MANY OF THE MINERAL ACIDS ARE FOUND IN GREAT ABUNDANCE IN NATURE, THOUGH GENERALLY COMBINED WITH OTHER SUBSTANCES. IN COMMERCE, AN ACCOUNT IS A REGISTRY OF DEBTS, CREDITS, AND CHARGES. ACC] A New Dictionary of the Belles Lettres. bar or measure is divided into the accented and unaccented parts; the former being the principal, on which the spirit of the music depends. In mathematics, the accent is used to avoid the confusion of using too many letters in an algebraical problem. ACCENTOR, a genus of birds which feed both on insects and seed; as the common hedge sparrow. ACCEPTANCE, in commerce, is when a man subscribes, signs, and makes himself a debtor for the sum contained in a bill of exchange, or other obligation, drawn upon, or addressed to him; which is done by his writing the word "Accepted" on it, and signing his name. ACCEPTOR, the person who accepts a bill of exchange by signing it, and thereby becoming bound to pay its contents. ACCEPTILATION, among civilians, signifies an acquittance given by a creditor to a debtor, without receiving any money. ACCESS, in a general sense, denotes the approach of one thing towards another; but it is more proper to say, the approach of bodies, the appulse of the planets, &c.ACCESS, or ACCESSION, in medicine, is used to denote the beginning of a paroxysm, or a fit of some periodical disease. AC'CESSARY, in law, a person who aids in the commission of some felonious action. There are two kinds of accessaries, viz. before the fact, and after it. The first is he who commands and procures another to commit an offence; who, though he be absent when it is committed, is now regarded as much a principal as the actual offender. The accessary after the fact is one who receives, comforts, or assists the offender, knowing him to be such. In the highest crimes, as high treason, &c. and the lowest, as riots, forcible entries, &c. there are no accessaries, but all concerned are principals. [ACC including four genera of birds of prey, whose distinguishing characteristics are, that they have hooked bills, strong legs, and sharp claws. ACCLAMATION, in Roman antiquity, a shout raised by the people, to testify their applause, or approbation of their princes, generals, &c. In ages when people were more accustomed to give full utterance to their feelings, acclamations were very common, whenever a mass of people was influenced by one common feeling. We find, therefore, acclamations in theatres, senates, ecclesiastical meetings, elections, at nuptials, triumphs, &c. In the early times of Christianity, the bishops were elected by acclamation. The first German emperors were elected in the same way; and at the present day, wherever the forms of civilized life are least regarded, approbation or disapprobation of proposed public measures is shown by acclamations of the assembled multitude. AC'COLA, among the Romans, signified a person who lived near some place; in which sense it differed from incola, the inhabitant of such a place. ACCOLA'DE, the ancient ceremony of conferring knighthood, by the king's laying his arms about the young knight's neck, and embracing him. This familiar expression of regard appears to have been exchanged for the more stately act of touching, or gently striking, with the royal sword, the neck of the kneeling knight. The present ceremony of conferring the honour of knighthood is evidently derived from it. ACCOMPANIMENT, an instrumental part added to a musical composition by way of embellishment, and in order to support the principal melody. When the piece inay be performed with or without the ac companiment at pleasure, it is called acACCIACATURA, in music, a sweeping companiment ad libitum; but when it is of the chords of the pianoforte, and drop-indispensable, accompaniment obligato. ping sprinkled notes usual in accompani ACCIDENT, that which belongs accidentally, not essentially, to a thing, as sweetness, softness, &c.-ACCIDENTAL, in heraldry, an additional mark in a coat of arms, which may be either omitted or retained, without altering its character. ACCIDENTAL, in philosophy, a term applied to effects which result from causes occurring by accident. ACCIDENTAL POINT, in perspective, that point in the horizontal line, where all lines parallel among themselves meet the perspective plane. Accidental colours depend on the affections of the eye in contradistinction to light itself. ACCIPITRES, the first order of birds, ACCOMPLICE, in law, a person who is privy to, or aiding in, the perpetration of some crime. ACCOMPLISHMENT, in a general sense, denotes the perfecting, or entirely finishing and completing any matter or thing; but it more expressly describes the acquirement of some branch of learning, useful art, or elegant amusement.