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very suddenly tapering towards the tail. 2d. Doubtful or BrownAcrochordus, with carinated abdomen, and sides spotted withblack. It very little differs from the preceding species, exceptthat the head in this is covered with '. cry minute warted scales,differing in size alone from those on other parts of the animal. Itssize also falls much short of the former, measuring only aboutthree feet in length. See Plate 2. Fig. 7. 3d. Fasciated Acro-chordus, with carinated abdomen, and whitish ascendent lateralbands. This is so much allied to the preceding, that it may per-haps be doubted whether it really differs in any other respect thanage, size, and cast of colours. It measures about 18 inches inlength.

ACRODRYA, [Gr. ax=oS»va, from ax^t, an extremity, andcg-j;, an oak,] all fruits that have rinds, or shells, such as, acorns,almonds, nuts, chesnuts, ike.

ACROMION, or ACROMIUM, [from «xjof, highest, anduj/ixor, shoulder,] the upper part of the scapula or shoulder-blade.See Anatomy.

ACROMONOGRAMMATICUM, [from nx.;oj, pm;, andyMfx/jLa, letter, ] among poets, a kind of poem, or composition,wherein each subsequent verse commences with the letter withwhich the verse preceding terminates.

ACROMPIIALUM, or ACROMPIIALON, [from «x;o;, ex-treme, and ojxfaAo-, the navel;'] the tip of the navel.

AC RON, a celebrated physician of Agrigcntum, who firstthought of lighting large fires, and purifying the air with perfumes,by which he stopped the pestilence that ravaged Athens . He livedabout A. C. 473.

Acron, great, an inland republic in Africa , near the Fanty-ncan country.

Acron, little, a territory on the Gold Coast of Guinea , inAfrica, bordering on the Fant’ynean country. The Dutch have afort in it, called Fort Patience.

Acron, in botany, among the ancients, the capitulum, top,or Hower, of a plant of the thistle kind.

Acron, [axjov,] in medicine, signifies that which is most excel-lent in its kind.

ACRONYCAL, or ACRONICAL, [from summus,

and w J, nox; importing the beginning of night,] in astronomy,the stars are said to rise or set acronycally, when they rise or setat the time of sunset. It is opposed to cosmical.

ACRON YCTfF, stars rising in the twilight, about sun-set-ting.

ACROPOLIS , in ancient geography, the citadel, and one ofthe divisions of Athens ; called Polls, because constituting thefirst and original city; and the Upper Pol is, to distinguish it fromthe Lower, w hich was afterwards built round it in a large openplain.

ACROPOLITA, George, horn at Constantinople , in 1220,and brought up at the court of the emperor John Ducas, at Nice,was employed in the most important affairs of the empire. Hewrote, A Continuation of the Greek History, from the taking ofConstantinople by the Latins, till it was recovered bv MichaelPahcologus m 1261, also a Treatise concerning Faith, Virtue , andthe Soul.

ACROPOSTFIIA, [a*:om<r9i>i, or rexjoxoirflia, from oxfof, ex-treme, and woirSx, the prepuce,] the extremity of the prepuce,which is cut off in circumcision.

ACROS, in anatomy, the prominences, or knobs, and tops, ofbones.

Acros, in botany', the head of a plant.

Acros, in medicine, the height of a disease.

ACROSPF.LOS, the wild oat grass, or hromus.

ACROSP1RE, in natural history, &c. The same with Plu-mule, which see.

An ACROSTIC, [from nx!®* and r‘x©'> Gr.] a poem in whichthe first letter of every line being taken, makes up the name ofthe person or thing on which the poem is w ritten.

Acrostics likewise signified poems, where the name wasmade up by the initial letters of the middle w ords, or the last ofthe find ones. Others went backwards; beginning with the firstletter of the last verse, and proceeding upwards.

