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Showing 1-20 of 706 results in 706 entries
1. Aaron's rod, n. View full entry 1631
...In similative and allusive use: a powerful force which devours or overwhelms everything around it....
2. acceptance, n. View full entry 1528-30
...Law. An agreement to abide by the act or contract of another, such as a predecessor in an office, by some act which amounts to a recognition or approval of it,...
3. Achates, n. View full entry 1582
...allusively. A person likened to Achates, esp. a loyal friend or companion. Cf. fidus Achates...
4. Adam, n.1 View full entry OE
...The first human in the biblical account of the creation of the world, as a symbol of humanity or human nature, esp. of the state of sin into which, according to traditional...
5. Aganippe, n. View full entry a1586
...Used allusively to denote the source of poetic inspiration, or a person's poetic power, voice, or method. Also attrib., as Aganippe spring, Aganippe well, etc....
6. alexander, v.1 View full entry 1666
...trans. Used allusively with reference to the harsh sentences customarily imposed by Judge Alexander: to hang (a person)....
7. Alsatia, n. View full entry 1676
...orig. cant. The precinct of Whitefriars in London, where debtors and criminals were immune from arrest. Now hist....
8. altar, n. View full entry eOE
...A block, table, stand, or other raised structure with a flat top used as the focus for a religious ritual, especially for making sacrifices or offerings to a god or gods....
9. Ananias, n. View full entry 1876
...Name of a man who, ‘with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession and kept back part of the price’ (Acts v. 1, 2); used allusively for a liar....
10. apple, n. View full entry eOE
...The round firm fruit (a pome) of any of various wild and cultivated trees of the genus Malus (see sense 4a), occurring in a wide variety of forms,...
11. Armageddon, n. View full entry 1811
...The place of the last decisive battle at the Day of Judgement; hence used allusively for any ‘final’ conflict on a great scale. Also attrib....
12. arrow, n. View full entry a835
...A slender pointed missile shot from a bow, usually feathered and barbed. Sometimes also applied to the bolts, or quarrels, with thickened heads, discharged from the cross-bow....
13. artful, adj. (and n.) View full entry 1583
...Displaying or characterized by technical skill. Cf. art6. Now rare....
14. Babbitt, n.2 View full entry 1921
...A person likened to the character George Babbitt, esp. a materialistic, complacent businessman who conforms unthinkingly to the views and standards of his social set. Usu. in pl....
15. babe, n. View full entry a1393
...A very young child; a baby. Formerly also: †a child of any age (obs.). Now chiefly literary and somewhat arch., often in fixed phrases, as ...
16. Babel, n. View full entry a1529
...A confused or discordant medley of sounds, esp. of voices; a hubbub, a din. Perh. influenced by babble2 in later use....
17. Babylonian, n. and adj. View full entry 1534
...A native or inhabitant of the ancient city of Babylon (now in Iraq), or the ancient Babylonian Empire. hist....
18. basket, n. View full entry a1300
...A vessel of wickerwork, made of plaited osiers, cane, rushes, bast, or other materials....
19. bauble, n. View full entry c1320
...An instrument consisting of a stick with a mass of lead fixed or suspended at one end, used for weighing, and apparently for other purposes. Forms: babyll(e, babulle,...
20. beard, n. View full entry c825
...The hair that grows upon the chin, lips, and adjacent parts of an adult man's face; now usually excluding the moustache, or hair of the upper lip....
