| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| babblement | noun | Babble. |
| babiroussa | noun | Alt. of Babirussa |
| babylonian | adjective | Of or pertaining to the real or to the mystical Babylon, or to the ancient kingdom of Babylonia; Chaldean., An inhabitant of Babylonia (which included Chaldea); a Chaldean., An astrologer; — so called because the Chaldeans were remarkable for the study of astrology. |
| babylonish | noun | Of or pertaining to, or made in, Babylon or Babylonia., Pertaining to the Babylon of Revelation xiv. 8., Pertaining to Rome and papal power., Confused; Babel-like. |
| babyroussa | noun | Alt. of Babyrussa |
| bacchantes | plural | of Bacchant, of Bacchante |
| bacchantic | adjective | Bacchanalian. |
| backbiting | noun | Secret slander; detraction. |
| backfriend | noun | A secret enemy. |
| backgammon | noun | A game of chance and skill, played by two persons on a “board” marked off into twenty-four spaces called “points”. Each player has fifteen pieces, or “men”, the movements of which from point to point are determined by throwing dice. Formerly called tables., In the game of backgammon, to beat by ending the game before the loser is clear of his first “table”. |
| background | noun | Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance, as opposed to the foreground, or the ground in front., The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures., Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background of red hangings., A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight. |
| backhanded | adjective | With the hand turned backward; as, a backhanded blow., Indirect; awkward; insincere; sarcastic; as, a backhanded compliment., Turned back, or inclining to the left; as, a backhanded letters. |
| backhander | noun | A backhanded blow. |
| backsheesh | noun | Alt. of Backshish |
| backslider | noun | One who backslides. |
| backstairs | adjective | Alt. of Backstair |
| backstitch | noun | A stitch made by setting the needle back of the end of the last stitch, and bringing it out in front of the end., To sew with backstitches; as, to backstitch a seam. |
| backstress | noun | A female baker. |
| backwardly | adverb | Reluctantly; slowly; aversely., Perversely; ill. |
| bafflement | noun | The process or act of baffling, or of being baffled; frustration; check. |
| bain-marie | noun | A vessel for holding hot water in which another vessel may be heated without scorching its contents; — used for warming or preparing food or pharmaceutical preparations. |
| baisemains | noun pl. | Respects; compliments. |
| baked-meat | noun | A pie; baked food. |
| balas ruby | A variety of spinel ruby, of a pale rose red, or inclining to orange. See Spinel. | |
| balaustine | noun | The pomegranate tree (Punica granatum). The bark of the root, the rind of the fruit, and the flowers are used medicinally. |
| balbutiate | verb i. | Alt. of Balbucinate |
| bald eagle | The white-headed eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) of America. The young, until several years old, lack the white feathers on the head. | |
| balderdash | noun | A worthless mixture, especially of liquors., Senseless jargon; ribaldry; nonsense; trash., To mix or adulterate, as liquors. |
| bald-faced | adjective | Having a white face or a white mark on the face, as a stag. |
| baldheaded | adjective | Having a bald head. |
| ballasting | present participle & vb. noun | of Ballast, That which is used for steadying anything; ballast. |
| ballastage | noun | A toll paid for the privilege of taking up ballast in a port or harbor. |
| ballistics | noun | The science or art of hurling missile weapons by the use of an engine. |
| ballooning | noun | The art or practice of managing balloons or voyaging in them., The process of temporarily raising the value of a stock, as by fictitious sales. |
| balloonist | noun | An aeronaut. |
| balneation | noun | The act of bathing. |
| balneatory | adjective | Belonging to a bath. |
| balneology | noun | A treatise on baths; the science of bathing. |
| balsamical | adjective | Having the qualities of balsam; containing, or resembling, balsam; soft; mitigative; soothing; restorative. |
| balustered | adjective | Having balusters. |
| balustrade | noun | 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. |
| bamboozled | imp. & past participle | of Bamboozle |
| bamboozler | noun | A swindler; one who deceives by trickery. |
| banalities | plural | of Banality |
| bandmaster | noun | The conductor of a musical band. |
| banishment | noun | The act of banishing, or the state of being banished. |
| bankrupted | imp. & past participle | of Bankrupt |
| bankruptcy | noun | The state of being actually or legally bankrupt., The act or process of becoming a bankrupt., Complete loss; — followed by of. |
| bank-sided | adjective | Having sides inclining inwards, as a ship; — opposed to wall-sided. |
| banqueting | present participle & vb. noun | of Banquet |
| banquetter | noun | One who banquets; one who feasts or makes feasts. |
| banstickle | noun | A small fish, the three-spined stickleback. |
| bantingism | noun | A method of reducing corpulence by avoiding food containing much farinaceous, saccharine, or oily matter; — so called from William Banting of London. |
| baptistery | noun | Alt. of Baptistry |
| baptizable | adjective | Capable of being baptized; fit to be baptized. |
| barbarized | imp. & past participle | of Barbarize |
| barbecuing | present participle & vb. noun | of Barbecue |
| barbellate | adjective | Having short, stiff hairs, often barbed at the point. |
| barcarolle | noun | A popular song or melody sung by Venetian gondoliers., A piece of music composed in imitation of such a song. |
| barebacked | adjective | Having the back uncovered; as, a barebacked horse. |
| barefooted | adjective | Having the feet bare. |
| barehanded | noun | Having bare hands. |
| bareheaded | adjective & adverb | Alt. of Barehead |
| barelegged | adjective | Having the legs bare. |
| barenecked | adjective | Having the neck bare. |
| bargaining | present participle & vb. noun | of Bargain |
| bargeboard | noun | A vergeboard. |
| barkantine | noun | Same as Barkentine. |
| barkentine | noun | A threemasted vessel, having the foremast square-rigged, and the others schooner-rigged. [Spelled also barquentine, barkantine, etc.] See Illust. in Append. |
| bark louse | An insect of the family Coccidae, which infests the bark of trees and vines. | |
| barleycorn | noun | A grain or “corn” of barley., Formerly , a measure of length, equal to the average length of a grain of barley; the third part of an inch. |
| barmecidal | adjective | Unreal; illusory. |
| barometric | adjective | Alt. of Barometrical |
| baronetage | noun | State or rank of a baronet., The collective body of baronets. |
| baroscopic | adjective | Alt. of Baroscopical |
| barraclade | noun | A home-made woolen blanket without nap. |
| barratrous | / | Tainter with, or constituting, barratry. |
| barred owl | A large American owl (Syrnium nebulosum); — so called from the transverse bars of a dark brown color on the breast. | |
| barrelling | of Barrel | |
| barrenness | noun | The condition of being barren; sterility; unproductiveness. |
| barrenwort | noun | An herbaceous plant of the Barberry family (Epimedium alpinum), having leaves that are bitter and said to be sudorific. |
| barricaded | imp. & past participle | of Barricade |
| barricader | noun | One who constructs barricades. |
| barringout | noun | The act of closing the doors of a schoolroom against a schoolmaster; — a boyish mode of rebellion in schools. |
| base-court | noun | The secondary, inferior, or rear courtyard of a large house; the outer court of a castle., An inferior court of law, not of record. |
