Browse dictionary
Showing 1-20 of 9018 results in 9018 entries
1. A, n. View full entry OE
...The letter, and the sound it represents....
2. Aaron's rod, n. View full entry 1631
...In similative and allusive use: a powerful force which devours or overwhelms everything around it....
3. abaciscus, n. View full entry 1753
...A square section containing part or all of the pattern of a mosaic pavement; (also) a single mosaic tile, a tessera. Now rare....
4. abaculus, n. View full entry 1868
...A square or tile for use in a mosaic pavement; a tessera. Cf. abaciscus...
5. abacus, n. View full entry a1387
...A board or tray strewn with sand in which numbers, letters, diagrams, etc., can be traced and erased. Cf. sandboard1, sand-table(a)sand2a. Now rare...
6. abat-jour, n. View full entry 1838
...An architectural device for deflecting the light from a wall or roof opening in a particular direction; spec.a skylight set in an angled or slanting aperture or light well;a...
7. abreuvoir, n. View full entry 1696
...Masonry. A place between stones or bricks which is to be filled with mortar or cement; a joint. Now rare....
8. abstractionism, n. View full entry 1842
...Usu. somewhat depreciative. The presentation of ideas in abstract terms; the tendency to favour abstract explanations and theories while ignoring or paying insufficient attention to concrete details or particular instances....
9. abuilding, adj. View full entry 1534
...In the process of being built or building. Also fig. in later use. Only in predicative use....
10. abutment, n. View full entry 1614
...App.: a projecting spit of land, a promontory. Obs.rare....
11. Abyssinian, n. and adj. View full entry 1660
...Any of the languages spoken by the inhabitants of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Now usu. spec.= Amharic...
12. acanthine, adj. View full entry 1753
...Decorated with representations of acanthus leaves; resembling the leaves or branches of the acanthus....
13. acanthus, n. View full entry 1551
...Bot. In early use: the Mediterranean plant Acanthus spinosus, the spiny leaves of which (or representations of them) are used decoratively (see sense 2). In later use...
14. acetifier, n. View full entry 1853
...An apparatus in which acetous fermentation is carried out in the manufacture of vinegar....
15. acid, adj. and n. View full entry 1626
...In general use: sour, tart, sharp to the taste; tasting like vinegar....
16. acidization, n. View full entry 1893
...The process or action of acidizing something, esp. a well or a rock formation; an instance of this....
17. acid test, n. View full entry 1759
...A chemical test involving reaction with an acid (occas., a test for an acid); spec. a test for gold or other precious metal using nitric acid....
18. acierate, v. View full entry 1867
...trans. To convert (iron) into steel....
19. acme, n. View full entry a1568
...The highest point or culmination; the point or period at which something is at its best or most highly developed; (in later use also) a person or thing representing or embodying this....
20. acroter, n. View full entry 1692
...Archit....
