<B>Aonian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with Aonia, a region of Boeotia in ancient Greece containing Mount Helicon and associated especially with the Muses. </DL>
<A NAME="aor">
<B>AOR</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>adult-oriented rock; classic rock. <BR> <I>Ex. Sales are helped by Zeppelin's status as the backbone of AOR and classic-rock radio (Rolling Stone).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>at own risk (a hospital term). </DL>
<A NAME="aorist">
<B>aorist, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>one of the past tenses of Greek verbs. It shows that an action took place at some time in the past without indicating whether the act was completed, repeated, or continued. <DD><B> 2. </B>a tense of similar form or meaning in certain other languages, such as Sanskrit. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or in the aorist. </DL>
<A NAME="aoristic">
<B>aoristic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>undefined; indeterminate. <BR> <I>Ex. like certain aoristic combinations in music (George Meredith).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with an aorist. adv. <B>aoristically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="aorta">
<B>aorta, </B>noun, pl. <B>-tas,</B> <B>-tae.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the great artery that carries the blood from the left side (ventricle) of the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs. The aorta is the main trunk of the arterial system and has many branches. </DL>
<A NAME="aortic">
<B>aortic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the aorta. <BR> <I>Ex. an aortic valve, aortic aneurysms.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="aortitis">
<B>aortitis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> inflammation of the aorta. </DL>
<A NAME="aortography">
<B>aortography, </B>noun, pl. <B>-phies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> examination of the aorta by means of arteriographs. </DL>
<A NAME="aoudad">
<B>aoudad, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a wild sheep native to northern Africa, found also in California, New Mexico, and Texas; barbary sheep. </DL>
<A NAME="aoutrance">
<B>a outrance,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) to the utmost; to the very end. <BR> <I>Ex. to battle a outrance. ... Emerson's description of Henry David Thoreau--"a protestant a outrance" (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ap">
<B>ap-</B> (1),<DL COMPACT><DD> (prefix.) the form of <B>ad-</B> before <I>p,</I> as in <I>apprehend.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ap">
<B>ap-</B> (2),<DL COMPACT><DD> (prefix.) the form of <B>apo-</B> before vowels and <I>h,</I> as in <I>aphelion.</I> </DL>
<B>AP</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> an abbreviation for the following: <DD><B> 1. </B>Air Police (the military police of the United States Air Force). <DD><B> 2. </B>American plan. <DD><B> 3. </B>antipersonnel. <DD><B> 4. </B>Associated Press. It often appears in print as a ligature. </DL>
<A NAME="apace">
<B>apace, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> very soon; swiftly; quickly; fast. <BR> <I>Ex. The summer flew by, and the time for school was coming on apace.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="apache">
<B>Apache, </B>noun, pl. <B>Apaches</B> or <B>Apache.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of a tribe of Indians living in the southwestern United States. They were formerly warlike and nomadic. <DD><B> 2. </B>the tribe itself. <DD><B> 3. </B>their language, of the Athapascan stock. </DL>
<A NAME="apache">
<B>apache, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a rough or rowdy person, especially one of a band of toughs or gangsters who operate in Paris and Brussels. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or designating a kind of very energetic dance in which the partners are dressed likean apache and his woman. </DL>
<B>apagoge, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Logic.) demonstration of a propositor, by showing the impossibility or absurdity of the contrary. </DL>
<A NAME="apagogic">
<B>apagogic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Logic.) of or having to do with apagoge. </DL>
<A NAME="apagogical">
<B>apagogical </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Logic.) of the nature of apagoge. </DL>
<A NAME="apamin">
<B>apamin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a substance, derived from bee venom, that is poisonous to nervous tissue, used experimentally in neurology and medicine. <BR> <I>Ex. Apamin is the smallest neurotoxic polypeptide known, and it is the only one whose interaction with the spinal cord is well established (Science).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="apanage">
<B>apanage, </B>noun. <B>=appanage.</B></DL>
<A NAME="aparejo">
<B>aparejo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-jos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Southwestern U.S.) a kind of packsaddle, usually of stuffed leather. </DL>
<A NAME="apart">
<B>apart, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adv. </I> <B>1. </B>to pieces; in pieces; in separate parts. <BR> <I>Ex. He took the watch apart to see how it runs. That old house looks as if it were falling apart.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>away from each other. <BR> <I>Ex. Keep the dogs apart.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to one side; aside. <BR> <I>Ex. He sets some money apart for a vacation each year. All joking apart, do you mean that?</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>away from others; each by itself; separately; independently. <BR> <I>Ex. View each idea apart.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to or in another place; away. <BR> <I>Ex. to live apart from one's family.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> separate. <BR> <I>Ex. He became a man apart.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>apart from,</B> </I>besides. <BR> <I>Ex. Apart from its cost, the plan was a good one.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="apart">
