Ba (bä), v. t. [Cf. OF. baer to open the mouth, F. bayer.] To kiss. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Baa (bä), n. ; pl. Baas (bäz). [Cf. G. bä.] The cry or bleating of a sheep; a bleat.
Bab, n. [Per.] Lit., gate; — a title given to the founder of Babism, and taken from that of Bab- ud-Din, assumed by him. { Bab´ism, Bab´i•ism }, n. The doctrine of a modern religious pantheistical sect in Persia, which was founded, about 1844, by Mirza Ali Mohammed ibn Rabhik (1820 — 1850), who assumed the title of Bab- ed-Din (Per., Gate of the Faith). Babism is a mixture of Mohammedan, Christian, Jewish, and Parsi elements. This doctrine forbids concubinage and polygamy, and frees women from many of the degradations imposed upon them among the orthodox Mohammedans. Mendicancy, the use of intoxicating liquors and drugs, and slave dealing, are forbidden; asceticism is discountenanced. — Bab´ist, n. { Ba•bul´, Ba•bool´ }, n. [See Bablah.] (Bot.) Any one of several species of Acacia, esp. A. Arabica, which yelds a gum used as a substitute for true gum arabic.
"In place of Putney’s golden gorseThe sickly babul blooms." Kipling.
Babble
Bab´ble (bab"b’l), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Babbled (-b’ld); 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 brook he finds a friend." - Wordsworth.
Hounds are said to babble, or to be babbling, when they are too noisy after having found a good scent.
Syn. — To prate; prattle; chatter; gossip.
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. { Ba´bi•an, Ba´bi•on }, n. [See Baboon.] A baboon. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Baboon
Bab•oon´, n. [OE. babewin, baboin, fr. F. babouin, or LL. babewynus. Of unknown origin; cf. D. baviaan, G. pavian, baboon, F. babine lip of ape, dogs, etc., dial. G. bäppe mouth.] (Zoöl.) 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.
Baby
Ba´by, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Babied (-bid); 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 farming
Ba"by farm•ing. The business of keeping a baby farm.
Babyhouse
Ba´by•house, n. A place for children’s dolls and dolls’ furniture. Swift.
Babyism
Ba´by•ism, n.
1. The state of being a baby.
2. A babyish manner of acting or speaking.
Babylonish
Bab´y•lo•nish, a.
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. Gage. "
4. Confused; Babel-like. { Bab•y•rous´sa, Bab•y•rus´sa }, n. (Zoöl.) See Babiroussa.
Babyship
Ba´by•ship, n. The quality of being a baby; the personality of an infant.
Bac, n. [F. See Back a vat.]
1. A broad, flat-bottomed 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.]
Baccated
Bac´ca•ted, a.
1. Having many berries.
2. Set or adorned with pearls. [Obs.]
Bacchanal
Bac´cha•nal (bak"ka•n al), a. [L. Bacchanalis. See Bacchanalia.]
1. Relating to Bacchus or his festival.
2. Engaged in drunken revels; drunken and riotous or noisy.
Bacchanalian
Bac•cha•na´li•an, n. A bacchanal; a drunken reveler.
Bacchanalianism
Bac•cha•na´li•an•ism, n. The practice of bacchanalians; bacchanals; drunken revelry.
Bacchante
Bac´chante, n. ; L. pl. Bacchantes.
1. A priestess of Bacchus.
2. A female bacchanal.
Bacchus
Bac´chus, n. [L., fr. Gr. Ba•kchos.] (Myth.) The god of wine, son of Jupiter and Semele.
Bacciform
Bac´ci•form, a. [L. bacca berry + -form.] Having the form of a berry.
Bace, n., a., & v. See Base. [Obs.] Spenser. {Bach´a•rach, Back´a•rack }, n. A kind of wine made at Bacharach on the Rhine.
Bachelor
Bach´e•lor (bach"e•ler), 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, a 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.
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. (Zoöl.) A kind of bass, an edible fresh-water fish ( Pomoxys annularis) of the southern United States.
Bachelorhood
Bach´e•lor•hood (-hood), n. The state or condition of being a bachelor; bachelorship.
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.
Bacillar
Ba•cil´lar, a. (Biol.) Pertaining to, or produced by, the organism bacillus; bacillary.
Bacillariae
Bac´il•la•ri•ae, 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 (bak), n. [F. bac: cf. Arm. bag, bak a bark, D. 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 (bak), n. [AS. baec, bac; akin to Icel., Sw., & LG. bak, Dan. bag; cf. OHG. bahho ham, Skr. bhaj to turn, OSlav. begu 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. [Obs.]
"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, 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, v. t. [ 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. "The 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 door
Back" door" . A door in the back part of a building; hence, an indirect way. Atterbury.
Backbiter
Back´bit•er, n. One who backbites; a secret calumniator or detractor.
Backdoor
Back´door´, a. Acting from behind and in concealment; backstairs; as backdoor intrigues.
Backdown
Back´down, n. A receding or giving up; a complete surrender. [Colloq.]
Backfall
Back´fall (-fal•), n. [2d 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.
Backlog
Back´log (-log•; 115), n. [ Back, a. + log.] A large stick of wood, forming the back 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.
{ 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. { Back´rack (bak"rak), Back´rag (bak"rag), } n. See Bacharach.
Backs (baks), n. pl. Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
Backsight
Back´sight (-sit•), 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´ (-slid"; 277), 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.
Backster
Back´ster, n. [See Baxter.] A baker. [Obs.]
Backstitch
Back´stitch, v. t. To sew with backstitches; as to backstitch a seam.
Backwardation
Back•war•da´tion, n. [ Backward, v. t. + -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.
