ALLOY, is the mixture of metals that enter into the composition of the metal proper for cannon and mortars.
ALLY, in a military sense, implies any nation united to another—under a treaty, either offensive or defensive, or both.
ALMADIE, a kind of military canoe, or small vessel, about 24 feet long, made of the bark of a tree, and used by the negroes of Africa.
Almadie, is also the name of a long-boat used at Calcutta, often 80 to 100 feet long, and generally six or seven broad, they row from ten to thirty oars.
ALTIMETRY, the taking or measuring altitude, or heights.
ALTITUDE, height, or distance from the ground, measured upwards, and may be both accessible, and inaccessible.
Altitude of a figure, is the distance of its vertex from its base, or the length of a perpendicular let fall from the vertex to the base. See American Mil. Lib. Art. Field Fortification.
Altitude of a shot or shell, is the perpendicular height of the vertex above the horizon. See [Gunnery] and [Projectiles].
Altitude, in optics, is usually considered as the angle subtended between a line drawn through the eye, parallel to the horizon, and a visual ray emitted from an object to the eye.
Altitude, in cosmography, is the perpendicular height of an object, or its distance from the horizon upwards.