-AcCOMPLISHMENT is also particularly used for the fulfilment of a prophecy; in which sense, we read of a literal accomplishment, a mystical accomplishment, &c. ACCORDATU'RA, an Italian word, to express the tuning of an instrument. ACCORDION, a new musical instrument, of German invention, but now also made in this country, consisting of a double series of vibrating tongues, acted on by a current of air from a sort of bellows, and producing tones very similar to those of the organ. ACCOUNT'ANT, or ACCOMPT'ANT, in a general sense, denotes one whose business it is to compute, adjust, and range in due order accounts in commerce. In a ACIDS AND ALKALIES, MIXED IN EQUAL PROPORTIONS, NEUTRALIZE EACH OTHER. IN ACHROMATIC TELESCOPES, THE COLOURS OF REFRACTION ARE CORRECTED BY COMBINING GLASS LENSES OF DIFFERENT DISPERSIVE POWERS. 8 AMONG PAINTERS, THE EPITHET ACCESSORY IS GIVEN TO THOSE PARTS OF AN HISTORICAL PIECE WHICH ARE MERELY ORNAMENTAL. ACE] THE ACCENT, OR SYLLABIC EMPHASIS, ALONE REGULATES ENGLISH VERSE. The Scientific and Literary Treasury; more restricted sense, the term is applicable to a person appointed to keep the accounts of a public company or office: thus, we say the accountant of the India-Company, the Custom-house, the Excise, &c. ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL, in the court of Chancery, is an officer appointed to receive all moneys lodged in court. ACCOUTREMENTS, the necessaries of a soldier, as belts, pouches, cartridgeboxes, &c. ACCRETION, the increase or growth of a body by an external addition of new parts; thus shells, stones, and various other substances are formed. ACCUBA TION, the posture used among the Greeks and Romans at their meals, which was with the body extended on a couch, and the head resting on a pillow, or on the elbow, supported by a pillow. This practice was not permitted among soldiers, children, and servants; nor was it known until luxury had corrupted manners. Their couches were called ACCUBITA. ACEPH'ALI, a sect of Christians, so called because they admitted no head, or superior, either lay or ecclesiastical. ACEPH'ALA, an order of Molluscous animals, comprising those which are with out a head. ACER'RA, in Roman antiquity, was a small altar erected near the bed on which a dead person was laid out. Incense and perfumes were burnt upon it, till the time of the funeral. The real intention, probably, was to overcome any offensive smells that might arise about the corpse. ACETABULUM, in auatomy, a round cavity in a bone, which receives the convex head of another, thereby forming that species of articulation termed enarthrosis. ACETAL, a colourless inflammable li quid, obtained by the action of spongy platinum upon the vapour of alcohol; and convertible by slow combustion into acetic acid. ACETA'RIOUS PLANTS, plants used in making salads, such as lettuces, cress, &c. A'CETATES, certain neutral salts formed by the combination of acetic acid with a salifiable base, as the acetate of potash. These salts differ from acetites in this respect; the acid employed in the production of the former is fully saturated with oxygen, or the acidifying principle, that is, it is completely acid; while that which is used to form the latter, contains a less proportion of oxygen than is sufficient to satu rate it. ACETIC ACID, a vegetable acid, which is produced by distilling the acetous acid with metallic oxydes. It is of a green colour, but becomes white by rectification; is extremely volatile and inflammable; corrodes and cauterizes the skin; and, when heated in contact with air, takes fire. ACETOM ETER, an apparatus for determining the strength of acids. ACE TOUS, an epithet applied to such substances as are sour, or partake of the nature of vinegar.