C.. ENCYCLOPÆDIA PERTHENSIS. the first letter, as well as the firft vowel, A. A, in the alphat, as we all the more in the between the 2d and 3d line, and in the bafs, upon of the ancient languages, excepting that of Ita, in which it is the 13th. It is entitled theart place in the alphabet, on account of the city of its found, little more being neceffary to pronounce it, than to open the mouth and the air. Hence it is the found moft naturalintered by the dumb. A is ufed, I. as a LETIl as a WORD; III. as an ABBREVIATION; IV. as a NUMERAL. I. The LETTER A, in English language, has three different founds, Le brod, the open, and the flender; to which may be added a fourth, the diphthong found. Ift, The fr is common to all fanguages, and refembles that of the German A, being pronounced like au It occurs in various monofyllables, and is etimes long, as in all, call, wall, &c. fometimes fart, as in malt, salt, and the like. It is probable that the Saxons used only the broad found of the letweb is generally retained in the North of England, and almost universally throughout Scotland; at task for talk, wank for walk, or wake, &c. ad, The open found refembles that of the ItaLA in Adagis, and is expreffed in father, ra&c. d, The two lait founds are peculiar English language. The fender refembles of the Greek E, and is the fame with that of Se Engih e, in elephant, record, &c. It occurs my words, fuch as face, place, afte, &c. 4 The diphthong found occurs likewife in a Greatcomber, and is expreffed like the French diphgain pais; as in amiable, any, many, glaze, free, prafe, &c. and the whole tribe of nouns nation, fuch as toleration, &c. ii. In burque poetry, A is fometimes added to words, as ine-a for line, by Dryden, &c. and in common lan. age it is fometimes prefixed, as arife, awake, for wake, &c. without altering the fenfe in either c. ii. In our calendar, A is ufed as the firft of the feven Dominical letters, as it was anciently d by the Romans, before the Chriftian æra, as the firft of their eight Litera Mundinales; in imion whereof the Dominical letters were afterWards introduced. iv. In Mufic, A is ufed in the or to denominate the firft of the feven fimple funds; in the treble, it is the note, which lies VOL. I. PART I notes an universal affirmative propofition; according to the verfe, Afferat A, negat E, verum generaliter ambæ. Thus, in the firft figure, a fyllogifm, confifting of three univerfal affirmative propofitions, is faid to be in Bar-ba-ra; the a thrice repeated denoting fo many of the propofitions to be univerfal. Sce BARBARA. II. As a woRD, A is used as an arti cle, a noun, a prepofition, and an interjection. i. It is moft commonly ufed as an article, and as fuch is prefixed to nouns in the fingular number, which it generally exprefles; as a man, a houfe, &c. fignifying that there is only one man, one houte, &c. although it is often ufed indefinitely without regard to number, as we fay, a man may come, i. e. any man. It is never ufed, however, before any word beginning with a, e, i, or o, or with 1⁄2, where the guttural found of that letter is not expreffed; the articles an or the being prefixed to all fuch words in its ftead; as an advocate, the enemy, an ideot, the owner, an honour, the hoft, &c. But it is uniformly ufed before all nouns beginning with a confonant, or with the vowely; and it is as frequently ufed as an, be fore words beginning with u, where this vowel has the diphthong found eu. ii. As a noun, it is only ufed by grammarians refpecting itfelf, as great A, little a, the broad A, the flender A, &c.iih As a prepofition, it is variously wfed; 1. Before a participle, where it ought to be joined by a hyphen, as, I am a-writing, you go a-hunting, or afifhing, &c. In these last inftances it fupplies the place of the prepofition to, of the infinitive mood; fignifying, you go to hunt, or go to fish. 2. In this fenfe alfo, it is fometimes prefixed to a verb, as in the well known title of the play, " Much a-do (i. e. Much to do) about Nothing." . Before local firnames, of foreign extraction, as Carolus a Linne, Cornelius a Lapide, Thomas a Kempis, &c. 4. Between words expreffing relative proportions, it fupplies the place of each, per, or by the; thus, ten guineas a man, twelve hours a day, fifteen fhillings a week, a thoufand Pounds a year, mean fo many guineas, hours, fhillings and pounds, each man, each day, per week, and by the year. 5. Com. Α number one: and by the Romans, in the