| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| babingtonite | noun | A mineral occurring in triclinic crystals approaching pyroxene in angle, and of a greenish black color. It is a silicate of iron, manganese, and lime. |
| baby farming | The business of keeping a baby farm. | |
| bacchanalian | adjective | Of or pertaining to the festival of Bacchus; relating to or given to reveling and drunkenness., A bacchanal; a drunken reveler. |
| bachelorhood | noun | The state or condition of being a bachelor; bachelorship. |
| bachelorship | noun | The state of being a bachelor. |
| backwardness | noun | The state of being backward. |
| backwoodsmen | plural | of Backwoodsman |
| backwoodsman | noun | A man living in the forest in or beyond the new settlements, especially on the western frontiers of the older portions of the United States. |
| bactericidal | adjective | Destructive of bacteria. |
| bacteriology | noun | The science relating to bacteria. |
| baker-legged | adjective | Having legs that bend inward at the knees. |
| balaniferous | adjective | Bearing or producing acorns. |
| balloon fish | 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. | |
| balneography | noun | A description of baths. |
| bandy-legged | adjective | Having crooked legs. |
| bankruptcies | plural | of Bankruptcy |
| bank swallow | See under 1st Bank, n. | |
| baptisteries | plural | of Baptistry |
| barbellulate | adjective | Barbellate with diminutive hairs or barbs. |
| barbermonger | noun | A fop. |
| bargemastter | noun | The proprietor or manager of a barge, or one of the crew of a barge. |
| barometrical | adjective | Pertaining to the barometer; made or indicated by a barometer; as, barometric changes; barometrical observations. |
| baroscopical | adjective | Pertaining to, or determined by, the baroscope. |
| basal-nerved | adjective | Having the nerves radiating from the base; — said of leaves. |
| bashi-bazouk | noun | A soldier belonging to the irregular troops of the Turkish army. |
| basidiospore | noun | A spore borne by a basidium. |
| basisphenoid | adjective | Alt. of Basisphenoidal, The basisphenoid bone. |
| basset hound | A small kind of hound with a long body and short legs, used as an earth dog. | |
| bastardizing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bastardize |
| bastinadoing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bastinado |
| bat printing | A mode of printing on glazed ware. | |
| battlemented | adjective | Having battlements. |
| bdellomorpha | noun | An order of Nemertina, including the large leechlike worms (Malacobdella) often parasitic in clams. |
| beach comber | A long, curling wave rolling in from the ocean. See Comber. | |
| bean trefoil | A leguminous shrub of southern Europe, with trifoliate leaves (Anagyris foetida). | |
| bearing rein | A short rein looped over the check hook or the hames to keep the horse’s head up; — called in the United States a checkrein. | |
| beche de mer | The trepang. | |
| becomingness | noun | The quality of being becoming, appropriate, or fit; congruity; fitness. |
| bed-moulding | noun | The molding of a cornice immediately below the corona. |
| bee larkspur | (Bot.) See Larkspur. | |
| befriendment | noun | Act of befriending. |
| beggarliness | noun | The quality or state of being beggarly; meanness. |
| belaying pin | A strong pin in the side of a vessel, or by the mast, round which ropes are wound when they are fastened or belayed. | |
| beleaguering | present participle & vb. noun | of Beleaguer |
| belletristic | adjective | Alt. of Belletristical |
| belligerence | noun | Alt. of Belligerency |
| belligerency | noun | The quality of being belligerent; act or state of making war; warfare. |
| bell-mouthed | adjective | Expanding at the mouth; as, a bell-mouthed gun. |
| bellows fish | A European fish (Centriscus scolopax), distinguished by a long tubular snout, like the pipe of a bellows; — called also trumpet fish, and snipe fish. | |
| benefactress | noun | A woman who confers a benefit. |
| beneficeless | adjective | Having no benefice. |
| beneficently | adverb | In a beneficent manner; with beneficence. |
| beneficially | adverb | In a beneficial or advantageous manner; profitably; helpfully. |
| bene placito | At or during pleasure., At pleasure; ad libitum. | |
| benting time | The season when pigeons are said to feed on bents, before peas are ripe. | |
| beplastering | present participle & vb. noun | of Beplaster |
