Part 157

Ai*lan"thus (&?;), n. Same as Ailantus.

Ai*lan"tus (&?;), n. [From aylanto, i. e., tree of heaven, the name of the tree in the Moluccas.] (Bot.) A genus of beautiful trees, natives of the East Indies. The tree imperfectly diœcious, and the staminate or male plant is very offensive when blossom.

Ai*lette (&?;), n. [F. ailette, dim. of aile wing, L. ala.] A small square shield, formerly worn on the shoulders of knights, -- being the prototype of the modern epaulet. Fairholt.

Ail"ment (&?;), n. Indisposition; morbid affection of the body; -- not applied ordinarily to acute diseases. "Little ailments." Landsdowne.

||Ai`lu*roid"e*a (&?;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; cat + -oid.] (Zoöl.) A group of the Carnivora, which includes the cats, civets, and hyenas.

Aim (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Aimed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Aiming.] [OE. amen, aimen, eimen, to guess at, to estimate, to aim, OF. esmer, asmer, fr. L. aestimare to estimate; or perh. fr. OF. aesmer; &?; (L. ad) + esmer. See Estimate.] 1. To point or direct a missile weapon, or a weapon which propels as missile, towards an object or spot with the intent of hitting it; as, to aim at a fox, or at a target.

2. To direct the indention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor; -- followed by at, or by an infinitive; as, to aim at distinction; to aim to do well.

Aim'st thou at princes? Pope.

3. To guess or conjecture. [Obs.] Shak.

Aim, v. t. To direct or point, as a weapon, at a particular object; to direct, as a missile, an act, or a proceeding, at, to, or against an object; as, to aim a musket or an arrow, the fist or a blow (at something); to aim a satire or a reflection (at some person or vice).

Aim, n. [Cf. OF. esme estimation, fr. esmer. See Aim, v. i.] 1. The pointing of a weapon, as a gun, a dart, or an arrow, in the line of direction with the object intended to be struck; the line of fire; the direction of anything, as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it.

Each at the head leveled his deadly aim. Milton.

2. The point intended to be hit, or object intended to be attained or affected.

To be the aim of every dangerous shot. Shak.

3. Intention; purpose; design; scheme.

How oft ambitious aims are crossed! Pope.

4. Conjecture; guess. [Obs.]

What you would work me to, I have some aim. Shak.

To cry aim (Archery), to encourage. [Obs.] Shak.

Syn. -- End; object; scope; drift; design; purpose; intention; scheme; tendency; aspiration.

Aim"er (&?;), n. One who aims, directs, or points.

Aim"less, a. Without aim or purpose; as, an aimless life. -- Aim"less*ly, adv. -- Aim"less*ness, n.

Ai"no (&?;), n. [Said to be the native name for man.] One of a peculiar race inhabiting Yesso, the Kooril Islands etc., in the northern part of the empire of Japan, by some supposed to have been the progenitors of the Japanese. The Ainos are stout and short, with hairy bodies.

Ain't (&?;). A contraction for are not and am not; also used for is not. [Colloq. or illiterate speech]. See An't.

Air (âr), n. [OE. air, eir, F. air, L. aër, fr. Gr. 'ah`r, air, mist, for 'ahr, fr. root 'a to blow, breathe, probably akin to E. wind. In sense 10 the French has taking a meaning fr. It. aria atmosphere, air, fr. the same Latin word; and in senses 11, 12, 13 the French meaning is either fr. L. aria, or due to confusion with F. aire, in an older sense of origin, descent. Cf. Aëry, Debonair, Malaria, Wind.] 1. The fluid which we breathe, and which surrounds the earth; the atmosphere. It is invisible, inodorous, insipid, transparent, compressible, elastic, and ponderable.

By the ancient philosophers, air was regarded as an element; but modern science has shown that it is essentially a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, with a small amount of carbon dioxide, the average proportions being, by volume: oxygen, 20.96 per cent.; nitrogen, 79.00 per cent.; carbon dioxide, 0.04 per cent. These proportions are subject to a very slight variability. Air also always contains some vapor of water.

2. Symbolically: Something unsubstantial, light, or volatile. "Charm ache with air." Shak.

He was still all air and fire.