Part 104

I took him in adoors. Vicar's Virgil (1630).

A*dopt" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Adopted; p. pr. & vb. n. Adopting.] [L. adoptare; ad + optare to choose, desire: cf. F. adopter. See Option.] 1. To take by choice into relationship, as, child, heir, friend, citizen, etc.; esp. to take voluntarily (a child of other parents) to be in the place of, or as, one's own child.

2. To take or receive as one's own what is not so naturally; to select and take or approve; as, to adopt the view or policy of another; these resolutions were adopted.

A*dopt"a*ble (&?;), a. Capable of being adopted.

A*dopt"ed (&?;), a. Taken by adoption; taken up as one's own; as, an adopted son, citizen, country, word. -- A*dopt"ed*ly, adv.

A*dopt"er (&?;), n. 1. One who adopts.

2. (Chem.) A receiver, with two necks, opposite to each other, one of which admits the neck of a retort, and the other is joined to another receiver. It is used in distillations, to give more space to elastic vapors, to increase the length of the neck of a retort, or to unite two vessels whose openings have different diameters. [Written also adapter.]

A*dop"tion (&?;), n. [L. adoptio, allied to adoptare to adopt: cf. F. adoption.] 1. The act of adopting, or state of being adopted; voluntary acceptance of a child of other parents to be the same as one's own child.

2. Admission to a more intimate relation; reception; as, the adoption of persons into hospitals or monasteries, or of one society into another.

3. The choosing and making that to be one's own which originally was not so; acceptance; as, the adoption of opinions. Jer. Taylor.

A*dop"tion*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect which maintained that Christ was the Son of God not by nature but by adoption.

A*dop"tious (&?;), a. Adopted. [Obs.]

A*dopt"ive (&?;), a. [L. adoptivus: cf. F. adoptif.] Pertaining to adoption; made or acquired by adoption; fitted to adopt; as, an adoptive father, an child; an adoptive language. -- A*dopt"ive*ly, adv.

A*dor`a*bil"i*ty (&?;), n. Adorableness.

A*dor"a*ble (&?;), a. [L. adorabilis, fr. adorare: cf. F. adorable.] 1. Deserving to be adored; worthy of divine honors.

The adorable Author of Christianity. Cheyne.

2. Worthy of the utmost love or respect.

A*dor"a*ble*ness, n. The quality of being adorable, or worthy of adoration. Johnson.

A*dor"a*bly, adv. In an adorable manner.

Ad`o*ra"tion (&?;), n. [L. adoratio, fr. adorare: cf. F. adoration.] 1. The act of playing honor to a divine being; the worship paid to God; the act of addressing as a god.

The more immediate objects of popular adoration amongst the heathens were deified human beings. Farmer.

2. Homage paid to one in high esteem; profound veneration; intense regard and love; fervent devotion.

3. A method of electing a pope by the expression of homage from two thirds of the conclave.

might have been chosen on the spot by adoration. Froude.

A*dore" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Adored (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Adoring (&?;).] [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French prefix a- being confused with OE. a, an, on. See Oral.] 1. To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine.

Bishops and priests, . . . bearing the host, which he [James &?;.] publicly adored. Smollett.

2. To love in the highest degree; to regard with the utmost esteem and affection; to idolize.

The great mass of the population abhorred Popery and adored Montouth. Macaulay.