Longman modern English dictionary [2 ed.] 0582555124, 9780582555129

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Pronunciation Symbols as in bite (bait) (ai) ,, fire (faia) (aia) ,, now (nau) (au) ,, tower (taua) (aus) ,, far (fa:) (a:) ,, bad (baed) ($) „ Ai/? (bib) (b) ,, cot (kot) (з) ,, caught (ko:t) (o:) ,, boy (boi) (oi) (3 is) ,, loyal (taisl) ,, did (did) (d) ,, judge (d3Ad3) (d3) ,, then (6en), breathe (bri:8) (6) ,, bed (bed) (e) „ made (meid) (ei) ,, player (pleis) (eia) ,, about (sbaut), careless (kealas) (a) ,, travel (traeval), memory (memari) 0) ,, b/rd (a:) ,, there (deo) (ea) „ / lu#(flAf) (f) ,, gag (gasg) (g) ,, hit (hit) (h) ,, sh/p (Jip) (i) ,, sheep (Ji:p) (iO ,, here (his) (ia) ,, you (ju:) (j) „ cake (keik) (k) „ lull (IaI) (l) (m) ,, mime (maim) ,, nine (nain) (n) ,, sing (.sio) (0) (ou) ,, boat (bout) ,, lower (lous) (ous) „ pip (pip) (p) ,, red (red) (r) ,, sauce (so:s) (s) ,, shush (JaJ) (J) „ tot (tat) (t) „ church (tjs:tj) (tf) ,, thin (Gin), breat)i (bre0) (0) ,, pall (pul) (и) ,, pool (pud) (u:) ,, poor (pus) (ua) ,, verve (vs:v) (v) ,, hat (hAt) (a) ,, wet (wet) (w) ,, Scot, loch (tax) (x) ,, zoos (zu:z) (z) ,, measure (me3s) (3)

i?m

3

Foreign Pronunciation Symbols

“
ou(ju:) (j) (k) 55 cake (keik) 55 lull (1a1) (0 (m) 55 mime (maim) (n) 55 «i/;e (nain) 55 si/?g (sir)) to) (ou) 55 boat (bout) (oua) 55 lower (loua) 55 pip (pip) (P) 00 55 red (red) (s) 55 .sauce (sa:s) 55 shush (JaJ) CD 55 tot (tat) (t) 55 church (tJa:tD GD (6) 55 thin (0in), breath (bre0) (u) 55 pall (pul) pool (pu:l) (u:) (ua) poor(pua) 55 verve (va:v) (v) 55 hat (hAt) 55 (a) (w) wet (wet) 55 Scot, loch (lax) (x) 55 zoos (zu:z) 55 (z) measure (me 3a) 55 (3)

In addition, the symbols (e, a, 5, oe) are used where necessary for words taken from French (see the table of foreign sounds in section 14 below), as in restaurant (restara). 3. Stress The most prominent, or ‘stressed’, syllable is indicated by the mark (') above the symbol for the vowel of that syllable, as in heavy (hevi), concern (kansarn), photographer (fatagrafa). Where a vowel is represented by two or more symbols the mark is placed over the first, as in rely (rilai), over (ouva), fireworks (faiawa:ks). ‘Secondary stress’, where it occurs, is represented by the mark (J below the appropriate vowel symbol, as in photographic (foutagnefik), pronunciation (pranAnsieiJan). Where a pronunciation entry contains more than one word ‘main stress’ is marked on the most prominent syllable of the whole entry, as in open-eyed (oupan aid). Note, however, that only the ‘citation’ form is shown for words whose stress may shift when they are used attributively: for example, light-hearted is shown only as (lait ha:tid) even though the first element carries more stress than the second in a phrase like a light-hearted man (a lait haztid msen). Secondary stress is marked under (i) to indicate its ‘strong’ quality, as in crayfish (kreif ij) or earring (iariq), as opposed to its ‘weak’ quality as in selfish (selfij) or hearing (hiariq). Of the other vowels, (a) is always ‘weak’ and the remainder always ‘strong’. 1 (a) represents a ‘deletable’ vowel, as in travel(trteval)—which is pronounced (trsevl) or(trseval). Where the following consonant is itself followed by another vowel, as in memory (memari), the symbol also indicates that that consonant may be ‘syllabic’.