Backwash
Back´wash, v. t. To clean the oil from (wool) after combing. Ash.
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 (Zoöl.), 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 loss. [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.
Bacterial
Bac•te´ri•al, a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to bacteria.
Bactericide
Bac•te´ri•cide (bak•te"ri•sid), n. [ Bacterium + L. caedere to kill] (Biol.) Same as Germicide.
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.
Bacterioscopist
Bac•te•ri•os´co•pist, n. (Biol.) One skilled in bacterioscopic examinations.
Bacterium
Bac•te´ri•um, n. ; pl. Bacteria . [NL., fr. Gr. bakth•rion, bak•tron, a staff: cf. F. bacterie.] (Biol.) A microscopic vegetable organism, belonging to the class Algae, 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. { Bac´te•roid, Bac•te•roid´al } a. [ Bacterium + -oid.] (Biol.) Resembling bacteria; as bacteroid particles.
Baculine
Bac´u•line, a. [L. baculum staff.] Of or pertaining to the rod or punishment with the rod.
Bad (bad), imp. of Bid. Bade. [Obs.] Dryden.
Bad (bad), a. [ Compar. Worse (wûs); superl. Worst (wûst).] [Probably fr. AS. baeddel hermaphrodite; cf. baedling 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 air; bad health; a bad crop; bad news. 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.
Badge, n. [LL. bagea, bagia, sign, prob. of German origin; cf. AS. beág, beáh, bracelet, collar, crown, OS. bog- in comp., AS. bugan 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.
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. (Zoöl.) 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.
Baffle
Baf´fle (baf"f’l), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Baffled (-f’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Baffling (-fling).] [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. bagr uneasy, poor, or bagr, n., struggle, baegja to push, treat harshly, OF. beffler, beffer, to mock, deceive, dial. G. bäppe 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.
Baffler
Baf´fler (baf"fler), n. One who, or that which, baffles.
Baffy
Baff´y (baf"y), n. [See Baff, v. t.] (Golf) A short wooden club having a deeply concave face, seldom used. { Ba•ha´durBa•hau´dur }, n. [Written also bahawder.] [Hind. bahadur hero, champion.] A title of respect or honor given to European officers in East Indian state papers, and colloquially, and among the natives, to distinguished officials and other important personages.
Bag, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bagged (bagd); 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.
Bagatelle
Bag•a•telle´ (bag•a•tel"), 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 (bag"gaj), n. [F. bagage, from OF. bague bundle. In senses 6 and 7 cf. F. bagasse a prostitute. See Bag, n. ]
1. The clothes, tents, utensils, and provisions of an army. "The 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.
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.
Baggager
Bag´ga•ger, n. One who takes care of baggage; a camp follower. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.
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.
Bagpiper
Bag´pip•er, n. One who plays on a bagpipe; a piper. Shak.
Bagworm
Bag´worm, n. (Zoöl.) One of several lepidopterous insects which construct, in the larval state, a baglike case which they carry about for protection. One species ( Platœceticus Gloveri) feeds on the orange tree. See Basket worm.
Bahai
Ba•hai´ (ba•hi"), n. ; pl. Bahais (-hiz). A member of the sect of the Babis consisting of the adherents of Baha (Mirza Husain Ali, entitled "Baha ’u ’llah," or, "the Splendor of God"), the elder half brother of Mirza Yahya of Nur, who succeeded the Bab as the head of the Babists. Baha in 1863 declared himself the supreme prophet of the sect, and became its recognized head. There are upwards of 20,000 Bahais in the United States.
Bahaism
Ba•ha´ism, n. The religious tenets or practices of the Bahais.
Baigne (ban), v. t. [F. baigner to bathe, fr. L. balneum bath.] To soak or drench. [Obs.] Carew.
Bail (bal), 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, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bailed (bald); 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, 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 surety 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, 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.
Bailee
Bail•ee´ (bal•e"), n. [OF. baille, 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. In penal statutes the word includes those who receive goods for another in good faith. Wharton.
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, custodian, magistrate, fr. L. bajulus 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 powers of custody or care are intrusted. 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. 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.]
Baillie
Bail´lie, n.
1. Bailiff. [Obs.]
2. Same as Bailie. [Scot.]
Bailor
Bail•or´, n. (Law) One who delivers goods or money to another in trust.
Bain (ban; as F., baN), n. [F. bain, fr. L. balneum. Cf. Bagnio.] A bath; a bagnio. [Obs.] Holland.
Bairn (bârn), 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 (bat), n. [Icel. beita food, beit pasture, akin to AS. bat food, Sw. bete. See Bait, v. t.]
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 (Zoöl.), a crustacean of the genus Hippa found burrowing in sandy beaches. See Anomura.
Bait, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Baited; p. pr. & vb. n. Baiting.] [OE. baiten, beiten, to feed, harass, fr. Icel. beita, orig., to cause to bite, fr. bita. rad.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 … baited with a vile earthworm." - W. Irving.
Bait, v. i. [F. battre de l’aile (or des ailes), to flap or flutter. See Batter, v. t.] 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.
Baize (baz), 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.
Bake (bak), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Baked (bakt); p. pr. & vb. n. Baking.] [AS. bacan; akin to D. bakken, OHG. bacchan, G. backen, Icel. & Sw. baka, Dan. bage, Gr. fw•gein to roast.]
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. Baking 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.
Bakehouse
Bake´house (-hous•), n. [AS. baechus. See Bake, v. t., and House.] A house for baking; a bakery. { Bake´meat• (bak"met•), Baked´-meat• (bakt"-), } 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. baecere. See Bake, v. t.]
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. A place for baking bread; a bakehouse.
