*la*

n. [ L. ab + E. articulation : cf. F. abarticulation. See Article. ] (Anat.) Articulation, usually that kind of articulation which admits of free motion in the joint; diarthrosis. Coxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. ablactatus, p. p. of ablactare; ab + lactare to suckle, fr. lac milk. ] To wean. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The weaning of a child from the breast, or of young beasts from their dam. Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Hort.) The process of grafting now called inarching, or grafting by approach. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. ablaqueatus, p. p. of. ablaqueare; fr. ab + laqueus a noose. ] To lay bare, as the roots of a tree. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ablaqueatio. ] The act or process of laying bare the roots of trees to expose them to the air and water. [ Obs. ] Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. 'a priv. + &unr_; growth. ] (Biol.) Non-germinal. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ablatio, fr. ablatus p. p. of auferre to carry away; ab + latus, p. p. of ferre carry: cf. F. ablation. See Tolerate. ] 1. A carrying or taking away; removal. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) Extirpation. Dunglison. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med.) Removing or destroying of a body tissue, especially by a surgical procedure. Dorland. [ AS ]

4. (Geol.) Wearing away; superficial waste, as of glacial ice or snow. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Aerospace) Wearing away of the outer layers of a protective shield or surface by the heat and aerodynamic forces caused by flying through the atmosphere at hypersonic speed, as during reentry from space; as, ablation of the heat shield during reentry. [ PJC ]

a. Diminishing; as, an ablatitious force. Sir J. Herschel. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. ablatif, ablative, L. ablativus fr. ablatus. See Ablation. ] 1. Taking away or removing. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Where the heart is forestalled with misopinion, ablative directions are found needful to unteach error, ere we can learn truth. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gram.) Applied to one of the cases of the noun in Latin and some other languages, -- the fundamental meaning of the case being removal, separation, or taking away. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Gram.) The ablative case. [ 1913 Webster ]

ablative absolute, a construction in Latin, in which a noun in the ablative case has a participle (either expressed or implied), agreeing with it in gender, number, and case, both words forming a clause by themselves and being unconnected, grammatically, with the rest of the sentence; as, Tarquinio regnante, Pythagoras venit, i. e., Tarquinius reigning, Pythagoras came. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Ger., off-sound; ab off + laut sound. ] (Philol.) The substitution of one root vowel for another, thus indicating a corresponding modification of use or meaning; vowel permutation; as, get, gat, got; sing, song; hang, hung. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. & a. [ Pref. a- + blaze. ] 1. On fire; in a blaze, gleaming. Milman. [ 1913 Webster ]

All ablaze with crimson and gold. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In a state of glowing excitement or ardent desire. [ 1913 Webster ]

The young Cambridge democrats were all ablaze to assist Torrijos. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]