Unabridged Dictionary - Letter B
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B
B (?) is the second letter of the English alphabet. (See Guide to
Pronunciation, §§ 196,220.) It is etymologically related to p , v , f
, w and m , letters representing sounds having a close organic
affinity to its own sound; as in Eng. bursar and purser; Eng. bear and
Lat. pear; Eng. silver and Ger. silber; Lat. cubitum and It. gomito;
Eng. seven, Anglo-Saxon seofon, Ger. sieben, Lat. septem, Gr.ptan. The
form of letter B is Roman, from Greek B (Beta), of Semitic origin. The
small b was formed by gradual change from the capital B.
NOTE: In Mu sic, B is the nominal of the seventh tone in the model
major scale (the scale of C major ), or of the second tone in it's
relative minor scale (that of A minor ) . Bb stands for B flat, the
tone a half step , or semitone, lower than B. In German, B stands
for our Bb, while our B natural is called H (pronounced h\'84).
Ba
Ba (?), v. i. [Cf. OF. baer to open mouth, F. baer.] To kiss. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Baa
Baa (?), v. i. [Cf. G. b\'84en; an imitative word.] To cry baa, or
bleat as a sheep.
He treble baas for help, but none can get. Sir P. Sidney.
Baa
Baa (?), n.; pl. Baas. [Cf. G. b\'84.] The cry or bleating of a sheep;
a bleat.
Baaing
Baa"ing, n. The bleating of a sheep. Marryat.
Baal
Ba"al (?), n.; Heb. pl. Baalim (. [Heb. ba'al lord.]
1. (Myth.) The supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish
nations.
NOTE: &hand; Th e na me of this god occurs in the Old Testament and
elsewhere with qualifying epithets subjoined, answering to the
different ideas of his character; as, Baal-berith (the Covenant
Baal), Baal-zebub (Baal of the fly).
2. pl. The whole class of divinities to whom the name Baal was
applied. Judges x. 6.
Baalism
Ba"al*ism (?), n. Worship of Baal; idolatry.
Baalist, Baalite
Ba"al*ist (?), Ba"al*ite (?), n. A worshiper of Baal; a devotee of any
false religion; an idolater.
Baba
Ba"ba (?), n. [F.] A kind of plum cake.
Babbitt
Bab"bitt (?), v. t. To line with Babbitt metal.
Babbitt metal
Bab"bitt met`al (?). [From the inventor, Isaac Babbitt of
Massachusetts.] A soft white alloy of variable composition (as a nine
parts of tin to one of copper, or of fifty parts of tin to five of
antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction.
Babble
Bab"ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Babbled (p. pr. & vb. n. Babbling.]
[Cf.LG. babbeln, D. babbelen, G. bappeln, bappern, F. babiller, It.
babbolare; prob. orig., to keep saying ba, imitative of a child
learning to talk.]
1. To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter
inarticulate sounds; as a child babbles.
2. To talk incoherently; to utter unmeaning words.
3. To talk much; to chatter; to prate.
4. To make a continuous murmuring noise, as shallow water running over
stones.
In every babbling he finds a friend. Wordsworth.
NOTE: &hand; Ho unds ar e sa id to babble, or to be babbling, when
they are too noisy after having found a good scent.
Syn. -- To prate; prattle; chatter; gossip.
Babble
Bab"ble, v. i.
1. To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat,as words, in
a childish way without understanding.
These [words] he used to babble in all companies. Arbuthnot.
2. To disclose by too free talk, as a secret.
Babble
Bab"ble, n.
1. Idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble; twaddle. "This is mere moral
babble." Milton.
2. Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.
The babble of our young children. Darwin.
The babble of the stream. Tennyson.
Babblement
Bab"ble*ment (?), n. Babble. Hawthorne.
Babbler
Bab"bler (?), n.
1. An idle talker; an irrational prater; a teller of secrets.
Great babblers, or talkers, are not fit for trust. L'Estrange.
2. A hound too noisy on finding a good scent.
3. (Zo\'94l.) A name given to any one of family (Timalin\'91) of
thrushlike birds, having a chattering note.
Babblery
Bab"ble*ry (?), n. Babble. [Obs.] Sir T. More
Babe
Babe (?), n. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
1. An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby.
2. A doll for children. Spenser.
Babehood
Babe"hood (?), n. Babyhood. [R.] Udall.
Babel
Ba"bel (?), n. [Heb. B\'bebel, the name of the capital of Babylonia;
in Genesis associated with the idea of "confusion"]
1. The city and tower in the land of Shinar, where the confusion of
languages took place.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel. Gen. xi. 9.
2. Hence: A place or scene of noise and confusion; a confused mixture
of sounds, as of voices or languages.
That babel of strange heathen languages. Hammond.
The grinding babel of the street. R. L. Stevenson.
Babery
Bab"er*y (?), n. [Perh. orig. for baboonery. Cf. Baboon, and also
Babe.] Finery of a kind to please a child. [Obs.] "Painted babery."
Sir P. Sidney.
Babian, Babion
Ba"bi*an (?), Ba"bi*on (?), n. [See Baboon] A baboon. [Obs.] B.
Jonson.
Babillard
Bab"il*lard (?), n. [F., a babbler.] (Zo\'94l.) The lesser whitethroat
of Europe; -- called also babbling warbler.
Babingtonite
Bab"ing*ton*ite (?), n. [From Dr. Babbington.] (Min.) A mineral
occurring in triclinic crystals approaching pyroxene in angle, and of
a greenish black color. It is a silicate of iron, manganese, and lime.
Babiroussa, Babirussa
Bab`i*rous"sa, Bab`i*rus"sa (, n. [F. babiroussa, fr.Malay b\'beb\'c6
hog + r deer.] (Zo\'94l.) A large hoglike quadruped (Sus, or Porcus,
babirussa) of the East Indies, sometimes domesticated; the Indian hog.
Its upper canine teeth or tusks are large and recurved.
Babish
Bab"ish (?), a. Like a babe; a childish; babyish. [R.] "Babish
imbecility." Drayton. -- Bab"ish*ly, adv. -- Bab"ish*ness, n. [R.]
Babism
Bab"ism (?), n. [From Bab (Pers. bab a gate), the title assumed by the
founder, Mirza Ali Mohammed.] The doctrine of a modern religious sect,
which originated in Persia in 1843, being a mixture of Mohammedan,
Christian, Jewish and Parsee elements.
Babist
Bab"ist, n. A believer in Babism.
Bablah
Bab"lah (?), n. [Cf. Per. bab a species of mimosa yielding gum
arabic.] The ring of the fruit of several East Indian species of
acacia; neb-neb. It contains gallic acid and tannin, and is used for
dyeing drab.
Baboo, Babu
Ba"boo, Ba"bu (?), n. [Hind. b\'beb ] A Hindoo gentleman; native clerk
who writes English; also, a Hindoo title answering to Mr. or Esquire.
Whitworth.
Baboon
Bab*oon" (?), n. [OE. babewin, baboin, fr.F. babouin, or LL.
babewynus. Of unknown origin; cf. D. baviaan, G. pavian, baboon, F.
babin lip of ape, dogs, etc., dial. G. b\'84ppe mouth.] (Zo\'94l.) One
of the Old World Quadrumana, of the genera Cynocephalus and Papio; the
dog-faced ape. Baboons have dog-like muzzles and large canine teeth,
cheek pouches, a short tail, and naked callosities on the buttocks.
They are mostly African. See Mandrill, and Chacma, and Drill an ape.
Baboonery
Bab*oon"ery (?), n. Baboonish behavior. Marryat.
Baboonish
Bab*oon"ish, a. Like a baboon.
Baby
Ba"by (?), n.; pl. Babies. [Dim. of babe] An infant or young child of
either sex; a babe.
2. A small image of an infant; a doll.
Babies in the eyes, the minute reflection which one sees of one's self
in the eyes of another.
She clung about his neck, gave him ten kisses, Toyed with his
locks, looked babies in his eyes. Heywood.
Baby
Ba"by, a. Pertaining to, or resembling, an infant; young or little;
as, baby swans. "Baby figure" Shak.
Baby
Ba"by, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Babied (p. pr. & vb. n.Babying.] To treat
like a young child; to keep dependent; to humor; to fondle. Young.
Baby farm
Ba"by farm` (?). A place where the nourishment and care of babies are
offered for hire.
Baby farmer
Ba"by farm`er (?). One who keeps a baby farm.
Baby farming
Ba"by farm`ing. The business of keeping a baby farm.
Babyhood
Ba"by*hood (?), n. The state or period of infancy.
Babyhouse
Ba"by*house` (?), a. A place for children's dolls and dolls'
furniture. Swift.
Babyish
Ba"by*ish, a. Like a baby; childish; puerile; simple. -- Ba"by*ish*ly,
adv. -- Ba"by*ish*ness, n.
Babyism
Ba"by*ism (?), n.
1. The state of being a baby.
2. A babyish manner of acting or speaking.
Baby jumper
Ba"by jump`er (?). A hoop suspended by an elastic strap, in which a
young child may be held secure while amusing itself by jumping on the
floor.
Babylonian
Bab`y*lo"ni*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to the real or to the mystical
Babylon, or to the ancient kingdom of Babylonia; Chaldean.
Babylonian
Bab`y*lo"ni*an, n.
1. An inhabitant of Babylonia (which included Chaldea); a Chaldean.
2. An astrologer; -- so called because the Chaldeans were remarkable
for the study of astrology.
Babylonic, Babylonical
Bab`y*lon"ic (?), Bab`y*lon"ic*al (?), a.
1. Pertaining to Babylon, or made there; as Babylonic
garments,carpets, or hangings.
2. Tumultuous; disorderly. [Obs.] Sir J. Harrington.
Babylonish
Bab"y*lo`nish (?), n.
1. Of or pertaining to, or made in, Babylon or Babylonia. "A
Babylonish garment." Josh. vii. 21.
2. Pertaining to the Babylon of Revelation xiv.8.
3. Pertaining to Rome and papal power. [Obs.]
The . . . injurious nickname of Babylonish. Gape.
4. Confused; Babel-like.
Babyroussa, Babyrussa
Bab`y*rous"sa, Bab`y*rus"sa (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) See Babyroussa.
Babyship
Ba"by*ship (?), n. The quality of being a baby; the personality of an
infant.
Bac
Bac (?), n. [F. See Back a vat]
1. A broad, flatbottomed ferryboat, usually worked by a rope.
2. A vat or cistern. See 1st Back.
Baccalaureate
Bac"ca*lau"re*ate (?), n. [NL. baccalaureatus, fr.LL. baccalaureus a
bachelor of arts, fr. baccalarius, but as if fr L. bacca lauri
bayberry, from the practice of the bachelor's wearing a garland of
bayberries. See Bachelor.]
1. The degree of bachelor of arts. (B.A. or A.B.), the first or lowest
academical degree conferred by universities and colleges.
2. A baccalaureate sermon. [U.S.]
Baccalaureate
Bac`ca*lau"re*ate, a. Pertaining to a bachelor of arts. Baccalaureate
sermon, in some American colleges, a sermon delivered as a farewell
discourse to a graduating class.
Baccara, Baccarat
Bac`ca*ra", Bac`ca*rat" (?), n. [F.] A French game of cards, played by
a banker and punters.
Baccare, Backare
Bac*ca"re, Bac*ka"re (?), interj. Stand back! give place! -- a cant
word of the Elizabethan writers, probably in ridicule of some person
who pretended to a knowledge of Latin which he did not possess.
Baccare! you are marvelous forward. Shak.
Baccate
Bac"cate (?), a. [L. baccatus, fr. L. bacca berry.] (Bot.) Pulpy
throughout, like a berry; -- said of fruits. Gray.
Baccated
Bac"ca*ted (?), a.
1. Having many berries.
2. Set or adorned with pearls. [Obs.]
Bacchanal
Bac"cha*nal (?), a. [L. Bacchanalis. See Bacchanalia.]
1. Relating to Bacchus or his festival.
2. Engaged in drunken revels; drunken and riotous or noisy.
Bacchanal
Bac"cha*nal (?), n.
1. A devotee of Bacchus; one who indulges in drunken revels; one who
is noisy and riotous when intoxicated; a carouser. "Tipsy bacchanals."
Shak.
2. pl. The festival of Bacchus; the bacchanalia.
3. Drunken revelry; an orgy.
4. A song or dance in honor of Bacchus.
Bacchanalia
Bac`cha*na"li*a (?), n. pl. [L. Bacchanal a place devoted to Bacchus;
in the pl. Bacchanalia a feast of Bacchus, fr. Bacchus the god of
wine, Gr.
1. (Myth.) A feast or an orgy in honor of Bacchus.
2. Hence: A drunken feast; drunken reveler.
Bacchanalian
Bac`cha*na"li*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to the festival of Bacchus;
relating to or given to reveling and drunkenness.
Even bacchanalian madness has its charms. Cowper.
Bacahanalian
Bac`aha*na"li*an, n. A bacchanal; a drunken reveler.
Bacchanalianism
Bac`cha*na"li*an*ism (?), n. The practice of bacchanalians;
bacchanals; drunken revelry.
Bacchant
Bac"chant (?), n.; pl. E. Bacchants, L. Bacchantes. [L. bacchans,
-antis, p. pr. of bacchari to celebrate the festival of Bacchus.]
1. A priest of Bacchus.
2. A bacchanal; a reveler. Croly.
Bacchant
Bac"chant, a. Bacchanalian; fond of drunken revelry; wine-loving;
reveling; carousing. Byron.
Bacchante
Bac"chante (?), n.; L. pl. Bacchantes.
1. A priestess of Bacchus.
2. A female bacchanal.
Bacchantic
Bac*chan"tic (?), a. Bacchanalian.
Bacchic, Bacchical
Bac"chic (?), Bac"chic*al (?), a. [L. Bacchicus, Gr. Of or relating to
Bacchus; hence, jovial, or riotous,with intoxication.
Bacchius
Bac*chi"us (?), n.; pl. Bacchii. [L. Bacchius pes, Gr. (Pros.) A
metrical foot composed of a short syllable and two long ones;
according to some, two long and a short.
Bacchus
Bac"chus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. (Myth.) The god of wine, son of Jupiter
and Semele.
Bacciferous
Bac*cif"er*ous (?), a. [L. baccifer; bacca berry + ferre to bear]
Producing berries. " Bacciferous trees." Ray.
Bacciform
Bac"ci*form (?), a. [L. bacca berry + -form. ] Having the form of a
berry.
Baccivorous
Bac*civ"o*rous (?), a. [L. bacca berry + varare to devour.] (Zo\'94l.)
Eating, or subsisting on, berries; as, baccivorous birds.
Bace
Bace (?), n., a., & v. See Base. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bacharach, Backarack
Bach"a*rach, Back"a*rack (?), n. A kind of wine made at Bacharach on
the Rhine.
Bacheelor
Bache"e*lor (?), n. [OF. bacheler young man, F. bachelier (cf.Pr.
bacalar, Sp.bachiller, Pg. bacharel, It. baccalare), LL. baccalarius
the tenant of a kind of farm called baccalaria, a soldier not old or
rich enough to lead his retainers into battle with a banner, person of
an inferior academical degree aspiring to a doctorate. In the latter
sense, it was afterward changed to baccalaureus. See Baccalaureate,
n.]
1. A man of any age who has not been married.
As merry and mellow an old bachelor as ever followed a hound. W.
Irving.
2. An unmarried woman. [Obs.] B. Jonson. <-- p. 110 -->
3. A person who has taken the first or lowest degree in the liberal
arts, or in some branch of science, at a college or university; as, a
bachelor of arts.
4. A knight who had no standard of his own, but fought under the
standard of another in the field; often, a young knight.
5. In the companies of London tradesmen, one not yet admitted to wear
the livery; a junior member. [Obs.]
6. (Zo\'94l.) A kind of bass, an edible fresh-water fish (Pomoxys
annularis) of the southern United States.
Bachelordom
Bach"e*lor*dom (?), n. The state of bachelorhood; the whole body of
bachelors.
Bachelorhood
Bach"e*lor*hood (?), n. The state or condition of being a bachelor;
bachelorship.
Bachelorism
Bach"e*lor*ism (?), n. Bachelorhood; also, a manner or peculiarity
belonging to bachelors. W. Irving.
Bachelor's button
Bach"e*lor's but"ton (?), (Bot.) A plant with flowers shaped like
buttons; especially, several species of Ranunculus, and the cornflower
(Centaures cyanus) and globe amaranth (Gomphrena).
NOTE: &hand; Ba chelor's bu ttons, a name given to several flowers
"from their similitude to the jagged cloathe buttons, anciently
worne in this kingdom", according to Johnson's Gerarde, p.472
(1633); but by other writers ascribed to "a habit of country
fellows to carry them in their pockets to divine their success with
their sweethearts." Dr. Prior.
Bachelorship
Bach"e*lor*ship, n. The state of being a bachelor.
Bachelry
Bach"el*ry (?), n. [OF. bachelerie.] The body of young aspirants for
knighthood. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Bacillar
Ba*cil"lar (?), a. [L. bacillum little staff.] (Biol.) Shaped like a
rod or staff.
Bacillari\'91
Bac"il*la`ri*\'91 (?), n. pl. [NL., fr.L. bacillum, dim. of baculum
stick.] (Biol.) See Diatom.
Bacillary
Bac"il*la*ry (?), a. Of or pertaining to little rods; rod-shaped.
Bacilliform
Ba*cil"li*form (?), a. [L. bacillum little staff + -form.] Rod-shaped.
Bacillus
Ba*cil"lus (?), n.; pl. Bacilli (. [NL., for L. bacillum. See
Bacillarle.] (Biol.) A variety of bacterium; a microscopic, rod-shaped
vegetable organism.
Back
Back (?), n. [F. bac: cf. Arm. bak tray, bowl.]
1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers,
distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or
cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
Hop back, Jack back, the cistern which receives the infusion of malt
and hops from the copper. -- Wash back, a vat in which distillers
ferment the wort to form wash. -- Water back, a cistern to hold a
supply of water; esp. a small cistern at the back of a stove, or a
group of pipes set in the fire box of a stove or furnace, through
which water circulates and is heated.
2. A ferryboat. See Bac, 1
Back
Back (?), n. [As b\'91c, bac; akin to Icel., Sw., & LG. bak, Dan. bag;
cf. OHG. bahho ham, Skr. bhaj to turn, OSlav. b flight. Cf. Bacon.]
1. In human beings, the hinder part of the body, extending from the
neck to the end of the spine; in other animals, that part of the body
which corresponds most nearly to such part of a human being; as, the
back of a horse, fish, or lobster.
2. An extended upper part, as of a mountain or ridge.
[The mountains] their broad bare backs upheave Into the clouds.
Milton.
3. The outward or upper part of a thing, as opposed to the inner or
lower part; as, the back of the hand, the back of the foot, the back
of a hand rail.
Methought Love pitying me, when he saw this, Gave me your hands,
the backs and palms to kiss. Donne.
4. The part opposed to the front; the hinder or rear part of a thing;
as, the back of a book; the back of an army; the back of a chimney.
5. The part opposite to, or most remote from, that which fronts the
speaker or actor; or the part out of sight, or not generally seen; as,
the back of an island, of a hill, or of a village.
6. The part of a cutting tool on the opposite side from its edge; as,
the back of a knife, or of a saw.
7. A support or resource in reserve.
This project Should have a back or second, that might hold, If this
should blast in proof. Shak.
8. (Naut.) The keel and keelson of a ship.
9. (Mining) The upper part of a lode, or the roof of a horizontal
underground passage.
10. A garment for the back; hence, clothing.
A bak to walken inne by daylight. Chaucer.
Behind one's back, when one is absent; without one's knowledge; as, to
ridicule a person behind his back. -- Full back, Half back, Quarter
back (Football), players stationed behind those in the front line. --
To be or lie on one's back, to be helpless. -- To put, or get, one's
back up, to assume an attitude of obstinate resistance (from the
action of a cat when attacked.). [Colloq.] -- To see the back of, to
get rid of. -- To turn the back, to go away; to flee. -- To turn the
back on one, to forsake or neglect him.
Back
Back, a.
1. Being at the back or in the rear; distant; remote; as, the back
door; back settlements.
2. Being in arrear; overdue; as, back rent.
3. Moving or operating backward; as, back action.
Back charges, charges brought forward after an account has been made
up. -- Back filling (Arch.), the mass of materials used in filling up
the space between two walls, or between the inner and outer faces of a
wall, or upon the haunches of an arch or vault. -- Back pressure.
(Steam Engine) See under Pressure. -- Back rest, a guide attached to
the slide rest of a lathe, and placed in contact with the work, to
steady it in turning. -- Back slang, a kind of slang in which every
word is written or pronounced backwards; as, nam for man. -- Back
stairs, stairs in the back part of a house; private stairs. Also used
adjectively. See Back stairs, Backstairs, and Backstair, in the
Vocabulary. -- Back step (Mil.), the retrograde movement of a man or
body of men, without changing front. -- Back stream, a current running
against the main current of a stream; an eddy. -- To take the back
track, to retrace one's steps; to retreat. [Colloq.]
Back
Back (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Backed (; p. pr. & vb. n. Backing.]
1. To get upon the back of; to mount.
I will back him [a horse] straight. Shak.
2. To place or seat upon the back. [R.]
Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed, Appeared to me. Shak.
3. To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede; as, to
back oxen.
4. To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back books.
5. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
A garden . . . with a vineyard backed. Shak.
The chalk cliffs which back the beach. Huxley.
6. To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to indorse; as, to
back a note or legal document.
7. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or
influence; as, to back a friend. "Parliament would be backed by the
people." Macaulay.
Have still found it necessary to back and fortify their laws with
rewards and punishments. South.
The mate backed the captain manfully. Blackw. Mag.
8. To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse.
To back an anchor (Naut.), to lay down a small anchor ahead of a large
one, the cable of the small one being fastened to the crown of the
large one. -- To back the field, in horse racing, to bet against a
particular horse or horses, that some one of all the other horses,
collectively designated "the field", will win. -- To back the oars, to
row backward with the oars. -- To back a rope, to put on a preventer.
-- To back the sails, to arrange them so as to cause the ship to move
astern. -- To back up, to support; to sustain; as, to back up one's
friends. -- To back a warrant (Law), is for a justice of the peace, in
the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or indorse a
warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender. -- To
back water (Naut.), to reverse the action of the oars, paddles, or
propeller, so as to force the boat or ship backward.
Back
Back, v. i.
1. To move or go backward; as, the horse refuses to back.
2. (Naut.) To change from one quarter to another by a course opposite
to that of the sun; -- used of the wind.
3. (Sporting) To stand still behind another dog which has poined; --
said of a dog. [Eng.]
To back and fill, to manage the sails of a ship so that the wind
strikes them alternately in front and behind, in order to keep the
ship in the middle of a river or channel while the current or tide
carries the vessel against the wind. Hence: (Fig.) To take opposite
positions alternately; to assert and deny. [Colloq.] -- To back out,
To back down, to retreat or withdraw from a promise, engagement, or
contest; to recede. [Colloq.]
Cleon at first . . . was willing to go; but, finding that he
[Nicias] was in earnest, he tried to back out. Jowett (Thucyd. )
Back
Back, adv. [Shortened from aback.]
1. In, to, or toward, the rear; as, to stand back; to step back.
2. To the place from which one came; to the place or person from which
something is taken or derived; as, to go back for something left
behind; to go back to one's native place; to put a book back after
reading it.
3. To a former state, condition, or station; as, to go back to private
life; to go back to barbarism.
4. ( Of time) In times past; ago. "Sixty or seventy years back."
Gladstone.
5. Away from contact; by reverse movement.
The angel of the Lord . . . came, and rolled back the stone from
the door. Matt. xxvii. 2.
6. In concealment or reserve; in one's own possession; as, to keep
back the truth; to keep back part of the money due to another.
7. In a state of restraint or hindrance.
The Lord hath kept thee back from honor. Numb. xxiv. 11.
8. In return, repayment, or requital.
What have I to give you back! Shak.
9. In withdrawal from a statement, promise, or undertaking; as, he
took back0 the offensive words.
10. In arrear; as, to be back in one's rent. [Colloq.]
Back and forth, backwards and forwards; to and fro. -- To go back on,
to turn back from; to abandon; to betray; as, to go back on a friend;
to go back on one's professions. [Colloq.]
Backarack
Back"a*rack (?), n. See Bacharach.
Backare
Bac*ka"re (?), interj. Same as Baccare.
Backband
Back"band` (?), n. [2nd back ,n.+ band.] (Saddlery) The band which
passes over the back of a horse and holds up the shafts of a carriage.
Backbite
Back"bite`, v. i. [2nd back, n., + bite] To wound by clandestine
detraction; to censure meanly or spitefully (as absent person); to
slander or speak evil of (one absent). Spenser.
Backbite
Back"bite`, v. i. To censure or revile the absent.
They are arrant knaves, and will backbite. Shak.
Backbiter
Back"bit`er (?), n. One who backbites; a secret calumniator or
detractor.
Backbiting
Back"bit`ing (?), n. Secret slander; detraction.
Backbiting, and bearing of false witness. Piers Plowman.
Backboard
Back"board` (?), n. [2nd back, n. + board.]
1. A board which supports the back wen one is sitting;
NOTE: specifically, the board athwart the after part of a boat.
2. A board serving as the back part of anything, as of a wagon.
3. A thin stuff used for the backs of framed pictures, mirrors, etc.
4. A board attached to the rim of a water wheel to prevent the water
from running off the floats or paddies into the interior of the wheel.
W. Nicholson.
5. A board worn across the back to give erectness to the figure.
Thackeray.
Backbond
Back"bond` (?), n. [Back, adv. + bond.] (Scots Law) An instrument
which, in conjunction with another making an absolute disposition,
constitutes a trust.
Backbone
Back"bone", n. [2d back,n.+ bone. ]
1. The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness
to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column.
2. Anything like , or serving the purpose of, a backbone.
The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or
backbone of the country. Darwin.
We have now come to the backbone of our subject. Earle.
3. Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness.
Shelley's thought never had any backbone. Shairp.
To the backbone, through and through; thoroughly; entirely. "Staunch
to the backbone." Lord Lytton.
Backboned
Back"boned" (?), a. Vertebrate.
Backcast
Back"cast` (?), n. [Back, adv.+ cast.] Anything which brings
misfortune upon one, or causes failure in an effort or enterprise; a
reverse. [Scot.]
Back door
Back" door" (?). A door in the back part of a building; hence, an
indirect way. Atterbury.
Backdoor
Back"door", a. Acting from behind and in concealment; as backdoor
intrigues.
Backdown
Back"down` (?), n. A receding or giving up; a complete surrender.
[Colloq.]
Backed
Backed (?), a. Having a back; fitted with a back; as, a backed
electrotype or stereotype plate. Used in composition; as, broad-
backed; hump-backed.
Backer
Back"er (?), n. One who, or that which, backs; especially one who
backs a person or thing in a contest.
Backfall
Back"fall` (?), n. [2nd back ,n. + fall] A fall or throw on the back
in wrestling.
Backfriend
Back"friend` (?), n. [Back,n.or adv. + friend] A secret enemy. [Obs.]
South.
Backgammon
Back"gam`mon (?), n. [Origin unknown; perhaps fr.Dan. bakke tray + E.
game; or very likely the first part is from E.back, adv., and the game
is so called because the men are often set back.] A game of chance and
skill, played by two persons on a "board" marked off into twenty-four
spaces called "points". Each player has fifteen pieces, or "men", the
movements of which from point to point are determined by throwing
dice. Formerly called tables. Backgammon board , a board for playing
backgammon, often made in the form of two rectangular trays hinged
together, each tray containing two "tables".
Backgammon
Back"gam`mon, v. i. In the game of backgammon, to beat by ending the
game before the loser is clear of his first "table".
Background
Back"ground` (?), n. [Back, a. + ground.]
1. Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance, as opposed to the
foreground, or the ground in front.
2. (Paint.) The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or
group of figures.
NOTE: &hand; Th e di stance in a pi cture is usually divided into
foreground, middle distance, and background.
Fairholt.
3. Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background
of red hangings.
4. A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight.
I fancy there was a background of grinding and waiting before Miss
Torry could produce this highly finished . . . performance. Mrs.
Alexander.
A husband somewhere in the background. Thackeray.
Backhand
Back"hand` (?), n. [Back, adv. + hand.] A kind of handwriting in which
the downward slope of the letters is from left to right.
Backhand
Back"hand`, a.
1. Sloping from left to right; -- said of handwriting.
2. Backhanded; indirect; oblique. [R.]
Backhanded
Back"hand`ed, a.
1. With the hand turned backward; as, a backhanded blow.
2. Indirect; awkward; insincere; sarcastic; as, a backhanded
compliment.
3. Turned back, or inclining to the left; as, a backhanded letters.
Backhandedness
Back"hand`ed*ness, n. State of being backhanded; the using of
backhanded or indirect methods.
Backhander
Back"hand`er (?), n. A backhanded blow.
Backhouse
Back"house` (?), n. [Back, a. + house.] A building behind the main
building. Specifically: A privy; a necessary.
Backing
Back"ing, n.
1. The act of moving backward, or of putting or moving anything
backward.
2. That which is behind, and forms the back of, anything, usually
giving strength or stability.
3. Support or aid given to a person or cause.
4. (Bookbinding) The preparation of the back of a book with glue,
etc., before putting on the cover.
Backjoint
Back"joint` (?), n. [Back , a. or adv. + joint.] (Arch.) A rebate or
chase in masonry left to receive a permanent slab or other filling.
Backlash
Back"lash` (?), n. [Back , adv. + lash.] (Mech.) The distance through
which one part of connected machinery, as a wheel, piston, or screw,
can be moved without moving the connected parts, resulting from
looseness in fitting or from wear; also, the jarring or reflex motion
caused in badly fitting machinery by irregularities in velocity or a
reverse of motion.
Backless
Back"less, a. Without a back.
Backlog
Back"log` (?), n. [Back, a. + log.] A large stick of wood, forming the
of a fire on the hearth. [U.S.]
There was first a backlog, from fifteen to four and twenty inches
in diameter and five feet long, imbedded in the ashes. S. G.
Goodrich.
Backpiece, Backplate
Back"piece` (?), Back"plate` (?), n. [Back,n.or a. + piece, plate. ] A
piece, or plate which forms the back of anything, or which covers the
back; armor for the back. <-- p. 111 -->
Backrack, Backrag
Back"rack (?), Back"rag (?), n. See Bacharach.
Backs
Backs (?), n. pl. Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest
tanned hides.
Backsaw
Back"saw` (?), n. [2d back,n.+ saw.] A saw (as a tenon saw) whose
blade is stiffened by an added metallic back.
Backset
Back"set` (?), n. [Back, adv. + set.]
1. A check; a relapse; a discouragement; a setback.
2. Whatever is thrown back in its course, as water.
Slackwater, or the backset caused by the overflow. Harper's Mag.
Backset
Back"set`, v. i. To plow again, in the fall; -- said of prairie land
broken up in the spring. [Western U.S.]
Backsettler
Back"set"tler (?), n. [Back, a. + settler.] One living in the back or
outlying districts of a community.
The English backsettlers of Leinster and Munster. Macaulay.
Backsheesh, Backshish
Back"sheesh`, Back"shish` (?), n. [Pers. bakhsh\'c6sh, fr.
bakhsh\'c6dan to give.] In Egypt and the Turkish empire, a gratuity; a
"tip".
Backside
Back"side` (?), n. [Back, a. + side. ] The hinder part, posteriors, or
rump of a person or animal.
NOTE: &hand; Backside (one word) was formerly used of the rear part
or side of any thing or place, but in such senses is now two words.
Backsight
Back"sight` (?), n. [Back, adv. + sight. ] (Surv.) The reading of the
leveling staff in its unchanged position when the leveling instrument
has been taken to a new position; a sight directed backwards to a
station previously occupied. Cf. Foresight, n., 3.
Backslide
Back`slide" (?), v. i. [imp. Backslid (?); p.p. Backslidden (?),
Backslid; p. pr. & vb. n. Backsliding. ] [Back , adv.+ slide.] To
slide back; to fall away; esp. to abandon gradually the faith and
practice of a religion that has been professed.
Backslider
Back"slid"er (?), n. One who backslides.
Backsliding
Back"slid"ing, a. Slipping back; falling back into sin or error;
sinning.
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord. Jer. iii. 14.
Backsliding
Back"slid"ing, n. The act of one who backslides; abandonment of faith
or duty.
Our backslidings are many. Jer. xiv. 7.
Backstaff
Back"staff` (?), n. An instrument formerly used for taking the
altitude of the heavenly bodies, but now superseded by the quadrant
and sextant; -- so called because the observer turned his back to the
body observed.
Back stairs
Back" stairs`. Stairs in the back part of a house, as distinguished
from the front stairs; hence, a private or indirect way.
Backstairs, Backstair
Back"stairs`, Back"stair`, a. Private; indirect; secret; intriguing;
as if finding access by the back stairs.
A backstairs influence. Burke.
Female caprice and backstairs influence. Trevelyan.
Backstay
Back"stay` (?), n. [Back, a. orn.+ stay.]
1. (Naut.) A rope or stay extending from the masthead to the side of a
ship, slanting a little aft, to assist the shrouds in supporting the
mast. [ Often used in the plural.]
2. A rope or strap used to prevent excessive forward motion.
Backster
Back"ster (?), n. [See Baxter.] A backer. [Obs.]
Backstitch
Back"stitch` (?), n. [Back, adv. + stitch.] A stitch made by setting
the needle back of the end of the last stitch, and bringing it out in
front of the end.
Backstitch
Back"stitch`, v. i. To sew with backstitches; as, to backstitch a
seam.
Backstress
Back"stress (?), n. A female baker. [Obs.]
Backsword
Back"sword` (?), n. [2d back,n.+ sword.]
1. A sword with one sharp edge.
2. In England, a stick with a basket handle, used in rustic
amusements; also, the game in which the stick is used. Also called
singlestick. Halliwell.
Backward, Backwards
Back"ward (?), Back"wards (?), adv. [Back, adv. + -ward.]
1. With the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward.
2. Toward the back; toward the rear; as, to throw the arms backward.
3. On the back, or with the back downward.
Thou wilt fall backward. Shak.
4. Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
Some reigns backward. Locke.
5. By way of reflection; reflexively. Sir J. Davies.
6. From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from
religion to sin.
The work went backward. Dryden.
7. In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily; as,
to read backwards.
We might have . . . beat them backward home. Shak.
Backward
Back"ward, a.
1. Directed to the back or rear; as, backward glances.
2. Unwilling; averse; reluctant; hesitating; loath.
For wiser brutes were backward to be slaves. Pope.
3. Not well advanced in learning; not quick of apprehension; dull;
inapt; as, a backward child. "The backward learner." South.
4. Late or behindhand; as, a backward season.
5. Not advanced in civilization; undeveloped; as, the country or
region is in a backward state.
6. Already past or gone; bygone. [R.]
And flies unconscious o'er each backward year. Byron.
Backward
Back"ward, n. The state behind or past. [Obs.]
In the dark backward and abysm of time. Shak.
Backward
Back"ward, v. i. To keep back; to hinder. [Obs.]
Backwardation
Back`war*da"tion (?), n. [Backward, v.i.+ -ation.] (Stock Exchange)
The seller's postponement of delivery of stock or shares, with the
consent of the buyer, upon payment of a premium to the latter; --
also, the premium so paid. See Contango. Biddle.
Backwardly
Back"ward*ly (?), adv.
1. Reluctantly; slowly; aversely. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
2. Perversely; ill.[Obs.]
And does he think so backwardly of me? Shak.
Backwardness
Back"ward*ness, n. The state of being backward.
Backwash
Back"wash` (?), v. i. To clean the oil from (wood) after combing.
Backwater
Back"wa`ter (?), n. [Back, a. or adv. + -ward. ]
1. Water turned back in its course by an obstruction, an opposing
current , or the flow of the tide, as in a sewer or river channel, or
across a river bar.
2. An accumulation of water overflowing the low lands, caused by an
obstruction.
3. Water thrown back by the turning of a waterwheel, or by the paddle
wheels of a steamer.
Backwoods
Back"woods" (?), n. pl. [Back, a. + woods.] The forests or partly
cleared grounds on the frontiers.
Backwoodsman
Back"woods"man (?), n.; pl. Backwoodsmen (. A men living in the forest
in or beyond the new settlements, especially on the western frontiers
of the older portions of the United States. Fisher Ames.
Backworm
Back"worm` (?), n. [2d back,n.+ worm. ] A disease of hawks. See
Filanders. Wright.
Bacon
Ba"con (?), n. [OF. bacon, fr. OHG. bacho, bahho, flitch of bacon,
ham; akin to E. back. Cf. Back the back side.] The back and sides of a
pig salted and smoked; formerly, the flesh of a pig salted or fresh.
Bacon beetle (Zo\'94l.), a beetle (Dermestes lardarius) which,
especially in the larval state, feeds upon bacon, woolens, furs, etc.
See Dermestes. -- To save one's bacon, to save one's self or property
from harm or less. [Colloq.]
Baconian
Ba*co"ni*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Lord Bacon, or to his system
of philosophy. Baconian method, the inductive method. See Induction.
Bacteria
Bac*te"ri*a (?), n.p. See Bacterium.
Bacterial
Bac*te"ri*al (?), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to bacteria.
Bactericidal
Bac*te"ri*ci`dal (?), a. Destructive of bacteria.
Bactericide
Bac*te"ri*cide (?), n. [Bacterium + L. caedere to kill] (Biol.) Same
as Germicide.
Bacteriological
Bac*te"ri*o*log`ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to bacteriology; as,
bacteriological studies.
Bacteriologist
Bac*te"ri*ol`o*gist, n. One skilled in bacteriology.
Bacteriology
Bac*te"ri*ol`o*gy (?), n. [Bacterium + -logy. ] (Biol.) The science
relating to bacteria.
Bacterioscopic
Bac*te`ri*o*scop"ic (?), a. (Biol.) Relating to bacterioscopy; as, a
bacterioscopic examination.
Bacterioscopist
Bac*te`ri*os"co*pist (?), n. (Biol.) One skilled in bacterioscopic
examinations.
Bacterioscopy
Bac*te`ri*os"co*py (?), n. [Bacterium + -scopy ] (Biol.) The
application of a knowledge of bacteria for their detection and
identification, as in the examination of polluted water.
Bacterium
Bac*te"ri*um (?), n.; pl. Bacteria (#). [NL., fr. Gr., , a staff: cf.
F. bact\'82rie. ] (Biol.) A microscopic vegetable organism, belonging
to the class Alg\'91, usually in the form of a jointed rodlike
filament, and found in putrefying organic infusions. Bacteria are
destitute of chlorophyll, and are the smallest of microscopic
organisms. They are very widely diffused in nature, and multiply with
marvelous rapidity, both by fission and by spores. Certain species are
active agents in fermentation, while others appear to be the cause of
certain infectious diseases. See Bacillus.
Bacteroid, Bacteroidal
Bac"te*roid (?), Bac`te*roid"al (?), a. [Bacterium + -oid.] (Biol.)
Resembling bacteria; as, bacteroid particles.
Bactrian
Bac"tri*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Bactria in Asia. -- n. A native
of Bactria. Bactrian camel, the two-humped camel.
Bacule
Bac"ule (?), n. [F.] (Fort.) See Bascule.
Baculine
Bac"u*line (?), a. [L. baculum staff.] Of or pertaining to the rod or
punishment with the rod.
Baculite
Bac"u*lite (?), n. [L. baculune stick, staff; cf. F. baculite.]
(Paleon.) A cephalopod of the extinct genus Baculites, found fossil in
the Cretaceous rocks. It is like an uncoiled ammonite.
Baculometry
Bac`u*lom"e*try (?), n. [L. baculum staff + -metry] Measurement of
distance or altitude by a staff or staffs.
Bad
Bad (?), imp. of Bid. Bade. [Obs.] Dryden.
Bad
Bad (?), a. [Compar. Worse (?); superl. Worst (?). ] [Probably fr. AS.
b\'91ddel hermaphrodite; cf. b\'91dling effeminate fellow.] Wanting
good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful,
inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, either
physically or morally; evil; vicious; wicked; -- the opposite of good;
as a bad man; bad conduct; bad habits; bad soil; bad health; bad crop;
bad news.
NOTE: Sometimes used substantively.
The strong antipathy of good to bad. Pope.
Syn. -- Pernicious; deleterious; noxious; baneful; injurious; hurtful;
evil; vile; wretched; corrupt; wicked; vicious; imperfect.
Badder
Bad"der (?), compar. of Bad, a. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Badderlocks
Bad"der*locks (?), n. [Perh. for Balderlocks, fr. Balder the
Scandinavian deity.] (Bot.) A large black seaweed (Alaria esculenta)
sometimes eaten in Europe; -- also called murlins, honeyware, and
henware.
Baddish
Bad"dish, a. Somewhat bad; inferior. Jeffrey.
Bade
Bade (?). A form of the pat tense of Bid.
Badge
Badge (?), n. [LL. bagea, bagia, sign, prob. of German origin; cf. AS.
be\'a0g, be\'a0h, bracelet, collar, crown, OS b in comp., AS. b to
bow, bend, G. biegen. See Bow to bend.]
1. A distinctive mark, token, sign, or cognizance, worn on the person;
as, the badge of a society; the badge of a policeman. "Tax gatherers,
recognized by their official badges. " Prescott.
2. Something characteristic; a mark; a token.
Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge. Shak.
3. (Naut.) A carved ornament on the stern of a vessel, containing a
window or the representation of one.
Badge
Badge (?), v. t. To mark or distinguish with a badge.
Badgeless
Badge"less, a. Having no badge. Bp. Hall.
Badger
Badg"er (?), n. [Of uncertain origin; perh. fr. an old verb badge to
lay up provisions to sell again.] An itinerant licensed dealer in
commodities used for food; a hawker; a huckster; -- formerly applied
especially to one who bought grain in one place and sold it in
another. [Now dialectic, Eng.]
Badger
Badg"er, n. [OE. bageard, prob. fr. badge + -ard, in reference to the
white mark on its forehead. See Badge,n.]
1. A carnivorous quadruped of the genus Meles or of an allied genus.
It is a burrowing animal, with short, thick legs, and long claws on
the fore feet. One species (M. vulgaris), called also brock, inhabits
the north of Europe and Asia; another species (Taxidea Americana or
Labradorica) inhabits the northern parts of North America. See Teledu.
2. A brush made of badgers' hair, used by artists.
Badger dog. (Zo\'94l.) See Dachshund.
Badger
Badg"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Badgered (p. pr. & vb. n. Badgering.]
[For sense 1, see 2d Badger; for 2, see 1st Badger.]
1. To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or irritate
persistently.
2. To beat down; to cheapen; to barter; to bargain.
Badgerer
Badg"er*er (?), n.
1. One who badgers.
2. A kind of dog used in badger baiting.
Badgering
Badg"er*ing, n.
1. The act of one who badgers.
2. The practice of buying wheat and other kinds of food in one place
and selling them in another for a profit. [Prov. Eng.]
Badger-legged
Badg"er-legged` (?), a. Having legs of unequal length, as the badger
was thought to have. Shak.
Badiaga
Bad`i*a"ga (?), n. [Russ. badiaga.] (Zo\'94l.) A fresh-water sponge
(Spongilla), common in the north of Europe, the powder of which is
used to take away the livid marks of bruises.
Badian
Ba"di*an (?), n. [F.badiane, fr. Per. b\'bedi\'ben anise.] (Bot.) An
evergreen Chinese shrub of the Magnolia family (Illicium anisatum),
and its aromatic seeds; Chinese anise; star anise.
Badigeon
Ba*di"geon (?), n. [F.] A cement or paste (as of plaster and
freestone, or of sawdust and glue or lime) used by sculptors,
builders, and workers in wood or stone, to fill holes, cover defects,
or finish a surface.
Badinage
Ba`di`nage" (?), n. [F., fr. badiner to joke, OF. to trifle, be silly,
fr. badin silly.] Playful raillery; banter. "He . . . indulged himself
only in an elegant badinage." Warburton.
Bad lands
Bad" lands" (?). Barren regions, especially in the western United
States, where horizontal strata (Tertiary deposits) have been often
eroded into fantastic forms, and much intersected by canons, and where
lack of wood, water, and forage increases the difficulty of traversing
the country, whence the name, first given by the Canadian French,
Mauvaises Terres (bad lands).
Badly
Bad"ly, adv. In a bad manner; poorly; not well; unskillfully;
imperfectly; unfortunately; grievously; so as to cause harm;
disagreeably; seriously.
NOTE: &hand; Badly is often used colloquially for very much or very
greatly, with words signifying to want or need.
Badminton
Bad"min*ton (?), n. [From the name of the seat of the Duke of Beaufort
in England.]
1. A game, similar to lawn tennis, played with shuttlecocks.
2. A preparation of claret, spiced and sweetened.
Badness
Bad"ness, n. The state of being bad.
B\'91nomere
B\'91"no*mere (?), n. [Gr. to walk + -mere.] (Zo\'94l.) One of the
somites (arthromeres) that make up the thorax of Arthropods. Packard.
B\'91nopod
B\'91"no*pod (?), n. [Gr. -pod.] (Zo\'94l.) One of the thoracic legs
of Arthropods.
B\'91nosome
B\'91"no*some (?), n. [Gr. -some body.] (Zo\'94l.) The thorax of
Arthropods. Packard.
Baff
Baff (?), n. A blow; a stroke. [Scot.] H. Miller.
Baffle
Baf"fle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Baffled (p. pr. & vb. n. Baffling (.]
[Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless,
abashed, jaded, Icel. b\'begr uneasy, poor, or b\'begr, n., struggle,
b\'91gja to push, treat harshly, OF. beffler, beffer, to mock,
deceive, dial. G. b\'84ppe mouth, beffen to bark, chide.]
1. To cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight.
[Obs.]
He by the heels him hung upon a tree, And baffled so, that all
which passed by The picture of his punishment might see. Spenser.
2. To check by shifts and turns; to elude; to foil.
The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim. Cowper.
3. To check by perplexing; to disconcert, frustrate, or defeat; to
thwart. "A baffled purpose." De Quincey.
A suitable scripture ready to repel and baffle them all. South.
Calculations so difficult as to have baffled, until within a . . .
recent period, the most enlightened nations. Prescott.
The mere intricacy of a question should not baffle us. Locke.
Baffling wind (Naut.), one that frequently shifts from one point to
another. Syn. -- To balk; thwart; foil; frustrate; defeat.
Baffle
Baf"fle, v. i.
1. To practice deceit. [Obs.] Barrow.
2. To struggle against in vain; as, a ship baffles with the winds.
[R.]
Baffle
Baf"fle, n. A defeat by artifice, shifts, and turns; discomfiture.
[R.] "A baffle to philosophy." South.
Bafflement
Baf"fle*ment (?), n. The process or act of baffling, or of being
baffled; frustration; check.
Baffler
Baf"fler (?), n. One who, or that which, baffles. <-- p. 112 -->
Baffling
Baf"fling (?), a. Frustrating; discomfiting; disconcerting; as,
baffling currents, winds, tasks. -- Bafflingly, adv. -- Bafflingness,
n.
Baft
Baft (?). n. Same as Bafta.
Bafta
Baf"ta (?), n. [Cf. Per. baft. woven, wrought.] A coarse stuff,
usually of cotton, originally made in India. Also, an imitation of
this fabric made for export.
Bag
Bag (?), n. [OE. bagge; cf. Icel. baggi, and also OF. bague, bundle,
LL. baga.]
1. A sack or pouch, used for holding anything; as, a bag of meal or of
money.
2. A sac, or dependent gland, in animal bodies, containing some fluid
or other substance; as, the bag of poison in the mouth of some
serpents; the bag of a cow.
3. A sort of silken purse formerly tied about men's hair behind, by
way of ornament. [Obs.]
4. The quantity of game bagged.
5. (Com.) A certain quantity of a commodity, such as it is customary
to carry to market in a sack; as, a bag of pepper or hops; a bag of
coffee.
Bag and baggage, all that belongs to one. -- To give one the bag, to
disappoint him. [Obs.] Bunyan.
Bag
Bag, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bagged(p. pr. & vb. n. Bagging]
1. To put into a bag; as, to bag hops.
2. To seize, capture, or entrap; as, to bag an army; to bag game.
3. To furnish or load with a bag or with a well filled bag.
A bee bagged with his honeyed venom. Dryden.
Bag
Bag, v. i.
1. To swell or hang down like a full bag; as, the skin bags from
containing morbid matter.
2. To swell with arrogance. [Obs.] Chaucer.
3. To become pregnant. [Obs.] Warner. (Alb. Eng. ).
Bagasse
Ba*gasse" (?), n. [F.] Sugar cane, as it
Bagatelle
Bag`a*telle" (?), n. [F., fr. It. bagatella; cf. Prov. It. bagata
trifle, OF. bague, Pr. bagua, bundle. See Bag, n.]
1. A trifle; a thing of no importance.
Rich trifles, serious bagatelles. Prior.
2. A game played on an oblong board, having, at one end, cups or
arches into or through which balls are to be driven by a rod held in
the hand of the player.
Baggage
Bag"gage (?), n. [F. bagage, from OF. bague bungle. In senses 6 and 7
cf. F. bagasse a prostitute. See Bag, n.]
1. The clothes, tents, utensils, and provisions of an army.
NOTE: &hand; "T he term itself is made to apply chiefly to articles
of clothing and to small personal effects."
Farrow.
2. The trunks, valises, satchels, etc., which a traveler carries with
him on a journey; luggage.
The baronet's baggage on the roof of the coach. Thackeray.
We saw our baggage following below. Johnson.
NOTE: &hand; The English usually call this luggage.
3. Purulent matter. [Obs.] Barrough.
4. Trashy talk. [Obs.] Ascham.
5. A man of bad character. [Obs.] Holland.
6. A woman of loose morals; a prostitute.
A disreputable, daring, laughing, painted French baggage.
Thackeray.
7. A romping, saucy girl. [Playful] Goldsmith.
Baggage master
Bag"gage mas`ter (?). One who has charge of the baggage at a railway
station or upon a line of public travel. [U.S.]
Baggager
Bag"ga*ger (?), n. One who takes care of baggage; a camp follower.
[Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.
Baggala
Bag"ga*la (?), n. [Ar. "fem. of baghl a mule." Balfour.] (Naut.) A
two-masted Arab or Indian trading vessel, used in Indian Ocean.
Baggily
Bag"gi*ly (?), adv. In a loose, baggy way.
Bagging
Bag"ging, n.
1. Cloth or other material for bags.
2. The act of putting anything into, or as into, a bag.
3. The act of swelling; swelling.
Bagging
Bag"ging, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] Reaping peas, beans, wheat, etc.,
with a chopping stroke. [Eng.]
Baggy
Bag"gy (?), a. Resembling a bag; loose or puffed out, or pendent, like
a bag; flabby; as, baggy trousers; baggy cheeks.
Bagman
Bag"man (?), n.; pl. Bagmen (. A commercial traveler; one employed to
solicit orders for manufacturers and tradesmen. Thackeray.
Bag net
Bag" net` (?). A bag-shaped net for catching fish.
Bagnio
Bagn"io (?), n. [It. bagno, fr. L. balneum. Cf. Bain.]
1. A house for bathing, sweating, etc.; -- also, in Turkey, a prison
for slaves. [Obs.]
2. A brothel; a stew; a house of prostitution.
Bagpipe
Bag"pipe (?), n. A musical wind instrument, now used chiefly in the
Highlands of Scotland.
NOTE: &hand; It co nsists of a leather bag, which receives the air
by a tube that is stopped by a valve; and three sounding pipes,
into which the air is pressed by the performer. Two of these pipes
produce fixed tones, namely, the bass, or key tone, and its fifth,
and form together what is called the drone; the third, or chanter,
gives the melody.
Bagpipe
Bag"pipe, v. t. To make to look like a bagpipe. To bagpipe the mizzen
(Naut.), to lay it aback by bringing the sheet to the mizzen rigging.
Totten.
Bagpiper
Bag"pip`er (?), n. One who plays on a bagpipe; a piper. Shak.
Bagreef
Bag"reef` (?), n. [Bag + reef.] (Naut.) The lower reef of fore and aft
sails; also, the upper reef of topsails. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Bague
Bague (?), n. [F., a ring] (Arch.) The annular molding or group of
moldings dividing a long shaft or clustered column into two or more
parts.
Baguet, Baguette
Ba*guet", Ba*guette" (?), n. [F. baguette, prop. a rodbacchetta, fr.
L. baculum, baculu stick, staff.]
1. (Arch.) A small molding, like the astragal, but smaller; a bead.
2. (Zo\'94l) One of the minute bodies seen in the divided nucleoli of
some Infusoria after conjugation.
Bagwig
Bag"wig" (?), n. A wig, in use in the 18th century, with the hair at
the back of the head in a bag.
Bagworm
Bag"worm` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) One of several lepidopterous insects
which construct, in the larval state, a baglike case which they carry
about for protection. One species (Plat\'d2ceticus Gloveri) feeds on
the orange tree. See Basket worm.
Bah
Bah (?), interj. An exclamation expressive of extreme contempt.
Twenty-five years ago the vile ejaculation, Bah! was utterly
unknown to the English public. De Quincey.
Bahar
Ba*har" (?), n. [Ar. bah\'ber, from bahara to charge with a load.] A
weight used in certain parts of the East Indies, varying considerably
in different localities, the range being from 223 to 625 pounds.
