Astragalus
(||As*trag"a*lus) n. [L. See Astragal.]
1. (Anat.) The ankle bone, or hock bone; the bone of the tarsus which articulates with the tibia at the
ankle.
2. (Bot.) A genus of papilionaceous plants, of the tribe Galegeæ, containing numerous species, two of
which are called, in English, milk vetch and licorice vetch. Gum tragacanth is obtained from different
oriental species, particularly the A. gummifer and A. verus.
3. (Arch.) See Astragal, 1.
Astrakhan
(As`tra*khan") a. Of or pertaining to Astrakhan in Russia or its products; made of an Astrakhan
skin. - - n. The skin of stillborn or young lambs of that region, the curled wool of which resembles fur.
Astral
(As"tral) a. [L. astralis, fr. astrum star, Gr. : cf. F. astral. See Star.] Pertaining to, coming
from, or resembling, the stars; starry; starlike.
Shines only with an astral luster.
I. Taylor.
Some astral forms I must invoke by prayer.
Dryden.
Astral lamp, an Argand lamp so constructed that no shadow is cast upon the table by the flattened
ring-shaped reservoir in which the oil is contained. — Astral spirits, spirits formerly supposed to live
in the heavenly bodies or the aërial regions, and represented in the Middle Ages as fallen angels, spirits
of the dead, or spirits originating in fire.
Astrand
(A*strand") adv. & a. [Pref. a- + strand.] Stranded. Sir W. Scott.
Astray
(A*stray") adv. & a. [See Estray, Stray.] Out of the right, either in a literal or in a figurative
sense; wandering; as, to lead one astray.
Ye were as sheep going astray.
1 Pet. ii. 25.
Astrict
(As*trict") v. t. [imp. & p. p. Astricted; p. pr. & vb. n. Astricting.] [L. astrictus, p. p. of astringere.
See Astringe.]
1. To bind up; to confine; to constrict; to contract.
The solid parts were to be relaxed or astricted.
Arbuthnot.
2. To bind; to constrain; to restrict; to limit. [R.]
The mind is astricted to certain necessary modes or forms of thought.
Sir W. Hamilton.
3. (Scots Law) To restrict the tenure of; as, to astrict lands. See Astriction, 4. Burrill.
Astrict
(As*trict"), a. Concise; contracted. [Obs.] Weever.