XIV

4. Inflections No pronunciation is shown for inflected forms whose pronunciation is regular (for example dogs, dog’s, going, waited), even where the spelling is not regular (for example, cities has a regular pronunciation though an irregular spelling). The pronunciation of irregular forms (for example went) is given under the entry for the base form only (in this example, undergo). It is repeated at that particular form’s own entry only when the form is also used in senses that do not apply to the base form: (compare, for example, the entries for deft and clove), or if it has a different pronunciation to a neighbouring homograph (as dove, the bird, and dove, from dive). Irregular inflected forms are normally shown in full, except for compound nouns whose pronunciation can be established from the entry for the last element itself (as in the case of postwomen). However, as -men can have two pronunciations, the appropriate form is shown simply as (-men) or (-man) for each compound. Very long compound forms may be cut back to the last element: for example, corynebacteria (plural of corynebacterium) is shown simply as (-brektisrio). The pronunciation is not repeated where singular and plural (etc.) forms have the same spelling and pronunciation, as with sheep. 5. Derivatives Pronunciation is not shown for derived forms produced by adding inferrable suffixes to the stem, unless a significant irregularity is involved. However, the stress of such derivatives is shown by placing the main stress mark over the appropriate vowel in the orthographic form (as with caliphate under caliph). No pronunciation is shown where derivatives treated thus also occur as main entries or elements in main entries: see, for example, documentary film and documentary under document. 6. Regular variation The pronunciation of certain combinations regularly varies among individual speakers. In the great majority of such cases only one pronunciation is shown, and it is to be understood that the regular variant is always equally acceptable. One major area of such variation is between the vowels (i) and (a), as in civility (sivilati or siviliti) and goodness (gudnas or gudnis); in general, the form with (a) is shown in such cases. There may be similar variation between (ia) and (ja) after certain consonants, as in companion (kampaenian or kamptenjan) and civilian (sivilian or siviljan); here it is the form with (i) that is normally shown. Certain other vowels, particularly (ou) and (u), may frequently be reduced to (a) in some contexts. Depending on the type of word and its stress pattern, either (a) or the ‘full’ vowel is shown, but the alternative form is often also possible. 7. Individual variation Many single words may of course be pronounced acceptably in more than one way; and all reasonably common pronunciations are shown. Variant pronunciations are listed in what is thought to be their order of frequency (though no statistical evidence is offered for the listings), and are normally transcribed in full. Where variation is found in two or more syllables of the same word, not all permutations are normally shown: the minimum number needed to infer all possibilities is given. So coelenterate, whose first syllable may be either (si:-) or (si-) and whose last may be (-reit) or (-rat), is shown arbitrarily as (sidentareit, silentarat), implying a number of possibilities. 8. Hyphenated and multi-word entries The pronunciation of all hyphenated headwords is shown in full, with a space separating each element, as in cock-a-hoop (kok a hu:p). Where an entry consists of individual words, the pronunciation is shown only of elements that are not headwords in their own right or have not occurred in a preceding entry. 9. Homonyms No pronunciation is shown for an entry that is cross-referred to a homonym with the same pronunciation: for example no pronunciation is shown for crimmer as it is identical to the main entry krimmer, to which the reader is referred. 10. Homographs Where successive entries have the same spelling and the same pronunciation, the pronunciation of only the first is shown. Differences of punctuation or the use of regular inflections are ignored for this purpose.

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Where different pronunciations are involved within the same entry, a pronunciation is shown at each appropriate point in the entry: compare for example the entries for contemplative, contrary and convert. 11. Syllabification Entries are divided into individual syllables (by hyphens) only where the juxtaposition of individual pronunciation symbols might result in ambiguity, as with c/«/>ez'c/(klu:pi-id), or where a syllable boundary might otherwise be wrongly inferred, as with courtship - shown as (ko:t-Jip) to prevent any possibility of the interpretation (k5:-tjip). 12. Strong and weak forms Many common words (such as the, a, and, of) have a ‘strong’ form and at least one ‘weak’ form. The strong form is used when the word is prominent (as when it is stressed, or sometimes when it occurs at the end of a sentence), while a weak form is used otherwise - that is, in the majority of cases. Weak forms are always shown first and are unlabelled; the strong form is separated from them by a semi-colon and is labelled ‘strong’. Thus am (m, am; strong sm) and are (a; strong a:). 13. Specialist pronunciations Where a specialist word is pronounced in only one way by those familiar with the subject but is commonly pronounced differently by laymen, the specialist pronunciation is labelled appropriately. See, for example, leeward(li:wad, naut. lu:ad) and ethyl (e0al, chem. l:0ail). 14. Foreign words and names The following policy has been adopted for showing the pronunciation of foreign words, names and phrases. a) Only an ‘anglicised’ pronunciation is shown for items from any language other than French,

