Aasvar, a group of small islands, below the arctic polar circle, about 12 m. from the Norwegian coast, forming part of the prefecture of Nordre Helgoland and of the parish of Don-naes, in the province of Nordland. They have recently acquired importance as a station for herring fisheries, giving employment to over 10,000 fishermen. The annual value of the exports is estimated at about $1,000,000, and the fish is known as the great Nordland herring. They are caught from December to January, and sometimes in quantities exceeding 200,000 tons. During the rest of the year the islands are almost deserted.

AB, the eleventh month of the Jewish civil year and the fifth of the ecclesiastical, corresponding to a part of July and a part of August. The ninth of the month is one of the principal Jewish fast days, commemorating both the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and that by Titus.