Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron, 1834–1902, English historian.
a former municipal borough in SE England, now part of the London borough of Ealing: center of Puritanism at the time of Cromwell.
a city in NE Massachusetts.
John Emerich Edward Dalberg, 1st Baron. 1834–1902, English historian: a proponent of Christian liberal ethics and adviser of Gladstone
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)
a jacket or jerkin, originally of quilted cotton, worn under a coat of mail
a leather jacket padded with mail
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French aketoun, Old French a ( u ) queton < Old Spanish algodon < Spanish Arabic < Arabic al-quṭun the cotton
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They came shyly down the lane, like well-meaning acton who were trying to do their best, but who were not good at acting.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Swayne Felding took the sacrament, And round the churchyard paced; Within his acton next his breast The holy host he placed. p.
From The King's Wake and Other Ballads by Wise, Thomas James
But I’ll lend a helm to thee, Thou may’st trust upon in fight; And an acton I’ll provide, Whereupon no sword will bite. p.
From Grimmer and Kamper The End of Sivard Snarenswayne and other ballads by Borrow, George Henry
“Now merrily my fiddle goes, Ye dance and spring around; I sweat with strong exertion In my acton narrow bound.”
From Grimhild's Vengeance Three Ballads by Wise, Thomas James
A form of the term acton, as a defensive dress.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
Gov. Mike DeWine won re-election in 2018 and tapped Ms. Acton early the following year as state director of public health.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Ms. Acton, who holds degrees in medicine and public health, thus found herself the personification of public health, for Ohio’s 12 million residents, during the worst medical crisis in the past century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Joanna Eaves in Lambeth's Clapham Park ward and Simon Anthony, in Ealing's Acton North ward, are understood to have quit after the election due to ill health.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Its history is linked to WhatsApp: the site was founded by cryptographer and entrepreneur Moxie Marlinspike, with an initial $50 million from WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
And inside the front cover there was a big map of London with places on it like Abbey Wood and Poplar and Acton and Stanmore.
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
