Alms
pity, mercy; charity, from eleeo, to have pity; eleos, pity. Thus, alms in English, when traced to its origin, is really the Greek word eleemosyne corrupted. In ordinary language, money, food, clothing, or anything else given as a gratuity to relieve the poor. In law, reasonable alms are a certain portion of the estates of intestate persons allotted to the poor. A tenure by free alms, or frank almoyne, is a tenure of property which is liable to no rent or service. The term is especially applied to lands or other property left to churches or religious houses on condition of praying for the soul of the donor. In the United States, churches, schools and charitable institutions are free from taxation.
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Alnus
a genus of plants belonging to the order betulaceæ (birch-worts). The flowers are monœceous and amentaceous. In the barren ones the scale of the catkin is three-lobed, with three flowers; the perianth is four partite; the stamina, four. In those which are fertile the scale of the catkin is subtrifid with three flowers, and there is no perianth. The ovary is two-celled, twoovuled, but only one ovule reaches perfection.
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Alocer
A powerful demon, according to Wierius, Grand Duke of Hades. He appears in the shape of a knight mounted on an enormous horse. His face has leonine characteristics; he has a ruddy complexion and burning eyes; and he speaks with much gravity. He is said to give family happiness to those whom he takes under his protection, and to teach astronomy and liberal arts. Thirtysix legions are controlled by him.
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Alomancy
Divination by means of salt, of which process little is known. It is this science which justifies people in Alruy saying that misfortune is about to fall on the household when the salt cellar is overturned.
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Alopecy
A species of charm by the aid of which one can fascinate an enemy against whom he has a grudge, and whom he wishes to harm.
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Alosa
a genus of fishes, of the family clupeidæ. It contains two British species, the A. finta, or Twaite shad, and the A. communis, or allice shad. The shad resemble herrings in their form and structure, but are so much larger that they have been popularly called the mother. of herrings. The allice shad is rare in the Thames. The American species, clupea sapidissima, is abundant on the Atlantic coast.
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Alost
or AALST, a city of Belgium, the capital of the former province of East Flanders. It is on the Dender, a tributary of the Scheldt. The city suffered severely in the German invasion of Belgium in 1914. It contained many historical edifices including the Church of St. Martin, one of the finest in Belgium. This church contained a famous painting by Rubens. There was a town hall, a college, hospital, and several other important public buildings. The industries included weaving, lace-making, and flax spinning. Pop. about 35,000.
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Alpaca
al-pak'a, an Andean animal of the camel kind. The alpaca is smaller than the llama. It has been domesticated by the Peruvians. It is not used as a beast of burden. Large flocks are raised for the sake of the soft, silky, straight hair which grows to the length of two to eight inches, and is woven into fabrics of great beauty, giving its name to alpaca cloth. The body of the alpaca has somewhat the form of a sheep, but it has a long neck. It is also more active, and carries its head erect. Alpacas are no longer found wild. At shearing time they are driven into stone inclosures. Some of these shearing folds are believed to antedate the invasion of Pizarro. Since 1836 alpaca wool has been a regular article of export to Europe. Fleeces vary in color from white to black. Attempts to rear the alpaca outside of its mountain home in Peru have not proved successful. See Llama 2026 Editor's Note: The alpaca left the Andes to become a North American hobby-farm favorite — its ultra-soft fleece a luxury fiber , its breeding stock the subject of a speculative bubble in the 1990s and 2000s before prices crashed. Peru still holds most of the world's herd. (Ed: BR 2026-06-08)
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Alpaca
the name given to a species of llama, which has for a long time back been domesticated in Peru. It was first found by Pizarro. Its modern zoölogical name is auchenia paco. It has a long, fine fleece, valuable in the woolen manufacture. There is a second species of llama in Peru, but its fleece is short, and, therefore, much less valuable. Also a cloth woven from the wool of the alpaca.
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Alpes (BASSES b s- lp a depart ment)
BASSES (bäs-älp), a depart ment in the S. E. of France, one of the five formed out of the old Provence; divided into five arrondissements, Barcelonnette, Castellane, Digne, Forcalquier, and Sisteron; capital, Digne. It is a mountainous region, the E. portion belonging to the crystalline Alps, with summits rising to upward of 11,000 feet; the W. portion to the limestone Alps. This latter portion is one of the most arid and desolate in France. West of the Durance, the principal river of the department, a chain of the limestone Alps runs westward under the name of the Montagne de Lure. The Durance partly bounds the department of the N. Its principal tributaries, all on the left bank, are the Ubaye in the N., leading up to the Col d'Argentière, the Bléonne, the Asse, and the Verdon, which partly separates Basses Alpes from Var. None of these rivers is navigable. The principal wealth of the higher parts of the department consists in its mountain pastures, to which every spring large numbers of sheep from the lower Rhone are led. Cattle, horses, mules, and asses are also reared. Cereals are grown in many places, and in the southern districts olives and great quantities of almonds are produced, and the silkworm is reared. Area, 2,697 square miles. Pop., about 110,000.
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Alpha and Omega
the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The expression signifies the beginning and the end--completeness. In Rev. i: 8, the Lord saith, "I am Alpha and Omega." The early Christians were wont to place these two letters on their tombs.
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