*pha*

{ n.; pl. Acalephs Acalephans [ See Acalephæ. ] (Zool.) One of the Acalephæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from Gr. &unr_; a spine, thorn + &unr_; head. ] (Zool.) A group of intestinal worms, having the proboscis armed with recurved spines. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having a spiny head, as one of the Acanthocephala. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;; 'a priv. + &unr_; head: cf. F. acéphale, LL. acephalus. ] (Zool.) One of the Acephala. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_;, adj. neut. pl., headless. See Acephal. ] (Zool.) That division of the Mollusca which includes the bivalve shells, like the clams and oysters; -- so called because they have no evident head. Formerly the group included the Tunicata, Brachiopoda, and sometimes the Bryozoa. See Mollusca. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Acephal. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Belonging to the Acephala. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ LL., pl. of acephalus. See Acephal. ] 1. A fabulous people reported by ancient writers to have heads. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eccl. Hist.) (a) A Christian sect without a leader. (b) Bishops and certain clergymen not under regular diocesan control. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A class of levelers in the time of K. Henry I. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who acknowledges no head or superior. Dr. Gauden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. 'ake`falos without a head + ky`stis bladder. ] (Zool.) A larval entozoön in the form of a subglobular or oval vesicle, or hydatid, filled with fluid, sometimes found in the tissues of man and the lower animals; -- so called from the absence of a head or visible organs on the vesicle. These cysts are the immature stages of certain tapeworms. Also applied to similar cysts of different origin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or resembling, the acephalocysts. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Acephal. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Headless. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Without a distinct head; -- a term applied to bivalve mollusks. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) Having the style spring from the base, instead of from the apex, as is the case in certain ovaries. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Without a leader or chief. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Wanting the beginning. [ 1913 Webster ]

A false or acephalous structure of sentence. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Pros.) Deficient at the beginning, as a line of poetry. Brande. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; highest + &unr_;. See Cephalic. ] Characterized by a high skull. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of birds.
Syn. -- genus Acrocephalus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Loftiness of skull. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of epiphytic ferns of tropical Asia.
Syn. -- genus Aglaomorpha. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } a. & n. [ See Alexipharmic. ] Alexipharmic. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. 'alexifa`rmakos keeping off poison; 'alexein to keep off + fa`rmakon drug, poison: cf. F. alexipharmaque. ] (Med.) Of or relating to an alexipharmic or alexipharmac; warding off poison; antidotal; prophylactic. [ obsolescent ] [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

n. (Med.) An antidote against poison; a counterpoison. [ archaic ] [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, oil, fat. ] (Org. Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, fat; fatty; -- applied to compounds having an open-chain structure. The aliphatic compounds thus include not only the fatty acids and other derivatives of the paraffin hydrocarbons, but also unsaturated compounds, as the ethylene and acetylene series. Compare alicyclic and aromatic. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Gr. 'allo`trios strange + fagei^n to eat: cf. F. allotriophagie. ] (Med.) A depraved appetite; a desire for strange or nonnutritious food, such as clay or starch. Called also pica. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. alpha, Gr. 'a`lfa, from Heb. āleph, name of the first letter in the alphabet, also meaning ox. ] The first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to A, and hence used to denote the beginning. [ 1913 Webster ]

In am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Rev. xxii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

Formerly used also denote the chief; as, Plato was the alpha of the wits. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In cataloguing stars, the brightest star of a constellation in designated by Alpha (α); as, α Lyræ. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. &unr_; + &unr_;, the first two Greek letters; Heb. āleph and beth: cf. F. alphabet. ] 1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The simplest rudiments; elements. [ 1913 Webster ]

The very alphabet of our law. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Deaf and dumb alphabet. See Dactylology. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A learner of the alphabet; an abecedarian. Abp. Sancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Cf. F. alphabétique. ] 1. Pertaining to, furnished with, expressed by, or in the order of, the letters of the alphabet; as, alphabetic characters, writing, languages, arrangement. English has an alphabetical writing system. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Literal. [ Obs. ] “Alphabetical servility.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. in alphabetical order.
Syn. -- abecedarian [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In an alphabetic manner; in the customary order of the letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The science of representing spoken sounds by letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The expression of spoken sounds by an alphabet. Encyc. Brit. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To arrange alphabetically; as, to alphabetize a list of words. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To furnish with an alphabet. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. of or pertaining to alphanumerics.
Syn. -- alphanumeric, alphameric, alphamerical [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. (Computers) using or consisting of only alphabetical and numerical characters; -- contrasting with binary or control. alphanumeric characters
Syn. -- alphanumeric, alphanumerical, alphameric, alphamerical [ PJC ]

n. 1. a character set that includes letters and digits and punctuation marks. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. (Photog.) A sensitized paper for obtaining positives by artificial light. It is coated with gelatin containing silver bromide and chloride. [ Eng. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Physics & Chem.) a particle emitted at high velocity from certain radioactive substances. It is identical to the helium nucleus, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. Rays of such particles are called alpha rays. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

. (Physics & Chem.) Rays of relatively low penetrating power emitted by radium and other radioactive substances, and shown to consist of positively charged alpha particles (helium nuclei) having enormous velocities but small masses. They are slightly deflected by a strong magnetic or electric field. Compare beta ray and gamma ray. Because the rays penetrate only a small distance in dense matter such as living tissue, small pellets of radioactive substances emitting alpha rays have been used to cause local destruction of tissue, as in cancer therapy. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

n.; pl. Amorphas [ Gr. &unr_; shapeless. ] (Bot.) A genus of leguminous shrubs, having long clusters of purple flowers; false or bastard indigo. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. any plant of the genus Amorphophallus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. the stage of meiosis or mitosis when chromosomes move toward opposite ends of the nuclear spindle. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. of or pertaining to anaphase. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Gr. 'anh`r, 'andro`s, man + kefalh` head. ] Having a human head (upon an animal's body), as the Egyptian sphinx. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'androfa`gos; 'anh`r, 'andro`s, man + fagei^n to eat. ] Cannibals; man-eaters; anthropophagi. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Anthropophagous. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. &unr_;, priv. + &unr_; the brain: cf. Encephalon. ] (Zool.) Without a brain; brainless. Todd & B. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; angel + &unr_; to appear. ] The actual appearance of an angel to man. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. 'a`nqos flower + fagei^n to eat. ] (Zool.) Eating flowers; -- said of certain insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. See Anthropomorphism. ] (Zool.) The manlike, or anthropoid, apes. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_; eating men; 'a`nqrwpos man + + &unr_; to eat. ] Man eaters; cannibals. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Relating to cannibalism or anthropophagy. [ 1913 Webster ]