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a. [ Gr. 'a priv. + &unr_; yelk. ] (Biol.) Applied to those ova which segment uniformly, and which have little or no food yelk embedded in their protoplasm. Balfour. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ /Ale + con, OE. cunnen to test, AS. cunnian to test. See Con. ] Orig., an officer appointed to look to the goodness of ale and beer; also, one of the officers chosen by the liverymen of London to inspect the measures used in public houses. But the office is a sinecure. [ Also called aletaster. ] [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ale + L. costus an aromatic plant: cf. Costmary. ] (Bot.) The plant costmary, which was formerly much used for flavoring ale. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; a cock. ] (Zool.) A group of birds including the common fowl and the pheasants. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; cock + &unr_; fight. ] Cockfighting. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Alectryomancy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; cock + &unr_; fight. ] Cockfighting. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; cock + -mancy. ] Divination by means of a cock and grains of corn placed on the letters of the alphabet, the letters being put together in the order in which the grains were eaten. Amer. Cyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of brush turkeys.
Syn. -- genus Alectura. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ ‖ } n. pl. [ Gr. 'ana`lekta fr. 'anale`gein to collect; 'ana` + le`gein to gather. ] A collection of literary fragments. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Relating to analects; made up of selections; as, an analectic magazine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;; brachy`s short + &unr_; to leave off; cf. &unr_; incomplete. ] (Gr. & Last. Pros.) A verse wanting two syllables at its termination. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. calèche. ] See Calash. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. catalecticus, Gr. &unr_; incomplete, fr. &unr_; to leave off; kata` down, wholly + lh`gein to stop. ] 1. (Pros.) Wanting a syllable at the end, or terminating in an imperfect foot; as, a catalectic verse. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Photog. & Chem.) Incomplete; partial; not affecting the whole of a substance. Abney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. dialecte, L. dialectus, fr. Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to converse, discourse. See Dialogue. ] 1. Means or mode of expressing thoughts; language; tongue; form of speech. [ 1913 Webster ]

This book is writ in such a dialect
As may the minds of listless men affect.
Bunyan.
The universal dialect of the world. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The form of speech of a limited region or people, as distinguished from ether forms nearly related to it; a variety or subdivision of a language; speech characterized by local peculiarities or specific circumstances; as, the Ionic and Attic were dialects of Greece; the Yorkshire dialect; the dialect of the learned. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the midst of this Babel of dialects there suddenly appeared a standard English language. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Charles V. ] could address his subjects from every quarter in their native dialect. Prescott.

Syn. -- Language; idiom; tongue; speech; phraseology. See Language, and Idiom. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Relating to a dialect; dialectical; as, a dialectical variant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Dialectics. [ 1913 Webster ]

Plato placed his dialectic above all sciences. Liddell & Scott.

{ } a. [ L. dialecticus, Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. dialectique. See Dialect. ] 1. Pertaining to dialectics; logical; argumental. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Pertaining to a dialect or to dialects. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a dialectical manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. dialecticien. ] One versed in dialectics; a logician; a reasoner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. dialectica (sc. ars), Gr. &unr_; (sc. &unr_;): cf. F. dialectique. ] That branch of logic which teaches the rules and modes of reasoning; the application of logical principles to discursive reasoning; the science or art of discriminating truth from error; logical discussion. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Dialectics was defined by Aristotle to be the method of arguing with probability on any given problem, and of defending a tenet without inconsistency. By Plato, it was used in the following senses: 1. Discussion by dialogue as a method of scientific investigation. 2. The method of investigating the truth by analysis. 3. The science of ideas or of the nature and laws of being -- higher metaphysics. By Kant, it was employed to signify the logic of appearances or illusions, whether these arise from accident or error, or from those necessary limitations which, according to this philosopher, originate in the constitution of the human intellect. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Dialect + -logy. ] That branch of philology which is devoted to the consideration of dialects. Beck. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One skilled in dialectics. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. hypercatalecticus, hypercatalectus, Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. hypercatalectique. See Hyper-, and Catalectic. ] (Pros.) Having a syllable or two beyond measure; as, a hypercatalectic verse. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Malconformation. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Malcontent. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A subordinate dialect. [ 1913 Webster ]