Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for AP-LUS'TER, or AP-LUS'TRE
AP-LUS'TER, or AP-LUS'TRE, n. [L. from Gr. αφλαιον, the summit of the poop of a ship.]
An ensign, or ornament carried by ancient ships. It was shaped like a plume of feathers, fastened on the neck of a goose or swan, and to this was attached a party-colored ribin, to indicate the course of the wind. – Addison. Encyc.
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