*enta*

n. The act of absenting one's self. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally. [ 1913 Webster ]

He conceived it just that accidentals . . . should sink with the substance of the accusation. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. (Paint.) Those fortuitous effects produced by luminous rays falling on certain objects so that some parts stand forth in abnormal brightness and other parts are cast into a deep shadow. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mus.) A sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. accidentel, earlier accidental. ] 1. Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; casual; fortuitous; as, an accidental visit. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Nonessential; not necessary belonging; incidental; as, are accidental to a play. [ 1913 Webster ]

Accidental chords (Mus.), those which contain one or more tones foreign to their proper harmony. --
Accidental colors (Opt.), colors depending on the hypersensibility of the retina of the eye for complementary colors. They are purely subjective sensations of color which often result from the contemplation of actually colored bodies. --
Accidental point (Persp.), the point in which a right line, drawn from the eye, parallel to a given right line, cuts the perspective plane; so called to distinguish it from the principal point, or point of view, where a line drawn from the eye perpendicular to the perspective plane meets this plane. --
Accidental lights (Paint.), secondary lights; effects of light other than ordinary daylight, such as the rays of the sun darting through a cloud, or between the leaves of trees; the effect of moonlight, candlelight, or burning bodies. Fairholt. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Casual; fortuitous; contingent; occasional; adventitious. -- Accidental, Incidental, Casual, Fortuitous, Contingent. We speak of a thing as accidental when it falls out as by chance, and not in the regular course of things; as, an accidental meeting, an accidental advantage, etc. We call a thing incidental when it falls, as it were, into some regular course of things, but is secondary, and forms no essential part thereof; as, an incremental remark, an incidental evil, an incidental benefit. We speak of a thing as casual, when it falls out or happens, as it were, by mere chance, without being prearranged or premeditated; as, a casual remark or encounter; a casual observer. An idea of the unimportant is attached to what is casual. Fortuitous is applied to what occurs without any known cause, and in opposition to what has been foreseen; as, a fortuitous concourse of atoms. We call a thing contingent when it is such that, considered in itself, it may or may not happen, but is dependent for its existence on something else; as, the time of my coming will be contingent on intelligence yet to be received. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Accidental character or effect. Ruskin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being accidental; accidentalness. [ R. ] Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an accidental manner; unexpectedly; by chance; unintentionally; casually; fortuitously; not essentially. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being accidental; casualness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Supplying food; having the quality of nourishing; furnishing the materials for natural growth; as, alimental sap. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. So as to serve for nourishment or food; nourishing quality. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being alimentary; nourishing quality. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. alimentarius, fr. alimentum: cf. F. alimentaire. ] Pertaining to aliment or food, or to the function of nutrition; nutritious; alimental; as, alimentary substances. [ 1913 Webster ]

Alimentary canal, the entire channel, extending from the mouth to the anus, by which aliments are conveyed through the body, and the useless parts ejected. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. alimentation, LL. alimentatio. ] 1. The act or process of affording nutriment; the function of the alimentary canal. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. State or mode of being nourished. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ LL. amentaceus. ] (Bot.) (a) Resembling, or consisting of, an ament or aments; as, the chestnut has an amentaceous inflorescence. (b) Bearing aments; having flowers arranged in aments; as, amentaceous plants. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Any fermentation process by which ammonia is formed, as that by which urea is converted into ammonium carbonate when urine is exposed to the air. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a.. [ L. angulus angle + dens, dentis, tooth. ] (Bot.) Angularly toothed, as certain leaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the doctrine or political position that opposes the withdrawal of state recognition of an established church; -- used especially concerning the Anglican Church in England. Opposed to disestablishmentarianism. [ PJC ]

a. [ Pref. a- + placental. ] Belonging to the Aplacentata; without placenta. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ n. pl. [ Pref. a- not + placenta. ] (Zool.) Mammals which have no placenta. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to silver; resembling, containing, or combined with, silver. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL.; L. argentum silver + E. aluminium. ] A (patented) alloy of aluminium and silver, with a density of about 2.9. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. An alloy of nickel with copper and zinc; German silver. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. argentatus silvered. ] (Bot.) Silvery white. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. argentare to silver, fr. argentum silver. See Argent. ] A coating or overlaying with silver. [ R. ] Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. argumentabilis. ] Admitting of argument. [ R. ] Chalmers. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. argumentalis. ] Of, pertaining to, or containing, argument; argumentative. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. argumentatio, from argumentari: cf. F. argumentation. ] 1. The act of forming reasons, making inductions, drawing conclusions, and applying them to the case in discussion; the operation of inferring propositions, not known or admitted as true, from facts or principles known, admitted, or proved to be true. [ 1913 Webster ]