| basicerite | noun | The second joint of the antennae of crustaceans. |
| basigynium | noun | The pedicel on which the ovary of certain flowers, as the passion flower, is seated; a carpophore or thecaphore. |
| basipodite | noun | The basal joint of the legs of Crustacea. |
| basisolute | adjective | Prolonged at the base, as certain leaves. |
| basketfuls | plural | of Basketful |
| bas-relief | noun | Low relief; sculpture, the figures of which project less than half of their true proportions; — called also bassrelief and basso-rilievo. See Alto-rilievo. |
| bassoonist | noun | A performer on the bassoon. |
| bastardism | noun | The state of being a bastard; bastardy. |
| bastardize | verb t. | To make or prove to be a bastard; to stigmatize as a bastard; to declare or decide legally to be illegitimate., To beget out of wedlock. |
| batfowling | noun | 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. |
| bathometer | noun | An instrument for measuring depths, esp. one for taking soundings without a sounding line. |
| bathymetry | noun | The art or science of sounding, or measuring depths in the sea. |
| batrachian | adjective | Pertaining to the Batrachia., One of the Batrachia. |
| batrachoid | adjective | Froglike. Specifically: Of or pertaining to the Batrachidae, a family of marine fishes, including the toadfish. Some have poisonous dorsal spines. |
| bat’s-wing | adjective | Alt. of Batwing |
| battailant | verb i. | Prepared for battle; combatant; warlike., A combatant. |
| battailous | noun | Arrayed for battle; fit or eager for battle; warlike. |
| battle-axe | noun | A kind of broadax formerly used as an offensive weapon. |
| battledoor | noun | 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., A child’s hornbook. |
| battlement | noun | One of the solid upright parts of a parapet in ancient fortifications., 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. |
| bawdyhouse | noun | A house of prostitution; a house of ill fame; a brothel. |
| bay-antler | noun | The second tine of a stag’s horn. See under Antler. |
| bayoneting | present participle & vb. noun | of Bayonet |
| bay window | A window forming a bay or recess in a room, and projecting outward from the wall, either in a rectangular, polygonal, or semicircular form; — often corruptly called a bow window. | |
| bdelloidea | noun pl. | The order of Annulata which includes the leeches. See Hirudinea. |
| beaconless | adjective | Having no beacon. |
| beadleship | noun | The state of being, or the personality of, a beadle. |
| bead proof | Among distillers, a certain degree of strength in alcoholic liquor, as formerly ascertained by the floating or sinking of glass globules of different specific gravities thrown into it; now ascertained by more accurate meters., A degree of strength in alcoholic liquor as shown by beads or small bubbles remaining on its surface, or at the side of the glass, when shaken. | |
| beadswoman | noun | Alt. of Bedeswoman |
| bedeswoman | noun | Fem. of Beadsman. |
| bean caper | A deciduous plant of warm climates, generally with fleshy leaves and flowers of a yellow or whitish yellow color, of the genus Zygophyllum. | |
| bear’s-ear | noun | A kind of primrose (Primula auricula), so called from the shape of the leaf. |
| bear’s-paw | noun | A large bivalve shell of the East Indies (Hippopus maculatus), often used as an ornament. |
| beatifical | adjective | Having the power to impart or complete blissful enjoyment; blissful. |
| beatifying | present participle & vb. noun | of Beatify |
| beau ideal | A conception or image of consummate beauty, moral or physical, formed in the mind, free from all the deformities, defects, and blemishes seen in actual existence; an ideal or faultless standard or model. | |
| beau monde | The fashionable world; people of fashion and gayety. | |
| beautifier | noun | One who, or that which, beautifies or makes beautiful. |
| beautified | imp. & past participle | of Beautify |
| beautiless | adjective | Destitute of beauty. |
| beaverteen | noun | A kind of fustian made of coarse twilled cotton, shorn after dyeing. |
| beccabunga | noun | See Brooklime. |
| beccaficos | plural | of Beccafico |
| beclouding | present participle & vb. noun | of Becloud |
| becomingly | adverb | In a becoming manner. |
| bedabbling | present participle & vb. noun | of Bedabble |
| bedazzling | present participle & vb. noun | of Bedazzle |
| bedchamber | noun | A chamber for a bed; an apartment form sleeping in. |
| bedclothes | noun pl. | Blankets, sheets, coverlets, etc., for a bed. |
| bedevilled | imp. & past participle | of Bedevil |
| bedeviling | present participle & vb. noun | of Bedevil |
| bedraggled | imp. & past participle | of Bedraggle |
| bedrenched | imp. & past participle | of Bedrench |
| bedswerver | noun | One who swerves from and is unfaithful to the marriage vow. |
| beech tree | The beech. | |
| beetlehead | noun | A stupid fellow; a blockhead., The black-bellied plover, or bullhead (Squatarola helvetica). See Plover. |
| beforehand | adverb | In a state of anticipation ore preoccupation; in advance; — often followed by with., By way of preparation, or preliminary; previously; aforetime., In comfortable circumstances as regards property; forehanded. |
| beforetime | adverb | Formerly; aforetime. |
| befriended | imp. & past participle | of Befriend |
| beggarhood | noun | The condition of being a beggar; also, the class of beggars. |
| beggestere | noun | A beggar. |
| begrudging | present participle & vb. noun | of Begrudge |
| behindhand | adverb & adjective | In arrears financially; in a state where expenditures have exceeded the receipt of funds., In a state of backwardness, in respect to what is seasonable or appropriate, or as to what should have been accomplished; not equally forward with some other person or thing; dilatory; backward; late; tardy; as, behindhand in studies or in work. |
| behoovable | adjective | Supplying need; profitable; advantageous. |
| behooveful | adjective | Advantageous; useful; profitable. |
| bejaundice | verb t. | To infect with jaundice. |
| bejewelled | of Bejewel | |
| bejeweling | present participle & vb. noun | of Bejewel |
| belaboring | present participle & vb. noun | of Belabor |
| belectured | imp. & past participle | of Belecture |
| bel-esprit | noun | A fine genius, or man of wit. |
| belgravian | adjective | Belonging to Belgravia (a fashionable quarter of London, around Pimlico), or to fashionable life; aristocratic. |
| believable | adjective | Capable of being believed; credible. |
| belittling | present participle & vb. noun | of Belittle |
| belladonna | noun | An herbaceous European plant (Atropa belladonna) with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries. The whole plant and its fruit are very poisonous, and the root and leaves are used as powerful medicinal agents. Its properties are largely due to the alkaloid atropine which it contains. Called also deadly nightshade., A species of Amaryllis (A. belladonna); the belladonna lily. |
| bell crank | A lever whose two arms form a right angle, or nearly a right angle, having its fulcrum at the apex of the angle. It is used in bell pulls and in changing the direction of bell wires at angles of rooms, etc., and also in machinery. | |
| bell-faced | adjective | Having the striking surface convex; — said of hammers. |
| bellflower | noun | A plant of the genus Campanula; — so named from its bell-shaped flowers., A kind of apple. The yellow bellflower is a large, yellow winter apple. |
| bell metal | A hard alloy or bronze, consisting usually of about three parts of copper to one of tin; — used for making bells. | |
| bellwether | noun | A wether, or sheep, which leads the flock, with a bell on his neck., Hence: A leader. |
