*abra*

n. [ L. Of unknown origin. ] A mystical word or collocation of letters written as in the figure. Worn on an amulet it was supposed to ward off fever. At present the word is used chiefly in jest to denote something without meaning; jargon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A material used for grinding, as emery, sand, powdered glass, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abraded; p. pr. & vb. n. Abrading. ] [ L. abradere, abrasum, to scrape off; ab + radere to scrape. See Rase, Raze. ] To rub or wear off; to waste or wear away by friction; as, to abrade rocks. Lyell. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. Same as Abraid. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to Abraham, the patriarch; as, the Abrachamic covenant. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ OE. abraiden, to awake, draw (a sword), AS. ābredgan to shake, draw; pref. ā- (cf. Goth. us-, Ger. er-, orig. meaning out) + bregdan to shake, throw. See Braid. ] To awake; to arouse; to stir or start up; also, to shout out. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of European fishes.
Syn. -- genus Abramis [ WordNet 1.5 ]

it>or n. [ Possibly in allusion to the parable of the beggar Lazarus in Luke xvi. Murray (New Eng. Dict. ). ] One of a set of vagabonds who formerly roamed through England, feigning lunacy for the sake of obtaining alms. Nares. [ 1913 Webster ]

To sham Abraham, to feign sickness. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Abranchiate. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from Gr. 'a priv. + &unr_;, pl., the gills of fishes. ] (Zool.) A group of annelids, so called because the species composing it have no special organs of respiration. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Without gills. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having no gills; -- same as abranchiate. branchiate
Syn. -- abranchiate, abranchial, gill-less [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ L. abrasus, p. p. of abradere. See Abrade. ] Rubbed smooth. [ Obs. ] “An abrase table.” B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abrasio, fr. abradere. See Abrade. ] 1. The act of abrading, wearing, or rubbing off; the wearing away by friction; as, the abrasion of coins. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The substance rubbed off. Berkeley. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med.) (a) A superficial excoriation of skin or mucous membranes. AS (b) Erosion of the tooth substance AS [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Producing abrasion. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

or /mhw>, n. [ Ger., fr. abräumen to remove. ] A red ocher used to darken mahogany and for making chloride of potassium. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ A name adopted by the Egyptian Gnostic Basilides, containing the Greek letters α, β, ρ, α, ξ, α, σ, which, as numerals, amounted to 365. It was used to signify the supreme deity as ruler of the 365 heavens of his system. ] A mystical word used as a charm and engraved on gems among the ancients; also, a gem stone thus engraved. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. [ A false form from the preterit abraid, abrayde. ] See Abraid. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Anastomosing + branch. ] A branch of a river that reënters, or anastomoses with, the main stream; also, less properly, a branch which loses itself in sandy soil. [ Australia ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Such branches of a river as after separation reunite, I would term anastomosing branches; or, if a word might be coined, anabranches, and the islands they form branch islands. Col. Jackson. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. a branched, ornamental candlestick having several sockets for candles.
Syn. -- candelabrum. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a branched, ornamental electric light fixture, resembling an candelabra[ wn1 ], having several sockets for lights.
Syn. -- candelabrum. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. [ L., fr. dolare to hew. ] A rude ancient ax or hatchet, seen in museums. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Outside of the branchial arches; -- said of the cartilages thus placed in some fishes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. glabrare, fr. glaber smooth. ] (Bot.) Becoming smooth or glabrous from age. Gray.

a. Relating to the patriarch Abraham. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Infra + branchial. ] (Zool.) Below the gills; -- applied to the ventral portion of the pallial chamber in the lamellibranchs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A region of British America on the Atlantic coast, north of Newfoundland. [ 1913 Webster ]

Labrador duck (Zool.), a sea duck (Camtolaimus Labradorius) allied to the eider ducks. It was formerly common on the coast of New England, but is now supposed to be extinct, no specimens having been reported since 1878. --
Labrador feldspar. See Labradorite. --
Labrador tea (Bot.), a name of two low, evergreen shrubs of the genus Ledum (Ledum palustre and Ledum latifolium), found in Northern Europe and America. They are used as tea in British America, and in Scandinavia as a substitute for hops. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Min.) A kind of feldspar commonly showing a beautiful play of colors, and hence much used for ornamental purposes. The finest specimens come from Labrador. See Feldspar. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ L. labrum; cf. It. labbro, pl. labbra. ] Lips. [ Obs. & R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. (Bot.) THe species name of the acerola, also called barbados cherry, a tropical American shrub bearing edible cherrylike acid red fruit.
Syn. -- barbados cherry, acerola, Surinam cherry, West Indian cherry. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Meta- + branchial. ] (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the lobe of the carapace of crabs covering the posterior branchiae. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. An idle, ragged person. Nares. Grose. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Turk. tshāprāk, whence F. chabraque, G. shabracke. ] (Mil.) The saddlecloth or housing of a cavalry horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Situated above the branchiae; -- applied especially to the upper division of the gill cavity of bivalve mollusks. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. See Tetra-, and Branchia. ] (Zool.) An order of Cephalopoda having four gills. Among living species it includes only the pearly nautilus. Numerous genera and species are found in the fossil state, such as Ammonites, Baculites, Orthoceras, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]