-ACETOUS ACID, dis [ACO tilled vinegar, or the acid of vinegar, is ob- ACIDIFIABLE, capable of being con- ACINE'SIA, the interval of rest which takes place between the contraction and dilatation of the pulse. as ACI'NUS, in botany, a name given to grapes or berries growing in clusters, in opposition to bacca, or such berries grow single. ACLIDES, a missile weapon, in use amongst the Romans; it was of the form of a spear with a thong tied to it, by which, after the discharge, it was drawn back. ACOLLE', in heraldry, a term sometimes used to denote two things joined to ACCLAMATIONS WERE GIVEN BY THE VOICE; APPLAUSES, BY THE HANDS. WHEN NERO PLAYED IN THE THEATRE, FIVE THOUSAND SOLDIERS CHANTED ACCLAMATIONS, AND THE SPECTATORS WERE OBLIGED TO JOIN THEM. ACTIONS CONFINED TO A SINGLE SHOCK UPON THE EAR ARE TERMED NOISES; THOSE WHICH PRODUCE A CONTINUED SENSATION, SOUNDS. ACQ] IN PROPORTION AS THE AIR IS DENSER, SOUNDS ARE MORE INTENSE. A New Bictionary of the Belles Lettres. gether; at other times, animals with collars or crowns about their necks; and finally, batons, or swords, placed saltierwise behind the shield. ACOLY'THI, in ecclesiastical history, denotes candidates for the ministry, so called from their continually attending the bishop. It is also an appeilation given to the stoics, on account of their steady adhe. rence to what they had once resolved. ACON'ITA, a vegetable poison extracted from the aconite, or wolfsbane. A'CONITE, the plant wolfsbane, or monks-hood, the flower of which resembles the hood of a monk; the plant is a violent poison. ACONTIAS, in zoology, a venomous serpent, otherwise called the anguis faculus, or dart-snake, from its vibrating its body in the manner of a dart. ACON'TIUM, in Grecian antiquity, a kind of dart or javelin, resembling the Roman pilum. [ACR ACRA'SIA, in medicine, the predomi nancy of one quality above another. It was also used to express excess of any kind, as the drinking of unmixed wine, which among the Greeks amounted to intempe rance. A'CRE, a measure of land, very general in name, but varying in different places as to the extent which it is intended to denote. The English acre contains 4 square roods, or 160 square poles of 5 yards and a half, or 4840 square yards. The French acre is equal to one and a quarter of an English acre. AC'RID, an epithet to denote such substances as are hot, dry, and pungent to the taste. ACRIS'IA, or A'CRISY, the want of a crisis, or discriminating state, in a disorder which is very fluctuating. ACROAT IC, in the Aristotelian schools, a denomination given to such lectures as were calculated only for the intimate ACOUSMATICI, in Grecian antiquity, friends and disciples of that philosopher; such disciples of Pythagoras, as had not being chiefly employed in demonstrating finished their five years' probation. The some speculative or abstruse part of philoacousmatici were instructed by bare posi-sophy. The acroatic lectures stood contive precepts and rules, without reasons or tradistinguished from the exoteric ones, demonstrations, and these precepts they which were adapted to a common auditory. called acousmata. ACROBATICA, or ACROBATICUM, in Grecian antiquity, an engine on which people were raised aloft, that they might have the better prospect. ACROCERAU'NIAN, an epithet applied to certain mountains, between Epirus and Illyricum, which project into the Adriatic, and obtain their name from being often struck with lightning. It ACOUSTICS, that branch of science which treats of the nature and modifications of sound. It is usually divided into two parts, viz. diacoustics, which explains the properties of those sounds that come directly from the sonorous body to the ear; and catacoustics, which treats of reflected sounds. Almost all sounds that affect us are conveyed to the ear by means of the air; but water is a good conductor of sound; so also are timber and flannel. must be observed, that a body, while in the act of sounding, is in a state of vibration, which it communicates to the surrounding air, and that the undulations of the air affect the ear, and excite in us the sense of sound. Sound, of all kinds, it is ascertained, travels at the rate of thirteen miles in a minute: the softest whisper travels as fast as the most tremendous thunder. The knowledge of this fact has been applied to the measurement of distances. Thus, if we see a vivid flash of lightning, and in two seconds hear a tremendous clap of thunder, we may be assured that the thunder cloud is not more than 760 yards distant. ACQUITTAL, a discharge, deliverance, or setting free of a person from the guilt or suspicion of an offence. Acquittal is of two kinds; in law, and in fact. When two are indicted and tried for a felony, one as principal, the other as accessary, the prin cipal being discharged, the accessary is, by consequence, also freed: in which case, as the accessary is acquitted by law, so is the principal in fact.