<B>ACH</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> acetylcholine. </DL>
<A NAME="achaean">
<B>Achaean, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of Achaia (a region and country in ancient Greece, in the Peloponnesus) or the Achaeans. <DD><B> 2. </B>having to do with a league of cities formed in southern Greece in 280 B.C. <DD><B> 3. </B>Greek. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a native or inhabitant of Achaia. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in Homer) any Greek. Also, <B>Achaian,</B> <B>Achean.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="achaemenian">
<B>Achaemenian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the Achaemenids or their language. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an Achaemenid. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Persian language of the Achaemenids. </DL>
<A NAME="achaemenid">
<B>Achaemenid, </B>noun, pl. <B>-menids,</B> <B>-menides,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a member of an ancient royal family of Persia, beginning with Cyrus the Great, about 558 B.C., and ending with Darius III, who was overthrown by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C. <DD><I>adj. </I> of the Achaemenids; Achaemenian. </DL>
<A NAME="achaian">
<B>Achaian, </B>adjective, noun. =Achaean.</DL>
<A NAME="achalasia">
<B>achalasia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) inability of a muscular organ to relax. <BR> <I>Ex. achalasia of the esophagus, sphincteral achalasia.</I> </DL>
<B>acharya, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a Hindu teacher, scholar, or spiritual leader. </DL>
<A NAME="achates">
<B>Achates, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the faithful companion (<I>"fidus Achates"</I>) of Aeneas in Virgil's <I>Aeneid.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a faithful comrade. </DL>
<A NAME="ache">
<B>ache, </B>noun, verb, <B>ached,</B> <B>aching.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a continuous pain, especially a dull or heavy pain. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy lay still trying to forget the ache in his back. Muscular aches follow hard exercise.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to be in continuous pain; suffer pain; hurt. <BR> <I>Ex. My arm aches.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to have pity or sympathy; feel. <BR> <I>Ex. She ached for the hurt little dog.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal.) to be eager; wish very much. <BR> <I>Ex. During the hot days of August we all ached to go swimming. The lonely girl aches for home.</I> (SYN) long, yearn. adv. <B>achingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="achean">
<B>Achean, </B>adjective, noun. =Achaean.</DL>
<A NAME="achelous">
<B>Achelous, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Mythology.) the river god, represented as a bull with a human head. </DL>
<A NAME="achene">
<B>achene, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) any small, dry, hard fruit consisting of one seed with a thin outer covering that does not burst open when ripe, such as the sunflower seed. Also, <B>achenium,</B> <B>akene.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="achenial">
<B>achenial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with an achene. <DD><B> 2. </B>like an achene. </DL>
<A NAME="achenium">
<B>achenium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-nia.</B> =achene.</DL>
<A NAME="achernar">
<B>Achernar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the brightest star in the constellation Eridanus. </DL>
<A NAME="acheron">
<B>Acheron, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek and Roman Mythology.) <DD><B> 1. </B>one of the five rivers of Hades. See also <B>Styx.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>the lower world; Hades. </DL>
<A NAME="acheulian">
<B>Acheulian</B> or <B>Acheulean, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a culture of the middle and lower paleolithic age in Europe and North Africa. It followed the Abbevillian and was characterized by more symmetrical biface tools with greater cutting surface. </DL>
<B>achieve, </B>verb, <B>achieved,</B> <B>achieving.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to carry out to a successful end; accomplish; do. <BR> <I>Ex. Did you achieve all that you expected to today? He soon learned that you cannot achieve much without work. ... they would concentrate their resources to achieve an efficient means of delivery (New York Herald Tribune).</I> (SYN) complete, effect, execute, perform. <DD><B> 2. </B>to reach by one's own efforts; get by effort. <BR> <I>Ex. He achieved fame as a swimmer. Newton and Einstein achieved distinction in mathematics.</I> (SYN) gain, attain, win. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to bring about a result intended. <BR> <I>Ex. Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait (Longfellow).</I> adj. <B>achievable. noun â•¡achiever.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="achievement">
<B>achievement, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>something achieved or won by exertion; some plan or action carried out with courage or unusual ability. <BR> <I>Ex. Sailing a submarine under the North Pole was a great achievement. Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel prize for his achievements in behalf of civil rights.</I> (SYN) accomplishment, feat. <DD><B> 2. </B>an achieving; completion. <BR> <I>Ex. The achievement of one's aim comes only out of hard work.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="achievementage">