Bakistre
Bak´is•tre, n. [See Baxter.] A baker. [Obs.] Chaucer. { Bak´sheesh•, Bak´shish• }, n. Same as Backsheesh.
Balaenoidea
Bal•ae•noi´de•a, n. [NL., from L. balaena whale + -oid.] (Zoöl) A division of the Cetacea, including the right whale and all other whales having the mouth fringed with baleen. See Baleen.
Balance
Bal´ance (bal"ans), n. [OE. balaunce, F. balance, fr. L. bilanx, bilancis, having two scales; bis twice (akin to E. two) + lanx plate, scale.]
1. An apparatus for weighing. 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. t., 8. 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. (Zoöl) 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 inclination 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.
Balancereef
Bal´ance•reef, n. (Naut.) The last reef in a fore-and-aft sail, taken to steady the ship.
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. ba•lanos acorn + glw^ssa tongue.] (Zoöl) A peculiar marine worm. See Enteropneusta, and Tornaria.
Balanoid
Bal´a•noid, a. [Gr. balanos acorn + -oid.] (Zoöl.) 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.
Balbuties
Bal•bu´ti•es, n. (Med.) The defect of stammering; also a kind of incomplete pronunciation.
Balcony
Bal´co•ny (bal"ko•ny; 277), n. ; pl. Balconies (-niz). [It. balcone; cf. It. balco, palco, scaffold, fr. OHG. balcho, palcho, 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. "The accent has shifted from the second to the first syllable within these twenty years." Smart (1836).
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-faced
Bald´-faced, a. Having a white face or a white mark on the face, as a stag.
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, 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, hay, etc., put up compactly for transportation. Bale of dice, a pair of dice. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Bale, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Baled ; p. pr. & vb. n. Baling.] To make up in a bale. Goldsmith.
Bale, v. t. See Bail, v. t., to lade.
Balearic
Bal•e•ar´ic (bal•e•ar"ik), a. [L. Balearicus, fr. Gr. baliarei^s 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. (Zoöl.) See Crane.
Baleful
Bale´ful (bal"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.
Balister
Bal´is•ter (bal"is•ter or ba•lis"ter), n. [OF. balestre. See Ballista.] A crossbow. [Obs.] Blount.
Balistoid
Bal´is•toid, a. (Zoöl.) Like a fish of the genus Balistes; of the family Balistidae. See Filefish.
Balk (bak), n. [AS. balca beam, ridge; akin to Icel. balkr partition, bjalki beam, OS. balko, G. balken; cf. Gael. balc ridge of earth between two furrows. Cf. Balcony, Balk, v. t., 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, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Balked (bakt); 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 inns." - 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 thwart; as to balk expectation.
"They shall not balk my entrance." - Byron.
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.
Balkingly
Balk´ing•ly, adv. In a manner to balk or frustrate.
Ball (bal), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. böllr, 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 rifle ball; — often used collectively; as powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.
5. (Pyrotechnics & 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, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Balled (bald); 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, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. ba•llein to toss or throw, or pa•llein, pa•llesqai, to leap, bound, balli•zein 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 monger
Bal"lad mon•ger . [See Monger.] A seller or maker of ballads; a poetaster. Shak.
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.
Balladry
Bal´lad•ry, n. [From Ballad, n. ] Ballad poems; the subject or style of ballads. "Base balladry is so beloved." Drayton. { Bal´la•hoo, Bal´la•hou } (bal"la•hoo), n. A fast-sailing schooner, used in the Bermudas and West Indies.
Ballarag
Bal´la•rag (-rag), v. t. [Corrupted fr. bullirag.] To bully; to threaten. [Low] T. Warton.
Ballast
Bal´last (bal"l ast), 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 carrying 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.
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 (bal"la• or bal"let; 277), 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.
Ballister
Bal´lis•ter (bal"lis•ter or bal•lis"ter), n. [L. ballista. Cf. Balister.] A crossbow. [Obs.]
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.
Ballistite
Bal´lis•tite, n. [See Ballista.] (Chem.) A smokeless powder containing equal parts of soluble nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin.
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 aërial 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 inflated ball. [Obs.]
6. (Engraving) The outline inclosing words represented as coming from the mouth of a pictured figure. Air balloon, a balloon for aërial 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 fish
Bal•loon" fish . (Zoöl.) 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.
Ballooner
Bal•loon´er, n. One who goes up in a balloon; an aëronaut.
Balloonry
Bal•loon´ry, n. The art or practice of ascending in a balloon; aëronautics.
Ballot
Bal´lot (bal"lut), 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.
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 (bal"lut), 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.
Ballotade
Bal´lo•tade (bal"lo•täd• or - tad•), 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.
Ballotin
Bal´lo•tin, n. [F.] An officer who has charge of a ballot box. [Obs.] Harrington.
Ballproof
Ball´proof, a. Incapable of being penetrated by balls from firearms.
Balm (bäm), n. [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F. baume, L. balsamum balsam, from Gr. ba•lsamon; perhaps of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. basam. 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 (Zoöl.), 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).
Balmify
Balm´i•fy, v. t. [ Balm + - fy.] To render balmy. [Obs.] Cheyne.
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.
Balopticon
Bal•op´ti•con, n. [Gr. to throw + stereopticon.] See Projector, below.
Balotade
Bal´o•tade (bal"lo•täd• or - tad•), n. See Ballotade.
Balsam
Bal´sam (bal"s am), n. [L. balsamum the balsam tree or its resin, Gr. ba•lsamon. See Balm, n. ]
1. A resin containing more or less of an essential or volatile oil. The 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 Pereirae 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 ( Myroxylon 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.