German, Spanish or Italian - on the ground that the sound system of other languages are less likely to be reasonably familiar to British readers. b) In the case of items from those four more familiar languages, there are three possibilities:

i) Where an anglicised form is clearly firmly established (as in the cases, for example, of Paris, cafe, Canaletto), only that form - with any necessary variants - is shown. ii) Where a fully anglicised form is not so clearly established, or where one exists alongside closer approximations to the ‘original’ pronunciation, both anglicised and ‘original’ pronunciations are shown (as in the case of coup de theatre or de Gaulle), except where they are directly equivalent in terms of the correspondences given in the table. In such (latter) cases, only the anglicised pronunciation is given: for example, Croce, which would have RP (kroutjei) and Italian (krottje) directly equivalent. Where both pronunciations appear, they are separated by a semicolon. iii) Where the item has very little currency in normal English, such as a minor personal or place name, only the ‘original’ pronunciation is shown - preceded by the appropriate abbreviation for the language concerned. iv) Main stress is shown for German, Spanish and Italian, and secondary stress is sometimes also shown for German, on the basis described in Section 3. Prominence does also exist in French, but is differently realised; because of this, and the fact that it is usually predictable (failing in most cases on the last syllable), it is not marked. v) Where an English name exists alongside a name in the ‘home’ language, as with Cologne and German Koln, or Venice and Italian Venezia, the appropriate pronunciation is shown for each name. The more important foreign names are entered as headwords in their own right and cross-referred to the main entry under the English name; in such cases the pronunciation of the ‘home-language’ name is shown at its own entry only. Less important names may be shown only under the English form; subject to the conditions above, the pronunciation may be shown at that point separated from the orthographic version by a dash, for example Bavaria (G. Bayern—baiarn). vi) The symbol (0) is used only in Spanish names that relate to Spain itself; it is replaced by (s) in personal and place names relating to Spanish-speaking America.

XVI

Foreign Sound

Nearest English Equivalent

as in Symbol French i i: i e 8

si

a a: a 0

la

o u u u: y y yi 0 oe 9 8 a 5 & h

pre bel

bas maovais powvre

German

die b/tte schwer fest Mann Voter

Spanish si

f/n/to

el

venti (20) venti (winds) porlore

la

troppo

fort so Luft

troMver

Italian

no

ora

ono

c«ra

bid bay bed

se

bad

)Q:

calm

1°

U: ou u

cot caught coat put boot

1

I

fur schdn zwolf Tasso

\ 9. 13‘ 9 —

bird about

—

— — w

\u\ ach

X

gagner

/uan ni«o //evar

R RR

!> ^ziocch i 0^/7 i gt i bglia

dd3 ddz ttj tts {

i ei e

—

sur peu ceuf le vin blanc bon un

as in bead

du Hwtte

i ch J1 jv

Symbol

ogg i

mezzo faccia ragazzo Welsh L/andudno

inj

)lj d3 dz tl ts 01

we loch (Sc.)

onion mi///on badge beds batch bats

—

Table of symbols used for French, German, Spanish and Italian pronunciations (plus one special symbol for Welsh names). Symbols not listed are used with linguistic values identical or nearly so to those in RP.