days of barbarifm, it ftood for 500; but when written with a dash over it, thus A, it denoted 5000. Our merchants ftill continue the Greek and Hebrew cuftom, in numbering their books, by the letters, A, B, C, &c. inftead of figures. In algebra, A, or a, and the other first letters of the alphabet, are ufed to exprefs known quantities, and the last letters to exprefs fuch as are unknown. In the above account of the letter A, the reader will obferve, we have not copied exactly from any other Dictionary whatever; all of them, that we have hitherto feen, not excepting even Dr Johnson's, appearing to be either erroneous or dedefective, in their definitions and distinctions of its founds, as well as in their enumerations and arrangements of its ufes. No two founds of this letter, for inftance, or indeed of almost any other in the whole alphabet, can be more diftinct, than thofe of the A in face, place, &c. and of that in emulation, termination, and the like; both of which, however, the Doctor, and most other lexicographers, have uniformly confounded together, as one and the fame, by ranking them under the Blender found. Nor, (without enlarging upon the omiflions of the ufes of the letter A, as a prepofition, numeral, &c.) can any thing of the kind be more furprising, than Dr Johnson's taking notice, that "A is fometimes, in familiar writings, put by a barbarous corruption for he, as, will a come? for will be come?" If fuch barbarous ufes of letters and words were to be uniformly inferted in Dictionaries, they might foon be fwelled beyond all bounds, by corruptions of words in common ufe, and in various dialects; which might be illuftrated and exemplified by numberlefs quotations from the works of Swift, Smollet, Fielding, and almost every other humourous writer in the English language. 5. Compounded with other words, it fometimes fupplies the place of the participle, as afleep for fleeping, and fometimes of the prepofition, on, as afoot for on foot, &c. iv. As an interjection, it is naturally used upon any fudden emotion of joy, grief, admiration, &c. and on fuch occafions is commonly enforced by adding the aspiration, as ab! and fometimes by doubling the a, as aba! III. As an abbreviation, A has long been used in a variety of cafes both by the ancients and moderns. The Romans used it, both in enacting new laws, and in trying criminal caufes. When a new Jaw was propofed, or an amendment of an old one, each voter got two ballots, the one marked A, fignifying antiquo, q. d. antiquam volo, I like the ancient law, and the other V. R. for uti rogas, as you defire; and he gave his fuffrage, by putting the one or the other into the urn. In criminal caufes they ufed three ballots, which were delivered to each of the judges; one infcribed A, for abfolvo, I acquit, whence Cicero calls this letter litera falutaris, the faving letter; another marked C, for condemno, I condemn; and the third, N. L. for non liquet, it is not clear. From the majority of thefe caft into the urn, the prætor pronounced the fate of the prifoner. If the ballots marked A and C were equal in number, he was acquitted. In their ancient infcriptions on monuments, &c. the fenfe of the A is chiefly to be collected, from the general fcope, and connection of the words. A fingle ftands for Aulus, Auguftus, ager, aiunt, ante, ades, ædilis, aula, anima, amicus, &c. When double it denotes the plural, Auli, Augufti, amici, &c. and when triple, auro, argento, ære. When it occurs after the word miles, (a foldier), it denotes him to be young. On the ancient Greek and Roman medals, A commonly points out the place of coinage; as Argos, Antioch, Athens, Aquileia, &c. but on modern French coins, A is the mark of the mint at Paris, and A A of that at Metz. The ancient Roman historians ufed it as an abbreviation for Anno; thus A. U. C. ftands for Anno Urbis condita, in the year from the building of the city. The Greeks used it as a privative particle, when prefixed to a word. See PRIVATIVE. Modern hiftorians and chronologers alfo use it as an abbreviation for Anno, as A. M. Anno Mundi, in the year of the world; A. D. Anno Domini, A. A. C. anno ante Chriftum, in the year of our Lord, in the year before Chrift, &c. It is likewife a common abbreviation for artium; thus A. B. Artium baccaularius, Bachelor of Arts, A. M. artium magifter, Master of Arts. Among merchants, bankers, &c. both in England and France, it is put to bills of exchange, as a mark of acceptance. And