*be*

n. [ OF. abaesse, abeesse, F. abbesse, L. abbatissa, fem. of abbas, abbatis, abbot. See Abbot. ] A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks. See Abbey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Abbeys [ OF. abaïe, abbaïe, F. abbaye, L. abbatia, fr. abbas abbot. See Abbot. ] 1. A monastery or society of persons of either sex, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy; also, the monastic building or buildings. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The men are called monks, and governed by an abbot; the women are called nuns, and governed by an abbess. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The church of a monastery. [ 1913 Webster ]

In London, the Abbey means Westminster Abbey, and in Scotland, the precincts of the Abbey of Holyrood. The name is also retained for a private residence on the site of an abbey; as, Newstead Abbey, the residence of Lord Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Monastery; convent; nunnery; priory; cloister. See Cloister. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- + beam. ] (Naut.) On the beam, that is, on a line which forms a right angle with the ship's keel; opposite to the center of the ship's side. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ AS. āberan; pref. ā- + beran to bear. ] 1. To bear; to behave. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So did the faery knight himself abear. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put up with; to endure. [ Prov. ] Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Behavior. [ Obs. ] Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Behavior. [ Obs. ] Sir. T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abecedarius. A word from the first four letters of the alphabet. ] 1. One who is learning the alphabet; hence, a tyro. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One engaged in teaching the alphabet. Wood. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Pertaining to, or formed by, the letters of the alphabet; alphabetic; hence, rudimentary. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abecedarian psalms,
hymns, etc., compositions in which (like the 119th psalm in Hebrew) distinct portions or verses commence with successive letters of the alphabet. Hook. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A primer; the first principle or rudiment of anything. [ R. ] Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- in, on + bed. ] 1. In bed, or on the bed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not to be abed after midnight. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To childbed (in the phrase “brought abed, ” that is, delivered of a child). Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Same as Aby. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ D. abeel (abeel-boom), OF. abel, aubel, fr. a dim. of L. albus white. ] The white poplar (Populus alba). [ 1913 Webster ]

Six abeles i' the churchyard grow. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. 1. 1 A genus of tropical coarse herbs having large lobed leaves and often yellow flowers.
Syn. -- genus Abelmoschus [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ NL. abelmoschus, fr. Ar. abu-l-misk father of musk, i. e., producing musk. See Musk. (or Ar. &hsdot_;abb-al-mosk, musk seed RHUD 1.3 ] (Bot.) An evergreen shrub (Abelmoschus moschatus -- formerly Hibiscus moschatus), of the East and West Indies and Northern Africa, whose musky seeds are used in perfumery and to flavor coffee; -- sometimes called musk mallow. The seeds produce ambrette-seed oil. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

{ } n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect in Africa (4th century), mentioned by St. Augustine, who states that they married, but lived in continence, after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The European siskin (Carduelis spinus), a small green and yellow finch, related to the goldfinch. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ L. aberrare. See Aberrate. ] To wander; to stray. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. the state or condition of being aberrant; a wandering from the right way; deviation from truth, rectitude, etc.
Syn. -- aberrance, aberration, deviance [ 1913 Webster WordNet 1.5 ]

Aberrancy of curvature (Geom.), the deviation of a curve from a circular form. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. an aberrant state or condition. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. aberrans, -rantis, p. pr. of aberrare. See Aberr. ] 1. Wandering; straying from the right way. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; exceptional; abnormal. [ 1913 Webster ]

The more aberrant any form is, the greater must have been the number of connecting forms which, on my theory, have been exterminated. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ L. aberratus, p. pr. of aberrare; ab + errare to wander. See Err. ] To go astray; to diverge. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Their own defective and aberrating vision. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. aberratio: cf. F. aberration. See Aberrate. ] 1. The act of wandering; deviation, especially from truth or moral rectitude, from the natural state, or from a type. “The aberration of youth.” Hall. “Aberrations from theory.” Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A partial alienation of reason. “Occasional aberrations of intellect.” Lingard. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whims, which at first are the aberrations of a single brain, pass with heat into epidemic form. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Astron.) A small periodical change of position in the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer; called annual aberration, when the observer's motion is that of the earth in its orbit, and daily or diurnal aberration, when of the earth on its axis; amounting when greatest, in the former case, to 20.4'', and in the latter, to 0.3''. Planetary aberration is that due to the motion of light and the motion of the planet relative to the earth. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Opt.) The convergence to different foci, by a lens or mirror, of rays of light emanating from one and the same point, or the deviation of such rays from a single focus; called spherical aberration, when due to the spherical form of the lens or mirror, such form giving different foci for central and marginal rays; and chromatic aberration, when due to different refrangibilities of the colored rays of the spectrum, those of each color having a distinct focus. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Physiol.) The passage of blood or other fluid into parts not appropriate for it. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Law) The producing of an unintended effect by the glancing of an instrument, as when a shot intended for A glances and strikes B. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Insanity; lunacy; madness; derangement; alienation; mania; dementia; hallucination; illusion; delusion. See Insanity. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Characterized by aberration. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. aberuncare, for aberruncare. See Averruncate. ] To weed out. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A weeding machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abetted p. pr. & vb. n. Abetting. ] [ OF. abeter; a (L. ad) + beter to bait (as a bear), fr. Icel. beita to set dogs on, to feed, originally, to cause to bite, fr. Icel. bīta to bite, hence to bait, to incite. See Bait, Bet. ] 1. To instigate or encourage by aid or countenance; -- used in a bad sense of persons and acts; as, to abet an ill-doer; to abet one in his wicked courses; to abet vice; to abet an insurrection. “The whole tribe abets the villany.” South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Would not the fool abet the stealth,
Who rashly thus exposed his wealth? Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To support, uphold, or aid; to maintain; -- in a good sense. [ Obs. ].