Baigne
Baigne (?), v. i. [F. baigner to bathe, fr. L. balneum bath.] To soak
or drench. [Obs.]
Bail
Bail (?), n. [F. baille a bucket, pail; cf. LL. bacula, dim. of bacca
a sort of vessel. Cf. Bac.] A bucket or scoop used in bailing water
out of a boat. [Obs.]
The bail of a canoe . . . made of a human skull. Capt. Cook.
Bail
Bail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bailed (p. pr. & vb. n. Bailing.]
1. To lade; to dip and throw; -- usually with out; as, to bail water
out of a boat.
Buckets . . . to bail out the water. Capt. J. Smith.
2. To dip or lade water from; -- often with out to express
completeness; as, to bail a boat.
By the help of a small bucket and our hats we bailed her out. R. H.
Dana, Jr.
Bail
Bail, v. [OF. bailler to give, to deliver, fr. L. bajulare to bear a
burden, keep in custody, fr. bajulus
1. To deliver; to release. [Obs.]
Ne none there was to rescue her, ne none to bail. Spenser.
2. (Law) (a) To set free, or deliver from arrest, or out of custody,
on the undertaking of some other person or persons that he or they
will be responsible for the appearance, at a certain day and place, of
the person bailed.
NOTE: &hand; Th e wo rd is applied to the magistrate or the surety.
The magistrate bails (but admits to bail is commoner) a man when he
liberates him from arrest or imprisonment upon bond given with
sureties. The surety bails a person when he procures his release
from arrest by giving bond for his appearance.
Blackstone. (b) To deliver, as goods in trust, for some special object
or purpose, upon a contract, expressed or implied, that the trust
shall be faithfully executed on the part of the bailee, or person
intrusted; as, to bail cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment; to
bail goods to a carrier. Blackstone. Kent.
Bail
Bail, n. [OF. bail guardian, administrator, fr. L. bajulus. See Bail
to deliver.]
1. Custody; keeping. [Obs.]
Silly Faunus now within their bail. Spenser.
2. (Law) (a) The person or persons who procure the release of a
prisoner from the custody of the officer, or from imprisonment, by
becoming surely for his appearance in court.
The bail must be real, substantial bondsmen. Blackstone.
A. and B. were bail to the arrest in a suit at law. Kent.
(b) The security given for the appearance of a prisoner in order to
obtain his release from custody of the officer; as, the man is out on
bail; to go bail for any one.
Excessive bail ought not to be required. Blackstone.
Bail
Bail, n. [OE. beyl; cf. Dan. b\'94ile an bending, ring, hoop, Sw.
b\'94gel, bygel, and Icel. beyla hump, swelling, akin to E. bow to
bend.]
1. The arched handle of a kettle, pail, or similar vessel, usually
movable. Forby.
2. A half hoop for supporting the cover of a carrier's wagon, awning
of a boat, etc.
Bail
Bail, n. [OF. bail, baille. See Bailey.]
1. (Usually pl.) A line of palisades serving as an exterior defense.
[Written also bayle.] [Obs.]
2. The outer wall of a feudal castle. Hence: The space inclosed by it;
the outer court. Holinshed.
3. A certain limit within a forest. [Eng.]
4. A division for the stalls of an open stable.
5. (Cricket) The top or cross piece ( or either of the two cross
pieces) of the wicket.
Bailable
Bail"a*ble (?), a.
1. Having the right or privilege of being admitted to bail, upon bond
with sureties; -- used of persons. "He's bailable, I'm sure." Ford.
2. Admitting of bail; as, a bailable offense.
3. That can be delivered in trust; as, bailable goods.
Bail bond
Bail" bond` (?). (Law) (a) A bond or obligation given by a prisoner
and his surety, to insure the prisoner's appearance in court, at the
return of the writ. (b) Special bail in court to abide the judgment.
Bouvier.
Bailee
Bail`ee" (?), n. [OF. baill\'82, p.p. of bailler. See Bail to
deliver.] (Law) The person to whom goods are committed in trust, and
who has a temporary possession and a qualified property in them, for
the purposes of the trust. Blackstone.
NOTE: &hand; In penal statutes the word includes those who receive
goods for another in good faith.
Wharton.
Bailer
Bail"er (?), n. (Law) See Bailor.
Bailer
Bail"er, n.
1. One who bails or lades.
2. A utensil, as a bucket or cup, used in bailing; a machine for
bailing water out of a pit.
Bailey
Bai"ley (?), n. [The same word as bail line of palisades; cf. LL.
ballium bailey, OF. bail, baille, a palisade, baillier to inclose,
shut.]
1. The outer wall of a feudal castle. [Obs.]
2. The space immediately within the outer wall of a castle or
fortress. [Obs.]
3. A prison or court of justice; -- used in certain proper names; as,
the Old Bailey in London; the New Bailey in Manchester. [Eng.] Oxf.
Gloss.
Bailie
Bail"ie (?), n. [See Bailiff.] An officer in Scotland, whose office
formerly corresponded to that of sheriff, but now corresponds to that
of an English alderman.
Bailiff
Bail"iff (?), n. [OF. baillif, F. bailli, custodiabajulus porter. See
Bail to deliver.]
1. Originally, a person put in charge of something especially, a chief
officer, magistrate, or keeper, as of a county, town, hundred, or
castle; one to whom power Abbott.
Lausanne is under the canton of Berne, governed by a bailiff sent
every three years from the senate. Addison.
2. (Eng. Law) A sheriff's deputy, appointed to make arrests, collect
fines, summon juries, etc.
NOTE: &hand; In American law the term bailiff is seldom used except
sometimes to signify a sheriff's officer or constable, or a party
liable to account to another for the rent and profits of real
estate.
Burrill.
3. An overseer or under steward of an estate, who directs husbandry
operations, collects rents, etc. [Eng.]
Bailiffwick
Bail"iff*wick (?), n. See Bailiwick. [Obs.]
Bailiwick
Bail"i*wick (?), n. [Bailie, bailiff + wick a village.] (Law) The
precincts within which a bailiff has jurisdiction; the limits of a
bailiff's authority.
Baillie
Bail"lie (?), n.
1. Bailiff. [Obs.]
2. Same as Bailie. [Scot.]
Bailment
Bail"ment (?), n.
1. (Law) The action of bailing a person accused.
Bailment . . . is the saving or delivery of a man out of prison
before he hath satisfied the law. Dalton.
2. (Law) A delivery of goods or money by one person to another in
trust, for some special purpose, upon a contract, expressed or
implied, that the trust shall be faithfully executed. Blackstone.
NOTE: &hand; In a ge neral se nse it is so metimes us ed as
comprehending all duties in respect to property.
Story.
Bailor
Bail`or" (?), n. (Law) One who delivers goods or money to another in
trust.
Bailpiece
Bail"piece` (?), n. (Law) A piece of parchment, or paper, containing a
recognizance or bail bond.
Bain
Bain (?), n. [F. bain, fr. L. balneum. Cf. Bagnio.] A bath; a bagnio.
[Obs.] Holland.
Bain-marie
Bain`-ma`rie" (?), n. [F.] A vessel for holding hot water in which
another vessel may be heated without scorching its contents; -- used
for warming or preparing food or pharmaceutical preparations.
Bairam
Bai"ram (?), n. [Turk. ba\'8br\'bem.] The name of two Mohammedan
festivals, of which one is held at the close of the fast called
Ramadan, and the other seventy days after the fast.
Bairn
Bairn (?), n. [Scot. bairn, AS. bearn, fr. beran to bear; akin to
Icel., OS., &Goth. barn. See Bear to support.] A child. [Scot. & Prov.
Eng.]
Has he not well provided for the bairn ! Beau. & Fl.
Baisemains
Baise"mains` (?), n. pl. [F., fr. baiser to kiss + mains hands.]
Respects; compliments. [Obs.]
Bait
Bait (?), n. [Icel. beita food, beit pasture, akin to AS. b\'bet food,
Sw. bete. See Bait, v. i.]
1. Any substance, esp. food, used in catching fish, or other animals,
by alluring them to a hook, snare, inclosure, or net.
2. Anything which allures; a lure; enticement; temptation. Fairfax.
3. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey;
also, a stop for rest and refreshment.
4. A light or hasty luncheon.
Bait bug (Zo\'94l), a crustacean of the genus Hippa found burrowing in
sandy beaches. See Anomura.
Bait
Bait, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Baited; p. pr. & vb. n. Baiting.] [OE.
baiten, beit, to feed, harass, fr. Icel. beita, orig. to cause to
bite, fr. b\'c6ta. &root;87. See Bite.]
1. To provoke and harass; esp., to harass or torment for sport; as, to
bait a bear with dogs; to bait a bull.
2. To give a portion of food and drink to, upon the road; as, to bait
horses. Holland.
3. To furnish or cover with bait, as a trap or hook.
A crooked pin . . . bailed with a vile earthworm. W. Irving.
Bait
Bait, v. i. To stop to take a portion of food and drink for
refreshment of one's self or one's beasts, on a journey.
Evil news rides post, while good news baits. Milton.
My lord's coach conveyed me to Bury, and thence baiting aEvelyn.
Bait
Bait, v. i. [F. battre de l'aile (or des ailes), to flap oBatter, v.
i.] To flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk
when she stoops to her prey. "Kites that bait and beat." Shak.
Baiter
Bait"er (?), n. One who baits; a tormentor.
Baize
Baize (?), n. [For bayes, pl. fr. OF. baie; cf. F. bai bay-colored.
See Bay a color.] A coarse woolen stuff with a long nap; -- usually
dyed in plain colors.
A new black baize waistcoat lined with silk. Pepys.
Bajocco
Ba*joc"co (?), n. [It., fr. bajo brown, bay, from its color.] A small
cooper coin formerly current in the Roman States, worth about a cent
and a half.
Bake
Bake (?), v. t. [imp.& p. p. Baked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Baking.] [AS.
bacan; akin to D. bakken, OHG. bacchan, G. backen, Icel. & Sw. baca,
Dan. bage, Gr.
1. To prepare, as food, by cooking in a dry heat, either in an oven or
under coals, or on heated stone or metal; as, to bake bread, meat,
apples.
NOTE: &hand; Ba king is the term usually applied to that method of
cooking which exhausts the moisture in food more than roasting or
broiling; but the distinction of meaning between roasting and
baking is not always observed.
2. To dry or harden (anything) by subjecting to heat, as, to bake
bricks; the sun bakes the ground.
3. To harden by cold.
The earth . . . is baked with frost. Shak.
They bake their sides upon the cold, hard stone. Spenser.
Bake
Bake, v. i.
1. To do the work of baking something; as, she brews, washes, and
bakes. Shak.
2. To be baked; to become dry and hard in heat; as, the bread bakes;
the ground bakes in the hot sun.
Bake
Bake, n. The process, or result, of baking.
Bakehouse
Bake"house` (?), n. [AS. b\'91ch. See Bak, v. i., and House.] A house
for baking; a bakery. <-- p. 113 -->
Bakemeat, Baked-meat
Bake"meat` (?), Baked"-meat` (?), n. A pie; baked food. [Obs.] Gen.
xl. 17. Shak.
Baken
Bak"en (?), p. p. of Bake. [Obs. or. Archaic]
Baker
Bak"er (?), n. [AS. b\'91cere. See Bake, v. i.]
1. One whose business it is to bake bread, biscuit, etc.
2. A portable oven in which baking is done. [U.S.]
A baker's dozen, thirteen. -- Baker foot, a distorted foot. [Obs.]
Jer. Taylor. -- Baker's itch, a rash on the back of the hand, caused
by the irritating properties of yeast. -- Baker's salt, the
subcarbonate of ammonia, sometimes used instead of soda, in making
bread.
Baker-legged
Bak"er-legged` (?), a. Having legs that bend inward at the knees.
Bakery
Bak"er*y (?), n.
1. The trade of a baker. [R.]
2. The place for baking bread; a bakehouse.
Baking
Bak"ing, n.
1. The act or process of cooking in an oven, or of drying and
hardening by heat or cold.
2. The quantity baked at once; a batch; as, a baking of bread.
Baking powder, a substitute for yeast, usually consisting of an acid,
a carbonate, and a little farinaceous matter.
Bakingly
Bak"ing*ly, adv. In a hot or baking manner.
Bakistre
Bak"is*tre (?), n. [See Baxter.] A baker. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Baksheesh, Bakshish
Bak"sheesh`, Bak"shish` (?), n. Same as Backsheesh.
Balaam
Ba"laam (?), n. A paragraph describing something wonderful, used to
fill out a newspaper column; -- an allusion to the miracle of Balaam's
ass speaking. Numb. xxii. 30. [Cant] Balaam basket or box (Print.),
the receptacle for rejected articles. Blackw. Mag.
Balachong
Bal"a*chong (?), n. [Malay b\'belach\'ben.] A condiment formed of
small fishes or shrimps, pounded up with salt and spices, and then
dried. It is much esteemed in China.
Bal\'91noidea
Bal`\'91*noi"de*a (?), n. [NL., from L. balaena whale + -oid.]
(Zo\'94l) A division of the Cetacea, including the right whale and all
other whales having the mouth fringed with baleen. See Baleen.
Balance
Bal"ance (?), n. [OE. balaunce, F. balance, fr. L. bilan, bilancis,
having two scales; bis twice (akin to E. two) + lanx plate, scale.]
1. An apparatus for weighing.
NOTE: &hand; In its simplest form, a balance consists of a beam or
lever supported exactly in the middle, having two scales or basins
of equal weight suspended from its extremities. Another form is
that of the Roman balance, our steelyard, consisting of a lever or
beam, suspended near one of its extremities, on the longer arm of
which a counterpoise slides. The name is also given to other forms
of apparatus for weighing bodies, as to the combinations of levers
making up platform scales; and even to devices for weighing by the
elasticity of a spring.
2. Act of weighing mentally; comparison; estimate.
A fair balance of the advantages on either side. Atterbury.
3. Equipoise between the weights in opposite scales.
4. The state of being in equipoise; equilibrium; even adjustment;
steadiness.
And hung a bottle on each side To make his balance true. Cowper.
The order and balance of the country were destroyed. Buckle.
English workmen completely lose their balance. J. S. Mill.
5. An equality between the sums total of the two sides of an account;
as, to bring one's accounts to a balance; -- also, the excess on
either side; as, the balance of an account. " A balance at the
banker's. " Thackeray.
I still think the balance of probabilities leans towards the
account given in the text. J. Peile.
6. (Horol.) A balance wheel, as of a watch, or clock. See Balance
wheel (in the Vocabulary).
7. (Astron.) (a) The constellation Libra. (b) The seventh sign in the
Zodiac, called Libra, which the sun enters at the equinox in
September.
8. A movement in dancing. See Balance, v. i., S.
Balance electrometer, a kind of balance, with a poised beam, which
indicates, by weights suspended from one arm, the mutual attraction of
oppositely electrified surfaces. Knight. -- Balance fish. (Zo\'94l)
See Hammerhead. -- Balance knife, a carving or table knife the handle
of which overbalances the blade, and so keeps it from contact with the
table. -- Balance of power. (Politics), such an adjustment of power
among sovereign states that no one state is in a position to interfere
with the independence of the others; international equilibrium; also,
the ability ( of a state or a third party within a state) to control
the relations between sovereign states or between dominant parties in
a state. -- Balance sheet (Bookkeeping), a paper showing the balances
of the open accounts of a business, the debit and credit balances
footing up equally, if the system of accounts be complete and the
balances correctly taken. -- Balance thermometer, a thermometer
mounted as a balance so that the movement of the mercurial column
changes the indication of the tube. With the aid of electrical or
mechanical devices adapted to it, it is used for the automatic
regulation of the temperature of rooms warmed artificially, and as a
fire alarm. -- Balance of torsion. See Torsion Balance. -- Balance of
trade (Pol. Econ.), an equilibrium between the money values of the
exports and imports of a country; or more commonly, the amount
required on one side or the other to make such an equilibrium. --
Balance valve, a valve whose surfaces are so arranged that the fluid
pressure tending to seat, and that tending to unseat the valve, are
nearly in equilibrium; esp., a puppet valve which is made to operate
easily by the admission of steam to both sides. See Puppet valve. --
Hydrostatic balance. See under Hydrostatic. -- To lay in balance, to
put up as a pledge or security. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- To strike a
balance, to find out the difference between the debit and credit sides
of an account.
Balance
Bal"ance (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Balanced (p. pr. & vb. n. Balancing
( [From Balance, n.: cf. F. balancer. ]
1. To bring to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting
the weights; to weigh in a balance.
2. To support on a narrow base, so as to keep from falling; as, to
balance a plate on the end of a cane; to balance one's self on a tight
rope.
3. To equal in number, weight, force, or proportion; to counterpoise,
counterbalance, counteract, or neutralize.
One expression . . . must check and balance another. Kent.
4. To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
Balance the good and evil of things. L'Estrange.
5. To settle and adjust, as an account; to make two accounts equal by
paying the difference between them.
I am very well satisfied that it is not in my power to balance
accounts with my Maker. Addison.
6. To make the sums of the debits and credits of an account equal; --
said of an item; as, this payment, or credit, balances the account.
7. To arrange accounts in such a way that the sum total of the debits
is equal to the sum total of the credits; as, to balance a set of
books.
8. (Dancing) To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally; as, to
balance partners.
9. (Naut.) To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass; as, to
balance the boom mainsail.
Balanced valve. See Balance valve, under Balance, n. Syn. -- To poise;
weigh; adjust; counteract; neutralize; equalize.
Balance
Bal"ance, v. i.
1. To have equal weight on each side; to be in equipoise; as, the
scales balance.
2. To fluctuate between motives which appear of equal force; to waver;
to hesitate.
He would not balance or err in the determination of his choice.
Locke.
3. (Dancing) To move toward a person or couple, and then back.
Balanceable
Bal"ance*a*ble (?), a. Such as can be balanced.
Balancement
Bal"ance*ment (?), n. The act or result of balancing or adjusting;
equipoise; even adjustment of forces. [R.] Darwin.
Balancer
Bal"an*cer (?), n.
1. One who balances, or uses a balance.
2. (Zo\'94l.) In Diptera, the rudimentary posterior wing.
Balancereef
Bal"ance*reef` (?), n. (Naut.) The last reef in a fore-and-aft sail,
taken to steady the ship.
Balance wheel
Bal"ance wheel` (?).
1. (Horology) (a) A wheel which regulates the beats or pulses of a
watch or chronometer, answering to the pendulum of a clock; -- often
called simply a balance. (b) A ratchet-shaped scape wheel, which in
some watches is acted upon by the axis of the balance wheel proper (in
those watches called a balance).
2. (Mach.) A wheel which imparts regularity to the movements of any
engine or machine; a fly wheel.
Balaniferous
Bal`a*nif"er*ous (?), a. [L. balanus acorn + -ferous.] Bearing or
producing acorns.
Balanite
Bal"a*nite (?), n. [L. balanus acorn: cf. F. balanite.] (Paleon.) A
fossil balanoid shell.
Balanoglossus
Bal`a*no*glos"sus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. (Zo\'94l) A peculiar marine
worm. See Enteropneusta, and Tornaria.
Balanoid
Bal"a*noid (?), a. [Gr. -oid.] (Zo\'94l.) Resembling an acorn; --
applied to a group of barnacles having shells shaped like acorns. See
Acornshell, and Barnacle.
Balas ruby
Bal"as ru`by (?). [OE. bales, balais, F. balais, LL. balascus, fr. Ar.
balakhsh, so called from Badakhshan, Balashan, or Balaxiam, a place in
the neighborhood of Samarcand, where this ruby is found.] (Min.) A
variety of spinel ruby, of a pale rose red, or inclining to orange.
See Spinel.
Balaustine
Ba*laus"tine (?), n. [L. balaustium, Gr. (Bot.) The pomegranate tree
(Punica granatum). The bark of the root, the rind of the fruit, and
the flowers are used medicinally.
Balbutiate, Balbucinate
Bal*bu"ti*ate (?), Bal*bu"ci*nate (?), v. i. [L. balbutire, fr. balbus
stammering: cf. F. balbutier.] To stammer. [Obs.]
Balbuties
Bal*bu"ti*es (?), n. (Med.) The defect of stammering; also, a kind of
incomplete pronunciation.
Balcon
Bal"con (?), n. A balcony. [Obs.] Pepys.
Balconied
Bal"co*nied (?), a. Having balconies.
Balcony
Bal"co*ny (?), n.; pl. Balconies (#). [It. balcone; cf. It. balco,
palco, scaffold, fr. OHG. balcho, pa, beam, G. balken. See Balk beam.]
1. (Arch.) A platform projecting from the wall of a building, usually
resting on brackets or consoles, and inclosed by a parapet; as, a
balcony in front of a window. Also, a projecting gallery in places of
amusement; as, the balcony in a theater.
2. A projecting gallery once common at the stern of large ships.
NOTE: &hand; "T he ac cent has shifted from the second to the first
syllable within these twenty years."
Smart (1836).
Bald
Bald (?), a. [OE. balled, ballid, perh. the p.p. of ball to reduce to
the roundness or smoothness of a ball, by removing hair. &root;85. But
cf. W. bali whiteness in a horse's forehead.]
1. Destitute of the natural or common covering on the head or top, as
of hair, feathers, foliage, trees, etc.; as, a bald head; a bald oak.
On the bald top of an eminence. Wordsworth.
2. Destitute of ornament; unadorned; bare; literal.
In the preface to his own bald translation. Dryden.
3. Undisguised. " Bald egotism." Lowell.
4. Destitute of dignity or value; paltry; mean. [Obs.]
5. (Bot.) Destitute of a beard or awn; as, bald wheat.
6. (Zo\'94l.) (a) Destitute of the natural covering. (b) Marked with a
white spot on the head; bald-faced.
Bald buzzard (Zo\'94l.), the fishhawk or osprey. -- Bald coot
(Zo\'94l.), a name of the European coot (Fulica atra), alluding to the
bare patch on the front of the head.
Baldachin
Bal"da*chin (?), n. [LL. baldachinus, baldechinus, a canopy of rich
silk carried over the host; fr. Bagdad, It. Baldacco, a city in
Turkish Asia from whence these rich silks came: cf. It. baldacchino.
Cf. Baudekin.]
1. A rich brocade; baudekin. [Obs.]
2. (Arch.) A structure in form of a canopy, sometimes supported by
columns, and sometimes suspended from the roof or projecting from the
wall; generally placed over an altar; as, the baldachin in St.
Peter's.
3. A portable canopy borne over shrines, etc., in procession. [Written
also baldachino, baldaquin, etc.]
Bald eagle
Bald" ea"gle (?). (Zo\'94l.) The white-headed eagle (Hali\'91etus
leucocephalus) of America. The young, until several years old, lack
the white feathers on the head.
NOTE: &hand; The bald eagle is represented in the coat of arms, and
on the coins, of the United States.
Balder
Bal"der (?), n. [Icel. Baldr, akin to E. bold.] (Scan. Myth.) The most
beautiful and beloved of the gods; the god of peace; the son of Odin
and Freya. [Written also Baldur.]
Balderdash
Bal"der*dash (?), n. [Of uncertain origin: cf. Dan. balder noise,
clatter, and E. dash; hence, perhaps, unmeaning noise, then
hodgepodge, mixture; or W. baldorduss a prattling, baldordd,
baldorddi, to prattle.]
1. A worthless mixture, especially of liquors.
Indeed beer, by a mixture of wine, hath lost both name and nature,
and is called balderdash. Taylor (Drink and Welcome).
2. Senseless jargon; ribaldry; nonsense; trash.
Balderdash
Bal"der*dash (?), v. t. To mix or adulterate, as liquors.
The wine merchants of Nice brew and balderdash, and even mix it
with pigeon's dung and quicklime. Smollett.
Bald-faced
Bald"-faced` (?), a. Having a white face or a white mark on the face,
as a stag.
Baldhead
Bald"head` (?), n.
1. A person whose head is bald. 2 Kings ii. 23.
2. (Zo\'94l.) A white-headed variety of pigeon.
Baldheaded
Bald"head`ed, a. Having a bald head.
Baldly
Bald"ly, adv. Nakedly; without reserve; inelegantly.
Baldness
Bald"ness, n. The state or condition of being bald; as, baldness of
the head; baldness of style.
This gives to their syntax a peculiar character of simplicity and
baldness. W. D. Whitney.
Baldpate
Bald"pate` (?), n.
1. A baldheaded person. Shak.
2. (Zo\'94l.) The American widgeon (Anas Americana).
Baldpate, Baldpated
Bald"pate` (?), Bald"pat`ed (?), a. Destitute of hair on the head;
baldheaded. Shak.
Baldrib
Bald"rib` (?), n. A piece of pork cut lower down than the sparerib,
and destitute of fat. [Eng.] Southey.
Baldric
Bal"dric (?), n. [OE. baudric, bawdrik, through OF. (cf. F. baudrier
and LL. baldringus, baldrellus), from OHG. balderich, cf. balz, palz,
akin to E. belt. See Belt, n.] A broad belt, sometimes richly
ornamented, worn over one shoulder, across the breast, and under the
opposite arm; less properly, any belt. [Also spelt bawdrick.]
A radiant baldric o'er his shoulder tied Sustained the sword that
glittered at his side. Pope.
Baldwin
Bald"win (?), n. (Bot.) A kind of reddish, moderately acid, winter
apple. [U.S.]
Bale
Bale (?), n. [OE. bale, OF. bale, F. balle, LL. bala, fr. OHG. balla,
palla, pallo, G. ball, balle, ballen, ball round pack; cf. D. baal.
Cf. Ball a round body.] A bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover,
and corded for storage or transportation; also, a bundle of straw Bale
of dice, a pair of dice. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Bale
Bale, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Baled (p. pr. & vb. n. Baling.] To make up
in a bale. Goldsmith.
Bale
Bale, v. t. See Bail, v. t., to lade. <-- p. 114 -->
Bale
Bale (?), n. [AS. bealo, bealu, balu; akin to OS. , OHG. balo, Icel.
b\'94l, Goth. balweins.]
1. Misery;
Let now your bliss be turned into bale. Spenser.
2. Evil; an evil, pernicious influence; something causing great
injury. [Now chiefly poetic]
Balearic
Bal`e*ar"ic (?), a. [L. Balearicus, fr. Gr. the Balearic Islands.] Of
or pertaining to the isles of Majorca, Minorca, Ivica, etc., in the
Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Valencia. Balearic crane.
(Zo\'94l.) See Crane.
Baleen
Ba*leen" (?), n. [F. baleine whale and whalibone, L. balaena a whale;
cf. Gr. . ] (Zo\'94l. & Com.) Plates or blades of "whalebone," from
two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain
whales (Bal\'91noidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw,
and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the
mouth.
Balefire
Bale"fire` (?), n. [AS. b the fire of the b fire, flame (akin to Icel.
b\'bel, OSlav. b, white, Gr. bright, white, Skr. bh\'bela brightness)
+ f, E. fire.] A signal fire; an alarm fire.
Sweet Teviot! on thy silver tide The glaring balefires blaze no
more. Sir W. Scott.
Baleful
Bale"ful (?), a. [AS. bealoful. See Bale misery.]
1. Full of deadly or pernicious influence; destructive. "Baleful
enemies." Shak.
Four infernal rivers that disgorge Into the burning lake their
baleful streams. Milton.
2. Full of grief or sorrow; woeful; sad. [Archaic]
Balefully
Bale"ful*ly, adv. In a baleful manner; perniciously.
Balefulness
Bale"ful*ness, n. The quality or state of being baleful.
Balisaur
Bal"i*sa`ur (?), n. [Hind.] (Zo\'94l.) A badgerlike animal of India
(Arcionyx collaris).
Balister
Bal"is*ter (?), n. [OF. balestre. See Ballista.] A crossbow. [Obs.]
Blount.
Balistoid
Bal"is*toid (?), a. (Zo\'94l.) Like a fish of the genus Balistes; of
the family Balistid\'91. See Filefish.
Balistraria
Bal`is*tra"ri*a (?), n. [LL.] (Anc. Fort.) A narrow opening, often
cruciform, through which arrows might be discharged.
Balize
Ba*lize" (?), n. [F. balise; cf. Sp. balisa.] A pole or a frame raised
as a sea beacon or a landmark.
Balk
Balk (?), n. [AS. balca beam, ridge; akin to Icel. b\'belkr partition,
bj\'belki beam, OS. balko, G. balken; cf. Gael. balc ridge of earth
between two furrows. Cf. Balcony, Balk, v. i., 3d Bulk.]
1. A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a
field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside.
Bad plowmen made balks of such ground. Fuller.
2. A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tie-beam of a house. The
loft above was called "the balks."
Tubs hanging in the balks. Chaucer.
3. (Mil.) One of the beams connecting the successive supports of a
trestle bridge or bateau bridge.
4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
A balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker. South.
5. A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.
6. (Baseball) A deceptive gesture of the pitcher, as if to deliver the
ball.
Balk line (Billiards), a line across a billiard table near one end,
marking a limit within which the cue balls are placed in beginning a
game; also, a line around the table, parallel to the sides, used in
playing a particular game, called the balk line game.
Balk
Balk, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Balked (p. pr. & vb. n. Balking.] [From Balk
a beam; orig. to put a balk or beam in one's way, in order to stop or
hinder. Cf., for sense 2, AS. on balcan legan to lay in heaps.]
1. To leave or make balks in. [Obs.] Gower.
2. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles. [Obs.]
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, Balk'd in their
own blood did Sir Walter see. Shak.
3. To omit, miss, or overlook by chance. [Obs.]
4. To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to let go by;
to shirk. [Obs. or Obsolescent]
By reason of the contagion then in London, we balked the Evelyn.
Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat. Bp. Hall.
Nor doth he any creature balk, But lays on all he meeteth. Drayton.
5. To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to as, to balk
expectation.
They shall not balk my entrance. Byron.
Balk
Balk, v. i.
1. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition. [Obs.]
In strifeful terms with him to balk. Spenser.
2. To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to stop
short; to swerve; as, the horse balks.
NOTE: &hand; Th is ha s be en re garded as an Americanism, but it
occurs in Spenser's "Fa\'89rie Queene," Book IV., 10, xxv.
Ne ever ought but of their true loves talkt, Ne ever for rebuke or
blame of any balkt.
Balk
Balk, v. i. [Prob. from D. balken to bray, bawl.] To indicate to
fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by
the shoals of herring.
Balker
Balk"er (?), n. [See 2d Balk.] One who, or that which balks.
Balker
Balk"er (?), n. [See last Balk.] A person who stands on a rock or
eminence to espy the shoals of herring, etc., and to give notice to
the men in boats which way they pass; a conder; a huer.
Baleingly
Bale"ing*ly, adv. In manner to balk or frustrate.
Balkish
Balk"ish, a. Uneven; ridgy. [R.] Holinshed.
Balky
Balk"y (?), a. Apt to balk; as, a balky horse.
Ball
Ball (?), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball,
Icel. b\'94llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st Bale, n., Pallmall.]
1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a
ball of twine; a ball of snow.
2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as
by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.
3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or
knocked. See Baseball, and Football.
4. Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead
or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a
rifball
; -- often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls
for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.
5. (Pirotechnics & Mil.) A flaming, roundish body shot into the
air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst and give
light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench; as, a fire ball;
a stink ball.
6. (Print.) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called
a ballstock; -- formerly used by printers for inking the form, but
now superseded by the roller.
7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the
ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.
8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given
to horses; a bolus. White.
9. The globe or earth. Pope.
Move round the dark terrestrial ball. Addison.
Ball and socket joint, a joint in which a ball moves within a socket,
so as to admit of motion in every direction within certain limits. --
Ball bearings, a mechanical device for lessening the friction of axle
bearings by means of small loose metal balls. -- Ball cartridge, a
cartridge containing a ball, as distinguished from a blank cartridge,
containing only powder. -- Ball cock, a faucet or valve which is
opened or closed by the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at
the end of a lever. -- Ball gudgeon, a pivot of a spherical form,
which permits lateral deflection of the arbor or shaft, while
retaining the pivot in its socket. Knight. -- Ball lever, the lever
used in a ball cock. -- Ball of the eye, the eye itself, as
distinguished from its lids and socket; -- formerly, the pupil of the
eye. -- Ball valve (Mach.), a contrivance by which a ball, placed in a
circular cup with a hole in its bottom, operates as a valve. -- Ball
vein (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose masses of a globular
form, containing sparkling particles. -- Three balls, or Three golden
balls, a pawnbroker's sign or shop. Syn. -- See Globe.
Ball
Ball, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Balled (p. pr. & vb. n. Balling.] To gather
balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into
balls; as, the horse balls; the snow balls.
Ball
Ball, v. t.
1. (Metal.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
2. To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.
Ball
Ball, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of
uncertain origin; cf. Gr. to toss or throw, or , , to leap, bound, to
dance, jump about; or cf. 1st Ball, n.] A social assembly for the
purpose of dancing.
Ballad
Bal"lad (?), n. [OE. balade, OF. balade, F. ballade, fr. Pr. ballada a
dancing song, fr. ballare to dance; cf. It. ballata. See 2d Ball, n.,
and Ballet.] A popular kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation
or singing; as, the ballad of Chevy Chase; esp., a sentimental or
romantic poem in short stanzas.
Ballad
Bal"lad, v. i. To make or sing ballads. [Obs.]
Ballad
Bal"lad, v. t. To make mention of in ballads. [Obs.]
Ballade
Bal*lade" (?), n. [See Ballad, n.] A form of French versification,
sometimes imitated in English, in which three or four rhymes recur
through three stanzas of eight or ten lines each, the stanzas
concluding with a refrain, and the whole poem with an envoy.
Ballader
Bal"lad*er (?), n. A writer of ballads.
Ballad monger
Bal"lad mon`ger (?). [See Monger.] A seller or maker of ballads; a
poetaster. Shak.
Balladry
Bal"lad*ry (?), n. [From Ballad, n. ] Ballad poems; the subject or
style of ballads. "Base balladry is so beloved." Drayton.
Ballahoo, Ballahou
Bal"la*hoo, Bal"la*hou (?), n. A fast-sailing schooner, used in the
Bermudas and West Indies.
Ballarag
Bal"la*rag (?), v. i. [Corrupted fr. bullirag.] To bully; to threaten.
[Low] T. Warton.
Ballast
Bal"last (?), n. [D. ballast; akin to Dan. baglast, ballast, OSw.
barlast, Sw. ballast. The first part is perh. the same word as E.
bare, adj.; the second is last a burden, and hence the meaning a bare,
or mere, load. See Bare, a., and Last load.]
1. (Naut.) Any heavy substance, as stone, iron, etc., put into the
hold to sink a vessel in the water to such a depth as to prevent
capsizing.
2. Any heavy matter put into the car of a balloon to give it
steadiness.
3. Gravel, broken stone, etc., laid in the bed of a railroad to make
it firm and solid.
4. The larger solids, as broken stone or gravel, used in making
concrete.
5. Fig.: That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness,
steadiness, and security.
It [piety] is the right ballast of prosperity. Barrow.
Ballast engine, a steam engine used in excavating and for digging and
raising stones and gravel for ballast. -- Ship in ballast, a ship
carring only ballast.
Ballast
Bal"last, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ballasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ballasting.]
1. To steady, as a vessel, by putting heavy substances in the hold.
2. To fill in, as the bed of a railroad, with gravel, stone, etc., in
order to make it firm and solid.
3. To keep steady; to steady, morally.
'T is charity must ballast the heart. Hammond.
Ballastage
Bal"last*age (?), n. (Law) A toll paid for the privilege of taking up
ballast in a port or harbor.
Ballasting
Bal"last*ing, n. That which is used for steadying anything; ballast.
Ballatry
Bal"la*try (?), n. See Balladry. [Obs.] Milton.
Ballet
Bal"let` (?), n. [F., a dim. of bal dance. See 2d Ball, n.]
1. An artistic dance performed as a theatrical entertainment, or an
interlude, by a number of persons, usually women. Sometimes, a scene
accompanied by pantomime and dancing.
2. The company of persons who perform the ballet.
3. (Mus.) A light part song, or madrigal, with a fa la burden or
chorus, -- most common with the Elizabethan madrigal composers.
4. (Her.) A bearing in coats of arms, representing one or more balls,
which are denominated bezants, plates, etc., according to color.
Ball-flower
Ball"-flow`er (?), n. (Arch.) An ornament resembling a ball placed in
a circular flower, the petals of which form a cup round it, -- usually
inserted in a hollow molding.
Ballista
Bal*lis"ta (?), n.; pl. Ballist (#). [L. ballista, balista, fr. Gr. to
throw.] An ancient military engine, in the form of a crossbow, used
for hurling large missiles.
Ballister
Bal"lis*ter (?), n. [L. ballista. Cf. Balister.] A crossbow. [Obs.]
Ballistic
Bal*lis"tic (?), a.
1. Of or pertaining to the ballista, or to the art of hurling stones
or missile weapons by means of an engine.
2. Pertaining to projection, or to a projectile.
Ballistic pendulum, an instrument consisting of a mass of wood or
other material suspended as a pendulum, for measuring the force and
velocity of projectiles by means of the arc through which their impact
impels it.
Ballistics
Bal*lis"tics (?), n. [Cf. F. balistique. See Ballista.] The science or
art of hurling missile weapons by the use of an engine. Whewell.
Ballium
Bal"li*um (?), n. [LL.] See Bailey.
Balloon
Bal*loon" (?), n. [F. ballon, aug. of balle ball: cf. It. ballone. See
1st Ball, n., and cf. Pallone.]
1. A bag made of silk or other light material, and filled with
hydrogen gas or heated air, so as to rise and float in the atmosphere;
especially, one with a car attached for a\'89rial navigation.
2. (Arch.) A ball or globe on the top of a pillar, church, etc., as at
St. Paul's, in London. [R.]
3. (Chem.) A round vessel, usually with a short neck, to hold or
receive whatever is distilled; a glass vessel of a spherical form.
4. (Pyrotechnics) A bomb or shell. [Obs.]
5. A game played with a large inf [Obs.]
6. (Engraving) The outline inclosing words represented as coming from
the mouth of a pictured figure.
Air balloon, a balloon for a\'89rial navigation. -- Balloon frame
(Carp.), a house frame constructed altogether of small timber. --
Balloon net, a variety of woven lace in which the weft threads are
twisted in a peculiar manner around the warp.
Balloon
Bal*loon", v. t. To take up in, or as if in, a balloon.
Balloon
Bal*loon", v. i.
1. To go up or voyage in a balloon.
2. To expand, or puff out, like a balloon.
Ballooned
Bal*looned" (?), a. Swelled out like a balloon.
Ballooner
Bal*loon"er (?), n. One who goes up in a balloon; an a\'89ronaut.
Balloon fish
Bal*loon" fish` (?). (Zo\'94l.) A fish of the genus Diodon or the
genus Tetraodon, having the power of distending its body by taking air
or water into its dilatable esophagus. See Globefish, and Bur fish.
Ballooning
Bal*loon"ing, n.
1. The art or practice of managing balloons or voyaging in them.
2. (Stock Exchange) The process of temporarily raising the value of a
stock, as by fictitious sales. [U.S.]
Ballooning spider
Bal*loon"ing spi"der (?). (Zo\'94l.) A spider which has the habit of
rising into the air. Many kinds ( esp. species of Lycosa) do this
while young by ejecting threads of silk until the force of the wind
upon them carries the spider aloft.
Balloonist
Bal*loon"ist, n. An a\'89ronaut.
Balloonry
Bal*loon"ry (?), n. The art or practice of ascending in a balloon;
a\'89ronautics.
Ballot
Bal"lot (?), n. [F. ballotte, fr. It. ballotta. See Ball round body.]
1. Originally, a ball used for secret voting. Hence: Any printed or
written ticket used in voting.
2. The act of voting by balls or written or printed ballots or
tickets; the system of voting secretly by balls or by tickets.
The insufficiency of the ballot. Dickens.
<-- p. 115 -->
3. The whole number of votes cast at an election, or in a given
territory or electoral district.
Ballot box, a box for receiving ballots.
Ballot
Bal"lot (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Balloted; p. pr. & vb. n. Balloting.]
[F. ballotter to toss, to ballot, or It. ballottare. See Ballot, n.]
To vote or decide by ballot; as, to ballot for a candidate.
Ballot
Bal"lot, v. t. To vote for or in opposition to.
None of the competitors arriving to a sufficient number of balls,
they fell to ballot some others. Sir H. Wotton.
Ballotade
Bal"lo*tade` (?), n. [F. ballottade, fr. ballotter to toss. See
Ballot, v. i.] (Man.) A leap of a horse, as between two pillars, or
upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he
shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking out.
Ballotation
Bal`lo*ta"tion (?), n. Voting by ballot. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.
Balloter
Bal"lot*er (?), n. One who votes by ballot.
Ballotin
Bal"lo*tin (?), n. [F.] An officer who has charge of a ballot box.
[Obs.] Harrington.
Ballow
Bal"low (?), n. A cudgel. [Obs.] Shak.
Ballproof
Ball"proof` (?), a. Incapable of being penetrated by balls from
firearms.
Ballroom
Ball"room` (, n. A room for balls or dancing.
Balm
Balm (?), n. [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F. baume, L. balsamum
balsam, from Gr. ; perhaps of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. b\'bes\'bem.
Cf. Balsam.]
1. (Bot.) An aromatic plant of the genus Melissa.
2. The resinous and aromatic exudation of certain trees or shrubs.
Dryden.
3. Any fragrant ointment. Shak.
4. Anything that heals or that mitigates pain. "Balm for each ill."
Mrs. Hemans.
Balm cricket (Zo\'94l.), the European cicada. Tennyson. -- Balm of
Gilead (Bot.), a small evergreen African and Asiatic tree of the
terebinthine family (Balsamodendron Gileadense). Its leaves yield,
when bruised, a strong aromatic scent; and from this tree is obtained
the balm of Gilead of the shops, or balsam of Mecca. This has a
yellowish or greenish color, a warm, bitterish, aromatic taste, and a
fragrant smell. It is valued as an unguent and cosmetic by the Turks.
The fragrant herb Dracocephalum Canariense is familiarly called balm
of Gilead, and so are the American trees, Populus balsamifera, variety
candicans (balsam poplar), and Abies balsamea (balsam fir).
Balm
Balm, v. i. To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal. Hence: To
soothe; to mitigate. [Archaic] Shak.
Balmify
Balm"i*fy (?), v. t. [Balm + -fy.] To render balmy. [Obs.] Cheyne.
Balmily
Balm"i*ly, adv. In a balmy manner. Coleridge.
Balmoral
Bal*mor"al (?), n. [From Balmoral Castle, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.]
1. A long woolen petticoat, worn immediately under the dress.
2. A kind of stout walking shoe, laced in front.
A man who uses his balmorals to tread on your toes. George Eliot.
Balmy
Balm"y (?), a.
1. Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging;
soothing; refreshing; mild. "The balmy breeze." Tickell.
Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep ! Young.
2. Producing balm. "The balmy tree." Pope. Syn. -- Fragrant;
sweet-scented; odorous; spicy.
Balneal
Bal"ne*al (?), a. [L. balneum bath.] Of or pertaining to a bath.
Howell.
Balneary
Bal"ne*a*ry (?), n. [L. balnearium, fr. balneum bath.] A bathing room.
Sir T. Browne.
Balneation
Bal`ne*a"tion (?), n. [LL. balneare to bathe, fr. L. balneum bath.]
The act of bathing. [R.]
Balneatory
Bal"ne*a*to*ry (?), a. [L. balneatorius.] Belonging to a bath. [Obs.]
Balneography
Bal`ne*og"ra*phy (?), n. [L. balneum bath + -graphy.] A description of
baths.
Balneology
Bal`ne*ol"o*gy (?), n. [L. balneum bath + -logy.] A treatise on baths;
the science of bathing.
Balneotherapy
Bal`ne*o*ther"a*py (?), n. [L. balneum bath + Gr. to heal.] The
treatment of disease by baths.
Balotade
Bal"o*tade` (?), n. See Ballotade.
Balsa
Bal"sa (?), n. [Sp. or Pg. balsa.] (Naut.) A raft or float, used
principally on the Pacific coast of South America.
Balsam
Bal"sam (?), n. [L. balsamum the balsam tree or its resin, Gr. . See
Balm, n.]
1. A resin containing more or less of an essential or volatile oil.
NOTE: &hand; Th e balsams are aromatic resinous substances, flowing
spontaneously or by incision from certain plants. A great variety
of substances pass under this name, but the term is now usually
restricted to resins which, in addition to a volatile oil, contain
benzoic and cinnamic acid. Among the true balsams are the balm of
Gilead, and the balsams of copaiba, Peru, and Tolu. There are also
many pharmaceutical preparations and resinous substances, possessed
of a balsamic smell, to which the name balsam has been given.
2. (Bot.) (a) A species of tree (Abies balsamea). (b) An annual garden
plant (Impatiens balsamina) with beautiful flowers; balsamine.
3. Anything that heals, soothes, or restores.
Was not the people's blessing a balsam to thy blood? Tennyson.
Balsam apple (Bot.), an East Indian plant ( Momordica balsamina), of
the gourd family, with red or orange-yellow cucumber-shaped fruit of
the size of a walnut, used as a vulnerary, and in liniments and
poultices. -- Balsam fir (Bot.), the American coniferous tree, Abies
balsamea, from which the useful Canada balsam is derived. -- Balsam of
copaiba. See Copaiba. -- Balsam of Mecca, balm of Gilead. -- Balsam of
Peru, a reddish brown, syrupy balsam, obtained from a Central American
tree ( Myroxylon Pereir\'91 and used as a stomachic and expectorant,
and in the treatment of ulcers, etc. It was long supposed to be a
product of Peru. -- Balsam of Tolu, a reddish or yellowish brown
semisolid or solid balsam, obtained from a South American tree (
Myxoxylon toluiferum.). It is highly fragrant, and is used as a
stomachic and expectorant. -- Balsam tree, any tree from which balsam
is obtained, esp. the Abies balsamea. -- Canada balsam, Balsam of fir,
Canada turpentine, a yellowish, viscid liquid, which, by time and
exposure, becomes a transparent solid mass. It is obtained from the
balm of Gilead (or balsam) fir (Abies balsamea) by breaking the
vesicles upon the trunk and branches. See Balm.
Balsam
Bal"sam (?), v. t. To treat or anoint with balsam; to relieve, as with
balsam; to render balsamic.
Balsamation
Bal`sam*a"tion (?), n.
1. The act of imparting balsamic properties.
2. The art or process of embalming.
Balsamic, Balsamical
Bal*sam"ic (?), Bal*sam"ic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. balsamique.] Having the
qualities of balsam; containing, or resembling, balsam; soft;
mitigative; soothing; restorative.
Balsamiferous
Bal`sam*if"er*ous (?), a. [Balsam + -ferous.] Producing balsam.
Balsamine
Bal"sam*ine (?), n. [Cf. F. balsamine, fr. Gr. balsam plant.] (Bot.)
The Impatiens balsamina, or garden balsam.
Balsamous
Bal"sam*ous (?), a. Having the quality of balsam; containing balsam.
"A balsamous substance." Sterne.
Balter
Bal"ter (?), v. t. [Etymol. uncertain. Cf. Bloodboltered.] To stick
together.[Obs.] Holland.
Baltic
Bal"tic (?), a. [NL. mare Balticum, fr. L. balteus belt, from certain
straits or channels surrounding its isles, called belts. See Belt.] Of
or pertaining to the sea which separates Norway and Sweden from
Jutland, Denmark, and Germany; situated on the Baltic Sea.
Baltimore bird. Baltimore oriole
Bal"ti*more bird` (?). Bal"ti*more o"ri*ole (?). (Zo\'94l.) A common
American bird (Icterus galbula), named after Lord Baltimore, because
its colors (black and orange red) are like those of his coat of arms;
-- called also golden robin.
Baluster
Bal"us*ter (?), n. [F. balustre, It. balaustro, fr. L. balaustium the
flower of the wild pomegranate, fr. Gr. ; -- so named from the
similarity of form.] (Arch.) A row of balusters topped by a rail,
serving as an open parapet, as along the edge of a balcony, terrace,
bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.
Bam
Bam (?), n. [Prob. a contr. of bamboozle.] An imposition; a cheat; a
hoax. Garrick.
To relieve the tediumbams. Prof. Wilson.
Bam
Bam, v. t. To cheat; to wheedle. [Slang] Foote.
Bambino
Bam*bi"no (?), n. [It., a little boy, fr. bambo silly; cf. Gr. , , to
chatter.] A child or baby; esp., a representation in art of the infant
Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Bambocciade
Bam*boc`ci*ade" (?), n. [It. bambocciata, fr. Bamboccio a nickname of
Peter Van Laer, a Dutch genre painter; properly, a child, simpleton,
puppet, fr. bambo silly.] (Paint.) A representation of a grotesque
scene from common or rustic life.
Bamboo
Bam*boo" (?), n. [Malay bambu, mambu.] (Bot.) A plant of the family of
grasses, and genus Bambusa, growing in tropical countries.
NOTE: &hand; Th e most useful species is Bambusa arundinacea, which
has a woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem, and grows to
the height of forty feet and upward. The flowers grow in large
panicles, from the joints of the stalk, placed three in a parcel,
close to their receptacles. Old stalks grow to five or six inches
in diameter, and are so hard and durable as to be used for
building, and for all sorts of furniture, for water pipes, and for
poles to support palanquins. The smaller stalks are used for
walking sticks, flutes, etc.
Bamboo
Bam*boo", v. t. To flog with the bamboo.
Bamboozle
Bam*boo"zle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bamboozled (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bamboozling ( [Said to be of Gipsy origin.] To deceive by trickery; to
cajole by confusing the senses; to hoax; to mystify; to humbug.
[Colloq.] Addison.
What oriental tomfoolery is bamboozling you? J. H. Newman.
Bamboozler
Bam*boo"zler (?), n. A swindler; one who deceives by trickery.
[Colloq.] Arbuthnot.
Ban
Ban (?), n. [AS. bann command, edict; akin to D. ban, Icel. bann, Dan.
band, OHG. ban, G. bann, a public proclamation, as of interdiction or
excommunication, Gr. to say, L. fari to speak, Skr. bhan to speak; cf.
F. ban, LL. bannum, of G. origin. Abandon, Fame.]
1. A public proclamation or edict; a public order or notice, mandatory
or prohibitory; a summons by public proclamation.
2. (Feudal & Mil.) A calling together of the king's (esp. the French
king's) vassals for military service; also, the body of vassals thus
assembled or summoned. In present usage, in France and Prussia, the
most effective part of the population liable to military duty and not
in the standing army.
3. pl. Notice of a proposed marriage, proclaimed in church. See Banns
(the common spelling in this sense).
4. An interdiction, prohibition, or proscription. "Under ban to
touch." Milton.
5. A curse or anathema. "Hecate's ban." Shak.
6. A pecuniary mulct or penalty laid upon a delinquent for offending
against a ban; as, a mulct paid to a bishop by one guilty of sacrilege
or other crimes.
Ban of the empire (German Hist.), an imperial interdict by which
political rights and privileges, as those of a prince, city, or
district, were taken away.
Ban
Ban, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banned (p. pr. & vb. n. Banning.] [OE.
bannen, bannien, to summon, curse, AS. bannan to summon; akin to Dan.
bande, forbande, to curse, Sw. banna to revile, bannas to curse. See
Ban an edict, and cf. Banish.]
1. To curse; to invoke evil upon. Sir W. Scott.
2. To forbid; to interdict. Byron.
Ban
Ban, v. i. To curse; to swear. [Obs.] Spenser.
Ban
Ban, n. [Serv. ban; cf. Russ. & Pol. pan a masterban.] An ancient
title of the warden of the eastern marches of Hungary; now, a title of
the viceroy of Croatia and Slavonia.
Banal
Ban"al (?), a. [F., fr. ban an ordinance.] Commonplace; trivial;
hackneyed; trite.
Banality
Ba*nal"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Banalities (#). [F. banalit\'82. See Banal.]
Something commonplace, hackneyed, or trivial; the commonplace, in
speech.
The highest things were thus brought down to the banalities of
discourse. J. Morley.
Banana
Ba*na"na (?), n. [Sp. banana, name of the fruit.] (Bot.) A perennial
herbaceous plant of almost treelike size (Musa sapientum); also, its
edible fruit. See Musa.
NOTE: &hand; Th e ba nana has a soft, herbaceous stalk, with leaves
of great length and breadth. The flowers grow in bunches, covered
with a sheath of a green or purple color; the fruit is five or six
inches long, and over an inch in diameter; the pulp is soft, and of
a luscious taste, and is eaten either raw or cooked. This plant is
a native of tropical countries, and furnishes an important article
of food.
Banana bird (Zo\'94l.), a small American bird (Icterus leucopteryx),
which feeds on the banana. -- Banana quit (Zo\'94l.), a small bird of
tropical America, of the genus Certhiola, allied to the creepers.
Banat
Ban"at (?), n. [Cf. F. & G. banat. See Ban a warden.] The territory
governed by a ban.
Banc, Bancus, Bank
Banc (?), Ban"cus (?), Bank (?), n. [OF. banc, LL. bancus. See Bank,
n.] A bench; a high seat, or seat of distinction or judgment; a
tribunal or court. In banc, In banco (the ablative of bancus), In
bank, in full court, or with full judicial authority; as, sittings in
banc (distinguished from sittings at nisi prius).
Banco
Ban"co (?), n. [It. See Bank.] A bank, especially that of Venice.