<B>a part,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><B> 1. </B>aside. <BR> <I>Ex. It seemed to me regrettable that American hotel men don't offer our a part service--serving from a side table rather than plopping everything on one plate in the kitchen (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an aside. </DL>
<A NAME="apartheid">
<B>apartheid, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> racial segregation, especially as formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa. There, segregation of blacks from whites was the law of the South African government. </DL>
<A NAME="apartment">
<B>apartment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a room or group of rooms to live in; flat. <BR> <I>Ex. Our apartment is on the second floor of that building.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(U.S.) a single room. <DD><B> 2. </B>an apartment building. </DL>
<A NAME="apartmentbuilding">
<B>apartment building,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a building with a number of apartments in it. </DL>
<A NAME="apartmenthotel">
<B>apartment hotel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a hotel having furnished apartments for rent to permanent residents. </DL>
<B>apartness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being or standing apart; aloofness. <BR> <I>Ex. Howarth ... is one of those distant, always lonely figures who search out crowds only to emphasize their own apartness (Manchester Guardian).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="apasdegeant">
<B>a pas de geant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) with a giant's stride or tread. <BR> <I>Ex. Up he thunders, a pas de geant, ... a hint of the mediaeval in his upturning boots (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="apastron">
<B>apastron, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) that point in the orbit of a double star in which one star is farthest away from its primary. </DL>
<A NAME="apatetic">
<B>apatetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> deceptively resembling the coloration of an animal's environment or the markings of another species. </DL>
<A NAME="apathetic">
<B>apathetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>with little interest or desire for action; indifferent. <BR> <I>Ex. The lazy boy's apathetic attitude toward schoolwork annoyed his teacher.</I> (SYN) listless. <DD><B> 2. </B>lacking in feeling; unemotional. <BR> <I>Ex. His apathetic response to the tragedy showed he did not understand the play.</I> (SYN) listless. </DL>
<B>apathetically, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in an apathetic manner. </DL>
<A NAME="apathy">
<B>apathy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>lack of interest in or desire for activity; indifference. <BR> <I>Ex. The apathy of the lazy boy was annoying. The citizens' apathy to local affairs resulted in poor government.</I> (SYN) unconcern, impassivity. <DD><B> 2. </B>lack of feeling. <BR> <I>Ex. The miser heard the old beggar's story with apathy.</I> (SYN) unfeelingness, insensibility. </DL>
<A NAME="apatite">
<B>apatite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a native phosphate of lime, varying in color from white to green, blue, violet, and brown, occurring in crystals or masses, and commonly minced for use as a fertilizer. </DL>
<B>ape, </B>noun, verb, <B>aped,</B> <B>aping,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a large, tailless monkey with long arms, that can stand almost erect and walk on two feet. Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons are anthropoid apes. Certain other monkeys, such as the Barbary ape and the macaque, are also called apes. <BR> <I>Ex. Many people confuse apes with monkeys, but the two groups of animals differ in many ways (R.L. Susman).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any monkey. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a person who imitates or mimics. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>a rough, clumsy person. <DD><B> b. </B>a fool. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to imitate; mimic. <BR> <I>Ex. The girl aped the way the movie star fixed her hair.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> (Slang.) wild; excited; enthusiastic. <BR> <I>Ex. I advised her to quit acting ape (S. J. Perelman).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>go ape,</B> </I>(Slang.) to become wildly excited. <BR> <I>Ex. Seniors ... chose oval-shaped rings ... and the kids have really gone ape over them (Kay Harris).</I> adj. <B>apelike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="apeak">
<B>apeak, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adv. </I> (of an anchor chain, oars, or a yard) in or into a vertical position or nearly so. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(of a ship or boat) with the anchor chain running vertically, or nearly so, to the anchor. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of oars or a yard) vertical. </DL>
<A NAME="apeiron">
<B>apeiron, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the ultimate principle or original source of life (postulated by Anaximander, Greek philosopher of the 500's B.C.). </DL>
