AÏceph¶aÏlan (#), n. Same as Acephal.
AÏceph¶aÏlan, a. (Zo”l.) Belonging to the Acephala.
Ø AÏceph¶aÏli (#), n. pl. [LL., pl. of acephalus. See Acephal.] 1. A fabulous people reported by ancient writers to have heads. 2. (Eccl. Hist.) (a) A Christian sect without a leader. (b) Bishops and certain clergymen not under regular diocesan control. 3. A class of levelers in the time of K. Henry I.
AÏceph¶aÏlist (#), n. One who acknowledges no head or superior.
Dr. Gauden.
AÏceph¶aÏloÏcyst (#), n. [Gr. ? without a head + ? bladder.] (Zo”l.) A larval entozo”n in the form of a subglobular or oval vesicle, or hy datid, filled with fluid, sometimes found in the tissues of man and the lower animals; Ð so called from the absence of a head or visible organs on the vesicle. These cysts are the immature stages of certain tapeworms. Also applied to similar cysts of different origin.
AÏceph·aÏloÏcys¶tic (#), a. Pertaining to, or resembling, the acephalocysts.
AÏceph¶aÏlous (#), a. [See Acephal.] 1. Headless. 2. (Zo”l.) Without a distinct head; Ð a term applied to bivalve mollusks. 3. (Bot.) Having the style spring from the base, instead of from the apex, as is the case in certain ovaries. 4. Without a leader or chief. 5. Wanting the beginning. A false or acephalous structure of sentence. De Quincey.
6. (Pros.) Deficient and the beginning, as a line of poetry. Brande. Ac¶erÏate (#), n. [See Aceric.] (Chem.) A combination of aceric acid with a salifiable base.
Ac¶erÏate, a. Acerose; needleÏshaped.
AÏcerb¶ (#), a. [L. acerbus, fr. acer sharp: cf. F. acerbe. See Acrid.] Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, as unripe fruit; sharp and harsh.
AÏcerb¶ate (#), v. t. [L. acerbatus, p. p. of acerbare, fr. acerbus.] To sour; to imbitter; to irritate.