<B>achievement age,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the measure of how much a student has learned, determined by an achievement test and expressed as the (tabulated) average age of other students making the same score. Also, (especially British,) <B>attainment age.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="achievementquotient">
<B>achievement quotient,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the ratio of a student's achievement age to his actual age, usually multiplied by 100. (Abbr:) AQ (no periods). Also, (especially British,) <B>attainment quotient.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="achievementtest">
<B>achievement test,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a test intended to measure quantitatively the results of learning or teaching. Also, (especially British,) <B>attainment test.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="achillean">
<B>Achillean, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of Achilles. <DD><B> 2. </B>like Achilles, who was noted for his bravery, his invulnerability (except in the heel), and his unrelenting wrath. </DL>
<A NAME="achilles">
<B>Achilles, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Greek Legend.) the greatest Greek warrior at the siege of Troy; the hero of Homer's <I>Iliad.</I> Thetis, his mother, held him by the heel when she dipped him into the river Styx to make him invulnerable. After he killed Hector, Paris killed him by shooting an arrow into his heel. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Astronomy.) an asteroid which revolves around the sun and oscillates about points equally distant from Jupiter and the sun. </DL>
<A NAME="achillesheel">
<B>Achilles' heel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a weak point; vulnerable place. <BR> <I>Ex. Despite chronic shortages of some foods, farm production cannot be considered the Achilles' heel of Russia's economy (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="achillesspear">
<B>Achilles' spear,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Legend.) the spear of Achilles, the rust of which was made into a cure for wounds inflicted by it. </DL>
<A NAME="achillestendon">
<B>Achilles' tendon,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the strong tendon at the back of the leg that connects the muscles in the calf with the bone of the heel. </DL>
<A NAME="achimenes">
<B>achimenes, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a genus of tropical American herbs, cultivated for their flowers, which resemble gloxinias. </DL>
<A NAME="achinese">
<B>Achinese, </B>adjective, noun, pl. <B>-nese.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Achin (or Atjeh), a province of Sumatra, its people, or their language. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a native or inhabitant of Achin. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Indonesian language of the Achinese. </DL>
<A NAME="achitophel">
<B>Achitophel, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> Ahithophel, in the Douay and Vulgate Bibles. This spelling is well known through John Dryden's use in <I>Absalom and Achitophel.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="achkan">
<B>achkan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a close-fitting jacket of three-quarter length, worn by men in India, for formal or semiformal dress. </DL>
<A NAME="achlamydate">
<B>achlamydate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having no mantle. <BR> <I>Ex. an achlamydate mollusk.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="achlamydeous">
<B>achlamydeous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) lacking a calyx and a corolla. </DL>
<A NAME="achlorhydria">
<B>achlorhydria, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) the absence of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice. </DL>
<A NAME="achlorhydric">
<B>achlorhydric, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with achlorhydria. </DL>
<A NAME="acholic">
<B>acholic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> free from or deficient in bile. </DL>
<A NAME="acholuria">
<B>acholuria, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) a kind of jaundice marked by the absence of bile pigment in the urine. </DL>
<A NAME="acholuric">
<B>acholuric, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with acholuria. </DL>
<A NAME="achondrite">
<B>achondrite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a stony meteorite that does not contain small embedded grains of minerals (chondrules). </DL>
<A NAME="achondritic">
<B>achondritic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or resembling achondrites. </DL>
<A NAME="achondroplasia">
<B>achondroplasia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> dwarfism characterized by extreme shortness of the limbs and a disproportionately large head, due to a disorder of skeletal growth in fetal life. </DL>
<B>achondroplastic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with achondroplasia. <DD><B> 2. </B>suffering from achondroplasia. <DD><I>noun </I> a person who has achondroplasia. </DL>