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. { Bal"ti•more bird• . Bal"ti•more o"ri•ole . } (Zoöl.) 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. balay•stion; — so named from the similarity of form.] (Arch.) A small column or pilaster, used as a support to the rail of an open parapet, to guard the side of a staircase, or the front of a gallery. See Balustrade. [Corrupted into banister.]
Balustered
Bal´us•tered (-terd), a. Having balusters. Dryden.
Balustrade
Bal´us•trade (-trad•), n. [F. balustrade, It. balaustrata fr. balaustro. See Baluster.] (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.
Bamboozle
Bam•boo´zle (-z’l), 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.
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. fa•nai to say, L. fari to speak, Skr. bhan to speak; cf. F. ban, LL. bannum, of G. origin. rad.86. Cf. 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, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Banned (band); 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.
Banal
Ban´al, a. [F., fr. ban an ordinance.] Commonplace; trivial; hackneyed; trite.
Banality
Ba•nal´i•ty, n. ; pl. Banalities . [F. banalite. 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 (ba•nä"na; 277), n. [Sp. banana, name of the fruit.] (Bot.) A perennial herbaceous plant of almost treelike size ( Musa sapientum); also its edible fruit. See Musa. The banana 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 (Zoöl.), a small American bird ( Icterus leucopteryx), which feeds on the banana. — Banana quit (Zoöl.), 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, 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).
Bancal
Ban•cal´, n. ; pl. - cales (#). [Sp., fr. banca, banco, bench. Cf. Bench.] An ornamental covering, as of carpet or leather, for a bench or form.
Banco
Ban´co, n. [It. See Bank.] A bank, especially that of Venice. This 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. bandi, 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. rad.90. See 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." - Acts 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.
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. (Zoöl.) 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, v. t. To bandy; to drive away. [Obs.]
Band, imp. of Bind. [Obs.] Spenser.
Band fish
Band" fish . (Zoöl.) A small red fish of the genus Cepola; the ribbon fish.
Bandage
Band´age (band"aj), 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 (-ajd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bandaging (band"a•jing).] 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). { Ban•dan´na, Ban•dan´a }, n. [Hind. bandhnu 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.
Bandeau
Ban´deau (ban"do), n. ; pl. Bandeaux (ban"doz). [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.
{ Band´e•let, Band´let }, n. [F. bandelette, dim. of bande. See Band, n. , and cf. 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.] { Band´e•role, Band´rol }, n. [F. banderole, dim. of bandière, bannière, 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.
Banderilla
Ban•de•ril´la, n. [Sp., dim. of bandera banner. See Banner, and cf. Banderole.] A barbed dart carrying a banderole which the banderillero thrusts into the neck or shoulder of the bull in a bullfight.
Bandit
Ban´dit (ban"dit), n. ; pl. Bandits (ban"dits), orBanditti (ban•dit"ti). [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.
The plural banditti was formerly used as a collective noun.
"Deerstealers are ever a desperate banditti." - Sir W. Scott.
Bandog
Ban´dog (ban"dog•; 115), 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.
{ Ban•do•leer´, Ban•do•lier´ }, n. [F. bandoulière (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 hair.
Bandon
Ban´don, n. [OF. bandon. See Abandon.] Disposal; control; license. [Obs.] Rom. of R.
Bandore
Ban´dore ( or ), n. [Sp. bandurria, fr. L. pandura, pandurium, a musical instrument of three strings, fr. Gr. pandoy^ra. Cf. Pandore, Banjo, Mandolin.] A musical stringed instrument, similar in form to a guitar; a pandore.
Bandy
Ban´dy, n. ; pl. Bandies (-diz). [Cf. F. bande, 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 (-did); 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, a. Bent; crooked; curved laterally, esp. with the convex side outward; as a bandy leg.
Bang, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Banged; p. pr. & vb. n. Banging.] [Icel. banga to hammer; akin to Dan. banke to beat, Sw. bångas 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, 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 }, n. See Bhang.
Bangle
Ban´gle (ban"g’l), v. t. [From 1st Bang.] To waste by little and little; to fritter away. [Obs.]
Banian
Ban´ian (ban"y an or ban•yan"; 277), 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 (ban"ish), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Banished (-isht); 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.
Banjorine
Ban•jo•rine´, n. [From banjore banjo. See Banjo.] (Music.) A kind of banjo, with a short neck, tuned a fourth higher than the common banjo; — popularly so called.
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 (Zoöl.), 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, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Banked(bankt); 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, 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, 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 given the required security to a bank has liberty to draw to a certain extent agreed upon. — 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, v. t. To deposit in a bank. Johnson.
Bank, n. A group or series of objects arranged near together; as a bank of electric lamps, etc.
Bank note
Bank" note .
1. A promissory note issued by a bank or banking company, payable to bearer on demand. 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.
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.
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. MCulloch.
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. In England, until 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.
Bankside
Bank´side, n. The slope of a bank, especially of the bank of a steam.
Banner
Ban´ner, n. [OE. banere, OF. baniere, F. bannière, bandière, 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 (Zoöl.), 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. Furnished with, or bearing, banners. "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. The 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.
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 (ban"kwet), 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.
Banqueter
Ban´quet•er (ban"kwet•er), n. One who banquets; one who feasts or makes feasts.
Banquette
Ban•quette´ (ban•ket"), 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. { 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.] (Zoöl.) A small fish, the three-spined stickleback.
Bantam work
Ban"tam work. Carved and painted work in imitation of Japan ware.
Banteng
Ban´teng, n. (Zoöl.) 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.]
Bantling
Bant´ling, n. [Prob. for bandling, from band, and meaning a child wrapped in swaddling bands; or cf. G. bäntling 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. (Zoöl.) 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.