| bellybound | adjective | Costive; constipated. |
| bellycheat | noun | An apron or covering for the front of the person. |
| bellycheer | noun | Good cheer; viands., To revel; to feast. |
| belswagger | noun | A lewd man; also, a bully. |
| benedicite | noun | A canticle (the Latin version of which begins with this word) which may be used in the order for morning prayer in the Church of England. It is taken from an apocryphal addition to the third chapter of Daniel., An exclamation corresponding to Bless you !. |
| benedictus | adjective | The song of Zacharias at the birth of John the Baptist (Luke i. 68); — so named from the first word of the Latin version. |
| benefactor | noun | One who confers a benefit or benefits. |
| beneficent | adjective | Doing or producing good; performing acts of kindness and charity; characterized by beneficence. |
| beneficial | adjective | Conferring benefits; useful; profitable; helpful; advantageous; serviceable; contributing to a valuable end; — followed by to., Receiving, or entitled to have or receive, advantage, use, or benefit; as, the beneficial owner of an estate., King. |
| benevolent | adjective | Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable. |
| benevolous | adjective | Kind; benevolent. |
| benighting | present participle & vb. noun | of Benight |
| benignancy | noun | Benignant quality; kindliness. |
| bent grass | Same as Bent, a kind of grass. | |
| benthamism | noun | That phase of the doctrine of utilitarianism taught by Jeremy Bentham; the doctrine that the morality of actions is estimated and determined by their utility; also, the theory that the sensibility to pleasure and the recoil from pain are the only motives which influence human desires and actions, and that these are the sufficient explanation of ethical and jural conceptions. |
| benthamite | noun | One who believes in Benthamism. |
| benumbment | noun | Act of benumbing, or state of being benumbed; torpor. |
| bepommeled | imp. & past participle | of Bepommel |
| bequeathed | imp. & past participle | of Bequeath |
| bequeathal | noun | The act of bequeathing; bequeathment; bequest. |
| bereaving. | present participle & vb. noun | of Bereave |
| bergmaster | noun | See Barmaster. |
| berkeleian | adjective | Of or relating to Bishop Berkeley or his system of idealism; as, Berkeleian philosophy. |
| bernardine | adjective | Of or pertaining to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, or to the Cistercian monks., A Cistercian monk. |
| bes-antler | noun | Same as Bez-antler. |
| bescribble | verb t. | To scribble over. |
| beseeching | present participle & vb. noun | of Beseech, Entreating urgently; imploring; as, a beseeching look. |
| beslavered | imp. & past participle | of Beslaver |
| besmearing | present participle & vb. noun | of Besmear |
| besmirched | imp. & past participle | of Besmirch |
| besmutting | present participle & vb. noun | of Besmut |
| bespangled | imp. & past participle | of Bespangle |
| bespeaking | present participle & vb. noun | of Bespeak |
| bespeckled | imp. & past participle | of Bespeckle |
| bespitting | present participle & vb. noun | of Bespit |
| bespotting | present participle & vb. noun | of Bespot |
| besprinkle | verb t. | To sprinkle over; to scatter over. |
| bestiality | noun | The state or quality of being bestial., Unnatural connection with a beast. |
| bestialize | verb t. | To make bestial, or like a beast; to degrade; to brutalize. |
| besticking | present participle & vb. noun | of Bestick |
| bestirring | present participle & vb. noun | of Bestir |
| bestowment | noun | The act of giving or bestowing; a conferring or bestowal., That which is given or bestowed. |
| bestraddle | verb t. | To bestride. |
| bestraught | adjective | Out of one’s senses; distracted; mad. |
| bestrewing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bestrew |
| bestridden | past participle | of Bestride |
| bestriding | present participle & vb. noun | of Bestride |
| bestudding | present participle & vb. noun | of Bestud |
| betelguese | noun | A bright star of the first magnitude, near one shoulder of Orion. |
| bete noire | Something especially hated or dreaded; a bugbear. | |
| bethinking | present participle & vb. noun | of Bethink |
| bethlemite | noun | An inhabitant of Bethlehem in Judea., An insane person; a madman; a bedlamite., One of an extinct English order of monks. |
| bethumping | present participle & vb. noun | of Bethump |
| betokening | present participle & vb. noun | of Betoken |
| betrayment | noun | Betrayal. |
| betrimming | present participle & vb. noun | of Betrim |
| betrothing | present participle & vb. noun | of Betroth |
| betterment | noun | A making better; amendment; improvement., An improvement of an estate which renders it better than mere repairing would do; — generally used in the plural. |
| bettermost | adjective | Best. |
| betterness | noun | The quality of being better or superior; superiority., The difference by which fine gold or silver exceeds in fineness the standard. |
| bevel gear | A kind of gear in which the two wheels working together lie in different planes, and have their teeth cut at right angles to the surfaces of two cones whose apices coincide with the point where the axes of the wheels would meet. | |
| bewailable | adjective | Such as may, or ought to, be bewailed; lamentable. |
| bewailment | noun | The act of bewailing. |
| bewildered | imp. & past participle | of Bewilder, Greatly perplexed; as, a bewildered mind. |
| bewitching | present participle & vb. noun | of Bewitch, Having power to bewitch or fascinate; enchanting; captivating; charming. |
| bewitchery | noun | The power of bewitching or fascinating; bewitchment; charm; fascination. |
| bewondered | imp. & past participle | of Bewonder |
| bewrayment | noun | Betrayal. |
| bez-antler | noun | The second branch of a stag’s horn. |
| biangulate | adjective | Alt. of Biangulated |
| biangulous | adjective | Biangular. |
| biblically | adverb | According to the Bible. |
| bibliology | noun | An account of books; book lore; bibliography., The literature or doctrine of the Bible. |
| bibliopegy | noun | The art of binding books. |
| bibliopole | noun | One who sells books. |
| bibliotaph | noun | Alt. of Bibliotaphist |
| bibliothec | noun | A librarian. |
| bibulously | adverb | In a bibulous manner; with profuse imbibition or absorption. |
| bicapsular | adjective | Having two capsules; as, a bicapsular pericarp. |
| bicarinate | adjective | Having two keel-like projections, as the upper palea of grasses. |
| bichloride | noun | A compound consisting of two atoms of chlorine with one or more atoms of another element; — called also dichloride. |
| bichromate | noun | A salt containing two parts of chromic acid to one of the other ingredients; as, potassium bichromate; — called also dichromate. |
| bicipitous | adjective | Having two heads; bicipital. |
| bickerment | noun | Contention. |
| bicorporal | adjective | Having two bodies. |
| bidigitate | adjective | Having two fingers or fingerlike projections. |
| biennially | adverb | Once in two years. |
| bifurcated | adjective | Two-pronged; forked. |
| bigeminate | adjective | Having a forked petiole, and a pair of leaflets at the end of each division; biconjugate; twice paired; — said of a decompound leaf. |
| big-wigged | adjective | characterized by pomposity of manner. |
| bilaminate | adjective | Formed of, or having, two laminae, or thin plates. |
| bilberries | plural | of Bilberry |
| biliferous | adjective | Generating bile. |
| bilifuscin | noun | A brownish green pigment found in human gallstones and in old bile. It is a derivative of bilirubin. |
| bilinguist | noun | One versed in two languages. |