NOTE: &hand; T his term is used in some parts of Europe to indicate
bank money, as distinguished from the current money, when this last
has become depreciated.
Band
Band (?), n. [OE. band, bond, Icel. band; akin to G., Sw., & D. band,
OHG. bant, Goth. banti, Skr. bandha a binding, bandh to bind, for
bhanda, bhandh, also to E. bend, bind. In sense 7, at least, it is fr.
F. bande, from OHG. bant. Bind, v. t., and cf. Bend, Bond, 1st Bandy.]
1. A fillet, strap, or any narrow ligament with which a thing is
encircled, or fastened, or by which a number of things are tied, bound
together, or confined; a fetter.
Every one's bands were loosed. Acis xvi 26.
2. (Arch.) (a) A continuous tablet, stripe, or series of ornaments, as
of carved foliage, of color, or of brickwork, etc. (b) In Gothic
architecture, the molding, or suite of moldings, which encircles the
pillars and small shafts.
3. That which serves as the means of union or connection between
persons; a tie. "To join in Hymen's bands." Shak.
4. A linen collar or ruff worn in the 16th and 17th centuries.
5. pl. Two strips of linen hanging from the neck in front as part of a
clerical, legal, or academic dress.
6. A narrow strip of cloth or other material on any article of dress,
to bind, strengthen, ornament, or complete it. "Band and gusset and
seam." Hood. <-- p. 116 -->
7. A company of persons united in any common design, especially a body
of armed men.
Troops of horsemen with his bands of foot. Shak.
8. A number of musicians who play together upon portable musical
instruments, especially those making a loud sound, as certain wind
instruments (trumpets, clarinets, etc.), and drums, or cymbals.
9. (Bot.) A space between elevated lines or ribs, as of the fruits of
umbelliferous plants.
10. (Zo\'94l.) A stripe, streak, or other mark transverse to the axis
of the body.
11. (Mech.) A belt or strap.
12. A bond [Obs.] "Thy oath and band." Shak.
13. Pledge; security. [Obs.] Spenser.
Band saw, a saw in the form of an endless steel belt, with teeth on
one edge, running over wheels.
Band
Band (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banded; p. pr. & vb. n. Banding.]
1. To bind or tie with a band.
2. To mark with a band.
3. To unite in a troop, company, or confederacy. "Banded against his
throne." Milton.
Banded architrave, pier, shaft, etc. (Arch.), an architrave, pier,
etc., of which the regular profile is interrupted by blocks or
projections crossing it at right angles.
Band
Band, v. i. To confederate for some common purpose; to unite; to
conspire together.
Certain of the Jews banded together. Acts xxiii. 12.
Band
Band, v. t. To bandy; to drive away. [Obs.]
Band
Band, imp. of Bind. [Obs.]
Bandage
Band"age (?), n. [F. bandage, fr. bande. See Band.]
1. A fillet or strip of woven material, used in dressing and binding
up wounds, etc.
2. Something resembling a bandage; that which is bound over or round
something to cover, strengthen, or compress it; a ligature.
Zeal too had a place among the rest, with a bandage over her eyes.
Addison.
Bandage
Band"age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bandaged (p. pr. & vb. n. Bandaging ( To
bind, dress, or cover, with a bandage; as, to bandage the eyes.
Bandala
Ban*da"la (?), n. A fabric made in Manilla from the older leaf sheaths
of the abaca (Musa textilis).
Bandanna, Bandana
Ban*dan"na, Ban*dan"a (?), n. [Hind. b\'bendhn a mode of dyeing in
which the cloth is tied in different places so as to prevent the parts
tied from receiving the dye. Cf. Band, n.]
1. A species of silk or cotton handkerchief, having a uniformly dyed
ground, usually of red or blue, with white or yellow figures of a
circular, lozenge, or other simple form.
2. A style of calico printing, in which white or bright spots are
produced upon cloth previously dyed of a uniform red or dark color, by
discharging portions of the color by chemical means, while the rest of
the cloth is under pressure. Ure.
Bandbox
Band"box` (?), n. A light box of pasteboard or thin wood, usually
cylindrical, for holding ruffs (the bands of the 17th century),
collars, caps, bonnets, etc.
Bandeau
Ban"deau (?), n.; pl. Bandeaux (#). [F.] A narrow band or fillet; a
part of a head-dress.
Around the edge of this cap was a stiff bandeau of leather. Sir W.
Scott.
Bandelet, Bandlet
Band"e*let (?), Band"let (?), n. [F. bandelette, dim. of bande. See
Band, n., and ch. Bendlet.] (Arch.) A small band or fillet; any little
band or flat molding, compassing a column, like a ring. Gwilt.
Bander
Band"er (?), n. One banded with others. [R.]
Banderole, Bandrol
Band"e*role (?), Band"rol (?), n. [F. banderole, dim. of bandi\'8are,
banni\'8are, banner; cf. It. banderuola a little banner. See Banner.]
A little banner, flag, or streamer. [Written also bannerol.]
From the extremity of which fluttered a small banderole or streamer
bearing a cross. Sir W. Scott.
Band fish
Band" fish` (?). (Zo\'94l.) A small red fish of the genus Cepola; the
ribbon fish.
Bandicoot
Ban"di*coot (?), n. [A corruption of the native name.] (Zo\'94l.) (a)
A species of very large rat (Mus giganteus), found in India and
Ceylon. It does much injury to rice fields and gardens. (b) A ratlike
marsupial animal (genus Perameles) of several species, found in
Australia and Tasmania.
Banding plane
Band"ing plane` (?). A plane used for cutting out grooves and inlaying
strings and bands in straight and circular work.
Bandit
Ban"dit (?), n.; pl.Bandits (#), OR Banditti (#). [It. bandito outlaw,
p.p. of bandire to proclaim, to banish, to proscribe, LL. bandire,
bannire. See Ban an edict, and cf. Banish.] An outlaw; a brigand.
No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer. Milton.
NOTE: &hand; Th e plural banditti was formerly used as a collective
noun.
Deerstealers are ever a desperate banditti. Sir W. Scott.
Bandle
Ban"dle (?), n. [Ir. bannlamh cubit, fr. bann a measure + lamh hand,
arm.] An Irish measure of two feet in length.
Bandlet
Band"let (?), n. Same as Bandelet.
Bandmaster
Band"mas`ter (?), n. The conductor of a musical band.
Bandog
Ban"dog` (?), n. [Band + dog, i.e., bound dog.] A mastiff or other
large and fierce dog, usually kept chained or tied up.
The keeper entered leading his bandog, a large bloodhound, tied in
a leam, or band, from which he takes his name. Sir W. Scott.
Bandoleer, Bandolier
Ban`do*leer", Ban`do*lier" (?), n. [F. bandouli\'8are (cf.It.
bandoliera, Sp.bandolera), fr.F. bande band, Sp.&It. banda. See Band,
n.]
1. A broad leather belt formerly worn by soldiers over the right
shoulder and across the breast under the left arm. Originally it was
used for supporting the musket and twelve cases for charges, but later
only as a cartridge belt.
2. One of the leather or wooden cases in which the charges of powder
were carried. [Obs.]
Bandoline
Ban"do*line (?), n. [Perh. allied to band.] A glutinous pomatum for
the fair.
Bandon
Ban"don (?), n. [OF. bandon. See Abandon.] Disposal; control; license.
[Obs.] Rom. of R.
Bandore
Ban"dore (?), n. [Sp. bandurria, fr. L. pandura, pandurium, a musical
instrument of three strings, fr. Gr. . Cf. Pandore, Banjo, Mandolin.]
A musical stringed instrument, similar in form to a guitar; a pandore.
Bandrol
Band"rol (?), n. Same as Banderole.
Bandy
Ban"dy (?), n. [Telugu bandi.] A carriage or cart used in India, esp.
one drawn by bullocks.
Bandy
Ban"dy, n.; pl. Bandies (. [Cf. F. band\'82, p.p. of bander to bind,
to bend (a bow), to bandy, fr. bande. See Band, n.]
1. A club bent at the lower part for striking a ball at play; a hockey
stick. Johnson.
2. The game played with such a club; hockey; shinney; bandy ball.
Bandy
Ban"dy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bandied (p. pr. & vb. n. Bandying.]
1. To beat to and fro, as a ball in playing at bandy.
Like tennis balls bandied and struck upon us . . . by rackets from
without. Cudworth.
2. To give and receive reciprocally; to exchange. "To bandy hasty
words." Shak.
3. To toss about, as from man to man; to agitate.
Let not obvious and known truth be bandied about in a disputation.
I. Watts.
Bandy
Ban"dy, v. i. To content, as at some game in which each strives to
drive the ball his own way.
Fit to bandy with thy lawless sons. Shak.
Bandy
Ban"dy, a. Bent; crooked; curved laterally, esp. with the convex side
outward; as, a bandy leg.
Bandy-legged
Ban"dy-legged` (?), a. Having crooked legs.
Bane
Bane (?), n. [OE. bane destruction, AS. bana murderer; akin to Icel.
bani death, murderer, OHG. bana murder, bano murderer, murder, OIr.
bath death, benim I strike.
1. That which destroys life, esp. poison of a deadly quality. [Obs.
except in combination, as in ratsbane, henbane, etc.]
2. Destruction; death. [Obs.]
The cup of deception spiced and tempered to their bane. Milton.
3. Any cause of ruin, or lasting injury; harm; woe.
Money, thou bane of bliss, and source of woe. Herbert.
4. A disease in sheep, commonly termed the rot. Syn. -- Poison; ruin;
destruction; injury; pest.
Bane
Bane, v. t. To be the bane of; to ruin. [Obs.] Fuller.
Baneberry
Bane"ber`ry (?), n. (Bot.) A genus (Act\'91a) of plants, of the order
Ranunculace\'91, native in the north temperate zone. The red or white
berries are poisonous.
Baneful
Bane"ful (?), a. Having poisonous qualities; deadly; destructive;
injurious; noxious; pernicious. "Baneful hemlock." Garth. "Baneful
wrath." Chapman. -- Bane"ful*ly, adv. --Bane"ful*ness, n.
Banewort
Bane"wort (?), n. (Bot.) Deadly nightshade.
Bang
Bang (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banged; p. pr. & vb. n. Banging.] [Icel.
banga to hammer; akin to Dan. banke to beat, Sw.b\'86ngas to be
impetuous, G. bengel club, clapper of a bell.]
1. To beat, as with a club or cudgel; to treat with violence; to
handle roughly.
The desperate tempest hath so banged the Turks. Shak.
2. To beat or thump, or to cause ( something) to hit or strike against
another object, in such a way as to make a loud noise; as, to bang a
drum or a piano; to bang a door (against the doorpost or casing) in
shutting it.
Bang
Bang, v. i. To make a loud noise, as if with a blow or succession of
blows; as, the window blind banged and waked me; he was banging on the
piano.
Bang
Bang, n.
1. A blow as with a club; a heavy blow.
Many a stiff thwack, many a bang. Hudibras.
2. The sound produced by a sudden concussion.
Bang
Bang, v. t. To cut squarely across, as the tail of a hors, or the
forelock of human beings; to cut (the hair).
His hair banged even with his eyebrows. The Century Mag.
Bang
Bang, n. The short, front hair combed down over the forehead, esp.
when cut squarely across; a false front of hair similarly worn.
His hair cut in front like a young lady's bang. W. D. Howells.
Bang, Bangue
Bang, Bangue (?), n. See Bhang.
Banging
Bang"ing, a. Huge; great in size. [Colloq.] Forby.
Bangle
Ban"gle (?), v. t. [From 1st Bang.] To waste by little and little; to
fritter away. [Obs.]
Bangle
Ban"gle, n. [Hind. bangr\'c6 bracelet, bangle.] An ornamental circlet,
of glass, gold, silver, or other material, worn by women in India and
Africa, and in some other countries, upon the wrist or ankle; a ring
bracelet. Bangle ear, a loose hanging ear of a horse, like that of a
spaniel.
Banian
Ban"ian (?), n. [Skr. banij merchant. The tree was so named by the
English, because used as a market place by the merchants.]
1. A Hindoo trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer. [Written also
banyan.]
2. A man's loose gown, like that worn by the Banians.
3. (Bot.) The Indian fig. See Banyan.
Banian days (Naut.), days in which the sailors have no flesh meat
served out to them. This use seems to be borrowed from the Banians or
Banya race, who eat no flesh.
Banish
Ban"ish (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banished(p. pr. & vb. n. Banishing.]
[OF. banir, F. bannir, LL. bannire, fr. OHG. bannan to summon, fr. ban
ban. See Ban an edict, and Finish, v. t.]
1. To condemn to exile, or compel to leave one's country, by authority
of the ruling power. "We banish you our territories." Shak.
2. To drive out, as from a home or familiar place; -- used with from
and out of.
How the ancient Celtic tongue came to be banished from the Low
Countries in Scotland. Blair.
3. To drive away; to compel to depart; to dispel. "Banish all
offense." Shak. Syn. -- To Banish, Exile, Expel. The idea of a
coercive removal from a place is common to these terms. A man is
banished when he is forced by the government of a country (be he a
foreigner or a native) to leave its borders. A man is exiled when he
is driven into banishment from his native country and home. Thus to
exile is to banish, but to banish is not always to exile. To expel is
to eject or banish, summarily or authoritatively, and usually under
circumstances of disgrace; as, to expel from a college; expelled from
decent society.
Banisher
Ban"ish*er (?), n. One who banishes.
Banishment
Ban"ish*ment (?), n. [Cf. F. bannissement.] The act of banishing, or
the state of being banished.
He secured himself by the banishment of his enemies. Johnson.
Round the wide world in banishment we roam. Dryden.
Syn. -- Expatriation; ostracism; expulsion; proscription; exile;
outlawry.
Banister
Ban"is*ter (?), n. [Formerly also banjore and banjer; corrupted from
bandore, through negro slave pronunciation.] A stringed musical
instrument having a head and neck like the guitar, and its body like a
tambourine. It has five strings, and is played with the fingers and
hands.
Bank
Bank (?), n. [OE. banke; akin to E. bench, and prob. of Scand.
origin.; cf. Icel. bakki. See Bench.]
1. A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding
level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a
bank of clouds; a bank of snow.
They cast up a bank against the city. 2 Sam. xx. 15.
2. A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine.
3. The margin of a watercourse; the rising ground bordering a lake,
river, or sea, or forming the edge of a cutting, or other hollow.
Tiber trembled underneath her banks. Shak.
4. An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or
shallow; as, the banks of Newfoundland.
5. (Mining) (a) The face of the coal at which miners are working. (b)
A deposit of ore or coal, worked by excavations above water level. (c)
The ground at the top of a shaft; as, ores are brought to bank.
Bank beaver (Zo\'94l.), the otter. [Local, U.S.] -- Bank swallow, a
small American and European swallow (Clivicola riparia) that nests in
a hole which it excavates in a bank.
Bank
Bank, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banked(p. pr. & vb. n. Banking.]
1. To raise a mound or dike about; to inclose, defend, or fortify with
a bank; to embank. "Banked well with earth." Holland.
2. To heap or pile up; as, to bank sand.
3. To pass by the banks of. [Obs.] Shak.
To bank a fire, To bank up a fire, to cover the coals or embers with
ashes or cinders, thus keeping the fire low but alive.
Bank
Bank, n. [Prob. fr. F. banc. Of German origin, and akin to E. bench.
See Bench.]
1. A bench, as for rowers in a galley; also, a tier of oars.
Placed on their banks, the lusty Trojan sweep Neptune's smooth
face, and cleave the yielding deep. Waller.
2. (Law) (a) The bench or seat upon which the judges sit. (b) The
regular term of a court of law, or the full court sitting to hear
arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at
Nisi Prius, or a court held for jury trials. See Banc. Burrill.
3. (Printing) A sort of table used by printers.
4. (Music) A bench, or row of keys belonging to a keyboard, as in an
organ. Knight.
Bank
Bank, n. [F. banque, It. banca, orig. bench, table, counter, of German
origin, and akin to E. bench; cf. G. bank bench, OHG. banch. See
Bench, and cf. Banco, Beach.]
1. An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue, of
money, and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or
bills of exchange; an institution incorporated for performing one or
more of such functions, or the stockholders (or their representatives,
the directors), acting in their corporate capacity.
2. The building or office used for banking purposes.
3. A fund from deposits or contributions, to be used in transacting
business; a joint stock or capital. [Obs.]
Let it be no bank or common stock, but every man be master of his
own money. Bacon.
4. (Gaming) The sum of money or the checks which the dealer or banker
has as a fund, from which to draw his stakes and pay his losses.
5. In certain games, as dominos, a fund of pieces from which the
players are allowed to draw.
Bank credit, a credit by which a person who has give -- Bank of
deposit, a bank which receives money for safe keeping. -- Bank of
issue, a bank which issues its own notes payable to bearer.
Bank
Bank, v. t. To deposit in a bank.
Bank
Bank, v. i.
1. To keep a bank; to carry on the business of a banker. <-- p. 117
-->
2. To deposit money in a bank; to have an account with a banker.
Bankable
Bank"a*ble (?), a. Receivable at a bank.
Bank bill
Bank" bill` (?).
1. In America (and formerly in England), a promissory note of a bank
payable to the bearer on demand, and used as currency; a bank note.
2. In England, a note, or a bill of exchange, of a bank, payable to
order, and usually at some future specified time. Such bills are
negotiable, but form, in the strict sense of the term, no part of the
currency.
Bank book
Bank" book` (?). A book kept by a depositor, in which an officer of a
bank enters the debits and credits of the depositor's account with the
bank.
Banker
Bank"er (?), n.[See the nouns Bank and the verbs derived from them.]
1. One who conducts the business of banking; one who, individually, or
as a member of a company, keeps an establishment for the deposit or
loan of money, or for traffic in money, bills of exchange, etc.
2. A money changer. [Obs.]
3. The dealer, or one who keeps the bank in a gambling house.
4. A vessel employed in the cod fishery on the banks of Newfoundland.
Grabb. J. Q. Adams.
5. A ditcher; a drain digger. [Prov. Eng.]
6. The stone bench on which masons cut or square their work. Weale.
Bankeress
Bank"er*ess (?), n. A female banker. Thackeray.
Banking
Bank"ing, n. The business of a bank or of a banker. Banking house, an
establishment or office in which, or a firm by whom, banking is done.
Bank note
Bank" note` (?).
1. A promissory note issued by a bank or banking company, payable to
bearer on demand.
NOTE: &hand; In the United States popularly called a bank bill.
2. Formerly, a promissory note made by a banker, or banking company,
payable to a specified person at a fixed date; a bank bill. See Bank
bill, 2. [Obs.]
3. A promissory note payable at a bank.
Bankrupt
Bank"rupt (?), n. [F. banqueroute, fr. It. bancarotta bankruptcy;
banca bank (fr. OHG. banch, G. bank, bench) + rotta broken, fr. L.
ruptus, p.p. of rumpere to break. At Florence, it is said, the
bankrupt had his bench ( i.e., money table) broken. See 1st Bank, and
Rupture, n.]
1. (Old Eng. Low) A trader who secretes himself, or does certain other
acts tending to defraud his creditors. Blackstone.
2. A trader who becomes unable to pay his debts; an insolvent trader;
popularly, any person who is unable to pay his debts; an insolvent
person. M
3. (Law) A person who, in accordance with the terms of a law relating
to bankruptcy, has been judicially declared to be unable to meet his
liabilities.
NOTE: &hand; In En gland, un til the year 1861 none but a "trader"
could be made a bankrupt; a non-trader failing to meet his
liabilities being an "insolvent". But this distinction was
abolished by the Bankruptcy Act of 1861. The laws of 1841 and 1867
of the United States relating to bankruptcy applied this
designation bankrupt to others besides those engaged in trade.
Bankrupt
Bank"rupt, a.
1. Being a bankrupt or in a condition of bankruptcy; unable to pay, or
legally discharged from paying, one's debts; as, a bankrupt merchant.
2. Depleted of money; not having the means of meeting pecuniary
liabilities; as, a bankrupt treasury.
3. Relating to bankrupts and bankruptcy.
4. Destitute of, or wholly wanting (something once possessed, or
something one should possess). "Bankrupt in gratitude." Sheridan.
Bankrupt law, a law by which the property of a person who is unable or
unwilling to pay his debts may be taken and distributed to his
creditors, and by which a person who has made a full surrender of his
property, and is free from fraud, may be discharged from the legal
obligation of his debts. See Insolvent, a.
Bankrupt
Bank"rupt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bankrupted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Bankrupting.] To make bankrupt; to bring financial ruin upon; to
impoverish.
Bankruptcy
Bank"rupt*cy (?), n.; pl. Bankruptcies(
1. The state of being actually or legally bankrupt.
2. The act or process of becoming a bankrupt.
3. Complete loss; -- followed by of.
Bankside
Bank"side` (?), n. The slope of a bank, especially of the bank of a
steam.
Bank-sided
Bank"-sid`ed (?), a. (Naut.) Having sides inclining inwards, as a
ship; -- opposed to wall-sided.
Bank swallow
Bank" swal"low (?). See under 1st Bank, n.
Banlieue
Ban"li*eue` (?), n. [F., fr. LL. bannum leucae, banleuca; bannum
jurisdiction + leuca league.] The territory without the walls, but
within the legal limits, of a town or city. Brande & C.
Banner
Ban"ner (?), n. [OE. banere, OF. baniere, F. banni\'8are, bandi\'8are,
fr. LL. baniera, banderia, fr. bandum banner, fr. OHG. bant band,
strip of cloth; cf. bindan to bind, Goth. bandwa, bandwo, a sign. See
Band, n.]
1. A kind of flag attached to a spear or pike by a crosspiece, and
used by a chief as his standard in battle.
Hang out our banners on the outward walls. Shak.
2. A large piece of silk or other cloth, with a device or motto,
extended on a crosspiece, and borne in a procession, or suspended in
some conspicuous place.
3. Any flag or standard; as, the star-spangled banner.
Banner fish (Zo\'94l.), a large fish of the genus Histiophorus, of the
Swordfish family, having a broad bannerlike dorsal fin; the sailfish.
One species (H. Americanus) inhabits the North Atlantic.
Bannered
Ban"nered (?), a. bannered host." Milton.
Banneret
Ban"ner*et (?), n.[OE. baneret, OF. baneret, F. banneret; properly a
dim. of OF. baniere. See Banner.]
1. Originally, a knight who led his vassals into the field under his
own banner; -- commonly used as a title of rank.
2. A title of rank, conferred for heroic deeds, and hence, an order of
knighthood; also, the person bearing such title or rank.
NOTE: &hand; Th e usual mode of conferring the rank on the field of
battle was by cutting or tearing off the point of the pennon or
pointed flag on the spear of the candidate, thereby making it a
banner.
3. A civil officer in some Swiss cantons.
4. A small banner. Shak.
Bannerol
Ban"ner*ol (?), n. A banderole; esp. a banner displayed at a funeral
procession and set over the tomb. See Banderole.
Bannition
Ban*ni"tion (?), n. [LL. bannitio. See Banish.] The act of
expulsion.[Obs.] Abp. Laud.
Bannock
Ban"nock (?), n. [Gael. bonnach.] A kind of cake or bread, in shape
flat and roundish, commonly made of oatmeal or barley meal and baked
on an iron plate, or griddle; -- used in Scotland and the northern
counties of England. Jamieson. Bannock fluke, the turbot. [Scot.]
Banns
Banns (?), n. pl. [See Ban.] Notice of a proposed marriage, proclaimed
in a church, or other place prescribed by law, in order that any
person may object, if he knows of just cause why the marriage should
not take place.
Banquet
Ban"quet (?), n. [F., a feast, prop. a dim. of banc bench; cf. It.
banchetto, dim. of banco a bench, counter. See Bank a bench, and cf.
Banquette.]
1. A feast; a sumptuous entertainment of eating and drinking; often, a
complimentary or ceremonious feast, followed by speeches.
2. A dessert; a course of sweetmeats; a sweetmeat or sweetmeats.
[Obs.]
We'll dine in the great room, but let the music And banquet be
prepared here. Massinger.
Banquet
Ban"quet, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banqueted; p. pr. & vb. n. Banqueting.]
To treat with a banquet or sumptuous entertainment of food; to feast.
Just in time to banquet The illustrious company assembled there.
Coleridge.
Banquet
Ban"quet, v.i.
1. To regale one's self with good eating and drinking; to feast.
Were it a draught for Juno when she banquets, I would not taste thy
treasonous offer. Milton.
2. To partake of a dessert after a feast. [Obs.]
Where they did both sup and banquet. Cavendish.
Banquetter
Ban"quet*ter (?), n. One who banquets; one who feasts or makes feasts.
Banquette
Ban*quette" (?), n. [F. See Banquet, n.]
1. (Fort.) A raised way or foot bank, running along the inside of a
parapet, on which musketeers stand to fire upon the enemy.
2. (Arch.) A narrow window seat; a raised shelf at the back or the top
of a buffet or dresser.
Banshee, Banshie
Ban"shee, Ban"shie (?), n. [Gael. bean-shith fairy; Gael. & Ir. bean
woman + Gael. sith fairy.] A supernatural being supposed by the Irish
and Scotch peasantry to warn a family of the speedy death of one of
its members, by wailing or singing in a mournful voice under the
windows of the house.
Banstickle
Ban"stic`kle (?), n. [OE. ban, bon, bone + stickle prickle, sting. See
Bone, n., Stickleback.] (Zo\'94l.) A small fish, the three-spined
stickleback.
Bantam
Ban"tam (?), n. A variety of small barnyard fowl, with feathered legs,
probably brought from Bantam, a district of Java.
Bantam work
Ban"tam work`. Carved and painted work in imitation of Japan ware.
Banteng
Ban"teng (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The wild ox of Java (Bibos Banteng).
Banter
Ban"ter (?), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bantered(p. pr. & vb. n. Bantering.]
[Prob. corrupted fr. F. badiner to joke, or perh. fr. E. bandy to beat
to and fro. See Badinage, and cf. Barter fr. OF. barater.]
1. To address playful good-natured ridicule to, -- the person
addressed, or something pertaining to him, being the subject of the
jesting; to rally; as, he bantered me about my credulity.
Hag-ridden by my own fancy all night, and then bantered on my
haggard looks the next day. W. Irving.
2. To jest about; to ridicule in speaking of, as some trait, habit,
characteristic, and the like. [Archaic]
If they banter your regularity, order, and love of study, banter in
return their neglect of them. Chatham.
3. To delude or trick, -- esp. by way of jest. [Obs.]
We diverted ourselves with bantering several poor scholars with
hopes of being at least his lordship's chaplain. De Foe.
4. To challenge or defy to a match. [Colloq. Southern and Western
U.S.]
Banter
Ban"ter, n. The act of bantering; joking or jesting; humorous or
good-humored raillery; pleasantry.
Part banter, part affection. Tennyson.
Banterer
Ban"ter*er (?), n. One who banters or rallies.
Bantingism
Ban"ting*ism (?), n. A method of reducing corpulence by avoiding food
containing much farinaceous, saccharine, or oily matter; -- so called
from William Banting of London.
Bantling
Bant"ling (?), n. [Prob. for bandling, from band, and meaning a child
wrapped in swaddling bands; or cf. G. b\'84ntling a bastard, fr. bank
bench. Cf. Bastard, n.] A young or small child; an infant. [Slightly
contemptuous or depreciatory.]
In what out of the way corners genius produces her bantlings. W.
Irving.
Banxring
Banx"ring (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) An East Indian insectivorous mammal of
the genus Tupaia.
Banyan
Ban"yan (?), n. [See Banian.] (Bot.) A tree of the same genus as the
common fig, and called the Indian fig (Ficus Indica), whose branches
send shoots to the ground, which take root and become additional
trunks, until it may be the tree covers some acres of ground and is
able to shelter thousands of men.
Baobab
Ba"o*bab (?), n. [The native name.] (Bot.) A gigantic African tree
(Adansonia digitata), also naturalized in India. See Adansonia.
Baphomet
Baph"o*met (?), n.[A corruption of Mahomet or Mohammed, the Arabian
prophet: cf. Pr. Bafomet, OSp. Mafomat, OPg. Mafameda.] An idol or
symbolical figure which the Templars were accused of using in their
mysterious rites.
Baptism
Bap"tism (?), n. [OE. baptim, baptem, OE. baptesme, batisme, F.
bapt\'88me, L. baptisma, fr. Gr. , fr. to baptize, fr. to dip in
water, akin to deep, Skr. g\'beh to dip, bathe, v. i.] The act of
baptizing; the application of water to a person, as a sacrament or
religious ceremony, by which he is initiated into the visible church
of Christ. This is performed by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring.
Baptismal
Bap*tis"mal (?), a. [Cf. F. baptismal.] Pertaining to baptism; as,
baptismal vows. Baptismal name, the Christian name, which is given at
baptism.
Baptismally
Bap*tis"mal*ly, adv. In a baptismal manner.
Baptist
Bap"tist (?), n. [L. baptista, G. ]
1. One who administers baptism; -- specifically applied to John, the
forerunner of Christ. Milton.
2. One of a denomination of Christians who deny the validity of infant
baptism and of sprinkling, and maintain that baptism should be
administered to believers alone, and should be by immersion. See
Anabaptist.
NOTE: In do ctrine the Baptists of this country [the United States]
are Calvinistic, but with much freedom and moderation.
Amer. Cyc. Freewill Baptists, a sect of Baptists who are Arminian in
doctrine, and practice open communion. -- Seventh-day Baptists, a sect
of Baptists who keep the seventh day of the week, or Saturday, as the
Sabbath. See Sabbatarian. The Dunkers and Campbellites are also
Baptists.
Baptistery,Baptistry
Bap"tis*ter*y (?),Bap"tis*try (?), n.; pl. Baptisteries (, -tries (.
[L. baptisterium, Gr. : cf. F. baptist\'8are.] (Arch.) (a) In early
times, a separate building, usually polygonal, used for baptismal
services. Small churches were often changed into baptisteries when
larger churches were built near. (b) A part of a church containing a
font and used for baptismal services.
Baptistic
Bap*tis"tic (?), a. [Gr. ] Of or for baptism; baptismal.
Baptistical
Bap*tis"tic*al (?), a. Baptistic. [R.]
Baptizable
Bap*tiz"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being baptized; fit to be baptized.
Baxter.
Baptization
Bap`ti*za"tion (?), n. Baptism. [Obs.]
Their baptizations were null. Jer. Taylor.
Baptize
Bap*tize" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Baptized (; p. pr. & vb. n.>/pos>
Baptizing.] [F. baptiser, L. baptizare, fr.Gr. . See Baptism.]
1. To administer the sacrament of baptism to.
2. To christen ( because a name is given to infants at their baptism);
to give a name to; to name.
I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo. Shak.
3. To sanctify; to consecrate.
Baptizement
Bap*tize"ment (?), n. The act of baptizing.[R.]
Baptizer
Bap*tiz"er (?), n. One who baptizes.
Bar
Bar (?), n. [OE. barre, F. barre, fr. LL. barra, W. bar the branch of
a tree, bar, baren branch, Gael. & Ir. barra bar.
1. A piece of wood, metal, or other material, long in proportion to
its breadth or thickness, used as a lever and for various other
purposes, but especially for a hindrance, obstruction, or fastening;
as, the bars of a fence or gate; the bar of a door.
Thou shalt make bars of shittim wood. Ex. xxvi. 26.
2. An indefinite quantity of some substance, so shaped as to be long
in proportion to its breadth and thickness; as, a bar of gold or of
lead; a bar of soap.
3. Anything which obstructs, hinders, or prevents; an obstruction; a
barrier.
Must I new bars to my own joy create? Dryden.
<-- p. 118 -->
4. A bank of sand, gravel, or other matter, esp. at the mouth of a
river or harbor, obstructing navigation.
5. Any railing that divides a room, or office, or hall of assembly, in
order to reserve a space for those having special privileges; as, the
bar of the House of Commons.
6. (Law) (a) The railing that incloses the place which counsel occupy
in courts of justice. Hence, the phrase at the bar of the court
signifies in open court. (b) The place in court where prisoners are
stationed for arraignment, trial, or sentence. (c) The whole body of
lawyers licensed in a court or district; the legal profession. (d) A
special plea constituting a sufficient answer to plaintiff's action.
7. Any tribunal; as, the bar of public opinion; the bar of God.
8. A barrier or counter, over which liquors and food are passed to
customers; hence, the portion of the room behind the counter where
liquors for sale are kept.
9. (Her.) An ordinary, like a fess but narrower, occupying only one
fifth part of the field.
10. A broad shaft, or band, or stripe; as, a bar of light; a bar of
color.
11. (Mus.) A vertical line across the staff. Bars divide the staff
into spaces which represent measures, and are themselves called
measures.
NOTE: &hand; A do uble ba r ma rks th e en d of a strain or main
division of a movement, or of a whole piece of music; in psalmody,
it marks the end of a line of poetry. The term bar is very often
loosely used for measure, i.e., for such length of music, or of
silence, as is included between one bar and the next; as, a passage
of eight bars; two bars' rest.
12. (Far.) pl. (a) The space between the tusks and grinders in the
upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed. (b) The part of the
crust of a horse's hoof which is bent inwards towards the frog at the
heel on each side, and extends into the center of the sole.
13. (Mining) (a) A drilling or tamping rod. (b) A vein or dike
crossing a lode.
14. (Arch.) (a) A gatehouse of a castle or fortified town. (b) A
slender strip of wood which divides and supports the glass of a
window; a sash bar.
Bar shoe (Far.), a kind of horseshoe having a bar across the usual
opening at the heel, to protect a tender frog from injury. -- Bar
shot, a double headed shot, consisting of a bar, with a ball or half
ball at each end; -- formerly used for destroying the masts or rigging
in naval combat. -- Bar sinister (Her.), a term popularly but
erroneously used for baton, a mark of illegitimacy. See Baton. -- Bar
tracery (Arch.), ornamental stonework resembling bars of iron twisted
into the forms required. -- Blank bar (Law). See Blank. -- Case at bar
(Law), a case presently before the court; a case under argument. -- In
bar of, as a sufficient reason against; to prevent. -- Matter in bar,
or Defence in bar, a plea which is a final defense in an action. --
Plea in bar, a plea which goes to bar or defeat the plaintiff's action
absolutely and entirely. -- Trial at bar (Eng. Law), a trial before
all the judges of one the superior courts of Westminster, or before a
quorum representing the full court.
Bar
Bar (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barred (p. pr. & vb. n. Barring.] [ F.
barrer. See Bar, n.]
1. To fasten with a bar; as, to bar a door or gate.
2. To restrict or confine, as if by a bar; to hinder; to obstruct; to
prevent; to prohibit; as, to bar the entrance of evil; distance bars
our intercourse; the statute bars my right; the right is barred by
time; a release bars the plaintiff's recovery; -- sometimes with up.
He barely looked the idea in the face, and hastened to bar it in
its dungeon. Hawthorne.
3. To except; to exclude by exception.
Nay, but I bar to-night: you shall not gauge me By what we do
to-night. Shak.
4. To cross with one or more stripes or lines.
For the sake of distinguishing the feet more clearly, I have barred
them singly. Burney.
Barb
Barb (?), n. [F. barbe, fr. L. barba beard. See Beard, n.]
1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.
The barbel, so called by reason of his barbs, or wattles in his
mouth. Walton.
2. A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners. [Obs.]
3. pl. Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark
the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and
cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and
swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.]
4. The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to
prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands
out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
"Having two barbs or points." Ascham.
5. A bit for a horse. [Obs.] Spenser.
6. (Zo\'94l.) One of the side branches of a feather, which
collectively constitute the vane. See Feather.
7. (Zo\'94l.) A southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and
southeastern coasts of the United States; -- also improperly called
whiting.
8. (Bot.) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
Barb
Barb, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barbed (p. pr. & vb. n. Barbing.]
1. To shave or dress the beard of. [Obs.]
2. To clip; to mow. [Obs.] Marston.
3. To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like
barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.
But rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire. Milton.
Barb
Barb, n. [F. barbe, fr. Barbarie.]
1. The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduces from Barbary into
Spain by the Moors.
2. (Zo\'94l.) A blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally
brought from Barbary.
Barb
Barb, n. [Corrupted fr. bard.] Armor for a horse. Same as 2d Bard, n.,
1.
Barbacan
Bar"ba*can (?), n. See Barbican.
Barbacanage
Bar"ba*can*age (?), n. See Barbicanage.
Barbadian
Bar*ba"di*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Barbados. -- n. A native of
Barbados.
Barbados OR Barbadoes
Bar*ba"dos OR Bar*ba"does (?), n. A West Indian island, giving its
name to a disease, to a cherry, etc. Barbados cherry (Bot.), a genus
of trees of the West Indies (Malpighia) with an agreeably acid fruit
resembling a cherry. -- Barbados leg (Med.), a species of
elephantiasis incident to hot climates. -- Barbados nuts, the seeds of
the Jatropha curcas, a plant growing in South America and elsewhere.
The seeds and their acrid oil are used in medicine as a purgative. See
Physic nut.
Barbara
Bar"ba*ra (?), n. [Coined by logicians.] (Logic) The first word in
certain mnemonic lines which represent the various forms of the
syllogism. It indicates a syllogism whose three propositions are
universal affirmatives. Whately.
Barbaresque
Bar`ba*resque" (?), a. Barbaric in form or style; as, barbaresque
architecture. De Quincey.
Barbarian
Bar*ba"ri*an (?), n. [See Barbarous.]
1. A foreigner. [Historical]
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto
him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a
barbarian unto me.
2. A man in a rule, savage, or uncivilized state.
3. A person destitute of culture. M. Arnold.
4. A cruel, savage, brutal man; one destitute of pity or humanity.
"Thou fell barbarian." Philips.
Barbarian
Bar*ba"ri*an, a. Of, or pertaining to, or resembling, barbarians;
rude; uncivilized; barbarous; as, barbarian governments or nations.
Barbaic
Bar*ba"ic (?), a. [L. barbaricus foreign, barbaric, Gr. .]
1. Of, or from, barbarian nations; foreign; -- often with reference to
barbarous nations of east. "Barbaric pearl and gold." Milton.
2. Of or pertaining to, or resembling, an uncivilized person or
people; barbarous; barbarian; destitute of refinement. "Wild, barbaric
music." Sir W. Scott.
Barbarism
Bar"ba*rism (?), n. [L. barbarismus, Gr.; cf. F. barbarisme.]
1. An uncivilized state or condition; rudeness of manners; ignorance
of arts, learning, and literature; barbarousness. Prescott.
2. A barbarous, cruel, or brutal action; an outrage.
A heinous barbarism . . . against the honor of marriage. Milton.
3. An offense against purity of style or language; any form of speech
contrary to the pure idioms of a particular language. See Solecism.
The Greeks were the first that branded a foreign term in any of
their writers with the odious name of barbarism. G. Campbell.
Barbarity
Bar*bar"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Barbarities (#). [From Barbarous.] The state
or manner of a barbarian; lack of civilization.
2. Cruelty; ferociousness; inhumanity.
Treating Christians with a barbarity which would have shocked the
very Moslem. Macaulay.
3. A barbarous or cruel act.
4. Barbarism; impurity of speech. [Obs.] Swift.
Barbarize
Bar"ba*rize (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Barbarized (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Barbarizing (.]
1. To become barbarous.
The Roman empire was barbarizing rapidly from the time of Trajan.
De Quincey.
2. To adopt a foreign or barbarous mode of speech.
The ill habit . . . of wretched barbarizing against the Latin and
Greek idiom, with their untutored Anglicisms. Milton.
Barbarize
Bar"ba*rize (?), v. t. [Cf. F. barbariser, LL. barbarizare.] To make
barbarous.
The hideous changes which have barbarized France. Burke.
Barbarous
Bar"ba*rous (?), a. [L. barbarus, Gr. , strange, foreign; later,
slavish, rude, ignorant; akin to L. balbus stammering, Skr. barbara
stammering, outlandish. Cf. Brave, a.]
1. Being in the state of a barbarian; uncivilized; rude; peopled with
barbarians; as, a barbarous people; a barbarous country.
2. Foreign; adapted to a barbaric taste.[Obs.]
Barbarous gold. Dryden.
3. Cruel; ferocious; inhuman; merciless.
By their barbarous usage he died within a few days, to the grief of
all that knew him. Clarendon.
4. Contrary to the pure idioms of a language.
A barbarous expression G. Campbell.
Syn. -- Uncivilized; unlettered; uncultivated; untutored; ignorant;
merciless; brutal. See Ferocious.
Barbarously
Bar"ba*rous*ly, adv. In a barbarous manner.
Barbarousness
Bar"ba*rous*ness, n. The quality or state of being barbarous;
barbarity; barbarism.
Barbary
Bar"ba*ry (?), n. [Fr. Ar. Barbar the people of Barbary.] The
countries on the north coast of Africa from Egypt to the Atlantic.
Hence: A Barbary horse; a barb. [Obs.] Also, a kind of pigeon. Barbary
ape (Zo\'94l.), an ape (Macacus innus) of north Africa and Gibraltar
Rock, being the only monkey inhabiting Europe. It is very commonly
trained by showmen.
Barbastel
Bar"ba*stel` (?), n. [F. barbastelle.] (Zo\'94l.) A European bat
(Barbastellus communis), with hairy lips.
Barbate
Bar"bate (?), a. [L. barbatus, fr. barba beard. See Barb beard.]
(Bot.) Bearded; beset with long and weak hairs.
Barbated
Bar"ba*ted (?), a. Having barbed points.
A dart uncommonly barbated. T. Warton.
Barbecue
Bar"be*cue (?), n. [In the language of Indians of Guiana, a frame on
which all kinds of flesh and fish are roasted or smoke-dried.]
1. A hog, ox, or other large animal roasted or broiled whole for a
feast.
2. A social entertainment, where many people assemble, usually in the
open air, at which one or more large animals are roasted or broiled
whole.
3. A floor, on which coffee beans are sun-dried.
Barbecue
Bar"be*cue (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barbecued (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Barbecuing.]
1. To dry or cure by exposure on a frame or gridiron.
They use little or no salt, but barbecue their game and fish in the
smoke. Stedman.
2. To roast or broil whole, as an ox or hog.
Send me, gods, a whole hog barbecued. Pope.
Barbed
Barbed (?), a. [See 4th Bare.] Accoutered with defensive armor; --
said of a horse. See Barded ( which is the proper form.) Sir W.
Raleigh.
Barbed
Barbed, a. Furnished with a barb or barbs; as, a barbed arrow; barbed
wire. Barbed wire, a wire, or a strand of twisted wires, armed with
barbs or sharp points. It is used for fences.
Barbel
Bar"bel (?), n.[OE. barbel, F. barbeau, dim. of L. barbus barbel, fr.
barba beard. See 1st Barb.]
1. (Zo\'94l.) A slender tactile organ on the lips of certain fished.
2. (Zo\'94l.) A large fresh-water fish ( Barbus vulgaris) found in
many European rivers. Its upper jaw is furnished with four barbels.
3. pl. Barbs or paps under the tongued of horses and cattle. See 1st
Barb, 3.
Barbellate
Bar"bel*late (?), a. [See 1st Barb.] (Bot.) Having short, stiff hairs,
often barbed at the point. Gray.
Barbellulate
Bar*bel"lu*late (?), a. (Bot.) Barbellate with diminutive hairs or
barbs.
Barber
Bar"ber (?), n. [OE. barbour, OF. barbeor, F. barbier, as if fr. an
assumed L. barbator, fr. barba beard. See 1st Barb.] One whose
occupation it is to shave or trim the beard, and to cut and dress the
hair of his patrons. Barber's itch. See under Itch.
NOTE: &hand; Formerly the barber practiced some offices of surgery,
such as letting blood and pulling teeth. Hence such terms as barber
surgeon ( old form barber chirurgeon), barber surgery, etc.
Barber
Bar"ber, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barbered (p. pr. & vb. n. Barbering.] To
shave and dress the beard or hair of. Shak.
Barber fish
Bar"ber fish. (Zo\'94l.) See Surgeon fish.
Barbermonger
Bar"ber*mon`ger (?), n. A fop. [Obs.]
Barberry
Bar"ber*ry (?), n. [OE. barbarin, barbere, OF. berbere.] (Bot.) A
shrub of the genus Berberis, common along roadsides and in neglected
fields. B. vulgaris is the species best known; its oblong red berries
are made into a preserve or sauce, and have been deemed efficacious in
fluxes and fevers. The bark dyes a fine yellow, esp. the bark of the
root. [Also spelt berberry.]
Barbet
Bar"bet (?), n. [F. barbet, fr.barbe beard, long hair of certain
animals. See Barb beard.] (Zo\'94l.) (a) A variety of small dog,
having long curly hair. (b) A bird of the family Bucconid\'91, allied
to the Cuckoos, having a large, conical beak swollen at the base, and
bearded with five bunches of stiff bristles; the puff bird. It
inhabits tropical America and Africa. (c) A larva that feeds on
aphides.
Barbette
Bar*bette" (?), n. [F. Cf. Barbet.] (Fort.) A mound of earth or a
platform in a fortification, on which guns are mounted to fire over
the parapet. En barbette, In barbette, said of guns when they are
elevated so as to fire over the top of a parapet, and not through
embrasures. -- Barbette gun, or Barbette battery, a single gun, or a
number of guns, mounted in barbette, or partially protected by a
parapet or turret. -- Barbette carriage, a gun carriage which elevates
guns sufficiently to be in barbette. [See Illust. of Casemate.]
Barbican, Barbacan
Bar"bi*can (?), Bar"ba*can (?), n. [OE. barbican, barbecan, F.
barbacane, LL. barbacana, barbicana, of uncertain origin: cf. Ar.
barbakh aqueduct, sewer. F. barbacane also means, an opening to let
out water, loophole.]
1. ( Fort.) A tower or advanced work defending the entrance to a
castle or city, as at a gate or bridge. It was often large and strong,
having a ditch and drawbridge of its own.
2. An opening in the wall of a fortress, through which missiles were
discharged upon an enemy.
Barbicanage, Barbacanage
Bar"bi*can*age (?), Bar"ba*can*age (?), n. [LL. barbicanagium. See
Barbican.] Money paid for the support of a barbican. [Obs.]
Barbicel
Bar"bi*cel (?), n. [NL. barbicella, dim. of L. barba. See 1st Barb.]
(Zo\'94l.) One of the small hooklike processes on the barbules of
feathers.
Barbiers
Bar"biers (?), n. (Med.) A variety of paralysis, peculiar to India and
the Malabar coast; -- considered by many to be the same as beriberi in
chronic form.
Barbigerous
Bar*big"er*ous (?), a. [L. barba a beard + gerous.] Having a beard;
bearded; hairy.
Barbiton
Bar"bi*ton (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. .] (Mus.) An ancient Greek instrument
resembling a lyre.
Barbituric acid
Bar`bi*tu"ric ac"id (?). (Chem.) A white, crystalline substance, <--
p. 119 -->
Barble
Bar"ble (?), n. See Barbel.
Barbotine
Bar"bo*tine (?), n. [F.] A paste of clay used in decorating coarse
pottery in relief.
Barbre
Bar"bre (?), a. Barbarian. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Barbule
Bar"bule (?), n. [L. barbula, fr. barba beard.]
1. A very minute barb or beard. Booth.
2. (Zo\'94l.) One of the processes along the edges of the barbs of a
feather, by which adjacent barbs interlock. See Feather.
Barcarolle
Bar"ca*rolle (?), n. [F. barcarolle, fr. It. barcaruola, fr. barca
bark, barge.] (Mus.) (a) A popular song or melody sung by Venetian
gondoliers. (b) A piece of music composed in imitation of such a song.
Barcon
Bar"con (?), n. [It. barcone, fr. barca a bark.] A vessel for freight;
-- used in Mediterranean.
Bard
Bard (?), n. [Of Celtic origin; cf. W. bardd, Arm. barz, Ir. & Gael.
bard, and F. barde.]
1. A professional poet and singer, as among the ancient Celts, whose
occupation was to compose and sing verses in honor of the heroic
achievements of princes and brave men.
2. Hence: A poet; as, the bard of Avon.
Bard, Barde
Bard, Barde (?), n. [F. barde, of doubtful origin.]
1. A piece of defensive (or, sometimes, ornamental) armor for a
horse's neck, breast, and flanks; a barb. [Often in the pl.]
2. pl. Defensive armor formerly worn by a man at arms.
3. (Cookery) A thin slice of fat bacon used to cover any meat or game.
Bard
Bard, v. t. (Cookery) To cover (meat or game) with a thin slice of fat
bacon.
Barded
Bard"ed, p.a. [See Bard horse armor.]
1. Accoutered with defensive armor; -- said of a horse.
2. (Her.) Wearing rich caparisons.
Fifteen hundred men . . . barded and richly trapped. Stow.
Bardic
Bard"ic, a. Of or pertaining to bards, or their poetry. "The bardic
lays of ancient Greece." G. P. Marsh.
Bardish
Bard"ish, a. Pertaining to, or written by, a bard or bards. "Bardish
impostures." Selden.
Bardism
Bard"ism (?), n. The system of bards; the learning and maxims of
bards.
Bardling
Bard"ling (?), n. An inferior bard. J. Cunningham.
Bardship
Bard"ship, n. The state of being a bard.
Bare
Bare (?), a. [OE. bar, bare, AS. b\'91r; akin to D. & G. baar, OHG.
par, Icel. berr, Sw. & Dan. bar, OSlav. bos barefoot, Lith. basas; cf.
Skr. bh\'bes to shine
1. Without clothes or covering; stripped of the usual covering; naked;
as, his body is bare; the trees are bare.
2. With head uncovered; bareheaded.
When once thy foot enters the church, be bare. Herbert.
3. Without anything to cover up or conceal one's thoughts or actions;
open to view; exposed.
Bare in thy guilt, how foul must thou appear ! Milton.
4. Plain; simple; unadorned; without polish; bald; meager. "Uttering
bare truth." Shak.
5. Destitute; indigent; empty; unfurnished or scantily furnished; --
used with of (rarely with in) before the thing wanting or taken away;
as, a room bare of furniture. "A bare treasury." Dryden.
6. Threadbare; much worn.
It appears by their bare liveries that they live by your bare
words. Shak.
7. Mere; alone; unaccompanied by anything else; as, a bare majority.
"The bare necessaries of life." Addison.
Nor are men prevailed upon by bare of naked truth. South.
Under bare poles (Naut.), having no sail set.
Bare
Bare, n.
1. Surface; body; substance. [R.]
You have touched the very bare of naked truth. Marston.
2. (Arch.) That part of a roofing slate, shingle, tile, or metal
plate, which is exposed to the weather.
Bare
Bare, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bared(p. pr. & vb. n. Baring.] [AS. barian.
See Bare, a.] To strip off the covering of; to make bare; as, to bare
the breast.
Bare
Bare. Bore; the old preterit of Bear, v.
Bareback
Bare"back` (?), adv. On the bare back of a horse, without using a
saddle; as, to ride bareback.
Barebacked
Bare"backed` (?), a. Having the back uncovered; as, a barebacked
horse.
Barebone
Bare"bone` (?), n. A very lean person; one whose bones show through
the skin. Shak.
Barefaced
Bare"faced` (?), a.
1. With the face uncovered; not masked. "You will play barefaced."
Shak.
2. Without concealment; undisguised. Hence: Shameless; audacious.
"Barefaced treason." J. Baillie.
Barefacedly
Bare"faced`ly, adv. Openly; shamelessly. Locke.
Barefacedness
Bare"faced`ness, n. The quality of being barefaced; shamelessness;
assurance; audaciousness.
Barefoot
Bare"foot (?), a. & adv. With the feet bare; without shoes or
stockings.
Barefooted
Bare"foot`ed, a. Having the feet bare.
Bar\'82ge
Ba*r\'82ge" (?), n. [F. bar\'82ge, so called from Bar\'82ges, a town
in the Pyrenees.] A gauzelike fabric for ladies' dresses, veils, etc.
of worsted, silk and worsted, or cotton and worsted.
Barehanded
Bare"hand`ed (?), n. Having bare hands.
Bareheaded, Barehead
Bare"head`ed (?), Bare"head, a. & adv. Having the head uncovered; as,
a bareheaded girl.
Barelegged
Bare"legged` (?), a. Having the legs bare.
Barely
Bare"ly, adv.
1. Without covering; nakedly.
2. Without concealment or disguise.
3. Merely; only.
R. For now his son is duke. W. Barely in title, not in revenue.
Shak.
4. But just; without any excess; with nothing to spare ( of quantity,
time, etc.); hence, scarcely; hardly; as, there was barely enough for
all; he barely escaped.
Barenecked
Bare"necked` (?), a. Having the neck bare.
Bareness
Bare"ness, n. The state of being bare.
Baresark
Bare"sark (?), n. [Literally, bare sark or shirt.] A Berserker, or
Norse warrior who fought without armor, or shirt of mail. Hence,
adverbially: Without shirt of mail or armor.
Barfish
Bar"fish` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) Same as Calico bass.
Barful
Bar"ful (?), a. Full of obstructions. [Obs.] Shak.
Bargain
Bar"gain (?), n. [OE. bargayn, bargany, OF. bargaigne, bargagne, prob.
from a supposed LL. barcaneum, fr. barca a boat which carries
merchandise to the shore; hence, to traffic to and fro, to carry on
commerce in general. See Bark a vessel. ]
1. An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a
contract by which one party binds himself to transfer the right to
some property for a consideration, and the other party binds himself
to receive the property and pay the consideration.
A contract is a bargain that is legally binding. Wharton.
