Chapter About-sledge to Absence of A by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

Abracadabra
(Ab`ra*ca*dab"ra) n. [L. Of unknown origin.] A mystical word or collocation of letters written as in the figure. Worn on an amulet it was supposed to ward off fever. At present the word is used chiefly in jest to denote something without meaning; jargon.

Abradant
(Ab*ra"dant) n. A material used for grinding, as emery, sand, powdered glass, etc.

Abrade
(Ab*rade") v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abraded; p. pr. & vb. n. Abrading.] [L. abradere, abrasum, to scrape off; ab + radere to scrape. See Rase, Raze.] To rub or wear off; to waste or wear away by friction; as, to abrade rocks. Lyell.

Abrade
(A*brade") v. t. Same as Abraid. [Obs.]

Abrahamic
(A`bra*ham"ic) a. Pertaining to Abraham, the patriarch; as, the Abrachamic covenant.

Abrahamitic
(A`bra*ham*it"ic, *ic*al) a. Relating to the patriarch Abraham.

Abraham-man
(A"bra*ham-man` or A"bram-man`) n. [Possibly in allusion to the parable of the beggar Lazarus in Luke xvi. Murray ] One of a set of vagabonds who formerly roamed through England, feigning lunacy for the sake of obtaining alms. Nares.

To sham Abraham, to feign sickness. Goldsmith.

Abraid
(A*braid") v. t. & i. [OE. abraiden, to awake, draw AS. abredgan to shake, draw; pref. a- (cf. Goth. us-, Ger. er-, orig. meaning out) + bregdan to shake, throw. See Braid.] To awake; to arouse; to stir or start up; also, to shout out. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Abranchial
(A*bran"chi*al) a. (Zoöl.) Abranchiate.

Abranchiata
(||A*bran`chi*a"ta) n. pl. [NL., from Gr. 'a priv. + pl., the gills of fishes.] (Zoöl.) A group of annelids, so called because the species composing it have no special organs of respiration.

Abranchiate
(A*bran"chi*ate) a. (Zoöl.) Without gills.

Abrase
(Ab*rase") a. [L. abrasus, p. p. of abradere. See Abrade.] Rubbed smooth. [Obs.] "An abrase table." B. Jonson.

Abrasion
(Ab*ra"sion) n. [L. abrasio, fr. abradere. See Abrade.]

1. The act of abrading, wearing, or rubbing off; the wearing away by friction; as, the abrasion of coins.

2. The substance rubbed off. Berkeley.

3. (Med.) A superficial excoriation, with loss of substance under the form of small shreds. Dunglison.

Abrasive
(Ab*ra"sive) a. Producing abrasion. Ure.

Abraum
(A*braum" or A*braum" salts) n. [Ger., fr. abräumen to remove.] A red ocher used to darken mahogany and for making chloride of potassium.

Abraxas
(||A*brax"as) n. [A name adopted by the Egyptian Gnostic Basilides, containing the Greek letters &alpha, &beta, &rho, &alpha, &xi, &alpha, &sigma, which, as numerals, amounted to 365. It was used to signify the supreme deity as ruler of the 365 heavens of his system.] A mystical word used as a charm and engraved on gems among the ancients; also, a gem stone thus engraved.

Abray
(A*bray") v. [A false form from the preterit abraid, abrayde.] See Abraid. [Obs.] Spenser.

Abreast
(A*breast") adv. [Pref. a- + breast.]