-Acquittal is also used for a freedom from entries and molestations of a superior lord, on account of services issuing out of land. ACQUITTANCE, a discharge in writing for a sum of money, witnessing that the party is paid the same. ACROCHIRIS'MUS, among the Greeks, was a sort of gymnastic exercise, in which the two combatants contended with their hands and feet only, without closing or engaging the other parts of the body. It was, in fact, a species of wrestling. ACRO'DRYA, in natural history, all fruits that have rinds or shells, such as acorns, almonds, &c. ACRO'MION, in anatomy, that part of the spine of the scapula which receives the end of the clavicle. ACROMONOGRAMMATICUM, a poetical compositon, wherein each subsequent verse commences with that which the verse preceding terminates. ACRON'ICAL, or ACHRON'YCAL, in astronomy, an appellation given to the rising of a star above the horizon, at sunset; or to its setting, when the sun rises. Acronical is one of the three poetical risings of a star; the other two being called cosmical and helical. ACROPOLIS, the cdel of Athens. It was formerly the whole city, and at first called Acropia, from Acrops the founder; but, after the inhabitants were greatly increased in number, the whole plain around it was filled with buildings, and the original city became the centre, under the denomination of Acropolis, or the upper city. A'CROSPIRE, the popular term for what among botanists is called the germ, plume, or plumule. AN ECHO RETURNS A MONOSYLLABLE AT FORTY FEET DISTANCE. 9 IN ANCIENT THEATRES, ACOUSTIC VESSELS, OR TUBES OF BRASS, WERE USED TO PROPEL THE VOICE OF THE ACTORS TO A GREAT DISTANCE. 10 AT THE CLOSE OF EACH SESSION, THE ACTS OF PARLIAMENT ARE COLLECTED INTO ONE BODY, AND ARRANGED IN SEPARATE CHAPTERS. ACTION, WHEN PRODUCED BY ONE BODY ON ANOTHER, IS CALLED MECHANICAL. ACT] The Scientific and Literary Treasury; ACROS TIC, a poem, the lines of which are so contrived, that the first letters of cach, taken together, will make a proper name or other word. ACROSTICUM, in botany, the name of a genus of the cryptogamia class of plants, and of that order called the filices, the fructifications of which are collected into clusters, and cover the whole under-surface of the leaves. ACROSTOLIUM, in the naval architecture of the ancients, the' extreme part of the ornament used on the prows of their ships. It was usual to tear the acrostolia from the prows of vanquished ships, as a token of victory. ACROTE RIA, in architecture, small pedestals, upon which globes, vases, or statues stand at the ends or middle of pediments. It also denotes the figures themselves placed in such situations. Among ancient physicians, the term ACROTERIA was used to denote the larger extremities of the body. ACROTHYM'IA, in surgery, a large tumour, usually rising in the shape of a wart, though sometimes depressed and flat. [ACT act of the king in council, whereby, at the beginning of a new reign, or on other great occasions, a free pardon has been sometimes granted to criminals. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, a canonical book of the New Testament, which contains great part of the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul; commencing at the ascension of our Saviour, and continued down to St. Paul's arrival at Rome, after his appeal to Cæsar; comprehending in all about thirty years. St. Luke has been generally taken for the author. ACTA PUBLICA, in Roman history, the journal of the senate. It seems to have resembled the votes of the House of Commons amongst us, wherein a short account was given to the public of what passed in the senate-house. ACTA DIUR'NA, was a sort of Roman gazette, containing an authorised narrative of the transactions worthy of notice, which happened at Rome. ACTIAN GAMES, were instituted in commemoration of the victory obtained by Augustus over Anthony at Actium. They returned every fifth year, and were sacred to Apollo, thence called Actius Apollo. Actian years thus became an era, called also the era of Augustus. The Actian games consisted of shows of gladiators, wrestlers, and other exercises, and were kept gene. rally at Nicopolis, a city built by Augus tus, near Actium, with a view to perpetua:e the fame of his victory. ACTIN'IA, or SEA ANEMONIES, in zoology, a genus belonging to the order of vermes mollusca. They are viviparous, and form one of those wonderful links in the chain of creation, that connect the animal and vegetable kingdoms, by partaking of the nature of both. ACT, in a general sense, denotes the exertion, or effectual application, of some power or faculty. Act is distinguished from power, as the effect from the cause, or as a thing produced, from that which produces it.ACT, among logicians, more particularly denotes an operation of the human mind; in which sense, comprehending, judging, willing, &c. are called ACTINISM, a name recently given to acts.