Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1st 100 Pages). Noah Webster

       (Astr. & Physics.) Acceleration of the moon, the increase of the moon's mean motion in its orbit, in consequence of which its period of revolution is now shorter than in ancient times. Ð Acceleration and retardation of the tides. See Priming of the tides, under Priming. Ð Diurnal acceleration of the fixed stars, the amount by which their apparent diurnal motion exceeds that of the sun, in consequence of which they daily come to the meridian of any place about three minutes fiftyÐsix seconds of solar time earlier than on the day preceding. Ð Acceleration of the planets, the increasing velocity of their motion, in proceeding from the apogee to the perigee of their orbits.

       AcÏcel¶erÏaÏtive (#), a. Relating to acceleration; adding to velocity; quickening.

       Reid.

       AcÏcel¶erÏa·tor (#), n. One who, or that which, accelerates. Also as an adj.; as, accelerator nerves.

       AcÏcel¶erÏaÏtoÏry (#), a. Accelerative.

       AcÏcel¶erÏoÏgraph (#), n. [Accelerate + Ðgraph.] (Mil.) An apparatus for studying the combustion of powder in guns, etc.

       AcÏcel·erÏom¶eÏter (#), n. [Accelerate + Ðmeter.] An apparatus for measuring the velocity imparted by gunpowder.

       AcÏcend¶ (#), v. t. [L. accendere, accensum, to kindle; ad + cand?re to kindle (only in compounds); rel. to cand‰re to be white, to gleam. See Candle.] To set on fire; to kindle. [Obs.]

       Fotherby.

       AcÏcend·iÏbil¶iÏty (#), n. Capacity of being kindled, or of becoming inflamed; inflammability.

       AcÏcend¶iÏble (#), a. Capable of being inflamed or kindled; combustible; inflammable.

       Ure.

       AcÏcen¶sion (#), n. The act of kindling or the state of being kindled; ignition.

       Locke.

       AcÏcen¶sor (#), n. [LL., from p. p. accensus. See Accend.] (R. C. Ch.) One of the functionaries who light and trim the tapers.

       Ac¶cent· (#), n. [F. accent, L. accentus; ad + cantus a singing, canere to sing. See Cant.] 1. A superior force of voice or of articulative effort upon some particular syllable of a word or a phrase, distinguishing it from the others.

       µ Many English words have two accents, the primary and the secondary; the primary being uttered with a greater stress of voice than the secondary; as in as·pira¶tion, where the chief stress is on the third syllable, and a slighter stress on the first. Some words, as an·tiap·oÏplec¶tic, inÏcom·preÏhen·siÏbil¶iÏty, have two secondary accents. See Guide to Pron., ?? 30Ð46.

       2. A mark or character used in writing, and serving to regulate the pronunciation; esp.: (a) a mark to indicate the nature and place of the spoken accent; (b) a mark to indicate the quality of sound of the vowel marked; as, the French accents.

       µ In the ancient Greek the acute accent (·) meant a raised tone or pitch, the grave (?), the level tone or simply the negation of accent, the circumflex ( ? or ?) a tone raised and then depressed. In works on elocution, the first is often used to denote the rising inflection of the voice; the second, the falling inflection; and the third (^), the compound or waving inflection. In dictionaries, spelling books, and the like, the acute accent is used to designate the syllable which receives the chief stress of voice.

       3. Modulation of the voice in speaking; manner of speaking or pronouncing; peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice; tone; as, a foreign accent; a French or a German accent. ½Beguiled you in a plain accent.¸ Shak. ½A perfect accent.¸ Thackeray.

       The tender accent of a woman's cry.

       Prior.

       4. A word; a significant tone; (pl.) expressions in general; speech.

       Winds! on your wings to Heaven her accents bear,

       Such words as Heaven alone is fit to hear.

       Dryden.

       5. (Pros.) Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse.

       6. (Mus.) (a) A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure. (b) A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure. (c) The rythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period. (d) The expressive emphasis and shading of a passage.

       J. S. Dwight.

       7. (Math.) (a) A mark placed at the right hand of a letter, and a little above it, to distinguish magnitudes of a similar kind expressed by the same letter, but differing in value, as y·,y··. (b) (Trigon.) A mark at the right hand of a number, indicating minutes of a degree, seconds, etc.; as, 12·27··, i.e., twelve minutes twenty seven seconds. (c) (Engin.) A mark used to denote feet and inches; as, 6·10·· is six feet ten inches.

       AcÏcent¶ (#), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accented; p. pr. & vb. n. Accenting.] [OF. accenter, F. accentuer.]

       1. To express the accent of (either by the voice or by a mark); to utter or to mark with accent.

       2. To mark emphatically; to emphasize.

       Ac¶cent·less (#), a. Without accent.

       AcÏcen¶tor (#), n. [L. ad. + cantor singer, canere to sing.] 1. (Mus.) One who sings the leading part; the director or leader. [Obs.]

       2. (Zo”l.) A genus of European birds (so named from their sweet notes), including the hedge warbler. In America sometimes applied to the water thrushes.

       AcÏcen¶tuÏaÏble (#), a. Capable of being accented.

       AcÏcen¶tuÏal (#), a. Of or pertaining to accent; characterized or formed by accent.

       AcÏcen·tuÏal¶iÏty (#), n. The quality of being accentual.

       AcÏcen¶tuÏalÏly (#), adv. In an accentual manner; in accordance with accent.

       AcÏcen¶tuÏate (#), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accentuated (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Accentuating.] [LL. accentuatus, p. p. of accentuare, fr. L. accentus: cf. F. accentuer.] 1. To pronounce with an accent or with accents.

       2. To bring out distinctly; to make prominent; to emphasize.

       In Bosnia, the struggle between East and West was even more accentuated.

       London Times.

       3. To mark with the written accent.

       AcÏcen·tuÏa¶tion (#), n. [LL. accentuatio: cf. F. accentuation.] Act of accentuating; applications of accent. Specifically (Eccles. Mus.), pitch or modulation of the voice in reciting portions of the liturgy.

       AcÏcept¶ (#), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accepted; p. pr. & vb. n. Accepting.] [F. accepter, L. acceptare, freq. of accipere; ad + capere to take; akin to E. heave.]

       1. To receive with a consenting mind (something offered); as, to accept a gift; Ð often followed by of.

       If you accept them, then their worth is great.

       Shak.

       To accept of ransom for my son.

       Milton.

       She accepted of a treat.

       Addison.

       2. To receive with favor; to approve.

       The Lord accept thy burnt sacrifice.

       Ps. xx. 3.

       Peradventure he will accept of me.

       Gen. xxxii. 20.

       3. To receive or admit and agree to; to assent to; as, I accept your proposal, amendment, or excuse.

       4. To take by the mind; to understand; as, How are these words to be accepted?

       5. (Com.) To receive as obligatory and promise to pay; as, to accept a bill of exchange.

       Bouvier.

       6. In a deliberate body, to receive in acquittance of a duty imposed; as, to accept the report of a committee. [This makes it the property of the body, and the question is then on its adoption.]

       To accept a bill (Law), to agree (on the part of the drawee) to pay it