Part 459

3. The time of maturity or decline; latter portion; third stage.

Dr. Preston was now entering into the autumn of the duke's favor. Fuller.

Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge. Wordsworth.

Au*tum"nal (&?;), a. [L. auctumnalis, autumnalis: cf. F. automnal.] 1. Of, belonging to, or peculiar to, autumn; as, an autumnal tint; produced or gathered in autumn; as, autumnal fruits; flowering in autumn; as, an autumnal plant.

Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks In Vallombrosa. Milton.

2. Past the middle of life; in the third stage.

An autumnal matron. Hawthorne.

Autumnal equinox, the time when the sun crosses the equator, as it proceeds southward, or when it passes the autumnal point. -- Autumnal point, the point of the equator intersected by the ecliptic, as the sun proceeds southward; the first point of Libra. -- Autumnal signs, the signs Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius, through which the sun passes between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice.

Aux`a*nom"e*ter (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; to cause to increase + -meter.] An instrument to measure the growth of plants. Goodale.

||Aux*e"sis (&?;), n. [NL., Gr. &?; increase, fr. &?;, &?;, to increase.] (Rhet.) A figure by which a grave and magnificent word is put for the proper word; amplification; hyperbole.

Aux*et"ic (&?;), a. [Gr. &?;.] Pertaining to, or containing, auxesis; amplifying.

Aux*il"iar (?; 106), a. [L. auxiliaris: cf. F. auxiliaire. See Auxiliary.] Auxiliary. [Archaic]

The auxiliar troops and Trojan hosts appear. Pope.

Aux*il"iar, n. An auxiliary. [Archaic] Milton.

Aux*il"iar*ly, adv. By way of help. Harris.

Aux*il"ia*ry (?; 106), a. [L. auxiliarius, fr. auxilium help, aid, fr. augere to increase.] Conferring aid or help; helping; aiding; assisting; subsidiary; as auxiliary troops.

Auxiliary scales (Mus.), the scales of relative or attendant keys. See under Attendant, a. -- Auxiliary verbs (Gram.). See Auxiliary, n., 3.

Aux*il"ia*ry, n.; pl. Auxiliaries (&?;). 1. A helper; an assistant; a confederate in some action or enterprise.

2. (Mil.) pl. Foreign troops in the service of a nation at war; (rarely in sing.), a member of the allied or subsidiary force.

3. (Gram.) A verb which helps to form the voices, modes, and tenses of other verbs; -- called, also, an auxiliary verb; as, have, be, may, can, do, must, shall, and will, in English; être and avoir, in French; avere and essere, in Italian; estar and haber, in Spanish.

4. (Math.) A quantity introduced for the purpose of simplifying or facilitating some operation, as in equations or trigonometrical formulæ. Math. Dict.

Aux*il"ia*to*ry (&?;), a. Auxiliary; helping. [Obs.]

||A"va (&?;), n. Same as Kava. Johnston.

Av`a*da*vat" (&?;), n. Same as Amadavat.

A*vail" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Availed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Availing.] [OE. availen, fr. F. &?; (L. ad) + valoir to be worth, fr. L. valere to be strong, to be worth. See Valiant.] 1. To turn to the advantage of; to be of service to; to profit; to benefit; to help; as, artifices will not avail the sinner in the day of judgment.

O, what avails me now that honor high ! Milton.

2. To promote; to assist. [Obs.] Pope.

To avail one's self of, to make use of; take advantage of.