2. An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge.
And whon your honors mean to solemnize The bargain of your faith.
Shak.
3. A purchase; also ( when not qualified), a gainful transaction; an
advantageous purchase; as, to buy a thing at a bargain.
4. The thing stipulated or purchased; also, anything bought cheap.
She was too fond of her most filthy bargain. Shak.
Bargain and sale (Law), a species of conveyance, by which the
bargainor contracts to convey the lands to the bargainee, and becomes
by such contract a trustee for and seized to the use of the bargainee.
The statute then completes the purchase; i.e., the bargain vests the
use, and the statute vests the possession. Blackstone. -- Into the
bargain, over and above what is stipulated; besides. -- To sell
bargains, to make saucy ( usually indelicate) repartees. [Obs.] Swift.
-- To strike a bargain, to reach or ratify an agreement. "A bargain
was struck." Macaulay. Syn. -- Contract; stipulation; purchase;
engagement.
Bargain
Bar"gain, v. i. [OE. barganien, OF. bargaigner, F. barguigner, to
hesitate, fr. LL. barcaniare. See Bargain, n.] To make a bargain; to
make a contract for the exchange of property or services; -- followed
by with and for; as, to bargain with a farmer for a cow.
So worthless peasants bargain for their wives. Shak.
Bargain
Bar"gain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bargained (p. pr. & vb. n. Bargaining.]
To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade; as, to bargain
one horse for another. To bargain away, to dispose of in a bargain; --
usually with a sense of loss or disadvantage; as, to bargain away
one's birthright. "The heir . . . had somehow bargained away the
estate." G. Eliot.
Barfainee
Bar`fain*ee" (?), n. [OF. bargaign\'82, p.p. See Bargain, v. i.] (Law)
The party to a contract who receives, or agrees to receive, the
property sold. Blackstone.
Bargainer
Bar"gain*er (?), n. One who makes a bargain; -- sometimes in the sense
of bargainor.
Bargainor
Bar`gain*or" (?), n. (Law) One who makes a bargain, or contracts with
another; esp., one who sells, or contracts to sell, property to
another. Blackstone.
Barge
Barge (?), n. [OF. barge, F. berge, fr. LL. barca, for barica (not
found), prob. fr. L. baris an Egyptian rowboat, fr. Gr. , prob. fr.
Egyptian: cf. Coptic bari a boat. Cf. Bark a vessel.]
1. A pleasure boat; a vessel or boat of state, elegantly furnished and
decorated.
2. A large, roomy boat for the conveyance of passengers or goods; as,
a ship's barge; a charcoal barge.
3. A large boat used by flag officers.
4. A double-decked passenger or freight vessel, towed by a steamboat.
[U.S.]
5. A large omnibus used for excursions. [Local, U.S.]
Bargeboard
Barge"board` (?), n. [Perh. corrup. of vergeboard; or cf. LL. bargus a
kind of gallows.] A vergeboard.
Bargecourse
Barge"course` (?), n. [See Bargeboard.] (Arch.) A part of the tiling
which projects beyond the principal rafters, in buildings where there
is a gable. Gwilt.
Bargee
Bar*gee" (?), n. A bargeman. [Eng.]
Bargeman
Barge"man (?), n. The man who manages a barge, or one of the crew of a
barge.
Bargemastter
Barge"mast`ter (?), n. The proprietor or manager of a barge, or one of
the crew of a barge.
Barger
Bar"ger (?), n. The manager of a barge. [Obs.]
Barghest
Bar"ghest` (?), n. [Perh. G. berg mountain + geist demon, or b\'84r a
bear + geist.] A goblin, in the shape of a large dog, portending
misfortune. [Also written barguest.]
Baria
Ba"ri*a (?), n. [Cf. Barium.] (Chem.) Baryta.
Baric
Bar"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Of or pertaining to barium; as, baric oxide.
Baric
Bar"ic, a. [Gr. weight.] (Physics) Of or pertaining to weight, esp. to
the weight or pressure of the atmosphere as measured by the barometer.
Barilla
Ba*ril"la (?), n. [Sp. barrilla.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to several species of Salsola from which soda
is made, by burning the barilla in heaps and lixiviating the ashes.
2. (Com.) (a) The alkali produced from the plant, being an impure
carbonate of soda, used for making soap, glass, etc., and for
bleaching purposes. (b) Impure soda obtained from the ashes of any
seashore plant, or kelp. Ure.
Copper barilla (Min.), native copper in granular form mixed with sand,
an ore brought from Bolivia; -- called also Barilla de cobre.
Barillet
Bar"il*let (?), n. [F., dim. of baril barrel.] A little cask, or
something resembling one. Smart.
Bar iron
Bar" i`ron (?). See under Iron.
Barite
Ba"rite (?), n. (Min.) Native sulphate of barium, a mineral occurring
in transparent, colorless, white to yellow crystals (generally
tabular), also in granular form, and in compact massive forms
resembling marble. It has a high specific gravity, and hence is often
called heavy spar. It is a common mineral in metallic veins.
Baritone
Bar"i*tone (?), a. & n. See Barytone.
Barium
Ba"ri*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. bary`s heavy.] (Chem.) One of the
elements, belonging to the alkaline earth group; a metal having a
silver-white color, and melting at a very high temperature. It is
difficult to obtain the pure metal, from the facility with which it
becomes oxidized in the air. Atomic weight, 137. Symbol, Ba. Its oxide
called baryta. [Rarely written barytum.]
NOTE: &hand; So me of the compounds of this element are remarkable
for their high specific gravity, as the sulphate, called heavy
spar, and the like. The oxide was called barote, by Guyton de
Morveau, which name was changed by Lavoisier to baryta, whence the
name of the metal.
Bard
Bard (?), n. [Akin to Dan. & Sw. bark, Icel. b\'94rkr, LG. & HG.
borke.]
1. The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree; the
rind.
2. Specifically, Peruvian bark.
Bark bed. See Bark stove (below). -- Bark pit, a pit filled with bark
and water, in which hides are steeped in tanning. -- Bark stove
(Hort.), a glazed structure for keeping tropical plants, having a bed
of tanner's bark (called a bark bed) or other fermentable matter which
produces a moist heat.
Bark
Bark, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barked (p. pr. & vb. n. Barking.]
1. To strip the bark from; to peel.
2. To abrade or rub off any outer covering from; as to bark one's
heel.
3. To girdle. See Girdle, v. t., 3.
4. To cover or inclose with bark, or as with bark; as, to bark the
roof of a hut.
Bark
Bark, v. i. [OE. berken, AS. beorcan; akin to Icel. berkja, and prob.
to E. break.]
1. To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs; --
said of some animals, but especially of dogs.
2. To make a clamor; to make importunate outcries.
They bark, and say the Scripture maketh heretics. Tyndale.
Where there is the barking of the belly, there no other commands
will be heard, much less obeyed. Fuller.
Bark
Bark, n. The short, loud, explosive sound uttered by a dog; a similar
sound made by some other animals.
Bark, Barque
Bark, Barque (?), n. [F. barque, fr. Sp. or It. barca, fr. LL. barca
for barica. See Barge.]
1. Formerly, any small sailing vessel, as a pinnace, fishing smack,
etc.; also, a rowing boat; a barge. Now applied poetically to a
sailing vessel or boat of any kind. Byron.
2. (Naut.) A three-masted vessel, having her foremast and mainmast
squarerigged, and her mizzenmast schooner-rigged.
Barkantine
Bark"an*tine (?), n. Same as Barkentine.
Bark beetle
Bark" bee`tle (?). (Zo\'94l.) A small beetle of many species (family
Scolytid\'91), which in the larval state bores under or in the bark of
trees, often doing great damage.
Barkbound
Bark"bound` (?), a. Prevented from growing, by having the bark too
firm or close.
Barkeeper
Bar"keep`er (?), n. One who keeps or tends a bar for the sale of
liquors.
Barken
Bark"en (?), a. Made of bark. [Poetic] Whittier.
Barkentine
Bark"en*tine (?), n. [See Bark, n., a vessel.] (Naut.) A threemasted
vessel, having the foremast square-rigged, and the others
schooner-rigged. [Spelled also barquentine, barkantine, etc.] See
Illust. in Append.
Barker
Bark"er (?), n.
1. An animal that barks; hence, any one who clamors unreasonably.
2. One who stands at the doors of shops to urg [Cant, Eng.]
3. A pistol. [Slang] Dickens.
4. (Zo\'94l.) The spotted redshank.
Barker
Bark"er, n. One who strips trees of their bark.
Barker's mill
Bark"er's mill` (?). [From Dr. Barker, the inventor.] A machine,
invented in the 17th century, worked by a form of reaction wheel. The
water flows into a vertical tube and gushes from apertures in hollow
horizontal arms, causing the machine to revolve on its axis.
Barkery
Bark"er*y (?), n. A tanhouse.
Barking irons
Bark"ing i`rons (?).
1. Instruments used in taking off the bark of trees. Gardner.
2. A pair of pistols. [Slang]
Barkless
Bark"less, a. Destitute of bark.
Bark louse
Bark" louse` (?). (Zo\'94l.) An insect of the family Coccid\'91, which
infests the bark of trees and vines.
NOTE: &hand; Th e wi ngless females assume the shape of scales. The
bark louse of vine is Pulvinaria innumerabilis; that of the pear is
Lecanium pyri. See Orange scale.
Barky
Bark"y (?), a. Covered with, or containing, bark. "The barky fingers
of the elm." Shak.
Barley
Bar"ley (?), n. [OE. barli, barlich, AS. b\'91rlic; bere barley +
l\'c6c (which is prob. the same as E. like, adj., or perh. a form of
AS. le\'bec leek). AS. bere is akin to Icel, barr barley, Goth.
barizeins made of barley, L. far spelt; cf. W. barlys barley, bara
bread. Farina, 6th Bear.] (Bot.) A valuable grain, of the family of
grasses, genus Hordeum, used for food, and for making malt, from which
are prepared beer, ale, and whisky. <-- p. 120 --> Barley bird
(Zo\'94l.), the siskin. -- Barley sugar, sugar boiled till it is
brittle (formerly with a decoction of barley) and candied. -- Barley
water, a decoction of barley, used in medicine, as a nutritive and
demulcent.
Barleybrake Barleybreak
Bar"ley*brake` Bar"ley*break` (?), n. An ancient rural game, commonly
played round stacks of barley, or other grain, in which some of the
party attempt to catch others who run from a goal.
Barley-bree
Bar"ley-bree` (?), n. [Lit. barley broth. See Brew.] Liquor made from
barley; strong ale. [Humorous] [Scot.] Burns.
Barleycorn
Bar"ley*corn` (?), n. [See Corn.]
1. A grain or "corn" of barley.
2. Formerly , a measure of length, equal to the average length of a
grain of barley; the third part of an inch.
John Barleycorn, a humorous personification of barley as the source of
malt liquor or whisky.
Barm
Barm (?), n. [OE. berme, AS. beorma; akin to Sw. b\'84rma, G.
b\'84rme, and prob. L. fermenium. \'fb93.] Foam rising upon beer, or
other malt liquors, when fermenting, and used as leaven in making
bread and in brewing; yeast. Shak.
Barm
Barm, n. [OE. bearm, berm, barm, AS. beorma; akin to E. bear to
support.] The lap or bosom. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Barmaid
Bar"maid` (?), n. A girl or woman who attends the customers of a bar,
as in a tavern or beershop.
A bouncing barmaid. W. Irving.
Barmaster
Bar"mas`ter (?), n. [Berg + master: cf. G. Bergmeister.] Formerly, a
local judge among miners; now, an officer of the barmote. [Eng.]
Barmcloth
Barm"cloth` (?), n. Apron. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Barmecidal
Bar"me*ci`dal (?), a. [See Barmecide.] Unreal; illusory. "A sort of
Barmecidal feast." Hood.
Barmecide
Bar"me*cide (?), n. [A prince of the Barmecide family, who, as related
in the "Arabian Nights' Tales", pretended to set before the hungry
Shacabac food, on which the latter pretended to feast.] One who
proffers some illusory advantage or benefit. Also used as an adj.:
Barmecidal. "A Barmecide feast." Dickens.
Barmote
Bar"mote` (?), n. [Barg + mote meeting.] A court held in Derbyshire,
in England, for deciding controversies between miners. Blount.
Balmy
Balm"y (?), a. Full of barm or froth; in a ferment. "Barmy beer."
Dryden.
Barn
Barn (?), n. [OE. bern, AS. berern, bern; bere barley + ern, \'91rn, a
close place. Barley.] A covered building used chiefly for storing
grain, hay, and other productions of a farm. In the United States a
part of the barn is often used for stables. Barn owl (Zo\'94l.), an
owl of Europe and America (Aluco flammeus, or Strix flammea), which
frequents barns and other buildings. -- Barn swallow (Zo\'94l.), the
common American swallow (Hirundo horreorum), which attaches its nest
of mud to the beams and rafters of barns.
Barn
Barn, v. t. To lay up in a barn. [Obs.] Shak.
Men . . . often barn up the chaff, and burn up the grain. Fuller.
Barn
Barn, n. A child. [Obs.] See Bairn.
Barnabite
Bar"na*bite (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) A member of a religious order, named
from St. Barnabas.
Barnacle
Bar"na*cle (?), n. [Prob. from E. barnacle a kind of goose, which was
popularly supposed to grow from this shellfish; but perh. from LL.
bernacula for pernacula, dim. of perna ham, sea mussel; cf. Gr. ham
Cf. F. bernacle, barnacle, E. barnacle a goose; and Ir. bairneach,
barneach, limpet.] (Zo\'94l.) Any cirriped crustacean adhering to
rocks, floating timber, ships, etc., esp. (a) the sessile species
(genus Balanus and allies), and (b) the stalked or goose barnacles
(genus Lepas and allies). See Cirripedia, and Goose barnacle. Barnacle
eater (Zo\'94l.), the orange filefish. -- Barnacle scale (Zo\'94l.), a
bark louse (Ceroplastes cirripediformis) of the orange and quince
trees in Florida. The female scale curiously resembles a sessile
barnacle in form.
Barnacle
Bar"na*cle, n. [See Bernicle.] A bernicle goose.
Barnacle
Bar"na*cle, n. [OE. bernak, bernacle; cf. OF. bernac, and Prov. F.
(Berri) berniques, spectacles.]
1. pl. (Far.) An instrument for pinching a horse's nose, and thus
restraining him.
NOTE: [Formerly used in the sing.]
The barnacles . . . give pain almost equal to that of the switch.
Youatt.
2. pl. Spectacles; -- so called from their resemblance to the
barnacles used by farriers. [Cant, Eng.] Dickens.
Barnyard
Barn"yard` (?), n. A yard belonging to a barn.
Barocco
Ba*roc"co (?), a. [It.] (Arch.) See Baroque.
Barograph
Bar"o*graph (?), n. [Gr. weight + -graph.] (Meteor.) An instrument for
recording automatically the variations of atmospheric pressure.
Baroko
Ba*ro"ko (?), n. [A mnemonic word.] (Logic) A form or mode of
syllogism of which the first proposition is a universal affirmative,
and the other two are particular negative.
Barology
Ba*rol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. weight + -logy.] The science of weight or
gravity.
Baromacrometer
Bar`o*ma*crom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. weight + long + -meter.] (Med.) An
instrument for ascertaining the weight and length of a newborn infant.
Barometer
Ba*rom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. weight + -meter: cf. F. barom\'8atre.] An
instrument for determining the weight or pressure of the atmosphere,
and hence for judging of the probable changes of weather, or for
ascertaining the height of any ascent.
NOTE: &hand; Th e ba rometer was invented by Torricelli at Florence
about 1643. It is made in its simplest form by filling a graduated
glass tube about 34 inches long with mercury and inverting it in a
cup containing mercury. The column of mercury in the tube descends
until balanced by the weight of the atmosphere, and its rise or
fall under varying conditions is a measure of the change in the
atmospheric pressure. At the sea level its ordinary height is about
30 inches (760 millimeters). See Sympiesometer.
Nichol. Aneroid barometer. See Aneroid barometer, under Aneroid. --
Marine barometer, a barometer with tube contracted at bottom to
prevent rapid oscillations of the mercury, and suspended in gimbals
from an arm or support on shipboard. -- Mountain barometer, a portable
mercurial barometer with tripod support, and long scale, for measuring
heights. -- Siphon barometer, a barometer having a tube bent like a
hook with the longer leg closed at the top. The height of the mercury
in the longer leg shows the pressure of the atmosphere. -- Wheel
barometer, a barometer with recurved tube, and a float, from which a
cord passes over a pulley and moves an index.
Barometric, Barometrical
Bar`o*met"ric (?), Bar`o*met"ric*al (?), a. Pertaining to the
barometer; made or indicated by a barometer; as, barometric changes;
barometrical observations.
Barometrically
Bar`o*met"ric*al*ly, adv. By means of a barometer, or according to
barometric observations.
Barometrograph
Bar`o*met"ro*graph (?), n. [Gr. weight + measure + -graph.] A form of
barometer so constructed as to inscribe of itself upon paper a record
of the variations of atmospheric pressure.
Barometry
Ba*rom"e*try (?), n. The art or process of making barometrical
measurements.
Barometz
Bar"o*metz (?), n. [Cf. Russ. baranets' clubmoss.] (Bot.) The
woolly-skinned rhizoma or rootstock of a fern (Dicksonia barometz),
which, when specially prepared and inverted, somewhat resembles a
lamb; -- called also Scythian lamb.
Baron
Bar"on (?), n. [OE. baron, barun, OF. baron, accus. of ber, F. baron,
prob. fr. OHG. baro (not found) bearer, akin to E. bear to support;
cf. O. Frisian bere, LL. baro, It. barone, Sp. varon. From the meaning
bearer (of burdens) seem to have come the senses strong man, man (in
distinction from woman), which is the oldest meaning in French, and
lastly, nobleman. Cf. L. baro, simpleton. See Bear to support.]
1. A title or degree of nobility; originally, the possessor of a fief,
who had feudal tenants under him; in modern times, in France and
Germany, a nobleman next in rank below a count; in England, a nobleman
of the lowest grade in the House of Lords, being next below a
viscount.
NOTE: &hand; "T he te nants in chief from the Crown, who held lands
of the annual value of four hundred pounds, were styled Barons; and
it is to them, and not to the members of the lowest grade of the
nobility (to whom the title at the present time belongs), that
reference is made when we read of the Barons of the early days of
England's history . . . . Barons are addressed as 'My Lord,' and
are styled 'Right Honorable.' All their sons and daughters
'Honorable.'"
Cussans.
2. (Old Law) A husband; as, baron and feme, husband and wife. [R.]
Cowell.
Baron of beef, two sirloins not cut asunder at the backbone. -- Barons
of the Cinque Ports, formerly members of the House of Commons, elected
by the seven Cinque Ports, two for each port. -- Baron of the
exchequer, the judges of the Court of Exchequer, one of the three
ancient courts of England, now abolished.
Baronage
Bar"on*age (?), n. [OE. barnage, baronage, OF.barnage, F. baronnage;
cf. LL. baronagium.]
1. The whole body of barons or peers.
The baronage of the kingdom. Bp. Burnet.
2. The dignity or rank of a baron.
3. The land which gives title to a baron. [Obs.]
Baroness
Bar"on*ess (?), n. A baron's wife; also, a lady who holds the baronial
title in her own right; as, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts.
Baronet
Bar"on*et (?), n. [Baron + -et.] A dignity or degree of honor next
below a baron and above a knight, having precedency of all orders of
knights except those of the Garter. It is the lowest degree of honor
that is hereditary. The baronets are commoners.
NOTE: &hand; Th e or der wa s fo unded by James I. in 1611, and is
given by patent. The word, however, in the sense of a lesser baron,
was in use long before. "Baronets have the title of 'Sir' prefixed
to their Christian names; their surnames being followed by their
dignity, usually abbreviated Bart. Their wives are addressed as
'Lady' or 'Madam'. Their sons are possessed of no title beyond
'Esquire.'"
Cussans.
Baronetage
Bar"on*et*age (?), n.
1. State or rank of a baronet.
2. The collective body of baronets.
Baronetcy
Bar"on*et*cy (?), n. The rank or patent of a baronet.
Baronial
Ba*ro"ni*al (?), a. Pertaining to a baron or a barony. "Baronial
tenure." Hallam.
Barony
Bar"o*ny (?), n.; pl. Baronies (. [OF. baronie, F. baronnie, LL.
baronia. See Baron.]
1. The fee or domain of a baron; the lordship, dignity, or rank of a
baron.
2. In Ireland, a territorial division, corresponding nearly to the
English hundred, and supposed to have been originally the district of
a native chief. There are 252 of these baronies. In Scotland, an
extensive freehold. It may be held by a commoner. Brande & C.
Baroque
Ba*roque" (?), a. [F.; cf. It. barocco.] (Arch.) In bad taste;
grotesque; odd.
Baroscope
Bar"o*scope (?), n. [Gr. weight + -scope: cf. F. baroscope.] Any
instrument showing the changes in the weight of the atmosphere; also,
less appropriately, any instrument that indicates -or foreshadows
changes of the weather, as a deep vial of liquid holding in suspension
some substance which rises and falls with atmospheric changes.
Baroscopic, Baroscopical
Bar`o*scop"ic (?), Bar`o*scop"ic*al (?), a. Pertaining to, or
determined by, the baroscope.
Barouche
Ba*rouche" (?), n. [G. barutsche, It. baroccio, biroccio, LL.
barrotium, fr. L. birotus two-wheeled; bi=bis twice + rota wheel.] A
four-wheeled carriage, with a falling top, a seat on the outside for
the driver, and two double seats on the inside arranged so that the
sitters on the front seat face those on the back seat.
Barouchet
Ba`rou*chet" (?), n. A kind of light barouche.
Barpost
Bar"post` (?), n. A post sunk in the ground to receive the bars
closing a passage into a field.
Barque
Barque (?), n. Same as 3d Bark, n.
Barracan
Bar"ra*can (?), n. [F. baracan, bouracan (cf. Pr. barracan, It.
baracane, Sp. barragan, Pg. barregana, LL. barracanus), fr. Ar.
barrak\'ben a kind of black gown, perh. fr. Per. barak a garment made
of camel's hair.] A thick, strong stuff, somewhat like camlet; --
still used for outer garments in the Levant.
Barrack
Bar"rack (?), n. [F. baraque, fr. It. baracca (cf. Sp. barraca), from
LL. barra bar. See Bar, n.]
1. (Mil.) A building for soldiers, especially when in garrison.
Commonly in the pl., originally meaning temporary huts, but now
usually applied to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
He lodged in a miserable hut or barrack, composed of dry branches
and thatched with straw. Gibbon.
2. A movable roof sliding on four posts, to cover hay, straw, etc.
[Local, U.S.]
Barrack
Bar"rack, v. t. To supply with barracks; to establish in barracks; as,
to barrack troops.
Barrack
Bar"rack, v. i. To live or lodge in barracks.
Barraclade
Bar"ra*clade (?), n. [D. baar, OD. baer, naked, bare + kleed garment,
i.e., cloth undressed or without nap.] A home-made woolen blanket
without nap. [Local, New York] Bartlett.
Barracoon
Bar"ra*coon` (?), n. [Sp. or Pg. barraca. See Barrack.] A slave
warehouse, or an inclosure where slaves are quartered temporarily. Du
Chaillu.
Barracuda, Barracouata
Bar`ra*cu"da (?), Bar`ra*cou"ata (?), n.
1. (Zo\'94l.) A voracious pikelike, marine fish, of the genus
Sphyr\'91na, sometimes used as food.
NOTE: &hand; Th at of Europe and our Atlantic coast is Sphyr\'91na
spet (or S. vulgaris); a southern species is S. picuda; the
Californian is S. argentea.
2. (Zo\'94l.) A large edible fresh-water fish of Australia and New
Zealand (Thyrsites atun).
Barrage
Bar"rage (?), n. [F., fr. barrer to bar, from barre bar.] (Engin.) An
artificial bar or obstruction placed in a river or water course to
increase the depth of water; as, the barrages of the Nile.
Barranca
Bar*ran"ca (?), n. [Sp.] A ravine caused by heavy rains or a
watercourse. [Texas & N. Mex.]
Barras
Bar"ras (?), n. [F.] A resin, called also galipot.
Barrator
Bar"ra*tor (?), n. [OE. baratour, OF. barateor deceiver, fr. OF.
barater, bareter, to deceive, cheat, barter. See Barter, v. i.] One
guilty of barratry.
Barratrous
Bar"ra*trous (?), (Law) Tainter with, or constituting, barratry. --
Bar"ra*trous*ly, adv. Kent.
Barratry
Bar"ra*try (?), n. [Cf. F. baraterie, LL. barataria. See Barrator, and
cf. Bartery.]
1. (Law) The practice of exciting and encouraging lawsuits and
quarrels. [Also spelt barretry.] Coke. Blackstone.
2. (Mar. Law) A fraudulent breach of duty or willful act of known
illegality on the part of a master of a ship, in his character of
master, or of the mariners, to the injury of the owner of the ship or
cargo, and without his consent. It includes every breach of trust
committed with dishonest purpose, as by running away with the ship,
sinking or deserting her, etc., or by embezzling the cargo. Kent.
Part.
3. (Scots Law) The crime of a judge who is influenced by bribery in
pronouncing judgment. Wharton.
Barred owl
Barred" owl" (?). (Zo\'94l.) A large American owl (Syrnium nebulosum);
-- so called from the transverse bars of a dark brown color on the
breast.
Barrel
Bar"rel (?), n.[OE. barel, F. baril, prob. fr. barre bar. Cf.
Barricade.]
1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging
in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends
or heads.
2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for
different articles and also in different places for the same article,
being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 31 gallons; a
barrel of flour is 196 pounds.
3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a
windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled.
<-- p. 121 -->
4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is
discharged. Knight.
5. A jar. [Obs.] 1 Kings xvii. 12.
6. (Zo\'94l.) The hollow basal part of a feather.
Barrel bulk (Com.), a measure equal to five cubic feet, used in
estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight. -- Barrel drain
(Arch.), a drain in the form of a cylindrical tube. -- Barrel of a
boiler, the cylindrical part of a boiler, containing the flues. --
Barrel of the ear (Anat.), the tympanum, or tympanic cavity. -- Barrel
organ, an instrument for producing music by the action of a revolving
cylinder. -- Barrel vault. See under Vault.
Barrel
Bar"rel (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barreled (Barrelled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Barreling, or Barrelling.] To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels.
Barreled, Barrelled
Bar"reled, Bar"relled (?), a. Having a barrel; -- used in composition;
as, a double-barreled gun.
Barren
Bar"ren (?), a. [OE. barein, OF. brehaing, brehaigne, baraigne, F.
br\'82haigne; of uncertain origin; cf. Arm. br\'82kha, markha,
sterile; LL. brana a sterile mare, principally in Aquitanian and
Spanish documents; Bisc. barau, baru, fasting.]
1. Incapable of producing offspring; producing no young; sterile; --
She was barren of children. Bp. Hall.
2. Not producing vegetation, or useful vegetation; "Barren mountain
tracts." Macaulay.
3. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
Brilliant but barren reveries. Prescott.
Some schemes will appear barren of hints and matter. Swift.
4. Mentally dull; stupid. Shak.
Barren flower, a flower which has only stamens without a pistil, or
which as neither stamens nor pistils. -- Barren Grounds (Geog.), a
vast tract in British America northward of the forest regions. --
Barren Ground bear (Zo\'94l.), a peculiar bear, inhabiting the Barren
Grounds, now believed to be a variety of the brown bear of Europe. --
Barren Ground caribou (Zo\'94l.), a small reindeer (Rangifer
Gr\'d2nlandicus) peculiar to the Barren Grounds and Greenland.
Barren
Bar"ren, n.
1. A tract of barren land.
2. pl. Elevated lands or plains on which grow small trees, but not
timber; as, pine barrens; oak barrens. They are not necessarily
sterile, and are often fertile. [Amer.] J. Pickering.
Barrenly
Bar"ren*ly, adv. Unfruitfully; unproductively.
Barrenness
Bar"ren*ness, n. The condition of being barren; sterility;
unproductiveness.
A total barrenness of invention. Dryden.
Barrenwort
Bar"ren*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) An herbaceous plant of the Barberry
family (Epimedium alpinum), having leaves that are bitter and said to
be sudorific.
Barret
Bar"ret (?), n. [F. barrette, LL. barretum a cap. See Berretta, and
cf. Biretta.] A kind of cap formerly worn by soldiers; -- called also
barret cap. Also, the flat cap worn by Roman Catholic ecclesiastics.
Barricade
Bar`ri*cade" (?), n. [F. barricade, fr. Sp. barricada, orig. a barring
up with casks; fr. barrica cask, perh. fr. LL. barra bar. See Bar, n.,
and cf. Barrel, n.]
1. (Mil.) A fortification, made in haste, of trees, earth, palisades,
wagons, or anything that will obstruct the progress or attack of an
enemy. It is usually an obstruction formed in streets to block an
enemy's access.
2. Any bar, obstruction, or means of defense.
Such a barricade as would greatly annoy, or absolutely stop, the
currents of the atmosphere. Derham.
Barricade
Bar`ri*cade", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barricaded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Barricading.] [Cf. F. barricader. See Barricade, n.] To fortify or
close with a barricade or with barricades; to stop up, as a passage;
to obstruct; as, the workmen barricaded the streets of Paris.
The further end whereof [a bridge] was barricaded with barrels.
Hakluyt.
Barricader
Bar`ri*cad"er (?), n. One who constructs barricades.
Barricado
Bar`ri*ca"do (?), n. & v. t. See Barricade. Shak.
Barrier
Bar"ri*er (?), n. [OE. barrere, barere, F. barri\'8are, fr. barre bar.
See Bar, n.]
1. (Fort.) A carpentry obstruction, stockade, or other obstacle made
in a passage in order to stop an enemy.
2. A fortress or fortified town, on the frontier of a country,
commanding an avenue of approach.
3. pl. A fence or railing to mark the limits of a place, or to keep
back a crowd.
No sooner were the barriers opened, than he paced into the lists.
Sir W. Scott.
4. An any obstruction; anything which hinders approach or attack.
"Constitutional barriers." Hopkinson.
5. Any limit or boundary; a line of separation.
'Twixt that [instinct] and reason, what a nice barrier ! Pope.
Barrier gate, a heavy gate to close the opening through a barrier. --
Barrier reef, a form of coral reef which runs in the general direction
of the shore, and incloses a lagoon channel more or less extensive. --
To fight at barriers, to fight with a barrier between, as a martial
exercise. [Obs.]
Barrigudo
Bar`ri*gu"do (?), n. [Native name, fr. Sp. barrigudo big-bellied.]
(Zo\'94l.) A large, dark-colored, South American monkey, of the genus
Lagothrix, having a long prehensile tail.
Barringout
Bar`ring*out" (?), n. The act of closing the doors of a schoolroom
against a schoolmaster; -- a boyish mode of rebellion in schools.
Swift.
Barrister
Bar"ris*ter (?), n. [From Bar, n.] Counselor at law; a counsel
admitted to plead at the bar, and undertake the public trial of
causes, as distinguished from an attorney or solicitor. See Attorney.
[Eng.]
Barroom
Bar"room` (?), n. A room containing a bar or counter at which liquors
are sold.
Barrow
Bar"row (?), n. [OE. barow, fr. AS. beran to bear. See Bear to
support, and cf. Bier.]
1. A support having handles, and with or without a wheel, on which
heavy or bulky things can be transported by hand. See Handbarrow, and
Wheelbarrow.
2. (Salt Works) A wicker case, in which salt is put to drain.
Barrow
Bar"row (?), n. [OE. barow, bargh, AS. bearg, bearh; akin to Icel.
b\'94rgr, OHG. barh, barug, G. barch. A hog, esp. a male hog
castrated. Holland.
Barrow
Bar"row, n. [OE. bergh, AS. beorg, beorh, hill, sepulchral mound; akin
to G. berg mountain, Goth. bairgahei hill, hilly country, and perh. to
Skr. b high, OIr. brigh mountain. Cf. Berg, Berry a mound, and Borough
an incorporated town.]
1. A large mound of earth or stones over the remains of the dead; a
tumulus.
2. (Mining) A heap of rubbish, attle, etc.
Barrowist
Bar"row*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Henry Barrowe, one of the
founders of Independency or Congregationalism in England. Barrowe was
executed for nonconformity in 1953.
Barrulet
Bar"ru*let (?), n. [Dim. of bar, n.] (Her.) A diminutive of the bar,
having one fourth its width.
Barruly
Bar"ru*ly (?), a. (Her.) Traversed by barrulets or small bars; -- said
of the field.
Barry
Bar"ry (?), a. (Her.), Divided into bars; -- said of the field.
Barse
Barse (?), n. [AS. bears, b\'91rs, akin to D. baars, G. bars, barsch.
Cf. 1st Bass, n.] The common perch. See 1st Bass. [Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
Bartender
Bar"tend`er (?), n. A barkeeper.
Barter
Bar"ter (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bartered (p. pr. & vb. n. Bartering.]
[OE. bartren, OF. barater, bareter, to cheat, exchange, perh. fr. Gr.
to do, deal (well or ill), use practices or tricks, or perh. fr.
Celtic; cf. Ir. brath treachery, W. brad. Cf. Barrator.] To traffic or
trade, by exchanging one commodity for another, in distinction from a
sale and purchase, in which money is paid for the commodities
transferred; to truck.
Barter
Bar"ter, v. t. To trade or exchange in the way of barter; to exchange
(frequently for an unworthy consideration); to traffic; to truck; --
sometimes followed by away; as, to barter away goods or honor.
Barter
Bar"ter, n.
1. The act or practice of trafficking by exchange of commodities; an
exchange of goods.
The spirit of huckstering and barter. Burke.
2. The thing given in exchange. Syn. -- Exchange; dealing; traffic;
trade; truck.
Barterer
Bar"ter*er (?), n. One who barters.
Bartery
Bar"ter*y (?), n. Barter. [Obs.] Camden.
Barth
Barth (?), n. [Etymol. unknown.] A place of shelter for cattle. [Prov.
Eng.] Halliwell.
Bartholomew tide
Bar*thol"o*mew tide` (?). Time of the festival of St. Bartholomew,
August 24th. Shak.
Bartizan
Bar"ti*zan` (?), n. [Cf. Brettice.] (Arch.) A small, overhanging
structure for lookout or defense, usually projecting at an angle of a
building or near an entrance gateway.
Bartlett
Bart"lett (?), n. (Bot.) A Bartlett pear, a favorite kind of pear,
which originated in England about 1770, and was called Williams'
Bonchr\'82tien. It was brought to America, and distributed by Mr.
Enoch Bartlett, of Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Barton
Bar"ton (?), n. [AS. beret courtyard, grange; bere barley + t an
inclosure. ]
1. The demesne lands of a manor; also, the manor itself. [Eng.]
Burton.
2. A farmyard. [Eng.] Southey.
Bartram
Bar"tram (?), n. (Bot.) See Bertram. Johnson.
Barway
Bar"way` (?), n. A passage into a field or yard, closed by bars made
to take out of the posts.
Barwise
Bar"wise` (?), adv. (Her.) Horizontally.
Barwood
Bar"wood` (?), n. A red wood of a leguminous tree (Baphia nitida),
from Angola and the Gaboon in Africa. It is used as a dyewood, and
also for ramrods, violin bows and turner's work.
Barycentric
Bar`y*cen"tric (?), a. [Gr. heavy + center.] Of or pertaining to the
center of gravity. See Barycentric calculus, under Calculus.
Baryphony
Ba*ryph"o*ny (?), n. [Gr. heavy + a sound voice.] (Med.) Difficulty of
speech.
Baryta
Ba*ry"ta (?), n. [Gr. heavy. Cf. Baria.] (Chem.) An oxide of barium
(or barytum); a heavy earth with a specific gravity above 4.
Barytes
Ba*ry"tes (?), n. [Gr. heavy: cf. Gr. heaviness, F. baryte.] (Min.)
Barium sulphate, generally called heavy spar or barite. See Barite.
Barytic
Ba*ryt"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to baryta.
Baryto-calcite
Ba*ry"to-cal"cite (?), n. [Baryta + calcite.] (Min.) A mineral of a
white or gray color, occurring massive or crystallized. It is a
compound of the carbonates of barium and calcium.
Barytone, Baritone
Bar"y*tone, Bar"i*tone (?), a. [Gr. ; heavy + tone.]
1. (Mus.) Grave and deep, as a kind of male voice.
2. (Greek Gram.) Not marked with an accent on the last syllable, the
grave accent being understood.
Barytone, Baritone
Bar"y*tone, Bar"i*tone, n. [F. baryton: cf. It. baritono.]
1. (Mus.) (a) A male voice, the compass of which partakes of the
common bass and the tenor, but which does not descend as low as the
one, nor rise as high as the other. (b) A person having a voice of
such range. (c) The viola di gamba, now entirely disused.
2. (Greek Gram.) A word which has no accent marked on the last
syllable, the grave accent being understood.
Barytum
Ba*ry"tum (?), n. [NL.] (Chem.) The metal barium. See Barium. [R.]
Basal
Ba"sal (?), a. Relating to, or forming, the base. Basal cleavage. See
under Cleavage. -- Basal plane (Crystallog.), one parallel to the
lateral or horizontal axis.
Basal-nerved
Ba"sal-nerved` (?), a. (Bot.) Having the nerves radiating from the
base; -- said of leaves.
Basalt
Ba*salt" (?), n. [N. basaltes (an African word), a dark and hard
species of marble found in Ethiopia: cf. F. basalte.]
1. (Geol.) A rock of igneous origin, consisting of augite and
triclinic feldspar, with grains of magnetic or titanic iron, and also
bottle-green particles of olivine frequently disseminated.
NOTE: &hand; It is us ually of a greenish black color, or of some
dull brown shade, or black. It constitutes immense beds in some
regions, and also occurs in veins or dikes cutting through other
rocks. It has often a prismatic structure as at the Giant's
Causeway, in Ireland, where the columns are as regular as if the
work of art. It is a very tough and heavy rock, and is one of the
best materials for macadamizing roads.
2. An imitation, in pottery, of natural basalt; a kind of black
porcelain.
Basaltic
Ba*salt"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. basaltique.] Pertaining to basalt; formed
of, or containing, basalt; as basaltic lava.
Basaltiform
Ba*salt"i*form (?), a. [Basalt + -form.] In the form of basalt;
columnar.
Basaltoid
Ba*salt"oid (?), a. [Basalt + -oid.] Formed like basalt; basaltiform.
Basan
Bas"an (?), n. Same as Basil, a sheepskin.
Basanite
Bas"a*nite (?), n. [L. basanites lapis, Gr. the touchstone: cf. F.
basanite.] (Min.) Lydian stone, or black jasper, a variety of
siliceous or flinty slate, of a grayish or bluish black color. It is
employed to test the purity of gold, the amount of alloy being
indicated by the color left on the stone when rubbed by the metal.
Basbleu
Bas`bleu" (?), n. [F., fr. bas stocking + bleu blue.] A bluestocking;
a literary woman. [Somewhat derisive]
Bascinet
Bas"ci*net (?), n. [OE. bacinet, basnet, OF. bassinet, bacinet, F.
bassinet, dim. of OF. bacin, F. bassin, a helmet in the form of a
basin.] A light helmet, at first open, but later made with a visor.
[Written also basinet, bassinet, basnet.]
Bascule
Bas"cule (?), n. [F., a seesaw.] In mechanics an apparatus on the
principle of the seesaw, in which one end rises as the other falls.
Bascule bridge, a counterpoise or balanced drawbridge, which is opened
by sinking the counterpoise and thus lifting the footway into the air.
Base
Base (?), a. [OE. bass, F. bas, low, fr. LL. bassus thick, fat, short,
humble; cf. L. Bassus, a proper name, and W. bas shallow. Cf. Bass a
part in music.]
1. Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base
shrubs. [Archaic] Shak.
2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] Shak.
3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] "A pleasant
and base swain." Bacon.
4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic]
Why bastard? wherefore base? Shak.
5. Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver,
the precious metals.
6. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion.
7. Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of
sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base
motives; base occupations. "A cruel act of a base and a cowardish
mind." Robynson (More's Utopia). "Base ingratitude." Milton.
8. Not classical or correct. "Base Latin." Fuller.
9. Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin. [In this
sense, commonly written bass.]
10. (Law) Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate, one held
by services not honorable; held by villenage. Such a tenure is called
base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant.
Base fee, formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord; now, a
qualified fee. See note under Fee, n., 4. -- Base metal. See under
Metal. Syn. -- Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous;
sordid; degraded. -- Base, Vile, Mean. These words, as expressing
moral qualities, are here arranged in the order of their strength, the
strongest being placed first. Base marks a high degree of moral
turpitude; vile and mean denote, in different degrees, the want of
what is valuable or worthy of esteem. What is base excites our
abhorrence; what is vile provokes our disgust or indignation; what is
mean awakens contempt. Base is opposed to high-minded; vile, to noble;
mean, to liberal or generous. Ingratitude is base; sycophancy is vile;
undue compliances are mean.
Base
Base, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. a stepping step, a base,
pedestal, fr. to go, step, akin to E. come. Cf. Basis, and see Come.]
1. The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which
something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue.
"The base of mighty mountains." Prescott.
2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential
principle; a groundwork.
3. (Arch.) (a) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated
as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially
ornamented. (b) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as
of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of
furniture or decoration.
4. (Bot.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is
attached to its support. <-- p. 122 -->
5. (Chem.) The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance
which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt;
-- applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or
radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their
property of forming salts with acids.
6. (Pharmacy) The chief ingredient in a compound.
7. (Dyeing) A substance used as a mordant. Ure.
8. (Fort.) The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line
which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.
9. (Geom.) The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on
which it is supposed to stand.
10. (Math.) The number from which a mathematical table is constructed;
as, the base of a system of logarithms.
11. [See Base low.] A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part;
the deepest male voice. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which
plays, base. [Now commonly written bass.]
The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar. Dryden.
12. (Mil.) A place or tract of country, protected by fortifications,
or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army
proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc.
13. (Mil.) The smallest kind of cannon. [Obs.]
14. (Zo\'94l.) That part of an organ by which it is attached to
another more central organ.
15. (Crystallog.) The basal plane of a crystal.
16. (Geol.) The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly
crystalline.
17. (Her.) The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon.
18. The housing of a horse. [Obs.]
19. pl. A kind of skirt ( often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of
mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
[Obs.]
20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.]
21. An apron. [Obs.] "Bakers in their linen bases." Marston.
22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or
a goal in various games.
To their appointed base they went. Dryden.
23. (Surv.) A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in
length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the
distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by
a system of triangles. Lyman.
24. A rustic play; -- called also prisoner's base, prison base, or
bars. "To run the country base." Shak.
25. (Baseball) Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of
the infield.
Altern base. See under Altern. -- Attic base. (Arch.) See under Attic.
-- Base course. (Arch.) (a) The first or lower course of a foundation
wall, made of large stones of a mass of concrete; -- called also
foundation course. (b) The architectural member forming the transition
between the basement and the wall above. -- Base hit (Baseball), a
hit, by which the batsman, without any error on the part of his
opponents, is able to reach the first base without being put out. --
Base line. (a) A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in
military operations. (b) A line traced round a cannon at the rear of
the vent. -- Base plate, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as
of the steam engine; the bed plate. -- Base ring (Ordnance), a
projecting band of metal around the breech, connected with the body of
the gun by a concave molding. H. L. Scott.
Base
Base (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (p. pr. & vb. n. Basing.] [From
Base, n.] To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to
found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon. Bacon.
Base
Base, v. t. [See Base, a., and cf. Abase.]
1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.]
If any . . . based his pike. Sir T. North.
2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.]
Metals which we can not base. Bacon.
Baseball
Base"ball" (?), n.
1. A game of ball, so called from the bases or bounds ( four in
number) which designate the circuit which each player must endeavor to
make after striking the ball.
2. The ball used in this game.
Baseboard
Base"board (?), n. (Arch.) A board, or other woodwork, carried round
the walls of a room and touching the floor, to form a base and protect
the plastering; -- also called washboard (in England), mopboard, and
scrubboard.
Baseborn
Base"born` (?), a.
1. Born out of wedlock. Gay.
2. Born of low parentage.
3. Vile; mean. "Thy baseborn heart." Shak.
Base-burner
Base"-burn`er (?), n. A furnace or stove in which the fuel is
contained in a hopper or chamber, and is fed to the fire as the lower
stratum is consumed.
Base-court
Base"-court` (?), n. [F. basse-cour. See Base, a., and Court, n.]
1. The secondary, inferior, or rear courtyard of a large house; the
outer court of a castle.
2. (Law) An inferior court of law, not of record.
Based
Based (?), p. p. & a.
1. Having a base, or having as a base; supported; as, broad-based.
2. [See Base, n., 18-21.] Wearing, or protected by, bases. [Obs.]
"Based in lawny velvet." E. Hall.
Basedow's disease
Ba"se*dow's dis*ease" (?). [Named for Dr. Basedow, a German
physician.] (Med.) A disease characterized by enlargement of the
thyroid gland, prominence of the eyeballs, and inordinate action of
the heart; -- called also exophthalmic goiter. Flint.
Baselard
Bas"e*lard (?), n. [OF. baselarde, LL. basillardus.] A short sword or
dagger, worn in the fifteenth century. [Written also baslard.]
Fairholt.
Baseless
Base"less, a. Without a base; having no foundation or support. "The
baseless fabric of this vision." Shak.
Basely
Base"ly, adv.
1. In a base manner; with despicable meanness; dishonorably;
shamefully.
2. Illegitimately; in bastardy. [Archaic] Knolles.
Basement
Base"ment (?), n. [F. soubassement. Of uncertain origin. Cf. Base, a.,
Bastion.] (Arch.) The outer wall of the ground story of a building, or
of a part of that story, when treated as a distinct substructure. (
See Base, n., 3 (a).) Hence: The rooms of a ground floor,
collectively. Basement membrane (Anat.), a delicate membrane composed
of a single layer of flat cells, forming the substratum upon which, in
many organs, the epithelioid cells are disposed.
Baseness
Base"ness (?), n. The quality or condition of being base; degradation;
vileness.
I once did hold it a baseness to write fair. Shak.
Basenet
Bas"e*net (?), n. See Bascinet. [Obs.]
Base viol
Base" vi`ol (?). See Bass viol.
Bash
Bash (?), v. t. & i. [OE. baschen, baissen. See Abash.] To abash; to
disconcert or be disconcerted or put out of countenance. [Obs.]
His countenance was bold and bashed not. Spenser.
Bashaw
Ba*shaw" (?), n. [See Pasha.]
1. A Turkish title of honor, now written pasha. See Pasha.
2. Fig.: A magnate or grandee.
3. (Zo\'94l.) A very large siluroid fish (Leptops olivaris) of the
Mississippi valley; -- also called goujon, mud cat, and yellow cat.
Bashful
Bash"ful (?), a. [See Bash.]
1. Abashed; daunted; dismayed. [Obs.]
2. Very modest, or modest excess; constitutionally disposed to shrink
from public notice; indicating extreme or excessive modesty; shy; as,
a bashful person, action, expression. Syn. -- Diffident; retiring;
reserved; shamefaced; sheepish.
Bashfully
Bash"ful*ly, adv. In a bashful manner.
Bashfulness
Bash"ful*ness, n. The quality of being bashful. Syn. -- Bashfulness,
Modesty, Diffidence, Shyness. Modesty arises from a low estimate of
ourselves; bashfulness is an abashment or agitation of the spirits at
coming into contact with others; diffidence is produced by an undue
degree of self-distrust; shyness usually arises from an excessive
self-consciousness, and a painful impression that every one is looking
at us. Modesty of deportment is becoming at all; bashfulness often
gives rise to mistakes and blundering; diffidence is society
frequently makes a man a burden to himself; shyness usually produces a
reserve or distance which is often mistaken for haughtiness.
Bashi-bazouk
Bash"i-ba*zouk" (?), n. [Turkish, light-headed, a foolish fellow.] A
soldier belonging to the irregular troops of the Turkish army.
Bashless
Bash"less, a. Shameless; unblushing. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bashyle
Bas"hyle (?), n. (Chem.) See Basyle.
Basi-
Ba"si- (?). A combining form, especially in anatomical and botanical
words, to indicate the base or position at or near a base; forming a
base; as, basibranchials, the most ventral of the cartilages or bones
of the branchial arches; basicranial, situated at the base of the
cranium; basifacial, basitemporal, etc.
Basic
Ba"sic (?), a.
1. (Chem.) (a) Relating to a base; performing the office of a base in
a salt. (b) Having the base in excess, or the amount of the base
atomically greater than that of the acid, or exceeding in proportion
that of the related neutral salt. (c) Apparently alkaline, as certain
normal salts which exhibit alkaline reactions with test paper.
2. (Min.) Said of crystalline rocks which contain a relatively low
percentage of silica, as basalt.
Basic salt (Chem.), a salt formed from a base or hydroxide by the
partial replacement of its hydrogen by a negative or acid element or
radical.
Basicerite
Ba*sic"er*ite (?), n. [Basi- + Gr. horn, antenna.] (Zo\'94l.) The
second joint of the antenn\'91 of crustaceans.
Basicity
Ba*sic"i*ty, n. (Chem.) (a) The quality or state of being a base. (b)
The power of an acid to unite with one or more atoms or equivalents of
a base, as indicated by the number of replaceable hydrogen atoms
contained in the acid.
Basidiospore
Ba*sid"i*o*spore (?), n. [Basidium + spore.] (Bot.) A spore borne by a
basidium. -- Ba*sid`i*o*spor"ous (, a.
Basidium
Ba*sid"i*um (?), n. [NL., dim. of Gr. base.] (Bot.) A special oblong
or pyriform cell, with slender branches, which bears the spores in
that division of fungi called Basidiomycetes, of which the common
mushroom is an example.
Basifier
Ba"si*fi`er (?), n. (Chem.) That which converts into a salifiable
base.
Basifugal
Ba*sif"u*gal (?), a. [Base,n.+ L. fugere to flee.] (Bot.) Tending or
proceeding away from the base; as, a basifugal growth.
Basify
Ba"si*fy (?), v. t. [Base + -fy.] (Chem.) To convert into a salifiable
base.
Basigynium
Ba`si*gyn"i*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. base + woman.] (Bot.) The pedicel
on which the ovary of certain flowers, as the passion flower, is
seated; a carpophore or thecaphore.
Basihyal
Ba`si*hy"al (?), a. [Basi- + Gr. (Anat.) Noting two small bones,
forming the body of the inverted hyoid arch.
Basihyoid
Ba`si*hy"oid (?), n. [Basi- + hyoid.] (Anat.) The central tongue bone.
Basil
Bas"il (?), n. [Cf. F. basile and E. Bezel.] The slope or angle to
which the cutting edge of a tool, as a plane, is ground. Grier.
Basil
Bas"il, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Basiled (p. pr. & vb. n. Basiling.] To
grind or form the edge of to an angle. Moxon.
Basil
Bas"il, n. [F. basilic, fr. L. badilicus royal, Gr. , fr. king.]
(Bot.) The name given to several aromatic herbs of the Mint family,
but chiefly to the common or sweet basil (Ocymum basilicum), and the
bush basil, or lesser basil (O. minimum), the leaves of which are used
in cookery. The name is also given to several kinds of mountain mint
(Pycnanthemum). Basil thyme, a name given to the fragrant herbs
Calamintha Acinos and C. Nepeta. -- Wild basil, a plant (Calamintha
clinopodium) of the Mint family.
Basil
Bas"il (?), n. [Corrupt. from E. basan, F. basane, LL. basanium,
bazana, fr. Ar. bith\'bena, prop., lining.] The skin of a sheep tanned
with bark.
Basilar, Basilary
Bas"i*lar (?), Bas"i*la*ry (?), a. [F. basilaire, fr. L. basis. See
Base, n.]
1. Relating to, or situated at, the base.
2. Lower; inferior; applied to impulses or springs of action. [R.]
"Basilar instincts." H. W. Beecher.
Basilic
Ba*sil"ic (?), n. [F. basilique.] Basilica.
Basilic, Basilical
Ba*sil"ic (?), Ba*sil"ic*al (?), a. [See Basilica.]
1. Royal; kingly; also, basilican.
2. (Anat.) Pertaining to certain parts, anciently supposed to have a
specially important function in the animal economy, as the middle vein
of the right arm.
Basilica
Ba*sil"i*ca (?), n.; pl. Basilicas (#); sometimes Basilic (#). [L.
basilica, Gr. ( sc. , or ) fr. royal, fr. .] Originally, the place of
a king; but afterward, an apartment provided in the houses of persons
of importance, where assemblies were held for dispensing justice; and
hence, any large hall used for this purpose.
2. (Arch.) (a) A building used by the Romans as a place of public
meeting, with court rooms, etc., attached. (b) A church building of
the earlier centuries of Christianity, the plan of which was taken
from the basilica of the Romans. The name is still applied to some
churches by way of honorary distinction.
Basilica
Ba*sil"i*ca, n. A digest of the laws of Justinian, translated from the
original Latin into Greek, by order of Basil I., in the ninth century.
P. Cyc.
Basilican
Ba*sil"i*can (?), a. Of, relating to, or resembling, a basilica;
basilical.
There can be no doubt that the first churches in Constantinople
were in the basilican form. Milman.
