AN´OA, an animal (_Anoa depressicornis_) closely allied to the buffalo, about the size of an average sheep, very wild and fierce, inhabiting the rocky and mountainous localities of the Island of Celebes. The horns are straight, thick at the root, and set nearly in a line with the forehead.
ANO´BIUM, a genus of coleopterous insects, the larvae of which often do much damage by their boring into old wood. By means of their heads they produce a loud, ticking sound in the wood, the so-called _death-watch_ ticking. _A. stri[=a]tum_, a common species, when frightened, is much given to feigning death.
AN´ODE, (Gr. _ana_, up, _hodos_, way), the positive pole of the voltaic current, being that part of the surface of a decomposing body which the electric current enters: opposed to _cathode_ (Gr. _kata_, down, _hodos_, way), the way by which it departs.
AN´ODON, or ANODON´TA, a genus of lamellibranchiate bivalves, including the fresh-water mussels, without or with very slight hinge-teeth. See _Mussel_.
AN´ODYNE, a medicine, such as an opiate or narcotic, which allays pain.
ANOINTING, rubbing the body or some part of it with oil, often perfumed. From time immemorial the nations of the East have been in the habit of anointing themselves for the sake of health and beauty. The Greeks and Romans anointed themselves after the bath. Wrestlers anointed themselves in order to render it more difficult for their antagonists to get hold of them. In Egypt it was common to anoint the head of guests when they entered the house where they were to be entertained. In the Mosaic law a sacred character was attached to the anointing of the garments of the priests, and things belonging to the ceremonial of worship. The Jewish priests and kings were anointed when inducted into office, and were called the _anointed of the Lord_, to show that their persons were sacred and their office from God. In the Old Testament also the prophecies respecting the Redeemer style him _Messias_, that is, the _Anointed_, which is also the meaning of his Greek name Christ. The custom of anointing still exists in the Roman Catholic Church in the ordination of priests and the confirmation of believers and the sacrament of extreme unction. The ceremony is also frequently a part of the coronation of kings.