southeastern European plant cultivated for its fragrant purplish flowers and round flat papery silver-white seedpods that are used for indoor decoration
the act of taking possession of or power over something; "his assumption of office coincided with the trouble in Cuba"; "the Nazi assumption of power in 1934"; "he acquired all the company's assets for ten million dollars and the assumption of the company's debts"
the act of assuming or taking for granted; "your assumption that I would agree was unwarranted"
a hypothesis that is taken for granted; "any society is built upon certain assumptions"
(Christianity) the taking up of the body and soul of the Virgin Mary when her earthly life had ended
celebration in the Roman Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary's being taken up into heaven when her earthly life ended; corresponds to the Dormition in the Eastern Orthodox church
used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal; "she was very gifted"; "he played very well"; "a really enjoyable evening"; "I'm real sorry about it"; "a rattling good yarn"
precisely so; "on the very next page"; "he expected the very opposite"
the first element in a countable series; "the first of the month"
the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first"
being the gear producing the lowest drive speed; "use first gear on steep hills"
ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate"
preceding all others in time or space or degree; "the first house on the right"; "the first day of spring"; "his first political race"; "her first baby"; "the first time"; "the first meetings of the new party"; "the first phase of his training"
highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections; "first soprano"; "the first violin section"; "played first horn"
indicating the beginning unit in a series
before anything else; "first we must consider the garter snake"
the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake"
before another in time, space, or importance; "I was here first"; "let's do this job first"
serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage"
occurring at or characteristic of a formal investiture or induction; "the President's inaugural address"; "an inaugural ball"
belonging to times long past especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire; "ancient history"; "ancient civilizations such as those of the Etruscans and Sumerians"; "ancient Greece"
authenticate, affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity; "I attest this signature"
establish or verify the usage of; "This word is not attested until 1993"
provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes; "His high fever attested to his illness"; "The buildings in Rome manifest a high level of architectural sophistication"; "This decision demonstrates his sense of fairness"
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time; "late evening"; "late 18th century"; "a late movie"; "took a late flight"; "had a late breakfast"
at or toward an end or late period or stage of development; "the late phase of feudalism"; "a later symptom of the disease"; "later medical science could have saved the child"
of a later stage in the development of a language or literature; used especially of dead languages; "Late Greek"
later than usual or than expected; "the train arrived late"; "we awoke late"; "the children came late to school"; "notice came so tardily that we almost missed the deadline"; "I belatedly wished her a happy birthday"
at an advanced age or stage; "she married late"; "undertook the project late in her career"