Part 386

A*sep"tic (&?;), a. [Pref. a- not + septic.] Not liable to putrefaction; nonputrescent. -- n. An aseptic substance.

A*sex"u*al (?; 135), a. [Pref. a- not + sexual.] (Biol.) Having no distinct sex; without sexual action; as, asexual reproduction. See Fission and Gemmation.

A*sex"u*al*ly (&?;), adv. In an asexual manner; without sexual agency.

Ash (sh), n. [OE. asch, esh, AS. æsc; akin to OHG. asc, Sw. & Dan. ask, Icel. askr, D. esch, G. esche.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of trees of the Olive family, having opposite pinnate leaves, many of the species furnishing valuable timber, as the European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and the white ash (F. Americana).

Prickly ash (Zanthoxylum Americanum) and Poison ash (Rhus venenata) are shrubs of different families, somewhat resembling the true ashes in their foliage. -- Mountain ash. See Roman tree, and under Mountain.

2. The tough, elastic wood of the ash tree.

Ash is used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound term; as, ash bud, ash wood, ash tree, etc.

Ash, n., sing. of Ashes.

Ash is rarely used in the singular except in connection with chemical or geological products; as, soda ash, coal which yields a red ash, etc., or as a qualifying or combining word; as, ash bin, ash heap, ash hole, ash pan, ash pit, ash-grey, ash-colored, pearlash, potash.

Bone ash, burnt powered; bone earth. -- Volcanic ash. See under Ashes.

Ash, v. t. To strew or sprinkle with ashes. Howell.

A*shame (&?;), v. t. [Pref. a- + shame: cf. AS. scamian to shame (where - is the same as Goth. us-, G. er-, and orig. meant out), gescamian, gesceamian, to shame.] To shame. [R.] Barrow.

A*shamed" (&?;), a. [Orig. a p. p. of ashame, v. t.] Affected by shame; abashed or confused by guilt, or a conviction or consciousness of some wrong action or impropriety. "I am ashamed to beg." Wyclif.

All that forsake thee shall be ashamed. Jer. xvii. 13.

I began to be ashamed of sitting idle. Johnson.

Enough to make us ashamed of our species. Macaulay.

An ashamed person can hardly endure to meet the gaze of those present. Darwin.

Ashamed seldom precedes the noun or pronoun it qualifies. By a Hebraism, it is sometimes used in the Bible to mean disappointed, or defeated.

A*sham"ed*ly (&?;), adv. Bashfully. [R.]

Ash`an*tee" (&?;), n.; pl. Ashantees (&?;). A native or an inhabitant of Ashantee in Western Africa.

Ash`an*tee", a. Of or pertaining to Ashantee.

Ash"-col`ored (&?;), a. Of the color of ashes; a whitish gray or brownish gray.

Ash"en (&?;), a. [See Ash, the tree.] Of or pertaining to the ash tree. "Ashen poles." Dryden.

Ash"en, a. Consisting of, or resembling, ashes; of a color between brown and gray, or white and gray.

The ashen hue of age. Sir W. Scott.

Ash"en (&?;), n., obs. pl. for Ashes. Chaucer.

Ash"er*y (&?;), n. 1. A depository for ashes.

2. A place where potash is made.