Basilicok
Ba*sil"i*cok (?), n. [OF. basilicoc.] The basilisk. [Obs.] Chaucer
Basilicon
Ba*sil"i*con (?), n. [L. basilicon, Gr. , neut. of : cf. F. basilicon.
See Basilica.] (Med.) An ointment composed of wax, pitch, resin, and
olive oil, lard, or other fatty substance.
Basilisk
Bas"i*lisk (?), n. [L. basiliscus, Gr. little king, kind of serpent,
dim. of king; -- so named from some prominences on the head resembling
a crown.]
1. A fabulous serpent, or dragon. The ancients alleged that its
hissing would drive away all other serpents, and that its breath, and
even its look, was fatal. See Cockatrice.
Make me not sighted like the basilisk. Shak.
2. (Zo\'94l.) A lizard of the genus Basiliscus, belonging to the
family Iguanid\'91.
NOTE: &hand; Th is ge nus is remarkable for a membranous bag rising
above the occiput, which can be filled with air at pleasure; also
for an elevated crest along the back, that can be raised or
depressed at will.
3. (Mil.) A large piece of ordnance, so called from its supposed
resemblance to the serpent of that name, or from its size. [Obs.]
Basin
Ba"sin (?), n. [OF. bacin, F. bassin, LL. bacchinus, fr. bacca a water
vessel, fr. L. bacca berry, in allusion to the round shape; or perh.
fr. Celtic. Cf. Bac.]
1. A hollow vessel or dish, to hold water for washing, and for various
other uses.
2. The quantity contained in a basin.
3. A hollow vessel, of various forms and materials, used in the arts
or manufactures, as that used by glass grinders for forming concave
glasses, by hatters for molding a hat into shape, etc.
4. A hollow place containing water, as a pond, a dock for ships, a
little bay.
5. (Physical Geog.) (a) A circular or oval valley, or depression of
the surface of the ground, the lowest part of which is generally
occupied by a lake, or traversed by a river. (b) The entire tract of
country drained by a river, or sloping towards a sea or lake.
6. (Geol.) An isolated or circumscribed formation, particularly where
the strata dip inward, on all sides, toward a center; -- especially
applied to the coal formations, called coal basins or coal fields.
Basined
Ba"sined (?), a. Inclosed in a basin. "Basined rivers." Young.
Basinet
Bas"i*net (?), n. Same as Bascinet.
Basioccipital
Ba`si*oc*cip"i*tal (?), a. [Basi- + occipital.] (Anat.) Of or
pertaining to the bone in the base of the cranium, frequently forming
a part of the occipital in the adult, but usually distinct in the
young. -- n. The basioccipital bone.
Basion
Ba"si*on (?), n. [Gr. a base.] (Anat.) The middle of the anterior
margin of the great foramen of the skull.
Basipodite
Ba*sip"o*dite (?), n. [Basi- + , , foot.] (Anat.) The basal joint of
the legs of Crustacea.
Basipterygium
Ba*sip`te*ryg"i*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. a base + a fin.] (Anat.) A
bar of cartilage at the base of the embryonic fins of some fishes. It
develops into the metapterygium. -- Ba*sip`ter*yg"i*al (, a.
Basipterygoid
Ba`sip*ter"y*goid (?), a. & n. [Basi- + pierygoid.] (Anat.) Applied to
a protuberance of the base of the sphenoid bone.
Basis
Ba"sis (?), n.; pl. Bases (#). [L. basis, Gr. . See Base, n.]
1. The foundation of anything; that on which a thing rests. Dryden.
2. The pedestal of a column, pillar, or statue. [Obs.]
If no basis bear my rising name. Pope.
<-- p. 123 -->
3. The ground work the first or fundamental principle; that which
supports.
The basis of public credit is good faith. A. Hamilton.
4. The principal component part of a thing.
Basisolute
Ba*sis"o*lute (?), a. [Basi- + solute, a.] (Bot.) Prolonged at the
base, as certain leaves.
Basisphenoid, Basisphenoidal
Ba`si*sphe"noid (?), Ba`si*sphe*noid"al (?), a. [Basi- + spheroid.]
(Anat.) Of or pertaining to that part of the base of the cranium
between the basioccipital and the presphenoid, which usually ossifies
separately in the embryo or in the young, and becomes a part of the
sphenoid in the adult.
Basisphenoid
Ba`si*sphe"noid, n. (Anat.) The basisphenoid bone.
Bask
Bask, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Basked (p. pr. & vb. n. Basking.] [ OScand.
ba to bathe one's self, or perh. bakask to bake one's self, sk being
reflexive. See Bath, n., Bake, v. t.] To lie in warmth; to be exposed
to genial heat.
Basks in the glare, and stems the tepid wave. Goldsmith.
Bask
Bask, v. t. To warm by continued exposure to heat; to warm with genial
heat.
Basks at the fire his hairy strength. Milton.
Basket
Bas"ket (?), n. [Of unknown origin. The modern Celtic words seem to be
from the English.]
1. A vessel made of osiers or other twigs, cane, rushes, splints, or
other flexible material, interwoven. "Rude baskets . . . woven of the
flexile willow." Dyer.
2. The contents of a basket; as much as a basket contains; as, a
basket of peaches.
3. (Arch.) The bell or vase of the Corinthian capital. [Improperly so
used.] Gwilt.
4. The two back seats facing one another on the outside of a
stagecoach. [Eng.] Goldsmith.
Basket fish (Zo\'94l.), an ophiuran of the genus Astrophyton, having
the arms much branched. See Astrophyton. -- Basket hilt, a hilt with a
covering wrought like basketwork to protect the hand. Hudibras. Hence,
Baskethilted, a. -- Basket work, work consisting of plaited osiers or
twigs. -- Basket worm (Zo\'94l.), a lepidopterous insect of the genus
Thyridopteryx and allied genera, esp. T. ephemer\'91formis. The larva
makes and carries about a bag or basket-like case of silk and twigs,
which it afterwards hangs up to shelter the pupa and wingless adult
females.
Basket
Bas"ket, v. t. To put into a basket. [R.]
Basketful
Bas"ket*ful (?), n.; pl. Basketfuls (. As much as a basket will
contain.
Basketry
Bas"ket*ry (?), n. The art of making baskets; also, baskets, taken
collectively.
Basking shark
Bask"ing shark` (?). (Zo\'94l.) One of the largest species of sharks
(Cetorhinus maximus), so called from its habit of basking in the sun;
the liver shark, or bone shark. It inhabits the northern seas of
Europe and America, and grows to a length of more than forty feet. It
is a harmless species.
Basnet
Bas"net (?), n. Same as Bascinet.
Basommatophora
Ba*som`ma*toph"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. base + eye + to bear.]
(Zo\'94l.) A group of Pulmonifera having the eyes at the base of the
tentacles, including the common pond snails.
Bason
Ba"son (?), n. A basin. [Obs. or Special form]
Basque
Basque (?), a. [F.] Pertaining to Biscay, its people, or their
language.
Basque
Basque (?), n. [F.]
1. One of a race, of unknown origin, inhabiting a region on the Bay of
Biscay in Spain and France.
2. The language spoken by the Basque people.
3. A part of a lady's dress, resembling a jacket with a short skirt;
-- probably so called because this fashion of dress came from the
Basques.
Basquish
Basqu"ish (?), a. [F. Basque Biscayan: cf. G. Baskisch.] Pertaining to
the country, people, or language of Biscay; Basque [Obs.] Sir T.
Browne.
Bas-relief
Bas`-re*lief" (?), n. [F. bas-relief; bas law + relief raised work,
relever to raise: cf. It. bassorilievo.] Low relief; sculpture, the
figures of which project less than half of their true proportions; --
called also bassrelief and basso-rilievo. See Alto-rilievo.
Bass
Bass (?), n.; pl. Bass, and sometimes Basses (#). [A corruption of
barse.] (Zo\'94l.)
1. An edible, spiny-finned fish, esp. of the genera Roccus, Labrax,
and related genera. There are many species.
NOTE: &hand; Th e co mmon Eu ropean ba ss is Labrax lupus. American
species are: the striped bass (Roccus lineatus); white or silver
bass of the lakes. (R. chrysops); brass or yellow bass (R.
interruptus).
2. The two American fresh-water species of black bass (genus
Micropterus). See Black bass.
3. Species of Serranus, the sea bass and rock bass. See Sea bass.
4. The southern, red, or channel bass (Sci\'91na ocellata). See
Redfish.
NOTE: &hand; Th e na me is al so applied to many other fishes. See
Calico bass, under Calico.
Bass
Bass, n. [A corruption of bast.]
1. (Bot.) The linden or lime tree, sometimes wrongly called whitewood;
also, its bark, which is used for making mats. See Bast.
2. (Pron. A hassock or thick mat.
Bass
Bass (?), n. [F. basse, fr. bas low. See Base, a.]
1. A bass, or deep, sound or tone.
2. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part in a musical composition. (b) One who
sings, or the instrument which plays, bass. [Written also base.]
Thorough bass. See Thorough bass.
Bass
Bass, a. Deep or grave in tone. Bass clef (Mus.), the character placed
at the beginning of the staff containing the bass part of a musical
composition. [See Illust. under Clef.] -- Bass voice, a deepsounding
voice; a voice fitted for singing bass.
Bass
Bass, v. t. To sound in a deep tone. [R.] Shak.
Bassa, Bassaw
Bas"sa (?), Bas*saw" (?), n. See Bashaw.
Bass drum
Bass` drum" (?). (Mus.) The largest of the different kinds of drums,
having two heads, and emitting a deep, grave sound. See Bass, a.
Basset
Bas"set (?), n. [F. bassette, fr.It. bassetta. Cf. Basso.] A game at
cards, resembling the modern faro, said to have been invented at
Venice.
Some dress, some dance, some play, not to forget Your piquet
parties, and your dear basset. Rowe.
Basset
Bas"set (?), a. [Cf. OF. basset somewhat low, dim. of bas low.]
(Geol.) Inclined upward; as, the basset edge of strata. Lyell.
Basset
Bas"set, n. (Geol.) The edge of a geological stratum at the surface of
the ground; the outcrop.
Basset
Bas"set, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Basseted; p. pr. & vb. n. Basseting.]
(Geol.) To inclined upward so as to appear at the surface; to crop
out; as, a vein of coal bassets.
Basset horn
Bas"set horn` (?). [See Basset, a.] (Mus.) An instrument blown with a
reed, and resembling a clarinet, but of much greater compass,
embracing nearly four octaves.
Basset hound
Bas"set hound` (?). [F. basset.] (Zo\'94l.) A small kind of hound with
a long body and short legs, used as an earth dog.
Basseting
Bas"set*ing, n. The upward direction of a vein in a mine; the
emergence of a stratum at the surface.
Bassetto
Bas*set"to (?), n. [It., adj., somewhat low; n., counter tenor. See
Basso.] (Mus.) A tenor or small bass viol.
Bass horn
Bass" horn" (?). (Mus.) A modification of the bassoon, much deeper in
tone.
Bassinet
Bas"si*net (?), n. [Cf. F. bassinet, dim. of bassin. See Basin, and
cf. Bascinet.]
1. A wicker basket, with a covering or hood over one end, in which
young children are placed as in a cradle.
2. See Bascinet. Lord Lytton.
Basso
Bas"so (?), n. [It., fr. LL. bassus. See Base, a.] (Mus.) (a) The bass
or lowest part; as, to sing basso. (b) One who sings the lowest part.
(c) The double bass, or contrabasso. Basso continuo (. [It., bass
continued.] (Mus.) A bass part written out continuously, while the
other parts of the harmony are indicated by figures attached to the
bass; continued bass.
Bassock
Bas"sock (?), n. A hassock. See 2d Bass, 2.
Bassoon
Bas*soon" (?), n. [F. basson, fr. basse bass; or perh. fr. bas son low
sound. See Bass a part in music. ] (Mus.) A wind instrument of the
double reed kind, furnished with holes, which are stopped by the
fingers, and by keys, as in flutes. It forms the natural bass to the
oboe, clarinet, etc.
NOTE: &hand; Its compass comprehends three octaves. For convenience
of carriage it is divided into two parts; whence it is also called
a fagot.
Bassoonist
Bas*soon"ist, n. A performer on the bassoon. Busby.
Basso-rilievo, Basso-relievo
Bas"so-ri*lie"vo (?), Bas"so-re*lie"vo (?), n. [It. basso-rilievo.]
Same as Bas-relief.
Bassorin
Bas"so*rin (?), n. [Cf. F. bassorine.] (Chem.) A constituent part of a
species of gum from Bassora, as also of gum tragacanth and some gum
resins. It is one of the amyloses. Ure.
Bass-relief
Bass"-re*lief` (?), n. Some as Bas-relief.
Bass viol
Bass" vi`ol (?). (Mus.) A stringed instrument of the viol family, used
for playing bass. See 3d Bass, n., and Violoncello.
Basswood
Bass"wood` (?), n. (Bot.) The bass (Tilia) or its wood; especially, T.
Americana. See Bass, the lime tree.
All the bowls were made of basswood, White and polished very
smoothly. Longfellow.
Bast
Bast (?), n. [AS. b\'91st; akin to Icel., Sw., Dan., D., & G. bast, of
unknown origin. Cf. Bass the tree.]
1. The inner fibrous bark of various plants; esp. of the lime tree;
hence, matting, cordage, etc., made therefrom.
2. A thick mat or hassock. See 2d Bass, 2.
Basta
Bas"ta (?), interj. [It.] Enough; stop. Shak.
Bastard
Bas"tard (?), n. [OF. bastard, bastart, F. b, prob. fr. OF. bast, F.
b, a packsaddle used as a bed by the muleteers (fr. LL. bastum) +
-ard. OF. fils de bast son of the packsaddle; as the muleteers were
accustomed to use their saddles for beds in the inns. See Cervantes,
"Don Quixote," chap. 16; and cf.G. bankert, fr. bank bench.]
1. A "natural" child; a child begotten and born out of wedlock; an
illegitimate child; one born of an illicit union.
NOTE: &hand; By th e civil and canon laws, and by the laws of many
of the United States, a bastard becomes a legitimate child by the
intermarriage of the parents at any subsequent time. But by those
of England, and of some states of the United States, a child, to be
legitimate, must at least be born after the lawful marriage.
Kent. Blackstone.
2. (Sugar Refining) (a) An inferior quality of soft brown sugar,
obtained from the sirups that (b) A large size of mold, in which sugar
is drained.
3. A sweet Spanish wine like muscadel in flavor.
Brown bastard is your only drink. Shak.
4. A writing paper of a particular size. See Paper.
Bastard
Bas"tard (?), a.
1. Begotten and born out of lawful matrimony; illegitimate. See
Bastard, n., note.
2. Lacking in genuineness; spurious; false; adulterate; -- applied to
things which resemble those which are genuine, but are really not so.
That bastard self-love which is so vicious in itself, and
productive of so many vices. Barrow.
3. Of an unusual make or proportion; as, a bastard musket; a bastard
culverin. [Obs.]
4. (Print.) Abbreviated, as the half title in a page preceding the
full title page of a book.
Bastard ashlar (Arch.), stones for ashlar work, roughly squared at the
quarry. -- Bastard file, a file intermediate between the coarsest and
the second cut. -- Bastard type (Print.), type having the face of a
larger or a smaller size than the body; e.g., a nonpareil face on a
brevier body. -- Bastard wing (Zo\'94l.), three to five quill feathers
on a small joint corresponding to the thumb in some mam malia; the
alula.
Bastard
Bas"tard, v. t. To bastardize. [Obs.] Bacon.
Bastardism
Bas"tard*ism (?), n. The state of being a bastard; bastardy.
Bastardize
Bas"tard*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bastardized (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bastardizing.]
1. To make or prove to be a bastard; to stigmatize as a bastard; to
declare or decide legally to be illegitimate.
The law is so indulgent as not to bastardize the child, if born,
though not begotten, in lawful wedlock. Blackstone.
2. To beget out of wedlock. [R.] Shak.
Bastardly
Bas"tard*ly, a. Bastardlike; baseborn; spuripous; corrupt. [Obs.] --
adv. In the manner of a bastard; spuriously. [Obs.] Shak. Donne.
Bastardy
Bas"tar*dy (?), n.
1. The state of being a bastard; illegitimacy.
2. The procreation of a bastard child. Wharton.
Baste
Baste (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Basted; p. pr. & vb. n. Basting.] [Cf.
Icel. beysta to strike, powder; Sw. basa to beat with a rod: perh.
akin to E. beat.]
1. To beat with a stick; to cudgel.
One man was basted by the keeper for carrying some people over on
his back through the waters. Pepys.
2. (Cookery) To sprinkle flour and salt and drip butter or fat on, as
on meat in roasting.
3. To mark with tar, as sheep. [Prov. Eng.]
Baste
Baste, v. t. [OE. basten, OF. bastir, F. b, prob. fr. OHG. bestan to
sew, MHG. besten to bind, fr. OHG. bast bast. See Bast.] To sew
loosely, or with long stitches; -- usually, that the work may be held
in position until sewed more firmly. Shak.
Bastile Bastille
Bas*tile" Bas*tille" (?), n. [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to
build, F. b.]
1. (Feud. Fort.) A tower or an elevated work, used for the defense, or
in the siege, of a fortified place.
The high bastiles . . . which overtopped the walls. Holland.
2. "The Bastille", formerly a castle or fortress in Paris, used as a
prison, especially for political offenders; hence, a rhetorical name
for a prison.
Bastinade
Bas`ti*nade" (?), n. See Bastinado, n.
Bastinade
Bas`ti*nade", v. t. To bastinado. [Archaic]
Bastinado
Bas`ti*na"do (?), n.; pl. Bastinadoes (#). [Sp. bastonada (cf. F.
bastonnade), fr. baston (cf. F. b) a stick or staff. See Baston.]
1. A blow with a stick or cudgel.
2. A sound beating with a stick or cudgel. Specifically: A form of
punishment among the Turks, Chinese, and others, consisting in beating
an offender on the soles of his feet.
Bastinado
Bas`ti*na"do, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bastinadoes (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Bastinadoing.] To beat with a stick or cudgel, especially on the soles
of the feet.
Bastion
Bas"tion (?), n. [F. bastion (cf. It. bastione), fr. LL. bastire to
build (cf. F. b, It. bastire), perh. from the idea of support for a
weight, and akin to Gr. to lift, carry, and to E. baston, baton.]
(Fort.) A work projecting outward from the main inclosure of a
fortification, consisting of two faces and two flanks, and so
constructed that it is able to defend by a flanking fire the adjacent
curtain, or wall which extends from one bastion to another. Two
adjacent bastions are connected by the curtain, which joins the flank
of one with the adjacent flank of the other. The distance between the
flanks of a bastion is called the gorge. A lunette is a detached
bastion. See Ravelin.
Bastioned
Bas"tioned (?), a. Furnished with a bastion; having bastions. <-- p.
124 -->
Basto
Bas"to (?), n. [Sp.] The ace of clubs in qua Pope.
Baston
Bas"ton (?), n. [OF. baston, F. b, LL. basto. See Bastion, and cf.
Baton, and 3d Batten.]
1. A staff or cudgel. [Obs.] "To fight with blunt bastons." Holland.
2. (Her.) See Baton.
3. An officer bearing a painted staff, who formerly was in attendance
upon the king's court to take into custody persons committed by the
court. Mozley & W.
Basyle
Bas"yle (?), n. [Gr. base + wood. See -yl.] (Chem.) A positive or
nonacid constituent of compound, either elementary, or, if compound,
performing the functions of an element.
Basylous
Bas"y*lous (?), a. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, a basyle;
electro-positive; basic; -- opposed to chlorous. Graham.
Bat
Bat (?), n. [OE. batte, botte, AS. batt; perhaps fr. the Celtic; cf.
Ir. bat, bata, stick, staff; but cf. also F. batte a beater (thing),
wooden sword, battre to beat.]
1. A large stick; a club; specifically, a piece of wood with one end
thicker or broader than the other, used in playing baseball, cricket,
etc.
2. (Mining) Shale or bituminous shale. Kirwan.
3. A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.
4. A part of a brick with one whole end.
Bat bolt (Machinery), a bolt barbed or jagged at its butt or tang to
make it hold the more firmly. Knight.
Bat
Bat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Batted (p. pr. & vb. n. Batting.] To strike
or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat. Holland.
Bat
Bat, v. i. To use a bat, as in a game of baseball.
Bat
Bat, n. [Corrupt. from OE. back, backe, balke; cf. Dan. aften-bakke]/>
(aften evening), Sw. natt-backa]/> (natt night), Icel. le (le
leather), Icel. blaka to flutter.] (Zo\'94l.) One of the Cheiroptera,
an order of flying mammals, in which the wings are formed by a
membrane stretched between the elongated fingers, legs, and tail. The
common bats are small and insectivorous. See Cheiroptera and Vampire.
Bat tick (Zo\'94l.), a wingless, dipterous insect of the genus
Nycteribia, parasitic on bats.
Batable
Bat"a*ble (?), a. [Abbrev. from debatable.] Disputable. [Obs.]
NOTE: &hand; Th e bo rder la nd between England and Scotland, being
formerly a subject of contention, was called batable or debatable
ground.
Batailled
Bat"ailled (?), a. Embattled. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Batardeau
Ba`tar*deau" (?), n. [F.]
1. A cofferdam. Brande & C.
2. (Mil.) A wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a
sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides
of the wall.
Batatas, Batata
Ba*ta"tas (?), Ba*ta"ta (?), n. An aboriginal American name for the
sweet potato (Ipom\'91a batatas).
Batavian
Ba*ta"vi*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to (a) the Batavi, an ancient
Germanic tribe; or to (b) as, a Batavian legion. Batavian Republic,
the name given to Holland by the French after its conquest in 1795.
Batavian
Ba*ta"vi*an, n. A native or inhabitant of Batavia or Holland. [R.]
Bancroft.
Batch
Batch (?), n. [OE. bache, bacche, fr. AS. bacan to bake; cf. G.
geb\'84ck and D. baksel. See Bake, v. t.]
1. The quantity of bread baked at one time.
2. A quantity of anything produced at one operation; a group or
collection of persons or things of the same kind; as, a batch of
letters; the next batch of business. "A new batch of Lords." Lady M.
W. Montagu.
Bate
Bate (?), n. [Prob. abbrev. from debate.] Strife; contention. [Obs.]
Shak.
Bate
Bate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bating.] [From
abate.]
1. To lessen by retrenching, deducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat
down; to lower.
He must either bate the laborer's wages, or not employ or not pay
him. Locke.
2. To allow by way of abatement or deduction.
To whom he bates nothing or what he stood upon with the parliament.
South.
3. To leave out; to except. [Obs.]
Bate me the king, and, be he flesh and blood. He lies that says it.
Beau. & Fl.
4. To remove. [Obs.]
About autumn bate the earth from about the roots of olives, and lay
them bare. Holland.
5. To deprive of. [Obs.]
When baseness is exalted, do not bate The place its honor for the
person's sake. Herbert.
Bate
Bate, v. i.
1. To remit or retrench a part; -- with of.
Abate thy speed, and I will bate of mine. Dryden.
2. To waste away. [Obs.] Shak.
Bate
Bate (?), v. t. To attack; to bait. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bate
Bate, imp. of Bite. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bate
Bate, v. i. [F. battre des ailes to flutter. Cf. Bait to flutter.] To
flutter as a hawk; to bait. [Obs.] Bacon.
Bate
Bate, n. (Jewish Antiq.) See 2d Bath.
Bate
Bate, n. [Cf. Sw. beta maceration, soaking, G. beize, and E. bite.] An
alkaline solution consisting of the dung of certain animals; --
employed in the preparation of hides; grainer. Knight.
Bate
Bate, v. t. To steep in bate, as hides, in the manufacture of leather.
Bateau
Ba*teau" (?), n.; pl. Bateaux (#). [F. bateau, LL. batellus, fr.
battus, batus, boa, which agrees with AS. b\'bet boat: cf. W. bad
boat. See Boat, n.] A boat; esp. a flat-bottomed, clumsy boat used on
the Canadian lakes and rivers. [Written also, but less properly,
batteau.] Bateau bridge, a floating bridge supported by bateaux.
Bated
Bat"ed (?), a. Reduced; lowered; restrained; as, to speak with bated
breath. Macaulay.
Bateful
Bate"ful (?), a. Exciting contention; contentious. [Obs.] "It did
bateful question frame. " Sidney.
Bateless
Bate"less, a. Not to be abated. [Obs.] Shak.
Batement
Bate"ment (?), n. [For Abatement. See 2d Bate.] Abatement; diminution.
Moxon. Batement light (Arch.), a window or one division of a window
having vertical sides, but with the sill not horizontal, as where it
follows the rake of a staircase.
Batfish
Bat"fish` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A name given to several species of
fishes: (a) The Malthe vespertilio of the Atlantic coast. (b) The
flying gurnard of the Atlantic (Cephalacanthus spinarella). (c) The
California batfish or sting ray (Myliobatis Californicus.)
Batfowler
Bat"fowl`er (?), n. One who practices or finds sport in batfowling.
Batfowling
Bat"fowl`ing (?), n. [From Bat a stick.] A mode of catching birds at
night, by holding a torch or other light, and beating the bush or
perch where they roost. The birds, flying to the light, are caught
with nets or otherwise.
Batful
Bat"ful (?), a. [Icel. bati amelioration, batna to grow better; akin
to AS. bet better. Goth. ga-batnan to profit. Batten, v. i., Better.]
Rich; fertile. [Obs.] "Batful valleys." Drayton.
Bath
Bath (?), n.; pl. Baths (#). [AS. b\'91; akin to OS. & Icel. ba, Sw.,
Dan., D., & G. bad, and perh. to G. b\'84hen to foment.]
1. The act of exposing the body, or part of the body, for purposes of
cleanliness, comfort, health, etc., to water, vapor, hot air, or the
like; as, a cold or a hot bath; a medicated bath; a steam bath; a hip
bath.
2. Water or other liquid for bathing.
3. A receptacle or place where persons may immerse or wash their
bodies in water.
4. A building containing an apartment or a series of apartments
arranged for bathing.
Among the ancients, the public baths were of amazing extent and
magnificence. Gwilt.
5. (Chem.) A medium, as heated sand, ashes, steam, hot air, through
which heat is applied to a body.
6. (Photog.) A solution in which plates or prints are immersed; also,
the receptacle holding the solution.
NOTE: &hand; Ba th is us ed ad jectively or in combination, in an
obvious sense of or for baths or bathing; as, bathroom, bath tub,
bath keeper.
Douche bath. See Douche. -- Order of the Bath, a high order of British
knighthood, composed of three classes, viz., knights grand cross,
knights commanders, and knights companions, abbreviated thus: G. C.
B., K. C. B., K. B. -- Russian bath, a kind of vapor bath which
consists in a prolonged exposure of the body to the influence of the
steam of water, followed by washings and shampooings. -- Turkish bath,
a kind of bath in which a profuse perspiration is produced by hot air,
after which the body is washed and shampooed. -- Bath house, a house
used for the purpose of bathing; -- also a small house, near a bathing
place, where a bather undresses and dresses.
Bath
Bath (?), n. [Heb.] A Hebrew measure containing the tenth of a homer,
or five gallons and three pints, as a measure for liquids; and two
pecks and five quarts, as a dry measure.
Bath
Bath (?), n. A city in the west of England, resorted to for its hot
springs, which has given its name to various objects. Bath brick, a
preparation of calcareous earth, in the form of a brick, used for
cleaning knives, polished metal, etc. -- Bath chair, a kind of chair
on wheels, as used by invalids at Bath. "People walked out, or drove
out, or were pushed out in their Bath chairs." Dickens. -- Bath metal,
an alloy consisting of four and a half ounces of zinc and one pound of
copper. -- Bath note, a folded writing paper, 8 1/2 by 14 inches. --
Bath stone, a species of limestone (o\'94lite) found near Bath, used
for building.
Bathe
Bathe (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bathed (p. pr. & vb. n. Bathing.] [OE.
ba, AS. ba, fr. b\'91 bath. See 1st Bath, and cf. Bay to bathe.]
1. To wash by immersion, as in a bath; to subject to a bath.
Chancing to bathe himself in the River Cydnus. South.
2. To lave; to wet. "The lake which bathed the foot of the Alban
mountain." T. Arnold.
3. To moisten or suffuse with a liquid.
And let us bathe our hands in C\'91sar's blood. Shak.
4. To apply water or some liquid medicament to; as, to bathe the eye
with warm water or with sea water; to bathe one's forehead with
camphor.
5. To surround, or envelop, as water surrounds a person immersed. "The
rosy shadows bathe me. " Tennyson. "The bright sunshine bathing all
the world." Longfellow.
Bathe
Bathe (?), v. i.
1. To bathe one's self; to take a bath or baths. "They bathe in
summer." Waller.
2. To immerse or cover one's self, as in a bath. "To bathe in fiery
floods." Shak. "Bathe in the dimples of her cheek." Lloyd.
3. To bask in the sun. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Bathe
Bathe, n. The immersion of the body in water; as to take one's usual
bathe. Edin. Rev.
Bather
Bath"er (?), n. One who bathes.
Bathetic
Ba*thet"ic (?), a. Having the character of bathos. [R.]
Bathing
Bath"ing (?), n. Act of taking a bath or baths. Bathing machine, a
small room on wheels, to be driven into the water, for the convenience
of bathers, who undress and dress therein.
Bathmism
Bath"mism (?), n. See Vital force.
Bathometer
Ba*thom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. depth + -meter.] An instrument for
measuring depths, esp. one for taking soundings without a sounding
line.
Bathorse
Bat"horse` (?), n. [F. b packsaddle (cheval de b packhorse) + E.
horse. See Bastard.] A horse which carries an officer's baggage during
a campaign.
Bathos
Ba"thos (?), n. [Gr. depth, fr. deep.] (Rhet.) A ludicrous descent
from the elevated to the low, in writing or speech; anticlimax.
Bathybius
Ba*thyb"i*us (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. deep + life] (Zo\'94l.) A name
given by Prof. Huxley to a gelatinous substance found in mud dredged
from the Atlantic and preserved in alcohol. He supposed that it was
free living protoplasm, covering a large part of the ocean bed. It is
now known that the substance is of chemical, not of organic, origin.
Bathymetric, Bathymetrical
Bath`y*met"ric (?), Bath`y*met"ric*al (?), a. Pertaining to
bathymetry; relating to the measurement of depths, especially of
depths in the sea.
Bathymetry
Ba*thym"e*try (?), n. [Gr. depth + -metry.] The art or science of
sounding, or measuring depths in the sea.
Bating
Bat"ing (?), prep. [Strictly p. pr. of Bat to abate.] With the
exception of; excepting.
We have little reason to think that they bring many ideas with
them, bating some faint ideas of hunger and thirst. Locke.
Batiste
Ba*tiste" (?), n. [F. batiste, from the name of the alleged first
maker, Baptiste of Cambrai. Littr\'82.] Originally, cambric or lawn of
fine linen; now applied also to cloth of similar texture made of
cotton.
Batlet
Bat"let (?), n. [Bat stick + -let.] A short bat for beating clothes in
washing them; -- called also batler, batling staff, batting staff.
Shak.
Batman
Bat"man (?), n. [Turk. batman.] A weight used in the East, varying
according to the locality; in Turkey, the greater batman is about 157
pounds, the lesser only a fourth of this; at Aleppo and Smyrna, the
batman is 17 pounds. Simmonds.
Batman
Bat"man (?), n.; pl. Batmen (#). [F. b packsaddle + E. man. Cf.
Bathorse.] A man who has charge of a bathorse and his load. Macaulay.
Batoidei
Ba*toi"de*i (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. a kind of ray + -oid.]
(Zo\'94l.) The division of fishes which includes the rays and skates.
Baton
Bat"on (?), n. [F. b. See Baston.]
1. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes; as, the baton of a
field marshal; the baton of a conductor in musical performances.
He held the baton of command. Prescott.
2. (Her.) An ordinary with its ends cut off, borne sinister as a mark
of bastardy, and containing one fourth in breadth of the bend
sinister; -- called also bastard bar. See Bend sinister.
Batoon
Ba*toon" (?), n. See Baton, and Baston.
Bat printing
Bat" print`ing (?). (Ceramics) A mode of printing on glazed ware.
Batrachia
Ba*tra"chi*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. belonging to a frog, fr. frog.]
(Zo\'94l.) The order of amphibians which includes the frogs and toads;
the Anura. Sometimes the word is used in a wider sense as equivalent
to Amphibia.
Batrachian
Ba*tra"chi*an (?), a. (Zo\'94l.) Pertaining to the Batrachia. -- n.
One of the Batrachia.
Batrachoid
Bat"ra*choid (?), a. [Batrachia + -oid.] (Zo\'94l.) Froglike.
Specifically: Of or pertaining to the Batrachid\'91, a family of
marine fishes, including the toadfish. Some have poisonous dorsal
spines.
Batrachomyomachy
Bat`ra*cho*my*om"a*chy (?), n. [Gr. ; frog + mouse + battle.] The
battle between the frogs and mice; -- a Greek parody on the Iliad, of
uncertain authorship.
Batrachophagous
Bat`ra*choph"a*gous (?), a. [Gr. frog + to eat.] Feeding on frogs.
Quart. Rev.
Batsman
Bats"man (?), n.; pl. Batsmen (. The one who wields the bat in
cricket, baseball, etc. <-- in baseball, usu. called the batter. -->
Bat's-wing or Batwing
Bat's"-wing" (?) or Bat"wing, a. Shaped like a bat's wing; as, a
bat's-wing burner.
Batta
Bat"ta (?), n. [Prob. through Pg. for Canarese bhatta rice in the
husk.] Extra pay; esp. an extra allowance to an English officer
serving in India. Whitworth. <-- p. 125 -->
Batta
Bat"ta (?), n. [Hind. ba.] Rate of exchange; also, the discount on
uncurrent coins. [India]
Battable
Bat"ta*ble (?), a. [See Batful.] Capable of culti [Obs.] Burton.
Battailant
Bat"tail*ant (?), a. [F. bataillant, p. pr. See Battle, v. i. ] [Obs.]
Prepared for battle; combatant; warlike. Spenser. -- n. A combatant.
Shelton.
Battailous
Bat"tail*ous (?), a. [OF. bataillos, fr. bataille. See Battle, n.]
Arrayed for battle; fit or eager for battle; warlike. [Obs.] "In
battailous aspect." Milton.
Battalia
Bat*tal"ia (?), n. [LL. battalia battle, a body of troops. See Battle,
n.]
1. Order of battle; disposition or arrangement of troops (brigades,
regiments, battalions, etc.), or of a naval force, for action.
A drawing up the armies in battalia. Jer. Taylor.
2. An army in battle array; also, the main battalia or body. [Obs.]
Shak.
Battalion
Bat*tal"ion (?), n. [F. bataillon, fr. It. battaglione. See Battalia.]
1. A body of troops; esp. a body of troops or an army in battle array.
"The whole battalion views." Milton.
2. (Mil.) A regiment, or two or more companies of a regiment, esp.
when assembled for drill or battle.
Battalion
Bat*tal"ion (?), v. t. To form into battalions. [R.]
Battel
Bat"tel (?), n. [Obs. form. of Battle.] (Old Eng. Law) A single
combat; as, trial by battel. See Wager of battel, under Wager.
Battel
Bat"tel, n. [Of uncertain etymology.] Provisions ordered from the
buttery; also, the charges for them; -- only in the pl., except when
used adjectively. [Univ. of Oxford, Eng.]
Battel
Bat"tel, v. i. To be supplied with provisions from the buttery. [Univ.
of Oxford, Eng.]
Battel
Bat"tel, v. t. [Cf. Batful, Batten, v. i.] To make fertile. [Obs.] "To
battel barren land." Ray.
Battel
Bat"tel, a. Fertile; fruitful; productive. [Obs.]
A battel soil for grain, for pasture good. Fairfax.
Batteler, Battler
Bat"tel*er (?), Bat"tler (?), n. [See 2d Battel, n.] A student at
Oxford who is supplied with provisions from the buttery; formerly, one
who paid for nothing but what he called for, answering nearly to a
sizar at Cambridge. Wright.
Batten
Bat"ten (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battened (p. pr. & vb. n. Battening.]
[See Batful.]
1. To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten. "Battening our
flocks." Milton.
2. To fertilize or enrich, as land.
Batten
Bat"ten, v. i. To grow fat; to grow fat in ease and luxury; to glut
one's self. Dryden.
The pampered monarch lay battening in ease. Garth.
Skeptics, with a taste for carrion, who batten on the hideous facts
in history, -- persecutions, inquisitions. Emerson.
Batten
Bat"ten, n . [F. b stick, staff. See Baton.] A strip of sawed stuff,
or a scantling; as, (a) pl. (Com. & Arch.) Sawed timbers about 7 by 2
1/2 inches and not less than 6 feet long. Brande & C. (b) (Naut.) A
strip of wood used in fastening the edges of a tarpaulin to the deck,
also around masts to prevent chafing. (c) A long, thin strip used to
strengthen a part, to cover a crack, etc. Batten door (Arch.), a door
made of boards of the whole length of the door, secured by battens
nailed crosswise.
Batten
Bat"ten, v. t. To furnish or fasten with battens. To batten down, to
fasten down with battens, as the tarpaulin over the hatches of a ship
during a storm.
Batten
Bat"ten, n. [F. battant. See Batter, v. t.] The movable bar of a loom,
which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
Battening
Bat"ten*ing (?), n. (Arch.) Furring done with small pieces nailed
directly upon the wall.
Batter
Bat"ter (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battered (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Battering.] [OE. bateren, OF. batre, F. battre, fr. LL. battere, for
L. batuere to strike, beat; of unknown origin. Cf. Abate, Bate to
abate.]
1. To beat with successive blows; to beat repeatedly and with
violence, so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; as, to batter a wall
or rampart.
2. To wear or impair as if by beating or by hard usage. "Each battered
jade." Pope.
3. (Metallurgy) To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it
inwardly and spread it outwardly.
Batter
Bat"ter, n. [OE. batere, batire; cf. OF. bateure, bature, a beating.
See Batter, v. t.]
1. A semi-liquid mixture of several ingredients, as, flour, eggs,
milk, etc. , beaten together and used in cookery. King.
2. Paste of clay or loam. Holland.
3. (Printing) A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form.
Batter
Bat"ter, n. A backward slope in the face of a wall or of a bank;
receding slope. Batter rule, an instrument consisting of a rule or
frame, and a plumb line, by which the batter or slope of a wall is
regulated in building.
Batter
Bat"ter, v. i. (Arch.) To slope gently backward.
Batter
Bat"ter, n. One who wields a bat; a batsman.
Batterer
Bat"ter*er (?), n. One who, or that which, batters.
Battering-ram
Bat"ter*ing-ram` (?), n. 1. (Mil.) An engine used in ancient times to
beat down the walls of besieged places.
NOTE: &hand; It wa s a large beam, with a head of iron, which was
sometimes made to resemble the head of a ram. It was suspended by
ropes t a beam supported by posts, and so balanced as to swing
backward and forward, and was impelled by men against the wall.
Grose.
2. A blacksmith's hammer, suspended, and worked horizontally.
Battering train
Bat"ter*ing train` (?). (Mil.) A train of artillery for siege
operations.
Battery
Bat"ter*y (?), n.; pl. Batteries (#). [F. batterie, fr. battre. See
Batter, v. t.]
1. The act of battering or beating.
2. (Law) The unlawful beating of another. It includes every willful,
angry and violent, or negligent touching of another's person or
clothes, or anything attached to his person or held by him.
3. (Mil.) (a) Any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, for
attack or defense. (b) Two or more pieces of artillery in the field.
(c) A company or division of artillery, including the gunners, guns,
horses, and all equipments. In the United States, a battery of flying
artillery consists usually of six guns.
Barbette battery. See Barbette. -- Battery d'enfilade, or Enfilading
battery, one that sweeps the whole length of a line of troops or part
of a work. -- Battery en \'82charpe, one that plays obliquely. --
Battery gun, a gun capable of firing a number, of shots simultaneously
or successively without stopping to load. -- Battery wagon, a wagon
employed to transport the tools and materials for repair of the
carriages, etc., of the battery. -- In battery, projecting, as a gun,
into an embrasure or over a parapet in readiness for firing. -- Masked
battery, a battery artificially concealed until required to open upon
the enemy. -- Out of battery, or From battery, withdrawn, as a gun, to
a position for loading.
4. (Elec.) (a) A number of coated jars (Leyden jars) so connected that
they may be charged and discharged simultaneously. (b) An apparatus
for generating voltaic electricity.
NOTE: &hand; In th e tr ough ba ttery, co pper an d zi nc pl ates,
connected in pairs, divide the trough into cells, which are filled
with an acid or oxidizing liquid; the effect is exhibited when
wires connected with the two end-plates are brought together. In
Daniell's battery, the metals are zinc and copper, the former in
dilute sulphuric acid, or a solution of sulphate of zinc, the
latter in a saturated solution of sulphate of copper. A
modification of this is the common gravity battery, so called from
the automatic action of the two fluids, which are separated by
their specific gravities. In Grove's battery, platinum is the metal
used with zinc; two fluids are used, one of them in a porous cell
surrounded by the other. In Bunsen's or the carbon battery, the
carbon of gas coke is substituted for the platinum of Grove's. In
Leclanch\'82's battery, the elements are zinc in a solution of
ammonium chloride, and gas carbon surrounded with manganese dioxide
in a porous cell. A secondary battery is a battery which usually
has the two plates of the same kind, generally of lead, in dilute
sulphuric acid, and which, when traversed by an electric current,
becomes charged, and is then capable of giving a current of itself
for a time, owing to chemical changes produced by the charging
current. A storage battery is a kind of secondary battery used for
accumulating and storing the energy of electrical charges or
currents, usually by means of chemical work done by them; an
accumulator.
5. A number of similar machines or devices in position; an apparatus
consisting of a set of similar parts; as, a battery of boilers, of
retorts, condensers, etc.
6. (Metallurgy) A series of stamps operated by one motive power, for
crushing ores containing the precious metals. Knight.
7. The box in which the stamps for crushing ore play up and down.
8. (Baseball) The pitcher and catcher together.
Batting
Bat"ting (?), n.
1. The act of one who bats; the management of a bat in playing games
of ball. Mason.
2. Cotton in sheets, prepared for use in making quilts, etc.; as,
cotton batting.
Battle
Bat"tle (?), a. Fertile. See Battel, a. [Obs.]
Battle
Bat"tle, n. [OE. bataille, bataile, F. bataille battle, OF., battle,
battalion, fr. L. battalia, battualia, the fighting and fencing
exercises of soldiers and gladiators, fr. batuere to strike, beat. Cf.
Battalia, 1st Battel, and see Batter, v. t. ]
1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions
of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat.
2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life.
The whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem
of the best poet of that day. H. Morley.
3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.]
The king divided his army into three battles. Bacon.
The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle, and on
it alone depended the fate of every action. Robertson.
4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia. [Obs.]
Hayward.
NOTE: &hand; Ba ttle is used adjectively or as the first part of a
self-explaining compound; as, battle brand, a "brand" or sword used
in battle; battle cry; battlefield; battle ground; battlearray;
battle song.
Battle piece, a painting, or a musical composition, representing a
battle. -- Battle royal. (a) A fight between several gamecocks, where
the one that stands longest is the victor. Grose. (b) A contest with
fists or cudgels in which more than two are engaged; a m\'88l\'82e.
Thackeray. -- Drawn battle, one in which neither party gains the
victory. -- To give battle, to attack an enemy. -- To join battle, to
meet the attack; to engage in battle. -- Pitched battle, one in which
the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition
of the forces. -- Wager of battle. See under Wager, n. Syn. --
Conflict; encounter; contest; action. Battle, Combat, Fight,
Engagement. These words agree in denoting a close encounter between
contending parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the others.
Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied to the encounter of a
few individuals, and more commonly an accidental one; as, a street
fight. A combat is a close encounter, whether between few or many, and
is usually premeditated. A battle is commonly more general and
prolonged. An engagement supposes large numbers on each side, engaged
or intermingled in the conflict.
Battle
Bat"tle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Battled (p. pr. & vb. n. Battling.]
[F. batailler, fr. bataille. See Battle, n.] To join in battle; to
contend in fight; as, to battle over theories.
To meet in arms, and battle in the plain. Prior.
Battle
Bat"tle, v. t. To assail in battle; to fight.
Battle-ax Battle-axe
Bat"tle-ax` Bat"tle-axe` (?), n. (Mil.) A kind of broadax formerly
used as an offensive weapon.
Battled
Bat"tled (?), p. p. Embattled. [Poetic] Tennyson.
Battledoor
Bat"tle*door` (?), n. [OE. batyldour. A corrupted form of uncertain
origin; cf. Sp. batallador a great combatant, he who has fought many
battles, Pg. batalhador, Pr. batalhador, warrior, soldier, fr. L.
battalia; or cf. Pr. batedor batlet, fr. batre to beat, fr. L.
batuere. See Battle, n.]
1. An instrument, with a handle and a flat part covered with parchment
or crossed with catgut, used to strike a shuttlecock in play; also,
the play of battledoor and shuttlecock.
2. [OE. battleder.] A child's hornbook. [Obs.] Halliwell.
Battlement
Bat"tle*ment (?), n. [OE. batelment; cf. OF. bataillement combat, fr.
batailler, also OF. bastillier, bateillier, to fortify. Cf. Battle,
n., Bastile, Bastion.] (Arch.) (a) One of the solid upright parts of a
parapet in ancient fortifications. (b) pl. The whole parapet,
consisting of alternate solids and open spaces. At first purely a
military feature, afterwards copied on a smaller scale with decorative
features, as for churches.
Battlemented
Bat"tle*ment*ed (?), a. Having battlements.
A battlemented portal. Sir W. Scott.
Battologist
Bat*tol"o*gist (?), n. One who battologizes.
Battologize
Bat*tol"o*gize (?), v. t. To keep repeating needlessly; to iterate.
Sir T. Herbert.
Battology
Bat*tol"o*gy (?), n. [F. battologie, fr. Gr. ; a stammerer + speech.]
A needless repetition of words in speaking or writing. Milton.
Batton
Bat"ton (?), n. See Batten, and Baton.
Battue
Bat"tue` (?), n. [F. battue, fr. battre to beat. See Batter, v. t.,
and cf. Battuta.] (Hunting) (a) The act of beating the woods, bushes,
etc., for game. (b) The game itself. (c) The wanton slaughter of game.
Howitt.
Batture
Bat`ture" (?), n. [F., fr. battre to beat. ] An elevated river bed or
sea bed.
Battuta
Bat*tu"ta (?), n. [It. battuta, fr. battere to beat.] (Mus.) The
measuring of time by beating.
Batty
Bat"ty (?), a. Belonging to, or resembling, a bat. "Batty wings."
Shak.
Batule
Bat"ule (?), n. A springboard in a circus or gymnasium; -- called also
batule board.
Batz
Batz (?), n.; pl. Batzen (#). [Ger. batz, batze, batzen, a coin
bearing the image of a bear, Ger. b\'84tz, betz, bear.] A small copper
coin, with a mixture of silver, formerly current in some parts of
Germany and Switzerland. It was worth about four cents.
Baubee
Bau*bee" (?), n. Same as Bawbee.
Bauble
Bau"ble (?), n. [Cf. OF. baubel a child's plaything, F. babiole, It.
babbola, LL. baubellum gem, jewel, L. babulus,a baburrus, foolish.]
1. A trifling piece of finery; a gewgaw; that which is gay and showy
without real value; a cheap, showy plaything.
The ineffective bauble of an Indian pagod. Sheridan.
2. The fool's club. [Obs.] "A fool's bauble was a short stick with a
head ornamented with an ass's ears fantastically carved upon it."
Nares.
Baubling
Bau"bling (?), a. See Bawbling. [Obs.]
Baudekin
Bau"de*kin (?), n. [OE. bawdekin rich silk stuff, OF. baudequin. See
Baldachin.] The richest kind of stuff used in garments in the Middle
Ages, the web being gold, and the woof silk, with embroidery : -- made
originally at Bagdad. [Spelt also baudkin, baudkyn, bawdekin, and
baldakin.] Nares.
Baudrick
Bau"drick (?), n. A belt. See Baldric.
Bauk, Baulk
Bauk, Baulk (?), n. & v. See Balk.
Baunscheidtism
Baun"scheidt*ism (?), n. [From the introducer, a German named
Baunscheidt.] (Med.) A form of acupuncture, followed by the rubbing of
the part with a stimulating fluid.
Bauxite, Beauxite
Baux"ite, Beaux"ite (?),n. [F., fr. Baux or Beaux, near Arles.] (Min.)
A ferruginous hydrate of alumina. It is largely used in the
preparation of aluminium and alumina, and for the lining of furnaces
which are exposed to intense heat.
Bavarian
Ba*va"ri*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Bavaria. -- n. A native or an
inhabitant of Bavaria. Bavarian cream. See under Cream.
Bavaroy
Bav"a*roy (?), n. [F. Bavarois Bavarian.] A kind of cloak or surtout.
[Obs.] Johnson.
Let the looped bavaroy the fop embrace. Gay.
<-- p. 126 -->
Bavian
Ba"vi*an (?), n. [See Baboon.] A baboon.
Bavin
Bav"in (?), n. [Cf. Gael. & Ir. baban tuft, tassel.]
1. A fagot of brushwood, or other light combustible matter, for
kindling fires; refuse of brushwood. [Obs. or Dial. Eng.]
2. Impure limestone. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
Bawbee
Baw*bee" (?), n. [Perh. corrupt. fr. halfpenny.] A halfpenny. [Spelt
also baubee.] [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
Bawble
Baw"ble (?), n. A trinket. See Bauble.
Bawbling
Baw"bling, a. Insignificant; contemptible. [Obs.]
Bawcock
Baw"cock (?), n. [From F. beau fine + E. cock (the bird); or more
prob. fr. OF. baud bold, gay + E. cock. Cf. Bawd.] A fine fellow; -- a
term of endearment. [Obs.] "How now, my bawcock ?" Shak.
Bawd
Bawd (?), n. [OE. baude, OF. balt, baut, baude, bold, merry, perh. fr.
OHG. bald bold; or fr. Celtic, cf. W. baw dirt. Cf. Bold, Bawdry.] A
person who keeps a house of prostitution, or procures women for a lewd
purpose; a procurer or procuress; a lewd person; -- usually applied to
a woman.
Bawd
Bawd, v. i. To procure women for lewd purposes.
Bawdily
Bawd"i*ly (?), adv. Obscenely; lewdly.
Bawdiness
Bawd"i*ness, n. Obscenity; lewdness.
Bawdrick
Bawd"rick (?), n. A belt. See Baldric.
Bawdry
Bawd"ry (?), n. [OE. baudery, OF. bauderie, balderie, boldness, joy.
See Bawd.]
1. The practice of procuring women for the gratification of lust.
2. Illicit intercourse; fornication. Shak.
3. Obscenity; filthy, unchaste language. "The pert style of the pit
bawdry." Steele.
Bawdy
Bawd"y, a.
1. Dirty; foul; -- said of clothes. [Obs.]
It [a garment] is al bawdy and to-tore also. Chaucer.
2. Obscene; filthy; unchaste. "A bawdy story." Burke.
Bawdyhouse
Baw"dy*house` (?), n. A house of prostitution; a house of ill fame; a
brothel.
Bawhorse
Baw"horse` (?), n. Same as Bathorse.
Bawl
Bawl (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bawled (p. pr. & vb. n. Bawling.] [Icel.
baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. b\'94la; cf. AS bellan, G.
bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
1. To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in
calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate.
2. To cry loudly, as a child from pain or vexation.
Bawl
Bawl, v. t. To proclaim with a loud voice, or by outcry, as a hawker
or town-crier does. Swift.
Bawl
Bawl, n. A loud, prolonged cry; an outcry.
Bawler
Bawl"er (?), n. One who bawls.
Bawn
Bawn (?), n. [Ir. & Gael. babhun inclosure, bulwark.]
1. An inclosure with mud or stone walls, for keeping cattle; a
fortified inclosure. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. A large house. [Obs.] Swift.
Bawrel
Baw"rel (?), n. [Cf. It. barletta a tree falcon, or hobby.] A kind of
hawk. [Obs.] Halliwell.
Bawsin, Bawson
Baw"sin (?), Baw"son (?), n. [OE. bawson, baucyne, badger (named from
its color), OF. bauzan, baucant, bauchant, spotted with white, pied;
cf. It. balzano, F. balzan, a white-footed horse, It. balza border,
trimming, fr. L. balteus belt, border, edge. Cf. Belt.]
1. A badger. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
2. A large, unwieldy person. [Obs.] Nares.
Baxter
Bax"ter (?), n. [OE. bakestre, bakistre, AS. b\'91cestre, prop. fem.
of b\'91cere baker. See Baker.] A baker; originally, a female baker.
[Old Eng. & Scotch]
Bay
Bay (?), a. [F. bai, fr. L. badius brown, chestnutcolored; -- used
only of horses.] Reddish brown; of the color of a chestnut; -- applied
to the color of horses. Bay cat (Zo\'94l.), a wild cat of Africa and
the East Indies (Felis aurata). -- Bay lynx (Zo\'94l.), the common
American lynx (Felis, or Lynx, rufa).
Bay
Bay, n. [F. baie, fr. LL. baia. Of uncertain origin: cf. Ir. & Gael.
badh or bagh bay harbor, creek; Bisc. baia, baiya, harbor, and F.
bayer to gape, open the mouth.]
1. (Geol.) An inlet of the sea, usually smaller than a gulf, but of
the same general character.