it is ufed by phyficians, in their prefcriptions, as a contraction of the Greek prepofition ave, to denote that equal parts are to be taken of the medicines fpecified; in which cafe it is wrote either fingle or double, A, ā, or āā. Among chemifts it is tripled, AAA, to exprefs an amalgam, or the operation of amalgamating. ABP. is an ab breviation for Archbishop; A. D. for Archduke, &c. IV. As a Numeral, A was used by the ancient Greeks, as well as by the Jews, to denote the Confiftently with our plan, however, it is proper, that we should here fubjoin Dr Johnson's examples and authorities, having already blended the fubftance of moft of his definitions and illuftrations of this letter, with the preceding remarks. A, placed before a participle or participial noun, is confidered by Wallis as a contraction of at, when put before a word denoting fome action not yet finished; and in other cafes it seems to fignify to, like the French à. * Prior. A hunting Chloe went. Find when we come a fishing here. Wotton. Now the men fell a rubbing of armour, which a great while had lain oiled. Wotton. He will knap the fpears a pieces † with his teeth. More's Antid. Athm. Another falls a ringing a Pefcennius Niger, and judiciously distinguishes the found of it to be modern. Addison on Medals. *A, is ufed in burlefque poctry to lengthen out a fyllable, without adding to the fenfe: For cloves and nutmegs to the line-a, And even for oranges to China. Dryden. *A in compofition feems to have sometimes the power of the French a in these phrases adroit, + Here Dr Johnfon feems to be wrong again, the a before pieces fignifying neither at, nor to, but father in. adreit, agauche, &c. and fometimes to be con- its fource in a lake, near mount Saalberg, in the S. I gin to be a weary of the fun, AA, a river of Picardy in France, which rifes in the department of Somme, beyond Ramilly le Compte, near Therouanne, runs N. E. through Artois, and becomes navigable near St Omers; whence it paffes N. to Gravelines, below which it falls into the English Channel. Aa, a river in Weftphalia, which rifes near Munter, waters that city, and falls into the river Embs. A1, the name of several other rivers of lefs note in Germany, Switzerland, &c. AABAM, a term used by fome French Alchemifts to fignify lead. * AB, at the beginning of the names of places generally thews, that they have fome relation to an Abbey, as Abingdon. Gibson. AACH, the name of a river in Germany. AACH, a little town fituated near the fource of it, in the circle of Suabia, and almost equidiftant from the Danube, and the lake Conftance. E. Long. 9. o. Lat. 47. 55. It belongs to the house of Auftria. AAHUS, a fmall diftri&t in Germany, in the circle of Weltphalia, and bishopric of Munfter. See Dext article. AAMUS, a little town, though the capital of that diftrict. It has a good caftle, and lies N. E. of Coesfeldt. Long. 7. 1. E. Lat. 52. 10. N. AALBORG, or AALBOURG, a bishopric of Denmark, in North Jutland. See next article. AALBORG, the capital of the bishopric of that hame, lies on the S. coaft of Lymfurt, on the confines of the bishopric of Wiburg. Next to Copenhagen, it is the richest and most populous city in Denmark. The name fignifies Eel-town, great quantities of eels being caught there. It has an exchange for merchants, a fafe and deep harbour, (though the entrance near Hals is fomewhat dangerous,) and a confiderable trade in corn, herrings, guns, piftols, faddles, gloves, &c. It was taken by the Swedes, in the years, 1643, and 1658. Long. 9. 46. E. Lat. 56. 50. N. AAM, or HAAM, a liquid measure, ufed by the AAR, a small island in the Baltic. AARHUUS, a large diocefe in N. Jutland, which extends, from that of Wiburg to Categat, about 15 miles in length, and between 8 and 9 in breadth, and is uncommonly fruitful; being interfected by many excellent rivers, streams, and lakes, abounding with fish, and adorned with a variety of large forefts. It contains about 70 feats of the principal nobility. See next article. AARHUUS; or ARHUSEN, the capital of the bishopric of that name, lies between the fea and a lake, from which water is conveyed by a pretty broad canal, that divides the town into two une qual parts. It is large and populous, and has fix gates, two principal churches, two market places, an university, a free school, and a well endowed hofpital. It carries on a good trade. The cathedral, which was begun in 1201, is 150 paces in length, 96 in breadth, and nearly 