A A, a (ei) the first letter in the English alphabet || (pms.) a note, and the key of which it is the tonic. a (s) historically prep, but confused with indef art. (It remains in many words, ‘aglow’, ‘ablaze’ etc.) each, every, per, three times a day [O.E. an, on] a (3; strong ei) adj. the singular indefinite article, one || any, each one of a kind, a man must eat || denoting an apparent plural,. many a man. Before vowels and a silent h, ‘an’ replaces ‘a’, an apple, an hour [O.E. an, one] a- (3, ei) prefix on || in || at [O.E. a-, an, on] a- (ei) prefix not, without. It changes to ‘an-’ before vowels and usually before h [L. fr. Gk] Aachen (cr.kan; G. aixsn) (F. Aix-laChapelle) a city and spa (pop. 178,000) in N. Rhine-Westphalia, W. Germany, near the Dutch and Belgian frontiers. Manu¬ factures: textiles, needles, machinery Aalborg, Alborg (6:lbo:g) an old city (pop. 154,000) on Limfjord, N. Jutland, Denmark, a port and communications centre: cement, engineering, shipbuilding Aalst (a:lst) (Alost) a town (pop. 45,000) in Belgium, northwest of Brussels: textiles, brewing Aalto (d:lto), Alvar (1898- ), Finnish architect. In stressing an organic approach rather than strict adherence to the inter¬ national style, he has produced works beautifully related to environment and human needs Aar (a:) a river (280 km.) of Switzerland, flowing from glaciers in the Bernese Oberland to the Rhine near Waldshut. It is navigable as far as Lake Thun and pro¬ vides hydroelectric power Aarau (a:rau) an industrial town (pop. 17,000) in Aargau, Switzerland, on the Aare: engineering, textiles, foundries. aardvark (a:dva:k) n. Orycteropus afer, an African anteater. It has a strong heavy body, is about 1.50 m. long, is nocturnal in habit and lives on ants and termites [Du. = earth hog] aardwolf (a:dwulf) p!. aardwolves (a:dwulvz) n. Proteles cristata, a carnivorous, burrowing animal of S. Africa, allied to the hyena. It feeds on carrion, small mammals, insects etc. and is nocturnal in habit [Du. = earth wolf] Aare (curs) the Aar river Aargau (a:gau; G. a:rgau) a German¬ speaking canton (pop. 401,000) in N. Switzerland, relatively flat and heavily industrialized. Capital: Aarau (pop. 17,000) Aarhus, Arhus (6:hu:s) ancient port (pop. 120,000, with agglom. 172,000) in E. Jutland, Denmark’s second largest town. University (1928) Aaron (6sr3n) Jewish patriarch, who with his brother Moses led Israel out of Egypt and became the first Jewish high priest (Exodus iv ff.) ab- (ash) prefix from || away, outside of [O.F. fr. L.]

of a capital [L. fr. Gk abax (abakos)> tablet] Abadan (aebsddm) a town and island (pop. 273,000) in the delta of the Shattel-Arab, the principal port of Iran, and a vast oil-refining centre abaft (sbcuft) adv. and prep, {naut.) in or towards the stern of a ship [A {hist, prep.) + O.E. beceftan, behind] abalone (aebslouni) n. a haliotis [Span.] abampere (asb&mpea) n. the cgs electromagnetic unit of electric current equal to 10 amperes. The abampere is the basic unit of the cgs electromagnetic system and is defined in terms of the force acting between two parallel conductors when each is carrying a current (*current balance)

abandon (sbsendsn) n. lighthearted yielding to impulse, letting go of restraint [F.] abandon v.t. to give up, to abandon an attempt || to forsake || to yield (oneself), to abandon oneself to the waves abandoned adj. forsaken, an abandoned wife il dissolute, an abandoned woman [O.F. abandoner, to put under someone’s control] abandonment (sbsendsnmsnt) n. the act of abandoning || {law) the giving up of an interest, particularly of an insurance claim, author’s copyright or inventor’s patent || lack of restraint [O.F. abandonnement] abase (abeis) pres. part, abasing v.t. to degrade, to humiliate abased adj. humiliated || {heraldry, of a charge) lowered (cf. enhanced) abasement n. [fr. O.F. abaissier to lower] abash (abaej) v.t. to cause a slight feeling of embarrassment to, disconcert (used mostly in the passive) abashment n. [fr. O.F. esbair, to astonish] abate (abeit) pres. part, abating v.t. to reduce, do away with, to abate the anger of the mob || v.i. to grow less, the storm abated abatement n. [fr. O.F. abatre, to beat down] abattoir (zebstwa:) n. a slaughterhouse [F.] abbacy (zebasi) pi. abbacies n. the office or jurisdiction of an abbot || his period of office [earlier Eng. abbatie fr. L.L. abbatia] Abbas (asbdis) (566-652) the uncle of Mohammed and ancestor of the Abbasid dynasty Abbas I ‘the Great’ {c. 1557-1629), shah of Persia (1587-1629). He crushed the Uzbek rebels (1597), advanced into Afghanistan, and defeated the Turks (1605). Under his rule, Persian territory extended from the Tigris to the Indus Abbas II (Hilmi Pasha, 1874-1944), khedive of Egypt (1892-1914), son of Tewfik Pasha. He was deposed (1914) by Britain under suspicion of plotting with Turkey against British rule Abbas Effendi

