Part 134

<hw>Ac`ro*tar"si*um</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[NL., from Gr. <?/ topmost + <?/ tarsus.]</ety> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld> <def>The instep or front of the tarsus.</def>

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<h1>Acroteleutic</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>Ac`ro*te*leu"tic</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[Gr. <?/ extreme + <?/ end.]</ety> <fld>(Eccles.)</fld> <def>The end of a verse or psalm, or something added thereto, to be sung by the people, by way of a response.</def>

<h1>Acroter</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>Ac"ro*ter</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[F. <ets>acrot\'8are</ets>. See <er>Acroterium</er>.]</ety> <fld>(Arch.)</fld> <def>Same as <er>Acroterium</er>.</def>

<h1>Acroterial</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>Ac`ro*te"ri*al</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Pertaining to an acroterium; <as>as, ornaments</as>.</def>

<i>P. Cyc.</i>

<h1>Acroterium</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>Ac`ro*te`ri*um</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt>; <plu>pl. <plw>Acrotplwia</er> <tt>(#)</tt></plu>. <ety>[L., fr. Gr. <?/ summit, fr. <?/ topmost.]</ety> <fld>(Arch.)</fld> <sd>(a)</sd> <def>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.</def> <i>J. H. Parker</i>. <sd>(b)</sd> <def>One of the pedestals, for vases or statues, forming a part roof balustrade.</def>

<h1>Acrotic</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>A*crot"ic</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <ety>[Gr. <?/ an extreme, fr. <?/.]</ety> <fld>(Med.)</fld> <def>Pertaining to or affecting the surface.</def>

<h1>Acrotism</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>Ac"ro*tism</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[Gr. <?/ priv. + <?/ a rattling, beating.]</ety> <fld>(Med.)</fld> <def>Lack or defect of pulsation.</def>

<h1>Acrotomous</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>A*crot"o*mous</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <ety>[Gr. <?/ cut off sharp; <?/ extreme + <?/ to cut.]</ety> <fld>(Min.)</fld> <def>Having a cleavage parallel with the base.</def>

<h1>Acrylic</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>A*cryl"ic</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <fld>(Chem.)</fld> <def>Of or containing <i>acryl</i>, the hypothetical radical of which acrolein is the hydride; <as>as, <ex>acrylic</ex> acid</as>.</def>

<h1>Act</h1> <Xpage=18>

<hw>Act</hw> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[L. <ets>actus</ets>, fr. <ets>agere</ets> to drive, do: cf. F. <ets>acte</ets>. See <er>Agent</er>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>That which is done or doing; the exercise of power, or the effect, of which power exerted is the cause; a performance; a deed.</def>

<blockquote>That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered <b>acts</b> Of kindness and of love. <i>Wordsworth.</i></blockquote>

Hence, in specific uses: <sd>(a)</sd> <def>The result of public deliberation; the decision or determination of a legislative body, council, court of justice, etc.; a decree, edit, law, judgment, resolve, award; <as>as, an <ex>act</ex> of Parliament, or of Congress</as>.</def> <sd>(b)</sd> <def>A formal solemn writing, expressing that something has been done.</def> <i>Abbott</i>. <sd>(c)</sd> <def>A performance of part of a play; one of the principal divisions of a play or dramatic work in which a certain definite part of the action is completed.</def> <sd>(d)</sd> <def>A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>A state of reality or real existence as opposed to a possibility or possible existence.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<blockquote>The seeds of plants are not at first in <b>act</b>, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be. <i>Hooker.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Process of doing; action. <i>In act</i>, in the very doing; on the point of (doing).</def> "<i>In act</i> to shoot."

<i>Dryden.</i>

<blockquote>This woman was taken . . . in the very <b>act</b>. <i>John viii. 4.</i></blockquote>