Which manner of argumentation, how false and naught it is, . . . every man that hath with perceiveth. Tyndale. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Debate; discussion. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Reasoning; discussion; controversy. See Reasoning. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Consisting of, or characterized by, argument; containing a process of reasoning; as, an argumentative discourse. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Adductive as proof; indicative; as, the adaptation of things to their uses is argumentative of infinite wisdom in the Creator. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Given to argument; characterized by argument; disputatious; as, an argumentative writer. [ 1913 Webster ]

--Ar`gu*men"ta*tive*ly, adv. -- Ar`gu*men"ta*tive*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. armamentarium, fr. armamentum: cf. F. armamentaire. ] An armory; a magazine or arsenal. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Arpent. ] The Anglicized form of the French arpenteur, a land surveyor. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Cf. F. arrenter to give or take as rent. See Arendator. ] (O. Eng. Law) A letting or renting, esp. a license to inclose land in a forest with a low hedge and a ditch, under a yearly rent. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. assentatio. See Assent, v. ] Insincere, flattering, or obsequious assent; hypocritical or pretended concurrence. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abject flattery and indiscriminate assentation degrade as much as indiscriminate contradiction and noisy debate disgust. Ld. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. assentari to assent constantly. ] An obsequious; a flatterer. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Flattering; obsequious. [ Obs. ] -- As*sent"a*to*ri*ly, adv. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

a. [ L. atramentum ink, fr. ater black. ] Black, like ink; inky; atramental. [ Obs. ] Derham. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. atramentaire. See Atramentaceous. ] Like ink; suitable for making ink. Sulphate of iron (copperas, green vitriol) is called atramentarious, as being used in making ink. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Of or pertaining to ink; inky; black, like ink; as, atramental galls; atramentous spots. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ L. attentatum, pl. attentata, fr. attentare to attempt: cf. F. attentat criminal attempt. See Attempt. ] 1. An attempt; an assault. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) (a) A proceeding in a court of judicature, after an inhibition is decreed. (b) Any step wrongly innovated or attempted in a suit by an inferior judge. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of augmentation. Walsh. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. augmentatio: cf. F. augmentation. ] 1. The act or process of augmenting, or making larger, by addition, expansion, or dilation; increase. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being augmented; enlargement. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The thing added by way of enlargement. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Her.) A additional charge to a coat of arms, given as a mark of honor. Cussans. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Med.) The stage of a disease in which the symptoms go on increasing. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Mus.) In counterpoint and fugue, a repetition of the subject in tones of twice the original length. [ 1913 Webster ]

Augmentation court (Eng. Hist.), a court erected by Stat. 27 Hen. VIII., to augment the revenues of the crown by the suppression of monasteries. It was long ago dissolved. Encyc. Brit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Increase; enlargement; growth; extension; accession; addition. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. augmentatif. ] Having the quality or power of augmenting; expressing augmentation. -- Aug*ment"a*tive*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. (Gram.) A word which expresses with augmented force the idea or the properties of the term from which it is derived; as, dullard, one very dull. Opposed to diminutive. Gibbs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. esventail. Cf. Ventail. ] The movable front to a helmet; the ventail. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having two teeth. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot. & Zool.) Having two teeth or two toothlike processes; two-toothed. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A slow alcoholic fermentation during which the yeast cells collect at the bottom of the fermenting liquid. It takes place at a temperature of 4° - 10° C. (39° - 50°F.). It is used in making lager beer and wines of low alcohol content but fine bouquet. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Gr. boy^s ox + ke`ntayros centaur. ] 1. A fabulous monster, half ox, half man. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ It. bucentoro. ] The state barge of Venice, used by the doge in the ceremony of espousing the Adriatic. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to cement, as of a tooth; as, cemental tubes. R. Owen. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or process of cementing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) A process which consists in surrounding a solid body with the powder of other substances, and heating the whole to a degree not sufficient to cause fusion, the physical properties of the body being changed by chemical combination with powder; thus iron becomes steel by cementation with charcoal, and green glass becomes porcelain by cementation with sand. [ 1913 Webster ]