(asbd:s ef^ndi) *abdul

baha

Aba (&bx) town (pop. 151,000) of S. Nigeria: commercial centre, textiles abaca (aebsks) n. Manila hemp [Span. abaca]

Abbasid (sebssid) a-member of the dyn¬ asty which ruled Islam (750-1258) from Baghdad, reaching its height in the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786-809)

aback (sb&k) adv. (naut.) with sails pressed back against the mast by head winds taken aback disagreeably astonished

Abbate {Ital. abbate), Niccolo dell’ (c. 1512-71), Italian painter known esp. for his frescoes at Fontainebleau abbe (sebei; F. abe) n. a title of respect given in France to secular clergy [F.]

abacus (aebskss) pi. abaci (eebssai), abacuses n. a calculating instrument con¬ sisting of a frame with beads on rods or wires || (archit.) the uppermost component

abbess (sebss) n. the woman superior of a nunnery or convent [O.F. abaesse]

Abbevillian (cebvilisn) adj. of the earliest Paleolithic period, characterized by the use of bifacial stone axes [after Abbe¬ ville in N. France] abbey (aebi) n. a monastery under an abbot or convent under an abbess || a church that is, or was once, part of such a monastery or convent [O.F. abaie] abbot (sebat) n. the superior of the community of an abbey abbotcy, abbotship ns [O.E. abbad, abbod fr. L. fr. Gk fr. Syriac] abbreviate (abrfivieit) pres. part. abbreviating v.t. to shorten (usually, a word) || to reduce in extent (e.g. a story, a film etc.) [fr. L. abbreviare {abbreviates)] abbreviation (abrjivieijan) n. the act or result of abbreviating a word [F. abreviation] ABC (ei bi: si:) n. the alphabet || the first principles of a subject abcoulomb (sebkuilom) n. the unit of charge in the cgs electromagnetic system of units equal to the quantity of charge that passes in 1 second through any cross section of a conductor carrying a steady current of 1 abampere Abd el-Kader (aebd el k cedes) (c. 180783), Arab leader who led the resistance to the French conquest of Algeria until his defeat (1847) Abd el Krim (a?bd el krim) (1882— 1963), Moroccan chief who led a revolt (1920-6) against Spain and France. Pris¬ oner of the French (1926-47), he escaped to Egypt to lead the movement for N. African independence abdicate (sebdikeit) pres. part, abdicat¬ ing v.t. to give up (a throne, position or responsibility) || v.i. to resign from power [fr. L. abdicare {abdicatus), to disown] abdication (aebdikeijan) n. the re¬ nouncing of power or high office, esp. of kingship [fr. L. abdicatio {abdicationis)] abdomen (sebdamsn, asbdoumsn) n. that part of the human body below the diaphragm containing the major organs of digestion and reproduction as well as the spleen, kidneys, adrenal and lymph glands. The whole cavity is lined inside by the peritoneum || {zool.) the hind part of in¬ sects, spiders etc. abdominal (tebdomin^l) adj. [L.j abducent (cebdjuisant) adj. {med., e.g. of the nerve responsible for moving the eyeball outwards) drawing away (opp. adducent) [fr. L. abducens {abducentis) fr. abducere, to lead away] abduct (asbdAkt) v.t. to kidnap, take away (esp. a woman or child) by force || {med.) to draw (a part of the body) away from the midline [fr. L. abducere {abcluctus), to lead away] abduction (tebdAkJsn) n. the act of kidnapping, of forcibly taking away || {med.) movement of a part of the body away from the midline [fr. L. abductio {abductionis), a carrying away] abductor (asbdAkts) n. a person who kidnaps or takes away forcibly || {med.) a muscle that moves a limb or other part of the body away from the midline [Mod. L. fr. abducere, to lead away] Abdul Baha (asbdul bcehd:) (1844— 1921) the title of Abbas Effendi, Persian religious leader, son of Baha’ullah and his successor as head of the Bahai faith. He advocated spiritual unity and disarmament as steps to universal peace Abdul Hamid II (apbdul h Eerpid) (1842-1918), sultan of Turkey (1876-1909) till deposed by the Young Turks. A re-

