afretie

t. To devour. "The fend ou afretie With fleis ant with felle." Wright: Pol. Songs , p. 240. * a-freyn'e, v.t. [AFFRAYNE.] Before. * aforne-caste, a . [O. Eng. aforne = before; and caste = a cast or throw, as in the word forecaste .] Premeditated. "By high i mag in a cion aforne-caste On a night thorghe the hogg is sky hee brast." Urry's Chaucer , p. 171. *a-for-nănde, adv. Beforehand. ( Prompt. Parv.) *a-for-nens, prep. [Old form of FOR ANENT.] Opposite to. ( Scotch.) "The castelle than on Tweed mouth made, Set ewyn afornens Berwyke Wes tretyd to be castyn down." Wyntown, vii. 8. IMG:content-0251.png:[blocks in formation] fr. Africa , generally reckoned by the Romans the third division of the ancient world, and now universally regarded as one of the great "quarters" or continents of the globe.] I. As adjective: Pertaining to Africa. 1. Hist. The African Company : A company which, under a charter of Charles II., obtained the exclusive right of trading with Africa from the Port of Sallee to the Cape of Good Hope. Its privileges were abolished by 1 & 2 Geo. IV., c. 28, its forts and castles were made over to the Crown, and trade to Western Africa thrown open. 2. Botany : The African Almond: The English name of the genus Brabejum. It belongs to the Proteaceæ. The African Flea -bane: The English name of the genus Tar chon an thus. It belongs to the Compos itæ. African Hemp: A fibre prepared from the leaves of Sanseviera Zeylanica , a member of the Lily order, extensively distributed through tropical Africa and India. The African Lily: The English name of the liliaceous genus Agapanthus. The African Lote: Zizyphus lotus , a fruit bearing plant of the order Rhamnacere. The African Marigold: Tagetes erect a , one of the Composite, which, though called African, really comes from Mexico. 113 African Teak: A valuable wood for shipbuilding, the produce of Old field i a African a , Bth., a tree belonging to the order Euphorbiaceæ, or Spurge-worts. 3. Zoology: The African elephant ( Elephas African us). [ELEPHANT.] II. As substantive: A native of Africa, or a person, wherever born, who belongs ethnologically to one of the African races. Af-ric-an-ism, b. A word or idiom or custom used exclusively by natives of Africa or by members of some African race.