Part 37

A*bu"sive*ness, n. The quality of being abusive; rudeness of language, or violence to the person.

Pick out mirth, like stones out of thy ground, Profaneness, filthiness, abusiveness. Herbert.

A*but" (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Abutted; p. pr. & vb. n. Abutting.] [OF. abouter, aboter; cf. F. aboutir, and also abuter; a (L. ad) + OF. boter, buter, to push: cf. F. bout end, and but end, purpose.] To project; to terminate or border; to be contiguous; to meet; -- with on, upon, or against; as, his land abuts on the road.

A*bu"ti*lon (&?;), n. [Ar. aubtln.] (Bot.) A genus of malvaceous plants of many species, found in the torrid and temperate zones of both continents; -- called also Indian mallow.

A*but"ment (*bt"ment), n. 1. State of abutting.

2. That on or against which a body abuts or presses; as (a) (Arch.) The solid part of a pier or wall, etc., which receives the thrust or lateral pressure of an arch, vault, or strut. Gwilt. (b) (Mech.) A fixed point or surface from which resistance or reaction is obtained, as the cylinder head of a steam engine, the fulcrum of a lever, etc. (c) In breech-loading firearms, the block behind the barrel which receives the pressure due to recoil.

A*but"tal (&?;), n. The butting or boundary of land, particularly at the end; a headland. Spelman.

A*but"ter (&?;), n. One who, or that which, abuts. Specifically, the owner of a contiguous estate; as, the abutters on a street or a river.

A*buzz" (&?;), a. [Pref. a- + buzz.] In a buzz; buzzing. [Colloq.] Dickens.

{ A*by", A*bye" } (&?;), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Abought (&?;).] [AS. bycgan to pay for; pref. - (cf. Goth. us- , Ger. er-, orig. meaning out) + bycgan to buy. See Buy, and cf. Abide.] 1. To pay for; to suffer for; to atone for; to make amends for; to give satisfaction. [Obs.]

Lest to thy peril thou aby it dear. Shak.

2. To endure; to abide. [Obs.]

But nought that wanteth rest can long aby. Spenser.

A*bysm" (&?;), n. [OF. abisme; F. abime, LL. abyssimus, a superl. of L. abyssus; Gr. &?;. See Abyss.] An abyss; a gulf. "The abysm of hell." Shak.

A*bys"mal (&?;), a. Pertaining to, or resembling, an abyss; bottomless; unending; profound.

Geology gives one the same abysmal extent of time that astronomy does of space. Carlyle.

A*bys"mal*ly, adv. To a fathomless depth; profoundly. "Abysmally ignorant." G. Eliot.

A*byss" (&?;), n. [L. abyssus a bottomless gulf, fr. Gr. &?; bottomless; 'a priv. + &?; depth, bottom.] 1. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable, and, specifically, hell, or the bottomless pit.

Ye powers and spirits of this nethermost abyss. Milton.

The throne is darkness, in the abyss of light. Dryden.

2. Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth.

The abysses of metaphysical theology. Macaulay.

In unfathomable abysses of disgrace. Burke.

3. (Her.) The center of an escutcheon.

This word, in its leading uses, is associated with the cosmological notions of the Hebrews, having reference to a supposed illimitable mass of waters from which our earth sprung, and beneath whose profound depths the wicked were punished. Encyc. Brit.

A*byss"al (&?;), a. [Cf. Abysmal.] Belonging to, or resembling, an abyss; unfathomable.

Abyssal zone (Phys. Geog.), one of the belts or zones into which Sir E. Forbes divides the bottom of the sea in describing its plants, animals, etc. It is the one furthest from the shore, embracing all beyond one hundred fathoms deep. Hence, abyssal animals, plants, etc.

Ab`ys*sin"i*an (&?;), a. Of or pertaining to Abyssinia.