Search Result for "a": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (7)

1. a metric unit of length equal to one ten billionth of a meter (or 0.0001 micron); used to specify wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation;
[syn: angstrom, angstrom unit, A]

2. any of several fat-soluble vitamins essential for normal vision; prevents night blindness or inflammation or dryness of the eyes;
[syn: vitamin A, antiophthalmic factor, axerophthol, A]

3. one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose);
[syn: deoxyadenosine monophosphate, A]

4. (biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA;
[syn: adenine, A]

5. the basic unit of electric current adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites;
- Example: "a typical household circuit carries 15 to 50 amps"
[syn: ampere, amp, A]

6. the 1st letter of the Roman alphabet;
[syn: A, a]

7. the blood group whose red cells carry the A antigen;
[syn: A, type A, group A]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Gastropoda \Gas*trop"o*da\, n. pl., [NL., fr. Gr. ?, ?, stomach + -poda.] (Zool.) One of the classes of Mollusca, of great extent. It includes most of the marine spiral shells, and the land and fresh-water snails. They generally creep by means of a flat, muscular disk, or foot, on the ventral side of the body. The head usually bears one or two pairs of tentacles. See Mollusca. [Written also Gasteropoda.] [1913 Webster] Note: The Gastropoda are divided into three subclasses; viz.: (a) The Streptoneura or Dioecia, including the Pectinibranchiata, Rhipidoglossa, Docoglossa, and Heteropoda. (b) The Euthyneura, including the Pulmonata and Opisthobranchia. (c) The Amphineura, including the Polyplacophora and Aplacophora. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Gripe \Gripe\, n. 1. Grasp; seizure; fast hold; clutch. [1913 Webster] A barren scepter in my gripe. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. That on which the grasp is put; a handle; a grip; as, the gripe of a sword. [1913 Webster] 3. (Mech.) A device for grasping or holding anything; a brake to stop a wheel. [1913 Webster] 4. Oppression; cruel exaction; affiction; pinching distress; as, the gripe of poverty. [1913 Webster] 5. Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines; -- chiefly used in the plural. [1913 Webster] 6. (Naut.) (a) The piece of timber which terminates the keel at the fore end; the forefoot. (b) The compass or sharpness of a ship's stern under the water, having a tendency to make her keep a good wind. (c) pl. An assemblage of ropes, dead-eyes, and hocks, fastened to ringbolts in the deck, to secure the boats when hoisted; also, broad bands passed around a boat to secure it at the davits and prevent swinging. [1913 Webster] Gripe penny, a miser; a niggard. --D. L. Mackenzie. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Infinitive \In*fin"i*tive\, n. [L. infinitivus: cf. F. infinitif. See Infinite.] Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined. [1913 Webster] Infinitive mood (Gram.), that form of the verb which merely names the action, and performs the office of a verbal noun. Some grammarians make two forms in English: (a) The simple form, as, speak, go, hear, before which to is commonly placed, as, to speak; to go; to hear. (b) The form of the imperfect participle, called the infinitive in -ing; as, going is as easy as standing. [1913 Webster] Note: With the auxiliary verbs may, can, must, might, could, would, and should, the simple infinitive is expressed without to; as, you may speak; they must hear, etc. The infinitive usually omits to with the verbs let, dare, do, bid, make, see, hear, need, etc.; as, let me go; you dare not tell; make him work; hear him talk, etc. [1913 Webster] Note: In Anglo-Saxon, the simple infinitive was not preceded by to (the sign of modern simple infinitive), but it had a dative form (sometimes called the gerundial infinitive) which was preceded by to, and was chiefly employed in expressing purpose. See Gerund, 2. [1913 Webster] Note: The gerundial ending (-anne) not only took the same form as the simple infinitive (-an), but it was confounded with the present participle in -ende, or -inde (later -inge). [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Legate \Leg"ate\ (l[e^]g"[asl]t), n. [OE. legat, L. legatus, fr. legare to send with a commission or charge, to depute, fr. lex, legis, law: cf. F. l['e]gat, It. legato. See Legal.] 1. An ambassador or envoy. [1913 Webster] 2. An ecclesiastic representing the pope and invested with the authority of the Holy See. [1913 Webster] Note: Legates are of three kinds: (a) Legates a latere, now always cardinals. They are called ordinary or extraordinary legates, the former governing provinces, and the latter class being sent to foreign countries on extraordinary occasions. (b) Legati missi, who correspond to the ambassadors of temporal governments. (c) Legati nati, or legates by virtue of their office, as the archbishops of Salzburg and Prague. [1913 Webster] 3. (Rom. Hist.) (a) An official assistant given to a general or to the governor of a province. (b) Under the emperors, a governor sent to a province. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Libration \Li*bra"tion\ (l[-i]*br[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. [L. libratio: cf. F. libration.] 1. The act or state of librating. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] 2. (Astron.) A real or apparent libratory motion, like that of a balance before coming to rest. [1913 Webster] Libration of the moon, any one of those small periodical changes in the position of the moon's surface relatively to the earth, in consequence of which narrow portions at opposite limbs become visible or invisible alternately. It receives different names according to the manner in which it takes place; as: (a) Libration in longitude, that which, depending on the place of the moon in its elliptic orbit, causes small portions near the eastern and western borders alternately to appear and disappear each month. (b) Libration in latitude, that which depends on the varying position of the moon's axis in respect to the spectator, causing the alternate appearance and disappearance of either pole. (c) Diurnal or parallactic libration, that which brings into view on the upper limb, at rising and setting, some parts not in the average visible hemisphere. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Monkey \Mon"key\, n.; pl. Monkeys. