Part 75

A*crop"o*lis (&?;), n. [Gr. 'akro`polis; 'a`kros extreme + po`lis city.] The upper part, or the citadel, of a Grecian city; especially, the citadel of Athens.

Ac"ro*pol"i*tan (&?;), a. Pertaining to an acropolis.

Ac"ro*spire (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; + &?; anything twisted.] (Bot.) The sprout at the end of a seed when it begins to germinate; the plumule in germination; -- so called from its spiral form.

Ac"ro*spire, v. i. To put forth the first sprout.

Ac"ro*spore (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; + &?; fruit.] (Bot.) A spore borne at the extremity of the cells of fructification in fungi.

Ac"ro*spor"ous (&?;), a. Having acrospores.

A*cross" (#; 115), prep. [Pref. a- + cross: cf. F. en croix. See Cross, n.] From side to side; athwart; crosswise, or in a direction opposed to the length; quite over; as, a bridge laid across a river. Dryden.

To come across, to come upon or meet incidentally. Freeman. -- To go across the country, to go by a direct course across a region without following the roads.

A*cross", adv. 1. From side to side; crosswise; as, with arms folded across. Shak.

2. Obliquely; athwart; amiss; awry. [Obs.]

The squint-eyed Pharisees look across at all the actions of Christ. Bp. Hall.

A*cros"tic (&?;) (&?;), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; extreme + &?; order, line, verse.] 1. A composition, usually in verse, in which the first or the last letters of the lines, or certain other letters, taken in order, form a name, word, phrase, or motto.

2. A Hebrew poem in which the lines or stanzas begin with the letters of the alphabet in regular order (as Psalm cxix.). See Abecedarian.

Double acrostic, a species of enigma, in which words are to be guessed whose initial and final letters form other words.

{ A*cros"tic (&?;), A*cros"tic*al (&?;), } n. Pertaining to, or characterized by, acrostics.

A*cros"tic*al*ly, adv. After the manner of an acrostic.

||Ac`ro*tar"si*um (&?;), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; topmost + &?; tarsus.] (Zoöl.) The instep or front of the tarsus.

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Ac`ro*te*leu"tic (k`r*t*l"tk), n. [Gr. 'a`kros extreme + teley`th end.] (Eccles.) The end of a verse or psalm, or something added thereto, to be sung by the people, by way of a response.

Ac"ro*ter (k`r*tr or *kr*tr), n. [F. acrotère. See Acroterium.] (Arch.) Same as Acroterium.

Ac`ro*te"ri*al (k`r*t"r*al), a. Pertaining to an acroterium; as, acroterial ornaments. P. Cyc.

||Ac`ro*te`ri*um (-m), n.; pl. Acroteria (&?;). [L., fr. Gr. 'akrwth`rion summit, fr. 'a`kros topmost.] (Arch.) (a) One of the small pedestals, for statues or other ornaments, placed on the apex and at the basal angles of a pediment. Acroteria are also sometimes placed upon the gables in Gothic architecture. J. H. Parker. (b) One of the pedestals, for vases or statues, forming a part roof balustrade.

A*crot"ic (&?;), a. [Gr. &?; an extreme, fr. &?;.] (Med.) Pertaining to or affecting the surface.

Ac"ro*tism (k"r*tz'm), n. [Gr. 'a priv. + kro`tos a rattling, beating.] (Med.) Lack or defect of pulsation.

A*crot"o*mous (&?;), a. [Gr. 'akro`tomos cut off sharp; 'a`kros extreme + te`mnein to cut.] (Min.) Having a cleavage parallel with the base.

A*cryl"ic (&?;), a. (Chem.) Of or containing acryl, the hypothetical radical of which acrolein is the hydride; as, acrylic acid.

Act (kt), n. [L. actus, fr. agere to drive, do: cf. F. acte. See Agent.] 1. That which is done or doing; the exercise of power, or the effect, of which power exerted is the cause; a performance; a deed.

That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love. Wordsworth.