irds of the goose tribe.

ANSWER, TO. To reply, to succeed; as, the frigate has _answered_ the
signal. This boat will not _answer_.

ANSWERS HER HELM. When a ship obeys the rudder or steers.

ANTARCTIC. Opposite to the Arctic--abbreviated from _anti-arctic_.

ANTARCTIC CIRCLE. One of the lesser circles of the sphere, on the south
parallel of the equator, and 23-1/2 deg. from the south pole.

ANTARCTIC OCEAN. That which surrounds the south pole, within the
imaginary circle so called.

ANTARCTIC POLE. The south end of the earth's axis.

ANTARES. A star of the first magnitude, popularly known as the
_scorpion's heart_ ({a} Scorpio): it is one of those called "nautical"
stars, used for determining the latitude and longitude at night.

ANTECEDENTAL METHOD. A branch of general geometrical proportion, or
universal comparison of ratios.

ANTECEDENTIA. A planet's apparent motion to the westward, contrary to
the order of the signs.

ANTECEDENT OF A RATIO. The first of the two terms.

ANTECIANS. Those inhabitants of the earth who live under the same
meridian, but in opposite hemispheres. (_See_ ANTISCII.)

ANTE LUCAN. Before daylight.

ANTE MERIDIAN. Before noon.

ANTE MURAL. _See_ OUTWORKS.

ANTHELION. A mock or spurious sun; a luminous meteor, resembling, but
usually larger than, the solar disc.

ANTHRACITE. [Gr. _anthrax_ and _lithos_.] A stone coal demanding great
draught to burn, affording great heat, little smoke, and peculiarly
adapted for steamers.

ANTICHTHONES. The inhabitants of countries diametrically opposite to
each other.

ANTI-GALLICANS. A pair of extra backstays, sometimes used by
merchantmen, to support the masts when running before the trades.

ANTI-GUGGLER. A straw, or crooked tube, introduced into a spirit cask or
neck of a bottle, to suck out the contents; commonly used in 1800 to rob
the captain's steward's hanging safe in hot climates. Is to be found in
old dictionaries.

ANTILOGARITHM. The complement of the logarithm of a sine, tangent, or
secant.

ANTIPARALLELS. Those lines which make equal angles with two other lines,
but contrary ways.

ANTIPATHES. A kind of coral having a black horny stem.

ANTIPODES. Such inhabitants of the earth as are diametrically opposite
to each other. From the people, the term has passed to the places
themselves, which are situated at the two extremities of any diameter of
the earth.

ANTISCII. The people who dwell in opposite hemispheres of the e