ABU ( * ) ABS
ABOLLA, in military antiquity, awarm kind of garment, generally linedor doubled, used both by the Greeksand Romans, chiefly out of the city, infollowing the camp.
ABONNEMENT , Fr. an engage-ment entered into by a country, town,corporation, &c. for the purpose of sup-plying the exigencies of the state intime of war, or of granting provisions,&c. to an army.
ABORD, Fr. attack, onset.D’ABORD, Fr. at first; in the be-ginning.
iS’ABOUCHER, Fr. to parley.ABOUT, a technical word to expressthe movement, by which a body oftroops changes its front or aspect, byfacing according to any given word ofcommand.
Right-ABOVT, is when the soldier, byplacing the toe of the right foot on aline in contact with the heel of the left,makes a pivot of the latter, and com-pletely changes the situation of his per-son, by a semi-circular movement to theright.
Lcft-AuovT, is when the soldier, byplacing the heel of his right foot on aline with the great toe of the left,changes the situation of his person, by aSemi-circular movement to the left.When troops are under arms, they aresometimes put to the left-about, in orderto prevent the clashing of the pouches,which frequently occurs in the semi-cir-cular movement to the right.
ABOUT, Fr. in carpentry, that partof a piece of wood which is between oneof the ends of the piece and a mortoise.
ABREAST, a term formerly used toexpress any number of men in front.At present they are determined by files.
ABREUVOIR, Fr. a watering place;any spot dug for the purpose of retain-ing water. This must always be at-tended to when a regular camp is firstformed.
Abreuvoir, Fr. in masonry, thejoint, or juncture, of two stones; or theinterstice, or space, which is left be-tween, to be filled up with mortar orcement.
Abreuvoir also signifies smalltrenches which are made in stone quar-ries to carry off the watelk
ABRI, Fr. shelter, cover. Eire aI'abri, to he under cover, as of a wood,hillock, &c.
ABRIS, Fr. places of shelter.
ABSCISSA, in military mathematics,signifies any part of the diameter oraxis of a curve, contained between itsvertex or some other fixed point, andthe intersection of the ordinate.
In the parabola, the abscissa is a thirdproportional to the parameter and theordinate.
In the ellipsis, the square of the ordi-nate is equal to the rectangle under theparameter and abscissa, lessened by an-other rectangle under the said abscissa,and a fourth proportional to the axis,the parameter, and the abscissa.
In the hyperbola, the squares of theordinates are as the rectangles of theabscissa by another line, compounded ofthe abscissa and the transverse axis.
But it must be remembered, that thetwo proportions relating to the ellipsisand hyperbola, the origin of the abscissa,or point from whence they began to bereckoned, is supposed to be the vertexof the curve, or, which amounts to thesame thing, the point where the axismeets it; for if the origin of the abscissabe taken from the centre, as is oftendone, the above proportions will not betrue.
ABSENT, a term used in the Britisharmy. It forms a part of the regimentalreports and general returns, to accountfor the deficiency of any given numberof officers or soldiers; and is usuallydistinguished under two principal heads,viz.
Absent roitls leave, (avoir conge, onitre permis d'aller en semestre, Fr.) offi-cers with permission,or non-commission-ed officers and soldiers on furlough;excused parade or field duty.
Arsent without leave, (etre absent,ou s'absenter sans permission, Fr.) Menwho desert are frequently returned ab-sent without leave, for the specific pur-pose of bringing their crime under regi-mental cognizance, and to prevent themfrom being tried capitally for desertion,according to the Mutiny Act.
ABSOLUTE Gravity, in philosophy,is the whole force by whicb a body,shell, or shot, is impelled towards thecentre. See Gravity.
Absolute Number, in Algebra , is theknown quantity which possesses entirelyone side of the equation. Thus, in theequation, xx -f- lO.r, — 64, the number64, possessing entirely one side of theequation, is called the absolute number,and is equal to the square of the un-