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. In doctrine 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. { Bap´tis•ter•y, Bap´tis•try }, n. ; pl. Baptisteries, -tries . [L. baptisterium, Gr. : cf. F. baptistère.] (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.
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. 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.
Bar (bär), n. [OE. barre, F. barre, fr. LL. barra, W. bar the branch of a tree, bar, baren branch, Gael. & Ir. barra bar. rad.91.]
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.
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. A double bar marks the end 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, any matter 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 (bär), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Barred (bärd); 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.
Barathea
Bar•a•the´a, n. A soft fabric with a kind of basket weave and a diapered pattern.
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. (Zoöl.) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather.
7. (Zoöl.) 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, 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, n. [Corrupted fr. bard.] Armor for a horse. Same as 2d Bard, n. , 1.
Barbadian
Bar•ba´di•an, a. Of or pertaining to Barbados. — n. A native of Barbados. { Bar•ba´dosBar•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.
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." - 1 Cor. xiv. 11.
2. A man in a rude, 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.
Barbarism
Bar´ba•rism (bär"ba•riz’m), n. [L. barbarismus, Gr. barbarismo•s; 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.]
1. 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.
Barbarous
Bar´ba•rous, a. [L. barbarus, Gr. ba•rbaros, 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.
Barbarousness
Bar´ba•rous•ness, n. The quality or state of being barbarous; barbarity; barbarism.
Barbate
Bar´bate, a. [L. barbatus, fr. barba beard. See Barb beard.] (Bot.) Bearded; beset with long and weak hairs. Gray.
Barbated
Bar´ba•ted, a. Having barbed points.
"A dart uncommonly barbated." - T. Warton.
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 (bärbd or bärb"ed), a. [See 4th Barb.] Accoutered with defensive armor; — said of a horse. See Barded (which is the proper form.) Sir W. Raleigh.
Barbel
Bar´bel (bär"bel), n. [OF. barbel, F. barbeau, dim. of L. barbus barbel, fr. barba beard. See 1st Barb.]
1. (Zoöl.) A slender tactile organ on the lips of certain fishes.
2. (Zoöl.) 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 tongues of horses and cattle. See 1st Barb, 3.
Barbellate
Bar´bel•late (-lat), a. [See 1st Barb.] (Bot.) Having short, stiff hairs, often barbed at the point. Gray.
Barbellulate
Bar•bel´lu•late (bär•bel"lu•lat), a. (Bot.) Barbellate with diminutive hairs or barbs.
Barber
Bar´ber (bär"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. 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.
Barbet
Bar´bet, n. [F. barbet, fr. barbe beard, long hair of certain animals. See Barb beard.] (Zoöl.) (a) A variety of small dog, having long curly hair. (b) A bird of the family Bucconidae, 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.] { 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. { Bar´bi•can•age, Bar´ba•can•age }, n. [LL. barbicanagium. See Barbican.] Money paid for the support of a barbican. [Obs.] Bouvier.
Barbicel
Bar´bi•cel, n. [NL. barbicella, dim. of L. barba. See 1st Barb.] (Zoöl.) One of the small hooklike processes on the barbules of feathers.
Barbigerous
Bar•big´er•ous, a. [L. barba a beard + -gerous.] Having a beard; bearded; hairy.
Barbotine
Bar´bo•tine, n. [F.] A paste of clay used in decorating coarse pottery in relief.
Barbule
Bar´bule, n. [L. barbula, fr. barba beard.]
1. A very minute barb or beard. Booth.
2. (Zoöl.) One of the processes along the edges of the barbs of a feather, by which adjacent barbs interlock. See Feather.
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.
Bardish
Bard´ish, a. Pertaining to, or written by, a bard or bards. "Bardish impostures." Selden.
Bardism
Bard´ism (-iz’m), n. The system of bards; the learning and maxims of bards.
Bardling
Bard´ling (-ling), n. An inferior bard. J. Cunningham.
Bare, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bared(bârd); p. pr. & vb. n. Baring.] [AS. barian. See Bare, a. ] To strip off the covering of; to make bare; as to bare the breast.
Barebacked
Bare´backed (-bakd•), a. Having the back uncovered; as a barebacked horse.
Barebone
Bare´bone (bâr"bon•), n. A very lean person; one whose bones show through the skin. Shak.
Barefoot
Bare´foot (bâr"foot), a. & adv. With the feet bare; without shoes or stockings.
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.
Bargainee
Bar•gain•ee´, n. [OF. bargaigne, 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.
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.]
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.
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.
Baria
Ba´ri•a, n. [Cf. Barium.] (Chem.) Baryta.
Baric
Bar´ic (bar"ik), a. (Chem.) Of or pertaining to barium; as baric oxide.
Bark (bärk), n. [Akin to Dan. & Sw. bark, Icel. börkr, 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, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Barked (bärkt); 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, n. The short, loud, explosive sound uttered by a dog; a similar sound made by some other animals. { 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 square-rigged, and her mizzenmast schooner- rigged.
Bark louse
Bark" louse . (Zoöl.) An insect of the family Coccidae, which infests the bark of trees and vines. The wingless females assume the shape of scales. The bark louse of the vine is Pulvinaria innumerabilis; that of the pear is Lecanium pyri. See Orange scale.
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.
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.
Barky
Bark´y, a. Covered with, or containing, bark. "The barky fingers of the elm." Shak.
Barley
Bar´ley, n. [OE. barli, barlich, AS. baerlic; bere barley + lic (which is prob. the same as E. like, adj., or perh. a form of AS. leac leek). AS. bere is akin to Icel, barr barley, Goth. barizeins made of barley, L. far spelt; cf. W. barlys barley, bara bread. 92. Cf. 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. Barley bird (Zoöl.), 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. { Bar´ley•brake•Bar´ley•break• } (bär"ly•brak•), 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 (-bre•), 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.
