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Ascend

To go or move upward upon or along; to climb; to mount; to go up the top of; as, to ascend a hill, a ladder, a tree, a river, a throne.

Ascendency

Governing or controlling influence; the state that exists when one person or group has power over another; domination; power.

ascendent

position or state of being dominant or in control.

Ascending

Rising; moving upward; as, an ascending kite.

Ascension

The act of ascending; a rising; ascent.

Ascensional

Relating to ascension; connected with ascent; ascensive; tending upward; as, the ascensional power of a balloon.

Ascensive

Rising; tending to rise, or causing to rise.

Ascertain

To render (a person) certain; to cause to feel certain; to make confident; to assure; to apprise.

Ascertainment

The act of ascertaining; a reducing to certainty; a finding out by investigation; discovery.

Ascetic

In the early church, one who devoted himself to a solitary and contemplative life, characterized by devotion, extreme self-denial, and self-mortification; a hermit; a recluse; hence, one who practices extreme rigor and self-denial in religious things.

ascetical

pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic

Asceticism

The condition, practice, or mode of life, of ascetics.

Ascham

A sort of cupboard, or case, to contain bows and other implements of archery.

Ascians Ascii

Persons who, at certain times of the year, have no shadow at noon; -- applied to the inhabitants of the torrid zone, who have, twice a year, a vertical sun.

Ascidian

One of the Ascidioidea, or in a more general sense, one of the Tunicata. Also as an adj.

Ascidiarium

The structure which unites together the ascidiozooids in a compound ascidian.

Ascidioidea

A group of Tunicata, often shaped like a two-necked bottle. The group includes, social, and compound species. The gill is a netlike structure within the oral aperture. The integument is usually leathery in texture. See Illustration in Appendix.

Ascidiozooid

One of the individual members of a compound ascidian. See Ascidioidea.

Ascidium

A pitcher-shaped, or flask-shaped, organ or appendage of a plant, as the leaves of the pitcher plant, or the little bladderlike traps of the bladderwort (Utricularia).

ASCII

the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a code consisting of a set of 128 7-bit combinations used in digital computers internally, for display purposes, and for exchanging data between computers. It is very widely used, but because of the limited number of characters encoded must be supplemented or replaced by other codes for encoding special symbols or words in languages other than English. Also used attributively; -- as, an ASCII file.

Ascites

A collection of serous fluid in the cavity of the abdomen; dropsy of the peritoneum.

Ascititious

Supplemental; not inherent or original; adscititious; additional; assumed.

Asclepiad

A choriambic verse, first used by the Greek poet Asclepias, consisting of four feet, viz., a spondee, two choriambi, and an iambus.

Asclepiadaceae

a widely distributed family of herbs and shrubs most with milky juice; examples are the milkweeds (genus Asclepias).

Asclepiadaceous

Of, pertaining to, or resembling, plants of the Milkweed family.

Asclepias

A genus of plants including the milkweed, swallowwort, and some other species having medicinal properties.

Ascocarp

In ascomycetous fungi, the spherical, discoid, or cup-shaped body within which the asci are collected, and which constitutes the mature fructification. The different forms are known in mycology under distinct names. Called also spore fruit.

Ascococcus

A form of micrococcus, found in putrid meat infusions, occurring in peculiar masses, each of which is inclosed in a hyaline capsule and contains a large number of spherical micrococci.

ascolichen

a lichen in which the fungus component is an ascomycete.

ascoma

an ascocarp having the spore-bearing layer of cells (the hymenium) on a broad disklike receptacle.

ascomycete

any fungus of the class Ascomycetes (or subdivision Ascomycota) in which the spores are formed inside an ascus.

Ascomycetes

A large class of higher fungi distinguished by septate hyph/, and by having their spores formed in asci, or spore sacs; the sac fungi. It comprises many orders, among which are the yeasts, molds, mildews, truffles, morels, etc. The class is coextensive with the phylum Ascomycota.

Ascomycota

a phylum of higher fungi, coextensive with the class Ascomycetes. It comprises Hemiascomycetes; Plectomycetes; Pyrenomycetes; Discomycetessac fungi; in some classification systems it is considered a division of the kingdom Fungi.

Ascophyllum

a genus of brown algae distinguished by compressed or inflated branchlets along the axis.

