| abstract | 1. Withdraw; separate. "The more abstract . . . We are from the body." (Norris) 2. Considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; exiting in the mind only; as, abstract truth, abstract numbers. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult. 3. <logic> Expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; opposed to concrete; as, honesty is an abstract word. Resulting from the mental faculty of abstraction; general as opposed to particular; as, "reptile" is an abstract or general name. "A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an abstract name which stands for an attribute of a thing. A practice has grown up in more modern times, which, if not introduced by Locke, has gained currency from his example, of applying the expression "abstract name" to all names which are the result of abstraction and generalisation, and consequently to all general names, instead of confining it to the names of attributes." (J. S. Mill) 4. Abstracted; absent in mind. "Abstract, as in a trance. <psychology>" An abstract idea, an idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it; as the solidity of marble when contemplated apart from its colour or figure. Abstract terms, those which express abstract ideas, as beauty, whiteness, roundness, without regarding any object in which they exist; or abstract terms are the names of orders, genera or species of things, in which there is a combination of similar qualities. <mathematics> Abstract numbers, numbers used without application to things, as 6, 8, 10; but when applied to any thing, as 6 feet, 10 men, they become concrete. Abstract or Pure mathematics. See Mathematics. Origin: L. Abstractus, p. P. Of abstrahere to draw from, separate; ab, abs + trahere to draw. See Trace. 1. To withdraw; to separate; to take away. "He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices." (Sir W. Scott) 2. To draw off in respect to interest or attention; as, his was wholly abstracted by other objects. "The young stranger had been abstracted and silent." (Blackw. Mag) 3. To separate, as ideas, by the operation of the mind; to consider by itself; to contemplate separately, as a quality or attribute. 4. To epitomize; to abridge. 5. To take secretly or dishonestly; to purloin; as, to abstract goods from a parcel, or money from a till. "Von Rosen had quietly abstracted the bearing-reins from the harness." (W. Black) 6. <chemistry> To separate, as the more volatile or soluble parts of a substance, by distillation or other chemical processes. In this sense extract is now more generally used. Origin: See Abstract. 1. That which comprises or concentrates in itself the essential qualities of a larger thing or of several things. Specifically: A summary or an epitome, as of a treatise or book, or of a statement; a brief. "An abstract of every treatise he had read." (Watts) "Man, the abstract Of all perfection, which the workmanship Of Heaven hath modeled." (Ford) 2. A state of separation from other things; as, to consider a subject in the abstract, or apart from other associated things. 3. An abstract term. "The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety."" (J. S. Mill) 4. <medicine> A powdered solid extract of a vegetable substance mixed with sugar of milk in such proportion that one part of the abstract represents two parts of the original substance. Abstract of title, an epitome of the evidences of ownership. Synonym: Abridgment, compendium, epitome, synopsis. See Abridgment. See: Abstract. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| abstract intelligence | The capacity to understand and manage abstract ideas and symbols. (05 Mar 2000) |
| english | 1. Collectively, the people of England; English people or persons. 2. The language of England or of the English nation, and of their descendants in America, India, and other countries. The English language has been variously divided into periods by different writers. In the division most commonly recognised, the first period dates from about 450 to 1150. This is the period of full inflection, and is called Anglo-Saxon, or, by many recent writers, Old English. The second period dates from about 1150 to 1550 (or, if four periods be recognised, from about 1150 to 1350), and is called Early English, Middle English, or more commonly (as in the usage of this book), Old English. During this period most of the inflections were dropped, and there was a great addition of French words to the language. The third period extends from about 1350 to 1550, and is Middle English. During this period orthography became comparatively fixed. The last period, from about 1550, is called Modern English. 3. A kind of printing type, in size between Pica and Great Primer. See Type. The type called English. 4. A twist or spinning motion given to a ball in striking it that influences the direction it will take after touching a cushion or another ball. The King's, or Queen's, English. See King. Of or pertaining to England, or to its inhabitants, or to the present so-called Anglo-Saxon race. English bond See Corno Inglese. English walnut. <botany> See Walnut. Origin: AS. Englisc, fr. Engle, Angle, Engles, Angles, a tribe of Germans from the southeast of Sleswick, in Denmark, who settled in Britain and gave it the name of England. Cf. Anglican. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| English disease | An obsolete term for rickets. (05 Mar 2000) |
| English position | A position to facilitate a vaginal examination, the patient lying on the side with the under arm behind the back, the thighs flexed, the upper one more than the lower. Synonym: English position, lateral recumbent position, semiprone position. (05 Mar 2000) |
| English rhinoplasty | Rhinoplasty utilizing a flap from the cheek. (05 Mar 2000) |
| English sweating disease | A disease of unknown nature that appeared in England and spread over Europe in 1485, 1508 and 1528-30 and was characterised by heavy sweats, prostration, and a high fatality rate. Synonym: sudor anglicus. (05 Mar 2000) |