| bilinguous | adjective | Having two tongues, or speaking two languages. |
| biliprasin | noun | A dark green pigment found in small quantity in human gallstones. |
| biliverdin | noun | A green pigment present in the bile, formed from bilirubin by oxidation. |
| billbeetle | noun | Alt. of Billbug |
| billethead | noun | A round piece of timber at the bow or stern of a whaleboat, around which the harpoon lone is run out when the whale darts off. |
| billposter | noun | Alt. of Billsticker |
| billy goat | A male goat. | |
| bilocation | noun | Double location; the state or power of being in two places at the same instant; — a miraculous power attributed to some of the saints. |
| bimaculate | adjective | Having, or marked with, two spots. |
| bimestrial | adjective | Continuing two months. |
| bimetallic | adjective | Of or relating to, or using, a double metallic standard (as gold and silver) for a system of coins or currency. |
| bimuscular | adjective | Having two adductor muscles, as a bivalve mollusk. |
| binoculate | adjective | Having two eyes. |
| binominous | adjective | Binominal. |
| binotonous | adjective | Consisting of two notes; as, a binotonous cry. |
| binoxalate | noun | A salt having two equivalents of oxalic acid to one of the base; an acid oxalate. |
| binucleate | adjective | Having two nuclei; as, binucleate cells. |
| biocellate | adjective | Having two ocelli (eyelike spots); — said of a wing, etc. |
| biogenesis | noun | Alt. of Biogeny |
| biogenetic | adjective | Pertaining to biogenesis. |
| biographer | noun | One who writes an account or history of the life of a particular person; a writer of lives, as Plutarch. |
| biographic | adjective | Alt. of Biographical |
| biological | adjective | Of or relating to biology. |
| bioplasmic | adjective | Pertaining to, or consisting of, bioplasm. |
| bioplastic | adjective | Bioplasmic. |
| biostatics | noun | The physical phenomena of organized bodies, in opposition to their organic or vital phenomena. |
| biparietal | adjective | Of or pertaining to the diameter of the cranium, from one parietal fossa to the other. |
| bipartible | adjective | Capable of being divided into two parts. |
| bipartient | present participle | Dividing into two parts., A number that divides another into two equal parts without a remainder. |
| bipennated | adjective | Having two wings. |
| bipetalous | adjective | Having two petals. |
| bipinnaria | noun | The larva of certain starfishes as developed in the free-swimming stage. |
| bipinnated | adjective | Twice pinnate. |
| bipolarity | noun | Bipolar quality. |
| bipunctate | adjective | Having two punctures, or spots. |
| bipunctual | adjective | Having two points. |
| biquadrate | noun | The fourth power, or the square of the square. Thus 4×4=16, the square of 4, and 16×16=256, the biquadrate of 4. |
| biquintile | noun | An aspect of the planets when they are distant from each other by twice the fifth part of a great circle — that is, twice 72 degrees. |
| biradiated | adjective | Having two rays; as, a biradiate fin. |
| bird’s-eye | adjective | Seen from above, as if by a flying bird; embraced at a glance; hence, general; not minute, or entering into details; as, a bird’s-eye view., Marked with spots resembling bird’s eyes; as, bird’s-eye diaper; bird’s-eye maple., A plant with a small bright flower, as the Adonis or pheasant’s eye, the mealy primrose (Primula farinosa), and species of Veronica, Geranium, etc. |
| birostrate | adjective | Alt. of Birostrated |
| birthnight | noun | The night in which a person is born; the anniversary of that night in succeeding years. |
| birthplace | noun | The town, city, or country, where a person is born; place of origin or birth, in its more general sense. |
| birthright | noun | Any right, privilege, or possession to which a person is entitled by birth, such as an estate descendible by law to an heir, or civil liberty under a free constitution; esp. the rights or inheritance of the first born. |
| bishoplike | adjective | Resembling a bishop; belonging to a bishop. |
| bisilicate | noun | A salt of metasilicic acid; — so called because the ratio of the oxygen of the silica to the oxygen of the base is as two to one. The bisilicates include many of the most common and important minerals. |
| bismuthine | noun | Alt. of Bismuthinite |
| bismuthous | adjective | Of, or containing, bismuth, when this element has its lower valence. |
| bissextile | noun | Leap year; every fourth year, in which a day is added to the month of February on account of the excess of the tropical year (365 d. 5 h. 48 m. 46 s.) above 365 days. But one day added every four years is equivalent to six hours each year, which is 11 m. 14 s. more than the excess of the real year. Hence, it is necessary to suppress the bissextile day at the end of every century which is not divisible by 400, while it is retained at the end of those which are divisible by 400., Pertaining to leap year. |
| bistipuled | adjective | Having two stipules. |
| bistouries | plural | of Bistoury |
| bisulphate | noun | A sulphate in which but half the hydrogen of the acid is replaced by a positive element or radical, thus making the proportion of the acid to the positive or basic portion twice what it is in the normal sulphates; an acid sulphate. |
| bisulphide | noun | A sulphide having two atoms of sulphur in the molecule; a disulphide, as in iron pyrites, FeS2; — less frequently called bisulphuret. |
| bisulphite | noun | A salt of sulphurous acid in which the base replaces but half the hydrogen of the acid; an acid sulphite. |
| bitartrate | noun | A salt of tartaric acid in which the base replaces but half the acid hydrogen; an acid tartrate, as cream of tartar. |
| bitterbump | noun | the butterbump or bittern. |
| bitterling | noun | A roachlike European fish (Rhodima amarus). |
| bitterness | noun | The quality or state of being bitter, sharp, or acrid, in either a literal or figurative sense; implacableness; resentfulness; severity; keenness of reproach or sarcasm; deep distress, grief, or vexation of mind., A state of extreme impiety or enmity to God., Dangerous error, or schism, tending to draw persons to apostasy. |
| bitterroot | noun | A plant (Lewisia rediviva) allied to the purslane, but with fleshy, farinaceous roots, growing in the mountains of Idaho, Montana, etc. It gives the name to the Bitter Root mountains and river. The Indians call both the plant and the river Spaet’lum. |
| bitterweed | noun | A species of Ambrosia (A. artemisiaefolia); Roman worm wood. |
| bitterwood | noun | A West Indian tree (Picraena excelsa) from the wood of which the bitter drug Jamaica quassia is obtained. |
| bitterwort | noun | The yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea), which has a very bitter taste. |
| bituminate | verb t. | To treat or impregnate with bitumen; to cement with bitumen. |
| bituminize | verb t. | To prepare, treat, impregnate, or coat with bitumen. |
| bituminous | adjective | Having the qualities of bitumen; compounded with bitumen; containing bitumen. |
| bivalvular | adjective | Having two valves. |
| bivouacked | imp. & past participle | of Bivouac |
| blackamoor | noun | A negro or negress. |
| black bass | An edible, fresh-water fish of the United States, of the genus Micropterus. the small-mouthed kind is M. dolomiei; the large-mouthed is M. salmoides., The sea bass. See Blackfish, 3. | |
| blackberry | noun | The fruit of several species of bramble (Rubus); also, the plant itself. Rubus fruticosus is the blackberry of England; R. villosus and R. Canadensis are the high blackberry and low blackberry of the United States. There are also other kinds. |
| blackboard | noun | A broad board painted black, or any black surface on which writing, drawing, or the working of mathematical problems can be done with chalk or crayons. It is much used in schools. |
