<B>Alsatian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with Alsace (region in northeastern France) or its people. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or belonging to Alsatia. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person born or living in Alsace. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in Great Britain and Commonwealth countries) = German shepherd. <DD><B> 3a. </B>a debtor or criminal in sanctuary. <DD><B> b. </B>a Bohemian person; adventurer. </DL>
<A NAME="alsatiandog">
<B>Alsatian dog,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in Great Britain and Commonwealth countries) <B>=German shepherd.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="alsikeclover">
<B>alsike clover,</B> or <B>alsike, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of tall clover with whitish flowers that become pink, native to Europe but now widely cultivated also in the United States and elsewhere for forage. It is sometimes called <I>Swedish clover.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="alsinaceous">
<B>alsinaceous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with the pink family; caryophyllaceous. <DD><B> 2. </B>allied to or resembling the chickweed. </DL>
<A NAME="alsirat">
<B>Al Sirat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(in Moslem literature) the bridge over hell to paradise, narrow and sharp as the edge of a sword blade. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in the Koran) the "right way"; the difficult path of true religion. </DL>
<A NAME="also">
<B>also, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in addition; besides; too. <BR> <I>Ex. That dress is pretty; it is also inexpensive.</I> (SYN) further, likewise, furthermore. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) likewise. </DL>
<A NAME="alsophila">
<B>alsophila, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a genus of Australian tree ferns, one variety of which is often raised indoors. </DL>
<A NAME="alsoran">
<B>also-ran, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an unsuccessful contestant; a loser. <DD><B> 2. </B>any horse that finishes behind the first three in a race, and thus wins nothing. </DL>
<A NAME="alstroemeria">
<B>alstroemeria, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a genus of South American herbs of the amaryllis family, having leafy stems and colorful flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="alt">
<B>alt, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj. </I> high in pitch. <DD><I>noun </I> the first octave above the treble staff. <BR> <I>Ex. Your ladyship's absolutely in alt ... Yes, in alt ... you have raised your voice a full octave higher (George Colman).</I> </DL>
<B>Alta.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Alberta (a province in Canada). </DL>
<A NAME="altafescue">
<B>alta fescue,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a variety of fescue grown in the humid areas of Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas for hay and pasture. </DL>
<A NAME="altaian">
<B>Altaian, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a member of a Tartar tribe of the Altai Mountains. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person belonging to any of the Ural-Altaic peoples. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>=Altaic.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="altaic">
<B>Altaic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with a family of languages that includes Turkish, Mongolian, and Manchu. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with the Altai Mountains (a mountain system in central Asia) or the region in and around them. <DD><I>noun </I> the Altaic family of languages. </DL>
<A NAME="altair">
<B>Altair, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a star of the first magnitude, in the constellation Aquila. It is about ten times as bright as the sun. </DL>
<A NAME="altar">
<B>altar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a table or stand in the most sacred part of a church, synagogue, or temple, always thought of as the central point of worship. <BR> <I>Ex. The priest knelt in prayer before the altar. (Figurative.) The stones which construct the sacred altar of peace (Edmund Burke).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a block of stone, mound of turf, or other raised place, on which to make sacrifices or burn offerings to a god. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a place consecrated to devotional observances. <BR> <I>Ex. the family altar.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>lead to the altar,</B> </I>to marry. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] leads her to the village altar (Tennyson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="altarage">
<B>altarage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> money offered at an altar, or received by a priest for services at an altar. </DL>
<A NAME="altarboy">
<B>altar boy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a boy or man who helps a priest during certain religious services; acolyte. </DL>
<A NAME="altarbread">
<B>altar bread,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> bread, or unleavened wafers, used in the ceremony of the Holy Eucharist or Holy Communion. </DL>
<A NAME="altarcloth">
<B>altar cloth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a decorative cloth placed on an altar. </DL>
<A NAME="altarpiece">
<B>altarpiece, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a decorated panel or wall behind and above an altar in a church; reredos. </DL>
<A NAME="altarrail">
<B>altar rail,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a railing in front of an altar, especially one that separates the altar area from the rest of the chancel; communion rail. </DL>
<A NAME="altarwise">
<B>altarwise, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in an altar's position. </DL>
<A NAME="altazimuth">
<B>altazimuth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument for determining the apparent position of a heavenly body. It consists of a telescope that can be moved up and down and in a circle, and is mounted so that its angle from north and from the horizontal can be read on scales. A theodolite is a portable altazimuth. </DL>
<A NAME="alter">
<B>alter, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to make different; change the appearance of; vary. <BR> <I>Ex. If this coat is too large, a tailor can alter it to fit you.</I> (SYN) modify. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. and Australia.) <DD><B> a. </B>to castrate (a male animal). <DD><B> b. </B>to spay (a female animal). <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become different. <BR> <I>Ex. Since her trip to Europe, her whole outlook has altered.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="alter">
<B>alter.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> alteration. </DL>
<A NAME="alterability">
<B>alterability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being alterable; alterableness. </DL>
<A NAME="alterable">
<B>alterable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be altered. </DL>
<A NAME="alterableness">
<B>alterableness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being alterable; alterability. </DL>
<A NAME="alterably">
<B>alterably, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a manner that can be altered. </DL>
<A NAME="alterant">
<B>alterant, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> causing alteration. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>something that causes alteration. <DD><B> 2. </B>a reagent used in dyeing, to modify or change a color. </DL>
<A NAME="alteration">
<B>alteration, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a change in the character, appearance, or form of anything; altered or changed condition. <BR> <I>Ex. Mother made some alterations in my new dress. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds (Shakespeare). The atom and hydrogen bombs have led to great alterations in military planning.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an altering; the act of making some change in a thing. <BR> <I>Ex. The alteration of our house took three months.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="alterative">
<B>alterative, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>causing change; having the power to cause change. <DD><B> 2. </B>gradually restoring the healthy bodily functions. <DD><I>noun </I> a remedy that gradually restores health. </DL>
<B>altercation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an angry dispute; quarrel. <BR> <I>Ex. The two teams had an altercation over the umpire's decision.</I> (SYN) wrangle. </DL>
<A NAME="altered">
<B>altered, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) a hot rod modified or rebuilt for a drag race; an altered dragster. </DL>
<A NAME="alteredchord">
<B>altered chord,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) a chord affected by an accidental and thus changed in character. </DL>
<A NAME="alteredstateofconsciousness">
<B>altered state of consciousness,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any deviation from the normal activity of the mind or brain. <BR> <I>Ex. Drug experience can be understood only if it is viewed as an altered state of consciousness rather than as a pharmacological event (Andrew Weil). Telepathy, clairvoyance, mystical transports, and other altered states of consciousness may be latent in most, if not all, of us (New Yorker).</I> <DL COMPACT><DD> (Abbr:) ASC (no periods). </DL>
</DL>
<A NAME="alterego">
<B>alter ego,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a very intimate friend or close associate. <BR> <I>Ex. Marx's alter ego, Engels, wrote that, when the aims of the Revolution had been accomplished, the state would "wither away" (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>another aspect of one's nature. <BR> <I>Ex. "Well, really," said Letty to her alter ego, "you ought to be ashamed of yourself" (Michael Strange).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="alteridem">
<B>alter idem,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) another self; second self; alter ego. </DL>
<A NAME="alterity">
<B>alterity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being different or other; difference; otherness. <BR> <I>Ex. The feminine body is culturally constructed as the superlative site of alterity (London Review of Books).</I> </DL>