NOTE: &hand; The name is not used with much precision, and is often
applied to large tracts of water, around which the land forms a
curve; as, Hudson's Bay. The name is not restricted to tracts of
water with a narrow entrance, but is used foe any recess or inlet
between capes or headlands; as, the Bay of Biscay.
2. A small body of water set off from the main body; as a compartment
containing water for a wheel; the portion of a canal just outside of
the gates of a lock, etc.
3. A recess or indentation shaped like a bay.
4. A principal compartment of the walls, roof, or other part of a
building, or of the whole building, as marked off by the buttresses,
vaulting, mullions of a window, etc.; one of the main divisions of any
structure, as the part of a bridge between two piers.
5. A compartment in a barn, for depositing hay, or grain in the
stalks.
6. A kind of mahogany obtained from Campeachy Bay.
Sick bay, in vessels of war, that part of a deck appropriated to the
use of the sick. Totten.
Bay
Bay, n. [F. baie a berry, the fruit of the laurel and other trees, fr.
L. baca, bacca, a small round fruit, a berry, akin to Lith. bapka
laurel berry.]
1. A berry, particularly of the laurel. [Obs.]
2. The laurel tree (Laurus nobilis). Hence, in the plural, an honorary
garland or crown bestowed as a prize for victory or excellence,
anciently made or consisting of branches of the laurel.
The patriot's honors and the poet's bays. Trumbull.
3. A tract covered with bay trees. [Local, U. S.]
Bay leaf, the leaf of the bay tree (Laurus nobilis). It has a fragrant
odor and an aromatic taste.
Bay
Bay, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bayed (p. pr. & vb. n. Baying.] [ OE. bayen,
abayen, OF. abaier, F. aboyer, to bark; of uncertain origin.] To bark,
as a dog with a deep voice does, at his game.
The hounds at nearer distance hoarsely bayed. Dryden.
Bay
Bay (?), v. t. To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or
drive to bay; as, to bay the bear. Shak.
Bay
Bay (?), n. [See Bay, v. i.]
1. Deep-toned, prolonged barking. "The bay of curs." Cowper.
2. [OE. bay, abay, OF. abai, F. aboi barking, pl. abois, prop. the
extremity to which the stag is reduced when surrounded by the dogs,
barking (aboyant); aux abois at bay.] A state of being obliged to face
an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible.
Embolden'd by despair, he stood at bay. Dryden.
The most terrible evils are just kept at bay by incessant efforts.
I. Taylor
Bay
Bay, v. t. [Cf. OE. b\'91wen to bathe, and G. b\'84hen to foment.] To
bathe. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bay
Bay, n. A bank or dam to keep back water.
Bay
Bay, v. t. To dam, as water; -- with up or back.
Baya
Ba"ya (?), n. [Native name.] (Zo\'94l.) The East Indian weaver bird
(Ploceus Philippinus).
Bayad, Bayatte
Ba*yad" (?), Ba*yatte" (?), n. [Ar. bayad.] (Zo\'94l.) A large,
edible, siluroid fish of the Nile, of two species (Bagrina bayad and
B. docmac).
Bayadere
Ba`ya*dere" (?), n. [F., from Pg. bailadeira a female dancer, bailar
to dance.] A female dancer in the East Indies. [Written also
bajadere.]
Bay-antler
Bay"-ant`ler (?), n. [See Bez-Antler.] (Zo\'94l.) The second tine of a
stag's horn. See under Antler.
Bayard
Bay"ard (?), n.
1. [OF. bayard, baiart, bay horse; bai bay + -ard. See Bay, a., and
-ard.] Properly, a bay horse, but often any horse. Commonly in the
phrase blind bayard, an old blind horse.
Blind bayard moves the mill. Philips.
2. [Cf. F. bayeur, fr. bayer to gape.] A stupid, clownish fellow.
[Obs.] B. Jonson.
Bayardly
Bay"ard*ly, a. Blind; stupid. [Obs.] "A formal and bayardly round of
duties." Goodman.
Bayberry
Bay"ber*ry (?), n. (Bot.) (a) The fruit of the bay tree or Laurus
nobilis. (b) A tree of the West Indies related to the myrtle (Pimenta
acris). (c) The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle); the shrub
itself; -- called also candleberry tree. Bayberry tallow, a fragrant
green wax obtained from the bayberry or wax myrtle; -- called also
myrtle wax.
Baybolt
Bay"bolt` (?), n. A bolt with a barbed shank.
Bayed
Bayed (?), a. Having a bay or bays. "The large bayed barn." Drayton.
Bay ice
Bay" ice` (?). See under Ice.
Bay leaf
Bay" leaf` (?). See under 3d Bay.
Bayonet
Bay"o*net (?), n. [F. bayonnette, ba\'8bonnette; -- so called, it is
said, because the first bayonets were made at Bayonne.]
1. (Mil.) A pointed instrument of the dagger kind fitted on the muzzle
of a musket or rifle, so as to give the soldier increased means of
offense and defense.
NOTE: &hand; Or iginally, the bayonet was made with a handle, which
required to be fitted into the bore of the musket after the soldier
had fired.
2. (Mach.) A pin which plays in and out of holes made to receive it,
and which thus serves to engage or disengage parts of the machinery.
Bayonet clutch. See Clutch. -- Bayonet joint, a form of coupling
similar to that by which a bayonet is fixed on the barrel of a musket.
Knight.
Bayonet
Bay"o*net, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bayoneted; p. pr. & vb. n. Bayoneting.]
1. To stab with a bayonet.
2. To compel or drive by the bayonet.
To bayonet us into submission. Burke.
Bayou
Bay"ou (?), n.; pl. Bayous (. [North Am. Indian bayuk, in F. spelling
bayouc, bayouque.] An inlet from the Gulf of Mexico, from a lake, or
from a large river, sometimes sluggish, sometimes without perceptible
movement except from tide and wind. [Southern U. S.]
A dark slender thread of a bayou moves loiteringly northeastward
into a swamp of huge cypresses. G. W. Cable.
Bay rum
Bay" rum" (?). A fragrant liquid, used for cosmetic and medicinal
purposes.
NOTE: &hand; Th e or iginal ba y ru m, fr om th e We st In dies, is
prepared, it is believed, by distillation from the leaves of the
bayberry (Myrcia acris). The bay rum of the Pharmacop\'d2ia (spirit
of myrcia) is prepared from oil of myrcia (bayberry), oil of orange
peel, oil of pimento, alcohol, and water.
Bays, Bayze
Bays, Bayze (?), n. See Baize. [Obs.]
Bay salt
Bay" salt` (?). Salt which has been obtained from sea water, by
evaporation in shallow pits or basins, by the heat of the sun; the
large crystalline salt of commerce. Bacon. Ure.
Bay tree
Bay" tree`. A species of laurel. (Laurus nobilis).
Bay window
Bay" win"dow (?). (Arch.) A window forming a bay or recess in a room,
and projecting outward from the wall, either in a rectangular,
polygonal, or semicircular form; -- often corruptly called a bow
window.
Bay yarn
Bay" yarn` (?). Woolen yarn. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
Bazaar Bazar
Ba*zaar" Ba*zar" (?), n. [Per. b\'bezar market.]
1. In the East, an exchange, marketplace, or assemblage of shops where
goods are exposed for sale.
2. A spacious hall or suite of rooms for the sale of goods, as at a
fair.
3. A fair for the sale of fancy wares, toys, etc., commonly for a
charitable objects. Macaulay.
Bdellium
Bdel"lium (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. ; cf. Heb. b'dolakh bdellium (in sense
1).]
1. An unidentified substance mentioned in the Bible (Gen. ii. 12, and
Num. xi. 7), variously taken to be a gum, a precious stone, or pearls,
or perhaps a kind of amber found in Arabia.
2. A gum resin of reddish brown color, brought from India, Persia, and
Africa.
NOTE: &hand; In dian bd ellium or false myrrh is an exudation from
Balsamodendron Roxb. Other kinds are known as African, Sicilian,
etc.
Bdelloidea
Bdel*loi"de*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. leech + -oid.] (Zo\'94l.) The
order of Annulata which includes the leeches. See Hirudinea.
Bdellometer
Bdel*lom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. leech + -meter.] (Med.) A cupping glass to
which are attached a scarificator and an exhausting syringe.
Dunglison.
Bdellomorpha
Bdel`lo*mor"pha (?),n. [NL., fr. Gr. leech + form.] (Zo\'94l.) An
order of Nemertina, including the large leechlike worms (Malacobdella)
often parasitic in clams.
Be
Be (?), v. i. [imp. Was (?); p. p. Been (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Being.]
[OE. been, beon, AS. be\'a2n to be, be\'a2m I am; akin to OHG. bim,
pim, G. bin, I am, Gael. & Ir. bu was, W. bod to be, Lith. bu-ti, O.
Slav. by-ti, to be, L. fu-i I have been, fu-turus about to be, fo-re
to be about to be, and perh to fieri to become, Gr. to be born, to be,
Skr. bh to be. This verb is defective, and the parts lacking are
supplied by verbs from other roots, is, was, which have no radical
connection with be. The various forms, am, are, is, was, were, etc.,
are considered grammatically as parts of the verb "to be", which, with
its conjugational forms, is often called the substantive verb. Future,
Physic.]
1. To exist actually, or in the world of fact; to have ex
To be contents his natural desire. Pope.
To be, or not to be: that is the question. Shak.
2. To exist in a certain manner or relation, -- whether as a reality
or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain
predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to
a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, -- a word or
words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to
be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity;
three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence;
that is the man.
3. To take place; to happen; as, the meeting was on Thursday.
4. To signify; to represent or symbolize; to answer to.
The field is the world. Matt. xiii. 38.
The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Rev. i. 20.
NOTE: &hand; Th e verb to be (including the forms is, was, etc.) is
used in forming the passive voice of other verbs; as, John has been
struck by James. It is also used with the past participle of many
intransitive verbs to express a state of the subject. But have is
now more commonly used as the auxiliary, though expressing a
different sense; as, "Ye have come too late -- but ye are come. "
"The minstrel boy to the war is gone." The present and imperfect
tenses form, with the infinitive, a particular future tense, which
expresses necessity, duty, or purpose; as, government is to be
supported; we are to pay our just debts; the deed is to be signed
to-morrow.
NOTE: Have or ha d been, followed by to, implies movement. "I have
been to Paris." Sydney Smith. "Have you been to Franchard ?" R. L.
Stevenson.
NOTE: &hand; Be en, or be n, wa s an ciently th e pl ural of th e
indicative present. "Ye ben light of the world." Wyclif, Matt. v.
14. Afterwards be was used, as in our Bible: "They that be with us
are more than they that be with them." 2 Kings vi. 16. Ben was also
the old infinitive: "To ben of such power." R. of Gloucester. Be is
used as a form of the present subjunctive: "But if it be a question
of words and names." Acts xviii. 15. But the indicative forms, is
and are, with if, are more commonly used.
Be it so, a phrase of supposition, equivalent to suppose it to be so;
or of permission, signifying let it be so. Shak. -- If so be, in case.
-- To be from, to have come from; as, from what place are you ? I am
from Chicago. -- To let be, to omit, or leave untouched; to let alone.
"Let be, therefore, my vengeance to dissuade." Spenser. Syn. -- To be,
Exist. The verb to be, except in a few rare case, like that of
Shakespeare's "To be, or not to be", is used simply as a copula, to
connect a subject with its predicate; as, man is mortal; the soul is
immortal. The verb to exist is never properly used as a mere copula,
but points to things that stand forth, or have a substantive being;
as, when the soul is freed from all corporeal alliance, then it truly
exists. It is not, therefore, properly synonymous with to be when used
as a copula, though occasionally made so by some writers for the sake
of variety; as in the phrase "there exists [is] no reason for laying
new taxes." We may, indeed, say, "a friendship has long existed
between them," instead of saying, "there has long been a friendship
between them;" but in this case, exist is not a mere copula. It is
used in its appropriate sense to mark the friendship as having been
long in existence.
Be
Be*. [AS. be, and in accented form b\'c6, akin to OS. be and b\'c6,
OHG. bi, pi, and p\'c6, MHG. be and b\'c6, G. be and bei, Goth. bi,
and perh. Gr. about (cf. AS. bese\'a2n to look about). By, Amb-.] A
prefix, originally the same word as by; joined with verbs, it serves:
(a) To intensify the meaning; as, bespatter, bestir. (b) To render an
intransitive verb transitive; as, befall (to fall upon); bespeak (to
speak for). (c) To make the action of a verb particular or definite;
as, beget (to get as offspring); beset (to set around).
NOTE: It is joined with certain substantives, and a few adjectives,
to form verbs; as, bedew, befriend, benight, besot; belate (to make
late); belittle (to make little). It also occurs in certain nouns,
adverbs, and prepositions, often with something of the force of the
preposition by, or about; as, belief (believe), behalf, bequest
(bequeath); because, before, beneath, beside, between. In some
words the original force of be is obscured or lost; as, in become,
begin, behave, behoove, belong.
<-- p. 127 -->
Beach
Beach (?), n.; pl. Beaches (. [Cf. Sw. backe hill, Dan. bakke, Icel.
bakki hill, bank. Cf. Bank.]
1. Pebbles, collectively; shingle.
2. The shore of the sea, or of a lake, which is washed by the waves;
especially, a sandy or pebbly shore; the strand.
Beach flea (Zo\'94l.), the common name of many species of amphipod
Crustacea, of the family Orchestid\'91, living on the sea beaches, and
leaping like fleas. -- Beach grass (Bot.), a coarse grass (Ammophila
arundinacea), growing on the sandy shores of lakes and seas, which, by
its interlaced running rootstocks, binds the sand together, and
resists the encroachment of the waves. -- Beach wagon, a light open
wagon with two or more seats. -- Raised beach, an accumulation of
water-worn stones, gravel, sand, and other shore deposits, above the
present level of wave action, whether actually raised by elevation of
the coast, as in Norway, or left by the receding waters, as in many
lake and river regions.
Beach
Beach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beached (p. pr. & vb. n. Beaching.] To run
or drive (as a vessel or a boat) upon a beach; to strand; as, to beach
a ship.
Beach comber
Beach" comb`er (?). A long, curling wave rolling in from the ocean.
See Comber. [Amer.]
Beached
Beached (?), p. p. & a.
1. Bordered by a beach.
The beached verge of the salt flood. Shak.
2. Driven on a beach; stranded; drawn up on a beach; as, the ship is
beached.
Beachy
Beach"y (?), a. Having a beach or beaches; formed by a beach or
beaches; shingly.
The beachy girdle of the ocean. Shak.
Beacon
Bea"con (?), n. [OE. bekene, AS. be\'a0cen, b; akin to OS. b, Fries.
baken, beken, sign, signal, D. baak, OHG. bouhhan, G. bake; of unknown
origin. Cf. Beckon.]
1. A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any
notice, commonly of warning.
No flaming beacons cast their blaze afar. Gay.
2. A signal or conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore,
or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners.
3. A high hill near the shore. [Prov. Eng.]
4. That which gives notice of danger.
Modest doubt is called The beacon of the wise. Shak.
Beacon fire, a signal fire.
Beacon
Bea"con, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beaconed (p. pr. & vb. n. Beaconing.]
1. To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine.
That beacons the darkness of heaven. Campbell.
2. To furnish with a beacon or beacons.
Beaconage
Bea"con*age (?), n. Money paid for the maintenance of a beacon; also,
beacons, collectively.
Beaconless
Bea"con*less, a. Having no beacon.
Bead
Bead (?), n. [OE. bede prayer, prayer bead, AS. bed, gebed, prayer;
akin to D. bede, G. bitte, AS. biddan, to ask, bid, G. bitten to ask,
and perh. to Gr. to persuade, L. fidere to trust. Beads are used by
the Roman Catholics to count their prayers, one bead being dropped
down a string every time a prayer is said. Cf. Sp. cuenta bead, fr.
contar to count. See Bid, in to bid beads, and Bide.]
1. A prayer. [Obs.]
2. A little perforated ball, to be strung on a thread, and worn for
ornament; or used in a rosary for counting prayers, as by Roman
Catholics and Mohammedans, whence the phrases to tell beads, to at
one's beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer.
3. Any small globular body; as, (a) A bubble in spirits. (b) A drop of
sweat or other liquid. "Cold beads of midnight dew." Wordsworth. (c) A
small knob of metal on a firearm, used for taking aim (whence the
expression to draw a bead, for, to take aim). (d) (Arch.) A small
molding of rounded surface, the section being usually an arc of a
circle. It may be continuous, or broken into short embossments. (e)
(Chem.) A glassy drop of molten flux, as borax or microcosmic salt,
used as a solvent and color test for several mineral earths and
oxides, as of iron, manganese, etc., before the blowpipe; as, the
borax bead; the iron bead, etc.
Bead and butt (Carp.), framing in which the panels are flush, having
beads stuck or run upon the two edges. Knight. -- Beat mold, a species
of fungus or mold, the stems of which consist of single cells loosely
jointed together so as to resemble a string of beads. [Written also
bead mould.] -- Bead tool, a cutting tool, having an edge curved so as
to make beads or beading. -- Bead tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus
Melia, the best known species of which (M. azedarach), has blue
flowers which are very fragrant, and berries which are poisonous.
Bead
Bead, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Beading.] To
ornament with beads or beading.
Bead
Bead, v. i. To form beadlike bubbles.
Beadhouse, Bedehouse
Bead"house`, Bede"house` (?), n. [OE. bede prayer + E. house. See
Bead, n.] An almshouse for poor people who pray daily for their
benefactors.
Beading
Bead"ing, n.
1. (Arch.) Molding in imitation of beads.
2. The beads or bead-forming quality of certain liquors; as, the
beading of a brand of whisky.
Beadle
Bea"dle (?), n. [OE. bedel, bidel, budel, OF. bedel, F. bedeau, fr.
OHG. butil, putil, G. b\'81ttel, fr. OHG. biotan, G. bieten, to bid,
confused with AS. bydel, the same word as OHG. butil. See. Bid, v.]
1. A messenger or crier of a court; a servitor; one who cites or bids
persons to appear and answer; -- called also an apparitor or summoner.
2. An officer in a university, who precedes public processions of
officers and students. [Eng.]
NOTE: &hand; In this sense the archaic spellings bedel (Oxford) and
bedell (Cambridge) are preserved.
3. An inferior parish officer in England having a variety of duties,
as the preservation of order in church service, the chastisement of
petty offenders, etc.
Beadlery
Bea"dle*ry (?), n. Office or jurisdiction of a beadle.
Beadleship
Bea"dle*ship, n. The state of being, or the personality of, a beadle.
A. Wood.
Bead proof
Bead" proof` (?).
1. Among distillers, a certain degree of strength in alcoholic liquor,
as formerly ascertained by the floating or sinking of glass globules
of different specific gravities thrown into it; now ascertained by
more accurate meters.
2. A degree of strength in alcoholic liquor as shown by beads or small
bubbles remaining on its surface, or at the side of the glass, when
shaken.
Beadroll
Bead"roll` (?), n. (R. C. Ch.) A catalogue of persons, for the rest of
whose souls a certain number of prayers are to be said or counted off
on the beads of a chaplet; hence, a catalogue in general.
On Fame's eternal beadroll worthy to be field. Spenser.
It is quite startling, on going over the beadroll of English
worthies, to find how few are directly represented in the male
line. Quart. Rev.
Beadsman, Bedesman
Beads"man, Bedes"man (?), n.; pl. -men (. A poor man, supported in a
beadhouse, and required to pray for the soul of its founder; an
almsman.
Whereby ye shall bind me to be your poor beadsman for ever unto
Almighty God. Fuller.
Beadsnake
Bead"snake` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A small poisonous snake of North
America (Elaps fulvius), banded with yellow, red, and black.
Beadswoman, Bedeswoman
Beads"wom`an, Bedes"wom`an (?), n.; pl. -women (. Fem. of Beadsman.
Beadwork
Bead"work` (?), n. Ornamental work in beads.
Beady
Bead"y (?), a.
1. Resembling beads; small, round, and glistening. "Beady eyes."
Thackeray.
2. Covered or ornamented with, or as with, beads.
3. Characterized by beads; as, beady liquor.
Beagle
Bea"gle (?), n. [OE. begele; perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael.
beag small, little, W. bach. F. bigle is from English.]
1. A small hound, or hunting dog, twelve to fifteen inches high, used
in hunting hares and other small game. See Illustration in Appendix.
2. Fig.: A spy or detective; a constable.
Beak
Beak (?), n. [OE. bek, F. bec, fr. Celtic; cf. Gael. & Ir. bac, bacc,
hook, W. bach.] 1. (Zo\'94l.) (a) The bill or nib of a bird,
consisting of a horny sheath, covering the jaws. The form varied much
according to the food and habits of the bird, and is largely used in
the classification of birds. (b) A similar bill in other animals, as
the turtles. (c) The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects,
and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. (d) The upper or
projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. (e) The
prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal.
2. Anything projecting or ending in a point, like a beak, as a
promontory of land. Carew.
3. (Antiq.) A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or
point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, in order to
pierce the vessel of an enemy; a beakhead.
4. (Naut.) That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is
fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee.
5. (Arch.) A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow
fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off.
6. (Bot.) Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating
the fruit or other parts of a plant.
7. (Far.) A toe clip. See Clip, n. (Far.).
8. A magistrate or policeman. [Slang, Eng.]
Beaked
Beaked (?), a.
1. Having a beak or a beaklike point; beak-shaped. "Each beaked
promontory." Milton.
2. (Biol.) Furnished with a process or a mouth like a beak; rostrate.
Beaked whale (Zo\'94l.), a cetacean of the genus Hyperoodon; the
bottlehead whale.
Beaker
Beak"er (?), n. [OE. biker; akin to Icel. bikarr, Sw. b\'84gare, Dan.
baeger, G. becher, It. bicchiere; -- all fr. LL. bicarium, prob. fr.
Gr. wine jar, or perh. L. bacar wine vessel. Cf. Pitcher a jug.]
1. A large drinking cup, with a wide mouth, supported on a foot or
standard.
2. An open-mouthed, thin glass vessel, having a projecting lip for
pouring; -- used for holding solutions requiring heat. Knight.
Beakhead
Beak"head` (?), n.
1. (Arch.) An ornament used in rich Norman doorways, resembling a head
with a beak. Parker.
2. (Naut.) (a) A small platform at the fore part of the upper deck of
a vessel, which contains the water closets of the crew. (b) (Antiq.)
Same as Beak, 3.
Beakiron
Beak"i*ron (?), n. [From Bickern.] A bickern; a bench anvil with a
long beak, adapted to reach the interior surface of sheet metal ware;
the horn of an anvil.
Beal
Beal (, n. [See Boil a tumor.] (Med.) A small inflammatory tumor; a
pustule. [Prov. Eng.]
Beal
Beal, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bealed (; p. pr & vb. n. Bealing.] To gather
matter; to swell and come to a head, as a pimple. [Prov. Eng.]
Be-all
Be"-all` (?), n. The whole; all that is to be. [Poetic] Shak.
Beam
Beam (?), n. [AS. be\'a0m beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to
OFries. b\'bem tree, OS. b, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel.
ba, Goth. bahms and Gr. a growth, to become, to be. Cf. L. radius
staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke
of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. Be; cf. Boom a spar.]
1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its
thickness, and prepared for use.
2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship.
The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across
from side to side to support the decks. Totten.
3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam
than another.
4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are
suspended.
The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. Pope.
5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the
antlers, or branches.
6. The pole of a carriage. [Poetic] Dryden.
7. A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind
the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is
rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the
back beam.
8. The straight part or shank of an anchor.
9. The main part of a plow, to which the handles and colter are
secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that
draw it.
10. (Steam Engine) A heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on
a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from
which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel
shaft; -- called also working beam or walking beam.
11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other
luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat.
How far that little candle throws his beams ! Shak.
12. Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort.
Mercy with her genial beam. Keble.
13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also
beam feather.
Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that
crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams,
and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed. --
Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of
an engine vibrates. -- Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod
or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; --
used for drawing or describing large circles. -- Beam engine, a steam
engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from
one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the
wheel shaft. -- Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon
included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that
point of the compass toward which the ship steers. -- On the beam , in
a line with the beams, or at right angled with the keel. -- On the
weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind. -- To be on
her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her
beams approach a vertical position.
Beam
Beam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beamed (p. pr. & vb. n. Beaming.] To send
forth; to emit; -- followed ordinarily by forth; as, to beam forth
light.
Beam
Beam, v. i. To emit beams of light.
He beamed, the daystar of the rising age. Trumbull.
Beambird
Beam"bird` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A small European flycatcher (Muscicapa
gricola), so called because it often nests on a beam in a building.
Beamed
Beamed (?), a. Furnished with beams, as the head of a stag.
Tost his beamed frontlet to the sky. Sir W. Scott.
Beamful
Beam"ful (?), a. Beamy; radiant.
Beamily
Beam"i*ly (?), adv. In a beaming manner.
Beaminess
Beam"i*ness, n. The state of being beamy.
Beaming
Beam"ing, a. Emitting beams; radiant.
Beamingly
Beam"ing*ly, adv. In a beaming manner; radiantly.
Beamless
Beam"less, a.
1. Not having a beam.
2. Not emitting light.
Beamlet
Beam"let (?), n. A small beam of light.
Beam tree
Beam" tree` (?). [AS. be\'a0m a tree. See Beam.] (Bot.) A tree (Pyrus
aria) related to the apple.
Beamy
Beam"y (?), a.
1. Emitting beams of light; radiant; shining. "Beamy gold." Tickell.
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2. Resembling a beam in size and weight; massy.
His double-biting ax, and beamy spear. Dryden.
3. Having horns, or antlers.
Beamy stags in toils engage. Dryden.
Bean
Bean (?), n. [OE. bene, AS.be\'a0n; akin to D. boon, G. bohne, OHG. p,
Icel. baun, Dan. b\'94nne, Sw. b\'94na, and perh. to Russ. bob, L.
faba.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain leguminous herbs,
chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and Dolichos; also, to the
herbs.
NOTE: &hand; Th e origin and classification of many kinds are still
doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and China bean,
included in Dolichos Sinensis; black Egyptian bean or hyacinth
bean, D. Lablab; the common haricot beans, kidney beans, string
beans, and pole beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the
lower bush bean, Ph. vulgaris, variety nanus; Lima bean, Ph.
lunatus; Spanish bean and scarlet runner, Ph. maltiflorus; Windsor
bean, the common bean of England, Faba vulgaris.
As an article of food beans are classed with vegetables.
2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more or less
resembling true beans.
Bean aphis (Zo\'94l.), a plant louse (Aphis fab\'91) which infests the
bean plant. -- Bean fly (Zo\'94l.), a fly found on bean flowers. --
Bean goose (Zo\'94l.), a species of goose (Anser segetum). -- Bean
weevil (Zo\'94l.), a small weevil that in the larval state destroys
beans. The American species in Bruchus fab\'91. -- Florida bean
(Bot.), the seed of Mucuna urens, a West Indian plant. The seeds are
washed up on the Florida shore, and are often polished and made into
ornaments. -- Ignatius bean, or St. Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species
of Strychnos. -- Navy bean, the common dried white bean of commerce;
probably so called because an important article of food in the navy.
-- Pea bean, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the edible
white bean; -- so called from its size. -- Sacred bean. See under
Sacred. -- Screw bean. See under Screw. -- Sea bean. (a) Same as
Florida bean. (b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament. --
Tonquin bean, or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of Dipteryx odorata, a
leguminous tree. -- Vanilla bean. See under Vanilla.
Bean caper
Bean" ca`per. (Bot.) A deciduous plant of warm climates, generally
with fleshy leaves and flowers of a yellow or whitish yellow color, of
the genus Zygophyllum.
Bean trefoil
Bean" tre"foil. (Bot.) A leguminous shrub of southern Europe, with
trifoliate leaves (Anagyris f\'d2tida).
Bear
Bear (?), v. t. [imp. Bore (?) (formerly Bare (); p. p. Born (?),
Borne (p. pr. & vb. n. Bearing.] [OE. beren, AS. beran, beoran, to
bear, carry, produce; akin to D. baren to bring forth, G. geb\'84ren,
Goth. ba\'a1ran to bear or carry, Icel. bera, Sw. b\'84ra, Dan.
b\'91re, OHG. beran, peran, L. ferre to bear, carry, produce, Gr. ,
OSlav brati to take, carry, OIr. berim I bear, Skr. bh to bear.
&root;92. Cf. Fertile.]
1. To support or sustain; to hold up.
2. To support and remove or carry; to convey.
I 'll bear your logs the while. Shak.
3. To conduct; to bring; -- said of persons. [Obs.]
Bear them to my house. Shak.
4. To possess and use, as power; to exercise.
Every man should bear rule in his own house. Esther i. 22.
5. To sustain; to have on (written or inscribed, or as a mark), as,
the tablet bears this inscription.
6. To possess or carry, as a mark of authority or distinction; to
wear; as, to bear a sword, badge, or name.
7. To possess mentally; to carry or hold in the mind; to entertain; to
harbor Dryden.
The ancient grudge I bear him. Shak.
8. To endure; to tolerate; to undergo; to suffer.
Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no
brother near the throne. Pope.
I cannot bear The murmur of this lake to hear. Shelley.
My punishment is greater than I can bear. Gen. iv. 13.
9. To gain or win. [Obs.]
Some think to bear it by speaking a great word. Bacon.
She was . . . found not guilty, through bearing of friends and
bribing of the judge. Latimer.
10. To sustain, or be answerable for, as blame, expense,
responsibility, etc.
He shall bear their iniquities. Is. liii. 11.
Somewhat that will bear your charges. Dryden.
11. To render or give; to bring forward. "Your testimony bear" Dryden.
12. To carry on, or maintain; to have. "The credit of bearing a part
in the conversation." Locke.
13. To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without
violence, injury, or change.
In all criminal cases the most favorable interpretation should be
put on words that they can possibly bear. Swift.
14. To manage, wield, or direct. "Thus must thou thy body bear." Shak.
Hence: To behave; to conduct.
Hath he borne himself penitently in prison ? Shak.
15. To afford; to be to ; to supply with.
bear him company. Pope.
16. To bring forth or produce; to yield; as, to bear apples; to bear
children; to bear interest.
Here dwelt the man divine whom Samos bore. Dryden.
NOTE: &hand; In th e pa ssive fo rm of this verb, the best modern
usage restricts the past participle born to the sense of brought
forth, while borne is used in the other senses of the word. In the
active form, borne alone is used as the past participle.
To bear down. (a) To force into a lower place; to carry down; to
depress or sink. "His nose, . . . large as were the others, bore them
down into insignificance." Marryat. (b) To overthrow or crush by
force; as, to bear down an enemy. -- To bear a hand. (a) To help; to
give assistance. (b) (Naut.) To make haste; to be quick. -- To bear in
hand, to keep (one) up in expectation, usually by promises never to be
realized; to amuse by false pretenses; to delude. [Obs.] "How you were
borne in hand, how crossed." Shak. -- To bear in mind, to remember. --
To bear off. (a) To restrain; to keep from approach. (b) (Naut.) To
remove to a distance; to keep clear from rubbing against anything; as,
to bear off a blow; to bear off a boat. (c) To gain; to carry off, as
a prize. -- To bear one hard, to owe one a grudge. [Obs.] "C\'91sar
doth bear me hard." Shak. -- To bear out. (a) To maintain and support
to the end; to defend to the last. "Company only can bear a man out in
an ill thing." South. (b) To corroborate; to confirm. -- To bear up,
to support; to keep from falling or sinking. "Religious hope bears up
the mind under sufferings." Addison. Syn. -- To uphold; sustain;
maintain; support; undergo; suffer; endure; tolerate; carry; convey;
transport; waft.
Bear
Bear (?), v. i.
1. To produce, as fruit; to be fruitful, in opposition to barrenness.
This age to blossom, and the next to bear. Dryden.
2. To suffer, as in carrying a burden.
But man is born to bear. Pope.
3. To endure with patience; to be patient.
I can not, can not bear. Dryden.
4. To press; -- with on or upon, or against.
These men bear hard on the suspected party. Addison.
5. To take effect; to have influence or force; as, to bring matters to
bear.
6. To relate or refer; -- with on or upon; as, how does this bear on
the question?
7. To have a certain meaning, intent, or effect.
Her sentence bore that she should stand a certain time upon the
platform. Hawthorne.
8. To be situated, as to the point of compass, with respect to
something else; as, the land bears N. by E.
To bear against, to approach for attack or seizure; as, a lion bears
against his prey. [Obs.] -- To bear away (Naut.), to change the course
of a ship, and make her run before the wind. -- To bear back, to
retreat. "Bearing back from the blows of their sable antagonist." Sir
W. Scott. -- To bear down upon (Naut.), to approach from the windward
side; as, the fleet bore down upon the enemy. -- To bear in with
(Naut.), to run or tend toward; as, a ship bears in with the land. --
To bear off (Naut.), to steer away, as from land. -- To bear up. (a)
To be supported; to have fortitude; to be firm; not to sink; as, to
bear up under afflictions. (b) (Naut.) To put the helm up (or to
windward) and so put the ship before the wind; to bear away. Hamersly.
-- To bear upon (Mil.), to be pointed or situated so as to affect; to
be pointed directly against, or so as to hit (the object); as, to
bring or plant guns so as to bear upon a fort or a ship; the artillery
bore upon the center. -- To bear up to, to tend or move toward; as, to
bear up to one another. -- To bear with, to endure; to be indulgent
to; to forbear to resent, oppose, or punish.
Bear
Bear (?), n. A bier. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bear
Bear (?), n. [OE. bere, AS. bera; akin to D. beer, OHG. bero, pero, G.
b\'84r, Icel. & Sw. bj\'94rn, and possibly to L. fera wild beast, Gr.
beast, Skr. bhalla bear.]
1. (Zo\'94l.) Any species of the genus Ursus, and of the closely
allied genera. Bears are plantigrade Carnivora, but they live largely
on fruit and insects.
NOTE: The European brown bear (U. arctos), the white polar bear (U.
maritimus), the grizzly bear (U. horribilis), the American black
bear, and its variety the cinnamon bear (U. Americanus), the Syrian
bear (Ursus Syriacus), and the sloth bear, are among the notable
species.
2. (Zo\'94l.) An animal which has some resemblance to a bear in form
or habits, but no real affinity; as, the woolly bear; ant bear; water
bear; sea bear.
3. (Astron.) One of two constellations in the northern hemisphere,
called respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or Ursa Major
and Ursa Minor.
4. Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person.
5. (Stock Exchange) A person who sells stocks or securities for future
delivery in expectation of a fall in the market.
NOTE: &hand; Th e be ars an d bu lls of th e Stock Exchange, whose
interest it is, the one to depress, and the other to raise, stocks,
are said to be so called in allusion to the bear's habit of pulling
down, and the bull's of tossing up.
6. (Mach.) A portable punching machine.
7. (Naut.) A block covered with coarse matting; -- used to scour the
deck.
Australian bear. (Zo\'94l.) See Koala. -- Bear baiting, the sport of
baiting bears with dogs. -- Bear caterpillar (Zo\'94l.), the hairy
larva of a moth, esp. of the genus Euprepia. -- Bear garden. (a) A
place where bears are kept for diversion or fighting. (b) Any place
where riotous conduct is common or permitted. M. Arnold. -- Bear
leader, one who leads about a performing bear for money; hence, a
facetious term for one who takes charge of a young man on his travels.
Bear
Bear, v. t. (Stock Exchange) To endeavor to depress the price of, or
prices in; as, to bear a railroad stock; to bear the market.
Bear, Bere
Bear, Bere (?), n. [AS. bere. See Barley.] (Bot.) Barley; the
six-rowed barley or the four-rowed barley, commonly the former (Hord.
vulgare). [Obs. except in North of Eng. and Scot.]
Bearable
Bear"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being borne or endured; tolerable. --
Bear"a*bly, adv.
Bearberry
Bear"ber*ry (?), n. (Bot.) A trailing plant of the heath family
(Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), having leaves which are tonic and
astringent, and glossy red berries of which bears are said to be fond.
Bearbind
Bear"bind` (?), n. (Bot.) The bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis).
Beard
Beard (?), n. [OE. berd, AS. beard; akin to Fries. berd, D. baard, G.
bart, Lith. barzda, OSlav. brada, Pol. broda, Russ. boroda, L. barba,
W. barf. Cf. 1st Barb.]
1. The hair that grows on the chin, lips, and adjacent parts of the
human face, chiefly of male adults.
2. (Zo\'94l.) (a) The long hairs about the face in animals, as in the
goat. (b) The cluster of small feathers at the base of the beak in
some birds (c) The appendages to the jaw in some Cetacea, and to the
mouth or jaws of some fishes. (d) The byssus of certain shellfish, as
the muscle. (e) The gills of some bivalves, as the oyster. (f) In
insects, the hairs of the labial palpi of moths and butterflies.
3. (Bot.) Long or stiff hairs on a plant; the awn; as, the beard of
grain.
4. A barb or sharp point of an arrow or other instrument, projecting
backward to prevent the head from being easily drawn out.
5. That part of the under side of a horse's lower jaw which is above
the chin, and bears the curb of a bridle.
6. (Print.) That part of a type which is between the shoulder of the
shank and the face.
7. An imposition; a trick. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Beard grass (Bot.), a coarse, perennial grass of different species of
the genus Andropogon. -- To one's beard, to one's face; in open
defiance.
Beard
Beard (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bearded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bearding.]
1. To take by the beard; to seize, pluck, or pull the beard of (a
man), in anger or contempt.
2. To oppose to the gills; to set at defiance.
No admiral, bearded by three corrupt and dissolute minions of the
palace, dared to do more than mutter something about a court
martial. Macaulay.
3. To deprive of the gills; -- used only of oysters and similar
shellfish.
Bearded
Beard"ed, a. Having a beard. "Bearded fellow." Shak. "Bearded grain."
Dryden. Bearded vulture, Bearded eagle. (Zo\'94l.) See Lammergeir. --
Bearded tortoise. (Zo\'94l.) See Matamata.
Beardie
Beard"ie (?), n. [From Beard, n.] (Zo\'94l.) The bearded loach
(Nemachilus barbatus) of Europe. [Scot.]
Beardless
Beard"less, a.
1. Without a beard. Hence: Not having arrived at puberty or manhood;
youthful.
2. Destitute of an awn; as, beardless wheat.
Beardlessness
Beard"less*ness, n. The state or quality of being destitute of beard.
Bearer
Bear"er (?), n.
1. One who, or that which, bears, sustains, or carries. "Bearers of
burdens." 2 Chron. ii. 18. "The bearer of unhappy news." Dryden.
2. Specifically: One who assists in carrying a body to the grave; a
pallbearer. Milton.
3. A palanquin carrier; also, a house servant. [India]
4. A tree or plant yielding fruit; as, a good bearer.
5. (Com.) One who holds a check, note, draft, or other order for the
payment of money; as, pay to bearer.
6. (Print.) A strip of reglet or other furniture to bear off the
impression from a blank page; also, a type or type-high piece of metal
interspersed in blank parts to support the plate when it is shaved.
Bearherd
Bear"herd` (?), n. A man who tends a bear.
Bearhound
Bear"hound` (?), n. A hound for baiting or hunting bears. Car
Bearing
Bear"ing (?), n.
1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one's self; mien;
behavior; carriage.
I know him by his bearing. Shak.
2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint.
3. The situation of one object, with respect to another, such
situation being supposed to have a connection with the object, or
influence upon it, or to be influenced by it; hence, relation;
connection.
But of this frame, the bearings and the ties, The strong
connections, nice dependencies. Pope.
4. Purport; meaning; intended significance; aspect.
5. The act, power, or time of producing or giving birth; as, a tree in
full bearing; a tree past bearing.
[His mother] in travail of his bearing. R. of Gloucester.
6. (Arch.) (a) That part of any member of a building which rests upon
its supports; as, a lintel or beam may have four inches of bearing
upon the wall. (b) The portion of a support on which anything rests.
(c) Improperly, the unsupported span; as, the beam has twenty feet of
bearing between its supports.
7. (Mach.) (a) The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its
support, collar, or boxing; the journal. (b) The part of the support
on which a journal rests and rotates.
8. (Her.) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms
-- commonly in the pl.
A carriage covered with armorial bearings. Thackeray.
9. (Naut.) (a) The situation of a distant object, with regard to a
ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter, etc.; the
direction or point of the compass in which an object is seen; as, the
bearing of the cape was W. N. W. (b) pl. The widest part of a vessel
below the plank-sheer. (c) pl. The line of flotation of a vessel when
properly trimmed with cargo or ballast.
Ball bearings. See under Ball. -- To bring one to his bearings, to
bring one to his senses. -- To lose one's bearings, to become
bewildered. -- To take bearings, to ascertain by the compass the
position of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or
place to another; to ascertain one's position by reference to
landmarks or to the compass; hence (Fig.), to ascertain the condition
of things when one is in trouble or perplexity. Syn. -- Deportment;
gesture; mien; behavior; manner; carriage; demeanor; port; conduct;
direction; relation; tendency; influence.
Bearing cloth
Bear"ing cloth` (?). A cloth with which a child is covered when
carried to be baptized. Shak.
Bearing rein
Bear"ing rein` (?). A short rein looped over the check hook or the
hames to keep the horse's head up; -- called in the United States a
checkrein.
Bearish
Bear"ish, a. Partaking of the qualities of a bear; resembling a bear
in temper or manners. Harris.
Bearishness
Bear"ish*ness, n. Behavior like that of a bear.
Bearn
Bearn (?), n. See Bairn. [Obs.]
Bear's-breech
Bear's"-breech` (?), n. (Bot.) (a) See Acanthus, n., 1. (b) The
English cow parsnip (Heracleum sphondylium) Dr. Prior.
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Bear's-ear
Bear's-ear` (?), n. (Bot.) A kind of primrose (Primula auricula), so
called from the shape of the leaf.
Bear's-foot
Bear's"-foot` (?), n. (Bot.) A species of hellebore (Helleborus
f\'d2tidus), with digitate leaves. It has an offensive smell and acrid
taste, and is a powerful emetic, cathartic, and anthelmintic.
Bearskin
Bear"skin` (?), n.
1. The skin of a bear.
2. A coarse, shaggy, woolen cloth for overcoats.
3. A cap made of bearskin, esp. one worn by soldiers.
Bear's-paw
Bear's"-paw` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A large bivalve shell of the East
Indies (Hippopus maculatus), often used as an ornament.
Bearward
Bear"ward` (?), n. [Bear + ward a keeper.] A keeper of bears. See
Bearherd. [R.] Shak.
Beast
Beast (?), n. [OE. best, beste, OF. beste, F. b\'88te, fr. L. bestia.]
1. Any living creature; an animal; -- including man, insects, etc.
[Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Any four-footed animal, that may be used for labor, food, or sport;
as, a beast of burden.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. Prov. xii. 10.
3. As opposed to man: Any irrational animal.
4. Fig.: A coarse, brutal, filthy, or degraded fellow.
5. A game at cards similar to loo. [Obs.] Wright.
6. A penalty at beast, omber, etc. Hence: To be beasted, to be beaten
at beast, omber, etc.
Beast royal, the lion. [Obs.] Chaucer. Syn. -- Beast, Brute. When we
use these words in a figurative sense, as applicable to human beings,
we think of beasts as mere animals governed by animal appetite; and of
brutes as being destitute of reason or moral feeling, and governed by
unrestrained passion. Hence we speak of beastly appetites; beastly
indulgences, etc.; and of brutal manners; brutal inhumanity; brutal
ferocity. So, also, we say of a drunkard, that he first made himself a
beast, and then treated his family like a brute.
Beasthood
Beast"hood (?), n. State or nature of a beast.
Beastings
Beast"ings (?), n. pl. See Biestings.
Beastlihead
Beast"li*head (?), n. [Beastly + -head state.] Beastliness. [Obs.]
Spenser.
Beastlike
Beast"like" (?), a. Like a beast.
Beastliness
Beast"li*ness, n. The state or quality of being beastly.
Beastly
Beast"ly (?), a.
1. Pertaining to, or having the form, nature, or habits of, a beast.
Beastly divinities and droves of gods. Prior.
2. Characterizing the nature of a beast; contrary to the nature and
dignity of man; brutal; filthy.
The beastly vice of drinking to excess. Swift.
3. Abominable; as, beastly weather. [Colloq. Eng.] Syn. -- Bestial;
brutish; irrational; sensual; degrading.
Beat
Beat (?), v. t. [imp. Beat; p. p. Beat, Beaten (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Beating.] [OE. beaten, beten, AS. be\'a0tan; akin to Icel. bauta, OHG.
b. Cf. 1st Butt, Button.]
1. To strike repeatedly; to lay repeated blows upon; as, to beat one's
breast; to beat iron so as to shape it; to beat grain, in order to
force out the seeds; to beat eggs and sugar; to beat a drum.
Thou shalt beat some of it [spices] very small. Ex. xxx. 36.
They did beat the gold into thin plates. Ex. xxxix. 3.
2. To punish by blows; to thrash.
3. To scour or range over in hunting, accompanied with the noise made
by striking bushes, etc., for the purpose of rousing game.
To beat the woods, and rouse the bounding prey. Prior.
4. To dash against, or strike, as with water or wind.
A frozen continent . . . beat with perpetual storms. Milton.
5. To tread, as a path.
Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way. Blackmore.
6. To overcome in a battle, contest, strife, race, game, etc.; to
vanquish or conquer; to surpass.
He beat them in a bloody battle. Prescott.
For loveliness, it would be hard to beat that. M. Arnold.
7. To cheat; to chouse; to swindle; to defraud; -- often with out.
[Colloq.]
8. To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble.
Why should any one . . . beat his head about the Latin grammar who
does not intend to be a critic? Locke.
9. (Mil.) To give the signal for, by beat of drum; to sound by beat of
drum; as, to beat an alarm, a charge, a parley, a retreat; to beat the
general, the reveille, the tattoo. See Alarm, Charge, Parley, etc.
To beat down, to haggle with (any one) to secure a lower price; to
force down. [Colloq.] -- To beat into, to teach or instill, by
repetition. -- To beat off, to repel or drive back. -- To beat out, to
extend by hammering. -- To beat out of a thing, to cause to relinquish
it, or give it up. "Nor can anything beat their posterity out of it to
this day." South. -- To beat the dust. (Man.) (a) To take in too
little ground with the fore legs, as a horse. (b) To perform curvets
too precipitately or too low. -- To beat the hoof, to walk; to go on
foot. -- To beat the wing, to flutter; to move with fluttering
agitation. -- To beat time, to measure or regulate time in music by
the motion of the hand or foot. -- To beat up, to attack suddenly; to
alarm or disturb; as, to beat up an enemy's quarters. Syn. -- To
strike; pound; bang; buffet; maul; drub; thump; baste; thwack; thrash;
pommel; cudgel; belabor; conquer; defeat; vanquish; overcome.
Beat
Beat, v. i.
1. To strike repeatedly; to inflict repeated blaows; to knock
vigorously or loudly.
The men of the city . . . beat at the door. Judges. xix. 22.
2. To move with pulsation or throbbing.
A thousand hearts beat happily. Byron.
3. To come or act with violence; to dash or fall with force; to strike
anything, as, rain, wind, and waves do.
Sees rolling tempests vainly beat below. Dryden.
They [winds] beat at the crazy casement. Longfellow.
The sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wisbed in
himself to die. Jonah iv. 8.
Public envy seemeth to beat chiefly upon ministers. Bacon.
4. To be in agitation or doubt. [Poetic]
To still my beating mind. Shak
.
5. (Naut.) To make progress against the wind, by sailing in a zigzag
line or traverse.
6. To make a sound when struck; as, the drums beat.
7. (Mil.) To make a succession of strokes on a drum; as, the drummers
beat to call soldiers to their quarters.
8. (Acoustics & Mus.) To sound with more or less rapid alternations of
greater and less intensity, so as to produce a pulsating effect; --
said of instruments, tones, or vibrations, not perfectly in unison.
A beating wind (Naut.), a wind which necessitates tacking in order to
make progress. -- To beat about, to try to find; to search by various
means or ways. Addison. -- To beat about the bush, to approach a
subject circuitously. -- To beat up and down (Hunting), to run first
one way and then another; -- said of a stag. -- To beat up for
recruits, to go diligently about in order to get helpers or
participators in an enterprise.
Beat
Beat (?), n.
1. A stroke; a blow.
He, with a careless beat, Struck out the mute creation at a heat.
Dryden.
2. A recurring stroke; a throb; a pulsation; as, a beat of the heart;
the beat of the pulse.
3. (Mus.) (a) The rise or fall of the hand or foot, marking the
divisions of time; a division of the measure so marked. In the rhythm
of music the beat is the unit. (b) A transient grace note, struck
immediately before the one it is intended to ornament.
4. (Acoustics & Mus.) A sudden swelling or re\'89nforcement of a
sound, recurring at regular intervals, and produced by the
interference of sound waves of slightly different periods of
vibrations; applied also, by analogy, to other kinds of wave motions;
the pulsation or throbbing produced by the vibrating together of two
tones not quite in unison. See Beat, v. i., 8.
5. A round or course which is frequently gone over; as, a watchman's
beat.
6. A place of habitual or frequent resort.
7. A cheat or swindler of the lowest grade; -- often emphasized by
dead; as, a dead beat. [Low]
Beat of drum (Mil.), a succession of strokes varied, in different
ways, for particular purposes, as to regulate a march, to call
soldiers to their arms or quarters, to direct an attack, or retreat,
etc. -- Beat of a watch, OR clock, the stroke or sound made by the
action of the escapement. A clock is in beat or out of beat, according
as the strokes is at equal or unequal intervals.
Beat
Beat, a. Weary; tired; fatigued; exhausted. [Colloq.]
Quite beat, and very much vexed and disappointed. Dickens.
Beaten
Beat"en (?), a.
1. Made smooth by beating or treading; worn by use. "A broad and
beaten way." Milton. "Beaten gold." Shak.
2. Vanquished; conquered; baffled.
3. Exhausted; tired out.
4. Become common or trite; as, a beaten phrase. [Obs.]
5. Tried; practiced. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
Beater
Beat"er (?), n.
1. One who, or that which, beats.
2. A person who beats up game for the hunters. Black.
Beath
Beath (?), v. t. [AS. be to foment.] To bathe; also, to dry or heat,
as unseasoned wood. [Obs.] Spenser.
Beatific, Beatifical
Be`a*tif"ic (?), Be`a*tif"ic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. b\'82atifique, L.
beatificus. See Beatify.] Having the power to impart or complete
blissful enjoyment; blissful. "The beatific vision." South. --
Be`a*tif"ic*al*ly, adv.
Beatificate
Be`a*tif"i*cate (?), v. t. To beatify. [Obs.] Fuller.
Beatification
Be*at`i*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. b\'82atification.] The act of
beatifying, or the state of being beatified; esp., in the R. C.
Church, the act or process of ascertaining and declaring that a
deceased person is one of "the blessed," or has attained the second
degree of sanctity, -- usually a stage in the process of canonization.
"The beatification of his spirit." Jer. Taylor.
Beatify
Be*at"i*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beatified (p. pr. & vb. n.
Beatifying.] [L. beatificare; beatus happy (fr. beare to bless, akin
to bonus good) + facere to make: cf. F. b\'82atifier. See Bounty.]
1. To pronounce or regard as happy, or supremely blessed, or as
conferring happiness.
The common conceits and phrases that beatify wealth. Barrow.
2. To make happy; to bless with the completion of celestial enjoyment.
"Beatified spirits." Dryden.
3. (R. C. Ch.) To ascertain and declare, by a public process and
decree, that a deceased person is one of "the blessed" and is to be
reverenced as such, though not canonized.
Beating
Beat"ing (?), n.
1. The act of striking or giving blows; punishment or chastisement by
blows.
2. Pulsation; throbbing; as, the beating of the heart.
3. (Acoustics & Mus.) Pulsative sounds. See Beat, n.
4. (Naut.) The process of sailing against the wind by tacks in zigzag
direction.
Beatitude
Be*at"i*tude (?), n. [L. beatitudo: cf. F. b\'82atitude. See Beatify.]
1. Felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss.
2. Any one of the nine declarations (called the Beatitudes), made in
the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. v. 3-12), with regard to the
blessedness of those who are distinguished by certain specified
virtues.
3. (R. C. Ch.) Beatification. Milman. Syn. -- Blessedness; felicity;
happiness.
Beau
Beau (?), n.; pl. F. Beaux (E. pron. b), E. Beaus (#). [F., a fop, fr.
beau fine, beautiful, fr. L. bellus pretty, fine, for bonulus, dim. of
bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Belle, Beauty.]
1. A man who takes great care to dress in the latest fashion; a dandy.
2. A man who escorts, or pays attentions to, a lady; an escort; a
lover.
Beaucatcher
Beau"catch`er (?), n. A small flat curl worn on the temple by women.
[Humorous]
Beaufet
Beau"fet (?), n. [See Buffet.] A niche, cupboard, or sideboard for
plate, china, glass, etc.; a buffet.
A beaufet . . . filled with gold and silver vessels. Prescott.
Beaufin
Beau"fin (?), n. See Biffin. Wright.
Beau ideal
Beau" i*de"al (?). [F. beau beautiful + id\'82al ideal.] A conception
or image of consummate beauty, moral or physical, formed in the mind,
free from all the deformities, defects, and blemishes seen in actual
existence; an ideal or faultless standard or model.