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It. monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr. fr. madonna. See Madonna.] 1. (Zool.) (a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana, including apes, baboons, and lemurs. (b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs. (c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of apes and baboons. [1913 Webster] Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups: (a) Catarrhines, or Simidae. These have an oblong head, with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old World. (b) Platyrhines, or Cebidae. These have a round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not opposable. These are natives of the New World. (c) Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern Asia, Africa, and Madagascar. [1913 Webster] 2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a mischievous child. [1913 Webster] This is the monkey's own giving out; she is persuaded I will marry her. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging. [1913 Webster] 4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century. [1913 Webster] Monkey boat. (Naut.) (a) A small boat used in docks. (b) A half-decked boat used on the River Thames. Monkey block (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a swivel. --R. H. Dana, Jr. Monkey flower (Bot.), a plant of the genus Mimulus; -- so called from the appearance of its gaping corolla. --Gray. Monkey gaff (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast for the better display of signals at sea. Monkey jacket, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by sailors. Monkey rail (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about six inches above the quarter rail of a ship. Monkey shine, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.] Monkey trick, a mischievous prank. --Saintsbury. Monkey wheel. See Gin block, under 5th Gin. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Motion \Mo"tion\, n. [F., fr. L. motio, fr. movere, motum, to move. See Move.] 1. The act, process, or state of changing place or position; movement; the passing of a body from one place or position to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; -- opposed to rest. [1913 Webster] Speaking or mute, all comeliness and grace attends thee, and each word, each motion, forms. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Power of, or capacity for, motion. [1913 Webster] Devoid of sense and motion. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 3. Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of the planets is from west to east. [1913 Webster] In our proper motion we ascend. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 4. Change in the relative position of the parts of anything; action of a machine with respect to the relative movement of its parts. [1913 Webster] This is the great wheel to which the clock owes its motion. --Dr. H. More. [1913 Webster] 5. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity. [1913 Webster] Let a good man obey every good motion rising in his heart, knowing that every such motion proceeds from God. --South. [1913 Webster] 6. A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress; esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly; as, a motion to adjourn. [1913 Webster] Yes, I agree, and thank you for your motion. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 7. (Law) An application made to a court or judge orally in open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant. --Mozley & W. [1913 Webster] 8. (Mus.) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts. [1913 Webster] The independent motions of different parts sounding together constitute counterpoint. --Grove. [1913 Webster] Note: Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is that when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is that when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is that when parts move in the same direction. [1913 Webster] 9. A puppet show or puppet. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] What motion's this? the model of Nineveh? --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster] Note: Motion, in mechanics, may be simple or compound. Simple motions are: (a) straight translation, which, if of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. (b) Simple rotation, which may be either continuous or reciprocating, and when reciprocating is called oscillating. (c) Helical, which, if of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. Compound motion consists of combinations of any of the simple motions. [1913 Webster] Center of motion, Harmonic motion, etc. See under Center, Harmonic, etc. Motion block (Steam Engine), a crosshead. Perpetual motion (Mech.), an incessant motion conceived to be attainable by a machine supplying its own motive forces independently of any action from without. According to the law of conservation of energy, such perpetual motion is impossible, and no device has yet been built that is capable of perpetual motion. [1913 Webster +PJC] Syn: See Movement. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Respiration \Res`pi*ra"tion\ (r?s`p?*r?"sh?n), n. [L. respiratio: cf. F. respiration. See Respire.] 1. The act of respiring or breathing again, or catching one's breath. [1913 Webster] 2. Relief from toil or suffering: rest. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Till the day Appear of respiration to the just And vengeance to the wicked. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 3. Interval; intermission. [Obs.] --Bp. Hall. [1913 Webster] 4. (Physiol.) The act of resping or breathing; the act of taking in and giving out air; the aggregate of those processes bu which oxygen is introduced into the system, and carbon dioxide, or carbonic acid, removed. [1913 Webster] Note: Respiration in the higher animals is divided into: (a) Internal respiration, or the interchange of oxygen and carbonic acid between the cells of the body and the bathing them, which in one sense is a process of nutrition. (b) External respiration, or the gaseous interchange taking place in the special respiratory organs, the lungs. This constitutes respiration proper. --Gamgee. [1913 Webster] In the respiration of plants oxygen is likewise absorbed and carbonic acid exhaled, but in the light this process is obscured by another process which goes on with more vigor, in which the plant inhales and absorbs carbonic acid and exhales free oxygen. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