45 German ells in height. AARON, [Heb. a mountaineer] the brother of Mofes, and firft high pricft of the Ifraelites, was great-grand-fon of Levi by the father's fide, and rand-fon by the mother's. He had a confiderable fhare in all his brother's exertions, for the deliverance of that people from the tyranny of the Egyptians; and feems only to have erred in the matter of the golden calf, which, according to fome authors, he made, in compliance with the people's defire, being afraid of failing a facrifice to their refentment. It is probable, too, that he hoped to elude their requeft, when he infifted that the women fhould contribute their car-rings; thinking that they would rather reft contented without any visible Deity, than part with their perfonal ornaments, to make one. His hiftory being fully narrated in the Pentateuch, it needs only be added here, that he died upon mount Hor, in the 123d year of his age, being the 40th after the departure from Egypt; A. M. 2522, of the Julian period, 3262, and before the Chriftian æra, 1452. See MOSES, and MAGICIAN. AARON, St, a British martyr, who fuffered along with St Julius, another native of Britain, under Dioclefian, about the fame time with St Alban, the British proto-martyr. The British names of these faints are not on record, the chriftian Britons having generally taken new names from the Greeks, Romans or Hebrews, when they were baptifed. Churches have been dedicated to each of them, and their conjunct feftival is placed in the Roman martyrology on the first of July. AARON HARISCHON, See HARISCHON. AARON, or HAROUN, AL RASCHID, a celebrated khalif of the Saracen empire, of whom many fabulous legends are told. See BAGDAD. AARSENS, Not to multiply our criticisms upon Dr Johnson, none of these examples and quotations appear to afford an inftance of a contraction from at except alleep. The laft, a row is evidently an ellipfis for in a row. A 2 their firft and fecond temples were burnt, the former by Nebuchadnezzar and the latter by Ti tus Vefpafian; and on the 18th, becaufe the fa cred lamp in the fanctuary was that night extinguished, in the reign of Ahaz. The 9th of this month was also fatally remarkable for the publi cation of Adrian's edict, which prohibited that unfortunate people, not only from continuing in Judæa, but even from looking back to Jerufalem to lament its defolation! AARSENS, Francis, Lord of Someldyck and Spyck, fon of Cornelius Aarfens, register to the States, was one of the greateft minifters for negociation the United Provinces ever produced. Having been fome years under M. Mornay, at the court of William I. prince of Orange, Barneveldt fent him, as agent for the States, to Paris, where he learned to negociate under thofe great politicians, Henry IV. Villeroi, Silleri, &c. and acquitted himself with applaufe. Being foon after invefted with the character of ambaffador, Henry gave him precedence next to the Venetian minifter. He refided in France 15 years, and was created a knight and a baron by the king. He was afterwards fent to Venice, and to feveral princes in Germany and Italy, and, in 1620, was appointed the firft of three extraordinary ambaffadors to England. In 1614, he was fent to the court of France in the fame character, and, in 1641, he was again deputed one of three ambaffadors extraordinary to England, to fettle the marriage between the princess Mary and prince Wil-graphy, a mountain of Greater Armenia, fituated liam, the Stadtholder's fon. He died in a very between the mountains Niphatos and Nibonis. advanced age. Strabo fays, the Euphrates and Araxes both rofe in it, the former running eastward and the latter weftward. AARSENS, Peter, a painter, called Long Peter, on account of his ftature, was born at Amfterdam in 1519. He was eminent for all fubjects, but particularly excelled in altar pieces, and in reprefenting a kitchen, with its furniture. A lady of Alcmaer offered 200 crowns to preferve one of his altar pieces, that was destroyed in the insurrection, in 1566. AARTGEN, or AERTGEN, a painter of merit, the son of an wool-comber, born at Leyden in 1498. He wrought at his father's business, till he was eighteen, when the natural bent of his genius, led him to ftudy painting under Engelheitz. He foon became fo diftinguifhed, that the celebrated Floris went to Leyden on purpose to fee him. Finding him living in a very mean way, in a half ruined hat, he folicited him to go to Antwerp, promising him wealth and rank fuitable