aspyre, (yr as ir)

t. [ASPIRE.] *a-squä're, adv. [Eng. a = on; square (q.v.).] On the square; at a safe distance. "If he hym myght fynd he nothing wold hym spare, That herd the pardoner wele, and held him better a square ." Prol. to Hist . of Beryn, 591. ( Boucher .) a-squat', adv . [Eng. a = on, and squat (q.v.).] In a cowering manner. (Richardson: Clari a , i. 101.) a-squint', adv . [Eng. a=on, and squint (q.v.).] With a squint; with the eye directed to one side, obliquely, not in the direct line of vision. "A single guide may direct the way better than five hundred, who have contrary views, or look asquint , or shut their eyes."- Swift . a (1), * a e (pl. as-sěs, * as' - sen, * ǎs'-yn-is), s. [A.S. a a = a he-a ; a e =a she-a ; also, asal , esol, eosol, eosul = an a without distinction of gender. In Sw. asn a ; Dan. asen, æsel = he-a ; æselinde = she-a ; O. Icel. asn i, esne; Dut. ezel; Ger. esel; O. H. Ger. esil, Goth. asilus ; Lith. asilas; Boh. osel ; Pol. osiol ; Ru . ocël ; Gael. asal, as ; Irish as an ; Wel. asyn ; Arm. asen ; 333 Mod. Fr. âne, contracted from O. Fr. asne, asen, ase ; Prov. aze, azne; Sp. as no = a hea , asn a = a she-a ; Port. as no; Ital. asino a he-a , asina = a she-a ; Lat. asinus = a he-a , asina = a she-a .] 1. Lit. A well-known mammalian quadruped. It is the Equus asinus of Linnæus, and is now sometimes made the type of the genus or sub-genus Asinus. It is known from the most nearly allied animals by its long ears, the tuft at the end of the tail, and the black stripe on the shoulders. Its native country seems to be Central and Southern Asia, where troops of it are still seen, though whether aboriginal or descended from domesticated individuals escaped from servitude it is not easy to deter IMG:content-0813.png:[graphic] mine. [WILD ASS.] "Ne he nedde stede ne no palefray Ac rod vpre on a e." Pa ion of Our Lord (ed. Morris), 67, 68. "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his a ."- Gen . xxii. 3. The sexes are often distinguished by the terms he - a and she - a . ". and he had sheep and oxen, and he -a es... and she-a es." Gen. xii. 16. The young of the a is called an a 's colt (Gen. xlix. 11; also Matt. xxi. 5). The wild a is the same species as the domesticated one, but very unlike it in character, being high-spirited and untamable. "Who hath sent out the wild a free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild a 1"-Job xxxix. 5; seo also verses 6-8. (For a fo il a or zebra see AsINUS.) 2. Fig .: A person destitute of understanding, the deficiency of the a in this respect being popularly exaggerated, from the fact that the specimens of the animal seen in this country are much under par. "That such a crafty devil as is his mother Should yield the world this a /" Shakesp.: Cymbel., ii. 1. as they think our Doctors a es to them, we'll think them a es to our Doctors."-Pope: Letter to Digby (1717). a -camel. [ALLO-CAMEL US.]