Beauish
Beau"ish (?), n. Like a beau; characteristic of a beau; foppish; fine.
"A beauish young spark." Byrom.
Beau monde
Beau` monde" (?). [F. beau fine + monde world.] The fashionable world;
people of fashion and gayety. Prior.
Beaupere
Beau"pere` (?), n. [F. beau p\'82re; beau fair + p\'82re father.]
1. A father. [Obs.] Wyclif.
2. A companion. [Obs.] Spenser.
Beauseant
Beau`se`ant" (?), n. [F. beauc\'82ant.] The black and white standard
of the Knights Templars.
Beauship
Beau"ship (?), n. The state of being a beau; the personality of a
beau. [Jocular] Dryden.
Beauteous
Beau"te*ous (?), a. Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly
poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. -- Beau"te*ous*ness, n.
Beautied
Beau"tied (?), p. a. Beautiful; embellished. [Poetic] Shak.
Beautifier
Beau"ti*fi`er (?), n. One who, or that which, beautifies or makes
beautiful.
Beautiful
Beau"ti*ful (?), a. Having the qualities which constitute beauty;
pleasing to the sight or the mind.
A circle is more beautiful than a square; a square is more
beautiful than a parallelogram. Lord Kames.
Syn. -- Handsome; elegant; lovely; fair; charming; graceful; pretty;
delightful. See Fine. -- Beau"ti*ful*ly, adv. -- Beau"ti*ful*ness, n.
Beautify
Beau"ti*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beautified (p. pr. & vb. n.
Beautifying.] [Beauty + -fy.] To make or render beautiful; to add
beauty to; to adorn; to deck; to grace; to embellish.
The arts that beautify and polish life. Burke.
Syn. -- To adorn; grace; ornament; deck; decorate.
Beautify
Beau"ti*fy, v. i. To become beautiful; to advance in beauty. Addison.
Beautiless
Beau"ti*less, a. Destitute of beauty. Hammond.
Beauty
Beau"ty (?), n.; pl. Beauties (#). [OE. beaute, beute, OF. beaut\'82,
biaut\'82, Pr. beltat, F. beaut\'82, fr. an assumed LL. bellitas, from
L. bellus pretty. See Beau.]
1. An assemblage or graces or properties pleasing to the eye, the ear,
the intellect, the \'91sthetic faculty, or the moral sense.
Beauty consists of a certain composition of color and figure,
causing delight in the beholder. Locke.
The production of beauty by a multiplicity of symmetrical parts
uniting in a consistent whole. Wordsworth.
The old definition of beauty, in the Roman school, was, "multitude
in unity;" and there is no doubt that such is the principle of
beauty. Coleridge.
2. A particular grace, feature, ornament, or excellence; anything
beautiful; as, the beauties of nature.
3. A beautiful person, esp. a beautiful woman.
All the admired beauties of Verona. Shak.
4. Prevailing style or taste; rage; fashion. [Obs.]
She stained her hair yellow, which was then the beauty. Jer.
Taylor.
Beauty spot, a patch or spot placed on the face with intent to
heighten beauty by contrast.
Beaux
Beaux (?), n., pl. of Beau.
Beauxite
Beaux"ite (?), n. (Min.) See Bauxite.
Beaver
Bea"ver (?), n. [OE. bever, AS. beofer, befer; akin to D. bever, OHG.
bibar, G. biber, Sw. b\'84fver, Dan. b\'91ver, Lith. bebru, Russ.
bobr', Gael. beabhar, Corn. befer, L. fiber, and Skr. babhrus large
ichneumon; also as an adj., brown, the animal being probably named
from its color. Brown.]
1. (Zo\'94l.) An amphibious rodent, of the genus Castor.
NOTE: &hand; It has palmated hind feet, and a broad, flat tail. It
is remarkable for its ingenuity in constructing its valued for its
fur, and for the material called castor, obtained from two small
bags in the groin of the animal. The European species is Castor
fiber, and the American is generally considered a variety of this,
although sometimes called Castor Canadensis.
2. The fur of the beaver.
3. A hat, formerly made of the fur of the beaver, but now usually of
silk.
A brown beaver slouched over his eyes. Prescott.
4. Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woolen cloth, used chiefly for making
overcoats.
Beaver rat (Zo\'94l.), an aquatic ratlike quadruped of Tasmania
(Hydromys chrysogaster). -- Beaver skin, the furry skin of the beaver.
-- Bank beaver. See under 1st Bank.
Beaver
Bea"ver, n. [OE. baviere, bauier, beavoir, bever; fr. F. bavi\'8are,
fr. bave slaver, drivel, foam, OF., prattle, drivel, perh. orig. an
imitative word. Bavi\'8are, according to Cotgrave, is the bib put
before a (slavering) child.] That piece of armor which protected the
lower part of the face, whether forming a part of the helmet or fixed
to the breastplate. It was so constructed (with joints or otherwise)
that the wearer could raise or lower it to eat and drink.
Beavered
Bea"vered (?), a. Covered with, or wearing, a beaver or hat. "His
beavered brow." Pope.
Beaverteen
Bea"ver*teen (?), n. A kind of fustian made of coarse twilled cotton,
shorn after dyeing. Simmonds.
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Bebeerine, OR Bebirine
Be*bee"rine, OR Be*bi"rine (?), n. (Chem.) An alkaloid got from the
bark of the bebeeru, or green heart of Guiana (Nectandra Rodi\'d2i).
It is a tonic, antiperiodic, and febrifuge, and is used in medicine as
a substitute for quinine. [Written also bibirine.]
Bebleed
Be*bleed" (?), v. t. To make bloody; to stain with blood. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Beblood, Bebloody
Be*blood" (?), Be*blood"y (?), v. t. To make bloody; to stain with
blood. [Obs.] Sheldon.
Beblot
Be*blot" (?), v. t. To blot; to stain. Chaucer.
Beblubber
Be*blub"ber (?), v. t. To make swollen and disfigured or sullied by
weeping; as, her eyes or cheeks were beblubbered.
Becalm
Be*calm" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Becalmed (p. pr. & vb. n.
Becalming.]
1. To render calm or quiet; to calm; to still; to appease.
Soft whispering airs . . . becalm the mind. Philips.
2. To keep from motion, or stop the progress of, by the stilling of
the wind; as, the fleet was becalmed.
Became
Be*came" (?), imp. of Become.
Becard
Bec"ard (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A South American bird of the flycatcher
family. (Tityra inquisetor).
Because
Be*cause" (?), conj. [OE. bycause; by + cause.]
1. By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason
that. Milton.
2. In order that; that. [Obs.]
And the multitude rebuked them because they should hold their
peace. Matt. xx. 31.
Because of, by reason of, on account of. [Prep. phrase.]
Because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children
of disobedience. Eph. v. 6.
Syn, -- Because, For, Since, As, Inasmuch As. These particles are
used, in certain connections, to assign the reason of a thing, or that
"on account of" which it is or takes place. Because (by cause) is the
strongest and most emphatic; as, I hid myself because I was afraid.
For is not quite so strong; as, in Shakespeare, "I hate him, for he is
a Christian." Since is less formal and more incidental than because;
as, I will do it since you request me. It more commonly begins a
sentence; as, Since your decision is made, I will say no more. As is
still more incidental than since, and points to some existing fact by
way of assigning a reason. Thus we say, as I knew him to be out of
town, I did not call. Inasmuch as seems to carry with it a kind of
qualification which does not belong to the rest. Thus, if we say, I am
ready to accept your proposal, inasmuch as I believe it is the best
you can offer, we mean, it is only with this understanding that we can
accept it.
Beccabunga
Bec`ca*bun"ga (?), n. [NL. (cf. It. beccabunga, G. bachbunge), fr. G.
bach brook + bunge, OHG. bungo, bulb. See Beck a brook.] See
Brooklime.
Beccafico
Bec`ca*fi"co (?), n.; pl. Beccaficos (. [It., fr. beccare to peck +
fico fig.] (Zo\'94l.) A small bird. (Silvia hortensis), which is
highly prized by the Italians for the delicacy of its flesh in the
autumn, when it has fed on figs, grapes, etc.
Bachamel
Bach"a*mel (?), n. [F. b\'82chamel, named from its inventor, Louis de
B\'82chamel.] (Cookery) A rich, white sauce, prepared with butter and
cream.
Bechance
Be*chance" (?), adv. [Pref. be- for by + chance.] By chance; by
accident. [Obs.] Grafton.
Bechance
Be*chance", v. t. & i. To befall; to chance; to happen to.
God knows what hath bechanced them. Shak.
Becharm
Be*charm" (?), v. t. To charm; to captivate.
B\'88che de mer
B\'88che` de mer" (?). [F., lit., a sea spade.] (Zo\'94l.) The
trepang.
Bechic
Be"chic (?), a. [L. bechicus, adj., for a cough, Gr. , fr. cough: cf.
F. b\'82chique.] (Med.) Pertaining to, or relieving, a cough. Thomas.
-- n. A medicine for relieving coughs. Quincy.
Beck
Beck (?), n. See Beak. [Obs.] Spenser.
Beck
Beck, n. [OE. bek, AS. becc; akin to Icel. bekkr brook, OHG. pah, G.
bach.] A small brook.
The brooks, the becks, the rills. Drayton.
Beck
Beck, n. A vat. See Back.
Beck
Beck, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Becked (; p. pr. & vb. n. Becking.] [Contr.
of beckon.] To nod, or make a sign with the head or hand. [Archaic]
Drayton.
Beck
Beck, v. t. To notify or call by a nod, or a motion of the head or
hand; to intimate a command to. [Archaic]
When gold and silver becks me to come on. Shak.
Beck
Beck, n. A significant nod, or motion of the head or hand, esp. as a
call or command.
They have troops of soldiers at their beck. Shak.
Becker
Beck"er (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A European fish (Pagellus centrodontus);
the sea bream or braise.
Becket
Beck"et (?), n. [Cf. D. bek beak, and E. beak.]
1. (Naut.) A small grommet, or a ring or loop of rope
2. A spade for digging turf. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
Beckon
Beck"on, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beckoned (p. pr. & vb. n. Beckoning.] To
make a significant sign to; hence, to summon, as by a motion of the
hand.
His distant friends, he beckons near. Dryden.
It beckons you to go away with it. Shak.
Beckon
Beck"on, n. A sign made without words; a beck. "At the first
beckon." Bolingbroke.
Beclap
Be*clap (?), v. t. [OE. biclappen.] To catch; to grasp; to insnare.
[Obs.] Chaucer.
Beclip
Be*clip" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beclipped ( [AS. beclyppan; pref.
be + clyppan to embrace.] To embrace; to surround. [Obs.] Wyclif.
Becloud
Be*cloud" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beclouded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Beclouding.] To cause obscurity or dimness to; to dim; to cloud.
If thou becloud the sunshine of thine eye. Quarles.
Become
Be*come" (?), v. i. [imp. Became (?); p. p. Become; p. pr. & vb. n.
Becoming.] [OE. bicumen, becumen, AS. becuman to come to, to
happen; akin to D. bekomen, OHG.a piqu\'89man, Goth. biquiman to
come upon, G. bekommen to get, suit. See Be-, and Come.]
1. To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or
condition, by a change from another state, or by assuming or
receiving new properties or qualities, additional matter, or a new
character.
The Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul. Gen. ii. 7.
That error now which is become my crime. Milton.
2. To come; to get. [Obs.]
But, madam, where is Warwick then become! Shak.
To become of, to be the present state or place of; to be the fate of;
to be the end of; to be the final or subsequent condition of.
What is then become of so huge a multitude? Sir W. Raleigh.
Become
Be*come", v. t. To suit or be suitable to; to be congruous with; to
befit; to accord with, in character or circumstances; to be worthy of,
or proper for; to cause to appear well; -- said of persons and things.
It becomes me so to speak of so excellent a poet. Dryden.
I have known persons so anxious to have their dress become them, as
to convert it, at length, into their proper self, and thus actually
to become the dress. Coleridge.
Becomed
Be*com"ed (?), a. Proper; decorous. [Obs.]
And gave him what becomed love I might. Shak.
Becoming
Be*com"ing, a. Appropriate or fit; congruous; suitable; graceful;
befitting.
A low and becoming tone. Thackeray.
NOTE: Formerly sometimes followed by of.
Such discourses as are becoming of them. Dryden.
Syn. -- Seemly; comely; decorous; decent; proper.
Becoming
Be*com"ing, n. That which is becoming or appropriate. [Obs.]
Becomingly
Be*com"ing*ly, adv. In a becoming manner.
Becomingness
Be*com"ing*ness, n. The quality of being becoming, appropriate, or
fit; congruity; fitness.
The becomingness of human nature. Grew.
Becripple
Be*crip"ple (?), v. t. To make a cripple of; to cripple; to lame. [R.]
Dr. H. More.
Becuna
Be*cu"na (?), n. [Sp.] (Zo\'94l.) A fish of the Mediterranean
(Sphyr\'91na spet). See Barracuda.
Becurl
Be*curl" (?), v. t. To curl; to adorn with curls.
Bed
Bed (?), n. [AS. bed, bedd; akin to OS. bed, D. bed, bedde, Icel. be,
Dan. bed, Sw. b\'84dd, Goth. badi, OHG. betti, G. bett, bette, bed,
beet a plat of ground; all of uncertain origin.]
1. An article of furniture to sleep or take rest in or on; a couch.
Specifically: A sack or mattress, filled with some soft material, in
distinction from the bedstead on which it is placed (as, a feather
bed), or this with the bedclothes added. In a general sense, any thing
or place used for sleeping or reclining on or in, as a quantity of
hay, straw, leaves, or twigs.
And made for him [a horse] a leafy bed. Byron.
I wash, wring, brew, bake, . . . make the beds. Shak.
In bed he slept not for my urging it. Shak.
2. (Used as the symbol of matrimony) Marriage.
George, the eldest son of his second bed. Clarendon.
3. A plat or level piece of ground in a garden, usually a little
raised above the adjoining ground. "Beds of hyacinth and roses."
Milton.
4. A mass or heap of anything arranged like a bed; as, a bed of ashes
or coals.
5. The bottom of a watercourse, or of any body of water; as, the bed
of a river.
So sinks the daystar in the ocean bed. Milton.
6. (Geol.) A layer or seam, or a horizontal stratum between layers;
as, a bed of coal, iron, etc.
7. (Gun.) See Gun carriage, and Mortar bed.
8. (Masonry) (a) The horizontal surface of a building stone; as, the
upper and lower beds. (b) A course of stone or brick in a wall. (c)
The place or material in which a block or brick is laid. (d) The lower
surface of a brick, slate, or tile. Knight.
9. (Mech.) The foundation or the more solid and fixed part or framing
of a machine; or a part on which something is laid or supported; as,
the bed of an engine.
10. The superficial earthwork, or ballast, of a railroad.
11. (Printing) The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid.
NOTE: &hand; Be d is mu ch used adjectively or in combination; as,
bed key or bedkey; bed wrench or bedwrench; bedchamber; bedmaker,
etc.
Bed of justice (French Hist.), the throne (F. lit bed) occupied by the
king when sitting in one of his parliaments (judicial courts); hence,
a session of a refractory parliament, at which the king was present
for the purpose of causing his decrees to be registered. -- To be
brought to bed, to be delivered of a child; -- often followed by of;
as, to be brought to bed of a son. -- To make a bed, to prepare a bed;
to arrange or put in order a bed and its bedding. -- From bed and
board (Law), a phrase applied to a separation by partial divorce of
man and wife, without dissolving the bonds of matrimony. If such a
divorce (now commonly called a judicial separation) be granted at the
instance of the wife, she may have alimony.
Bed
Bed, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bedding.]
1. To place in a bed. [Obs.] Bacon.
2. To make partaker of one's bed; to cohabit with.
I'll to the Tuscan wars, and never bed her. Shak.
3. To furnish with a bed or bedding.
4. To plant or arrange in beds; to set, or cover, as in a bed of soft
earth; as, to bed the roots of a plant in mold.
5. To lay or put in any hollow place, or place of rest and security,
surrounded or inclosed; to embed; to furnish with or place upon a bed
or foundation; as, to bed a stone; it was bedded on a rock.
Among all chains or clusters of mountains where large bodies of
still water are bedded. Wordsworth.
6. (Masonry) To dress or prepare the surface of stone) so as to serve
as a bed.
7. To lay flat; to lay in order; to place in a horizontal or recumbent
position. "Bedded hair." Shak.
Bed
Bed (?), v. i. To go to bed; to cohabit.
If he be married, and bed with his wife. Wiseman.
Bedabble
Be*dab*ble (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedabbled (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedabbling (.] To dabble; to sprinkle or wet. Shak.
Bedaff
Be*daff" (?), v. t. To make a daff or fool of. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Bedagat
Bed"a*gat (?), n. The sacred books of the Buddhists in Burmah. Malcom.
Bedaggle
Be*dag"gle (?), v. t. To daggle.
Bedash
Be*dash" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedashed (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedashing.] To wet by dashing or throwing water or other liquid upon;
to bespatter. "Trees bedashed with rain." Shak.
Bedaub
Be*daub" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedaubed (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedaubing.] To daub over; to besmear or soil with anything thick and
dirty.
Bedaub foul designs with a fair varnish. Barrow.
Bedazzle
Be*daz"zle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedazzled (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedazzling ( To dazzle or make dim by a strong light. "Bedazzled with
the sun." Shak.
Bedbug
Bed"bug` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A wingless, bloodsucking, hemipterous
insect (Cimex Lectularius), sometimes infesting houses and especially
beds. See Illustration in Appendix.
Bedchair
Bed"chair` (?), n. A chair with adjustable back, for the sick, to
support them while sitting up in bed.
Bedchamber
Bed"cham`ber (?), n. A chamber for a bed; an apartment form sleeping
in. Shak. Lords of the bedchamber, eight officers of the royal
household, all of noble families, who wait in turn a week each. [Eng.]
-- Ladies of the bedchamber, eight ladies, all titled, holding a
similar official position in the royal household, during the reign of
a queen. [Eng.]
Bedclothes
Bed"clothes` (?), n. pl. Blankets, sheets, coverlets, etc., for a bed.
Shak.
Bedcord
Bed"cord` (?), n. A cord or rope interwoven in a bedstead so as to
support the bed.
Bedded
Bed"ded (?), a. Provided with a bed; as, double-bedded room; placed or
arranged in a bed or beds.
Bedding
Bed"ding (?), n. [AS. bedding, beding. See Bed.]
1. A bed and its furniture; the materials of a bed, whether for man or
beast; bedclothes; litter.
2. (Geol.) The state or position of beds and layers.
Bede
Bede (?), v. t. [See Bid, v. t.] To pray; also, to offer; to proffer.
[Obs.] R. of Gloucester. Chaucer.
Bede
Bede, n. (Mining) A kind of pickax.
Bedeck
Be*deck" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedecked (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedecking.] To deck, ornament, or adorn; to grace.
Bedecked with boughs, flowers, and garlands. Pennant.
Bedeguar, Bedegar
Bed"e*guar, Bed"e*gar (?), n. [F., fr. Per. b\'bed-\'beward, or
b\'bed-\'bewardag, prop., a kind of white thorn or thistle.] A gall
produced on rosebushes, esp. on the sweetbrier or eglantine, by a
puncture from the ovipositor of a gallfly (Rhodites ros\'91). It was
once supposed to have medicinal properties.
Bedehouse
Bede"house` (?),n.Same as Beadhouse.
Bedel, Bedell
Be"del, Be"dell (?),n.Same as Beadle.
Bedelry
Be"del*ry (?), n. Beadleship. [Obs.] Blount.
Beden
Bed"en (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The Abyssinian or Arabian ibex (Capra
Nubiana). It is probably the wild goat of the Bible.
Bedesman
Bedes"man (?), n. Same as Beadsman. [Obs.]
Bedevil
Be*dev"il (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedevilled (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedeviling or Bedevilling.]
1. To throw into utter disorder and confusion, as if by the agency of
evil spirits; to bring under diabolical influence; to torment.
Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew. Sterne.
2. To spoil; to corrupt. Wright.
Bedevilment
Be*dev"il*ment (?), n. The state of being bedeviled; bewildering
confusion; vexatious trouble. [Colloq.]
Bedew
Be*dew" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedewed (p. pr. & vb. n. Bedewing.]
To moisten with dew, or as with dew. "Falling tears his face bedew."
Dryden.
Bedewer
Be*dew"er (?), n. One who, or that which, bedews.
Bedewy
Be*dew"y (?), a. Moist with dew; dewy. [Obs.]
Night with her bedewy wings. A. Brewer.
Bedfellow
Bed"fel`low (?), n. One who lies with another in the same bed; a
person who shares one's couch.
Bedfere Bedphere
Bed"fere` Bed"phere` (?), n. [Bed + AS. fera a companion.] A
bedfellow. [Obs.] Chapman.
Bedgown
Bed"gown` (?), n. A nightgown.
Bedight
Be*dight" (?), v. t. [p. p. Bedight, Bedighted.] To bedeck; to array
or equip; to adorn. [Archaic] Milton.
Bedim
Be*dim" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedimmed (p. pr. & vb. n. Bedimming.]
To make dim; to obscure or darken. Shak.
Bedizen
Be*diz"en (?), v. t. To dress or adorn tawdrily or with false taste.
Remnants of tapestried hangings, . . . and shreds of pictures with
which he had bedizened his tatters. Sir W. Scott.
Bedizenment
Be*diz"en*ment (?), n. That which bedizens; the act of dressing, or
the state of being dressed, tawdrily.
Bedkey
Bed"key` (?), n. An instrument for tightening the parts of a bedstead.
Bedlam
Bed"lam (?), n. [See Bethlehem.]
1. A place appropriated to the confinement and care of the insane; a
madhouse. Abp. Tillotson.
2. An insane person; a lunatic; a madman. [Obs.]
Let's get the bedlam to lead him. Shak.
3. Any place where uproar and confusion prevail.
Bedlam
Bed"lam, a. Belonging to, or fit for, a madhouse. "The bedlam,
brainsick duchess." Shak.
Bedlamite
Bed"lam*ite (?), n. An inhabitant of a madhouse; a madman. "Raving
bedlamites." Beattie.
Bedmaker
Bed"mak`er (?), n. One who makes beds.
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Bed-molding
Bed"-mold`ing Bed"-mould`ing (?), n. (Arch.) The molding of a cornice
immediately below the corona. Oxf. Gloss.
Bedote
Be*dote" (?), v. t. To cause to dote; to deceive. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Bedouin
Bed"ou*in (?), n. [F. b\'82douin, OF. b\'82duin, fr. Ar. bedaw\'c6
rural, living in the desert, fr. badw desert, fr. bad\'be to live in
the desert, to lead a nomadic life.] One of the nomadic Arabs who live
in tents, and are scattered over Arabia, Syria, and northern Africa,
esp. in the deserts. -- Bed"ou*in*ism (, n.
Bedouin
Bed"ou*in, a. Pertaining to the Bedouins; nomad.
Bedpan
Bed"pan` (?), n.
1. A pan for warming beds. Nares.
2. A shallow chamber vessel, so constructed that it can be used by a
sick person in bed.
Bedphere
Bed"phere` (?), n. See Bedfere. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Bedpiece, Bedplate
Bed"piece` (?), Bed"plate` (?), n. (Mach.) The foundation framing or
piece, by which the other parts are supported and held in place; the
bed; -- called also baseplate and soleplate.
Bedpost
Bed"post` (?), n.
1. One of the four standards that support a bedstead or the canopy
over a bedstead.
2. Anciently, a post or pin on each side of the bed to keep the
clothes from falling off. See Bedstaff. Brewer.
Bedquilt
Bed"quilt` (?), n. A quilt for a bed; a coverlet.
Bedrabble
Be*drab"ble (?), v. t. To befoul with rain and mud; to drabble.
Bedraggle
Be*drag"gle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedraggled (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedraggling (.] To draggle; to soil, as garments which, in walking,
are suffered to drag in dust, mud, etc. Swift.
Bedrench
Be*drench" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedrenched (p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedrenching.] To drench; to saturate with moisture; to soak. Shak.
Bedribble
Be*drib"ble (?), v. t. To dribble upon.
Bedrid, Bedridden
Bed"rid` (?), Bed"rid`den (?), a. [OE. bedrede, AS. bedreda, bedrida;
from bed, bedd, a bed or couch + ridda a rider; cf. OHG. pettiriso, G.
bettrise. See Bed, n., and Ride, v. i. ] Confined to the bed by
sickness or infirmity. "Her decrepit, sick, and bedrid father." Shak.
"The estate of a bedridden old gentleman." Macaulay.
Bedright Bedrite
Bed"right` Bed"rite` (?), n. [Bed + right, rite.] The duty or
privilege of the marriage bed. Shak.
Bedrizzle
Be*driz"zle (?), v. t. To drizzle upon.
Bed rock
Bed" rock" (?). (Mining) The solid rock underlying superficial
formations. Also Fig.
Bedroom
Bed"room (?), n.
1. A room or apartment intended or used for a bed; a lodging room.
2. Room in a bed.
NOTE: [In this sense preferably bed room.]
Then by your side no bed room me deny. Shak.
Bedrop
Be*drop" (?), v. t. To sprinkle, as with drops.
The yellow carp, in scales bedropped with gold. Pope.
Bedrug
Be*drug" (?), v. t. To drug abundantly or excessively.
Bed screw
Bed" screw` (?).
1. (Naut.) A form of jack screw for lifting large bodies, and
assisting in launching.
2. A long screw formerly used to fasten a bedpost to one of the
adjacent side pieces.
Bedside
Bed"side` (?), n. The side of a bed.
Bedsite
Bed"site` (?), n. A recess in a room for a bed.
Of the three bedrooms, two have fireplaces, and all are of fair
size, with windows and bedsite well placed. Quart. Rev.
Bedsore
Bed"sore` (?), n. (Med.) A sore on the back or hips caused by lying
for a long time in bed.
Bedspread
Bed"spread` (?), n. A bedquilt; a counterpane; a coverlet. [U. S.]
Bedstaff
Bed"staff` (?), n.; pl. Bedstaves (. "A wooden pin stuck anciently on
the sides of the bedstead, to hold the clothes from slipping on either
side." Johnson.
Hostess, accommodate us with a bedstaff. B. Jonson.
Say there is no virtue in cudgels and bedstaves. Brome.
Bedstead
Bed"stead (?), n. [Bed + stead a frame.] A framework for supporting a
bed.
Bed steps
Bed" steps` (?). Steps for mounting a bed of unusual height.
Bedstock
Bed"stock (?), n. The front or the back part of the frame of a
bedstead. [Obs. or Dial. Eng.]
Bedstraw
Bed"straw` (?), n.
1. Straw put into a bed. Bacon.
2. (Bot.) A genus of slender herbs, usually with square stems, whorled
leaves, and small white flowers.
Our Lady's bedstraw, which has yellow flowers, is Galium verum. --
White bedstraw is G. mollugo.
Bedswerver
Bed"swerv`er (?), n. One who swerves from and is unfaithful to the
marriage vow. [Poetic] Shak.
Bedtick
Bed"tick` (?), n. A tick or bag made of cloth, used for inclosing the
materials of a bed.
Bedtime
Bed"time` (?), n. The time to go to bed. Shak.
Beduck
Be*duck" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beducked (.] To duck; to put the
head under water; to immerse. "Deep himself beducked." Spenser.
Beduin
Bed"uin (?), n. See Bedouin.
Bedung
Be*dung" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedunged (#).] To cover with dung,
as for manuring; to bedaub or defile, literally or figuratively. Bp.
Hall.
Bedust
Be*dust" (?), v. t. To sprinkle, soil, or cover with dust. Sherwood.
Bedward
Bed"ward (?), adv. Towards bed.
Bedwarf
Be*dwarf" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedwarfed (#).] To make a dwarf of;
to stunt or hinder the growth of; to dwarf. Donne.
Bedye
Be*dye" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedyed (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Bedyeing.] To dye or stain.
Briton fields with Sarazin blood bedyed. Spenser.
Bee
Bee (?), p. p. of Be; -- used for been. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bee
Bee (?), n. [AS. be\'a2; akin to D. bij and bije, Icel. b, Sw. & Dan.
bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh. Ir. beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha.
&root;97.]
1. (Zo\'94l.) An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apid\'91
(the honeybees), or family Andrenid\'91 (the solitary bees.) See
Honeybee.
NOTE: &hand; There are many genera and species. The common honeybee
(Apis mellifica) lives in swarms, each of which has its own queen,
its males or drones, and its very numerous workers, which are
barren females. Besides the A. mellifica there are other species
and varieties of honeybees, as the A. ligustica of Spain and Italy;
the A. Indica of India; the A. fasciata of Egypt. The bumblebee is
a species of Bombus. The tropical honeybees belong mostly to
Melipoma and Trigona.
2. A neighborly gathering of people who engage in united labor for the
benefit of an individual or family; as, a quilting bee; a husking bee;
a raising bee. [U. S.]
The cellar . . . was dug by a bee in a single day. S. G. Goodrich.
3. pl. [Prob. fr. AS. be\'a0h ring, fr. b to bend. See 1st Bow.]
(Naut.) Pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to
reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks.
Bee beetle (Zo\'94l.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in
beehives. -- Bee bird (Zo\'94l.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as
the European flycatcher, and the American kingbird. -- Bee flower
(Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus Ophrys (O. apifera), whose
flowers have some resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects. --
Bee fly (Zo\'94l.), a two winged fly of the family Bombyliid\'91. Some
species, in the larval state, are parasitic upon bees. -- Bee garden,
a garden or inclosure to set beehives in ; an apiary. Mortimer. -- Bee
glue, a soft, unctuous matter, with which bees cement the combs to the
hives, and close up the cells; -- called also propolis. -- Bee hawk
(Zo\'94l.), the honey buzzard. -- Bee killer (Zo\'94l.), a large
two-winged fly of the family Asilid\'91 (esp. Trupanea apivora) which
feeds upon the honeybee. See Robber fly. -- Bee louse (Zo\'94l.), a
minute, wingless, dipterous insect (Braula c\'91ca) parasitic on hive
bees. -- Bee martin (Zo\'94l.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis)
which occasionally feeds on bees. -- Bee moth (Zo\'94l.), a moth
(Galleria cereana) whose larv\'91 feed on honeycomb, occasioning great
damage in beehives. -- Bee wolf (Zo\'94l.), the larva of the bee
beetle. See Illust. of Bee beetle. -- To have a bee in the head OR in
the bonnet. (a) To be choleric. [Obs.] (b) To be restless or uneasy.
B. Jonson. (c) To be full of fancies; to be a little crazy. "She's
whiles crack-brained, and has a bee in her head." Sir W. Scott.
Beebread
Bee"bread` (?), n. A brown, bitter substance found in some of the
cells of honeycomb. It is made chiefly from the pollen of flowers,
which is collected by bees as food for their young.
Beech
Beech (?), n.; pl. Beeches (#). [OE. beche, AS. b; akin to D. beuk,
OHG. buocha, G. buche, Icel. beyki, Dan. b\'94g, Sw. bok, Russ. buk,
L. fagus, Gr. oak, to eat, Skr. bhaksh; the tree being named
originally from the esculent fruit. See Book, and cf. 7th Buck,
Buckwheat.] (Bot.) A tree of the genus Fagus.
NOTE: &hand; It gr ows to a large size, having a smooth bark and
thick foliage, and bears an edible triangular nut, of which swine
are fond. The Fagus sylvatica is the European species, and the F.
ferruginea that of America.
Beech drops (Bot.), a parasitic plant which grows on the roots of
beeches (Epiphegus Americana). -- Beech marten (Zo\'94l.), the stone
marten of Europe (Mustela foina). -- Beech mast, the nuts of the
beech, esp. as they lie under the trees, in autumn. -- Beech oil, oil
expressed from the mast or nuts of the beech tree. -- Cooper beech, a
variety of the European beech with copper-colored, shining leaves.
Beechen
Beech"en (?), a. [AS. b.] Consisting, or made, of the wood or bark of
the beech; belonging to the beech. "Plain beechen vessels." Dryden.
Beechnut
Beech"nut` (?), n. The nut of the beech tree.
Beech tree
Beech" tree` (?). The beech.
Beechy
Beech"y (?), a. Of or relating to beeches.
Bee-eater
Bee"-eat`er (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) (a) A bird of the genus Merops, that
feeds on bees. The European species (M. apiaster) is remarkable for
its brilliant colors. (b) An African bird of the genus Rhinopomastes.
Beef
Beef (?), n. [OE. boef, befe, beef, OF. boef, buef, F. b, fr. L. bos,
bovis, ox; akin to Gr. , Skr. g cow, and E. cow. See 2d Cow.]
1. An animal of the genus Bos, especially the common species, B.
taurus, including the bull, cow, and ox, in their full grown state;
esp., an ox or cow fattened for food.
NOTE: [In this, which is the original sense, the word has a plural,
beeves (.]
A herd of beeves, fair oxen and fair kine. Milton.
2. The flesh of an ox, or cow, or of any adult bovine animal, when
slaughtered for food.
NOTE: [In this sense, the word has no plural.]
"Great meals of beef." Shak.
3. Applied colloquially to human flesh.
Beef
Beef (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, beef. Beef tea, essence
of beef, or strong beef broth.
Beefeater
Beef"eat`er (?), n. [Beef + eater; prob. one who eats another's beef,
as his servant. Cf. AS. hl\'bef servant, properly a loaf eater.]
1. One who eats beef; hence, a large, fleshy person.
2. One of the yeomen of the guard, in England.
3. (Zo\'94l.) An African bird of the genus Buphaga, which feeds on the
larv\'91 of botflies hatched under the skin of oxen, antelopes, etc.
Two species are known.
Beefsteak
Beef"steak` (?), n. A steak of beef; a slice of beef broiled or
suitable for broiling.
Beef-witted
Beef"-wit`ted (?), n. Stupid; dull. Shak.
Beefwood
Beef"wood` (?), n. An Australian tree (Casuarina), and its red wood,
used for cabinetwork; also, the trees Stenocarpus salignus of New
South Wales, and Banksia compar of Queensland.
Beefy
Beef"y, a. Having much beef; of the nature of beef; resembling beef;
fleshy.
Beehive
Bee"hive` (?), n. A hive for a swarm of bees. Also used figuratively.
NOTE: &hand; A common and typical form of beehive was a domeshaped
inverted basket, whence certain ancient Irish and Scotch
architectural remains are called beehive houses.
Beehouse
Bee"house` (?), n. A house for bees; an apiary.
Bee larkspur
Bee" lark`spur (?). (Bot.) See Larkspur.
Beeld
Beeld (?), n. Same as Beild. Fairfax.
Bee line
Bee" line` (?). The shortest line from one place to another, like that
of a bee to its hive when loaded with honey; an air line. "A bee line
for the brig." Kane.
Beelzebub
Be*el"ze*bub (?), n. The title of a heathen deity to whom the Jews
ascribed the sovereignty of the evil spirits; hence, the Devil or a
devil. See Baal.
Beem
Beem (?), n. [AS. b, b.] A trumpet. [Obs.]
Beemaster
Bee"mas`ter (?), n. One who keeps bees.
Been
Been (?). [OE. beon, ben, bin, p. p. of been, beon, to be. See Be.]
The past participle of Be. In old authors it is also the pr. tense
plural of Be. See 1st Bee.
Assembled been a senate grave and stout. Fairfax.
Beer
Beer (?), n. [OE. beor, ber, AS. be\'a2r; akin to Fries. biar, Icel.
bj, OHG. bior, D. & G. bier, and possibly E. brew. \'fb93, See Brew.]
1. A fermented liquor made from any malted grain, but commonly from
barley malt, with hops or some other substance to impart a bitter
flavor.
NOTE: &hand; Be er has different names, as small beer, ale, porter,
brown stout, lager beer, according to its strength, or other
qualities. See Ale.
2. A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants,
as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc.
Small beer, weak beer; (fig.) insignificant matters. "To suckle fools,
and chronicle small beer." Shak.
Beeregar
Beer"e*gar (?), n. [Beer + eager.] Sour beer. [Obs.]
Beerhouse
Beer"house` (?), n. A house where malt liquors are sold; an alehouse.
Beeriness
Beer"i*ness (?), n. Beery condition.
Beery
Beer"y (?), a. Of or resembling beer; affected by beer; maudlin.
Beestings
Beest"ings (?), n. Same as Biestings.
Beeswax
Bees"wax` (?), n. The wax secreted by bees, and of which their cells
are constructed.
Beeswing
Bees"wing` (?), n. The second crust formed in port and some other
wines after long keeping. It consists of pure, shining scales of
tartar, supposed to resemble the wing of a bee.
Beet
Beet (?), n. [AS. bete, from L. beta.]
1. (Bot.) A biennial plant of the genus Beta, which produces an edible
root the first year and seed the second year.
2. The root of plants of the genus Beta, different species and
varieties of which are used for the table, for feeding stock, or in
making sugar.
NOTE: &hand; Th ere ar e ma ny va rieties of the common beet (Beta
vulgaris). The Old "white beet", cultivated for its edible
leafstalks, is a distinct species (Beta Cicla).
Beete, Bete
Beete, Bete (?), v. t. [AS. b to mend. See Better.]
1. To mend; to repair. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. To renew or enkindle (a fire). [Obs.] Chaucer.
Beetle
Bee"tle (?), n. [OE. betel, AS. b\'c6tl, b, mallet, hammer, fr.
be\'a0tan to beat. See Beat, v. t.]
1. A heavy mallet, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, etc.
2. A machine in which fabrics are subjected to a hammering process
while passing over rollers, as in cotton mills; -- called also
beetling machine. Knight.
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Beetle
Bee"tle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beetled (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Beetling.]
1. To beat with a heavy mallet.
2. To finish by subjecting to a hammering process in a beetle or
beetling machine; as, to beetle cotton goods.
Beetle
Bee"tle, n. [OE. bityl, bittle, AS. b, fr. b to bite. See Bite, v. t.]
Any insect of the order Coleoptera, having four wings, the outer pair
being stiff cases for covering the others when they are folded up. See
Coleoptera. Beetle mite (Zo\'94l.), one of many species of mites, of
the family Oribatid\'91, parasitic on beetles. -- Black beetle, the
common large black cockroach (Blatta orientalis).
Beetle
Bee"tle, v. i. [See Beetlebrowed.] To extend over and beyond the base
or support; to overhang; to jut.
To the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his base into
the sea. Shak.
Each beetling rampart, and each tower sublime. Wordsworth.
Beetle brow
Bee"tle brow` (?). An overhanging brow.
Beetle-browed
Bee"tle-browed` (?), a. [OE. bitelbrowed; cf. OE. bitel, adj., sharp,
projecting, n., a beetle. See Beetle an insect.] Having prominent,
overhanging brows; hence, lowering or sullen.
NOTE: &hand; Th e earlier meaning was, "Having bushy or overhanging
eyebrows."
Beetlehead
Bee"tle*head` (?), n. [Beetle a mallet + head.]
1. A stupid fellow; a blockhead. Sir W. Scott.
2. (Zo\'94l.) The black-bellied plover, or bullhead (Squatarola
helvetica). See Plover.
Beetle-headed
Bee"tle-head`ed (?), a. Dull; stupid. Shak.
Beetlestock
Bee"tle*stock` (?), n. The handle of a beetle.
Beet radish
Beet" rad`ish (?). Same as Beetrave.
Beetrave
Beet"rave` (?), n. [F. betterave; bette beet + rave radish.] The
common beet (Beta vulgaris).
Beeve
Beeve (?), n. [Formed from beeves, pl. of beef.] A beef; a beef
creature.
They would knock down the first beeve they met with. W. Irving.
Beeves
Beeves (?), n.; plural of Beef, the animal.
Befall
Be*fall" (?), v. t. [imp. Befell (?); p. p. Befallen (?); p. pr. & vb.
n. Befalling.] [AS. befeallan; pref. be- + feallan to fall.] To happen
to.
I beseech your grace that I may know The worst that may befall me.
Shak.
Befall
Be*fall", v. i. To come to pass; to happen.
I have revealed . . . the discord which befell. Milton.
Befit
Be*fit" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Befitting.]
To be suitable to; to suit; to become.
That name best befits thee. Milton.
Befitting
Be*fit"ting, a. Suitable; proper; becoming; fitting.
Befittingly
Be*fit"ting*ly, adv. In a befitting manner; suitably.
Beflatter
Be*flat"ter (?), v. t. To flatter excessively.
Beflower
Be*flow"er (?), v. t. To besprinkle or scatter over with, or as with,
flowers. Hobbes.
Befog
Be*fog" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befogged (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Befogging (#).]
1. To involve in a fog; -- mostly as a participle or part. adj.
2. Hence: To confuse; to mystify.
Befool
Be*fool" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befooled (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Befooling.] [OE. befolen; pref. be- + fol fool.]
1. To fool; to delude or lead into error; to infatuate; to deceive.
This story . . . contrived to befool credulous men. Fuller.
2. To cause to behave like a fool; to make foolish. "Some befooling
drug." G. Eliot.
Before
Be*fore" (?), prep. [OE. beforen, biforen, before, AS. beforan; pref.
be- + foran, fore, before. See Be-, and Fore.]
1. In front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand before the
fire; before the house.
His angel, who shall go Before them in a cloud and pillar of fire.
Milton.
2. Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior to the
time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of purpose; in order
that.
Before Abraham was, I am. John viii. 58.
Before this treatise can become of use, two points are necessary.
Swift.
NOTE: &hand; Fo rmerly before, in this sense, was followed by that.
"Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee."
John i. 48.
3. An advance of; farther onward, in place or time.
The golden age . . . is before us. Carlyle.
4. Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather
than.
He that cometh after me is preferred before me. John i. 15.
The eldest son is before the younger in succession. Johnson.
5. In presence or sight of; face to face with; facing.
Abraham bowed down himself before the people. Gen. xxiii. 12.
Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? Micah vi. 6.
6. Under the cognizance or jurisdiction of.
If a suit be begun before an archdeacon. Ayliffe.
7. Open for; free of access to; in the power of.
The world was all before them where to choose. Milton.
Before the mast (Naut.), as a common sailor, -- because the sailors
live in the forecastle, forward of the foremast. -- Before the wind
(Naut.), in the direction of the wind and by its impulse; having the
wind aft.
Before
Be*fore", adv.
1. On the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the front; --
opposed to in the rear.
The battle was before and behind. 2 Chron. xiii. 14.
2. In advance. "I come before to tell you." Shak.
3. In time past; previously; already.
You tell me, mother, what I knew before. Dryden.
4. Earlier; sooner than; until then.
When the butt is out, we will drink water; not a drop before. Shak.
NOTE: &hand; Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as,
before-cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid.
Beforehand
Be*fore"hand` (?), adv. [Before + hand.]
1. In a state of anticipation ore preoccupation; in advance; -- often
followed by with.
Agricola . . . resolves to be beforehand with the danger. Milton.
The last cited author has been beforehand with me. Addison.
2. By way of preparation, or preliminary; previously; aforetime.
They may be taught beforehand the skill of speaking. Hooker.
Beforehand
Be*fore"hand`, a. In comfortable circumstances as regards property;
forehanded.
Rich and much beforehand. Bacon.
Beforetime
Be*fore"time` (?), adv. Formerly; aforetime.
[They] dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. 2 Kings xiii. 5.
Befortune
Be*for"tune (?), v. t. To befall. [Poetic]
I wish all good befortune you. Shak.
Befoul
Be*foul" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befouled (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Befouling.] [Cf. AS. bef; pref. be- + f to foul. See Foul, a.]
1. To make foul; to soil.
2. To entangle or run against so as to impede motion.
Befriend
Be*friend" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befriended; p. pr. & vb. n.
Befriending.] To act as a friend to; to favor; to aid, benefit, or
countenance.
By the darkness befriended. Longfellow.
Befriendment
Be*friend"ment (?), n. Act of befriending. [R.]
Befrill
Be*frill" (?), v. t. To furnish or deck with a frill.
Befringe
Be*fringe" (?), v. t. To furnish with a fringe; to form a fringe upon;
to adorn as with fringe. Fuller.
Befuddle
Be*fud"dle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befuddled (#)] To becloud and
confuse, as with liquor.
Beg
Beg (?), n. [Turk. beg, pronounced bay. Cf. Bey, Begum.] A title of
honor in Turkey and in some other parts of the East; a bey.
Beg
Beg (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begged (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Begging.]
[OE. beggen, perh. fr. AS. bedecian (akin to Goth. bedagwa beggar),
biddan to ask. (Cf. Bid, v. t.); or cf. beghard, beguin.]
1. To ask earnestly for; to entreat or supplicate for; to beseech.
I do beg your good will in this case. Shak.
[Joseph] begged the body of Jesus. Matt. xxvii. 58.
NOTE: Sometimes im plying de ferential an d respectful, rather than
earnest, asking; as, I beg your pardon; I beg leave to disagree
with you.
2. To ask for as a charity, esp. to ask for habitually or from house
to house.
Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread. Ps. xxxvii. 25.
3. To make petition to; to entreat; as, to beg a person to grant a
favor.
4. To take for granted; to assume without proof.
5. (Old Law) To ask to be appointed guardian for, or to ask to have a
guardian appointed for.
Else some will beg thee, in the court of wards. Harrington.
Hence: To beg (one) for a fool, to take him for a fool. I beg to, is
an elliptical expression for I beg leave to; as, I beg to inform you.
-- To bag the question, to assume that which was to be proved in a
discussion, instead of adducing the proof or sustaining the point by
argument. -- To go a-begging, a figurative phrase to express the
absence of demand for something which elsewhere brings a price; as,
grapes are so plentiful there that they go a-begging. Syn. -- To Beg,
Ask, Request. To ask (not in the sense of inquiring) is the generic
term which embraces all these words. To request is only a polite mode
of asking. To beg, in its original sense, was to ask with earnestness,
and implied submission, or at least deference. At present, however, in
polite life, beg has dropped its original meaning, and has taken the
place of both ask and request, on the ground of its expressing more of
deference and respect. Thus, we beg a person's acceptance of a
present; we beg him to favor us with his company; a tradesman begs to
announce the arrival of new goods, etc. Crabb remarks that, according
to present usage, "we can never talk of asking a person's acceptance
of a thing, or of asking him to do us a favor." This can be more truly
said of usage in England than in America.
Beg
Beg, v. i. To ask alms or charity, especially to ask habitually by the
wayside or from house to house; to live by asking alms.
I can not dig; to beg I am ashamed. Luke xvi. 3.
Bega
Be"ga (?), n. See Bigha.
Begem
Be*gem" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begemmed (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Begemming.] To adorn with gems, or as with gems.
Begemmed with dewdrops. Sir W. Scott.
Those lonely realms bright garden isles begem. Shelley.
Beget
Be*get" (?), v. t. [imp. Begot (?), (Archaic) Begat (; p. p. Begot,
Begotten (; p. pr. & vb. n. Begetting.] [OE. bigiten, bigeten, to get,
beget, AS. begitan to get; pref. be- + gitan. See Get, v. t. ]
1. To procreate, as a father or sire; to generate; -- commonly said of
the father.
Yet they a beauteous offspring shall beget. Milton.
2. To get (with child.) [Obs.] Shak.
3. To produce as an effect; to cause to exist.
Love is begot by fancy. Granville.
Begetter
Be*get"ter (?), n. One who begets; a father.
Beggable
Beg"ga*ble (?), a. Capable of being begged.
Beggar
Beg"gar (?), n. [OE. beggere, fr. beg.]
1. One who begs; one who asks or entreats earnestly, or with humility;
a petitioner.
2. One who makes it his business to ask alms.
3. One who is dependent upon others for support; -- a contemptuous or
sarcastic use.
4. One who assumes in argument what he does not prove. Abp. Tillotson.
Beggar
Beg"gar, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beggared (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Beggaring.]
1. To reduce to beggary; to impoverish; as, he had beggared himself.
Milton.
2. To cause to seem very poor and inadequate.
It beggared all description. Shak.
Beggarhood
Beg"gar*hood (?), n. The condition of being a beggar; also, the class
of beggars.
Beggarism
Beg"gar*ism (?), n. Beggary. [R.]
Beggarliness
Beg"gar*li*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being beggarly;
meanness.
Beggarly
Beg"gar*ly (?), a.
1. In the condition of, or like, a beggar; suitable for a beggar;
extremely indigent; poverty-stricken; mean; poor; contemptible. "A
bankrupt, beggarly fellow." South. "A beggarly fellowship." Swift.
"Beggarly elements." Gal. iv. 9.
2. Produced or occasioned by beggary. [Obs.]
Beggarly sins, that is, those sins which idleness and beggary
usually betray men to; such as lying, flattery, stealing, and
dissimulation. Jer. Taylor.
Beggarly
Beg"gar*ly, adv. In an indigent, mean, or despicable manner; in the
manner of a beggar.
Beggar's lice
Beg"gar's lice` (?). (Bot.) The prickly fruit or seed of certain
plants (as some species of Echinospermum and Cynoglossum) which cling
to the clothing of those who brush by them.
Beggar's ticks
Beg"gar's ticks` (?). The bur marigold (Bidens) and its achenes, which
are armed with barbed awns, and adhere to clothing and fleeces with
unpleasant tenacity.
Beggary
Beg"gar*y (?), n. [OE. beggerie. See Beggar, n.]
1. The act of begging; the state of being a beggar; mendicancy;
extreme poverty.
2. Beggarly appearance. [R.]
The freedom and the beggary of the old studio. Thackeray.
Syn. -- Indigence; want; penury; mendicancy.
Beggary
Beg"gar*y, a. Beggarly. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Beggestere
Beg"ge*stere (?), n. [Beg + -ster.] A beggar. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Beghard Beguard
Be*ghard" Be*guard" (?), n. [F. b\'82gard, b\'82guard; cf. G. beghard,
LL. Beghardus, Begihardus, Begardus. Prob. from the root of beguine +
-ard or -hard. See Beguine.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of an association of
religious laymen living in imitation of the Beguines. They arose in
the thirteenth century, were afterward subjected to much persecution,
and were suppressed by Innocent X. in 1650. Called also Beguins.
Begild
Be*gild" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begilded or Begilt (#).] To gild. B.
Jonson.
Begin
Be*gin" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Began (#), Begun (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Beginning (#).] [AS. beginnan (akin to OS. biginnan, D. & G. beginnen,
OHG. biginnan, Goth., du-ginnan, Sw. begynna, Dan. begynde); pref. be-
+ an assumed ginnan. &root;31. See Gin to begin.]
1. To have or commence an independent or first existence; to take
rise; to commence.
Vast chain of being! which from God began. Pope.
2. To do the first act or the first part of an action; to enter upon
or commence something new, as a new form or state of being, or course
of action; to take the first step; to start. "Tears began to flow."
Dryden.
When I begin, I will also make an end. 1 Sam. iii. 12.
Begin
Be*gin", v. t.
1. To enter on; to commence.
Ye nymphs of Solyma ! begin the song. Pope.
2. To trace or lay the foundation of; to make or place a beginning of.
The apostle begins our knowledge in the creatures, which leads us
to the knowledge of God. Locke.
Syn. -- To commence; originate; set about; start.
Begin
Be*gin", n. Beginning. [Poetic & Obs.] Spenser.
Beginner
Be*gin"ner (?), n. One who begins or originates anything.
Specifically: A young or inexperienced practitioner or student; a
tyro.
A sermon of a new beginner. Swift.
Beginning
Be*gin"ning (?), n.
1. The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an
action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course;
the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen. i. 1.
2. That which begins or originates something; the first cause; origin;
source.
I am . . . the beginning and the ending. Rev. i. 8.
3. That which is begun; a rudiment or element.
Mighty things from small beginnings grow. Dryden.
4. Enterprise. "To hinder our beginnings." Shak. Syn. -- Inception;
prelude; opening; threshold; origin; outset; foundation.
Begird
Be*gird" (?), v. t. [imp. Begirt (?), Begirded; p. p. Begirt; p. pr. &
vb. n. Begirding.] [AS. begyrdan (akin to Goth. bigairdan); pref. be-
+ gyrdan to gird.]
1. To bind with a band or girdle; to gird.
2. To surround as with a band; to encompass.
Begirdle
Be*gir"dle (?), v. t. To surround as with a girdle.
Begirt
Be*girt" (?), v. t. To encompass; to begird. Milton.
Beglerbeg
Beg"ler*beg` (?), n. [Turk. beglerbeg, fr. beg, pl. begler. See Beg,
n.] The governor of a province of the Ottoman empire, next in dignity
to the grand vizier.
Begnaw
Be*gnaw" (?), v. t. [p. p. Begnawed (?), (R.) Begnawn (.] [AS.
begnagan; pref. be- + gnagan to gnaw.] To gnaw; to eat away; to
corrode.
The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul. Shak.
Begod
Be*god" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begodded.] To exalt to the dignity of
a god; to deify. [Obs.] "Begodded saints." South.
Begone
Be*gone" (?), interj. [Be, v. i. + gone, p. p.] Go away; depart; get
you gone.
Begone
Be*gone", p. p. [OE. begon, AS. big\'ben; pref. be- + g\'ben to go.]
Surrounded; furnished; beset; environed (as in woe-begone). [Obs.]
Gower. Chaucer.
Begonia
Be*go"ni*a (?), n. [From Michel Begon, a promoter of botany.] (Bot.) A
genus of plants, mostly of tropical America, many species of which are
grown as ornamental plants. The leaves are curiously one-sided, and
often exhibit brilliant colors.
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Begore
Be*gore" (?), v. t. To besmear with gore.
Begot
Be*got" (?), imp. & p. p. of Beget.
