Augment, awg-ment′, v.t. to increase: to make larger.—v.i. to grow larger.—n. Aug′ment, increase: (gram.) the prefixed vowel to the past tenses of the verb in Sanskrit and Greek. Sometimes applied also to such inflectional prefixes as the ge- of the German perfect participle.—adjs. Augment′able, Augment′ative, having the quality or power of augmenting.—n. (gram.) a word formed from another to express increase of its meaning.—ns. Augmentā′tion, increase: addition: (her.) an additional charge in a coat-of-arms bestowed by the sovereign as a mark of honour: (mus.) the repetition of a melody in the course of the piece in notes of greater length than the original: (Scots law) an increase of stipend obtained by a parish minister by an action raised in the Court of Teinds against the titular and heritors; Augment′er. [L. augmentum, increase—augēre, to increase, Gr. auxan-ein.]
Augur, aw′gur, n. among the Romans, one who gained knowledge of secret or future things by observing the flight and the cries of birds: a diviner; a soothsayer.—v.t. to foretell from signs.—v.i. to guess or conjecture: to forebode.—adj. Au′gural.—ns. Au′gurship; Au′gury, the art or practice of auguring: an omen.—The words Au′gurate and Augurā′tion are obsolete. [L.; prob. from avis, bird, and root, gar, in L. garrīre, to chatter, Sans. gir, speech.]
August, aw-gust′, adj. venerable: imposing: sublime: majestic—adv. August′ly.—n. August′ness. [L. augustus—augēre, to increase, honour.]
August, aw′gust, n. the eighth month of the year, so called after the Roman emperor Augustus Cæsar.
Augustan, aw-gust′an, adj. pertaining to the Emperor Augustus, or to the time in which he reigned (31 B.C.-14 A.D.)—the most brilliant age in Roman literature, hence applied to any similar age, as the reign of Anne in English, or that of Louis XIV. in French literature: classic: refined.
Augustine, aw-gust′in, Augustinian, aw-gus-tin′i-an, n. one of an order of monks who derive their name and rule from St Augustine: (theol.) one who holds the opinions of St Augustine, esp. on predestination and irresistible grace.—adj. Augustin′ian, of or relating to St Augustine.—n. Augustin′ianism.
Auk, awk, n. a genus of web-footed sea-birds, with short wings used only as paddles, found in the northern seas. The Great Auk is supposed to have become extinct in 1844. [Ice. álka.]
Aula, aw′la, n. a hall.—adj. Aulā′rian, relating to a hall.—n. at Oxford, a member of a hall, as distinguished from a collegian.—Aula regis, also called Curia Regis, a name used in English history for a feudal assembly of tenants-in-chief, for the Privy Council, and for the Court of King's Bench. [L. aula, a hall.]
Auld, awld, adj. (Scot.) old.—adjs. Auld′-far′rant (lit. 'favouring the old'), old-fashioned, wise beyond their years, as of children; Auld′-warld, old-world, ancient.—Auld langsyne, old long since, long ago.
Aulic, awl′ik, adj. pertaining to a royal court.—Aulic Council (Ger. Reichshofrath), a court or personal council of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1501 by Maximilian I., and co-ordinate with the Imperial Chamber (Reichskammergericht). [L. aulicus—aula, Gr. aulē, a royal court.]