Part 564

8. To be situated, as to the point of compass, with respect to something else; as, the land bears N. by E.

To bear against, to approach for attack or seizure; as, a lion bears against his prey. [Obs.] -- To bear away (Naut.), to change the course of a ship, and make her run before the wind. -- To bear back, to retreat. "Bearing back from the blows of their sable antagonist." Sir W. Scott. -- To bear down upon (Naut.), to approach from the windward side; as, the fleet bore down upon the enemy. -- To bear in with (Naut.), to run or tend toward; as, a ship bears in with the land. -- To bear off (Naut.), to steer away, as from land. -- To bear up. (a) To be supported; to have fortitude; to be firm; not to sink; as, to bear up under afflictions. (b) (Naut.) To put the helm up (or to windward) and so put the ship before the wind; to bear away. Hamersly. - - To bear upon (Mil.), to be pointed or situated so as to affect; to be pointed directly against, or so as to hit (the object); as, to bring or plant guns so as to bear upon a fort or a ship; the artillery bore upon the center. -- To bear up to, to tend or move toward; as, to bear up to one another. -- To bear with, to endure; to be indulgent to; to forbear to resent, oppose, or punish.

Bear (br), n. A bier. [Obs.] Spenser.

Bear (bâr), n. [OE. bere, AS. bera; akin to D. beer, OHG. bero, pero, G. bär, Icel. & Sw. björn, and possibly to L. fera wild beast, Gr. fh`r beast, Skr. bhalla bear.]

1. (Zoöl.) Any species of the genus Ursus, and of the closely allied genera. Bears are plantigrade Carnivora, but they live largely on fruit and insects.

The European brown bear (U. arctos), the white polar bear (U. maritimus), the grizzly bear (U. horribilis), the American black bear, and its variety the cinnamon bear (U. Americanus), the Syrian bear (Ursus Syriacus), and the sloth bear, are among the notable species.

2. (Zoöl.) An animal which has some resemblance to a bear in form or habits, but no real affinity; as, the woolly bear; ant bear; water bear; sea bear.

3. (Astron.) One of two constellations in the northern hemisphere, called respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

4. Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person.

5. (Stock Exchange) A person who sells stocks or securities for future delivery in expectation of a fall in the market.

The bears and bulls of the Stock Exchange, whose interest it is, the one to depress, and the other to raise, stocks, are said to be so called in allusion to the bear's habit of pulling down, and the bull's of tossing up.

6. (Mach.) A portable punching machine.

7. (Naut.) A block covered with coarse matting; -- used to scour the deck.

Australian bear. (Zoöl.) See Koala. -- Bear baiting, the sport of baiting bears with dogs. -- Bear caterpillar (Zoöl.), the hairy larva of a moth, esp. of the genus Euprepia. -- Bear garden. (a) A place where bears are kept for diversion or fighting. (b) Any place where riotous conduct is common or permitted. M. Arnold. -- Bear leader, one who leads about a performing bear for money; hence, a facetious term for one who takes charge of a young man on his travels.

Bear, v. t. (Stock Exchange) To endeavor to depress the price of, or prices in; as, to bear a railroad stock; to bear the market.

{ Bear, Bere } (&?;), n. [AS. bere. See Barley.] (Bot.) Barley; the six-rowed barley or the four-rowed barley, commonly the former (Hordeum hexastichon or H. vulgare). [Obs. except in North of Eng. and Scot.]

Bear"a*ble (&?;), a. Capable of being borne or endured; tolerable. -- Bear"a*bly, adv.

Bear"ber*ry (&?;), n. (Bot.) A trailing plant of the heath family (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), having leaves which are tonic and astringent, and glossy red berries of which bears are said to be fond.

Bear"bind` (&?;), n. (Bot.) The bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis).

Beard (brd), n. [OE. berd, AS. beard; akin to Fries. berd, D. baard, G. bart, Lith. barzda, OSlav. brada, Pol. broda, Russ. boroda, L. barba, W. barf. Cf. 1st Barb.]

1. The hair that grows on the chin, lips, and adjacent parts of the human face, chiefly of male adults.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) The long hairs about the face in animals, as in the goat. (b) The cluster of small feathers at the base of the beak in some birds (c) The appendages to the jaw in some Cetacea, and to the mouth or jaws of some fishes. (d) The byssus of certain shellfish, as the muscle. (e) The gills of some bivalves, as the oyster. (f) In insects, the hairs of the labial palpi of moths and butterflies.

3. (Bot.) Long or stiff hairs on a plant; the awn; as, the beard of grain.

4. A barb or sharp point of an arrow or other instrument, projecting backward to prevent the head from being easily drawn out.

5. That part of the under side of a horse's lower jaw which is above the chin, and bears the curb of a bridle.

6. (Print.) That part of a type which is between the shoulder of the shank and the face.

7. An imposition; a trick. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Beard grass (Bot.), a coarse, perennial grass of different species of the genus Andropogon. -- To one's beard, to one's face; in open defiance.