Adytum
(||Ad"y*tum) n. Adyta [L., fr. Gr. n., fr. a., not to be entered; 'a priv. + to enter.] The innermost
sanctuary or shrine in ancient temples, whence oracles were given. Hence: A private chamber; a sanctum.
Adz
(Adz, Adze) n. [OE. adese, adis, adse, AS. adesa, adese, ax, hatchet.] A carpenter's or cooper's
tool, formed with a thin arching blade set at right angles to the handle. It is used for chipping or slicing
away the surface of wood.
Adz
(Adz), v. t. To cut with an adz. [R.] Carlyle.
Æ
(Æ
or Ae). A diphthong in the Latin language; used also by the Saxon writers. It answers to the Gr. ai.
The Anglo-Saxon short æ was generally replaced by a, the long &aemacr by e or ee. In derivatives
from Latin words with ae, it is mostly superseded by e. For most words found with this initial combination,
the reader will therefore search under the letter E.
Æcidium
(||Æ*cid"i*um)
n.; pl. Æcidia [NL., dim. of Gr. injury.] (Bot.) A form of fruit in the cycle of development
of the Rusts or Brands, an order of fungi, formerly considered independent plants.
Ædile
(Æ"dile)
n. [L. aedilis, fr. aedes temple, public building. Cf. Edify.] A magistrate in ancient Rome,
who had the superintendence of public buildings, highways, shows, etc.; hence, a municipal officer.
Ædileship
(Æ"dile*ship),
n. The office of an ædile. T. Arnold.
Ægean
(Æ*ge"an)
a. [L. Aegeus; Gr. .] Of or pertaining to the sea, or arm of the Mediterranean sea, east
of Greece. See Archipelago.
Ægicrania
(||Æ`gi*cra"ni*a)
n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. goat + n. pl., heads.] (Arch.) Sculptured ornaments, used in
classical architecture, representing rams' heads or skulls.
Ægilops
(Æg"i*lops)
n. [L. aegilopis, Gr. fr. gen. goat + eye.]
1. (Med.) An ulcer or fistula in the inner corner of the eye.
2. (Bot.) (a) The great wild-oat grass or other cornfield weed. Crabb. (b) A genus of plants, called
also hardgrass.
Ægis
(||Æ"gis)
n. [L. aegis, fr. Gr. a goat skin, a shield, goat, or fr. to rush.] A shield or protective armor; —
applied in mythology to the shield of Jupiter which he gave to Minerva. Also fig.: A shield; a protection.
Ægophony
(Æ*goph"o*ny)
n. Same as Egophony.
Ægrotat
(||Æ*gro"tat)
n. [L., he is sick.] (Camb. Univ.) A medical certificate that a student is ill.
Æneid
(Æ*ne"id)
n. [L. Aeneis, Aeneidis, or -dos: cf. F. Énéde.] The great epic poem of Virgil, of which the
hero is Æneas.
Aëneous
(A*ë"ne*ous) a. [L. aëneus.] (Zoöl.) Colored like bronze.
Æolian
(Æ*o"li*an)
a. [L. Aeolius, Gr. .]
1. Of or pertaining to Æolia or Æolis, in Asia Minor, colonized by the Greeks, or to its inhabitants; æolic; as, the Æolian
dialect.
2. Pertaining to Æolus, the mythic god of the winds; pertaining to, or produced by, the wind; aërial.
Viewless forms the æolian organ play.
Campbell.
Æolian
