Part 55

Al"phol (?), n. [Alpha- + - ol as in alcohol.] (Pharm.) A crystalline derivative of salicylic acid, used as an antiseptic and antirheumatic.

||Al`ter`nat" (?), n. [F.] A usage, among diplomats, of rotation in precedence among representatives of equal rank, sometimes determined by lot and at other times in regular order. The practice obtains in the signing of treaties and conventions between nations.

Al"ter*nat`ing cur"rent. (Elec.) A current which periodically changes or reverses its direction of flow.

Al"ter*na`tor (?), n. (Elec.) An electric generator or dynamo for producing alternating currents.

||Al"thing (?), n. [Icel. (modern) alping, earlier alpingi; allr all + ping assembly. See All, and Thing.] The national assembly or parliament of Iceland. See Thing, n., 8.

Al`to-cu"mu*lus (?), n. [L. altus high + L. & E. cumulus.] (Meteor.) A fleecy cloud formation consisting of large whitish or grayish globular cloudlets with shaded portions, often grouped in flocks or rows.

Al`to-stra"tus (?), n. [L. altus high + L. & E. stratus.] (Meteor.) A cloud formation similar to cirro-stratus, but heavier and at a lower level.

A*lu`mi*nog"ra*phy (?), n. [Alumin-ium + -graphy.] Art or process of producing, and printing from, aluminium plates, after the manner of ordinary lithography. -- A*lu`mi*no*graph"ic (#), a.

Al"ve*o*lar (?), a. (Phon.) Articulated with the tip of the tongue pressing against the alveolar processes of the upper front teeth.

||Am`a*ni"ta (?), n. [NL. See Amanitine.] (Bot.) A genus of poisonous fungi of the family Agaricaceæ, characterized by having a volva, an annulus, and white spores. The species resemble edible mushrooms, and are frequently mistaken for them. Amanita muscaria, syn. Agaricus muscarius, is the fly amanita, or fly agaric; and A. phalloides is the death cup.

{ Am*ba"ry (?), n., or Ambary hemp }. [Hind. ambr, ambr.] A valuable East Indian fiber plant (Hibiscus cannabinus), or its fiber, which is used throughout India for making ropes, cordage, and a coarse canvas and sackcloth; -- called also brown Indian hemp.

Am*boy"na but"ton. (Med.) A chronic contagious affection of the skin, prevalent in the tropics.

Amboyna pine. (Bot.) The resiniferous tree Agathis Dammara, of the Moluccas.

Am*bro"sia (?), n. (Zoöl.) The food of certain small bark beetles, family Scolytidæ believed to be fungi cultivated by the beetles in their burrows.

Ambrosia beetle. (Zoöl.) A bark beetle that feeds on ambrosia.

A*mer"i*can plan. In hotels, aplan upon which guests pay for both room and board by the day, week, or other convenient period; -- contrasted with European plan.

A*mer"i*can Pro*tect"ive As*so`ci*a"tion. A secret organization in the United States, formed in Iowa in 1887, ostensibly for the protection of American institutions by keeping Roman Catholics out of public office. Abbrev. commonly to A. P .A.

Am"i*dol (?), n. [Amide + - ol as in alcohol.] (Photog. & Chem.) A salt of a diamino phenol, C6H3(OH)(NH2)2, used as a developer.

||A*mi"go (?), n.; pl. Amigos (#). [Sp., fr. L. amicus.] A friend; -- a Spanish term applied in the Philippine Islands to friendly natives.

Am"i*nol (?), n. [From amine.] (Pharm.) A colorless liquid prepared from herring brine and containing amines, used as a local antiseptic.

Am"ish (?), n. pl. [Written also Omish.] (Eccl. Hist.) The Amish Mennonites.

Am"ish, a. [Written also Omish.] (Eccl. Hist.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the followers of Jacob Amman, a strict Mennonite of the 17th century, who even proscribed the use of buttons and shaving as "worldly conformity". There are several branches of Amish Mennonites in the United States.

||Am`i*to"sis (?), n. [NL. See A- not, and Mitosis.] (Biol.) Cell division in which there is first a simple cleavage of the nucleus without change in its structure (such as the formation of chromosomes), followed by the division of the cytoplasm; direct cell division; -- opposed to mitosis. It is not the usual mode of division, and is believed by many to occur chiefly in highly specialized cells which are incapable of long-continued multiplication, in transitory structures, and in those in early stages of degeneration.

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Am`i*tot"ic (?), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to amitosis; karyostenotic; -- opposed to mitotic.

Am"mo*nal` (?), n. [Ammonium + aluminium.] An explosive consisting of a mixture of powdered aluminium and nitrate of ammonium.

Am`mo*ni"a*cal fer`men*ta"tion. Any fermentation process by which ammonia is formed, as that by which urea is converted into ammonium carbonate when urine is exposed to the air.

||A*mo"le (?), n. [Mex.] (Bot.) Any detergent plant, or the part of it used as a detergent, as the roots of Agave Americana, Chlorogalum pomeridianum, etc. [Sp. Amer. & Mex.]