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n. Stealing cattle on a large scale. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. abigere to drive away; ab + agere to drive. ] (Law) One who steals and drives away cattle or beasts by herds or droves. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. ablactatus, p. p. of ablactare; ab + lactare to suckle, fr. lac milk. ] To wean. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The weaning of a child from the breast, or of young beasts from their dam. Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Hort.) The process of grafting now called inarching, or grafting by approach. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. ab- + reaction, after G. Abreagirung. ] (Psychotherapy) the purging of emotional tensions. See Catharsis, below.
Syn. -- catharsis, katharsis [ Webster 1913 Suppl. WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ L. abstractus, p. p. of abstrahere to draw from, separate; ab, abs + trahere to draw. See Trace. ] 1. Withdraw; separate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The more abstract . . . we are from the body. Norris. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; existing in the mind only; as, abstract truth, abstract numbers. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Logic) (a) Expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; -- opposed to concrete; as, honesty is an abstract word. J. S. Mill. (b) Resulting from the mental faculty of abstraction; general as opposed to particular; as, “reptile” is an abstract or general name. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an abstract name which stands for an attribute of a thing. A practice has grown up in more modern times, which, if not introduced by Locke, has gained currency from his example, of applying the expression “abstract name” to all names which are the result of abstraction and generalization, and consequently to all general names, instead of confining it to the names of attributes. J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Abstracted; absent in mind. “Abstract, as in a trance.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

An abstract idea (Metaph.), an idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it; as the solidity of marble when contemplated apart from its color or figure. --
Abstract terms, those which express abstract ideas, as beauty, whiteness, roundness, without regarding any object in which they exist; or abstract terms are the names of orders, genera or species of things, in which there is a combination of similar qualities. --
Abstract numbers (Math.), numbers used without application to things, as 6, 8, 10; but when applied to any thing, as 6 feet, 10 men, they become concrete. --
Abstract mathematics or
Pure mathematics. See Mathematics. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abstracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Abstracting. ] [ See Abstract, a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To withdraw; to separate; to take away. [ 1913 Webster ]

He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To draw off in respect to interest or attention; as, his was wholly abstracted by other objects. [ 1913 Webster ]

The young stranger had been abstracted and silent. Blackw. Mag. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To separate, as ideas, by the operation of the mind; to consider by itself; to contemplate separately, as a quality or attribute. Whately. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To epitomize; to abridge. Franklin. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To take secretly or dishonestly; to purloin; as, to abstract goods from a parcel, or money from a till. [ 1913 Webster ]

Von Rosen had quietly abstracted the bearing-reins from the harness. W. Black. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Chem.) To separate, as the more volatile or soluble parts of a substance, by distillation or other chemical processes. In this sense extract is now more generally used. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To perform the process of abstraction. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I own myself able to abstract in one sense. Berkeley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Abstract, a. ] 1. That which comprises or concentrates in itself the essential qualities of a larger thing or of several things. Specifically: A summary or an epitome, as of a treatise or book, or of a statement; a brief. [ 1913 Webster ]

An abstract of every treatise he had read. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

Man, the abstract
Of all perfection, which the workmanship
Of Heaven hath modeled. Ford. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A state of separation from other things; as, to consider a subject in the abstract, or apart from other associated things. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An abstract term. [ 1913 Webster ]

The concretes “father” and “son” have, or might have, the abstracts “paternity” and “filiety.” J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Med.) A powdered solid extract of a vegetable substance mixed with lactose in such proportion that one part of the abstract represents two parts of the original substance. [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

Abstract of title (Law), a document which provides a summary of the history of ownership of a parcel of real estate, including the conveyances and mortgages; also called brief of title. [ 1913 Webster + PJC ]

Syn. -- Abridgment; compendium; epitome; synopsis. See Abridgment. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Separated or disconnected; withdrawn; removed; apart. [ 1913 Webster ]

The evil abstracted stood from his own evil. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Separated from matter; abstract; ideal. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Abstract; abstruse; difficult. [ Obs. ] Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Inattentive to surrounding objects; absent in mind. “An abstracted scholar.” Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an abstracted manner; separately; with absence of mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being abstracted; abstract character. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who abstracts, or makes an abstract. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. abstraction. See Abstract, a. ] 1. The act of abstracting, separating, or withdrawing, or the state of being withdrawn; withdrawal. [ 1913 Webster ]

A wrongful abstraction of wealth from certain members of the community. J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metaph.) The act process of leaving out of consideration one or more properties of a complex object so as to attend to others; analysis. Thus, when the mind considers the form of a tree by itself, or the color of the leaves as separate from their size or figure, the act is called abstraction. So, also, when it considers whiteness, softness, virtue, existence, as separate from any particular objects. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Abstraction is necessary to classification, by which things are arranged in genera and species. We separate in idea the qualities of certain objects, which are of the same kind, from others which are different, in each, and arrange the objects having the same properties in a class, or collected body. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abstraction is no positive act: it is simply the negative of attention. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An idea or notion of an abstract, or theoretical nature; as, to fight for mere abstractions. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A separation from worldly objects; a recluse life; as, a hermit's abstraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Absence or absorption of mind; inattention to present objects. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The taking surreptitiously for one's own use part of the property of another; purloining. [ Modern ] [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Chem.) A separation of volatile parts by the act of distillation. Nicholson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to abstraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An idealist. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Obtained from plants by distillation. [ Obs. ] Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. abstractif. ] Having the power of abstracting; of an abstracting nature. “The abstractive faculty.” I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a abstract manner; separately; in or by itself. Feltham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being abstractive; abstractive property. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an abstract state or manner; separately; absolutely; by itself; as, matter abstractly considered. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being abstract. “The abstractness of the ideas.” Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., from Gr. &unr_; topmost + &unr_; finger. ] (Zool.) The upper surface of the toes, individually. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. actus, fr. agere to drive, do: cf. F. acte. See Agent. ] 1. That which is done or doing; the exercise of power, or the effect, of which power exerted is the cause; a performance; a deed. [ 1913 Webster ]

