pnugues/EB7 huggingface dataset:
ABDEST, a Persian word, properly signifying the water placed in a basin for washing the hands; but it is used to imply the legal purifications practised by the Mahometans before prayer, entering the mosque, or reading the Alcoran.
ABDIAS of Babylon, one of the boldest legendwriters, who boasted that he had seen Christ, that he was one of the 70 disciples, had been eye-witness of the actions and prayers of several of the apostles at their deaths, and had followed into Persia St Simon and St Jude, who, he said, made him the first bishop of Babylon. His book, entitled Historia Certaminis Apostolici, was published by Wolfgang Lazius, at Basil, 1551; and has passed through several editions in other places.
ABDICATION, the action whereby a person in office renounces and gives up the same before the term of service is expired.

This word is frequently confounded with resignation ; but differs from it: for abdication is done purely and simply, whereas resignation is in favour of some third person. In this sense, Dioclesian is said to have abdicated the crown; Philip IV. of Spain ’ resigned it. It is said to be a renunciation, quitting, and relinquishing, so as to have nothing further to do with a thing; or the doing of such actions as are inconsistent with the holding of it. On King James’s leaving the kingdom, and abdicating the government, the lords proposed that the word desertion should be employed; but the commons thought that it was not sufficiently comprehensive. Among the Roman writers it is more particularly used for the act whereby a father discarded or disclaimed his son, and expelled him the family. It is distinguished from exhaere-datio or disinheriting, in that the former was done in the father’s lifetime; the latter, by will at his death: so that whoever was abdicated, was also disinherited; but not vice versa.
ABDOMEN, in Anatomy, is that part of the trunk of the body which lies between the thorax and the bottom of the pelvis.
ABDOMINALIS, or Abdominal Fishes, constitute the Fourth Order of the Fourth Class of Animals, in the Linnaean system.
ABDON, an island of the India Sea, of the Papuan group, to the north of Wageeoo. It is not more than three or four miles in circumference, is scarcely cultivated, the few inhabitants subsisting chiefly by the fishery. Lat. 0. 30. N. Long. 131. 15. E.
ABDUCTION, in Logic, akind of argumentation, by the Greeks called apagoge, wherein the greater extreme is evidently contained in the medium, but the medium not so evidently in the lesser extreme as not to require some further medium or proof to make it appear. It is called abduction, because, from the conclusion, it draws us on to prove, the proposition assumed. Thus, in the syllogism, “All whom God absolves are free from sin; but God absolves all who are in Christ; therefore all who are in Christ are free from sin,”—the major is evident; but the minor, or assumption, is not so evident without some other proposition to prove it, as, “God received full satisfaction for sin by the sufferings of Jesus Christ.” [7:2:23]
ABDUCTOR, or Abducent, in Anatomy, a name given to several of the muscles, on account of their serving to , withdraw, open, or pull back the parts to which they belong.
ABDULPOOR, a town in the centre of the southern Indian peninsula, in the province of Beeder, 20 miles north-west from Hyderabad, in Lat. 17. 12. N. Long. 76. 41. E.
ABEJAR, a town in the province of Soria, in Old Castile, in Spain.
ABEL, second son of Adam and Eve, was a shepherd. He offered to God some of the firstlings of his flock, at the same time that his brother Cain offered the fruits of the earth. God was pleased with Abel’s oblation, but displeased with Cain’s; which so exasperated the latter, that he rose up against his brother and killed him. These are the only circumstances Moses relates of him. It is remarkable, that the Greek churches, who celebrate the feasts of every other patriarch and prophet, have not done the same honour to Abel. His name is not to be found in any catalogue of saints or martyrs till the 10th century; nor even in the new Roman martyrology. However, he is prayed to, with some other saints, in several Roman litanies said for persons who lie at the point of death.

ABEL-Keramin, or Vinearum, beyond Jordan, in the country of the Ammonites, where Jephthah defeated them, seven miles distant from Philadelphia, abounding in vines, and hence the name. It was also called Abela.

ABEL-Meholah, the country of the prophet Elisha, situated on this side Jordan, between the valley of Jezreel and the village Bethmael, in the plains of Jordan, where the Midianites were defeated by Gideon. Judges, vii. 22.

ABEL-Mizraim, (called also the Threshing-floor of Atad) signifying the lamentation of the Egyptians; in allusion to the mourning for Jacob, Gen. 1. 3, 10, 11. Supposed to be near Hebron.

