Emily Dickinson Lexicon

astonishment, n. [see astonish, v.]

Surprise; marvel; miracle; spectacle; wonder; eye-opener; revelation; amazing event; [fig.] renewal; rebirth; renaissance.

astral, adj. [L. astr-um, star.] (webplay: star).

Heavenly; celestial; planetary; other worldly; [fig.] planetarium; orrery.

astray, adv. [prothesis; see stray, v.]

Wandering; away from home; out of bounds; [fig.] erring; deviant.

astrology, n. [Fr. < L. < Gk 'account of the stars'.]

Horoscope reading; occult science; star divination; fortune-telling by the position of stars and planets; practical application of astronomy to human relations; [NW] “This science … supposed the heavenly bodies to have a ruling influence over the physical and moral world.”

astronomer, n. [Fr. < Gk; see astronomy, n.]

Star-gazer; professor of stellar science; scholar of heavenly phenomena.

astronomy, n. [OFr < L. < Gk 'star-arranging', 'one who classes or arranges the stars'; see astrology.]

System of planets, stars, and other bodies in space; science that governs heavenly bodies; study of the laws and features of the universe; [NW] “knowledge of celestial bodies, their magnitudes, motions, distances, periods of revolution, aspects, eclipses, order … This science depends on observations, made chiefly with instruments, and upon mathematical calculations.”

astute, adj. [Fr. < L. astus, crafty, cunning.]

1. Clever; intelligent; subtle; sharp; shrewd.
2. Sophisticated; cosmopolitan; refined; debonair; elegant; urbane; [possible pun on “a-starred” or “astral”] starry.

at, prep. [OE.]

1. In the process of; in the act of.
2. In or near; in the place of; located by.
3. When; during the time of.
4. Towards; in the direction of.
5. About; concerning; in doing.

ate, [past tense form; see eat, v.]

atheist, n. [Fr. < Gk 'without God', 'denying God'.] (webplay: nothing).

Disbeliever; infidel; nihilist; one who does not believe in a god; person who denies the existence of a supreme being.