*bra*

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. A foolish or dull-witted fellow. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Dull-witted; stupid. “The addle-brained Oberstein.” Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dull and addle-pated. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. adumbrans, p. pr. of adumbrare. ] Giving a faint shadow, or slight resemblance; shadowing forth. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. adumbratus, p. p. of adumbrare; ad + umbrare to shade; umbra shadow. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To give a faint shadow or slight representation of; to outline; to shadow forth. [ 1913 Webster ]

Both in the vastness and the richness of the visible universe the invisible God is adumbrated. L. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To overshadow; to shade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. adumbratio. ] 1. The act of adumbrating, or shadowing forth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A faint sketch; an outline; an imperfect portrayal or representation of a thing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Elegant adumbrations of sacred truth. Bp. Horsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Her.) The shadow or outlines of a figure. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Faintly representing; typical. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ F., shaded enamel. ] (Fine Arts) An art or process of flooding transparent colored glaze over designs stamped or molded on earthenware or porcelain. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a small parachute or articulated flap to reduce the speed of an aircraft.
Syn. -- dive brake [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a vehicular brake that operates by compressed air; especially for heavy vehicles. Same as air brake.
Syn. -- air brake [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. an atomizer to spray by means of compressed air. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

(Mach.) A railway brake powered by compressed air. Knight.
Syn. -- airbrake. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. algebra, fr. Ar. al-jebr reduction of parts to a whole, or fractions to whole numbers, fr. jabara to bind together, consolidate; al-jebr w'almuqābalah reduction and comparison (by equations): cf. F. algèbre, It. & Sp. algebra. ] 1. (Math.) That branch of mathematics which treats of the relations and properties of quantity by means of letters and other symbols. It is applicable to those relations that are true of every kind of magnitude. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A treatise on this science. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. 1. Of or pertaining to algebra; using algebra; according to the laws of algebra; containing an operation of algebra, or deduced from such operation; as, algebraic characters; algebraical writings; algebraic geometry. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. progressing by constant multiplicatory factors; -- of a series of numbers. Contrasted to arithmetical. algebraic progression
Syn. -- algebraic [ PJC ]

Algebraic curve, a curve such that the equation which expresses the relation between the coördinates of its points involves only the ordinary operations of algebra; -- opposed to a transcendental curve. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By algebraic process. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One versed in algebra. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To perform by algebra; to reduce to algebraic form. [ 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 ]

adj. 1. 1 broad in scope or content.
Syn. -- all-inclusive, across-the-board, blanket(prenominal), broad, complete, global, panoptic, wide [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. &unr_;, Gr. &unr_; short at both ends; 'amfi` + brachy`s short. ] (Anc. Pros.) A foot of three syllables, the middle one long, the first and last short (˘ -- ˘); as, hăbēr&ebreve_;. In modern prosody the accented syllable takes the place of the long and the unaccented of the short; as, pro-phet&bprime_;ic. [ 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. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'a`nqos flower + &unr_; gills, n. pl. ] (Zool.) A division of nudibranchiate Mollusca, in which the gills form a wreath or cluster upon the posterior part of the back. See Nudibranchiata, and Doris. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the antibrachium, or forearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. ] (Anat.) That part of the fore limb between the brachium and the carpus; the forearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A balancing; equipoise. [ R. ] De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, shield + &unr_; gills. ] (Zool.) A group of Gastropoda, with limpetlike shells, including the abalone shells and keyhole limpets. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. An ancient rural game, commonly played round stacks of barley, or other grain, in which some of the party attempt to catch others who run from a goal. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + bracteate. ] (Bot.) Furnished with, or having, two bracts. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. bis twice + membrum member. ] (Gram.) Having two members; as, a bimembral sentence. J. W. Gibbs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a person with confused ideas; incapable of serious thought.
Syn. -- addle-head, loon. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. same as brassiere.
Syn. -- brassiere, bandeau. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Pertaining to Brabant, an ancient province of the Netherlands. [ 1913 Webster ]