Part 333

||Ap"te*ryx (&?;), n. [Gr. 'a priv. + pte`ryx wing. Cf. Aptera.] (Zoöl.) A genus of New Zealand birds about the size of a hen, with only short rudiments of wings, armed with a claw and without a tail; the kiwi. It is allied to the gigantic extinct moas of the same country. Five species are known.

Apt"i*tude (&?;), n. [F. aptitude, LL. aptitudo, fr. L. aptus. See Apt, and cf. Attitude.] 1. A natural or acquired disposition or capacity for a particular purpose, or tendency to a particular action or effect; as, oil has an aptitude to burn.

He seems to have had a peculiar aptitude for the management of irregular troops. Macaulay.

2. A general fitness or suitableness; adaptation.

That sociable and helpful aptitude which God implanted between man and woman. Milton.

3. Readiness in learning; docility; aptness.

He was a boy of remarkable aptitude. Macaulay.

Apt`i*tu"di*nal (&?;), a. Suitable; fit. [Obs.]

Apt"ly (&?;), adv. In an apt or suitable manner; fitly; properly; pertinently; appropriately; readily.

Apt"ness, n. 1. Fitness; suitableness; appropriateness; as, the aptness of things to their end.

The aptness of his quotations. J. R. Green.

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2. Disposition of the mind; propensity; as, the aptness of men to follow example.

3. Quickness of apprehension; readiness in learning; docility; as, an aptness to learn is more observable in some children than in others.

4. Proneness; tendency; as, the aptness of iron to rust.

Ap"tote (p"tt), n. [L. aptotum, Gr. &?; indeclinable; 'a priv. + &?; fallen, declined, &?; to fall.] (Gram.) A noun which has no distinction of cases; an indeclinable noun.

Ap*tot"ic (&?;), a. Pertaining to, or characterized by, aptotes; uninflected; as, aptotic languages.

||Ap"ty*chus (&?;), n. [NL., fr. Gr. 'a priv. + &?;, &?;, fold.] (Zoöl.) A shelly plate found in the terminal chambers of ammonite shells. Some authors consider them to be jaws; others, opercula.

||A"pus (&?;), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;. See Apode, n.] (Zoöl.) A genus of fresh-water phyllopod crustaceans. See Phyllopod.

Ap`y*ret"ic (&?;), a. [Pref. a&?; not + pyretic.] (Med.) Without fever; -- applied to days when there is an intermission of fever. Dunglison.

{ ||Ap`y*rex"i*a (&?;), Ap`y*rex`y (&?;), } n. [NL. apyrexia, fr. Gr. &?;; 'a priv. + &?; to be feverish, fr. &?; fire: cf. F. apyrexie.] (Med.) The absence or intermission of fever.

Ap`y*rex"i*al (&?;), a. (Med.) Relating to apyrexy. "Apyrexial period." Brande & C.

Ap"y*rous (&?;), a. [Gr. &?;; 'a priv. + &?; fire.] Incombustible; capable of sustaining a strong heat without alteration of form or properties.

||A"qua (&?;), n. [L. See Ewer.] Water; -- a word much used in pharmacy and the old chemistry, in various signification, determined by the word or words annexed.

Aqua ammoniæ, the aqueous solution of ammonia; liquid ammonia; often called aqua ammonia. -- Aqua marine (&?;), or Aqua marina (&?;). Same as Aquamarine. -- Aqua regia (&?;). [L., royal water] (Chem.), a very corrosive fuming yellow liquid consisting of nitric and hydrochloric acids. It has the power of dissolving gold, the "royal" metal. -- Aqua Tofana (&?;), a fluid containing arsenic, and used for secret poisoning, made by an Italian woman named Tofana, in the middle of the 17th century, who is said to have poisoned more than 600 persons. Francis. -- Aqua vitæ (&?;) [L., water of life. Cf. Eau de vie, Usquebaugh], a name given to brandy and some other ardent spirits. Shak.

||A`qua for"tis (&?;). [L., strong water.] (Chem.) Nitric acid. [Archaic]

A`qua*ma*rine" (&?;), n. (Min.) A transparent, pale green variety of beryl, used as a gem. See Beryl.

A`qua*punc"ture (&?;), n. [L. aqua water, + punctura puncture, pungere, punctum, to, prick.] (Med.) The introduction of water subcutaneously for the relief of pain.