| bequeathable | adjective | Capable of being bequeathed. |
| bequeathment | noun | The act of bequeathing, or the state of being bequeathed; a bequest. |
| bespattering | present participle & vb. noun | of Bespatter |
| besprinkling | present participle & vb. noun | of Besprinkle, The act of sprinkling anything; a sprinkling over. |
| bestializing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bestialize |
| bethlehemite | noun | Alt. of Bethlemite |
| bewilderment | noun | The state of being bewildered., A bewildering tangle or confusion. |
| biarticulate | adjective | Having, or consisting of, tow joints. |
| biauriculate | adjective | Having two auricles, as the heart of mammals, birds, and reptiles., Having two earlike projections at its base, as a leaf. |
| bibliography | noun | A history or description of books and manuscripts, with notices of the different editions, the times when they were printed, etc. |
| bibliomaniac | noun | One who has a mania for books., Relating to a bibliomaniac. |
| bibliopegist | noun | A bookbinder. |
| bibliophobia | noun | A dread of books. |
| bibliopolism | noun | The trade or business of selling books. |
| bibliopolist | noun | Same as Bibliopole. |
| bibliothecal | adjective | Belonging to a library. |
| bicarbureted | adjective | Alt. of -retted |
| bicentennial | adjective | Consisting of two hundred years., Occurring every two hundred years., The two hundredth year or anniversary, or its celebration. |
| bichromatize | verb t. | To combine or treat with a bichromate, esp. with bichromate of potassium; as, bichromatized gelatine. |
| bicrescentic | adjective | Having the form of a double crescent. |
| biddery ware | A kind of metallic ware made in India. The material is a composition of zinc, tin, and lead, in which ornaments of gold and silver are inlaid or damascened. | |
| biflabellate | adjective | Flabellate on both sides. |
| biflagellate | adjective | Having two long, narrow, whiplike appendages. |
| bihydroguret | noun | A compound of two atoms of hydrogen with some other substance. |
| bilamellated | adjective | Formed of two plates, as the stigma of the Mimulus; also, having two elevated ridges, as in the lip of certain flowers. |
| bilaterality | noun | State of being bilateral. |
| bilingualism | noun | Quality of being bilingual. |
| biliteralism | noun | The property or state of being biliteral. |
| billets-doux | plural | of Billet-doux |
| billingsgate | noun | A market near the Billings gate in London, celebrated for fish and foul language., Coarsely abusive, foul, or profane language; vituperation; ribaldry. |
| binarseniate | noun | A salt having two equivalents of arsenic acid to one of the base. |
| binucleolate | adjective | Having two nucleoli. |
| biochemistry | noun | The chemistry of living organisms; the chemistry of the processes incidental to, and characteristic of, life. |
| biographical | adjective | Of or pertaining to biography; containing biography. |
| biomagnetism | noun | Animal magnetism. |
| bipectinated | adjective | Having two margins toothed like a comb. |
| bipinnatifid | adjective | Doubly pinnatifid. |
| birdcatching | noun | The art, act, or occupation or catching birds or wild fowls. |
| bird fancier | One who takes pleasure in rearing or collecting rare or curious birds., One who has for sale the various kinds of birds which are kept in cages. | |
| bird’s-mouth | noun | An interior angle or notch cut across a piece of timber, for the reception of the edge of another, as that in a rafter to be laid on a plate; — commonly called crow’s-foot in the United States. |
| bishop’s cap | A plant of the genus Mitella; miterwort. | |
| bishop-stool | noun | A bishop’s seat or see. |
| bismuthinite | noun | Native bismuth sulphide; — sometimes called bismuthite. |
| bituminating | present participle & vb. noun | of Bituminate |
| bituminizing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bituminize |
| blackballing | present participle & vb. noun | of Blackball |
| black-browed | adjective | Having black eyebrows. Hence: Gloomy; dismal; threatening; forbidding. |
| blackguarded | imp. & past participle | of Blackguard |
| blackguardly | adverb & adjective | In the manner of or resembling a blackguard; abusive; scurrilous; ruffianly. |
| black letter | The old English or Gothic letter, in which the Early English manuscripts were written, and the first English books were printed. It was conspicuous for its blackness. See Type. | |