- -ACT, in law, is used for an instru- that property of the sun's rays which effects ment or deed in writing, serving to prove chemical combinations and decompositions, the truth of some bargain or transaction. as shown in all the processes of photogra Thus, records, certificates, &c. are called phy, in contradiction to their powers of acts.Acr is also used for the final reso-heating and illuminating. lution, or decree of an assembly, senate, council, &c.-ACTs of parliament are called statutes; acts of the royal society, transactions; those of the French academy of sciences, memoirs; those of the academy of sciences at Petersburg, commentaries; those of Leipsic, acta eruditorum; the decrees of the lords of session, at Edinburgh, ACTIN'OLITE, a mineral, of which acta sederunt, &c.-ACT, in the universi- there are three varieties, the crystallized, ties, is the delivery of orations, or other the asbestous, and the glassy. It is prinexercises, in proof of the proficiency of a cipally found in primitive districts, with a student who is to take a degree. At Ox-magnesian basis. ford, the time when masters or doctors ACTION, in mechanics and physics, is complete their degrees, is called the act. the pressure or percussion of one body At Cambridge, the same period is called against another. It is one of the laws of the commencement.ACT, in a dramatic nature, that action and re-action are equal, sense, is the name given to certain portions that is, the resistance of the body moved of a play, intended to give respite both to is always equal to the force communicated the spectators and the actors. In the an- to it; or, which is the same thing, the cient drama, five acts were required both moving body loses as much of its force as in tragedy and comedy; and in what is it communicates to the body moved.termed the regular drama that rule is still ACTION, in ethics, something done by a free observed, the acts being divided into smaller or moral agent, capable of distinguishing portions, called scenes. good from evil. The essence of a moral acACT OF FAITH, or AUTO-DA-FE. In dark tion consists in its being done knowingly and barbarous countries, where the Spa- and voluntarily that is, the agent must nish inquisition had power, the act of faith not only be able to distinguish whether it was a solemn murder of infidels and here- be good or bad in itself; but he must liketics, usually performed on some great fes-wise be entirely free from compulsion of tival, and always on a Sunday.ACT OF any kind, and at full liberty to follow the GRACE, in English law, an extraordinary dictates of his own understanding. Hence ACTION, WHEN PRODUCED BY ONE'S OWN WILL, IS SPONTANEOUS OR VOLUNTARY. THE WORD ACTION IS GENERALLY USED FOR ORDINARY TRANSACTIONS; AND ACT, FOR SUCH AS ARE REMARKABLE OR DIGNIFIED. ACTIVE CAPITAL, IS PROPERTY THAT MAY READILY BE CONVERTED INTO MONEY, AND USED IN TRADE OR COMMERCE FOR PROFIT. THE COMMERCE OF GREAT BRITAIN IS ACTIVE; THAT OF CHINA IS PASSIVE. ACT] A New Bictionary of the Belles Lettres. the actions of idiots, slaves, &c. cannot be called moral. Hence also appears the absurdity of fatalism, which undermines the very foundation of morality.-ACTION, in rhetoric, may be defined, the accommodation of the voice, but more especially the gesture of an orator, to the subject he is upon. Cicero tells us, "that it does not much matter what an orator says, as now he says it." Horace, in his art of poetry, is no less explicit in setting forth its vast influence on mankind: "With those who laugh, our social joy ap- If you would have me weep, begin the strain, [ADA and if their moral conduct be irreproachable, no persons are more esteemed or lauded. ACTRESS, a female dramatic performer. They were unknown to the ancients, among whom meu always took the parts of women. Nor were they introduced on the English stage till the days of the Stuarts. ACTUA'RIUS, or ACTA'RIUS, in Roman antiquity, an officer, or rather notary, appointed to write down the proceedings of a court.