Asmear
(A*smear") a. [Pref. a- + smear.] Smeared over. Dickens.
Asmonean
(As`mo*ne"an) a. Of or pertaining to the patriotic Jewish family to which the Maccabees
belonged; Maccabean; as, the Asmonean dynasty. [Written also Asmonæan.]
Asmonean
(As`mo*ne"an), n. One of the Asmonean family. The Asmoneans were leaders and rulers of
the Jews from 168 to 35 b. c.
Asoak
(A*soak") a. [Pref. a- + soak.] Soaking.
Asomatous
(A*so"ma*tous) a. [L. asomatus, Gr. 'a priv. + body.] Without a material body; incorporeal.
Todd.
Asonant
(As"o*nant) a. [Pref. a- not + sonant.] Not sounding or sounded. [R.] C. C. Felton.
Asp
(Asp) n. (Bot.) Same as Aspen. "Trembling poplar or asp." Martyn.
Asp
(Asp) n. [L. aspis, fr. Gr. 'aspi`s: cf. OF. aspe, F. aspic.] (Zoöl.) 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.
Aspalathus
(||As*pal"a*thus) n. [L. aspalathus, Gr. .] (Bot.) (a) A thorny shrub yielding a fragrant
oil. Ecclus. xxiv. 15. (b) A genus of plants of the natural order Leguminosæ. The species are chiefly
natives of the Cape of Good Hope.
Asparagine
(As*par"a*gine) n. [Cf. F. asparagine.] (Chem.) A white, nitrogenous, crystallizable substance,
C4H8N2O3+H2O, found in many plants, and first obtained from asparagus. It is believed to aid in the
disposition of nitrogenous matter throughout the plant; — called also altheine.
Asparaginous
(As`pa*rag"i*nous) a. Pertaining or allied to, or resembling, asparagus; having shoots
which are eaten like asparagus; as, asparaginous vegetables.
Asparagus
(As*par"a*gus) n. [L., fr. Gr. cf. to swell with sap or juice, and Zend paregha prong, sprout,
Pers. asparag, Lith. spurgas sprout, Skr. sphurj to swell. Perh. the Greek borrowed from the Persian.
Cf. Sparrowgrass.]
1. (Bot.) A genus of perennial plants belonging to the natural order Liliaceæ, and having erect much
branched stems, and very slender branchlets which are sometimes mistaken for leaves. Asparagus
racemosus is a shrubby climbing plant with fragrant flowers. Specifically: The Asparagus officinalis, a
species cultivated in gardens.
2. The young and tender shoots of A. officinalis, which form a valuable and well-known article of food.
This word was formerly pronounced sparrowgrass; but this pronunciation is now confined exclusively to
uneducated people.
Asparagus beetle (Zoöl.), a small beetle (Crioceris asparagi) injurious to asparagus.
Aspartic
(As*par"tic) a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived, asparagine; as, aspartic acid.
Aspect
(As"pect) n. [L. aspectus, fr. aspicere, aspectum, to look at; ad + spicere, specere, to look,
akin to E. spy.]
1. The act of looking; vision; gaze; glance. [R.] "The basilisk killeth by aspect." Bacon.
His aspect was bent on the ground.
Sir W. Scott.