Barmecidal
Bar´me•ci•dal, a. [See Barmecide.] Unreal; illusory. "A sort of Barmecidal feast." Hood.
Barmy
Barm´y (bärm"y), a. Full of barm or froth; in a ferment. "Barmy beer." Dryden.
Barn (bärn), n. [OE. bern, AS. berern, bern; bere barley + ern, aern, a close place. rad.92. See 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 (Zoöl.), an owl of Europe and America ( Aluco flammeus, or Strix flammea), which frequents barns and other buildings. — Barn swallow (Zoöl.), the common American swallow ( Hirundo horreorum), which attaches its nest of mud to the beams and rafters of barns.
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. pe•rna ham. Cf. F. bernacle, barnacle, E. barnacle a goose; and Ir. bairneach, barneach, limpet.] (Zoöl.) 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 (Zoöl.), the orange filefish. — Barnacle scale (Zoöl.), 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.
Barology
Ba•rol´o•gy, n. [Gr. baros weight + -logy.] The science of weight or gravity.
Barometer
Ba•rom´e•ter, n. [Gr. baros weight + -meter: cf. F. baromètre.] 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. The barometer 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. { Bar•o•met´ric (bar•o•met"rik), Bar•o•met´ric•al (-met"ri•k al), } a. Pertaining to the barometer; made or indicated by a barometer; as barometric changes; barometrical observations.
Barometry
Ba•rom´e•try, n. The art or process of making barometrical measurements.
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. "The tenants 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 are •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. — Barons of the exchequer, the judges of the Court of Exchequer, one of the three ancient courts of England, now abolished.
Baronetage
Bar´on•et•age, n.
1. State or rank of a baronet.
2. The collective body of baronets.
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.
Baroque
Ba•roque´, a. Irregular in form; — said esp. of a pearl.
Barpost
Bar´post, n. A post sunk in the ground to receive the bars closing a passage into a field.
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.
Barracoon
Bar´ra•coon, n. [Sp. or Pg. barraca. See Barrack.] A slave warehouse, or an inclosure where slaves are quartered temporarily. Du Chaillu. { Bar•ra•cu´da, Bar•ra•cou´ta } n.
1. (Zoöl.) A voracious, pikelike, marine fish, of the genus Sphyraena, sometimes used as food. That of Europe and our Atlantic coast is Sphyraena spet (or S. vulgaris); a southern species is S. picuda; the Californian is S. argentea.
2. (Zoöl.) A large edible fresh-water fish of Australia and New Zealand ( Thyrsites atun).
Barranca
Bar•ran´ca, n. [Sp.] A ravine caused by heavy rains or a watercourse. [Texas & N. Mex.]
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.
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. Park.
3. (Scots Law) The crime of a judge who is influenced by bribery in pronouncing judgment. Wharton.
Barrel
Bar´rel (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 31½ 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.
4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged. Knight.
5. A jar. [Obs.] 1 Kings xvii. 12.
6. (Zoöl.) 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 (bar"rel), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Barreled (-reld), or Barrelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Barreling, or Barrelling.] To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels. { Bar´reled, Bar´relled }, a. Having a barrel; — used in composition; as a double- barreled gun.
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.
Barretter
Bar´ret•ter, n. [OF. bareter to exchange. Cf. Barter.] (Wireless Teleg.) A thermal cymoscope which operates by increased resistance when subjected to the influence of electric waves. The original form consisted of an extremely fine platinum wire loop attached to terminals and inclosed in a small glass or silver bulb. In a later variety, called the liquid barretter, wire is replace by a column of liquid in a very fine capillary tube.
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.
Barrier
Bar´ri•er, n. [OE. barrere, barere, F. barrière, 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. 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.]
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 (bar"ro), 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. bergh, AS. beorg, beorh, hill, sepulchral mound; akin to G. berg mountain, Goth. bairgahei hill, hilly country, and perh. to Skr. brhant 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.
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 (bärs), n. [AS. bears, baers, akin to D. baars, G. bars, barsch. Cf. 1st Bass, n. ] The common perch. See 1st Bass. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Barter
Bar´ter (bär"ter), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Bartered (-terd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bartering.] [OE. bartren, OF. barater, bareter, to cheat, exchange, perh. fr. Gr. pra•ttein 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.
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.
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.
Barycentric
Bar•y•cen´tric, a. [Gr. bary•s heavy + ke•ntron center.] Of or pertaining to the center of gravity. See Barycentric calculus, under Calculus.
Baryphony
Ba•ryph´o•ny, n. [Gr. bary•s heavy + fwnh• a sound, voice.] (Med.) Difficulty of speech.
Baryta
Ba•ry´ta, n. [Gr. bary•s 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. bary•s heavy: cf. Gr. bary•ths heaviness, F. baryte.] (Min.) Barium sulphate, generally called heavy spar or barite. See Barite.
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.
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.
Base (bas), 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 peasant 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, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. ba•sis a stepping, step, a base, pedestal, fr. bai•nein 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.
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. (Zoöl.) 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 or 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 (bas), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Based (basd); 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, 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.
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, 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.
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.
Basenet
Bas´e•net, n. See Bascinet. [Obs.]
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.
Bash, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bashing.] [Perh. of imitative origin; or cf. Dan. baske to strike, bask a blow, Sw. basa to beat, bas a beating.] To strike heavily; to beat; to crush. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Hall Caine.
"Bash her open with a rock." Kipling.
Bashaw
Ba•shaw´, n. [See Pasha.]