-Actuarii were also officers who kept the military accounts, and distributed the corn to the soldiers. ACTUARY, the chief clerk, or person, who compiles minutes of the proceedings of a company in business. ACTUS, in antiquity, a measure of length containing one hundred and twenty Roman feet. ACU'LEATE, or ACU'LEATED, an appellation given to any thing that has aculei, or prickles: thus, in ichthyology, fishes are divided into aculeated, and non-aculeated. ACTION, in a theatrical sense, is nearly the same with action among orators; only the actor adapts his action to an assumed character, whereas the orator is supposed to be in reality what his action expresses. -ACTION, in painting and sculpture, denotes the posture of a statue or picture, ACU'MEN, mental sharpness, or quick serving to express some passion, &c.- discernment; great intellectual capacity. ACTION, in the military art, is an engage- In ancient music, acumen denotes a sound ment between two armies, or between dif-produced by raising the voice to a high ferent bodies of troops belonging thereto. pitch. ACTIONS, in law, are either criminal or civil. [For the various kinds, see Dictionary of Law Terms, in the "Treasury of Knowledge."] ACTIONARY, in commerce, a term used among foreigners, for the proprictor of an action or share of a public company's stock. ACTIVE, in a general sense, denotes something that communicates motion or action to another, in which sense it stands opposed to passive.ACTIVE, among grammarians, an appellation given to words expressing some action, as I write, I read, &c.-ACTIVE POWER, in metaphysics, the power of executing any work or labour; in contradistinction to speculative powers, as those of seeing, hearing, reasoning, &c. -ACTIVE PRINCIPLES, in chemistry, those which act of themselves, without any foreign assistance: such are mercury, sulphur, and salt, supposed to be. Some authors contend that sulphur, or fire, is the only active principle and source of all the motion in the world; and there are others who call oil, salt, and spirit, active principles, merely because their parts are better fitted for motion than those of earth or water. ACTOR, in a dramatic sense, is a man who enacts some part or character in a play. It is remarkable with what difference actors were treated among the ancients. At Athens they were held in such esteem, as to be sometimes sent on em. bassies to foreign powers; whereas, at Rome, if a citizen became an actor, he thereby forfeited his freedom. Actors in the present day have little to complain of, in regard to the treatment they receive: according as they contribute to the gratification of the public so are they rewarded; ACU'MINA, in antiquity, a kind of military omen, taken from the points or edges of spears, swords, &c. ACUPUNCTURA'TION, an oriental practice of puncturing diseased parts of the body with fine needles, by which the morbid galvanic action of the parts is restored, and painful disorders removed. In China and Japan it has been a part of their system of surgery time out of mind, and of late years it has been in some repute in England. ACUTE, an appellation given to such things as terminate in a sharp point, or edge: thus, we say an acute angle, acuteangled triangle, &c.-ACUTE, in music, an epithet given to sharp or shrill sounds, in opposition to those called grave.-ACUTE DISEASES are distinguished from CHRONIC, by being attended with violent symptoms, and requiring immediate aid: chronic diseases, those which usually last long. ACYROLOGIA, in grammar, denotes an improper word, phrase, or expression: it differs a little from the catachresis. AD, a Latin preposition, expressing the relation of one thing to another. It is frequently prefixed to other words: thus, AD HOMINEM, among logicians, an argument drawn from the professed belief or principles of those with whom we argue. AD LUDOS, in Roman antiquity, a kind of punishment, whereby the criminals entertained the people, either by fighting with wild beasts, or with each other.-AD VALOREM, in commerce, according to the value. AD INFINITUM, indefinitely, or to infinity. ADA'GIO, a degree quicker than grave time, in music, but with graceful and elegant execution. AD'AMANT, a sort of diamond, and the ADAMANTINE SPAR WILL CUT GLASS EASILY, AND SCRATCH ROCK CRYSTAL. ACTIVE COMMERCE, 18 THAT IN WHICH A NATION CARRIES ITS OWN PRODUCTIONS AND FOREIGN COMMODITIES IN ITS OWN SHIPS. 11 |