to his merit, but Aartgen refused, saying he found more fweets in his poverty, than others did in their riches. He never wrought on Monday, but devoted it to the bottle, and he got his death in one of these drunken frolics, being drowned in 1564. AASAR, in ancient geography, a town of Judæa, in the tribe of Judah, fituated between Azotus and Afcalon. In St Jerome's time, it was a hamlet. AAVORA, in Natural Hiftory, the fruit of a Jarge fpecies of the palm tree, that grows in Africa and the Weft Indies. It is of the size of a hen's egg. Several of them are included in a large fhell. In the middle of this fruit, there is a hard nut, about the fize of a peach ftone, containing a white kernel, very aftringent, and proper for checking a Diarrhoea. AB, in the Hebrew calendar, the 11th month of the civil year and the 5th of the ecclefiaftical, which begins with the month Nifan. It anfwers to the moon, which begins in July and ends in Auguft, and confifts of 30 days. The Jews faft on the 1ft of this month in memory of Aaron's death; on the 9th, becaufe on that day, both AB, in the Syriac Calendar, is the laft of the Summer months. The eastern Chriftians called the first day of this month Suum Miriam, the faft of Mary, and fafted from that to the 15th, which they called Fathr-Miriam, the ceffation of the faft of the Virgin. * AB, at the beginning of the names of places, generally thews that they have fome relation to an Abbey, as Abingdon. ABA, or ABAU, HANIFAH. See HANIFAH. ABA, or ABE, in ancient Geography, a town of Phocis in Greece, near Helicon, famous for an oracle of Apollo, older than that at Delphi; as well as for a rich temple, plundered and burnt by the Perfians. ABACA, in Botany, an Indian plant, a native of the Philippine Inands; alfo the flax and hemp produced from it. There are two species of the Abaca, the white and the grey. The former produces lint, of which very fine linen is made; the latter hemp, which is ufed for nothing but cordage. The plants are fown every year, and when gathered are fteeped in water, and beaten like hemp. ABACENA, in ancient geography, a town of Media; alfo another of Cana, in Afia. ABACENINI, the inhabitants of Abacænum. See next article. ABACENUM, in ancient geography, a town of Sicily, whofe ruins are fuppofed to be those still lying near Trippi, a citadel on a high mountain, near Meffing. ABACATUAIA, in Ichthyology, the name of an American fifh, of the fhape of the European doree or faber. It is much of the fhape, fize, and figure of the common plaife. Its mouth is finall and toothless, and its eyes have a black pupil, and and a filvery iris. It has five fins, one on the back, another on the belly, each running to the tail; and two at the gills; the tail makes the fifth, and is confiderably forked. It is caught about the fhores of the Brafils, and is commonly eaten there. This fifh is a fpecies of zeus, according to Artedi, and belongs to the thoracic order of Linpæus. ABACAY, in natural hiftory, a fpecies of Parrot in the Philippine Islands, called alfo Calangay. ABACH, or WELTENBURG, a market town in lower Bavaria, feated on the Danube; feven miles from Ratifbon. It is defended by a citadel, and is is remarkable for Roman antiquities, as well as for its mineral waters, which are celebrated for curing various difeafes. Long. 11. 56. E. Lat. 48. 53 N. ABACINARE, or ABBACINARE, [Ital. from bacine, a bafin, or bacio, a dark place,] a barbarous punishment, defcribed by writers of the middle age, wherein the criminal was blinded, by holding a red hot bafin, or bowl, before his eyes. ABACISTA, [0. L.] an arithmetician. ABACK, or ABAKE, back, backwards, or behind. Chaucer. In Sea-language, it fignifies the fituation of the fails, when their furfaces are flatted against the maft by the force of the wind. They may be brought aback, either by a fudden change of the wind, or an alteration in the fhip's courfe. They are laid aback to effect an immediate retreat, without turning either to the right or left, in order to avoid fome imminent dan ger. ABACKE, adv. [from back] backwards. Obfolete. But when they came, where thou thy skill didft fhow, They drew abacke, as half with fhame confound. Spenf. Paft. ABACO, a word used by ancient writers, and fill in ufe among the Italians, for arithmetic. ABACOT, a cap of ftate, worn in ancient times by the kings of England, the upper part of which was in the form of a double crown. ABACTED, [from aba&us, L.] drawn away by Health or violence. ABACTOR, 7. S. [Lat.] one who drives away or steals cattle in herds, or great numbers at once, in diftinction from those that steal only a fheep or two. Blount. ABACTUS, or ABIGEATUS, a word used by ancient medical writers, to exprefs an abortion procured by the force of medicines, in contradiftinction to Atorfus, a natural mifcarriage. But the moderns make no fuch diftinétion. See ABOR TION. ABACUS, n.. [Lat.] 1. A counting table an ciently used in calculations. 