ABEL-Sattim, or Sittim, a town in the plains of Moab, to the north-east of the Dead Sea, not far from Jordan, where the Israelites committed fornication with the daughters of Moab: So called, probably, from the great number of sittim trees there.
ABELIANS, Abeolites, or Abelonians, in church history, a sect of heretics mentioned by St Austin, which arose in the diocese of Hippo in Africa, and is supposed to have begun in the reign of Arcadius, and ended in that of Theodosius. Indeed it was not calculated for being of any long continuance. Those of this sect regulated marriage after the example of Abel; who, they pretended, was married, but died without ever having known his wife. They therefore allowed each man to marry one woman, but enjoined them to live in continence; and, to keep up the sect, when a man and woman entered into this society, they adopted a boy and a girl, who were to inherit their goods, and to marry upon the same terms of not begetting children, but of adopting two of different sexes.
ABELLA, now Avella, anciently a town of Campania, near the river Clanius. The inhabitants were called Abellani, and said to have been a colony of Chalcidians. The nux Avellana, called also Praenestina, or the hazel nut, takes its name from this town, according to Macrobius.
ABELLINUM, now Avellino, anciently a town of the Hirpini, between Beneventum and Salernum. Long. 14. 50. E. Lat. 4L 0. N.
ABEN-EZRA, Abraham, a celebrated rabbi, born at Toledo in Spain, called by the Jews the wise, great, and admirable Doctor, was a very able interpreter of the Holy Scriptures; and was well skilled in grammar, poetry, philosophy, astronomy, and medicine. He was also a perfect master of the Arabic. His principal work is, Commentaries on the Old Testament, which is much esteemed: these are printed in Bomberg’s and Buxtorf’s Hebrew Bibles. His style is clear, elegant, concise, and much like that of the Holy Scriptures: he almost always adheres to the literal sense, and everywhere gives proofs of his genius and good sense; he, however, advances some erroneous sentiments. The scarcest of all his books is entitled Jesud Mora, which is a theological work, intended as an exhortation to the study of the Talmud. He also wrote Elegantiae Grammaticae, printed in octavo at Venice in 1548. He died in 1174, aged 75.

ABES MELLEn, a learned rabbi, who wrote a commentary on the Old Testament in Hebrew, entitled, The Perfection of Beauty. This rabbi generally follows the grammatical sense and the opinions of Kimchi. The best edition is that of Holland.
ABENAS, a town of France, in the department of Ar-desche; and upon a river of the same name, at the foot of the Cevennes. Long. 4. 20. E. Lat. 44. 37. N.
ABENHEIM, a market town in the bailiwick of Alzey, and province of the Rhine, in the grand duchy of Hesse Darmstadt, with 940 inhabitants, who make some excellent wine.
ABENSBERG, a bailiwick in the circle of Regen, in the kingdom of Bavaria. Its extent is 160 square miles, or 102,400 acres. It is watered by the Danube on its north-west boundary. The land is even, the soil partly good, and some excellent. Both corn, green crops, and grazing, arc pursued with success. The numbers of swine arc very great, which are bred and sold to other districts to be fattened. The inhabitants, in 2 cities, 3 towns, and 361 villages, amounted in 1817 to 15,330.

