. A secret organization in the United States, formed in Iowa in 1887, ostensibly for the protection of American institutions by keeping Roman Catholics out of public office. Abbrev. commonly to A. P .A. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ See Antecede. ] Antecedent; preceding in time. “Capable of antecedaneous proof.” Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ L. antecedere; ante + cedere to go. See Cede. ] To go before in time or place; to precede; to surpass. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or state of going before in time; precedence. H. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Astron.) An apparent motion of a planet toward the west; retrogradation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or condition of being antecedent; priority. Fothherby. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. antecedens, -entis, p. pr. of antecedere: cf. F. antécédent. ] 1. Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Prior; previous; foregoing. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. antécédent. ] 1. That which goes before in time; that which precedes. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Homeric mythology, as well as the Homeric language, has surely its antecedents. Max Miller. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who precedes or goes in front. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

My antecedent, or my gentleman usher. Massinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history. J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

If the troops . . . prove worthy of their antecedents, the victory is surely ours. Gen. G. McClellan. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Gram.) The noun to which a relative refers; as, in the sentence “Solomon was the prince who built the temple, ” prince is the antecedent of who. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Logic) (a) The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move. (b) The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Math.) The first of the two terms of a ratio; the first or third of the four terms of a proportion. In the ratio a:b, a is the antecedent, and b the consequent. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Previously; before in time; at a time preceding; as, antecedently to conversion. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. antecedere, antecessum. See Antecede, Ancestor. ] 1. One who goes before; a predecessor. [ 1913 Webster ]

The successor seldom prosecuting his antecessor's devices. Sir E. Sandys. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An ancestor; a progenitor. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. antichambre. ] 1. A chamber or apartment before the chief apartment and leading into it, in which persons wait for audience; an outer chamber. See Lobby. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A space viewed as the outer chamber or the entrance to an interior part. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mouth, the antechamber to the digestive canal. Todd & Bowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The outer part of the west end of a collegiate or other chapel. Shipley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Arch.) (a) A space inclosed or reserved at the entrance to the choir, for the clergy and choristers. (b) Where a choir is divided, as in some Spanish churches, that division of it which is the farther from the sanctuary. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. pl. See Antœcians. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A name given to that part of the Anglican liturgy for the communion, which precedes the consecration of the elements. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. antecurrere to run before; ante + currere to run. ] A forerunner; a precursor. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. architectus, architecton, Gr. &unr_; chief artificer, master builder; pref. 'archi- (E. archi-) + &unr_; workman, akin to &unr_; art, skill, &unr_; to produce: cf. F. architecte, It. architetto. See Technical. ] 1. A person skilled in the art of building; one who understands architecture, or makes it his occupation to form plans and designs of buildings, and to superintend the artificers employed. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A contriver, designer, or maker. [ 1913 Webster ]

The architects of their own happiness. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

A French woman is a perfect architect in dress. Coldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Used in building; proper for building. Derham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. architectonique. ] 1. The science of architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of arranging knowledge into a system. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. architectonicus, Gr. &unr_;. See Architect. ] 1. Pertaining to a master builder, or to architecture; evincing skill in designing or construction; constructive. “Architectonic wisdom.” Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

These architectonic functions which we had hitherto thought belonged. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Relating to the systemizing of knowledge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The science of architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An architect. [ Obs. ] North. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female architect. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to the art of building; conformed to the rules of architecture. -- Ar`chi*tec"tur*al*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. [ L. architectura, fr. architectus: cf. F. architecture. See Architect. ] 1. The art or science of building; especially, the art of building houses, churches, bridges, and other structures, for the purposes of civil life; -- often called civil architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

Many other architectures besides Gothic. Ruskin. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Construction, in a more general sense; frame or structure; workmanship. [ 1913 Webster ]

The architecture of grasses, plants, and trees. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

The formation of the first earth being a piece of divine architecture. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

Military architecture, the art of fortifications. --
Naval architecture, the art of building ships. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. a- not + technic. ] Without technical or artistic knowledge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Difficult to convey to the atechnic reader. Etching & Engr. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or relating to one of the early races in Mexico that inhabited the great plateau of that country at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1519. -- n. One of the Aztec race or people. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. same as bioengineering. [ PJC ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;; kako`s bad + &unr_; art. ] A corruption or corrupt state of art. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. &unr_;. See Catechise. ] Relating to or consisting in, asking questions and receiving answers, according to the ancient manner of teaching. [ 1913 Webster ]

Socrates introduced a catechetical method of arguing. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a catechetical manner; by question and answer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The science or practice of instructing by questions and answers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) One of the tannic acids (C15H14O6), extracted from catechu as a white, crystalline substance; -- called also catechuic acid, catechinic acid, cyanidol, and catechuin. It is a flavonoid found generally in higher woody plants, and is used in dyeing and tanning. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. [ LL. catechizatio. ] The act of catechising. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Catechised p. pr. & vb. n. Catechising. ] [ L. catechizare, Gr. &unr_;, equiv. to &unr_; to resound, sound a thing into one's ears, impress it upon one by word of mouth; &unr_; + &unr_; to sound, &unr_; a sound. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To instruct by asking questions, receiving answers, and offering explanations and corrections, -- esp. in regard to points of religious faith. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To question or interrogate; to examine or try by questions; -- sometimes with a view to reproof, by eliciting from a person answers which condemn his own conduct. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who catechises. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. catechismus, fr. Gr. See Catechise. ] 1. A form of instruction by means of questions and answers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A book containing a summary of principles, especially of religious doctrine, reduced to the form of questions and answers. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Jews, even till this day, have their catechisms. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Larger Catechism,
The Shorter Catechism. See Westminster Assembly, under Assembly. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a catechism, having the form of questions and answers; catechetical. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. catechista, fr. Gr. ] One who instructs by question and answer, especially in religions matters. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Of or pertaining to a catechist or to a catechism. Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. See Catechise. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ . ] any of a group of chemicals having a benzene ring substituted with two hydroxyl groups in ortho position, especially ortho-dihydroxybenzene itself (C6H6O2), also called pyrocatechol, used in photography and as a reagent. [ PJC ]

n. [ catechol + amine. ] any of a group of chemicals including epinephrine and norepinephrine that are produced in the medulla of the adrenal gland. They function as nerotransmitters in the sympathetic nervous system. Also, any structurally related chemical substance, whether natural or synthetic. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ See Cashoo. ] (Chem.) A dry, brown, astringent extract, obtained by decoction and evaporation from the Acacia catechu, and several other plants growing in India. It contains a large portion of tannin or tannic acid, and is used in medicine and in the arts. It is also known by the names terra japonica, cutch, gambier, etc. Ure. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to catechu or its derivatives. See catechin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. catechumenus, Gr. kathchoy`menos instructed, from kathchei^n. See Catechise. ] (Eccl.) One who is receiving rudimentary instruction in the doctrines of Christianity; a neophyte; in the primitive church, one officially recognized as a Christian, and admitted to instruction preliminary to admission to full membership in the church. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or condition of a catechumen or the time during which one is a catechumen. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to catechumens; as, catechumenical instructions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A catechumen. Bp. Morton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; useful + &unr_; art. ] The science of the useful arts, esp. agriculture, manufactures, and commerce. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. contegere, -tectum, to cover up. ] A covering. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]