Aliment, al′i-ment, n. nourishment: food: provision for maintenance, alimony: support.—v.t. to support, sustain: make provision for the maintenance of.—adjs. Aliment′al, supplying food; Aliment′ary, pertaining to aliment: nutritive.—ns. Alimentā′tion, the act or state of nourishing or of being nourished; Aliment′iveness (phrenol.), desire for food or drink; Al′imony, an allowance for support made to a wife when legally separated from her husband, or temporarily while the process is pending.—Alimentary canal, the principal part of the digestive apparatus of animals, in man extending, with convolutions, about 30 feet from the mouth to the anus—including pharynx, œsophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, &c. [L. alimentum—alĕre, to nourish.]
Alineation. See Allineation.
Aliped, al′i-ped, adj. wing-footed.—n. an animal whose toes are connected by a membrane serving as a wing, as the bat. [L. alipes—ala, a wing, and pes, pedis, a foot.]
Aliquant, al′i-kwant, adj. an aliquant part of a number is one that will not divide it without a remainder, thus 5 is an aliquant part of 12. [L. aliquantum, somewhat, alius, another, and quantus, how great.]
Aliquot, al′i-kwot, adj. such a part of a number as will divide it without a remainder. [L. aliquot, some, several—alius, other, quot, how many.]
Alisma, al-iz′ma, n. a small genus of aquatic plants, the chief being the common water-plantain. [Gr.]
Alive, a-līv′, adj. in life: susceptible. [Prep. a = on, and A.S. lífe, dat. of líf, life.]
Alizarin, a-liz′a-rēn, n. a colouring matter used in the dyeing of Turkey red, formerly extracted from madder, the commercial name of which in the Levant is alizari. [Fr.; Ar. al, the, and 'açārah, juice pressed out.]
Alkahest, Alcahest, al′ka-hest, n. the universal solvent of the alchemists. [A coinage of Paracelsus—on Arabic analogies.]
Alkali, al′ka-li, or -lī, n. (chem.) a substance which combines with an acid and neutralises it, forming a salt. Potash, soda, and lime are alkalies; they have an acrid taste (that of soap), and turn vegetable blues to green:—pl. Al′kalies.—n. Alkales′cency, tendency to become alkaline.—adj. Alkales′cent, tending to become alkaline: slightly alkaline.—n. Alkalim′eter, an instrument for measuring the strength of alkalies.—adj. Alkaline (al′ka-līn, or -lin), having the properties of an alkali.—n. Alkalin′ity.—v.t. Al′kalise, to render alkaline:—pr.p. al′kalīsing; pa.p. al′kalīsed. See Acid. [Ar. al-qalīy, ashes.]