mong_ the
heirs, _between_ two claimants; apportion _according to_ numbers, etc.

* * * * *

APPROXIMATION.

Synonyms:

approach, likeness, neighborhood, resemblance,
contiguity, nearness, propinquity, similarity.

In mathematics, _approximation_ is not guesswork, not looseness, and not
error. The process of _approximation_ is as exact and correct at every
point as that by which an absolute result is secured; the result only
fails of exactness because of some inherent difficulty in the problem.
The attempt to "square the circle" gives only an _approximate_ result,
because of the impossibility of expressing the circumference in terms of
the radius. But the limits of error on either side are known, and the
_approximation_ has practical value. Outside of mathematics, the correct
use of _approximation_ (and the kindred words _approximate_ and
_approximately_) is to express as near an approach to accuracy and
certainty as the conditions of human thought or action in any given case
make possible. _Resemblance_ and _similarity_ may be but superficial and
apparent; _approximation_ is real. _Approach_ is a relative term,
indicating that one has come nearer than before, tho the distance may
yet be considerable; an _approximation_ brings one really near.
_Nearness_, _neighborhood_, and _propinquity_ are commonly used of
place; _approximation_, of mathematical calculations and abstract
reasoning; we speak of _approach_ to the shore, _nearness_ to the town,
_approximation_ to the truth.

Antonyms:

difference, distance, error, remoteness, unlikeness, variation.

Prepositions:

The approximation _of_ the vegetable _to_ the animal type.

* * * * *

ARMS.

Synonyms:

accouterments, armor, harness, mail, weapons.

_Arms_ are implements of attack; _armor_ is a defensive covering. The
knight put on his _armor_; he grasped his _arms_. With the disuse of
defensive _armor_ the word has practically gone out of military use, but
it is still employed in the navy, where the distinction is clearly
preserved; any vessel provided with cannon is an _armed_ vessel; an
_armored_ ship is an ironclad. Anything that can be wielded in fight may
become a _weapon_, as a pitchfork or a paving-stone; _arms_ are
especially made and designed for conflict.

* * * * *

ARMY.

Synonyms:

armament, forces, milita