Ax, v. t. & i. [OE. axien and asken. See Ask.] To ask; to inquire or inquire of. This word is from Saxon, and is as old as the English language. Formerly it was in good use, but now is regarded as a vulgarism. It is still dialectic in England, and is sometimes heard among the uneducated in the United States. "And Pilate axide him, Art thou king of Jewis?" "Or if he axea fish." Wyclif. ’bdThe king axed after your Grace’s welfare." Pegge.
Axal
Ax´al, a. [See Axial.] [R.] { Axe, Axe´man, etc.} See Ax, Axman.
Axially
Ax´i•al•ly, adv. In relation to, or in a line with, an axis; in the axial (magnetic) line.
Axil
Ax´il, n. [L. axilla. Cf. Axle.] (Bot.) The angle or point of divergence between the upper side of a branch, leaf, or petiole, and the stem or branch from which it springs. Gray.
Axillary
Ax´il•la•ry, a. [See Axil.]
1. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the axilla or armpit; as axillary gland, artery, nerve.
2. (Bot.) Situated in, or rising from, an axil; of or pertaining to an axil. "Axillary buds." Gray.
Axiom
Ax´i•om, n. [L. axioma, Gr. that which is thought worthy, that which is assumed, a basis of demonstration, a principle, fr. to think worthy, fr. worthy, weighing as much as; cf. to lead, drive, also to weigh so much: cf F. axiome. See Agent, a. ]
1. (Logic & Math.) A self-evident and necessary truth, or a proposition whose truth is so evident as first sight that no reasoning or demonstration can make it plainer; a proposition which it is necessary to take for granted; as "The whole is greater than a part;" "A thing can not, at the same time, be and not be."
2. An established principle in some art or science, which, though not a necessary truth, is universally received; as the axioms of political economy.
Syn. — Axiom, Maxim, Aphorism, Adage. An axiom is a self-evident truth which is taken for granted as the basis of reasoning. A maxim is a guiding principle sanctioned by experience, and relating especially to the practical concerns of life. An aphorism is a short sentence pithily expressing some valuable and general truth or sentiment. An adage is a saying of long-established authority and of universal application. { Ax•i•o•mat´ic, Ax•i•o•mat´ic•al } a. [Gr. .] Of or pertaining to an axiom; having the nature of an axiom; self-evident; characterized by axioms. "Axiomatical truth." Johnson.
"The stores of axiomatic wisdom." - I. Taylor.
Axiomatically
Ax•i•o•mat´ic•al•ly, adv. By the use of axioms; in the form of an axiom.
Axis
Ax´is, n. ; pl. Axes . [L. axis axis, axle. See Axle.] A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body, on which it revolves, or may be supposed to revolve; a line passing through a body or system around which the parts are symmetrically arranged.
2. (Math.) A straight line with respect to which the different parts of a magnitude are symmetrically arranged; as the axis of a cylinder, i. e., the axis of a cone, that is, the straight line joining the vertex and the center of the base; the axis of a circle, any straight line passing through the center.
3. (Bot.) The stem; the central part, or longitudinal support, on which organs or parts are arranged; the central line of any body. Gray.
4. (Anat.) (a) The second vertebra of the neck, or vertebra dentata. (b) Also used of the body only of the vertebra, which is prolonged anteriorly within the foramen of the first vertebra or atlas so as to form the odontoid process or peg which serves as a pivot for the atlas and head to turn upon.
5. (Crystallog.) One of several imaginary lines, assumed in describing the position of the planes by which a crystal is bounded.
6. (Fine Arts) The primary or secondary central line of any design. Anticlinal axis (Geol.), a line or ridge from which the strata slope downward on the two opposite sides. — Synclinal axis, a line from which the strata slope upward in opposite directions, so as to form a valley. — Axis cylinder (Anat.), the neuraxis or essential, central substance of a nerve fiber; — called also axis band, axial fiber, and cylinder axis. — Axis in peritrochio, the wheel and axle, one of the mechanical powers. — Axis of a curve (Geom.), a straight line which bisects a system of parallel chords of a curve; called a principal axis, when cutting them at right angles, in which case it divides the curve into two symmetrical portions, as in the parabola, which has one such axis, the ellipse, which has two, or the circle, which has an infinite number. The two axes of the ellipse are the major axis and the minor axis, and the two axes of the hyperbola are the transverse axis and the conjugate axis. — Axis of a lens, the straight line passing through its center and perpendicular to its surfaces. — Axis of atelescope or microscope, the straight line with which coincide the axes of the several lenses which compose it. — Axes of coördinates in a plane, two straight lines intersecting each other, to which points are referred for the purpose of determining their relative position: they are either rectangular or oblique. — Axes of coördinates in space, the three straight lines in which the coördinate planes intersect each other. — Axis of a balance, that line about which it turns. — Axis of oscillation, of a pendulum, a right line passing through the center about which it vibrates, and perpendicular to the plane of vibration. — Axis of polarization, the central line around which the prismatic rings or curves are arranged. Brewster. — Axis of revolution (Descriptive Geom.), a straight line about which some line or plane is revolved, so that the several points of the line or plane shall describe circles with their centers in the fixed line, and their planes perpendicular to it, the line describing a surface of revolution, and the plane a solid of revolution. — Axis of symmetry (Geom.), any line in a plane figure which divides the figure into two such parts that one part, when folded over along the axis, shall coincide with the other part. — Axis of theequator, ecliptic, horizon (or other circle considered with reference to the sphere on which it lies), the diameter of the sphere which is perpendicular to the plane of the circle. Hutton. — Axis of the Ionic capital (Arch.), a line passing perpendicularly through the middle of the eye of the volute. - - Neutral axis (Mech.), the line of demarcation between the horizontal elastic forces of tension and compression, exerted by the fibers in any cross section of a girder. - - Optic axis of a crystal, the direction in which a ray of transmitted light suffers no double refraction. All crystals, not of the isometric system, are either uniaxial or biaxial. — Optic axis, Visual axis (Opt.), the straight line passing through the center of the pupil, and perpendicular to the surface of the eye. — Radical axis of two circles (Geom.), the straight line perpendicular to the line joining their centers and such that the tangents from any point of it to the two circles shall be equal to each other. — Spiral axis (Arch.), the axis of a twisted column drawn spirally in order to trace the circumvolutions without. - - Axis of abscissas and Axis of ordinates. See Abscissa.
Axle
Ax´le (aks"’l), n. [OE. axel, exel, shoulder, AS. eaxl; akin to AS. eax axle, Sw. & Dan. axel shoulder, axle, G. achse axle, achsel shoulder, L. axis axle, Gr. ’a•xwn, Skr. aksha, L. axilla shoulder joint: cf. F. essieu, axle, OF. aissel, fr. dim. of L. axis. rad.205. Cf. 2d Axis.]
1. The pin or spindle on which a wheel revolves, or which revolves with a wheel.
2. A transverse bar or shaft connecting the opposite wheels of a car or carriage; an axletree.
3. An axis; as the sun’s axle.
"Had from her axle torn
The steadfast earth." - Milton.
Railway axles are called leading and trailing from their position in the front or in the rear of a car or truck respectively.
Axled
Ax´led, a. Having an axle; — used in composition.
"Merlin’s agate- axled car." - T. Warton.
Axolotl
Ax´o•lotl, n. [The native name.] (Zoöl.) An amphibian of the salamander tribe found in the elevated lakes of Mexico; the siredon. When it breeds in captivity the young develop into true salamanders of the genus Amblystoma. This also occurs naturally under favorable conditions, in its native localities; although it commonly lives and breeds in a larval state, with persistent external gills. See Siredon.