A \A\ ([.a]), prep. [Abbreviated form of an (AS. on). See On.] 1. In; on; at; by. [Obs.] "A God's name." "Torn a pieces." "Stand a tiptoe." "A Sundays" --Shak. "Wit that men have now a days." --Chaucer. "Set them a work." --Robynson (More's Utopia). [1913 Webster] 2. In process of; in the act of; into; to; -- used with verbal substantives in -ing which begin with a consonant. This is a shortened form of the preposition an (which was used before the vowel sound); as in a hunting, a building, a begging. "Jacob, when he was a dying" --Heb. xi. 21. "We'll a birding together." " It was a doing." --Shak. "He burst out a laughing." --Macaulay. Note: The hyphen may be used to connect a with the verbal substantive (as, a-hunting, a-building) or the words may be written separately. This form of expression is now for the most part obsolete, the a being omitted and the verbal substantive treated as a participle. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

A \A\ (named [=a] in the English, and most commonly [aum] in other languages). The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets. The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe, as also the small letter (a), besides the forms in Italic, black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A, which was borrowed from the Greek Alpha, of the same form; and this was made from the first letter (?) of the Ph[oe]nician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph, and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to represent their vowel Alpha with the [aum] sound, the Ph[oe]nician alphabet having no vowel symbols. [1913 Webster] This letter, in English, is used for several different vowel sounds. See Guide to pronunciation, [sect][sect] 43-74. The regular long a, as in fate, etc., is a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of what, till about the early part of the 17th century, was a sound of the quality of [aum] (as in far). [1913 Webster] 2. (Mus.) The name of the sixth tone in the model major scale (that in C), or the first tone of the minor scale, which is named after it the scale in A minor. The second string of the violin is tuned to the A in the treble staff. -- A sharp (A[sharp]) is the name of a musical tone intermediate between A and B. -- A flat (A[flat]) is the name of a tone intermediate between A and G. [1913 Webster] A per se (L. per se by itself), one pre["e]minent; a nonesuch. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] O fair Creseide, the flower and A per se Of Troy and Greece. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

A \A\ ([.a] emph. [=a]). 1. [Shortened form of an. AS. [=a]n one. See One.] An adjective, commonly called the indefinite article, and signifying one or any, but less emphatically. "At a birth"; "In a word"; "At a blow". --Shak. Note: It is placed before nouns of the singular number denoting an individual object, or a quality individualized, before collective nouns, and also before plural nouns when the adjective few or the phrase great many or good many is interposed; as, a dog, a house, a man; a color; a sweetness; a hundred, a fleet, a regiment; a few persons, a great many days. It is used for an, for the sake of euphony, before words beginning with a consonant sound [for exception of certain words beginning with h, see An]; as, a table, a woman, a year, a unit, a eulogy, a ewe, a oneness, such a one, etc. Formally an was used both before vowels and consonants. [1913 Webster] 2. [Originally the preposition a (an, on).] In each; to or for each; as, "twenty leagues a day", "a hundred pounds a year", "a dollar a yard", etc. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

A \A\ [From AS. of off, from. See Of.] Of. [Obs.] "The name of John a Gaunt." "What time a day is it ?" --Shak. "It's six a clock." --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

A \A\ A barbarous corruption of have, of he, and sometimes of it and of they. "So would I a done" "A brushes his hat." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