| black book | One of several books of a political character, published at different times and for different purposes; — so called either from the color of the binding, or from the character of the contents., A book compiled in the twelfth century, containing a description of the court of exchequer of England, an official statement of the revenues of the crown, etc., A book containing details of the enormities practiced in the English monasteries and religious houses, compiled by order of their visitors under Henry VIII., to hasten their dissolution., A book of admiralty law, of the highest authority, compiled in the reign of Edw. III., A book kept for the purpose of registering the names of persons liable to censure or punishment, as in the English universities, or the English armies., Any book which treats of necromancy. | |
| blackening | present participle & vb. noun | of Blacken |
| black-eyed | adjective | Having black eyes. |
| blackguard | noun | The scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman’s household, who, in a removal from one residence to another, had charge of the kitchen utensils, and being smutted by them, were jocularly called the “black guard”; also, the servants and hangers-on of an army., The criminals and vagrants or vagabonds of a town or community, collectively., A person of stained or low character, esp. one who uses scurrilous language, or treats others with foul abuse; a scoundrel; a rough., A vagrant; a bootblack; a gamin., To revile or abuse in scurrilous language., Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, blackguard language. |
| blackheart | noun | A heart-shaped cherry with a very dark-colored skin. |
| black hole | A dungeon or dark cell in a prison; a military lock-up or guardroom; — now commonly with allusion to the cell (the Black Hole) in a fort at Calcutta, into which 146 English prisoners were thrust by the nabob Suraja Dowla on the night of June 20, 17656, and in which 123 of the prisoners died before morning from lack of air. | |
| black-jack | noun | A name given by English miners to sphalerite, or zinc blende; — called also false galena. See Blende., Caramel or burnt sugar, used to color wines, spirits, ground coffee, etc., A large leather vessel for beer, etc., The Quercus nigra, or barren oak., The ensign of a pirate. |
| black lead | Plumbago; graphite. It leaves a blackish mark somewhat like lead. See Graphite. | |
| black monk | A Benedictine monk. | |
| blacksmith | noun | A smith who works in iron with a forge, and makes iron utensils, horseshoes, etc., A fish of the Pacific coast (Chromis, / Heliastes, punctipinnis), of a blackish color. |
| blacksnake | noun | A snake of a black color, of which two species are common in the United States, the Bascanium constrictor, or racer, sometimes six feet long, and the Scotophis Alleghaniensis, seven or eight feet long. |
| blackstrap | noun | A mixture of spirituous liquor (usually rum) and molasses., Bad port wine; any common wine of the Mediterranean; — so called by sailors. |
| blackthorn | noun | A spreading thorny shrub or small tree (Prunus spinosa), with blackish bark, and bearing little black plums, which are called sloes; the sloe., A species of Crataegus or hawthorn (C. tomentosa). Both are used for hedges. |
| black wash | noun | Alt. of Blackwash |
| bladdering | present participle & vb. noun | of Bladder |
| bladesmith | noun | A sword cutler. |
| blancmange | noun | A preparation for desserts, etc., made from isinglass, sea moss, cornstarch, or other gelatinous or starchy substance, with mild, usually sweetened and flavored, and shaped in a mold. |
| blandation | noun | Flattery. |
| blandished | imp. & past participle | of Blandish |
| blandisher | noun | One who uses blandishments. |
| blanketing | present participle & vb. noun | of Blanket, Cloth for blankets., The act or punishment of tossing in a blanket. |
| blanquette | noun | A white fricassee. |
| blanquillo | noun | A large fish of Florida and the W. Indies (Caulolatilus chrysops). It is red, marked with yellow. |
| blarneying | present participle & vb. noun | of Blarney |
| blasphemed | imp. & past participle | of Blaspheme |
| blasphemer | noun | One who blasphemes. |
| blastemata | plural | of Blastema |
| blastocyst | noun | The germinal vesicle. |
| blastoderm | noun | The germinal membrane in an ovum, from which the embryo is developed. |
| blastoidea | noun pl. | One of the divisions of Crinoidea found fossil in paleozoic rocks; pentremites. They are so named on account of their budlike form. |
| blastomere | noun | One of the segments first formed by the division of the ovum. |
| blastopore | noun | The pore or opening leading into the cavity of invagination, or archenteron. |
| blast pipe | The exhaust pipe of a steam engine, or any pipe delivering steam or air, when so constructed as to cause a blast. | |
| blattering | noun | Senseless babble or boasting. |
| blatteroon | noun | A senseless babbler or boaster. |
| blazonment | noun | The act of blazoning; blazoning; emblazonment. |
| blear-eyed | adjective | Having sore eyes; having the eyes dim with rheum; dim-sighted., Lacking in perception or penetration; short-sighted; as, a blear-eyed bigot. |
| blemishing | present participle & vb. noun | of Blemish |
| blendwater | noun | A distemper incident to cattle, in which their livers are affected. |
| blindstory | noun | The triforium as opposed to the clearstory. |
| blink beer | Beer kept unbroached until it is sharp. | |
| blink-eyed | adjective | Habitually winking. |
| blistering | present participle & vb. noun | of Blister |
| blitheness | noun | The state of being blithe. |
| blithesome | adjective | Cheery; gay; merry. |
| blockading | present participle & vb. noun | of Blockade |
| block book | A book printed from engraved wooden blocks instead of movable types. | |
| blockhouse | noun | An edifice or structure of heavy timbers or logs for military defense, having its sides loopholed for musketry, and often an upper story projecting over the lower, or so placed upon it as to have its sides make an angle wit the sides of the lower story, thus enabling the defenders to fire downward, and in all directions; — formerly much used in America and Germany., A house of squared logs. |
| bloodhound | noun | A breed of large and powerful dogs, with long, smooth, and pendulous ears, and remarkable for acuteness of smell. It is employed to recover game or prey which has escaped wounded from a hunter, and for tracking criminals. Formerly it was used for pursuing runaway slaves. Other varieties of dog are often used for the same purpose and go by the same name. The Cuban bloodhound is said to be a variety of the mastiff. |
| bloodiness | noun | The state of being bloody., Disposition to shed blood; bloodthirstiness. |
| bloodstick | noun | A piece of hard wood loaded at one end with lead, and used to strike the fleam into the vein. |
| bloodstone | noun | A green siliceous stone sprinkled with red jasper, as if with blood; hence the name; — called also heliotrope., Hematite, an ore of iron yielding a blood red powder or “streak.” |
| bloomingly | adverb | In a blooming manner. |
| blossoming | present participle & vb. noun | of Blossom |
| blottesque | adjective | Characterized by blots or heavy touches; coarsely depicted; wanting in delineation. |
| blow valve | See Snifting valve. | |
| blubbering | present participle & vb. noun | of Blubber, The act of weeping noisily. |
| bluebottle | noun | A plant (Centaurea cyanus) which grows in grain fields. It receives its name from its blue bottle-shaped flowers., A large and troublesome species of blowfly (Musca vomitoria). Its body is steel blue. |