1. A Turkish title of honor, now written pasha. See Pasha.
2. Fig.: A magnate or grandee.
3. (Zoöl.) A very large siluroid fish ( Leptops olivaris) of the Mississippi valley; — also called goujon, mud cat, and yellow cat.
Bashful
Bash´ful (bash"ful), a. [See Bash.]
1. Abashed; daunted; dismayed. [Obs.]
2. Very modest, or modest to 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.
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 in all; bashfulness often gives rise to mistakes and blundering; diffidence in society frequently makes a man a burden to himself; shyness usually produces a reserve or distance which is often mistaken for haughtiness.
Bashless
Bash´less, a. Shameless; unblushing. [Obs.] Spenser.
Basifier
Ba´si•fi•er, n. (Chem.) That which converts into a salifiable base.
Basify
Ba´si•fy, v. t. [ Base + - fy.] (Chem.) To convert into a salifiable base.
Basihyoid
Ba•si•hy´oid, n. [ Basi- + hyoid.] (Anat.) The central tongue bone.
Basil
Bas´il (baz"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 (baz"il), n. [Corrupt. from E. basan, F. basane, LL. basanium, bazana, fr. Ar. bithana, prop., lining.] The skin of a sheep tanned with bark. { 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. { 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.
Basilicok
Ba•sil´i•cok, n. [OF. basilicoc.] The basilisk. [Obs.] Chaucer
Basilicon
Ba•sil´i•con, n. [L. basilicon, Gr. basiliko•n neut. of basiliko•s 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. basiliskos little king, kind of serpent, dim. of basileys 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. (Zoöl.) A lizard of the genus Basiliscus, belonging to the family Iguanidae. This genus 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. Pope
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.
Basis
Ba´sis (ba"sis), n. ; pl. Bases (-sez). [L. basis, Gr. ba•sis. 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.
3. The groundwork; 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.
Basisphenoid
Ba•si•sphe´noid, n. (Anat.) The basisphenoid bone.
Bask (bask), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Basked (baskt); p. pr. & vb. n. Basking.] [OScand. baðask 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.
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 (Zoöl.), 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, Basket-hilted, a. — Basket work, work consisting of plaited osiers or twigs. — Basket worm (Zoöl.), a lepidopterous insect of the genus Thyridopteryx and allied genera, esp. T. ephemeraeformis. 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.
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.
Basque (bask), a. [F.] Pertaining to Biscay, its people, or their language.
Bas-relief
Bas•-re•lief´, n. [F. bas- relief; bas low + 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 bass-relief and basso-rilievo. See Alto- rilievo.
Bass (bas), n. ; pl. Bass, and sometimes Basses (- ez). [A corruption of barse.] (Zoöl.)
1. An edible, spiny-finned fish, esp. of the genera Roccus, Labrax, and related genera. There are many species. The common European bass 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 ( Sciaena ocellata). See Redfish. The name is also applied to many other fishes. See Calico bass, under Calico.
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, n. [F. bass. , 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, 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 deep-sounding voice; a voice fitted for singing bass.
Bass, v. t. To sound in a deep tone. [R.] Shak. { 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.
Bass horn
Bass" horn" . (Mus.) A modification of the bassoon, much deeper in tone.
Bass viol
Bass" vi•ol . (Mus.) A stringed instrument of the viol family, used for playing bass. See 3d Bass, n. , and Violoncello.
Basset
Bas´set (bas"set or 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, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Basseted; p. pr. & vb. n. Basseting.] (Geol.) To incline upward so as to appear at the surface; to crop out; as a vein of coal bassets.
Basset horn
Bas"set horn (hôrn•). [See Basset, a. ] (Mus.) An instrument blown with a reed, and resembling a clarinet, but of much greater compass, embracing nearly four octaves.
Bassetto
Bas•set´to, n. [It., adj. , somewhat low; n. , counter tenor. See Basso.] (Mus.) A tenor or small bass viol.
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 bass. . (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.
Bassoon
Bas•soon´, n. [F. basson, fr. bass. 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. 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. { Bas´so-ri•lie´vo, Bas´so-re•lie´vo }, n. [It. basso-rilievo.] Same as Bas- relief.
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, n. [AS. baest; 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.
Bastard
Bas´tard, n. [OF. bastard, bastart, F. btard, prob. fr. OF. bast, F. bt, 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. By the 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 have already had several boilings. (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 (Zoöl.), three to five quill feathers on a small joint corresponding to the thumb in some mammalia; the alula.
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.
Baste (bast), 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, v. t. [OE. basten, OF. bastir, F. btir, 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. { Bas•tile´Bas•tille´ } (bas•tel" or bas"tel; 277), n. [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. bâtir.]
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.
Bastinado
Bas•ti•na´do, n. ; pl. Bastinadoes . [Sp. bastonada (cf. F. bastonnade), fr. baston (cf. F. bâton) 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. Bastinadoed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Bastinadoing.] To beat with a stick or cudgel, especially on the soles of the feet.
Bastion
Bas´tion (bas"chun; 106), n. [F. bastion (cf. It. bastione), fr. LL. bastire to build (cf. F. bâtir, It. bastire), perh. from the idea of support for a weight, and akin to Gr. basta•zein 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.
Basto
Bas´to (bas"to), n. [Sp.] The ace of clubs in quadrille and omber. Pope.
Baston
Bas´ton (bas"tun), n. [OF. baston, F. bâton, 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 (bas"il or bas"il), n. [Gr. ba•sis base + "y•lh wood. See -yl.] (Chem.) A positive or nonacid constituent of a compound, either elementary, or, if compound, performing the functions of an element.
Bat, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Batted (bat"ted); p. pr. & vb. n. Batting.] To strike or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat. Holland.
