Apron, ā′prun, n. a cloth or piece of leather worn before one to protect the dress, or as part of a distinctive official dress, as by Freemasons, &c.—aprons of silk or the like are often worn by ladies for mere ornament: the short cassock ordinarily worn by English bishops: anything resembling an apron in shape or use, as a gig-apron, &c.—v.t. to cover with, as with an apron.—adj. A′proned.—ns. A′pron-man (Shak.), a man who wears an apron, a mechanic; A′pron-string, a string by which an apron is attached to the person.—To be tied to a woman's apron-strings, to be bound to a woman as a child is bound to its mother. [O. Fr. naperon—nappe, cloth, tablecloth—L. mappa, a napkin.]
Apropos, a-pro-pō′, adv. to the purpose: appropriately: in reference to (with to and of).—adj. opportune. [Fr. à propos. See Propose.]
Apse, aps, n. an arched semicircular or polygonal recess at the east end of the choir of a church—here, in the Roman basilica, stood the prætor's chair.—adj. Ap′sidal.—n. Apsid′iole, a secondary apse, as one of the apses on either side of the central or main apse in a church of triapsidal plan. [See Apsis.]
Apsis, ap′sis, n. one of the two extreme points in the orbit of a planet, one at the greatest, the other at the least distance from the sun: one of the two points in the orbit of a satellite—one nearest to, the other farthest from, its primary; corresponding, in the case of the moon, to the perigee and apogee:—pl. Apsides (ap′si-dēz).—adj. Ap′sidal. [L. apsis—Gr. hapsis, a connection, an arch—hapt-ein, to connect. See Apt.]
Apt, apt, adj. liable: ready for or prone to anything: prompt, open to impressions (with at).—adv. Apt′ly.—n. Apt′ness. [L. apt-us, fit, suitable, apposite; cog. with Gr. hapt-ein.]
Apterous, ap′tėr-us, adj. without wings.—adj. Ap′teral, without wings: (archit.) without lateral columns. [Gr. a, neg., pteron, a wing.]
Apteryx, ap′tėr-iks, n. a bird found in New Zealand, wingless and tailless, reddish-brown, about the size of a large hen. [Gr. a, neg., pteryx, wing.]
Aptitude, apt′i-tūd, n. fitness: tendency: readiness, teachableness, talent (with for). [Low L. aptitudo—L. apt-us.]
Aptote, ap′tōt, n. a noun without any variation of cases. [Gr. aptōtos—a, priv., ptōsis, a falling, a case—pipt-ein, to fall.]
Apyretic, a-pir-et′ik, adj. without pyrexia or fever, especially of those days in which the intermission of fevers occurs in agues—n. Apyrex′ia. [Gr. a, neg., and pyretos, fever.]