2. [in architecture] The uppermoft member of a column, which ferves as a fort of crowning both to the capital and column. Dia. ABACUS, among the ancients, was a kind of p-board or buffet. Livy, defcribing the luxury into which the Romans degenerated after the conqueft of Afia, fays they had their abaci, beds, &c. plated over with gold. ABACUS, among the ancient mathematicians, fified a table covered with duft, on which they Crew their diagrams; the word in this fenfe being derived from the Phoenician abak, duft.* ABACUS, in architecture, as above defined by Dr Johnfon, is faid to have had the following droll accidental origin. Vitruvius tells us that the abacus was originally intended to reprefent a fquare tile laid over an urn, or rather over a batket.-An Athenian old woman happening to place a basket thus, covered over with the root of an acanthus ; the plant, fhooting up the following fpring, encompaffed the bafket all a round, till meeting with the tile, it curled back in a kind of feroll. Callimachus, an ingenious fculptor, paffing by, took the hint, and immedi ately executed a capital on this plan; representing the tile by the abacus, the leaves by the volutes, and the basket by the vafe, or body of the capital.-The form of the abacus is not the fame in all orders: in the Tufcan, Doric, and Ionic, it is generally fquare; but in the Corinthian and Compofite, its four fides are arched inwards, and embellifhed in the middle with some ornament, as a rofe or other flower. Scammozzi ufes abacus for a concave moulding on the capital of the Tufcan pedestal; and Palladio calls the plinth above the echinus, or boultin, in the Tuican and Doric orders, by the fame name. ABACUS is alfo the name of an ancient inftrument for facilitating operations in arithmetic. It is variously contrived. That chiefly used in Europe is made by drawing any number of parallel lines at the diftance of two diameters of one of the counters used in the calculation. A counter placed on the loweft line, fignifies ; on the 2d, 10; on the 3d, 100; on the 4th, 1oco, &c. In the intermediate spaces, the fame counters are ef timated at one half of the value of the line immediately fuperior, viz. between the 1ft and ad, 5; between the 2d and 3d, 50, &c. See Plate 1. ABACUS is likewife used by modern writers for a table of numbers ready cast up, to expedite the operations of arithmetic. In this fenfe we have baci of addition, of multiplication, and divifion. ABACUS, the Chinefe. See SwANPAN. ABACUS Pythagoricus, the common multiplication table, fo called from its being invented by Pythagoras. ABACUS Logisticus, is a rectangled triangle, whofe fides, forming the right angle, contain the numbers from 1 to 60; and its area, the facta of each two of the numbers perpendicularly oppofite. This is alfo called a canon of fexagefimals. ABACUS & Palmule, in the ancient mufic, denote the machinery, whereby the ftrings of Polyplectra, or inftruments of many ftrings, were ftruck with a plectrum made of quills. ABACUS Harmonicus, is ufed by Kircher for the ftructure and difpofition of the keys of a mufical inftrument, whether to be touched with the hands or the feet. ABACUS Major, in metallurgic operations, the name of a trough used in the mines, wherein the ore is washed. ABADDON, the name which St John in the Revelation gives to the king of the locufts, the angel of the bottomlefs pit. The infpired writer fays, this word is Hebrew, and in Greek fignifies Arλhowy, i. e. a defroyer. That angel king is thought to be Satan. ABADIR, a title which the Carthaginians gave to gods of the firft order. In the Roman mythology, it is the name of a stone which Saturn fwallowed, by the contrivance of his wife Ops, believing it to be his new-born fon Jupiter: hence it ridiculously became the object of religious wor fhip. ABÆ, or ABA. See ABA. * ABAFT, adv. [from a Saxon word which fignifies behind,] from the fore part of the ship towards the ftern. ABAGI, a filver coin current in Perfia, worth |