Acrostics, among ecclesiastical writers, denote the ends ofverses of psalms, which the people sang by way of chorus, or res-ponse, to the prircentor, or leader of the psalm. This was calledsinging acrostics, which was a species of psalmody usual in the

ancient church, and amounts to the same w ith hypopsalma, dia-psalma, acrotelutinu, and ephi/mnion.

ACROSTICUM, Rustyback, Wall-rue, orFork-fern, a genusof the cryptogamia filices. The fructifications are accumulatedon the whole inferior surface of the frond, so that they everywhere cover it. r l here are about 44 species.

ACROSTOLIUM, in ancient naval architecture, the extremepart of the ornament used on the prows of their ships, which wassometimes in the shape of a buckler, helmet, animal, Ac. butmore frequently circular, or spiral.

ACROTERIA, in architecture, small pedestals upon whichglobes, vases, or statues stfind at the ends or middle of pediments,or frontispieces. The height of those at the extremes, should beonly half that of the tympanum; whereas that in the middle oughtto be one eighth part more.

Acroteria, among ancient physicians, signified the largerextremities of the body, as the head, hands, and feet, the tips ofthe fingers, Ac.

ACT, ACTUS, in physics, an effective exercise or applicationof some power or faculty. In this sense, act stands opposed topower, potentia, which is only the capacity of acting, not theexertion of that capacity.

ACTA , ACTS, denote also the deliberations and resolutions ofan assembly', senate, or convention; as acts of parliament, Ac.Likewise matters of fact transmitted to posterity in certain authen-tic books and memoirs.

Acta Consistorii, the edicts or declarations of the councilof state of the emperors.

Acta Diurna , the Daily Acts, was a sort of Roman gazette,containing an authorized narrative of the transactions worthy ofnotice, which happened at Rome .

Acta Populi, Acts of the People, among the Romans, werejournals or registers of the daily occurrences; as assemblies, trials,executions, buildings, births, marriages, deaths, Ac. of illustri-ous persons, and the like. These were otherwise called Acta Pub-lica and Acta Diurna , or simply Aria.

Acta Senatus, Acts of the senate, among the Romans, wereminutes of what passed and was debated in the senate house.These were also called Commentarii, and by a Greek name «■-pnpttin. They had their origin in the consulship of Julius Ctesar,who ordered them both to be kept and published.

ACT and Commission, in law, the extracted warrant of ajudge to the person therein named for taking a proof by witnes-ses, Ac. and to report.

Act, in dramatic poetry, signifies a certain division, or part,of a play', designed to give some respite both to the actors andspectators.

Act, in law', an instrument in writing for declaring or justify-ing the truth of any' thing. In which sense, records, decrees,sentences, reports, certificates, Ac. are called acts.

Act, in logic, is particularly understood of an operation of thehuman mind. Thus to discern and examine, are ai ts of the un-derstanding; to judge and affirm, are acts of the will.

Act, in the universities, signifies a thesis maintained in publicby a candidate for a degree; or to show the capacity and profici-ency of a student. The candidates for a degree of bachelor andmaster of arts are to hold philosophical Acts; and those for bache-lor of divinity, theological Acts, Ac.

Act of Curatory, in law, the deed of a court, authorisingcurators, who are elected by a minor, to manage his affairs.

Act of Faith, Auto da Ff., in the Romish church is a so-lemn day held by the Inquisition , for the punishment of heretics,and the absolution of the innocent accused. See Inquisition .Act of Grace. See Grace.

Acts of the Apostles, one of the sacred books of the NewTestament , containing the history of the infant church, particu-larly as far as. it related to bt Paul, during the space of 29 or 30\ ears, from the ascension ot our Lord to the year of Christ 03. Itwas w ritten by St I.like.

Acts of Councils, these differed from canons, in that thelatter contained only the results, or the laws rml regulations a-greed on, and drawn up in form: whereas the acts included thepreceding debates, motions, Ac.

Acts of Parliament ' are positive laws, consisting of twoparts, tlic words of the act, end its sense and meaning; which be-ing joined, make the law. The words of acts of parliament kould

be