Begotten
Be*got"ten (?), p. p. of Beget.
Begrave
Be*grave" (?), v. t. [Pref. be- + grave; akin to G. begraben, Goth.
bigraban to dig a ditch around.] To bury; also, to engrave. [Obs.]
Gower.
Begrease
Be*grease" (?), v. t. To soil or daub with grease or other oily
matter.
Begrime
Be*grime" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begrimed (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Begriming.] To soil with grime or dirt deeply impressed or rubbed in.
Books falling to pieces and begrimed with dust. Macaulay.
Begrimer
Be*grim"er (?), n. One who, or that which, begrimes.
Begrudge
Be*grudge" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begrudged (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Begrudging.] To grudge; to envy the possession of.
Beguile
Be*guile" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beguiled (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Beguiling.]
1. To delude by guile, artifice, or craft; to deceive or impose on, as
by a false statement; to lure.
The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Gen. iii. 13.
2. To elude, or evade by craft; to foil. [Obs.]
When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage. Shak.
3. To cause the time of to pass without notice; to relieve the tedium
or weariness of; to while away; to divert.
Ballads . . . to beguile his incessant wayfaring. W. Irving.
Syn. -- To delude; deceive; cheat; insnare; mislead; amuse; divert;
entertain.
Beguilement
Be*guile"ment (?), n. The act of beguiling, or the state of being
beguiled.
Beguiler
Be*guil"er (?), n. One who, or that which, beguiles.
Beguiling
Be*guil"ing, a. Alluring by guile; deluding; misleading; diverting. --
Be*guil"ing*ly, adv.
Beguin
Be`guin" (?), n. [F.] See Beghard.
Beguinage
Be`gui`nage" (?), n. [F.] A collection of small houses surrounded by a
wall and occupied by a community of Beguines.
Beguine
Be`guine" (?), n. [F. b\'82guine; LL. beguina, beghina; fr. Lambert le
B\'8ague (the Stammerer) the founder of the order. (Du Cange.)] A
woman belonging to one of the religious and charitable associations or
communities in the Netherlands, and elsewhere, whose members live in
beguinages and are not bound by perpetual vows.
Begum
Be"gum (?), n. [Per., fr. Turk., perh. properly queen mother, fr.
Turk. beg (see Beg, n.) + Ar. umm mother.] In the East Indies, a
princess or lady of high rank. Malcom.
Begun
Be*gun" (?), p. p. of Begin.
Behalf
Be*half" (?), n. [OE. on-behalve in the name of, bihalven by the side
of, fr. AS. healf half, also side, part: akin to G. halb half, halber
on account of. See Be-, and Half, n.] Advantage; favor; stead;
benefit; interest; profit; support; defense; vindication.
In behalf of his mistress's beauty. Sir P. Sidney.
Against whom he had contracted some prejudice in behalf of his
nation. Clarendon.
In behalf of, in the interest of. -- On behalf of, on account of; on
the part of.
Behappen
Be*hap"pen (?), v. t. To happen to. [Obs.]
Behave
Be*have" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Behaved (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Behaving.] [AS. behabban to surround, restrain, detain (akin to G.
gehaben (obs.) to have, sich gehaben to behave or carry one's self);
pref. be- + habban to have. See Have, v. t. ]
1. To manage or govern in point of behavior; to discipline; to handle;
to restrain. [Obs.]
He did behave his anger ere 't was spent. Shak.
2. To carry; to conduct; to comport; to manage; to bear; -- used
reflexively.
Those that behaved themselves manfully. 2 Macc. ii. 21.
Behave
Be*have", v. i. To act; to conduct; to bear or carry one's self; as,
to behave well or ill.
NOTE: &hand; This verb is often used colloquially without an adverb
of manner; as, if he does not behave, he will be punished. It is
also often applied to inanimate objects; as, the ship behaved
splendidly.
Behavior
Be*hav"ior (?), n. Manner of behaving, whether good or bad; mode of
conducting one's self; conduct; deportment; carriage; -- used also of
inanimate objects; as, the behavior of a ship in a storm; the behavior
of the magnetic needle.
A gentleman that is very singular in his behavior. Steele.
To be upon one's good behavior, To be put upon one's good behavior, to
be in a state of trial, in which something important depends on
propriety of conduct. -- During good behavior, while (or so long as)
one conducts one's self with integrity and fidelity or with propriety.
Syn. -- Bearing; demeanor; manner. -- Behavior, Conduct. Behavior is
the mode in which we have or bear ourselves in the presence of others
or toward them; conduct is the mode of our carrying ourselves forward
in the concerns of life. Behavior respects our manner of acting in
particular cases; conduct refers to the general tenor of our actions.
We may say of soldiers, that their conduct had been praiseworthy
during the whole campaign, and their behavior admirable in every
instance when they met the enemy.
Behead
Be*head" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beheaded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Beheading.] [OE. bihefden, AS. behe\'a0fdian; pref. be- + he\'a0fod
head. See Head.] To sever the head from; to take off the head of.
Beheadal
Be*head"al (?),n.Beheading. [Modern]
Beheld
Be*held" (?), imp. & p. p. of Behold.
Behemoth
Be"he*moth (?), n. [Heb. behem, fr. Egyptian P-ehe-maut hippopotamus.]
An animal, probably the hippopotamus, described in Job xl. 15-24.
Behen, Behn
Be"hen (?), Behn (?), n. [Per. & Ar. bahman, behmen, an herb, whose
leaves resemble ears of corn, saffron.] (Bot.) (a) The Centaurea
behen, or saw-leaved centaury. (b) The Cucubalus behen, or bladder
campion, now called Silene inflata. (c) The Statice limonium, or sea
lavender.
Behest
Be*hest" (?), n. [OE. biheste promise, command, AS. beh promise; pref.
be- + h command. See Hest, Hight.]
1. That which is willed or ordered; a command; a mandate; an
injunction.
To do his master's high behest. Sir W. Scott.
2. A vow; a promise. [Obs.]
The time is come that I should send it her, if I keep the behest
that I have made. Paston.
Behest
Be*hest", v. t. To vow. [Obs.] Paston.
Behete
Be*hete" (?), v. t. See Behight. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Behight
Be*hight" (?), v. t. [imp. Behight; p. p. Behight, Behoten.] [OE.
bihaten, AS. beh\'betan to vow, promise; pref. be- + h\'betan to call,
command. See Hight, v.] [Obs. in all its senses.]
1. To promise; to vow.
Behight by vow unto the chaste Minerve. Surrey.
2. To give in trust; to commit; to intrust.
The keys are to thy hand behight. Spenser.
3. To adjudge; to assign by authority.
The second was to Triamond behight. Spenser.
4. To mean, or intend.
More than heart behighteth. Mir. for Mag.
5. To consider or esteem to be; to declare to be.
All the lookers-on him dead behight. Spenser.
6. To call; to name; to address.
Whom . . . he knew and thus behight. Spenser.
7. To command; to order.
He behight those gates to be unbarred. Spenser.
Behight
Be*hight", n. A vow; a promise. [Obs.] Surrey.
Behind
Be*hind" (?), prep. [AS. behindan; pref. be- + hindan. See Hind, a.]
1. On the side opposite the front or nearest part; on the back side
of; at the back of; on the other side of; as, behind a door; behind a
hill.
A tall Brabanter, behind whom I stood. Bp. Hall.
2. Left after the departure of, whether this be by removing to a
distance or by death.
A small part of what he left behind him. Pope.
3. Left a distance by, in progress of improvement Hence: Inferior to
in dignity, rank, knowledge, or excellence, or in any achievement.
I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. 2 Cor. xi. 5.
Behind
Be*hind", adv.
1. At the back part; in the rear. "I shall not lag behind." Milton.
2. Toward the back part or rear; backward; as, to look behind.
3. Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of
sight; remaining.
We can not be sure that there is no evidence behind. Locke.
4. Backward in time or order of succession; past.
Forgetting those things which are behind. Phil. ii. 13.
5. After the departure of another; as, to stay behind.
Leave not a rack behind. Shak.
Behind
Be*hind", n. The backside; the rump. [Low]
Behindhand
Be*hind"hand` (?), adv. & a. [Behind + hand.]
1. In arrears financially; in a state where expenditures have exceeded
the receipt of funds.
2. In a state of backwardness, in respect to what is seasonable or
appropriate, or as to what should have been accomplished; not equally
forward with some other person or thing; dilatory; backward; late;
tardy; as, behindhand in studies or in work.
In this also [dress] the country are very much behindhand. Addison.
Behither
Be*hith"er (?), prep. On this side of. [Obs.]
Two miles behither Clifden. Evelyn.
Behold
Be*hold" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beheld ( (p. p. formerly Beholden (,
now used only as a p. a.); p. pr. & vb. n. Beholding.] [OE. bihalden,
biholden, AS. behealdan to hold, have in sight; pref. be- + healdan to
hold, keep; akin to G. behalten to hold, keep. See Hold.] To have in
sight; to see clearly; to look at; to regard with the eyes.
When he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. Num. xxi. 9.
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John. i. 29.
Syn. -- To scan; gaze; regard; descry; view; discern.
Behold
Be*hold", v. i. To direct the eyes to, or fix them upon, an object; to
look; to see.
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne, . . . a lamb as
it had been slain. Rev. v. 6.
Beholden
Be*hold"en (?), p. a. [Old p. p. of behold, used in the primitive
sense of the simple verb hold.] Obliged; bound in gratitude; indebted.
But being so beholden to the Prince. Tennyson.
Beholder
Be*hold"er (?), n. One who beholds; a spectator.
Beholding
Be*hold"ing, a. Obliged; beholden. [Obs.]
I was much bound and beholding to the right reverend father.
Robynson (More's Utopia).
So much hath Oxford been beholding to her nephews, or sister's
children. Fuller.
Beholding
Be*hold"ing, n. The act of seeing; sight; also, that which is beheld.
Shak.
Beholdingness
Be*hold"ing*ness, n., The state of being obliged or beholden. [Obs.]
Sir P. Sidney.
Behoof
Be*hoof" (?), n. [OE. to bihove for the use of, AS. beh advantage, a
word implied in beh necessary; akin to Sw. behof, Dan. behov, G.
behuf, and E. heave, the root meaning to seize, hence the meanings "to
hold, make use of." See Heave, v. t.] Advantage; profit; benefit;
interest; use.
No mean recompense it brings To your behoof. Milton.
Behoovable
Be*hoov"a*ble (?), a. Supplying need; profitable; advantageous. [Obs.]
Udall.
Behoove
Be*hoove" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Behooved (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Behooving.] [OE. bihoven, behoven, AS. beh to have need of, fr. beh.
See Behoof.] To be necessary for; to be fit for; to be meet for, with
respect to necessity, duty, or convenience; -- mostly used
impersonally.
And thus it behooved Christ to suffer. Luke xxiv. 46.
[Also written behove.]
Behoove
Be*hoove" (?), v. i. To be necessary, fit, or suitable; to befit; to
belong as due. Chaucer.
Behoove
Be*hoove", n. Advantage; behoof. [Obs.]
It shall not be to his behoove. Gower.
Behooveful
Be*hoove"ful (?), a. Advantageous; useful; profitable. [Archaic] --
Be*hoove"ful*ly, adv. -- Be*hoove"ful*ness, n. [Archaic]
Behove
Be*hove" (?), v., and derivatives. See Behoove, & c.
Behovely
Be*hove"ly, a. & adv. Useful, or usefully. [Obs.]
Behowl
Be*howl" (?), v. t. To howl at. [Obs.]
The wolf behowls the moon. Shak.
Beige
Beige (?), n. [F.] Debeige.
Beild
Beild (?), n. [Prob. from the same root as build, v. t.] A place of
shelter; protection; refuge. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] [Also written bield
and beeld.]
The random beild o' clod or stane. Burns.
Being
Be"ing (?), p. pr. from Be. Existing.
NOTE: &hand; Be ing wa s fo rmerly us ed wh ere we now use having.
"Being to go to a ball in a few days." Miss Edgeworth.
NOTE: &hand; In mo dern us age, is, are, was or were being, with a
past participle following (as built, made, etc.) indicates the
process toward the completed result expressed by the participle.
The form is or was building, in this passive signification, is
idiomatic, and, if free from ambiguity, is commonly preferable to
the modern is or was being built. The last form of speech is,
however, sufficiently authorized by approved writers. The older
expression was is, or was, a-building or in building.
A man who is being strangled. Lamb.
While the article on Burns was being written. Froude.
Fresh experience is always being gained. Jowett (Thucyd. )
Being
Be"ing, n.
1. Existence, as opposed to nonexistence; state or sphere of
existence.
In Him we live, and move, and have our being. Acts xvii. 28.
2. That which exists in any form, whether it be material or spiritual,
actual or ideal; living existence, as distinguished from a thing
without life; as, a human being; spiritual beings.
What a sweet being is an honest mind ! Beau. & Fl.
A Being of infinite benevolence and power. Wordsworth.
3. Lifetime; mortal existence. [Obs.]
Claudius, thou Wast follower of his fortunes in his being. Webster
(1654).
4. An abode; a cottage. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
It was a relief to dismiss them [Sir Roger's servants] into little
beings within my manor. Steele.
Being
Be"ing, adv. Since; inasmuch as. [Obs. or Colloq.]
And being you have Declined his means, you have increased his
malice. Beau. & Fl.
Bejade
Be*jade" (?), v. t. To jade or tire. [Obs.] Milton.
Bejape
Be*jape" (?), v. t. To jape; to laugh at; to deceive. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Bejaundice
Be*jaun"dice (?), v. t. To infect with jaundice.
Bejewel
Be*jew"el (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bejeweled or Bejewelled (#); p. pr.
& vb. n. Bejeweling or Bejewelling.] To ornament with a jewel or with
jewels; to spangle. "Bejeweled hands." Thackeray.
Bejumble
Be*jum"ble (?), v. t. To jumble together.
Bekah
Be"kah (?), n. [Heb.] Half a shekel.
Beknave
Be*knave" (?), v. t. To call knave. [Obs.] Pope.
Beknow
Be*know" (?), v. t. To confess; to acknowledge. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Bel
Bel (?), n. The Babylonian name of the god known among the Hebrews as
Baal. See Baal. Baruch vi. 41.
Belabor
Be*la"bor (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belabored (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Belaboring.]
1. To ply diligently; to work carefully upon. "If the earth is
belabored with culture, it yieldeth corn." Barrow.
2. To beat soundly; to cudgel.
Ajax belabors there a harmless ox. Dryden.
Bel-accoyle
Bel`-ac*coyle" (?), n. [F. bel beautiful + accueil reception.] A kind
or favorable reception or salutation. [Obs.]
Belace
Be*lace" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belaced (#).]
1. To fasten, as with a lace or cord. [Obs.]
2. To cover or adorn with lace. [Obs.] Beaumont.
3. To beat with a strap. See Lace. [Obs.] Wright.
Belam
Be*lam" (?), v. t. [See Lam.] To beat or bang. [Prov. & Low, Eng.]
Todd.
Belamour
Bel"a*mour (?), n. [F. bel amour fair love.]
1. A lover. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. A flower, but of what kind is unknown. [Obs.]
Her snowy brows, like budded belamours. Spenser.
Belamy
Bel"a*my (?), n. [F. bel ami fair friend.] Good friend; dear friend.
[Obs.] Chaucer.
Belate
Be*late" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belated; p. pr. & vb. n. Belating.]
To retard or make too late. Davenant.
Belated
Be*lat"ed, a. Delayed beyond the usual time; too late; overtaken by
night; benighted. "Some belated peasant." Milton. -- Be*lat"ed*ness,
n. Milton.
Belaud
Be*laud" (?), v. t. To laud or praise greatly.
Belay
Be*lay" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belaid, Belayed (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Belaying.] [For senses 1 & 2, D. beleggen to cover, belay; akin to E.
pref. be-, and lay to place: for sense 3, OE. beleggen, AS. belecgan.
See pref. Be-, and Lay to place.]
1. To lay on or cover; to adorn. [Obs.]
Jacket . . . belayed with silver lace. Spenser.
2. (Naut.) To make fast, as a rope, by taking several turns with it
round a pin, cleat, or kevel. Totten.
3. To lie in wait for with a view to assault. Hence: to block up or
obstruct. [Obs.] Dryden.
Belay thee! Stop.
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Belaying pin
Be*lay"ing pin` (?). (Naut.) A strong pin in the side of a vessel, or
by the mast, round which ropes are wound when they are fastened or
belayed.
Belch
Belch (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belched (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Belching.]
[OE. belken, AS. bealcan, akin to E. bellow. See Bellow, v. i.]
1. To eject or throw up from the stomach with violence; to eruct.
I belched a hurricane of wind. Swift.
2. To eject violently from within; to cast forth; to emit; to give
vent to; to vent.
Within the gates that now Stood open wide, belching outrageous
flame. Milton.
Belch
Belch, v. i.
1. To eject wind from the stomach through the mouth; to eructate.
2. To issue with spasmodic force or noise. Dryden.
Belch
Belch, n.
1. The act of belching; also, that which is belched; an eructation.
2. Malt liquor; -- vulgarly so called as causing eructation. [Obs.]
Dennis.
Belcher
Belch"er (?), n. One who, or that which, belches.
Beldam Beldame
Bel"dam Bel"dame (?), n. [Pref. bel-, denoting relationship + dame
mother: cf. F. belledame fair lady, It. belladonna. See Belle, and
Dame.]
1. Grandmother; -- corresponding to belsire.
To show the beldam daughters of her daughter. Shak.
2. An old woman in general; especially, an ugly old woman; a hag.
Around the beldam all erect they hang. Akenside.
Beleaguer
Be*lea"guer (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beleaguered (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Beleaguering.] [D. belegeren (akin to G. belagern, Sw. bel\'84gra,
Dan. beleire); pref. be- = E. be- + leger bed, camp, army, akin to E.
lair. See Lair.] To surround with an army so as to preclude escape; to
besiege; to blockade.
The wail of famine in beleaguered towns. Longfellow.
Syn. -- To block up; environ; invest; encompass.
Beleaguerer
Be*lea"guer*er (?), n. One who beleaguers.
Beleave
Be*leave" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Beleft (#).] To leave or to be
left. [Obs.] May.
Belecture
Be*lec"ture (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belectured (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Belecturing.] To vex with lectures; to lecture frequently.
Belee
Be*lee" (?), v. t. To place under the lee, or unfavorably to the wind.
Shak.
Belemnite
Be*lem"nite (?), n. [Gr. dart, fr. dart, fr. to throw: cf. F.
b\'82lemnite.] (Paleon.) A conical calcareous fossil, tapering to a
point at the lower extremity, with a conical cavity at the other end,
where it is ordinarily broken; but when perfect it contains a small
chambered cone, called the phragmocone, prolonged, on one side, into a
delicate concave blade; the thunderstone. It is the internal shell of
a cephalopod related to the sepia, and belonging to an extinct family.
The belemnites are found in rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous ages.
-- Bel*em*nit"ic, a.
Beleper
Be*lep"er (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belepered (#).] To infect with
leprosy. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
Bel-esprit
Bel"-es*prit" (?), n.; pl. Beaux-esprits (#). [F., fine wit.] A fine
genius, or man of wit. "A man of letters and a bel esprit." W. Irving.
Belfry
Bel"fry (?), n. [OE. berfray movable tower used in sieges, OF.
berfreit, berfroit, F. beffroi, fr. MHG. bervrit, bercvrit, G.
bergfriede, fr. MHG. bergen to protect (G. bergen to conceal) + vride
peace, protection, G. friede peace; in compounds often taken in the
sense of security, or place of security; orig. therefore a place
affording security. G. friede is akin to E. free. See Burg, and Free.]
1. (Mil. Antiq.) A movable tower erected by besiegers for purposes of
attack and defense.
2. A bell tower, usually attached to a church or other building, but
sometimes separate; a campanile.
3. A room in a tower in which a bell is or may be hung; or a cupola or
turret for the same purpose.
4. (Naut.) The framing on which a bell is suspended.
Belgard
Bel*gard" (?), n. [It. bel guardo.] A sweet or loving look. [Obs.]
Spenser.
Belgian
Bel"gi*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Belgium. -- n. A native or
inhabitant of Belgium.
Belgic
Bel"gic (?), a. [L. Belgicus, fr. Belgae the Belgians.]
1. Of or pertaining to the Belg\'91, a German tribe who anciently
possessed the country between the Rhine, the Seine, and the ocean.
How unlike their Belgic sires of old. Goldsmith.
2. Of or pertaining to the Netherlands or to Belgium.
Belgravian
Bel*gra"vi*an (?), a. Belonging to Belgravia (a fashionable quarter of
London, around Pimlico), or to fashionable life; aristocratic.
Belial
Be"li*al (?), n. [Heb. beli ya'al; beli without + ya'al profit.] An
evil spirit; a wicked and unprincipled person; the personification of
evil.
What concord hath Christ with Belia ? 2 Cor. vi. 15.
A son (or man) of Belial, a worthless, wicked, or thoroughly depraved
person. 1 Sam. ii. 12.
Belibel
Be*li"bel (?), v. t. [See Libel, v. t. ] To libel or traduce; to
calumniate. Fuller.
Belie
Be*lie" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belied (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Belying
(#).] [OE. bilien, bili, AS. bele\'a2gan; pref. be- + le\'a2gan to
lie. See Lie, n.]
1. To show to be false; to convict of, or charge with, falsehood.
Their trembling hearts belie their boastful tongues. Dryden.
2. To give a false representation or account of.
Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts. Shak.
3. To tell lie about; to calumniate; to slander.
Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie him. Shak.
4. To mimic; to counterfeit. [Obs.] Dryden.
5. To fill with lies. [Obs.] "The breath of slander doth belie all
corners of the world." Shak.
Belief
Be*lief" (?), n. [OE. bileafe, bileve; cf. AS. gele\'a0fa. See
Believe.]
1. Assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance of a
fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without immediate
personal knowledge; reliance upon word or testimony; partial or full
assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty;
persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the
belief of our senses.
Belief admits of all degrees, from the slightest suspicion to the
fullest assurance. Reid.
2. (Theol.) A persuasion of the truths of religion; faith.
No man can attain [to] belief by the bare contemplation of heaven
and earth. Hooker.
3. The thing believed; the object of belief.
Superstitious prophecies are not only the belief of fools, but the
talk sometimes of wise men. Bacon.
4. A tenet, or the body of tenets, held by the advocates of any class
of views; doctrine; creed.
In the heat of persecution to which Christian belief was subject
upon its first promulgation. Hooker.
Ultimate belief, a first principle incapable of proof; an intuitive
truth; an intuition. Sir W. Hamilton. Syn. -- Credence; trust;
reliance; assurance; opinion.
Beliefful
Be*lief"ful (?), a. Having belief or faith.
Believable
Be*liev"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being believed; credible. --
Be*liev"a*ble*ness, n. -- Be*liev`a*bil"i*ty (, n.
Believe
Be*lieve" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Believed (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Believing.] [OE. bileven (with pref. be- for AS. ge-), fr. AS. gel,
gel; akin to D. gelooven, OHG. gilouban, G. glauben, OS. gil, Goth.
galaubjan, and Goth. liubs dear. See Lief, a., Leave, n.] To exercise
belief in; to credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be
persuaded of the truth of, upon evidence furnished by reasons,
arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by circumstances other than
personal knowledge; to regard or accept as true; to place confidence
in; to think; to consider; as, to believe a person, a statement, or a
doctrine.
Our conqueror (whom I now Of force believe almighty). Milton.
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? Acts xxvi.
Often followed by a dependent clause. I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. Acts viii. 37.
Syn. -- See Expect.
Believe
Be*lieve", v. i.
1. To have a firm persuasion, esp. of the truths of religion; to have
a persuasion approaching to certainty; to exercise belief or faith.
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark ix. 24.
With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Rom. x. 10.
2. To think; to suppose.
I will not believe so meanly of you. Fielding.
To believe in. (a) To believe that the subject of the thought (if a
person or thing) exists, or (if an event) that it has occurred, or
will occur; -- as, to believe in the resurrection of the dead. "She
does not believe in Jupiter." J. H. Newman. (b) To believe that the
character, abilities, and purposes of a person are worthy of entire
confidence; -- especially that his promises are wholly trustworthy.
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in
me." John xiv. 1. (c) To believe that the qualities or effects of an
action or state are beneficial: as, to believe in sea bathing, or in
abstinence from alcoholic beverages. -- To believe on, to accept
implicitly as an object of religious trust or obedience; to have faith
in.
Believer
Be*liev"er (?), n.
1. One who believes; one who is persuaded of the truth or reality of
some doctrine, person, or thing.
2. (Theol.) One who gives credit to the truth of the Scriptures, as a
revelation from God; a Christian; -- in a more restricted sense, one
who receives Christ as his Savior, and accepts the way of salvation
unfolded in the gospel.
Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Book of
Com. Prayer.
3. (Eccl. Hist.) One who was admitted to all the rights of divine
worship and instructed in all the mysteries of the Christian religion,
in distinction from a catechumen, or one yet under instruction.
Believing
Be*liev"ing, a. That believes; having belief. -- Be*liev"ing*ly, adv.
Belight
Be*light" (?), v. t. To illuminate. [Obs.] Cowley.
Belike
Be*like" (?), adv. [Pref. be- (for by) + like.] It is likely or
probably; perhaps. [Obs. or Archaic] -- Be*like"ly, adv.
Belike, boy, then you are in love. Shak.
Belime
Be*lime" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belimed (#).] To besmear or insnare
with birdlime.
Belittle
Be*lit"tle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belittled (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Belittling.] To make little or less in a moral sense; to speak of in a
depreciatory or contemptuous way. T. Jefferson.
Belive
Be*live" (?), adv. [Cf. Live, a.] Forthwith; speedily; quickly. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Belk
Belk (?), v. t. [See Belch.] To vomit. [Obs.]
Bell
Bell (?), n. [AS. belle, fr. bellan to bellow. See Bellow.]
1. A hollow metallic vessel, usually shaped somewhat like a cup with a
flaring mouth, containing a clapper or tongue, and giving forth a
ringing sound on being struck.
NOTE: &hand; Be lls ha ve been made of various metals, but the best
have always been, as now, of an alloy of copper and tin.
The Liberty Bell, the famous bell of the Philadelphia State House,
which rang when the Continental Congress declared the Independence of
the United States, in 1776. It had been cast in 1753, and upon it were
the words "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, to all the
inhabitants thereof."
2. A hollow perforated sphere of metal containing a loose ball which
causes it to sound when moved.
3. Anything in the form of a bell, as the cup or corol of a flower.
"In a cowslip's bell I lie." Shak.
4. (Arch.) That part of the capital of a column included between the
abacus and neck molding; also used for the naked core of nearly
cylindrical shape, assumed to exist within the leafage of a capital.
5. pl. (Naut.) The strikes of the bell which mark the time; or the
time so designated.
NOTE: &hand; On sh ipboard, ti me is ma rked by a bell, which is
struck eight times at 4, 8, and 12 o'clock. Half an hour after it
has struck "eight bells" it is struck once, and at every succeeding
half hour the number of strokes is increased by one, till at the
end of the four hours, which constitute a watch, it is struck eight
times.
To bear away the bell, to win the prize at a race where the prize was
a bell; hence, to be superior in something. Fuller. -- To bear the
bell, to be the first or leader; -- in allusion to the bellwether or a
flock, or the leading animal of a team or drove, when wearing a bell.
-- To curse by bell, book, and candle, a solemn form of
excommunication used in the Roman Catholic church, the bell being
tolled, the book of offices for the purpose being used, and three
candles being extinguished with certain ceremonies. Nares. -- To lose
the bell, to be worsted in a contest. "In single fight he lost the
bell." Fairfax. -- To shake the bells, to move, give notice, or alarm.
Shak.
NOTE: &hand; Be ll is much used adjectively or in combinations; as,
bell clapper; bell foundry; bell hanger; bell-mouthed; bell tower,
etc., which, for the most part, are self-explaining.
Bell arch (Arch.), an arch of unusual form, following the curve of an
ogee. -- Bell cage, or Bell carriage (Arch.), a timber frame
constructed to carry one or more large bells. -- Bell cot (Arch.), a
small or subsidiary construction, frequently corbeled out from the
walls of a structure, and used to contain and support one or more
bells. -- Bell deck (Arch.), the floor of a belfry made to serve as a
roof to the rooms below. -- Bell founder, one whose occupation it is
to found or cast bells. -- Bell foundry, or Bell foundery, a place
where bells are founded or cast. -- Bell gable (Arch.), a small
gable-shaped construction, pierced with one or more openings, and used
to contain bells. -- Bell glass. See Bell jar. -- Bell hanger, a man
who hangs or puts up bells. -- Bell pull, a cord, handle, or knob,
connecting with a bell or bell wire, and which will ring the bell when
pulled. Aytoun. -- Bell punch, a kind of conductor's punch which rings
a bell when used. -- Bell ringer, one who rings a bell or bells, esp.
one whose business it is to ring a church bell or chime, or a set of
musical bells for public entertainment. -- Bell roof (Arch.), a roof
shaped according to the general lines of a bell. -- Bell rope, a rope
by which a church or other bell is rung. -- Bell tent, a circular
conical-topped tent. -- Bell trap, a kind of bell shaped stench trap.
Bell
Bell (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belled (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Belling.] To
put a bell upon; as, to bell the cat.
2. To make bell-mouthed; as, to bell a tube.
Bell
Bell, v. i. To develop bells or corollas; to take the form of a bell;
to blossom; as, hops bell.
Bell
Bell, v. t. [AS. bellan. See Bellow.] To utter by bellowing. [Obs.]
Bell
Bell, v. i. To call or bellow, as the deer in rutting time; to make a
bellowing sound; to roar.
As loud as belleth wind in hell. Chaucer.
The wild buck bells from ferny brake. Sir W. Scott.
Belladonna
Bel`la*don"na (?), n. [It., literally fine lady; bella beautiful +
donna lady.] (Bot.) (a) An herbaceous European plant (Atropa
belladonna) with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black
berries. The whole plant and its fruit are very poisonous, and the
root and leaves are used as powerful medicinal agents. Its properties
are largely due to the alkaloid atropine which it contains. Called
also deadly nightshade. (b) A species of Amaryllis (A. belladonna);
the belladonna lily.
Bell animalcule
Bell" an`i*mal"cule (?). (Zo\'94l.) An infusorian of the family
Vorticellid\'91, common in fresh-water ponds.
Bell bearer
Bell" bear`er (?). (Zo\'94l.) A Brazilian leaf hopper (Bocydium
tintinnabuliferum), remarkable for the four bell-shaped appendages of
its thorax.
Bellbird
Bell"bird` (?), n. [So called from their notes.] (Zo\'94l.) (a) A
South American bird of the genus Casmarhincos, and family
Cotingid\'91, of several species; the campanero. (b) The Myzantha
melanophrys of Australia.
Bell crank
Bell" crank` (?). A lever whose two arms form a right angle, or nearly
a right angle, having its fulcrum at the apex of the angle. It is used
in bell pulls and in changing the direction of bell wires at angles of
rooms, etc., and also in machinery.
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Belle
Belle (?), n. [F. belle, fem. of bel, beau, beautiful, fine. See
Beau.] A young lady of superior beauty and attractions; a handsome
lady, or one who attracts notice in society; a fair lady.
Belled
Belled (?), a. Hung with a bell or bells.
Belle-lettrist
Belle-let"trist (?), n. One versed in belleslettres.
Bellerophon
Bel*ler"o*phon (?), n. (Paleon.) A genus of fossil univalve shells,
believed to belong to the Heteropoda, peculiar to the Paleozoic age.
Belles-lettres
Belles-let"tres (?), n. pl. [F.] Polite or elegant literature; the
humanities; -- used somewhat vaguely for literary works in which
imagination and taste are predominant.
Belletristic, Belletristical
Bel`le*tris"tic (?), Bel`le*tris"tic*al (?), a. Occupied with, or
pertaining to, belles-lettres. "An unlearned, belletristic trifler."
M. Arnold.
Bell-faced
Bell"-faced` (?), a. Having the striking surface convex; -- said of
hammers.
Bellflower
Bell"flow`er (?), n. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Campanula; -- so
named from its bell-shaped flowers.
Bellflower
Bell"flow`er, n. [F. bellefleur, lit., beautiful flower.] A kind of
apple. The yellow bellflower is a large, yellow winter apple. [Written
also bellefleur.]
Bellibone
Bel"li*bone (?), n. [F. belle et bonne, beautiful and good.] A woman
excelling both in beauty and goodness; a fair maid. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bellic, Bellical
Bel"lic (?), Bel"li*cal (?), a. [L. bellicus. See Bellicose.] Of or
pertaining to war; warlike; martial. [Obs.] "Bellic C\'91sar."
Feltham.
Bellicose
Bel"li*cose` (?), a. [L. bellicosus, fr. bellicus of war, fr. bellum
war. See Duel.] Inclined to war or contention; warlike; pugnacious.
Arnold was, in fact, in a bellicose vein. W. Irving.
Bellicosely
Bel"li*cose`ly, adv. In a bellicose manner.
Bellicous
Bel"li*cous (?), a. Bellicose. [Obs.]
Bellied
Bel"lied (?), a. Having (such) a belly; puffed out; -- used in
composition; as, pot-bellied; shad-bellied.
Belligerence, Belligerency
Bel*lig"er*ence (?), Bel*lig"er*en*cy (?), n. The quality of being
belligerent; act or state of making war; warfare.
Belligerent
Bel*lig"er*ent (?), a. [L. bellum war + gerens, -entis, waging, p. pr.
of gerere to wage: cf. F. bellig\'82rant. See Bellicose, Jest.]
1. Waging war; carrying on war. "Belligerent powers." E. Everett.
2. Pertaining, or tending, to war; of or relating to belligerents; as,
a belligerent tone; belligerent rights.
Belligerent
Bel*lig"er*ent, n. A nation or state recognized as carrying on war; a
person engaged in warfare.
Belligerently
Bel*lig"er*ent*ly, adv. In a belligerent manner; hostilely.
Belling
Bell"ing (?), n. [From Bell to bellow.] A bellowing, as of a deer in
rutting time. Johnson.
Bellipotent
Bel*lip"o*tent (?), a. [L. bellipotens; bellum war + potens powerful,
p. pr. of posse to be able.] Mighty in war; armipotent. [R.] Blount.
Bell jar
Bell" jar` (?). (Phys.) A glass vessel, varying in size, open at the
bottom and closed at the top like a bell, and having a knob or handle
at the top for lifting it. It is used for a great variety of purposes;
as, with the air pump, and for holding gases, also for keeping the
dust from articles exposed to view.
Bellman
Bell"man (?), n. A man who rings a bell, especially to give notice of
anything in the streets. Formerly, also, a night watchman who called
the hours. Milton.
Bell metal
Bell" met`al (?). A hard alloy or bronze, consisting usually of about
three parts of copper to one of tin; -- used for making bells. Bell
metal ore, a sulphide of tin, copper, and iron; the mineral stannite.
Bell-mouthed
Bell"-mouthed` (?), a. Expanding at the mouth; as, a bell-mouthed gun.
Byron.
Bellon
Bel"lon (?), n. Lead colic.
Bellona
Bel*lo"na (?), n. [L., from bellum war.] (Rom. Myth.) The goddess of
war.
Bellow
Bel"low (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bellowed ; p. pr. & vb. n.
Bellowing.] [OE. belwen, belowen, AS. bylgean, fr. bellan; akin to G.
bellen, and perh. to L. flere to weep, OSlav. bleja to bleat, Lith.
balsas voice. Cf. Bell, n. & v., Bawl, Bull.]
1. To make a hollow, loud noise, as an enraged bull.
2. To bowl; to vociferate; to clamor. Dryden.
3. To roar; as the sea in a tempest, or as the wind when violent; to
make a loud, hollow, continued sound.
The bellowing voice of boiling seas. Dryden.
Bellow
Bel"low, v. t. To emit with a loud voice; to shout; -- used with out.
"Would bellow out a laugh." Dryden.
Bellow
Bel"low, n. A loud resounding outcry or noise, as of an enraged bull;
a roar.
Bellower
Bel"low*er (?), n. One who, or that which, bellows.
Bellows
Bel"lows (?), n. sing. & pl. [OE. bely, below, belly, bellows, AS.
b\'91lg, b\'91lig, bag, bellows, belly. Bellows is prop. a pl. and the
orig. sense is bag. See Belly.] An instrument, utensil, or machine,
which, by alternate expansion and contraction, or by rise and fall of
the top, draws in air through a valve and expels it through a tube for
various purposes, as blowing fires, ventilating mines, or filling the
pipes of an organ with wind. Bellows camera, in photography, a form of
camera, which can be drawn out like an accordion or bellows. --
Hydrostatic bellows. See Hydrostatic. -- A pair of bellows, the
ordinary household instrument for blowing fires, consisting of two
nearly heart-shaped boards with handles, connected by leather, and
having a valve and tube.
Bellows fish
Bel"lows fish` (?). (Zo\'94l.) A European fish (Centriscus scolopax),
distinguished by a long tubular snout, like the pipe of a bellows; --
called also trumpet fish, and snipe fish.
Bell pepper
Bell" pep`per (?). (Bot.) A species of Capsicum, or Guinea pepper (C.
annuum). It is the red pepper of the gardens.
Bell-shaped
Bell"-shaped` (?), a. Having the shape of a widemouthed bell;
campanulate.
Belluine
Bel"lu*ine (?), a. [L. belluinus, fr. bellua beast.] Pertaining to, or
like, a beast; brutal. [R.]
Animal and belluine life. Atterbury.
Bellwether
Bell"weth`er (?), n.
1. A wether, or sheep, which leads the flock, with a bell on his neck.
2. Hence: A leader. [Contemptuous] Swift.
Bellwort
Bell"wort" (?), n. (Bot.) A genus of plants (Uvularia) with yellowish
bell-shaped flowers.
Belly
Bel"ly (?), n.; pl. Bellies (#). [OE. bali, bely, AS. belg, b\'91lg,
b\'91lig, bag, bellows, belly; akin to Icel. belgr bag, bellows, Sw.
b\'84lg, Dan. b\'91lg, D. & G. balg, cf. W. bol the paunch or belly,
dim. boly, Ir. bolg. Cf. Bellows, Follicle, Fool, Bilge.]
1. That part of the human body which extends downward from the breast
to the thighs, and contains the bowels, or intestines; the abdomen.
NOTE: &hand; Fo rmerly all the splanchnic or visceral cavities were
called bellies; -- the lower belly being the abdomen; the middle
belly, the thorax; and the upper belly, the head.
Dunglison.
2. The under part of the body of animals, corresponding to the human
belly.
Underneath the belly of their steeds. Shak.
3. The womb. [Obs.]
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. Jer. i. 5.
4. The part of anything which resembles the human belly in
protuberance or in cavity; the innermost part; as, the belly of a
flask, muscle, sail, ship.
Out of the belly of hell cried I. Jonah ii. 2.
5. (Arch.) The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part
of which is the back.
Belly doublet, a doublet of the 16th century, hanging down so as to
cover the belly. Shak. -- Belly fretting, the chafing of a horse's
belly with a girth. Johnson. -- Belly timber, food. [Ludicrous] Prior.
-- Belly worm, a worm that breeds or lives in the belly (stomach or
intestines). Johnson.
Belly
Bel"ly, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bellied (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Bellying.] To
cause to swell out; to fill. [R.]
Your breath of full consent bellied his sails. Shak.
Belly
Bel"ly, v. i. To swell and become protuberant, like the belly; to
bulge.
The bellying canvas strutted with the gale. Dryden.
Bellyache
Bel"ly*ache` (?), n. Pain in the bowels; colic.
Bellyband
Bel"ly*band` (?), n.
1. A band that passes under the belly of a horse and holds the saddle
or harness in place; a girth.
2. A band of flannel or other cloth about the belly.
3. (Naut.) A band of canvas, to strengthen a sail.
Bellybound
Bel"ly*bound` (, a. Costive; constipated.
Bellycheat
Bel"ly*cheat` (?), n. An apron or covering for the front of the
person. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
Bellycheer
Bel"ly*cheer` (?), n. [Perh. from F. belle ch\'8are.] Good cheer;
viands. [Obs.] "Bellycheer and banquets." Rowlands. "Loaves and
bellycheer." Milton.
Bellycheer
Bel"ly*cheer`, v. i. To revel; to feast. [Obs.]
A pack of clergymen [assembled] by themselves to bellycheer in
their presumptuous Sion. Milton.
Bellyful
Bel"ly*ful (?), n. As much as satisfies the appetite. Hence: A great
abundance; more than enough. Lloyd.
King James told his son that he would have his bellyful of
parliamentary impeachments. Johnson.
Belly-god
Bel"ly-god` (?), n. One whose great pleasure it is to gratify his
appetite; a glutton; an epicure.
Belly-pinched
Bel"ly-pinched` (?), a. Pinched with hunger; starved. "The
belly-pinched wolf." Shak.
Belock
Be*lock" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belocked (#).] [Pref. be- + lock:
cf. AS. bel.] To lock, or fasten as with a lock. [Obs.] Shak.
Belomancy
Bel"o*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. ; arrow + a diviner: cf. F. b\'82lomancie.]
A kind of divination anciently practiced by means of marked arrows
drawn at random from a bag or quiver, the marks on the arrows drawn
being supposed to foreshow the future. Encyc. Brit.
Belong
Be*long" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Belonged (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Belonging.] [OE. belongen (akin to D. belangen to concern, G. belangen
to attain to, to concern); pref. be- + longen to desire. See Long, v.
i.]
NOTE: [Usually construed with to.]
1. To be the property of; as, Jamaica belongs to Great Britain.
2. To be a part of, or connected with; to be appendant or related; to
owe allegiance or service.
A desert place belonging to . . . Bethsaids. Luke ix. 10.
The mighty men which belonged to David. 1 Kings i. 8.
3. To be the concern or proper business or function of; to appertain
to. "Do not interpretations belong to God ?" Gen. xl. 8.
4. To be suitable for; to be due to.
Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age. Heb. v. 14.
No blame belongs to thee. Shak.
5. To be native to, or an inhabitant of; esp. to have a legal
residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation
of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town.
Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers
belong. Blackstone.
Belong
Be*long" (?), v. t. To be deserved by. [Obs.]
More evils belong us than happen to us. B. Jonson.
Belonging
Be*long"ing, n. [Commonly in the pl.]
1. That which belongs to one; that which pertains to one; hence, goods
or effects. "Thyself and thy belongings." Shak.
2. That which is connected with a principal or greater thing; an
appendage; an appurtenance.
3. Family; relations; household. [Colloq.]
Few persons of her ladyship's belongings stopped, before they did
her bidding, to ask her reasons. Thackeray.
Belonite
Bel"o*nite (?), n. [Gr. a needle.] (Min.) Minute acicular or dendritic
crystalline forms sometimes observed in glassy volcanic rocks.
Belooche Beloochee
Bel*oo"che Bel*oo"chee (?), a. Of or pertaining to Beloochistan, or to
its inhabitants. -- n. A native or an inhabitant of Beloochistan.
Belord
Be*lord" (?), v. t.
1. To act the lord over.
2. To address by the title of "lord".
Belove
Be*love" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beloved (#).] [OE. bilufien. See
pref. Be-, and Love, v. t.] To love. [Obs.] Wodroephe.
Beloved
Be*loved" (?), p. p. & a. Greatly loved; dear to the heart.
Antony, so well beloved of C\'91sar. Shak.
This is my beloved Son. Matt. iii. 17.
Beloved
Be*lov"ed (?), n. One greatly loved.
My beloved is mine, and I am his. Cant. ii. 16.
Below
Be*low" (?), prep. [Pref. be- by + low.]
1. Under, or lower in place; beneath not so high; as, below the moon;
below the knee. Shak.
2. Inferior to in rank, excellence, dignity, value, amount, price,
etc.; lower in quality. "One degree below kings." Addison.
3. Unworthy of; unbefitting; beneath.
They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain, . . . how below all
history the persons and their actions were. Milton.
Who thinks no fact below his regard. Hallam.
Syn. -- Underneath; under; beneath.
Below
Be*low", adv.
1. In a lower place, with respect to any object; in a lower room;
beneath.
Lord Marmion waits below. Sir W. Scott.
2. On the earth, as opposed to the heavens.
The fairest child of Jove below. Prior.
3. In hell, or the regions of the dead.
What businesss brought him to the realms below. Dryden.
4. In court or tribunal of inferior jurisdiction; as, at the trial
below. Wheaton.
5. In some part or page following.
Belowt
Be*lowt" (?), v. t. To treat as a lout; to talk abusively to. [Obs.]
Camden.
Belsire
Bel"sire` (?), n. [Pref. bel- + sire. Cf. Beldam.] A grandfather, or
ancestor. "His great belsire Brute." [Obs.] Drayton.
Belswagger
Bel"swag`ger (?), n. [Contr. from bellyswagger.] A lewd man; also, a
bully. [Obs.] Dryden.
Belt
Belt (?), n. [AS. belt; akin to Icel. belti, Sw. b\'84lte, Dan.
b\'91lte, OHG. balz, L. balteus, Ir. & Gael. balt bo
1. That which engirdles a person or thing; a band or girdle; as, a
lady's belt; a sword belt.
The shining belt with gold inlaid. Dryden.
2. That which restrains or confines as a girdle.
He cannot buckle his distempered cause Within the belt of rule.
Shak.
3. Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a
belt; a strip or stripe; as, a belt of trees; a belt of sand.
4. (Arch.) Same as Band, n., 2. A very broad band is more properly
termed a belt.
5. (Astron.) One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the
planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.
6. (Geog.) A narrow passage or strait; as, the Great Belt and the
Lesser Belt, leading to the Baltic Sea.
7. (Her.) A token or badge of knightly rank.
8. (Mech.) A band of leather, or other flexible substance, passing
around two wheels, and communicating motion from one to the other.
NOTE: [See Illust. of Pulley.]
9. (Nat. Hist.) A band or stripe, as of color, round any organ; or any
circular ridge or series of ridges.
Belt lacing, thongs used for lacing together the ends of machine
belting.
Belt
Belt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belted; p. pr. & vb. n. Belting.] To
encircle with, or as with, a belt; to encompass; to surround.
A coarse black robe belted round the waist. C. Reade.
They belt him round with hearts undaunted. Wordsworth.
2. To shear, as the buttocks and tails of sheep. [Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
Beltane
Bel"tane (?), n. [Gael. bealltainn, bealltuinn.]
1. The first day of May (Old Style).
The quarter-days anciently in Scotland were Hallowmas, Candlemas,
Beltane, and Lammas. New English Dict.
2. A festival of the heathen Celts on the first day of May, in the
observance of which great bonfires were kindled. It still exists in a
modified form in some parts of Scotland and Ireland.
Belted
Belt"ed (?), a.
1. Encircled by, or secured with, a belt; as, a belted plaid; girt
with a belt, as an honorary distinction; as, a belted knight; a belted
earl.
2. Marked with a band or circle; as, a belted stalk.
3. Worn in, or suspended from, the belt.
Three men with belted brands. Sir W. Scott.
Belted cattle, cattle originally from Dutch stock, having a broad band
of white round the middle, while the rest of the body is black; --
called also blanketed cattle.
Beltein, Beltin
Bel"tein (?), Bel"tin (?), n. See Beltane.
Belting
Belt"ing (?), n. The material of which belts for machinery are made;
also, belts, taken collectively.
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Page 136
Beluga
Be*lu"ga (?), n. [Russ. bieluga a sort of large sturgeon, prop. white
fish, fr. bieluii white.] (Zo\'94l.) A cetacean allied to the
dolphins.
NOTE: &hand; Th e no rthern be luga (Delphinapterus catodon) is the
white whale and white fish of the whalers. It grows to be from
twelve to eighteen feet long.
Belute
Be*lute" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beluted; p. pr. & vb. n. Beluting.]
[Pref. be- + L. lutum mud.] To bespatter, as with mud. [R.] Sterne.
Belvedere
Bel`ve*dere" (?), n. [It., fr. bello, bel, beautiful + vedere to see.]
(Arch.) A small building, or a part of a building, more or less open,
constructed in a place commanding a fine prospect.
Belzebuth
Bel"ze*buth (?), n. [From Beelzebub.] (Zo\'94l.) A spider monkey
(Ateles belzebuth) of Brazil.
Bema
Be"ma (?), n. [Gr. step, platform.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) A platform from which speakers addressed an assembly.
Mitford.
2. (Arch.) (a) That part of an early Christian church which was
reserved for the higher clergy; the inner or eastern part of the
chancel. (b) Erroneously: A pulpit.
Bemad
Be*mad" (?), v. t. To make mad. [Obs.] Fuller.
Bemangle
Be*man"gle (?), v. t. To mangle; to tear asunder. [R.] Beaumont.
Bemask
Be*mask" (?), v. t. To mask; to conceal.
Bemaster
Be*mas"ter (?), v. t. To master thoroughly.
Bemaul
Be*maul" (?), v. t. To maul or beat severely; to bruise. "In order to
bemaul Yorick." Sterne.
Bemaze
Be*maze (?), v. t. [OE. bimasen; pref. be- + masen to maze.] To
bewilder.
Intellects bemazed in endless doubt. Cowper.
Bemean
Be*mean" (?), v. t. To make mean; to lower. C. Reade.
Bemeet
Be*meet" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bemet (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Bemeeting.] To meet. [Obs.]
Our very loving sister, well bemet. Shak.
Bemete
Be*mete" (?), v. t. To mete. [Obs.] Shak.
Bemingle
Be*min"gle (?), v. t. To mingle; to mix.
Bemire
Be*mire" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bemired (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Bemiring.] To drag through, encumber with, or fix in, the mire; to
soil by passing through mud or dirt.
Bemired and benighted in the dog. Burke.
Bemist
Be*mist" (?), v. t. To envelop in mist. [Obs.]
Bemoan
Be*moan" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bemoaned (#); p. pr. & vb. n.
Bemoaning.] [OE. bimenen, AS. bem; pref. be- + m to moan. See Moan.]
To express deep grief for by moaning; to express sorrow for; to
lament; to bewail; to pity or sympathize with.
Implores their pity, and his pain bemoans. Dryden.
Syn. -- See Deplore.
Bemoaner
Be*moan"er (?), n. One who bemoans.
Bemock
Be*mock" (?), v. t. To mock; to ridicule.
Bemock the modest moon. Shak.
Bemoil
Be*moil" (?), v. t. [Pref. be- + moil, fr. F. mouiller to wet; but cf.
also OE. bimolen to soil, fr. AS. m\'bel spot: cf. E. mole.] To soil
or encumber with mire and dirt. [Obs.] Shak.
Bemol
Be"mol (?), n. [F. b\'82mol, fr. b\'82 soft.] (Mus.) The sign [Obs.]
Bemonster
Be*mon"ster (?), v. t. To make monstrous or like a monster. [Obs.]
Shak.
Bemourn
Be*mourn" (?), v. t. To mourn over. Wyclif.
Bemuddle
Be*mud"dle (?), v. t. To muddle; to stupefy or bewilder; to confuse.
Bemuffle
Be*muf"fle (?), v. t. To cover as with a muffler; to wrap up.
Bemuffled with the externals of religion. Sterne.
Bemuse
Be*muse" (?), v. t. To muddle, daze, or partially stupefy, as with
liquor.
A parson much bemused in beer. Pope.
Ben, Ben nut
Ben (?), Ben" nut` (?). [Ar. b\'ben, name of the tree.] (Bot.) The
seed of one or more species of moringa; as, oil of ben. See Moringa.
Ben
Ben, adv. & prep. [AS. binnan; pref. be- by + innan within, in in.]
Within; in; in or into the interior; toward the inner apartment.
[Scot.]
Ben
Ben, n. [See Ben, adv.] The inner or principal room in a hut or house
of two rooms; -- opposed to but, the outer apartment. [Scot.]
Ben
Ben. An old form of the pl. indic. pr. of Be. [Obs.]
Bename
Be*name" (?), v. t. [p. p. Benamed, Benempt.] To promise; to name.
[Obs.]
Bench
Bench (?), n.; pl. Benches (#). [OE. bench, benk, AS. benc; akin to
Sw. b\'84nk, Dan b\'91nk, Icel. bekkr, OS., D., & G. bank. Cf. Bank,
Beach.]
1. A long seat, differing from a stool in its greater length.
Mossy benches supplied the place of chairs. Sir W. Scott.
2. A long table at which mechanics and other work; as, a carpenter's
bench.
3. The seat where judges sit in court.
To pluck down justice from your awful bench. Shak.
4. The persons who sit as judges; the court; as, the opinion of the
full bench. See King's Bench.
5. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public; -- so named
because the animals are usually placed on benches or raised platforms.
6. A conformation like a bench; a long stretch of flat ground, or a
kind of natural terrace, near a lake or river.
Bench mark (Leveling), one of a number of marks along a line of
survey, affixed to permanent objects, to show where leveling staffs
were placed. -- Bench of bishops, the whole body of English prelates
assembled in council. -- Bench plane, any plane used by carpenters and
joiners for working a flat surface, as jack planes, long planes. --
Bench show, an exhibition of dogs. -- Bench table (Arch.), a
projecting course at the base of a building, or round a pillar,
sufficient to form a seat.
Bench
Bench (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benched (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Benching.]
1. To furnish with benches.
'T was benched with turf. Dryden.
Stately theaters benched crescentwise. Tennyson.
2. To place on a bench or seat of honor.
Whom I . . . have benched and reared to worship. Shak.
Bench
Bench, v. i.