acton

or ack·ton, ake·ton

[ ak-tuhn ]

nounArmor.
  1. a quilted garment worn under mail in the 13th and 14th centuries; gambeson.

Origin of acton

1
1250–1300; Middle English <Anglo-French aketoun,Old French a(u)queton<Old Spanish algodon<Spanish Arabic <Arabic al-quṭun the cotton

Other definitions for Acton (2 of 2)

Acton
[ ak-tuhn ]

noun
  1. Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron, 1834–1902, English historian.

  2. a former municipal borough in SE England, now part of the London borough of Ealing: center of Puritanism at the time of Cromwell.

  1. a city in NE Massachusetts.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for acton (1 of 4)

acton

/ (ˈæktən) /


noun(in medieval Europe)
  1. a jacket or jerkin, originally of quilted cotton, worn under a coat of mail

  2. a leather jacket padded with mail

Origin of acton

1
C14: from Old French auqueton, probably ultimately from Arabic alqutun the cotton

British Dictionary definitions for act on (2 of 4)

act on

verb(intr, preposition)
  1. to regulate one's behaviour in accordance with (advice, information, etc)

  2. to have an effect on (illness, a part of the body, etc)

British Dictionary definitions for Acton (3 of 4)

Acton1

/ (ˈæktən) /


noun
  1. a district of the London borough of Ealing

British Dictionary definitions for Acton (4 of 4)

Acton2

/ (ˈæktən) /


noun
  1. John Emerich Edward Dalberg, 1st Baron. 1834–1902, English historian: a proponent of Christian liberal ethics and adviser of Gladstone

  2. his grandfather, Sir John Francis Edward. 1736–1811, European naval commander and statesman: admiral of Tuscany (1774–79) and Naples (1779 onwards) and chief minister of Naples (1779–1806)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with acton

acton

Also, act upon. Conduct oneself in accordance with or as a result of information or another action, as in I will act on my lawyer's advice, or The manager refused to act upon the hotel guest's complaints. [c. 1800]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.