Abensberg, a small city, capital of the bailiwick of the same name, in Bavaria. The inhabitants at present are only 1054. It was formerly the seat of the Counts Aben-berg. A great battle was fought near this place between the French and Austrians in the year 1809, in which the latter were defeated.
ABENSPERG, a small town of Germany, in the kingdom of Bavaria, and in the government of Munich. It is seated on the river Abentz, near the Danube. Long. 11. 38. E. Lat. 48. 45. N.
ABERAVON, a borough town of Glamorganshire, in Wales, seated at the mouth of the river Avon, 194 miles west of London. Long. 3. 35. W. Lat 51. 40. N. Population in 1801, 275; in 1811, 321; and in 1821, 365.
ABERCONWAY, or Conway, in Caernarvonshire, North Wales; so called from its situation at the mouth of the river Conway. It is a handsome town, pleasantly situated on the side of a hill, and has many conveniences for trade; notwithstanding which it is the poorest town in the county. It was built by Edward I. and had not only walls, but a strong castle, which is now in ruins. It is 229 miles from London. Long. 3. 47. W. Lat. 53. 20. N. The population in 1801 was 889; in 1811, 1053; and in 1821, 1105.
ABERDOUR, a small town in Fifeshire, Scotland, on the northern shore of the frith of Forth, about ten miles north-west of Edinburgh, with which there is now a frequent and easy communication by steam-boats. In old times it belonged to the Viponts; in 1126 it was transferred to the Mortimers by marriage, and afterwards to the Douglases. William, lord of Liddesdale, surnamed the Flower of Chivalry, in the reign of David II. by charter conveyed it to James Douglas, ancestor of the present noble owner, the earl of Morton. The monks of Inchcolm had a grant for a burial-place here from Allan de Mortimer, in the reign of Alexander III. The nuns, usually styled the Poor Clares, had a convent at this place. It is a pleasantly situated town, and is greatly resorted to in summer for sea-bathing. Coarse cloths are manufactured to a small extent in the village.
ABERFORD, a market town in the west riding of Yorkshire, about a mile in length, and pretty well built. It is near a Roman road, which is raised very high, and not far from the river Cock; between which and the town there is the foundation of an old castle still visible. It is 181 miles north by west from London. Long. 2. 45. W. Lat. 55.52. N. The population in 1801 was 650; in 1811, 775; and in 1821, 900.
ABERGAVENNY, a town in Monmouthshire, seated at. the confluence of the rivers Usk and Gavenny. It is surrounded with a wall, and had once a castle. It carries on a considerable trade in flannels, which are brought hither for sale from the other parts of the county. It is 142 miles distant from London. Long. 3. W. Lat. 51. 47. N. Abergavenny appears to have been the Gibbanium of Antoninus, and the town of Usk his Eurrium. The population in 1801 was 2573; in 1811, 2864; and in 1821, 3321.
ABERNETHY, John, an eminent dissenting minister, was the son of Mr John Abernethy, a dissenting minister in Coleraine, and was born there on the 19th of October 1680. When about nine years of age he was separated from his parents, his father being obliged to attend some public affairs in London; and his mother, to shelter herself from the mad fury of the Irish rebels, retiring to Derry, a relation who had him under his care, having no opportunity of conveying him to her, carried him to Scotland; and thus he escaped the hardships and dangers of the siege of Derry, in which Mrs Abernethy lost all her other children. He afterwards studied at the university of Glasgow, where he remained till he took the degree of master of arts; and, in 1708, he was chosen minister of a dissenting congregation at Antrim, in which situation he continued above 20 years. About the time of the Bangorian controversy (for which see Hoadley), a dissension arose among his brethren in the ministry at Belfast, on the subject of subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith. In this controversy he became a leader on the negative side, and incurred the censure of [7:2:31]a general synod. The agitation of parties began to be also felt among the members of his congregation. Many of them deserted him; which induced him to accept of an invitation to settle in Dublin, where his preaching was ’much admired. Here he continued for ten years, respected and esteemed. But his labours were terminated by a sudden attack of the gout in the head, to which he had been subject; and he died in December 1740, in the 60th year of his age. His writings, like his character, are distinguished for candour, liberality, and manly sentiment. He published a volume of sermons on the Divine Attributes; after his death a second volume was published by his friends; and these were succeeded by four other volumes on different subjects, all of which have been greatly admired.
ABERNETHY, a town of Scotland, in Perthshire, situated at a short distance to the southward of the right bank of the river Tay, a little above the mouth of the Eame. It is of very ancient date, and is said to have been the seat of the Pictish kings; and there are some uncertain traditions of its existence prior to this period. It is distinguished by a curious piece of antiquity; namely, a circular tower 74 feet high and 16 in diameter, consisting of 64 courses of hewn stone. It continued long to be the see of an archbishop, which was afterwards transferred to St Andrews. The inhabitants are engaged in the manufacture of linen. The population in 1821 was 1701. 7 miles from Perth.