| black-letter | adjective | Written or printed in black letter; as, a black-letter manuscript or book., Given to the study of books in black letter; that is, of old books; out of date., Of or pertaining to the days in the calendar not marked with red letters as saints’ days. Hence: Unlucky; inauspicious. |
| blackmailing | present participle & vb. noun | of Blackmail, The act or practice of extorting money by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation. |
| black monday | Easter Monday, so called from the severity of that day in 1360, which was so unusual that many of Edward III.’s soldiers, then before Paris, died from the cold., The first Monday after the holidays; — so called by English schoolboys. | |
| blanchimeter | noun | An instrument for measuring the bleaching power of chloride of lime and potash; a chlorometer. |
| blandishment | noun | The act of blandishing; a word or act expressive of affection or kindness, and tending to win the heart; soft words and artful caresses; cajolery; allurement. |
| blastodermic | adjective | Of or pertaining to the blastoderm. |
| blastophoral | adjective | Alt. of Blastophoric |
| blastophoric | adjective | Relating to the blastophore. |
| blastosphere | noun | The hollow globe or sphere formed by the arrangement of the blastomeres on the periphery of an impregnated ovum. |
| blatherskite | noun | A blustering, talkative fellow. |
| blatteration | noun | Blattering. |
| blennogenous | adjective | Generating mucus. |
| blindfolding | present participle & vb. noun | of Blindfold |
| blockheadism | noun | That which characterizes a blockhead; stupidity. |
| bloodletting | noun | The act or process of letting blood or bleeding, as by opening a vein or artery, or by cupping or leeches; — esp. applied to venesection. |
| bloodshedder | noun | One who sheds blood; a manslayer; a murderer. |
| bloodthirsty | adjective | Eager to shed blood; cruel; sanguinary; murderous. |
| blood vessel | Any vessel or canal in which blood circulates in an animal, as an artery or vein. | |
| bloody sweat | A sweat accompanied by a discharge of blood; a disease, called sweating sickness, formerly prevalent in England and other countries. | |
| bloomingness | noun | A blooming condition. |
| bluestocking | noun | A literary lady; a female pedant., The American avocet (Recurvirostra Americana). |
| bluff-headed | adjective | Built with the stem nearly straight up and down. |
| blunderingly | adverb | In a blundering manner. |
| blunt-witted | noun | Dull; stupid. |
| blusteringly | adverb | In a blustering manner. |
| boisterously | adverb | In a boisterous manner. |
| bond servant | A slave; one who is bound to service without wages. | |
| bond service | The condition of a bond servant; service without wages; slavery. | |
| bonne bouche | A delicious morsel or mouthful; a tidbit. | |
| bonnyclabber | noun | Coagulated sour milk; loppered milk; curdled milk; — sometimes called simply clabber. |
| bons vivants | plural | of Bon vivant |
| book-learned | adjective | Versed in books; having knowledge derived from books. |
| bord service | Service due from a bordar; bordage. | |
| borofluoride | noun | A double fluoride of boron and hydrogen, or some other positive element, or radical; — called also fluoboride, and formerly fluoborate. |
| borosilicate | noun | A double salt of boric and silicic acids, as in the natural minerals tourmaline, datolite, etc. |
| bothrenchyma | noun | Dotted or pitted ducts or vessels forming the pores seen in many kinds of wood. |
| bottle green | A dark shade of green, like that of bottle glass. | |
| bottleholder | noun | One who attends a pugilist in a prize fight; — so called from the bottle of water of which he has charge., One who assists or supports another in a contest; an abettor; a backer. |
| bottle-nosed | adjective | Having the nose bottle-shaped, or large at the end. |
| boulangerite | noun | A mineral of a bluish gray color and metallic luster, usually in plumose masses, also compact. It is a sulphide of antimony and lead. |
| bowstringing | present participle & vb. noun | of Bowstring |
| brachiolaria | noun pl. | A peculiar early larval stage of certain starfishes, having a bilateral structure, and swimming by means of bands of vibrating cilia. |
| brachygraphy | noun | Stenography. |
| brachypteres | nounpl. | A group of birds, including auks, divers, and penguins. |
| brachytypous | adjective | Of a short form. |
