Abortion, in medicine, the expulsion of the fœtus before it is capable of independent existence. This may take place at any period of pregnancy before the completion of the twenty-eighth week. A child born after that time is said to be premature. Abortion may be the result of the general debility or ill-health of the mother, of a plethoric constitution, of special affections of the uterus, of severe exertions, sudden shocks, &c. Various medicinal substances, generally violent emmenagogues or drastic medicines, are believed to have the effect of provoking abortion, and are sometimes resorted to for this purpose. Attempts to procure abortion are punishable by law in all civilized states. When the death of the woman ensues as a result of the attempt, the crime is murder.—The term is applied in botany to denote the suppression by non-development of one or more of the parts of a flower, which consists normally of four whorls—namely, calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistil.—Bibliography: Sir W. O. Russell, Crimes and Misdemeanours (3 vols.); A. S. Taylor, Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence.
Aboukir (a˙-bö-kēr′; ancient Zephyrion, near ruins of Canōpus), a small village on the Egyptian coast, 10 miles east of Alexandria. In Aboukir Bay took place the naval battle in which Nelson annihilated a French fleet on the night of 1st and 2nd Aug., 1798, thus totally destroying the naval power of France in the Mediterranean. Near this place, on 25th July, 1799, Napoleon defeated the Turks under Mustapha; and on 8th March, 1801, Sir Ralph Abercromby effected the landing of a British army against the French.
Abou-Simbel. See Ipsambul.
About (a˙-bö), Edmond François Valentin, a French novelist and miscellaneous writer, born 14th Feb., 1828, died 17th Jan., 1885. He was educated at the Lycée Charlemagne and the École Normale, Paris; and was sent at Government expense to the French school at Athens; on his return to Paris, he devoted himself to literature. Principal novels: Tolla, Le Roi des Montagnes, Germaine, Madelon, Le Fellah, La Vieille Roche, L'Infâme, Les Mariages de Province, Le Roman d'un Brave Homme (against Zola and the naturalist school), &c.; miscellaneous works: La Grèce Contemporaine, La Question Romaine, La Prusse en 1860, Rome Contemporaine, &c. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Academy. About wrote in a bright, humorous, and interesting style, and his novels have been very popular.
Abracadab′ra, a word of Eastern origin used in incantations. When written on paper so as to form a triangle, the first line containing the word in full, the one below it omitting the last letter, and so on each time until only one letter remained, and worn as an amulet, it was supposed to be an antidote against certain diseases.
A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A
A′braham, originally Abram (Assyrian Aburamu, lofty father), the greatest of the Hebrew patriarchs, was born at Ur in Chaldea in 2153 B.C. according to Hales, in 1996 B.C. according
to Ussher, while Bunsen says he lived 2850 B.C. He migrated, accompanied by his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, to Canaan, where he led a nomadic life, which extended over 175 years. His two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, were the progenitors of the Jews and Arabs respectively.
Abraham, Heights or Plains of. See Quebec.
Abraham à Santa Clara, a German pulpit orator, whose real name was Ulrich Megerle, born in 1644. As a preacher he acquired so great a reputation that, in 1669, he was appointed court-preacher in Vienna, where he died in 1709. His sermons are full of homely, grotesque humour, often of coarse wit, and impartial severity towards all classes of society. His principal work and masterpiece is Judas, the Archknave (4 vols.), 1686-95.