A \A\ An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter [1913 Webster] A merry heart goes all the day, Your sad tires in a mile-a. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

A- \A-\ A, as a prefix to English words, is derived from various sources. (1) It frequently signifies on or in (from an, a forms of AS. on), denoting a state, as in afoot, on foot, abed, amiss, asleep, aground, aloft, away (AS. onweg), and analogically, ablaze, atremble, etc. (2) AS. of off, from, as in adown (AS. ofd[=u]ne off the dun or hill). (3) AS. [=a]- (Goth. us-, ur-, Ger. er-), usually giving an intensive force, and sometimes the sense of away, on, back, as in arise, abide, ago. (4) Old English y- or i- (corrupted from the AS. inseparable particle ge-, cognate with OHG. ga-, gi-, Goth. ga-), which, as a prefix, made no essential addition to the meaning, as in aware. (5) French [`a] (L. ad to), as in abase, achieve. (6) L. a, ab, abs, from, as in avert. (7) Greek insep. prefix [alpha] without, or privative, not, as in abyss, atheist; akin to E. un-. [1913 Webster] Note: Besides these, there are other sources from which the prefix a takes its origin. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Ferment \Fer"ment\, n. [L. fermentum ferment (in senses 1 & 2), perh. for fervimentum, fr. fervere to be boiling hot, boil, ferment: cf. F. ferment. Cf. 1st Barm, Fervent.] 1. That which causes fermentation, as yeast, barm, or fermenting beer. [1913 Webster] Note: Ferments are of two kinds: (a) Formed or organized ferments. (b) Unorganized or structureless ferments. The latter are now called enzymes and were formerly called soluble ferments or chemical ferments. Ferments of the first class are as a rule simple microscopic vegetable organisms, and the fermentations which they engender are due to their growth and development; as, the acetic ferment, the butyric ferment, etc. See Fermentation. Ferments of the second class, on the other hand, are chemical substances; as a rule they are proteins soluble in glycerin and precipitated by alcohol. In action they are catalytic and, mainly, hydrolytic. Good examples are pepsin of the dastric juice, ptyalin of the salvia, and disease of malt. Before 1960 the term "ferment" to mean "enzyme" fell out of use. Enzymes are now known to be globular proteins, capable of catalyzing a wide variety of chemical reactions, not merely hydrolytic. The full set of enzymes causing production of ethyl alcohol from sugar has been identified and individually purified and studied. See enzyme. [1913 Webster +PJC] 2. Intestine motion; heat; tumult; agitation. [1913 Webster] Subdue and cool the ferment of desire. --Rogers. [1913 Webster] the nation is in a ferment. --Walpole. [1913 Webster] 3. A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a fluid; fermentation. [R.] [1913 Webster] Down to the lowest lees the ferment ran. --Thomson. [1913 Webster] ferment oils, volatile oils produced by the fermentation of plants, and not originally contained in them. These were the quintessences of the alchemists. --Ure. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

A n 1: a metric unit of length equal to one ten billionth of a meter (or 0.0001 micron); used to specify wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation [syn: angstrom, angstrom unit, A] 2: any of several fat-soluble vitamins essential for normal vision; prevents night blindness or inflammation or dryness of the eyes [syn: vitamin A, antiophthalmic factor, axerophthol, A] 3: one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose) [syn: deoxyadenosine monophosphate, A] 4: (biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA [syn: adenine, A] 5: the basic unit of electric current adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites; "a typical household circuit carries 15 to 50 amps" [syn: ampere, amp, A] 6: the 1st letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: A, a] 7: the blood group whose red cells carry the A antigen [syn: A, type A, group A]
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:

A Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as Omega is the last. These letters occur in the text of Rev. 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13, and are represented by "Alpha" and "Omega" respectively (omitted in R.V., 1:11). They mean "the first and last." (Comp. Heb. 12:2; Isa. 41:4; 44:6; Rev. 1:11,17; 2:8.) In the symbols of the early Christian Church these two letters are frequently combined with the cross or with Christ's monogram to denote his divinity.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

A, the first letter of the English and most other alphabets, is frequently used as an abbreviation, (q.v.) and also in the marks of schedules or papers, as schedule A, B, C, &c. Among the Romans this letter was used in criminal trials. The judges were furnished with small tables covered with wax, and each one inscribed on it the initial letter of his vote; A, when he voted to absolve the party on trial; C, when he was for condemnation; and N L, (non liquet) when the matter did not appear clearly, and be desired a new argument.