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aberration

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aberration


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Aberration  \Ab`er*ra"tion\,  n.  [L.  aberratio:  cf  F.  aberration. 
  See  {Aberrate}.] 
  1.  The  act  of  wandering;  deviation,  especially  from  truth  or 
  moral  rectitude,  from  the  natural  state,  or  from  a  type 
  ``The  aberration  of  youth.''  --Hall.  ``Aberrations  from 
  theory.''  --Burke. 
 
  2.  A  partial  alienation  of  reason.  ``Occasional  aberrations 
  of  intellect.''  --Lingard. 
 
  Whims,  which  at  first  are  the  aberrations  of  a 
  single  brain,  pass  with  heat  into  epidemic  form 
  --I.  Taylor. 
 
  3.  (Astron.)  A  small  periodical  change  of  position  in  the 
  stars  and  other  heavenly  bodies,  due  to  the  combined 
  effect  of  the  motion  of  light  and  the  motion  of  the 
  observer;  called  {annual  aberration},  when  the  observer's 
  motion  is  that  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit,  and  daily  or 
  {diurnal  aberration},  when  of  the  earth  on  its  axis; 
  amounting  when  greatest,  in  the  former  case,  to  20.4'', 
  and  in  the  latter,  to  0.3''.  {Planetary  aberration}  is 
  that  due  to  the  motion  of  light  and  the  motion  of  the 
  planet  relative  to  the  earth. 
 
  4.  (Opt.)  The  convergence  to  different  foci,  by  a  lens  or 
  mirror,  of  rays  of  light  emanating  from  one  and  the  same 
  point,  or  the  deviation  of  such  rays  from  a  single  focus; 
  called  {spherical  aberration},  when  due  to  the  spherical 
  form  of  the  lens  or  mirror,  such  form  giving  different 
  foci  for  central  and  marginal  rays;  and  {chromatic 
  aberration},  when  due  to  different  refrangibilities  of  the 
  colored  rays  of  the  spectrum,  those  of  each  color  having  a 
  distinct  focus. 
 
  5.  (Physiol.)  The  passage  of  blood  or  other  fluid  into  parts 
  not  appropriate  for  it 
 
  6.  (Law)  The  producing  of  an  unintended  effect  by  the 
  glancing  of  an  instrument,  as  when  a  shot  intended  for  A 
  glances  and  strikes  B. 
 
  Syn:  Insanity;  lunacy;  madness;  derangement;  alienation; 
  mania;  dementia;  hallucination;  illusion;  delusion.  See 
  {Insanity}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  aberration 
  n  1:  an  aberrant  state  or  condition  [syn:  {aberrance},  {aberrancy}, 
  {deviance}] 
  2:  a  disorder  in  one's  mental  state 
  3:  an  optical  phenomenon  resulting  from  the  failure  of  a  lens 
  or  mirror  to  produce  a  good  image  [syn:  {distortion},  {optical 
  aberration}] 




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