Lexicon: askew – assault

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askew, adj. [origin unknown; possibly < Germanic schief.]

Lob-sided; awry; slanted; leaning in one direction; [fig.] oblique; obscure; circuitous; indirect; paradoxical; looking from two different angles; (see 1 Corinthians 15:42-43).

aslant, verbal adj. [see slant, v.]

Sloping; on one side; obliquely; seen from a different angle; [prothesis] slanting; a'slanting.

asleep, verbal adj. [OE on slæpe, in sleep.] (webplay: fast asleep).

  1. Slumbering; dozing; sleeping; unconscious; not awake; not aware.
  2. [Fig.] dead; resting in the grave; reposing in the tomb.
  3. Dormant; inactive; not in effect.

aspect (-s), n. [L. ad-, to + spec-ěre, look at.]

Detail; facet; feature; quality; [fig.] creature; being; entity; thing.

asperity, n. [OFr < L. asper, rough.]

Roughness of temper; moroseness; sullenness; sulking; gloom; harshness; bitterness.

asphodel, n. [Med. L. affodillus < Gk asphodil-us; see daffodil, n.]

Day-lily; lily-like plant; a species of Hemerocallis; herb with beautiful flowers and spear-shaped leaves; bloom that grows on the moors of England, edible for sheep; blossom planted anciently near graves to supply the dead with nourishment; immortal flower said to cover the meadows of Elysium, the abode of the blessed after death in Greek mythology; [fig.] heaven; state of rest after mortality.

aspire (-s), v. [Fr.? < L. adspīrā-re, breathe upon, seek to reach.] (webplay: desire).

Covet; crave; yearn for; strive for; aim at; have ambition towards.

aspiring, verbal adj. [see aspire, v.]

Ambitious; determined; steadfast; resolute; faithful; eagerly desiring; hopeful of obtaining something better.

assassin, n. [Fr. < L. < Arab. hashshāsh, hashish-eater, one who intoxicates himself with hemp plant in preparing to kill a king or public servant.] (webplay: God, surprise, unarmed).

  1. Professional killer; murderer; one who kills by surprise or secret attack; gunman who shoots to kill.
  2. Destroyer; finisher; means of termination or elimination.
  3. [Fig.] freezing temperatures; cold weather; conditions cold enough to kill plants.

assault, n. [OFr < L. *adsaltus, leap.]

  1. Attack; violent onset.
  2. Ravishment; deflowering; sexual conquest; [fig.] pollenation; transfer of pollen from flower to flower by a bee.