| bluebreast | noun | A small European bird; the blue-throated warbler. |
| blue grass | A species of grass (Poa compressa) with bluish green stems, valuable in thin gravelly soils; wire grass. | |
| bluethroat | noun | A singing bird of northern Europe and Asia (Cyanecula Suecica), related to the nightingales; — called also blue-throated robin and blue-throated warbler. |
| blundering | present participle & vb. noun | of Blunder, Characterized by blunders. |
| blushingly | adverb | In a blushing manner; with a blush or blushes; as, to answer or confess blushingly. |
| blustering | present participle & vb. noun | of Bluster, Exhibiting noisy violence, as the wind; stormy; tumultuous., Uttering noisy threats; noisy and swaggering; boisterous. |
| blusterous | adjective | Inclined to bluster; given to blustering; blustering. |
| boastingly | adverb | Boastfully; with boasting. |
| boat shell | A marine gastropod of the genus Crepidula. The species are numerous. It is so named from its form and interior deck., A marine univalve shell of the genus Cymba. | |
| bobbinwork | noun | Work woven with bobbins. |
| bob-cherry | noun | A play among children, in which a cherry, hung so as to bob against the mouth, is to be caught with the teeth. |
| bodiliness | noun | Corporeality. |
| bogtrotter | noun | One who lives in a boggy country; — applied in derision to the lowest class of Irish. |
| bohun upas | See Upas. | |
| bois d’arc | The Osage orange (Maclura aurantiaca). | |
| bois durci | A hard, highly polishable composition, made of fine sawdust from hard wood (as rosewood) mixed with blood, and pressed. | |
| boisterous | adjective | Rough or rude; unbending; unyielding; strong; powerful., Exhibiting tumultuous violence and fury; acting with noisy turbulence; violent; rough; stormy., Noisy; rough; turbulent; as, boisterous mirth; boisterous behavior., Vehement; excessive. |
| bold eagle | an Australian eagle (Aquila audax), which destroys lambs and even the kangaroo. | |
| bold-faced | adjective | Somewhat impudent; lacking modesty; as, a bold-faced woman., Having a conspicuous or heavy face. |
| bolstering | present participle & vb. noun | of Bolster |
| bombarding | present participle & vb. noun | of Bombard |
| bombardier | noun | One who used or managed a bombard; an artilleryman; a gunner., A noncommissioned officer in the British artillery. |
| bombardman | noun | One who carried liquor or beer in a can or bombard. |
| bombylious | adjective | Buzzing, like a bumblebee; as, the bombylious noise of the horse fly. |
| bon-accord | noun | Good will; good fellowship; agreement. |
| bondholder | noun | A person who holds the bonds of a public or private corporation for the payment of money at a certain time. |
| bondswoman | noun | See Bondwoman. |
| bonesetter | noun | One who sets broken or dislocated bones; — commonly applied to one, not a regular surgeon, who makes an occupation of setting bones. |
| bonnetless | adjective | Without a bonnet. |
| bon silene | A very fragrant tea rose with petals of various shades of pink. | |
| bon vivant | present participle | A good fellow; a jovial companion; a free liver. |
| bookbinder | noun | One whose occupation is to bind books. |
| bookholder | noun | A prompter at a theater., A support for a book, holding it open, while one reads or copies from it. |
| bookkeeper | noun | One who keeps accounts; one who has the charge of keeping the books and accounts in an office. |
| bookmonger | noun | A dealer in books. |
| bookseller | noun | One who sells books. |
| boomslange | noun | A large South African tree snake (Bucephalus Capensis). Although considered venomous by natives, it has no poison fangs. |
| boragewort | noun | Plant of the Borage family. |
| bordraging | noun | An incursion upon the borders of a country; a raid. |
| borsholder | adjective | The head or chief of a tithing, or borough (see 2d Borough); the headborough; a parish constable. |
| boswellian | adjective | Relating to, or characteristic of, Boswell, the biographer of Dr. Johnson. |
| boswellism | noun | The style of Boswell. |
| botanizing | present participle & vb. noun | of Botanize |
| botanology | noun | The science of botany. |
| botany bay | A harbor on the east coast of Australia, and an English convict settlement there; — so called from the number of new plants found on its shore at its discovery by Cook in 1770. | |
| bothersome | adjective | Vexatious; causing bother; causing trouble or perplexity; troublesome. |
| both-hands | noun | A factotum. |
| botryoidal | adjective | Having the form of a bunch of grapes; like a cluster of grapes, as a mineral presenting an aggregation of small spherical or spheroidal prominences. |
| botryolite | noun | A variety of datolite, usually having a botryoidal structure. |
| bottlehead | noun | A cetacean allied to the grampus; — called also bottle-nosed whale. |
| bottomless | adjective | Without a bottom; hence, fathomless; baseless; as, a bottomless abyss. |
| botuliform | adjective | Having the shape of a sausage. |
| bouncingly | adverb | With a bounce. |
| boundaries | plural | of Boundary |
| bountihead | noun | Alt. of Bountyhood |
| bountyhood | noun | Goodness; generosity. |
| bourbonism | noun | The principles of those adhering to the house of Bourbon; obstinate conservatism. |
| bourbonist | noun | One who adheres to the house of Bourbon; a legitimist. |
| bournonite | noun | A mineral of a steel-gray to black color and metallic luster, occurring crystallized, often in twin crystals shaped like cogwheels (wheel ore), also massive. It is a sulphide of antimony, lead, and copper. |
| bovey coal | A kind of mineral coal, or brown lignite, burning with a weak flame, and generally a disagreeable odor; — found at Bovey Tracey, Devonshire, England. It is of geological age of the oolite, and not of the true coal era. | |
| bower bird | An Australian bird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus / holosericeus), allied to the starling, which constructs singular bowers or playhouses of twigs and decorates them with bright-colored objects; the satin bird. | |
| bow-pencil | noun | Bow-compasses, one leg of which carries a pencil. |
| boxhauling | noun | A method of going from one tack to another. See Boxhaul. |
| boycotting | present participle & vb. noun | of Boycott |
| boycottism | noun | Methods of boycotters. |
| boyishness | noun | The manners or behavior of a boy. |
| brabantine | adjective | Pertaining to Brabant, an ancient province of the Netherlands. |
| brachiopod | noun | One of the Brachiopoda, or its shell. |
| brachydome | noun | A dome parallel to the shorter lateral axis. See Dome. |
| brachylogy | noun | Conciseness of expression; brevity. |
| brachyural | adjective | Alt. of Brachyurous |
| brachyuran | noun | One of the Brachyura. |
| bracketing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bracket, A series or group of brackets; brackets, collectively. |
| braggingly | adverb | Boastingly. |
| brahmaness | noun | A Brahmani. |
| brahmanism | noun | Alt. of Brahminism |
| brahminism | noun | The religion or system of doctrines of the Brahmans; the religion of Brahma. |
| brahmanist | noun | Alt. of Brahminist |
| brahminist | noun | An adherent of the religion of the Brahmans. |
| branchiate | adjective | Furnished with branchiae; as, branchiate segments. |
| branchiura | noun pl. | A group of Entomostraca, with suctorial mouths, including species parasitic on fishes, as the carp lice (Argulus). |
| branchless | adjective | Destitute of branches or shoots; without any valuable product; barren; naked. |
| brand iron | A branding iron., A trivet to set a pot on., The horizontal bar of an andiron. | |
| brandished | imp. & past participle | of Brandish |
| brandisher | noun | One who brandishes. |
