*amb*

1. A chamber or cavity filled with air, in an animal or plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A cavity containing air to act as a spring for equalizing the flow of a liquid in a pump or other hydraulic machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ultimately fr. Ar. al the + hamrā red; i. e., the red (sc. house). ] The palace of the Moorish kings at Granada. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Made or decorated after the fanciful style of the ornamentation in the Alhambra, which affords an unusually fine exhibition of Saracenic or Arabesque architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ L. (usually in pl.); pref. ambi-, amb- + agere to drive: cf. F. ambage. ] A circuit; a winding. Hence: Circuitous way or proceeding; quibble; circumlocution; indirect mode of speech. [ 1913 Webster ]

After many ambages, perspicuously define what this melancholy is. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Ambagious. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ambagiosus. ] Circumlocutory; circuitous. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Ambagious. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ n., or }. [ Hind. ambārā, ambārī. ] A valuable East Indian fiber plant (Hibiscus cannabinus), or its fiber, which is used throughout India for making ropes, cordage, and a coarse canvas and sackcloth; -- called also brown Indian hemp. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Of or pertaining to an ambassador. H. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state, office, or functions of an ambassador. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female ambassador; also, the wife of an ambassador. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Embassage. [ Obs. or R. ] Luke xiv. 32. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Embassy, the usual spelling. Helps. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. aumbre, F. ambre, Sp. ámbar, and with the Ar. article, alámbar, fr. Ar. 'anbar ambergris. ] 1. (Min.) A yellowish translucent resin resembling copal, found as a fossil in alluvial soils, with beds of lignite, or on the seashore in many places. It takes a fine polish, and is used for pipe mouthpieces, beads, etc., and as a basis for a fine varnish. By friction, it becomes strongly electric. [ 1913 Webster ]

Amber is classified as a fossil resin, being typically of ancient origin, having solidified from the exudates of certain trees millions of years ago. Many pieces are found with insects embedded, the insects having been trapped by the resin while they were alive. The insects are often very well preserved, due to the antimicrobial action of components of the amber. It typically contains from 5 to 8 percent of succinic acid. "Baltic amber" has been mined for centuries in the region of Poland formerly called East Prussia, and is the variety used in most jewelry made in Poland and Russia. The Baltic strata containing amber extend under the sea, and amber beads may be found there deposited by waves along the shore. Amber was known to the ancient Greeks. The name "electron" comes from the Latin word for amber, electrum, derived from the Greek word, 'h`lektron (see electric), due to the electric charge that amber takes when rubbed, as with cat fur. Although at one time used in fine varnishes, it no longer has any commercial value for that purpose, being used mostly in jewelry. Significant deposits are also found in the Carribean region, and smaller amounts in various other places. The notion, that DNA sufficiently intact to recreate extinct animals might be extracted from amber, was the basis for Michael Crichton's novel "Jurassic Park", but has as yet (1997) not been demonstrated to be possible. [ PJC ]

2. Amber color, or anything amber-colored; a clear light yellow; as, the amber of the sky. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Ambergris. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

You that smell of amber at my charge. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The balsam, liquidambar. [ 1913 Webster ]

Black amber, and old and popular name for jet. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Consisting of amber; made of amber. “Amber bracelets.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Resembling amber, especially in color; amber-colored. “The amber morn.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ p. p. & p. a. Ambered . ] 1. To scent or flavor with ambergris; as, ambered wine. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To preserve in amber; as, an ambered fly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of herbs of Mediterranean to Central Asia cultivated for their flowers.
Syn. -- genus Amberboa. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

(Zool.) Any of several amber to coppery fork-tailed warm-water carangid fishes of the genus Seriola, especially a large vigorous sport fish of the southern Atlantic coast (Seriola Dumerili). It is also called the amberjack. Seriola Carolinensis was the species name given in the 1890 Webster: same fish or different?
Syn. -- amberjack [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. See Ambergris. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. ambre gris, i. e., gray amber; F. gris gray, which is of German origin: cf. OS. grîs, G. greis, gray-haired. See Amber. ] A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all cases its true origin. In color it is white, ash-gray, yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and twenty-five pounds in weight. It is wholly volatilized as a white vapor at 212° Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in perfumery. Dana. [ 1913 Webster ]