2

ABDULLAH ET TAAISHA actionary despot, he was noted for his un¬ scrupulous and brutal policies (e.g. Armenian massacres, 1894-6). He started a pro-German foreign policy which lasted until 1918

Abdullah et Taaisha "khalifa Abdullah ibn Hussein (aebdulg: iban husain) (1882-1951), king of the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan (1946-51) and emir (1921-46) when Transjordan was a British mandate. He attacked Israel (1948) and annexed Arab Palestine to Jordan (1950) Abdul Rahman (sebdul rsxmaen), Tunku (1903- ), Malaysian statesman, first prime minister of the Federation of Malaysia (1963-70), which he helped to establish. He was the first prime minister of the Federation of Malaya (1957-63), and was influential in negotiations with Great Britain for independence in Aug. 1957 Abdur Rahman (apbdua rtexmam) (d. 732), Arab governor of Andalusia whose defeat by Charles Martel at Poitiers (732) stopped further Moslem invasion of Europe Abdur Rahman (1844-1901), emir of Afghanistan. Subsidized by Britain, he centralized the administration and began to create modern Afghan institutions abeam (abhm) adv. (naut.) at right angles to the length of a ship Abel (eibal) the second son of Adam and Eve, murdered by his brother, Cain (Genesis iv) Abel (d:bal), Niels Henrik (1802-29), Norwegian mathematician who created the theory of elliptic functions Abelard (eebilotd; F. abelar), Peter (1079-1142), French scholastic philosopher and theologian who championed the conceptualist against the universalist position in medieval thought, and was opposed by Bernard of Clairvaux. His most notable follower was Peter Lombard. His works include ‘Historia calamitatum’ (c. 1136) and ‘Sic et non’ (1121). His love for Heloi'se (c. 1101-64), niece of a canon of Notre Dame, was perpetuated in their famous correspondence Abeokuta (apbiakuita) a trading centre (pop. 217,000) in Nigeria, 100 km. north of Lagos: palm products, cotton, cocoa Aberdare Mtns (aebad^a) a mountain range (up to 4,000 m.) north of Nairobi, the chief region of European settlement in Kenya

Aberdeen (aebadhn) a former county (area 5,102 sq. km., pop. 320,000) in N.E. Scotland; its county town (pop. 180,000), a fishing port, now in "Grampian. Ca¬ thedral (1378). University (1494) Aberdeen n. a Scotch terrier of a small, wirehaired breed [after Aberdeen, Scotland] aberrance (aeb6rans) «. a deviating || an instance of this aberrancy n. the quality of being aberrant aberrant (aebSrant) adj. straying from normal standards || (biol.) deviating from the normal type [//■. L. aberrans (aberrantis) fr. aberrare, to wander away] aberration (gjbareijan) n. a deviation from right or normal standards || (asrron.) the angular difference between the true and apparent position of an observed heavenly body due to the movement of the observer while light from the body travels to him |[ (optics) the failure of reflected or refracted light to give a point image of a point source, due either to the geometry of spherical surfaces of mirrors or lenses ("spherical ABERRATION, "COMA, "ASTIGMATISM, "DIS¬ TORTION) or to the different speeds at which different wavelengths travel through glass etc. ("chromatic aberration) [fr. L. aberratio (aberrationis)]

