A GENERAL
DICTIONARY
OF THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
A, The firſt letter of the European alphabets, has, in the Engliſh language, three different ſounds, which may be termed the broad, open, and ſlender.
The broad ſound reſembling that of the German a is found, in many of our monoſyllables, as all, wall, malt, ſalt; in which a is pronounced as au in cauſe, or aw in law. Many of theſe words were anciently written with au, as fault, waulk; which happens to be ſtill retained in fault. This was probably the ancient ſound of the Saxons, ſince it is almoſt uniformly preſerved in the ruſtic pronunciation, and the Northern dialects, as maun for man, haund for hand.
A open, not unlike the a of the Italians, is found in father, rather, and more obſcurely in fancy, faſt. &c.
A ſlender or cloſe, is the peculiar a of the Engliſh language, reſembling the ſound of the French e maſculine, or diphthong ai in pais, or perhaps a middle ſound between them, or between the a and e; to this the Arabic a is ſaid nearly to approach. Of this ſound we have examples in the words, place, face, waſte and all thoſe that terminate in ation; as, relation, nation, generation.
A is ſhort, as, glaſs, graſs; or long, as, glaze, graze: it is marked long, generally, by an e final, plane, or by an i added, as, plain.
A, an article ſet before nouns of the ſingular number; a man, a tree; denoting the number one, as, a man is coming, that is, no more than one; or an indefinite indication, as, a man may come this way; that is, any man. This article has no plural ſignification. Before a word beginning with a vowel, it is written an, as, an ox, an egg, of which a is the contraction.
A is ſometimes a noun; as, a great A, a little a.
A is placed before a participle, or participial noun; and is conſidered by Wallis as a contraction of at, when it is put before a word denoting ſome action not yet finiſhed; as, I am a walking. It alſo ſeems to be anciently contracted from at, when placed before local ſurnames; as, Thomas a Becket. In other caſes, it ſeems to ſignify to, like the French à.
May pure contents for ever pitch their tents
Upon theſe downs, theſe meads, theſe rocks, theſe mountains.
And peace ſtill ſlumber by theſe purling fountains!
Which we may every year
Find when we come a fiſhing here.Wotton.
Now the men fell a rubbing of armour, which a great while had lain oiled; the magazines of munition are viewed; the officers of remains called to account.Wotton.
Another falls a ringing a Peſcennius Niger, and judiciouſly diſtinguiſhes the ſound of it to be modern.Addiſon on medals.
A has a peculiar ſignification, denoting the proportion of one thing to another. Thus we ſay. The landlord hath a hundred a year; The ſhip's crew gained a thouſand pounds a man.
The river Inn, that had been hitherto ſhut up among mountains, paſſes generally through a wide open country, during all its courſe through Bavaria; which is a voyage of two days, after the rate of twenty leagues a day.Addiſon on Italy.
A is uſed in burleſque poetry, to lengthen out a ſyllable, without adding to the ſenſe.
A is ſometimes, in familiar writings, put by a barbarous corruption for he.
A, in compoſition, ſeems to have ſometimes the power of the French a in theſe phraſes, a droit, a gauche, &c. and ſometimes to be contracted from at; as, aſide, aſlope, afoot, aſleep, athirſt, aware.
If this; which he avouches, does appear,
There is no flying hence, nor tarrying here.
I gin to be a weary of the fun;
And wiſh the ſtate of the world were now undone.Shakeſpeare's Macbeth.
And now a breeze from ſhore began to blow.
The ſailors ſhip their oars, and ceaſe to row;
Then hoiſt their yards a-trip, and all their ſails
Let fall, to court the wind, and catch the gales.Dryden's Ceyx and Alcyone.
A is ſometimes redundant; as, ariſe, arouſe, awake; the ſame with riſe, rouſe, wake.
A, in abbreviations, ſtands for artium, or arts; as, A. B. bachelor of arts, artium baccalaureus; A. M. maſter of arts, artium magiſter; or, anno; as, A. D. anno domini.
AB, at the beginning of the names of places, generally ſhews that they have ſome relation to an abbey.
Aba'cke. adv. obſolete. Backwards.
But when they came where thou thy ſkill didſt ſhow, They drew abacke, as half with ſhame confound. Shepherds to ſee them in their art outgo.Spenſ. Paſt.
ABA CTOR. n. ſ. [Lat. abacttor, a driver away.] Thoſe who
drive away or ſeal cattle in herds, or great numbers at once,
in diſtinction from thoſe that ſteal only a ſheep or two. Blount.
A BACUS. n. ſ. [Lat. abacus.]
- A counting-table, anciently uſed in calculations.
- In architecture, it is the uppermoſt member of a column, which ſerves as a ſort of crowning both to the capital and column.Dict.
Aba ft. adv. [of abaftan, Sax. Behind.] From the fore-part of the ſhip, towards the ſtern.
Dict.
Abai'sance. n. ſ. [from the French abaiſer, to depreſs, to bring down.] An act of reverence, a bow. Obeyſance is conſidered by Skinner as a corruption of abaiſance, but is now univerſally uſed.
To ABA'LIENATE. v. a. [from abalieno, Lat.] To make that another's which was our own before.
Calv. Lex. Jur.
A term of the civil law, not much uſed in common ſpeech.
Abaliena'tion. n. ſ. [Lat abalienatio.] A giving up one's right to another perſon; or a making over an eſtate, goods, or chattels by ſale, or due courſe of law.
Dict.
To Aba'nd. v. a. [A word contracted from abandon, but not now in uſe. See ABANDON.] To forſake.
Thoſe foreigners which came from far
Grew great, and got large portions of land.
That in the realm, ere long, they ſtronger are
Than they which fought at firſt their helping hand.
And Vortiger enforced the kingdom to aband.Spenſer's Fairy Queen, b. ii. cant. 10.
To ABA'NDON. v. a. [Fr. abandonner. Derived, according to Menage, from the Italian abandonare, which ſignifies to forſake his colours; bandum [vexillum] deſerere. Paſquier thinks
