aplomb (aplon)

[F., self-po e ion, a urance, lit. perpendicularity, surance. sits among the young aspirants and des per ates, quite The staple figure in novels is the man paplomb, who sure and compact, and, never sharing their affections or debilities, hurls his word like a bullet when occasion requires, knows his way, and carries his points. Emerson , Letters and Social Aims, p. 72. aplome, n. See haplome. A plop app us, n. See Haplopappus . aplostemonous, a. See haplostemonous . aplotomy, n. See haplotomy . aplustre (ap-lus'tre), n. [L., also aplustrum, chiefly in tri a or aplustra; LL. also amp lustre; ἄφλαστον, the charac teristic ornaments of the stern of a ship. Cf. acrostolium.] The ornament rising above the stern ancient ships. Though these ornaments were often very graceful, particularly in Greek examples. A usual form was a sheaf or plume of volutes, variously com Aplustre of an ancient Greek Ship. bined. The aplustre rose immediately behind the steersman, and is often represented as supporting a flag. As a conspicuous part of the ship, it was often removed as a trophy by captors. Also called aphlaston. About two hours later Arrius stood under the aplustre of the galley. L. Wallace , Ben-Hur, p. 141. Aplysia (ap-lis'i-ä), n. [NL.; cf. L. aplysia , pl., a sponge, so named from its dirty-gray color, Gr. ἀπλυσία, fil you r , Depilatory Sea-hare ( Aplysia depilans). adj. of πλύνειν, wash.] A genus of gastropodous mollusks, the sea-hares, having an oval oblong form with four tentacles, and somewhat resembling slugs. Its numerous species are remarkable for the function of secreting a fluid of violet color (due to the presence of iodine), which they discharge when molested. One of the best known is A. depilans, the depilatory seahare, so called because it was supposed that the fluid it discharged was capable of removing hair or preventing its growth. Also written Laplysia, by an original mistake (Linnæus, 1767), followed by many writers.