Aberystwyth (gpbaristwiG) a port and resort (pop. 10,000) of Dyfed, Wales. Uni¬ versity College of Wales (1872), part of the University of Wales abet (ab£t) pres. part, abetting past and past part, abetted v.t. to encourage, support (someone) in wrongdoing abetment, abetter (law), abettor ns [O.F. abeter, to bait] abeyance (abeians) n. temporary sus¬ pension, usually of a custom, rule or law [A.F. abeiance] abfarad (aebfaeraed) n. the cgs elec¬ tromagnetic unit of capacitance equal to 109 farads abhenry (sebhenri) n. the cgs electro¬ magnetic unit of inductance equal to 10-9 henry abhor (abh6:) pres. part, abhorring past and past part, abhorred v.t. to detest, regard with horror or disgust [fr. L. abhorrere, to shrink in horror] abhorrence (abharans) n. detestation, horror, disgust [abhorrent] abhorrent (abhdrant) adj. arousing detestation, horror or disgust [fr. L. abhorrens (abhorrentis)] abidance (abaidans) n. (with ‘by’) compliance, strict abidance by the rules abide (abaid) pres. part, abiding past and past part, abode (aboud), abided v.t. to bear patiently, tolerate (used negatively and interrogatively), she can’t abide him II v.i. to continue in being, remain to abide by to accept (rules or a ruling) || to stick to (one’s decision) abiding adj. constant, enduring [O.E. abidan, to remain] Abidjan (aebid3d:n) the capital, a port and commercial centre (pop. 360,000) of Ivory Coast, W. Africa ability (abilati) pi. abilities n. skill or power in sufficient quantity, the ability to see a job through || (often pi.) cleverness, talent [O.F. ablete, skill] abiogenesis (gibaioud3enasis) pi. abiogeneses n. the process, once thought pos¬ sible, by which life could proceed from nonliving matter (cf. biogenesis) abject (sebd3ekt) adj. despicable, an abject liar || very humble, abject apologies || without any moral resource, abject despair || servile, abject submission || wretched, abject poverty [fr. L. abjicere (abjectus), to throw away] abjection (a:bd3ekjan) n. the state of being abject [F.] abjuration (rebdjuareifan) n. a formal renunciation, esp. of an allegiance or claim [fr. L. abjuratio (abjurationis)] abjure (abd31)3) pres. part, abjuring v.t. to renounce, give up solemnly, repudiate [F. abjurer] Abkhazian A.S.S.R. (sebkdiyan) an autonomous republic (area 8,697 sq. km., pop. 487,000) in Georgia, U.S.S.R' Capital: Sukhumi ablation (lebldijan) n. the removal of part of the body by surgery || (geol.) the carrying away of material or ice from the surface of rocks or glaciers [fr. L. ablatio (ablationis), a carrying away] ablative (tebbtiv) 1. n. (in Latin, Sanskrit, Finnish and Hungarian grammar) the case indicating direction from a place, time, agent, instrument or source of an action. 2. adj. of or in such a case [F. ablatif] ablative absolute (in Latin grammar) a grammatically independent construction in the ablative case of noun and participle expressing cause, time or circumstance ablaut (aeblaut) n. patterned gradation of the root vowels in related bases of verbs due to a shift of stress in the IndoEuropean parent language [G.] ablaze (abldiz) pred. adj. and adv. on fire, the ship was ablaze, to set ablaze ||

(fig.) lit up, ablaze with lights, ablaze with excitement able (eibal) adj. clever, competent, skilled || having the means or opportunity to do something, able to be present [O.F. hable, apt] able-bodied (gibal bodid) adj. robust and in good health able-bodied seaman pi able-bodied seamen (Br., abbr. A.B.) a sailor in the Royal Navy of the middle grade (between ordinary seaman and leading seaman) || (Am.) a trained sailor abloom (ablu:m) pred. adj. (rhet.) in bloom, blooming ablution (ablu.-Jbn) n. washing for ritual purification, generally with water || (pi.) the washing of hands and face ablutionary adj. [fr. L. ablatio (ablationis)] ably (dibli) adv. in an able, competent way abnegate (sbnigeit) pres. part, abnega¬ ting v.t. to renounce, give up (a right etc.) [fr. L. abnegare (abnegatus), to deny] abnegation (sebnigeijan) n. renuncia¬ tion, denial [fr. L. abnegatio (abnegationis)] abnormal (