Ascospore

One of the spores contained in the asci of lichens and fungi. [See Illust. of Ascus.]

ascot

a cravat with wide square ends, tied so that the ends are laid flat; the ends are often secured with an ornamental pin; -- called cravat in Britain.

Ascribable

Capable of being ascribed; attributable.

Ascribe

To attribute, impute, or refer, as to a cause; as, his death was ascribed to a poison; to ascribe an effect to the right cause; to ascribe such a book to such an author.

Ascription

The act of ascribing, imputing, or affirming to belong; also, that which is ascribed.

Ascus

A small membranous bladder or tube in which are inclosed the seedlike reproductive particles or sporules of lichens and certain fungi.

Asemia

Loss of power to express, or to understand, symbols or signs of thought.

Asepsis

State of being aseptic; the methods or processes of asepticizing.

Asexual

Having no distinct sex; without sexual action; as, asexual reproduction. See Fission and Gemmation.

Asexualization

The act or process of sterilizing an animal or human being, as by vasectomy.

Asexually

In an asexual manner; without sexual agency.

Ash

To strew or sprinkle with ashes.

Ash-colored

Of the color of ashes; a whitish gray or brownish gray.

Ash-fire

A low fire used in chemical operations.

ash-key

the winged seed of the ash tree.

ash-pan

a receptacle fitted beneath the grate in which ashes collect and are removed.

Ashamed

Affected by shame; abashed or confused by guilt, or a conviction or consciousness of some wrong action or impropriety.

ashcan

a bin that holds rubbish until it is collected.

Ashes

The earthy or mineral particles of combustible substances remaining after combustion, as of wood or coal.

Ashgabat

The capital city of Turkmenistan. Population (2000) = 518,000.

Ashler Ashlar

Hewn or squared stone; also, masonry made of squared or hewn stone.

Ashore

On shore or on land; on the land adjacent to water; to the shore; to the land; aground (when applied to a ship); -- sometimes opposed to aboard or afloat.

Ashtoreth

The principal female divinity of the Ph/nicians, as Baal was the principal male divinity.

Ashy

Pertaining to, or composed of, ashes; filled, or strewed with, ashes.

Asian

Of or pertaining to Asia; Asiatic. An Asiatic.

Asiarch

One of the chiefs or pontiffs of the Roman province of Asia, who had the superintendence of the public games and religious rites.

Asiatic

Of or pertaining to Asia or to its inhabitants. A native, or one of the people, of Asia.

Asiaticism

Something peculiar to Asia or the Asiatics.

Aside

Something spoken aside; as, a remark made by a stageplayer which the other players are not supposed to hear.

Asilus

A genus of large and voracious two-winged flies, including the bee killer and robber fly.

Asinine

Of or belonging to, or having the qualities of, the ass, as stupidity and obstinacy.

Asininity

The quality of being asinine; stupidity combined with obstinacy.

Asiphonate

Destitute of a siphon or breathing tube; -- said of many bivalve shells. An asiphonate mollusk.

Asitia

Want of appetite; loathing of food.

Ask

A water newt.

askant

toward the side, rather than directly ahead; -- used of a glance.

Askant Askance

Sideways; obliquely; with a side glance; with disdain, envy, or suspicion.

Asker

An ask; a water newt.

Askew

Awry; askance; asquint; oblique or obliquely; -- sometimes indicating scorn, or contempt, or entry.

Asking

The act of inquiring or requesting; a petition; solicitation.

ASL

same as American sign language, the sign language used in the US.

Aslake

To mitigate; to moderate; to appease; to abate; to diminish.

Aslant

In a slanting direction over; athwart.

Asleep

In a state of sleep; in sleep; dormant.

Aslope

Slopingly; aslant; declining from an upright direction; sloping.

Asmara

The capital city of Eritrea. Population (2000) = 400,000.

Asmonean

One of the Asmonean family. The Asmoneans were leaders and rulers of the Jews from 168 to 35 b. c.

Asomatous

Without a material body; incorporeal.

Asp

A small, hooded, poisonous serpent of Egypt and adjacent countries, whose bite is often fatal. It is the Naja haje. The name is also applied to other poisonous serpents, esp. to Vipera aspis of southern Europe. See Haje.

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