Part 61

A*cerb" (&?;), a. [L. acerbus, fr. acer sharp: cf. F. acerbe. See Acrid.] Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, as unripe fruit; sharp and harsh.

A*cerb"ate (&?;), v. t. [L. acerbatus, p. p. of acerbare, fr. acerbus.] To sour; to imbitter; to irritate.

A*cerb"ic (&?;), a. Sour or severe.

A*cerb"i*tude (&?;), n. [L. acerbitudo, fr. acerbus.] Sourness and harshness. [Obs.] Bailey.

A*cerb"i*ty (&?;), n. [F. acerbité, L. acerbitas, fr. acerbus. See Acerb.] 1. Sourness of taste, with bitterness and astringency, like that of unripe fruit.

2. Harshness, bitterness, or severity; as, acerbity of temper, of language, of pain. Barrow.

A*cer"ic (&?;), a. [L. acer maple.] Pertaining to, or obtained from, the maple; as, aceric acid. Ure.

Ac"er*ose` (&?;), a. [(a) L. acerosus chaffy, fr. acus, gen. aceris, chaff; (b) as if fr. L. acus needle: cf. F. acéreux.] (Bot.) (a) Having the nature of chaff; chaffy. (b) Needle-shaped, having a sharp, rigid point, as the leaf of the pine.

Ac"er*ous (&?;), a. Same as Acerose.

Ac"er*ous, a. [Gr. α priv. + ke`ras a horn.] (Zoöl.) (a) Destitute of tentacles, as certain mollusks. (b) Without antennæ, as some insects.

A*cer"val (&?;), a. [L. acervalis, fr. acervus heap.] Pertaining to a heap. [Obs.]

A*cer"vate (&?;), v. t. [L. acervatus, p. p. of acervare to heap up, fr. acervus heap.] To heap up. [Obs.]

A*cer"vate (&?;), a. Heaped, or growing in heaps, or closely compacted clusters.

Ac`er*va"tion (&?;), n. [L. acervatio.] A heaping up; accumulation. [R.] Johnson.

A*cer"va*tive (&?;), a. Heaped up; tending to heap up.

A*cer"vose (&?;), a. Full of heaps. [R.] Bailey.

A*cer"vu*line (&?;), a. Resembling little heaps.

{ A*ces"cence (&?;), A*ces"cen*cy (&?;), } n. [Cf. F. acescence. See Acescent.] The quality of being acescent; the process of acetous fermentation; a moderate degree of sourness. Johnson.

A*ces"cent (&?;), a. [L. acescens, -entis, p. pr. of acescere to turn sour; inchoative of acere to be sour: cf. F. acescent. See Acid.] Turning sour; readily becoming tart or acid; slightly sour. Faraday.

A*ces"cent, n. A substance liable to become sour.

Ac"e*ta*ble (&?;), n. An acetabulum; or about one eighth of a pint. [Obs.] Holland.

Ac`e*tab"u*lar (&?;), a. Cup-shaped; saucer-shaped; acetabuliform.

||Ac`e*tab`u*lif"e*ra (&?;), n. pl. [NL. See Acetabuliferous.] (Zoöl.) The division of Cephalopoda in which the arms are furnished with cup-shaped suckers, as the cuttlefishes, squids, and octopus; the Dibranchiata. See Cephalopoda.

Ac`e*tab`u*lif"er*ous (&?;), a. [L. acetablum a little cup + -ferous.] Furnished with fleshy cups for adhering to bodies, as cuttlefish, etc.

Ac`e*tab"u*li*form (&?;), a. [L. acetabulum + -form.] (Bot.) Shaped like a shallow cup; saucer-shaped; as, an acetabuliform calyx. Gray.

||Ac`e*tab"u*lum (&?;), n. [L., a little saucer for vinegar, fr. acetum vinegar, fr. acere to be sour.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) A vinegar cup; socket of the hip bone; a measure of about one eighth of a pint, etc.

2. (Anat.) (a) The bony cup which receives the head of the thigh bone. (b) The cavity in which the leg of an insect is inserted at its articulation with the body. (c) A sucker of the sepia or cuttlefish and related animals. (d) The large posterior sucker of the leeches. (e) One of the lobes of the placenta in ruminating animals.

Ac"e*tal (&?;), n. [Acetic + alcohol.] (Chem.) A limpid, colorless, inflammable liquid from the slow oxidation of alcohol under the influence of platinum black.