Part 719

Syn. -- To brag; bluster; vapor; crow; talk big.

Boast, v. t. 1. To display in ostentatious language; to speak of with pride, vanity, or exultation, with a view to self-commendation; to extol.

Lest bad men should boast Their specious deeds. Milton.

2. To display vaingloriously.

3. To possess or have; as, to boast a name.

To boast one's self, to speak with unbecoming confidence in, and approval of, one's self; -- followed by of and the thing to which the boasting relates. [Archaic]

Boast not thyself of to-morrow. Prov. xxvii. 1

Boast, v. t. [Of uncertain etymology.] 1. (Masonry) To dress, as a stone, with a broad chisel. Weale.

2. (Sculp.) To shape roughly as a preparation for the finer work to follow; to cut to the general form required.

Boast, n. 1. Act of boasting; vaunting or bragging.

Reason and morals? and where live they most, In Christian comfort, or in Stoic boast! Byron.

2. The cause of boasting; occasion of pride or exultation, -- sometimes of laudable pride or exultation.

The boast of historians. Macaulay.

Boast"ance (&?;), n. Boasting. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Boast"er (&?;), n. One who boasts; a braggart.

Boast"er, n. A stone mason's broad-faced chisel.

Boast"ful (&?;), a. Given to, or full of, boasting; inclined to boast; vaunting; vainglorious; self- praising. -- Boast"ful*ly, adv. -- Boast"ful*ness, n.

Boast"ing, n. The act of glorying or vaunting; vainglorious speaking; ostentatious display.

When boasting ends, then dignity begins. Young.

Boast"ing*ly, adv. Boastfully; with boasting. "He boastingly tells you." Burke.

Boast"ive (&?;), a. Presumptuous. [R.]

Boast"less, a. Without boasting or ostentation.

Boat (&?;), n. [OE. boot, bat, AS. bt; akin to Icel. btr, Sw. båt, Dan. baad, D. & G. boot. Cf. Bateau.]

1. A small open vessel, or water craft, usually moved by cars or paddles, but often by a sail.

Different kinds of boats have different names; as, canoe, yawl, wherry, pinnace, punt, etc.

2. Hence, any vessel; usually with some epithet descriptive of its use or mode of propulsion; as, pilot boat, packet boat, passage boat, advice boat, etc. The term is sometimes applied to steam vessels, even of the largest class; as, the Cunard boats.

3. A vehicle, utensil, or dish, somewhat resembling a boat in shape; as, a stone boat; a gravy boat.

<! p. 161 !>