*ch*

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 ]

v. t. [ OE. abrochen, OF. abrochier. See Broach. ] To set abroach; to let out, as liquor; to broach; to tap. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- + broach. ] 1. Broached; in a condition for letting out or yielding liquor, as a cask which is tapped. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hogsheads of ale were set abroach. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: In a state to be diffused or propagated; afoot; astir. “Mischiefs that I set abroach.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. accoucher to be delivered of a child, to aid in delivery, OF. acouchier orig. to lay down, put to bed, go to bed; L. ad + collocare to lay, put, place. See Collate. ] Delivery in childbed [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. accoucher. See Accouchement. ] A man who assists women in childbirth; a man midwife; an obstetrician. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F.., fem. of accoucher. ] A midwife. [ Recent ] Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ OE. acrochen, accrochen, to obtain, OF. acrochier, F. accrocher; à (L. ad) + croc hook (E. crook). ] 1. To hook, or draw to one's self as with a hook. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To usurp, as jurisdiction or royal prerogatives. [ 1913 Webster ]

They had attempted to accroach to themselves royal power. Stubbs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. accrochement. ] An encroachment; usurpation. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a neurotransmitter released by the transmitting dendron at autononmous synapses and at neuromuscular junctions. It is a quaternary amine with an obligatory negative counterion. The nominal formula for the hydroxide form is C7H17NO3. Structural formula (CH3)3N(+)CH2CH2.O.CO.CH3.OH(-). Acetylcholine is the first recognized and best-studied of the neurotransmitters. At receptors it is recycled into choline by the action of acetylcholinesterase. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors therefore function as nerve poisons. For biochemical studies it is prepared typically in the chloride or bromide forms. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. an enzyme which exists in nerve cells and hydrolyses acetylcholine into choline and acetic acid. It is essential for neurotransmission at autonomous synapses and neuromuscular junctions, and its inhibition by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors can paralyze or kill an animal.
Syn. -- ACE [ PJC ]

{ a. [ L. Achaeus, Achaius; Gr. &unr_;. ] Of or pertaining to Achaia in Greece; also, Grecian. -- n. A native of Achaia; a Greek. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. ] Savage fierceness; ferocity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An agate. [ Obs. ] Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. achat purchase. See Cates. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Purchase; bargaining. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. Provisions. Same as Cates. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., from Gr. &unr_; agate. ] (Zool.) A genus of land snails, often large, common in the warm parts of America and Africa. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Cater. ] Purveyor; acater. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. ache, AS. æce, ece, fr. acan to ache. See Ache, v. i. ] Continued pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain. “Such an ache in my bones.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Often used in composition, as, a headache, an earache, a toothache. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. ache, L. apium parsley. ] A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Ached p. pr. & vb. n. Aching ] [ OE. aken, AS. acan, both strong verbs, AS. acan, imp. ōc, p. p. acen, to ache; perh. orig. to drive, and akin to agent. ] To suffer pain; to have, or be in, pain, or in continued pain; to be distressed. “My old bones ache.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sins that in your conscience ache. Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]

a & n. See Achæan, Achaian. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to an achene. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ n. [ Gr. 'a priv. + &unr_; to gape. ] (Bot.) A small, dry, indehiscent fruit, containing a single seed, as in the buttercup; -- called a naked seed by the earlier botanists. [ Written also akene and achænium. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_;. ] (Myth.) A river in the Nether World or infernal regions; also, the infernal regions themselves. By some of the English poets it was supposed to be a flaming lake or gulf. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 death's-head moth.
Syn. -- genus Acherontia [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Of or pertaining to Acheron; infernal; hence, dismal, gloomy; moribund. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a genus of Orthopteran insects consisting of common house and field crickets.
Syn. -- genus Acheta [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖ [ F., lit., on horseback. ] Astride; with a part on each side; -- used specif. in designating the position of an army with the wings separated by some line of demarcation, as a river or road. [ 1913 Webster ]

A position à cheval on a river is not one which a general willingly assumes. Swinton. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. 1 the possibility of being achieved or accomplished; -- a property which may be possessed by a contemplated act.
Syn. -- attainability, attainableness [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Capable of being achieved. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]