Part 196

The . . . aloofness of his dim forest life. Thoreau.

{ ||Al`o*pe"ci*a (l`*p"sh*), A*lop"e*cy (*lp"*s), } n. [L. alopecia, Gr. 'alwpeki`a, fr. 'alw`phx fox, because loss of the hair is common among foxes.] (Med.) Loss of the hair; baldness.

A*lop"e*cist (&?;), n. A practitioner who tries to prevent or cure baldness.

A*lose" (&?;), v. t. [OE. aloser.] To praise. [Obs.]

A"lose (&?;), n. [F., fr. L. alosa or alausa.] (Zoöl.) The European shad (Clupea alosa); -- called also allice shad or allis shad. The name is sometimes applied to the American shad (Clupea sapidissima). See Shad.

||Al`ou*atte" (&?;), n. [Of uncertain origin.] (Zoöl.) One of the several species of howling monkeys of South America. See Howler, 2.

A*loud" (&?;), adv. [Pref. a- + loud.] With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly.

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice. Isa. lviii. 1.

A*low" (&?;), adv. [Pref. a- + low.] Below; in a lower part. "Aloft, and then alow." Dryden.

Alp (&?;), n. [L. Alpes the Alps, said to be of Celtic origin; cf. Gael. alp a high mountain, Ir. ailp any huge mass or lump: cf. F. Alpes.] 1. A very high mountain. Specifically, in the plural, the highest chain of mountains in Europe, containing the lofty mountains of Switzerland, etc.

Nor breath of vernal air from snowy alp. Milton.

Hills peep o'er hills, and alps on alps arise. Pope.

2. Fig.: Something lofty, or massive, or very hard to be surmounted.

The plural form Alps is sometimes used as a singular. "The Alps doth spit." Shak.

Alp, n. A bullfinch. Rom. of R.

Al*pac"a (&?;), n. [Sp. alpaca, fr. the original Peruvian name of the animal. Cf. Paco.] 1. (Zoöl.) An animal of Peru (Lama paco), having long, fine, wooly hair, supposed by some to be a domesticated variety of the llama.

2. Wool of the alpaca.

3. A thin kind of cloth made of the wooly hair of the alpaca, often mixed with silk or with cotton.

Al"pen (&?;), a. Of or pertaining to the Alps. [R.] "The Alpen snow." J. Fletcher.

||Al"pen*stock` (&?;), n. [G.; Alp, gen. pl. Alpen + stock stick.] A long staff, pointed with iron, used in climbing the Alps. Cheever.

Al*pes"trine (&?;), a. [L. Alpestris.] Pertaining to the Alps, or other high mountains; as, Alpestrine diseases, etc.

Al"pha (&?;), n. [L. alpha, Gr. 'a`lfa, from Heb. leph, name of the first letter in the alphabet, also meaning ox.] The first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to A, and hence used to denote the beginning.

In am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Rev. xxii. 13.

Formerly used also denote the chief; as, Plato was the alpha of the wits.

In cataloguing stars, the brightest star of a constellation in designated by Alpha (α); as, α Lyræ.

Al"pha*bet (&?;), n. [L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. &?; + &?;, the first two Greek letters; Heb. leph and beth: cf. F. alphabet.] 1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language.

2. The simplest rudiments; elements.

The very alphabet of our law. Macaulay.