A room formerly in the Czar's Summer Palace in Russia, which was richly decorated with walls and fixtures made from amber. The amber was removed by occupying German troops during the Second World War and has, as of 1997, never been recovered. The room is being recreated from old photographs by Russian artisans. [ PJC ]

Seed of the Hibiscus abelmoschus, somewhat resembling millet, brought from Egypt and the West Indies, and having a flavor like that of musk; musk seed. Chambers. [ 1913 Webster ]

A species of Anthospermum, a shrub with evergreen leaves, which, when bruised, emit a fragrant odor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Ambs-ace. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

. [ L. prefix ambi-, amb-, akin to Gr. &unr_;, Skr. abhi, AS. embe, emb, OHG. umbi, umpi, G. um, and also L. ambo both. Cf. Amphi-, Both, By. ] A prefix meaning about, around; -- used in words derived from the Latin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ LL., fr. L. ambo both + dexter right, dextra (sc. manus) the right hand. ] Using both hands with equal ease. Smollett. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A person who uses both hands with equal facility. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: A double-dealer; one equally ready to act on either side in party disputes. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rest are hypocrites, ambidexters, so many turning pictures -- a lion on one side, a lamb on the other. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) A juror who takes money from both parties for giving his verdict. Cowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The quality of being ambidextrous; the faculty of using both hands with equal facility. Hence: Versatility; general readiness; as, ambidexterity of argumentation. Sterne. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ignorant I was of the human frame, and of its latent powers, as regarded speed, force, and ambidexterity. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Double-dealing. (Law) A juror's taking of money from the both parties for a verdict. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining equally to the right-hand side and the left-hand side. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having the faculty of using both hands with equal ease. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Practicing or siding with both parties. [ 1913 Webster ]

All false, shuffling, and ambidextrous dealings. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an ambidextrous manner; cunningly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being ambidextrous; ambidexterity. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ambiens, p. pr. of ambire to go around; amb- + ire to go. ] Encompassing on all sides; circumfused; investing. “Ambient air.” Milton. “Ambient clouds.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Something that surrounds or invests; as, air . . . being a perpetual ambient. Sir H. Wotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ambo both + genus kind. ] Of two kinds. (Bot.) Partaking of two natures, as the perianth of some endogenous plants, where the outer surface is calycine, and the inner petaloid. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. ambigu doubtful, L. ambiquus. See Ambiguous. ] An entertainment at which a medley of dishes is set on at the same time. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Ambiguities [ L. ambiguitas, fr. ambiguus: cf. F. ambiguité. ] The quality or state of being ambiguous; doubtfulness or uncertainty, particularly as to the signification of language, arising from its admitting of more than one meaning; an equivocal word or expression. [ 1913 Webster ]

No shadow of ambiguity can rest upon the course to be pursued. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

The words are of single signification, without any ambiguity. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ambiguus, fr. ambigere to wander about, waver; amb- + agere to drive. ] Doubtful or uncertain, particularly in respect to signification; capable of being understood in either of two or more possible senses; equivocal; as, an ambiguous course; an ambiguous expression. [ 1913 Webster ]

What have been thy answers? What but dark,
Ambiguous, and with double sense deluding? Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Doubtful; dubious; uncertain; unsettled; indistinct; indeterminate; indefinite. See Equivocal. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an ambiguous manner; with doubtful meaning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Ambiguity. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ambo both + laevus left. ] Left-handed on both sides; clumsy; -- opposed to ambidexter. [ R. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Doubtful or ambiguous language. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ambo both + parere to bring forth. ] (Bot.) Characterized by containing the rudiments of both flowers and leaves; -- applied to a bud. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ambitus circuit, fr. ambire to go around. See Ambient. ] Circuit or compass. [ 1913 Webster ]

His great parts did not live within a small ambit. Milward. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. ambition, L. ambitio a going around, especially of candidates for office is Rome, to solicit votes (hence, desire for office or honor), fr. ambire to go around. See Ambient, Issue. ] 1. The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

[ I ] used no ambition to commend my deeds. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An eager, and sometimes an inordinate, desire for preferment, honor, superiority, power, or the attainment of something. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cromwell, I charge thee, fling a way ambition:
By that sin fell the angels. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The pitiful ambition of possessing five or six thousand more acres. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. F. ambitionner. ] To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Pausanias, ambitioning the sovereignty of Greece, bargains with Xerxes for his daughter in marriage. Trumbull. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One excessively ambitious. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Devoid of ambition. Pollok. [ 1913 Webster ]