Bat, v. i. To use a bat, as in a game of baseball.
Bat, n. [Corrupt. from OE. back, backe, balke; cf. Dan. aften- bakke (aften evening), Sw. natt- backa (natt night), Icel. leðr- blaka (leðr leather), Icel. blaka to flutter.] (Zoöl.) 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.
"Silent bats in drowsy clusters cling." Goldsmith. Bat tick (Zoöl.), a wingless, dipterous insect of the genus Nycteribia, parasitic on bats.
Bat, n. [Siamese.] Same as Tical, n. , 1.
Bat printing
Bat" print•ing . (Ceramics) A mode of printing on glazed ware.
Batavian
Ba•ta´vi•an, n. A native or inhabitant of Batavia or Holland. [R.] Bancroft.
Batch, n. [OE. bache, bacche, fr. AS. bacan to bake; cf. G. gebäck 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, n. [Prob. abbrev. from debate.] Strife; contention. [Obs.] Shak.
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 of 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, v. t. To attack; to bait. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bate, imp. of Bite. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bate, v. i. [F. battre des ailes to flutter. Cf. Bait to flutter.] To flutter as a hawk; to bait. [Obs.] Bacon.
Bate, n. (Jewish Antiq.) See 2d Bath.
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, boat, which agrees with AS. bat 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.
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.
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 (bat"ful), a. [Icel. bati amelioration, batna to grow better; akin to AS. bet better. Goth. ga-batnan to profit. rad.255. Cf. Batten, v. i., Better.] Rich; fertile. [Obs.] "Batful valleys." Drayton.
Bath (bath; 61), n. ; pl. Baths (bathz). [AS. baeð; akin to OS. & Icel. bað, Sw., Dan., D., & G. bad, and perh. to G. bähen 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. Bath is used adjectively 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.
Bathe (bath), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bathed (bathd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bathing.] [OE. baðien, AS. baðian, fr. baeð 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 Caesar’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, n. The immersion of the body in water; as to take one’s usual bathe. Edin. Rev.
Bathorse
Bat´horse, n. [F. bât packsaddle (cheval de bât packhorse) + E. horse. See Bastard.] A horse which carries an officer’s baggage during a campaign.
Bating
Bat´ing, prep. [Strictly p. pr. of Bate 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.
Batman
Bat´man (ba"m an or bat"m an), n. ; pl. Batmen (-m en). [F. bât packsaddle + E. man. Cf. Bathorse.] A man who has charge of a bathorse and his load. Macaulay.
Baton
Bat´on (bat"un, F. bä•tôN"; 277), n. [F. bâton. 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.
Batrachian
Ba•tra´chi•an, a. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the Batrachia. — n. One of the Batrachia.
Battable
Bat´ta•ble, a. [See Batful.] Capable of cultivation; fertile; productive; fattening. [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 (bat•tal"ya; 106), 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 (-tal"yun; 106), 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.
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, 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.
{ 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 (bat"t’n), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Battened (-t’nd); 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, n . [F. bâton 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, 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 (bat"ter), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Battered (-terd); 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.
Batterer
Bat´ter•er (-ter•er), n. One who, or that which, batters.
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 echarpe, 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. In the trough battery, copper and zinc plates, 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 Leclanche’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.
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. Battle 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; battle array; 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 mêlee. 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 (bat"t’l), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Battled (-tl’d); 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.
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 (-m ent), 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.
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 (bat"ty), a. Belonging to, or resembling, a bat. "Batty wings." Shak.
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 }, n. & v. See Balk.
Bavardage
Ba•var•dage´, n. [F.] Much talking; prattle; chatter. Byron.
Bavarian
Ba•va´ri•an, a. Of or pertaining to Bavaria. — n. A native or an inhabitant of Bavaria. Bavarian cream. See under Cream.
Bavian
Ba´vi•an (ba"vi• an), n. [See Baboon.] A baboon.
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, 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.
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.
Bawdyhouse
Baw´dy•house, n. A house of prostitution; a house of ill fame; a brothel.
Bawl (bal), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Bawled (bald); p. pr. & vb. n. Bawling.] [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; 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, v. t. To proclaim with a loud voice, or by outcry, as a hawker or town-crier does. Swift.
Bawrel
Baw´rel, n. [Cf. It. barletta a tree falcon, or hobby.] A kind of hawk. [Obs.] Halliwell. { Baw´sin, Baw´son } n. [OE. bawson, baucyne, badger (named from its color), OF. bauzan, bauçant, 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. baecestre, prop. fem. of baecere baker. See Baker.] A baker; originally, a female baker. [Old Eng. & Scotch]
Bay, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Bayed (bad); 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, 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, v. t. [Cf. OE. baewen to bathe, and G. bähen to foment.] To bathe. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bay rum
Bay" rum" . A fragrant liquid, used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. The original bay rum, from the West Indies, is prepared, it is believed, by distillation from the leaves of the bayberry ( Myrcia acris). The bay rum of the Pharmacopœia (spirit of myrcia) is prepared from oil of myrcia (bayberry), oil of orange peel, oil of pimento, alcohol, and water. { Bays, Bayze }, n. See Baize. [Obs.]
Bay State. Massachusetts, which had been called the Colony of Massachusetts Bay; — a nickname.
Bay-antler
Bay´-ant•ler, n. [See Bez- Antler.] (Zoöl.) 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.
Bayed, a. Having a bay or bays. "The large bayed barn." Drayton.
Bayonet
Bay´o•net, n. [F. bayonnette, baïonnette; — 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. Originally, 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 State
Bay"ou State Mississippi; — a nickname, from its numerous bayous.