ABERYSTWITH, a market-town of Cardiganshire, in Wales, seated on the Ridal, near its confluence with the Istwith, where it falls into the sea. It has a great trade in lead, and a considerable fishery of whiting, cod, and herrings. It was formerly surrounded with walls, and fortified with a castle; but both are now in ruins. Its distance from London is 203 miles W. N. W. Long. 4. 20. W. Lat. 52. 17. N. The population in 1811 was 1753, and in 1821, 4509.
ABESTA, or Avesta, the name of one of the sacred books of the Persian magi, which they ascribe to their great founder Zoroaster. The Abesta is a commentary on two others of their religious books, called Zend and Pazend ; the three together including the whole system of the Ignicoae or worshippers of fire.
ABETTOR, a law term implying one who encourages another to the performance of some criminal action, or who is art or part in the performance itself. Treason is the only crime in which abettors are excluded by law, every individual concerned being considered as a principal. It is the same with art-and-part in the Scotish law.
ABEX, a country of Africa, bordering on the Red Sea, by which it is bounded on the east. It has Nubia or Sen-nar on the north; Sennar and Abyssinia on the west; and Abyssinia on the south. Its principal towns are Suaquem and Arkeko. It is subject to the Turks, and has the name of the beglerbeglik of Habeleth. It is about [7:2:36]five hundred miles in length and one hundred in breadth; is a mountainous country, sandy, barren, and unhealthy, much infested with wild beasts; and the forests abound with ebony trees.
ABEYANCE, in Law, the expectancy of an estate. Thus, if lands be leased to one person for life, with reversion to another for years, the remainder for years is in abeyance till the death of the lessee.
ABGAR, or Abgarus, a name given to several of the kings of Edessa in Syria. The most celebrated of them was one who, it is said, was contemporary with Jesus Christ; and who, having a distemper in his feet, and hearing of Jesus’s miraculous cures, requested him by letter to come and cure him. Eusebius,^[1. Hist. Eccl. lib. i. cap. 13. ] who believed that this letter was genuine, and also an answer our Saviour is said to have returned to it, has translated them both from the Syriac, and asserts that they were taken out of the archives of the city of Edessa. The first is as follows :—“Abgarus, prince of Edessa, to Jesus the holy Saviour, who hath apeared in the flesh in the confines of Jerusalem, greeting.' have heard of thee, and of the cures thou hast wrought without medicines or herbs. For it is reported thou makest the blind to see, the lame to walk, lepers to be clean, devils and unclean spirits to be expelled, such as have been long diseased to be healed, and the dead to be raised; all which when I heard concerning thee, I concluded with myself, that either thou wast a God come down from heaven, or the Son of God sent to do these things. I have therefore written to thee, beseeching thee to vouchsafe to come unto me and cure my disease. For I have also heard that the Jews use thee ill, and lay snares to destroy thee. I have here a little city, pleasantly situated, and sufficient for us both. Abgarus.” To this letter Jesus, it is said, returned an answer by Ananias, Abgarus’s courier, which was as follows :— “thessed art thou, 0 Abgarus! who hast believed in me whom thou hast not seen; for the Scriptures say of me, They who have seen me have not believed in me, that they who have not seen may, by believing, have life. But whereas thou writest to have me come to thee, it is of necessity that I fulfil all things here for which I am sent; and having finished them, to return to him that sent me: but when I am returned to him, I will then send one of my disciples to thee, who shall cure thy malady, and give life to thee and thine. Jesus.” After Jesus’s ascension, Judas, who is also named Thomas, sent Thaddeus, one of the seventy, to Abgarus; who preached the gospel to him and his people, cured him of his disorder, and wrought many other miracles: which was done, says Eusebius, a. d. 43.—Though the above letters are acknowledged to be spurious by the candid writers of the church of Rome, several Protestant authors, as Dr Parker, Dr Cave, and Dr Grabe, have maintained that they are genuine, and ought not to be rejected."
ABGILLUS, John, surnamed Prester John, was son to a king of the Friscii; and, from - the austerity of his life, obtained the name of Prester, or Priest. He attended Charlemagne in his expedition to the Holy Land; but instead of returning with that monarch to Europe, it is pretended that he gained mighty conquests, and founded the empire of the Abyssines, called,· from his name, the empire of Prester John. He is said to have written the history of Charlemagne’s journey into the Holy Land, and his own into the Indies; but they are more probably trifling romances, written in the ages of ignorance.
ABIAD, Bahr el, a great river of interior Africa, which, at Halfaia, below Sennaar, joins the Bahr-el-Azrek, or river of Abyssinia; and the two united form the Nile of Egypt The Abyssinian river was long considered by

