lays its eggs in the nostrils or in wounds of man and beast, where the larvæ do great injury. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Physics) a form of ionizing radiation emitted by radioactive substances (such as radium), more penetrating than alpha rays, and consisting of negatively charged electrons. The electrons are the same kind of particle as those of cathode rays, but have much higher velocities (about 35, 000 to 180, 000 miles per second). They are readily deflected by a magnetic or electric field. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Bot.) A highly elastic wood, used for fishing rods, etc. The tree is unknown, but it is thought to be East Indian. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) See Oryx. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ }. [ Named after the town Biskara, in Algeria. ] (Med.) Same as Aleppo boil. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

[ NL. See Boa, and Constrictor. ] (Zool.) A large and powerful serpent of tropical America, sometimes twenty or thirty feet long. See Illustration in Appendix. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It has a succession of spots, alternately black and yellow, extending along the back. It kills its prey by constriction. The name is also loosely applied to other large serpents which crush their prey, particularly to those of the genus Python, found in Asia and Africa. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ ‖, n. [ Skr. bōdhisattva (perh. through Pali bōdhisattō); fr. bōdhi knowledge, enlightenment + sattva being, essence. ] (Buddhism) One who has reached the highest degree of saintship, so that in his next incarnation he will be a Buddha, or savior of the world. -- Bo"dhi*sat`ship, n. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

‖ [ L. ] In or with good faith; without fraud or deceit; real or really; actual or actually; genuine or genuinely; as, you must proceed bona fide; a bona fide purchaser or transaction. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. ] Good faith; honesty; freedom from fraud or deception. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ [ L. ] (Law) Perishable goods. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ It., prop. “good stuff.” ] A showy wanton; a courtesan. Shak [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. ] Miscellaneous curiosities and works of decorative art, considered collectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

A piece of bric-a-brac, any curious or antique article of virtu, as a piece of antiquated furniture or metal work, or an odd knickknack. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Written also cainca root. ] [ See Cahincic. ] (Bot.) The root of an American shrub (Chiococca racemosa), found as far north as Florida Keys, from which cahincic acid is obtained; also, the root of the South American Chiococca anguifuga, a celebrated antidote for snake poison. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ [ F. ça ira, ça ira, les aristocrates à la lanterne, it shall go on, it shall go on, [ hang ]the arictocrats to the lantern (lamp-post). ] The refrain of a famous song of the French Revolution. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) a large vulture (Gymnogyps californianus), also called California vulture. In the late 20th century it is classed as an endangered species. The California condor used to number in the thousands and ranged along the entire west coast of the United States. By 1982 only 21 to 24 individuals could be identified in the wild. A breeding program was instituted, and by 1996 over 50 birds were alive in captivity. As of 1997, fewer than ten of the bred birds had been reintroduced into the wild. [ PJC ]

A game at cards, a modification of seven-up, or all fours. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

A valuable kind of Peruvian bark obtained from the Cinchona Calisaya, and other closely related species. [ 1913 Webster ]