to be, ethnologically considered, what he was born.
In grammar, a property attached to a word which nevertheless does not enter into its essential definition.
ACCIDENT INSURANCE, a form of insurance which pays persons a stated sum in compensation for bodily injury. Usually it is provided that insurance is made only against injuries caused by violent accidental or external means. It does not cover self-inflicted injury. There were in 1920 about fifty companies engaged in this form of insurance, although not all of these were limited to accident insurance. Losses paid for this form of insurance aggregate about $10,000,000 yearly.
ACCOLADE, in heraldry, the ceremony by which in mediæval times one was dubbed a knight. On the question what this was, antiquaries are not agreed. It has been made an embrace round the neck, a kiss, or a slight blow upon the cheek or shoulder.
ACCORDION, a well-known keyed instrument with metallic reeds. The sounds are produced by the vibration of the several metallic tongues, which are of different sizes, air being meanwhile supplied by the movement of the opposite sides of the instrument, so as to constitute a bellows. The accordion was introduced into America from Germany about 1828.
ACCOUNT, in banking, commerce, law, and ordinary language, a registry of pecuniary transactions; such a record as is kept by merchants, by housewives, and by all prudent people, with the view of, day by day, ascertaining their financial position. A bill or paper sent in by tradespeople to those who do not pay for goods on delivery.
An open account, or an account current, is, commercially, one in which the balance has not been struck; in banking, it is one which may be added to or drawn upon at any time, as opposed to a deposit account, where notice is required for withdrawals.
ACCOUNTING, a profession which has grown out of the increased complexity of keeping and adjusting business transactions. It is concerned chiefly with the problem of classification of uncertain items in the course of business and with the problems of valuation. The skilled accountant must have a wide knowledge of business in general and a special knowledge of the field in which he is engaged. In recent years the principles of accounting have been increasingly applied to the control of production. This is known as cost accounting. The department of accounting has become an important one in recent years in nearly all schools and colleges which have a business department. There are also many schools which give instruction only in accounting. Chartered accountants are able to command a high rate of pay for their services.
ACCUMULATOR. See STORAGE BATTERY.
ACER, a genus of arborescent or shrubby plants, order acerineæ, many of which are extremely valuable for the sake either of their timber, or of their ornamental appearance. The acer rubrum, or red maple, is a tree 50 feet in height, very common in low woods throughout the Atlantic States. The wood, particularly that of the variety called curled maple, is much used in cabinet work. The acer saccharinum, or sugar tree, is a tree 70 feet in height, 3 feet in diameter, found throughout the United States, and constituting the greater part of some of the forests of New England. The wood is hard and has a satin luster, but it is readily attacked by insects, and is not of much value, except when its grain is accidentally waved, and then it is in request for the cabinet-makers. The saccharine matter contained in its ascending sap, obtained by tapping the trunk in the spring, is perhaps the most delicious of all sweets; an ordinary tree yields from 5 to 10 pounds in a season.
ACETANILID, more commonly known as anti-febrin. Formula C6H5 NHCOCH3. Its melting point is 237° F. It boils at 563° F. It dissolves in alcohol, ether, and hot water, less readily in cold water. Its principal use in medicine is as a sedative and febrifuge, but it should be used with great caution unless prescribed by a physician.
ACETIC ACID, the acid which imparts sourness to vinegar, vinegar being simply acetic acid diluted, tinged with color and slightly mingled with other impurities. The formula of acetic acid is
CHaOCOH). ot^f^Q \ , or ^^g^^ f O
=methyl-formic acid. It is formed by the acetous fermentation of alcohol. Acetic acid is a monatomic monobasic acid. Its salts are called acetates. A molecule of acetic acid can also unite with normal acetates like water of crystallization. Its principal salts are those of potassium, sodium, and ammonium, a solution of which is called spiritus mindereri. The acetates of barium and calcium are very