| brandywine | noun | Brandy. |
| brassiness | noun | The state, condition, or quality of being brassy. |
| brawlingly | adverb | In a brawling manner. |
| brawniness | noun | The quality or state of being brawny. |
| brazenface | noun | An impudent or shameless person. |
| brazenness | noun | The quality or state of being brazen. |
| braziletto | noun | See Brazil wood. |
| brazil nut | An oily, three-sided nut, the seed of the Bertholletia excelsa; the cream nut. | |
| breadfruit | noun | The fruit of a tree (Artocarpus incisa) found in the islands of the Pacific, esp. the South Sea islands. It is of a roundish form, from four to six or seven inches in diameter, and, when baked, somewhat resembles bread, and is eaten as food, whence the name., The tree itself, which is one of considerable size, with large, lobed leaves. Cloth is made from the bark, and the timber is used for many purposes. Called also breadfruit tree and bread tree. |
| breadstuff | noun | Grain, flour, or meal of which bread is made. |
| breakwater | noun | Any structure or contrivance, as a mole, or a wall at the mouth of a harbor, to break the force of waves, and afford protection from their violence. |
| breastband | noun | A band for the breast. Specifically: (Naut.) A band of canvas, or a rope, fastened at both ends to the rigging, to support the man who heaves the lead in sounding. |
| breastbeam | noun | The front transverse beam of a locomotive. |
| breastbone | noun | The bone of the breast; the sternum. |
| breastfast | noun | A large rope to fasten the midship part of a ship to a wharf, or to another vessel. |
| breasthook | noun | A thick piece of timber in the form of a knee, placed across the stem of a ship to strengthen the fore part and unite the bows on each side. |
| breastknot | noun | A knot of ribbons worn on the breast. |
| breastplow | noun | Alt. of Breastplough |
| breastrail | noun | The upper rail of any parapet of ordinary height, as of a balcony; the railing of a quarter-deck, etc. |
| breastrope | noun | See Breastband. |
| breastwork | noun | A defensive work of moderate height, hastily thrown up, of earth or other material., A railing on the quarter-deck and forecastle. |
| breathable | adjective | Such as can be breathed. |
| breathless | adjective | Spent with labor or violent action; out of breath., Not breathing; holding the breath, on account of fear, expectation, or intense interest; attended with a holding of the breath; as, breathless attention., Dead; as, a breathless body. |
| brecciated | adjective | Consisting of angular fragments cemented together; resembling breccia in appearance. |
| breech pin | Alt. of Breech screw | |
| breeze fly | noun | A fly of various species, of the family Tabanidae, noted for buzzing about animals, and tormenting them by sucking their blood; — called also horsefly, and gadfly. They are among the largest of two-winged or dipterous insects. The name is also given to different species of botflies. |
| breezeless | adjective | Motionless; destitute of breezes. |
| breeziness | noun | State of being breezy. |
| brenningly | adverb | Burningly; ardently. |
| brevetting | present participle & vb. noun | of Brevet |
| brevetcies | plural | of Brevetcy |
| breviaries | plural | of Breviary |
| breviature | noun | An abbreviature; an abbreviation. |
| bricklayer | noun | One whose occupation is to build with bricks. |
| brickmaker | noun | One whose occupation is to make bricks. |
| bridegroom | noun | A man newly married, or just about to be married. |
| bridesmaid | noun | A female friend who attends on a bride at her wedding. |
| bridestake | noun | A stake or post set in the ground, for guests at a wedding to dance round. |
| bridgehead | noun | A fortification commanding the extremity of a bridge nearest the enemy, to insure the preservation and usefulness of the bridge, and prevent the enemy from crossing; a tete-de-pont. |
| bridgeless | adjective | Having no bridge; not bridged. |
| bridgetree | noun | The beam which supports the spindle socket of the runner in a grinding mill. |
| brigandage | noun | Life and practice of brigands; highway robbery; plunder. |
| brigandine | noun | A coast of armor for the body, consisting of scales or plates, sometimes overlapping each other, generally of metal, and sewed to linen or other material. It was worn in the Middle Ages. |
| brigandish | adjective | Like a brigand or freebooter; robberlike. |
| brigandism | noun | Brigandage. |
| brigantine | noun | A practical vessel., A two-masted, square-rigged vessel, differing from a brig in that she does not carry a square mainsail., See Brigandine. |
| brightened | imp. & past participle | of Brighten |
| brightness | noun | The quality or state of being bright; splendor; luster; brilliancy; clearness., Acuteness (of the faculties); sharpness 9wit. |
| brightsome | adjective | Bright; clear; luminous; brilliant. |
| broadcloth | noun | A fine smooth-faced woolen cloth for men’s garments, usually of double width (i.e., a yard and a half); — so called in distinction from woolens three quarters of a yard wide. |
| broadening | present participle & vb. noun | of Broaden |
| broadmouth | noun | One of the Eurylaimidae, a family of East Indian passerine birds. |
| broadpiece | noun | An old English gold coin, broader than a guinea, as a Carolus or Jacobus. |
| broad seal | The great seal of England; the public seal of a country or state. | |
| broadsword | noun | A sword with a broad blade and a cutting edge; a claymore. |
| brocatello | noun | Same as Brocatel. |
| brokenness | noun | The state or quality of being broken; unevenness., Contrition; as, brokenness of heart. |
| brompicrin | noun | A pungent colorless explosive liquid, CNO2Br3, analogous to and resembling chlorpicrin. |
| bronchiole | noun | A minute bronchial tube. |
| bronchitic | adjective | Of or pertaining to bronchitis; as, bronchitic inflammation. |
| bronchitis | noun | Inflammation, acute or chronic, of the bronchial tubes or any part of them. |
| brontolite | noun | Alt. of Brontolith |
| brontolith | noun | An aerolite. |
| brontology | noun | A treatise upon thunder. |
| brontozoum | noun | An extinct animal of large size, known from its three-toed footprints in Mesozoic sandstone. |
| bronzewing | noun | An Australian pigeon of the genus Phaps, of several species; — so called from its bronze plumage. |
| brook mint | See Water mint. | |
| broom corn | A variety of Sorghum vulgare, having a joined stem, like maize, rising to the height of eight or ten feet, and bearing its seeds on a panicle with long branches, of which brooms are made. | |
| broom rape | A genus (Orobanche) of parasitic plants of Europe and Asia. They are destitute of chlorophyll, have scales instead of leaves, and spiked flowers, and grow attached to the roots of other plants, as furze, clover, flax, wild carrot, etc. The name is sometimes applied to other plants related to this genus, as Aphyllon uniflorumand A. Ludovicianum. | |
| broomstaff | noun | A broomstick. |
| broomstick | noun | A stick used as a handle of a broom. |
| brotelness | noun | Brittleness. |
| browbeaten | past participle | of Browbeat |
| brown bill | A bill or halberd of the 16th and 17th centuries. See 4th Bill. | |
| brownstone | noun | A dark variety of sandstone, much used for building purposes. |
| browsewood | noun | Shrubs and bushes upon which animals browse. |
| bruisewort | noun | A plant supposed to heal bruises, as the true daisy, the soapwort, and the comfrey. |
| brushiness | noun | The quality of resembling a brush; brushlike condition; shagginess. |
| brutalized | imp. & past participle | of Brutalize |
| brutifying | present participle & vb. noun | of Brutify |
| bryologist | noun | One versed in bryology. |
