*amit*

v. t. [ L. amittere, amissum, to lose; a (ab) + mittere to send. See Missile. ] To lose. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A lodestone fired doth presently amit its proper virtue. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. See A- not, and Mitosis. ] (Biol.) Cell division in which there is first a simple cleavage of the nucleus without change in its structure (such as the formation of chromosomes), followed by the division of the cytoplasm; direct cell division; -- opposed to mitosis. It is not the usual mode of division, and is believed by many to occur chiefly in highly specialized cells which are incapable of long-continued multiplication, in transitory structures, and in those in early stages of degeneration. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to amitosis; karyostenotic; -- opposed to mitotic. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n.; pl. Amities [ F. amitié, OF. amistié, amisté, fr. an assumed LL. amisitas, fr. L. amicus friendly, from amare to love. See Amiable. ] Friendship, in a general sense, between individuals, societies, or nations; friendly relations; good understanding; as, a treaty of amity and commerce; the amity of the Whigs and Tories. [ 1913 Webster ]

To live on terms of amity with vice. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Harmony; friendliness; friendship; affection; good will; peace. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From the desert of Atacama, where found. ] (Min.) An oxychloride of copper, usually in emerald-green prismatic crystals. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An inhabitant of a madhouse; a madman. “Raving bedlamites.” Beattie. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A descendant of Benjamin; one of the tribe of Benjamin. Judg. iii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who believes in Benthamism. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. calamus a reed: cf. F. calamite. ] (Paleon.) A fossil plant of the coal formation, having the general form of plants of the modern Equiseta (the Horsetail or Scouring Rush family) but sometimes attaining the height of trees, and having the stem more or less woody within. See Acrogen, and Asterophyllite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Calamitosus; cf. F. calamiteux. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Suffering calamity; wretched; miserable. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Ten thousands of calamitous persons. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Producing, or attended with distress and misery; making wretched; wretched; unhappy. “This sad and calamitous condition.” South. “A calamitous prison” Milton.

Syn. -- Miserable; deplorable; distressful; afflictive; wretched; grievous; baleful; disastrous; adverse; unhappy; severe; sad; unfortunate.

-- Ca*lam"i*tous*ly, adv. -- Ca*lam"i*tous*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n.; pl. Calamities [ L. calamitas, akin to in-columis unharmed: cf. F. calamité ] 1. Any great misfortune or cause of misery; -- generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evil, either to communities or individuals. [ 1913 Webster ]

The word calamity was first derived from calamus when the corn could not get out of the stalk. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Strokes of calamity that scathe and scorch the soul. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A state or time of distress or misfortune; misery. [ 1913 Webster ]

The deliberations of calamity are rarely wise. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where'er I came I brought calamity. Tennyson.

Syn. -- Disaster; distress; affliction; adversity; misfortune; unhappiness; infelicity; mishap; mischance; misery; evil; extremity; exigency; downfall. -- Calamity, Disaster, Misfortune, Mishap, Mischance. Of these words, calamity is the strongest. It supposes a somewhat continuous state, produced not usually by the direct agency of man, but by natural causes, such as fire, flood, tempest, disease, etc, Disaster denotes literally ill-starred, and is some unforeseen and distressing event which comes suddenly upon us, as if from hostile planet. Misfortune is often due to no specific cause; it is simply the bad fortune of an individual; a link in the chain of events; an evil independent of his own conduct, and not to be charged as a fault. Mischance and mishap are misfortunes of a trivial nature, occurring usually to individuals. “A calamity is either public or private, but more frequently the former; a disaster is rather particular than private; it affects things rather than persons; journey, expedition, and military movements are often attended with disasters; misfortunes are usually personal; they immediately affect the interests of the individual.” Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. Catamitus, an old form of Ganymedes Ganymede, Gr. Ganymh`dhs. ] A boy kept for unnatural purposes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending or liable to contaminate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A political dynamiter. [ A form found in some newspapers. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; power. See Dynamic. ] (Chem.) An explosive substance consisting of nitroglycerin absorbed by some inert, porous solid, as infusorial earth, sawdust, etc. It is safer than nitroglycerin, being less liable to explosion from moderate shocks, or from spontaneous decomposition. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who uses dynamite; esp., one who uses it for the destruction of life and property. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Destroying by dynamite, for political ends. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dynamiting is not the American way. The Century. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The work of dynamiters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A dweller in Flam (or Susiana), an ancient kingdom of Southwestern Asia, afterwards a province of Persia. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A gothamist. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An inhabitant of New York city. [ Jocular ] Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Graham bread. ] One who follows the dietetic system of Graham. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.[ L. hamus hook. ] (Paleon.) A fossil cephalopod of the genus Hamites, related to the ammonites, but having the last whorl bent into a hooklike form. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A descendant of Ham, Noah's second son. See Gen. x. 6-20. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to Ham or his descendants. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hamitic languages, the group of languages spoken mainly in the Sahara, Egypt, Galla, and Somâli Land, and supposed to be allied to the Semitic. Keith Johnston. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. (Zool.) The aquatic larva of a large American winged insect (Corydalus cornutus), much used a fish bait by anglers; the dobson. It belongs to the Neuroptera. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

n. A Muslim. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Islam; Islamic; Muslim. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Named after Mr. Ludlam, of London. ] (Min.) A mineral occurring in small, green, transparent, monoclinic crystals. It is a hydrous phosphate of iron. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. para- + mitome. ] (Biol.) The fluid portion of the protoplasm of a cell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. préadamite. ] 1. An inhabitant of the earth before Adam. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who holds that men existed before Adam. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Existing or occurring before Adam; preadamic; as, preadamitic periods. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OF. samit, LL. samitum, examitum, from LGr. &unr_;, &unr_; woven with six threads; Gr. &unr_; six + &unr_; a thread. See Six, and cf. Dimity. ] A species of silk stuff, or taffeta, generally interwoven with gold. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

In silken samite she was light arrayed. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From its discoverer, H. Witham. ] (Min.) A variety of epidote, of a reddish color, found in Scotland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ G., wolframit, wolfram; wolf wolf + rahm cream, soot; cf. G. wolfsruss wolfram, lit., wolf's soot. ] (Min.) Tungstate of iron and manganese, generally of a brownish or grayish black color, submetallic luster, and high specific gravity. It occurs in cleavable masses, and also crystallized. Called also wolfram. [ 1913 Webster ]