Europeans as the main stream; but more accurate observation has now clearly determined, that the Abiad, both as to magnitude and length of course, is entitled to the pre-eminence. Its sources, however, and the upper part of its course, have not been reached by any European. Brown, in Darfur, made the nearest approach to them, and was informed that they lay in a mountainous country called Donga, situated to the south, and inhabited by a savage people. It may be added, that, according to some theories, and even according to the prevailing belief in Northern Africa, the Abiad is a continuation of the great central stream which we call the Niger; but the observations of the recent mission seem to have divested this hypothesis of every probability. Μ. Ruppell, who lately visited some part of its lower course, describes it during the dry season as a dead flowing stream, and little more than a stagnant marsh. See Nile.
ABIAGA, a town in the corregimento of Alcaniz, and province or kingdom of Arragon, in Spain.
ABIANS, or Abii, anciently a people of Thrace, or (according to some authors) of Scythia. They had no fixed habitations, but led a wandering life; dwelling on waggons, which carried all their possessions. They lived on the flesh of their herds and flocks, on milk and cheese, chiefly on that of marc’s milk. They were unacquainted with commerce, and only exchanged commodities with their neighbours. Besides these, many other qualities and habits are ascribed to them, which are justly regarded as fictitious.
ABIATHAR, high priest of the Jews, son to Ahime-lech, who had borne the same office, and received David into his house. This so enraged Saul, who hated David, that he put Ahimelech to death, and 81 priests; Abiathar alone escaped the massacre. He afterwards was high priést, and often gave King David testimonies of his fidelity, -particularly during Absalom’s conspiracy, at which time Abiathar followed David, and bore away the ark. But after this he conspired with Adonijah, in order to raise him to the throne of King David his father; which so exasperated Solomon against him, that he divested him of the priesthood, and banished him, a. μ. 3021, before Christ 1014.
ABIAUL, a town in Portugal, in the department of Thomar, province of Estremadura.
ABIB, signifying an ear of corn, a name given by the Jews to the first month of their ecclesiastical year, afterwards called Nisan. It commenced at the vernal equinox; and according to the course of the moon, by which their months were regulated, answered to the latter part of our March and beginning of April.
ABIES, the Fir-Tree.
ABIGEAT, an old law term, denoting the crime of stealing cattle by droves or herds. This crime was severely punished; the delinquent being often condemned to the mines, banishment, and sometimes capitally.
ABIHU, brother to Nadab, and son to Aaron. The two former had the happiness to ascend Mount Sinai with their father, and there to behold the glory of God: but afterward putting strange fire into their censers, instead of the sacred fire commanded by God, fire rushing upon them killed them. Though all the people bewailed this terrible catastrophe, Moses forbade Aaron and his two sons Eleazar and Ithamar to join in the lamentation.
ABIKSCHAN, a large fresh water lake near the river Sumy, in the circle of Osnsk, whose surplus water runs to the Irtisch. It is within the government of Tobolsk in Siberia.
ABIMELECH, king of Gerar, a country of the Philistines, was contemporary with Abraham. This patriarch [7:2:37]and his family being there, his wife Sarah, though 90 years of age, was not safe in it; for Abimelech carried her off, and was so enamoured of her, that he resolved to marry her. Abraham did not declare himself Sarah’s husband, but gave out she was his sister. But the king being warned in a dream that she was married to a prophet, and that he should die if he did not restore her to Abraham, the king obeyed; at the same time reproving Abraham for his disingenuity; who thereupon, among Other excuses, said she was really his sister, being born of the same father, though of a different mother. Abimelech afterwards gave considerable presents to Abraham; and a covenant, that of Beersheba, was entered into between them, a. m. 2107. After the death of Abraham, there being a famine in the neighbouring countries, Isaac his son also withdrew into Gerar, which was then likewise governed by a king called

Abimelech, probably the successor of the former. Here Rebekah’s beauty forced her husband to employ Abraham’s artifice. Abimelech, discovering that they were nearly related, chid Isaac for calling his wife his sister; and at the same time forbade all his subjects, upon pain of death, to do the least injury to Isaac or Rebekah. Isaac’s prosperity lost him the king’s friendship, and he was desired to go from among them. He obeyed; but Abimelech afterwards entered into a covenant with him, a. m. 2200.

Abimelech, the natural son of Gideon, by his concubine. His violent acts and death are recorded in Judges, chap. ix. a. m. 2769.