| bubonocele | noun | An inguinal hernia; esp. that incomplete variety in which the hernial pouch descends only as far as the groin, forming a swelling there like a bubo. |
| buccinator | noun | A muscle of the cheek; — so called from its use in blowing wind instruments. |
| bucholzite | noun | Same as Fibrolite. |
| buddhistic | adjective | Same as Buddhist, a. |
| bude light | A light in which high illuminating power is obtained by introducing a jet of oxygen gas or of common air into the center of a flame fed with coal gas or with oil. | |
| bufferhead | noun | The head of a buffer, which recieves the concussion, in railroad carriages. |
| bufflehead | noun | One who has a large head; a heavy, stupid fellow., The buffel duck. See Buffel duck. |
| buffoonery | noun | The arts and practices of a buffoon, as low jests, ridiculous pranks, vulgar tricks and postures. |
| buffoonish | adjective | Like a buffoon; consisting in low jests or gestures. |
| buffoonism | noun | The practices of a buffoon; buffoonery. |
| bugle horn | A bugle., A drinking vessel made of horn. | |
| bulbaceous | noun | Bulbous. |
| bullbeggar | noun | Something used or suggested to produce terror, as in children or persons of weak mind; a bugbear. |
| bull brier | A species of Smilax (S. Pseudo-China) growing from New Jersey to the Gulf of Mexico, which has very large tuberous and farinaceous rootstocks, formerly used by the Indians for a sort of bread, and by the negroes as an ingredient in making beer; — called also bamboo brier and China brier. | |
| bullcomber | noun | A scaraboid beetle; esp. the Typhaeus vulgaris of Europe. |
| bulldozing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bulldoze |
| bullheaded | adjective | Having a head like that of a bull. Fig.: Headstrong; obstinate; dogged. |
| bullionist | noun | An advocate for a metallic currency, or a paper currency always convertible into gold. |
| bull’s-eye | noun | A small circular or oval wooden block without sheaves, having a groove around it and a hole through it, used for connecting rigging., A small round cloud, with a ruddy center, supposed by sailors to portend a storm., A small thick disk of glass inserted in a deck, roof, floor, ship’s side, etc., to let in light., A circular or oval opening for air or light., A lantern, with a thick glass lens on one side for concentrating the light on any object; also, the lens itself., Aldebaran, a bright star in the eye of Taurus or the Bull., The center of a target., A thick knob or protuberance left on glass by the end of the pipe through which it was blown., A small and thick old-fashioned watch. |
| bull trout | In England, a large salmon trout of several species, as Salmo trutta and S. Cambricus, which ascend rivers; — called also sea trout., Salvelinus malma of California and Oregon; — called also Dolly Varden trout and red-spotted trout., The huso or salmon of the Danube. | |
| bully tree | The name of several West Indian trees of the order Sapotaceae, as Dipholis nigra and species of Sapota and Mimusops. Most of them yield a substance closely resembling gutta-percha. | |
| bulwarking | noun | of Bulwark |
| bumbailiff | noun | See Bound bailiff, under Bound, a. |
| bunchberry | noun | The dwarf cornel (Cornus Canadensis), which bears a dense cluster of bright red, edible berries. |
| bunchiness | noun | The quality or condition of being bunchy; knobbiness. |
| bundesrath | noun | The federal council of the German Empire. In the Bundesrath and the Reichstag are vested the legislative functions. The federal council of Switzerland is also so called. |
| bunglingly | adverb | Clumsily; awkwardly. |
| buoyancies | plural | of Buoyancy |
| burdensome | adjective | Grievous to be borne; causing uneasiness or fatigue; oppressive. |
| bureaucrat | noun | An official of a bureau; esp. an official confirmed in a narrow and arbitrary routine. |
| burghbrech | noun | The offense of violating the pledge given by every inhabitant of a tithing to keep the peace; breach of the peace. |
| burglaries | plural | of Burglary |
| burlesqued | imp. & past participle | of Burlesque |
| burlesquer | noun | One who burlesques. |
| burnettize | verb t. | To subject (wood, fabrics, etc.) to a process of saturation in a solution of chloride of zinc, to prevent decay; — a process invented by Sir William Burnett. |
| burnishing | present participle & vb. noun | of Burnish |
| burrel fly | The botfly or gadfly of cattle (Hypoderma bovis). See Gadfly. | |
| bursarship | noun | The office of a bursar. |
| bushhammer | noun | A hammer with a head formed of a bundle of square bars, with pyramidal points, arranged in rows, or a solid head with a face cut into a number of rows of such points; — used for dressing stone., To dress with bushhammer; as, to bushhammer a block of granite. |
| bushranger | noun | One who roams, or hides, among the bushes; especially, in Australia, an escaped criminal living in the bush. |
| businesses | plural | of Business |
| busybodies | plural | of Busybody |
| butchering | present participle & vb. noun | of Butcher, The business of a butcher., The act of slaughtering; the act of killing cruelly and needlessly. |
| butlership | noun | The office of a butler. |
| butterball | noun | The buffel duck. |
| butterbird | noun | The rice bunting or bobolink; — so called in the island of Jamaica. |
| butterbump | noun | The European bittern. |
| butterfish | noun | A name given to several different fishes, in allusion to their slippery coating of mucus, as the Stromateus triacanthus of the Atlantic coast, the Epinephelus punctatus of the southern coast, the rock eel, and the kelpfish of New Zealand. |
| buttermilk | noun | The milk that remains after the butter is separated from the cream. |
| butterweed | noun | An annual composite plant of the Mississippi valley (Senecio lobatus). |
| butterwort | noun | A genus of low herbs (Pinguicula) having simple leaves which secrete from their glandular upper surface a viscid fluid, to which insects adhere, after which the margin infolds and the insects are digested by the plant. The species are found mostly in the North Temperate zone. |
| butt hinge | See 1st Butt, 10. | |
| butt joint | A joint in which the edges or ends of the pieces united come squarely together instead of overlapping. See 1st Butt, 8. | |
| buttonball | noun | See Buttonwood. |
| buttonbush | noun | A shrub (Cephalanthus occidentalis) growing by the waterside; — so called from its globular head of flowers. See Capitulum. |
| buttonhole | noun | The hole or loop in which a button is caught., To hold at the button or buttonhole; to detain in conversation to weariness; to bore; as, he buttonholed me a quarter of an hour. |
| buttonmold | noun | A disk of bone, wood, or other material, which is made into a button by covering it with cloth. |
| buttonweed | noun | The name of several plants of the genera Spermacoce and Diodia, of the Madder family. |
| buttonwood | noun | The Platanus occidentalis, or American plane tree, a large tree, producing rough balls, from which it is named; — called also buttonball tree, and, in some parts of the United States, sycamore. The California buttonwood is P. racemosa. |
| buttressed | imp. & past participle | of Buttress |
| butt shaft | An arrow without a barb, for shooting at butts; an arrow. | |
| by-passage | noun | A passage different from the usual one; a byway. |
| by-product | noun | A secondary or additional product; something produced, as in the course of a manufacture, in addition to the principal product. |
| by-respect | noun | Private end or view; by-interest. |
| byssaceous | adjective | Byssuslike; consisting of fine fibers or threads, as some very delicate filamentous algae. |
| by-turning | noun | An obscure road; a way turning from the main road. |