from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Ascension \As*cen"sion\, n. [F. ascension, L. ascensio, fr.
ascendere. See {Ascend}.]
1. The act of ascending; a rising; ascent.
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2. Specifically: The visible ascent of our Savior on the
fortieth day after his resurrection. (--Acts i. 9.) Also,
Ascension Day.
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3. An ascending or arising, as in distillation; also that
which arises, as from distillation.
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Vaporous ascensions from the stomach. --Sir T.
Browne.
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{Ascension Day}, the Thursday but one before Whitsuntide, the
day on which commemorated our Savior's ascension into
heaven after his resurrection; -- called also {Holy
Thursday}.
{Right ascension} (Astron.), that degree of the equinoctial,
counted from the beginning of Aries, which rises with a
star, or other celestial body, in a right sphere; or the
arc of the equator intercepted between the first point of
Aries and that point of the equator that comes to the
meridian with the star; -- expressed either in degrees or
in time.
{Oblique ascension} (Astron.), an arc of the equator,
intercepted between the first point of Aries and that
point of the equator which rises together with a star, in
an oblique sphere; or the arc of the equator intercepted
between the first point of Aries and that point of the
equator that comes to the horizon with a star. It is
little used in modern astronomy.
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