Aprocta
(||A*proc"ta) n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. 'a priv. + prwkto`s anus.] (Zoöl.) A group of Turbellaria in
which there is no anal aperture.
Aproctous
(A*proc"tous) a. (Zoöl.) Without an anal orifice.
Apron
(A"pron) (a"purn or a"prun; 277), n. [OE. napron, OF. naperon, F. napperon, dim. of OF. nape,
F. nappe, cloth, tablecloth, LL. napa, fr. L. mappa, napkin, table napkin. See Map.]
1. An article of dress, of cloth, leather, or other stuff, worn on the fore part of the body, to keep the clothes
clean, to defend them from injury, or as a covering. It is commonly tied at the waist by strings.
2. Something which by its shape or use suggests an apron; as, (a) The fat skin covering the belly of a
goose or duck. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. (b) A piece of leather, or other material, to be spread before a
person riding on an outside seat of a vehicle, to defend him from the rain, snow, or dust; a boot. "The
weather being too hot for the apron." Hughes. (c) (Gun.) A leaden plate that covers the vent of a
cannon. (d) (Shipbuilding) A piece of carved timber, just above the foremost end of the keel. Totten.
(e) A platform, or flooring of plank, at the entrance of a dock, against which the dock gates are shut. (f)
A flooring of plank before a dam to cause the water to make a gradual descent. (g) (Mech.) The piece
that holds the cutting tool of a planer. (h) (Plumbing) A strip of lead which leads the drip of a wall into
a gutter; a flashing. (i) (Zoöl.) The infolded abdomen of a crab.
Aproned
(A"proned) a. Wearing an apron.
A cobbler aproned, and a parson gowned.
Pope.
Apronful
(A"pron*ful) n.; pl. Apronfuls The quantity an apron can hold.
Apronless
(A"pron*less), a. Without an apron.
Apron man
(A"pron man`) A man who wears an apron; a laboring man; a mechanic. [Obs.] Shak.
Apron string
(A"pron string`) The string of an apron.
To be tied to a wife's or mother's apron strings, to be unduly controlled by a wife or mother.
He was so made that he could not submit to be tied to the apron strings even of the best of wives.
Macaulay.
Apropos
(Ap"ro*pos`) a. & adv. [F. à propos; à (L. ad) + propos purpose, L. proposium plan, purpose,
fr. proponere to propose. See Propound.]
1. Opportunely or opportune; seasonably or seasonable.
A tale extremely apropos.
Pope.
2. By the way; to the purpose; relevant; suitably to the place or subject; — a word used to introduce an
incidental observation, suited to the occasion, though not strictly belonging to the narration.
Apse
(Apse) n.; pl. Apses (- sez). [See Apsis.]
1. (Arch.) (a) A projecting part of a building, esp. of a church, having in the plan a polygonal or semicircular
termination, and, most often, projecting from the east end. In early churches the Eastern apse was
occupied by seats for the bishop and clergy. Hence: (b) The bishop's seat or throne, in ancient churches.
2. A reliquary, or case in which the relics of saints were kept.
This word is also written apsis and absis.