| brackishness | noun | The quality or state of being brackish, or somewhat salt. |
| brahmo-somaj | noun | A modern reforming theistic sect among the Hindoos. |
| bramah press | A hydrostatic press of immense power, invented by Joseph Bramah of London. See under Hydrostatic. | |
| bramble bush | The bramble, or a collection of brambles growing together. | |
| branchiopoda | noun pl. | An order of Entomostraca; — so named from the feet of branchiopods having been supposed to perform the function of gills. It includes the fresh-water genera Branchipus, Apus, and Limnadia, and the genus Artemia found in salt lakes. It is also called Phyllopoda. See Phyllopoda, Cladocera. It is sometimes used in a broader sense. |
| branch pilot | A pilot who has a branch or commission, as from Trinity House, England, for special navigation. | |
| breakfasting | present participle & vb. noun | of Breakfast |
| breastheight | noun | The interior slope of a fortification, against which the garrison lean in firing. |
| breastplough | noun | A kind of plow, driven by the breast of the workman; — used to cut or pare turf. |
| breastsummer | noun | A summer or girder extending across a building flush with, and supporting, the upper part of a front or external wall; a long lintel; a girder; — used principally above shop windows. |
| breathlessly | adverb | In a breathless manner. |
| breechloader | noun | A firearm which receives its load at the breech. |
| breech screw | A strong iron or steel plug screwed into the breech of a musket or other firearm, to close the bottom of the bore. | |
| breech sight | A device attached to the breech of a firearm, to guide the eye, in conjunction with the front sight, in taking aim. | |
| brevipennate | adjective | Short-winged; — applied to birds which can not fly, owing to their short wings, as the ostrich, cassowary, and emu. |
| brevirostral | adjective | Alt. of Brevirostrate |
| bridechamber | noun | The nuptial apartment. |
| brittle star | Any species of ophiuran starfishes. See Ophiuroidea. | |
| broad church | A portion of the Church of England, consisting of persons who claim to hold a position, in respect to doctrine and fellowship, intermediate between the High Church party and the Low Church, or evangelical, party. The term has been applied to other bodies of men holding liberal or comprehensive views of Christian doctrine and fellowship. | |
| broad-horned | adjective | Having horns spreading widely. |
| broad-leaved | adjective | Alt. of Broad-leafed |
| broad-leafed | adjective | Having broad, or relatively broad, leaves. |
| bronchophony | noun | A modification of the voice sounds, by which they are intensified and heightened in pitch; — observed in auscultation of the chest in certain cases of intro-thoracic disease. |
| brontosaurus | noun | A genus of American jurassic dinosaurs. A length of sixty feet is believed to have been attained by these reptiles. |
| brown thrush | A common American singing bird (Harporhynchus rufus), allied to the mocking bird; — also called brown thrasher. | |
| brush turkey | A large, edible, gregarious bird of Australia (Talegalla Lathami) of the family Megapodidae. Also applied to several allied species of New Guinea. | |
| bubble shell | A marine univalve shell of the genus Bulla and allied genera, belonging to the Tectibranchiata. | |
| buccaneerish | adjective | Like a buccaneer; piratical. |
| buffooneries | plural | of Buffoonery |
| bullet-proof | adjective | Capable of resisting the force of a bullet. |
| bullfighting | noun | A barbarous sport, of great antiquity, in which men torment, and fight with, a bull or bulls in an arena, for public amusement, — still popular in Spain. |
| bull terrier | A breed of dogs obtained by crossing the bulldog and the terrier. | |
| bunch-backed | adjective | Having a bunch on the back; crooked. |
| bureaucratic | adjective | Alt. of Bureaucratical |
| burgess-ship | noun | The state of privilege of a burgess. |
| bur marigold | See Beggar’s ticks. | |
| burnettizing | present participle & vb. noun | of Burnettize |
| bushfighting | noun | Fighting in the bush, or from behind bushes, trees, or thickets. |
| bushwhacking | noun | Traveling, or working a way, through bushes; pulling by the bushes, as in hauling a boat along the bushy margin of a stream., The crimes or warfare of bushwhackers. |
| businesslike | adjective | In the manner of one transacting business wisely and by right methods. |
| butterweight | noun | Over weight. |