Our duty is urged, and our confidence abetted. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) To contribute, as an assistant or instigator, to the commission of an offense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To incite; instigate; set on; egg on; foment; advocate; countenance; encourage; second; uphold; aid; assist; support; sustain; back; connive at. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. abet, fr. abeter. ] Act of abetting; aid. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of abetting; as, an abetment of treason, crime, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Abetment. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. One who abets; an instigator of an offense or an offender. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The form abettor is the legal term and also in general use. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Abettor, Accessory, Accomplice. These words denote different degrees of complicity in some deed or crime. An abettor is one who incites or encourages to the act, without sharing in its performance. An accessory supposes a principal offender. One who is neither the chief actor in an offense, nor present at its performance, but accedes to or becomes involved in its guilt, either by some previous or subsequent act, as of instigating, encouraging, aiding, or concealing, etc., is an accessory. An accomplice is one who participates in the commission of an offense, whether as principal or accessory. Thus in treason, there are no abettors or accessories, but all are held to be principals or accomplices. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. ab- + evacuation. ] (Med.) A partial evacuation. Mayne. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. abeance expectation, longing; a (L. ad) + baer, beer, to gape, to look with open mouth, to expect, F. bayer, LL. badare to gape. ] 1. (Law) Expectancy; condition of being undetermined. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ When there is no person in existence in whom an inheritance (or a dignity) can vest, it is said to be in abeyance, that is, in expectation; the law considering it as always potentially existing, and ready to vest whenever a proper owner appears. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Suspension; temporary suppression. [ 1913 Webster ]

Keeping the sympathies of love and admiration in a dormant state, or state of abeyance. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Abeyance. [ R. ] Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Being in a state of abeyance. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. 1 wholly absorbed as in thought that engrossed look -- that absorbed and rapt delight
Syn. -- engrossed, intent, rapt, wrapped [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. not allowed to pass through; -- said of radiant waves such as light the absorbed light intensity [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. taken in through the pores of a surface the absorbed water expanded the sponge [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In a manner as if wholly engrossed or engaged. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. 1 inducing or promoting absorption
Syn. -- sorbefacient [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Absorptiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Anything which absorbs. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

The ocean, itself a bad absorbent of heat. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.; also a substance e. g., iodine which acts on the absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated parts. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. (Physiol.) The vessels by which the processes of absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals, the extremities of the roots in plants. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. absorbens, p. pr. of absorbere. ] Absorbing; swallowing; absorptive. [ 1913 Webster ]

Absorbent ground (Paint.), a ground prepared for a picture, chiefly with distemper, or water colors, by which the oil is absorbed, and a brilliancy is imparted to the colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, absorbs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being accumbent or reclining. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Leaning or reclining, as the ancients did at their meals. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Roman . . . accumbent posture in eating. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Lying against anything, as one part of a leaf against another leaf. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Accumbent cotyledons have their edges placed against the caulicle. Eaton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who reclines at table. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To encumber. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Sp. ] 1. An unburnt brick dried in the sun; also used as an adjective, as, an adobe house, in Texas or New Mexico. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Earth from which unburnt bricks are made. [ Western U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. (Geol.) Alluvial and playa clays of desert and arid regions, differing from ordinary clays of humid regions in containing carbonates and other soluble minerals. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. a California herb (Fritillaria pluriflora) with pinkish purple flowers.
Syn. -- adobe lily, pink fritillary, Fritillaria pluriflora [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

[ Jap. adzuki. ] A cultivated variety of the Asiatic gram, now introduced into the United States. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]