That best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hence, in specific uses: (a) The result of public deliberation; the decision or determination of a legislative body, council, court of justice, etc.; a decree, edit, law, judgment, resolve, award; as, an act of Parliament, or of Congress. (b) A formal solemn writing, expressing that something has been done. Abbott. (c) A performance of part of a play; one of the principal divisions of a play or dramatic work in which a certain definite part of the action is completed. (d) A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A state of reality or real existence as opposed to a possibility or possible existence. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Process of doing; action. In act, in the very doing; on the point of (doing). “In act to shoot.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

This woman was taken . . . in the very act. John viii. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

Act of attainder. (Law) See Attainder. --
Act of bankruptcy (Law), an act of a debtor which renders him liable to be adjudged a bankrupt. --
Act of faith. (Ch. Hist.) See Auto-da-Fé. --
Act of God (Law), an inevitable accident; such extraordinary interruption of the usual course of events as is not to be looked for in advance, and against which ordinary prudence could not guard. --
Act of grace, an expression often used to designate an act declaring pardon or amnesty to numerous offenders, as at the beginning of a new reign. --
Act of indemnity, a statute passed for the protection of those who have committed some illegal act subjecting them to penalties. Abbott. --
Act in pais, a thing done out of court (anciently, in the country), and not a matter of record. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- See Action. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Acted; p. pr. & vb. n. Acting. ] [ L. actus, p. p. of agere to drive, lead, do; but influenced by E. act, n. ] 1. To move to action; to actuate; to animate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To perform; to execute; to do. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That we act our temporal affairs with a desire no greater than our necessity. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Uplifted hands that at convenient times
Could act extortion and the worst of crimes. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To perform, as an actor; to represent dramatically on the stage. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To assume the office or character of; to play; to personate; as, to act the hero. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To feign or counterfeit; to simulate. [ 1913 Webster ]

With acted fear the villain thus pursued. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

To act a part, to sustain the part of one of the characters in a play; hence, to simulate; to dissemble. --
To act the part of, to take the character of; to fulfill the duties of. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To exert power; to produce an effect; as, the stomach acts upon food. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To perform actions; to fulfill functions; to put forth energy; to move, as opposed to remaining at rest; to carry into effect a determination of the will. [ 1913 Webster ]

He hangs between, in doubt to act or rest. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To behave or conduct, as in morals, private duties, or public offices; to bear or deport one's self; as, we know not why he has acted so. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To perform on the stage; to represent a character. [ 1913 Webster ]

To show the world how Garrick did not act. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

To act as or
To act for, to do the work of; to serve as. --
To act on, to regulate one's conduct according to. --
To act up to, to equal in action; to fulfill in practice; as, he has acted up to his engagement or his advantages. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being acted. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 baneberry.
Syn. -- genus Actaea [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a growth hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland; stimulates the adrenal cortex.
Syn. -- adrenocorticotropic hormone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, adrenocorticotropin, adrenocorticotrophin, corticotropin, corticotrophin [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. 1 luna moths.
Syn. -- genus Actias [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray. ] (Zool.) Pertaining to the part of a radiate animal which contains the mouth. L. Agassiz. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray. ] (Zool.) An order of Anthozoa, including those which have simple tentacles and do not form stony corals. Sometimes, in a wider sense, applied to all the Anthozoa, expert the Alcyonaria, whether forming corals or not. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Operating in any way. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Doing duty for another; officiating; as, an acting superintendent. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. L. Actiniæ E. Actinias [ Latinized fr. Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray. ] (Zool.) (a) An animal of the class Anthozoa, and family Actinidæ. From a resemblance to flowers in form and color, they are often called animal flowers and sea anemones. [ See Polyp. ]. (b) A genus in the family Actinidæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. any sea anemone or related animal.
Syn. -- actinia, actiniarian [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. 1 the order comprising sea anemones.
Syn. -- order Actiniaria, Actinaria, order Actinaria [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. any sea anemone or related animal.
Syn. -- actinia, actinian [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Of or pertaining to actinism; as, actinic rays. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a small Asiatic woody vine bearing many-seeded fruit.
Syn. -- genus Actinidia. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. 1 tropical trees or shrubs or woody vines.
Syn. -- family Actinidiaceae [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray + -form. ] Having a radiated form, like a sea anemone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of terrestrial ferns of tropical Asia and Africa.
Syn. -- genus Actiniopteris. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_; ray. ] The property of radiant energy (found chiefly in solar or electric light) by which chemical changes are produced, as in photography. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray. ] (Chem.) A supposed metal, said by Phipson to be contained in commercial zinc; -- so called because certain of its compounds are darkened by exposure to light. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Chemistry in its relations to actinism. Draper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray + -gram. ] A record made by the actinograph.
[ Obsolescent ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray + -graph. ] An instrument for measuring and recording the variations in the actinic or chemical force of rays of light. Nichol. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, ray + -oid. ] Having the form of rays; radiated, as an actinia. [ 1913 Webster ]