ABSALOM, a son of David, who rebelled against his father, and at whose death David gave vent to a bitter wail of grief. A name given by Dryden to the Duke of Monmouth, son of Charles II.

ABSOLUTE, THE, the philosophical name for the uncreated Creator, or creating cause of all things, dependent on nothing external to itself.

ABSYRTUS, a brother of Medea, whom she cut in pieces as she fled with Jason, pursued by her father, throwing his bones behind her to detain her father in his pursuit of her by stopping to pick them up.

ABT, FRANZ, a German composer of song-music (1819-1885).

ABU, a mountain (6000 ft.) in Rajputana, with a footprint of Vishnu on the top, and two marble temples half-way up, held sacred by the Jains.

AB'UBEKR, as the father of Ayesha, the father-in-law of Mahomet, the first of the caliphs and the founder of the Sunnites; _d_. 634.

AB'U-KLEA, in the Soudan, where the Mahdi's forces were defeated by Sir H. Stewart in 1885.

A'BUL-FARAJ, a learned Armenian Jew, who became bishop of Aleppo, and wrote a history of the world from Adam onwards (1226-1286).

ABUL-FAZEL, the vizier of the great Mogul emperor Akbar, and who wrote an account of his reign and of the Mogul empire; he was a.s.sa.s.sinated in 1604.

ABUL-FEDA, a Moslem prince of Hamat in Syria, who in his youth took part against the Crusaders, and wrote historical works in Arabic (1273-1331).

ABU-THA'LEB, uncle of Mahomet, and his protector against the plots of his enemies the Koreish.

ABY'DOS, a town on the Asiatic side of the h.e.l.lespont, famous as the home of Leander, who swam the h.e.l.lespont every night to visit Hero in Sestos, and as the spot where Xerxes built his bridge of boats to cross into Europe in 480 B.C.; also a place of note in Upper Egypt.

ABYSSIN'IA, a mountainous country SE. of Nubia, with an area of 200,000 sq. m., made up of independent states, and a mixed population of some four millions, the Abyssinians proper being of the Semite stock. It is practically under the protectorate of Italy.

ACACIA, a large group of trees with astringent and gum-yielding properties, natives of tropical Africa and Australia.

ACADEMY, a public shady park or place of groves near Athens, where Plato taught his philosophy and whence his school derived its name, of which there are three branches, the _Old_, the _Middle_, and the _New_, represented respectively by Plato himself, Arcesilaos, and Carneades. The _French Academy_, of forty members, was founded by Richelieu in 1635, and is charged with the interests of the French language and literature, and in particular with the duty of compiling an authoritative dictionary of the French language. Besides these, there are in France other four with a like limited membership in the interest of other departments of science and art, all now a.s.sociated in the _Inst.i.tute of France_, which consists in all of 229 members. There are similar inst.i.tutions in other states of Europe, all of greater or less note.

ACADIA, the French name for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

ACANTHUS, a leaf-like ornament on the capitals of the columns of certain orders of architecture.

ACAPUL'CO, a Mexican port in the Pacific, harbour commodious, but climate unhealthy.

ACARNA'NIA, a province of Greece N. of Gulf of Corinth; its pop.

once addicted to piracy.

ACCA'DIANS, a dark, thick-lipped, short-statured Mongol race in Central Asia, displaced by the Babylonians and a.s.syrians, who were Semitic.

ACCA-LAURENTIA, the wife of Faustulus, shepherd of Numitor, who saved the lives of Romulus and Remus.

ACCIAIOLI, a Florentine family of 15th century, ill.u.s.trious in scholarship and war.

ACCOLADE, a gentle blow with a sword on the shoulder in conferring knighthood.

ACCOL'TI, a Tuscan family, of 15th century, famous for their learning.

ACCOR'SO, the name of a Florentine family, of 12th and 13th centuries, great in jurisprudence.

ACCRA (16), capital and chief port in British Gold Coast colony.

ACCRINGTON (39), a manufacturing town 22 m. N. of Manchester.

ACc.u.m, FRIEDRICH, a German chemist, the first promoter of gas-lighting (1769-1838).

ACc.u.mULATOR, a hydraulic press for storing up water at a high pressure; also a device for storing up electric energy.

ACERRA (14), an ancient city 9 m. NE. of Naples; is in an unhealthy district.

ACETIC ACID, the pure acid of vinegar; the salts are called _acetates_.

ACETONE, a highly inflammable liquid obtained generally by the dry distillation of acetates.

ACET'YLENE, a malodorous gaseous substance from the incomplete combustion of hydro-carbons.