Part 1140

<p><b>2.</b> <def>A rush or impetus; force.</def>

<h1>Birrus</h1> <Xpage=148>

<hw>Bir"rus</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[LL., fr. L. <ets>birrus</ets> a kind of cloak. See <er>Berretta</er>.]</ety> <def>A coarse kind of thick woolen cloth, worn by the poor in the Middle Ages; also, a woolen cap or hood worn over the shoulders or over the head.</def>

<h1>Birse</h1> <Xpage=148>

<hw>Birse</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>A bristle or bristles.</def> <mark>[Scot.]</mark>

<h1>Birt</h1> <Xpage=148>

<hw>Birt</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OE. <ets>byrte</ets>; cf. F. <ets>bertonneau</ets>. Cf. <er>Bret</er>, <er>Burt</er>.]</ety> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld> <def>A fish of the turbot kind; the brill.</def> <altsp>[Written also <asp>burt</asp>, <asp>bret</asp>, or <asp>brut</asp>.]</altsp> <mark>[Prov. Eng.]</mark>

<h1>Birth</h1> <Xpage=148>

<hw>Birth</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OE. <ets>burth</ets>, <ets>birth</ets>, AS. <ets>beor<?/</ets>, <ets>gebyrd</ets>, fr. <ets>beran</ets> to bear, bring forth; akin to D. <ets>geboorate</ets>, OHG. <ets>burt</ets>, <ets>giburt</ets>, G. <ets>geburt</ets>, Icel. <ets>bur<?/r</ets>, Skr. <ets>bhrti</ets> bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael. <ets>beirthe</ets> born, brought forth. <?/92. See 1st <er>Bear</er>, and cf. <er>Berth</er>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; -- generally applied to human beings; <as>as, the <ex>birth</ex> of a son</as>.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble extraction.</def>

<blockquote>Elected without reference to <b>birth</b>, but solely for qualifications. <i>Prescott.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>The condition to which a person is born; natural state or position; inherited disposition or tendency.</def>

<blockquote>A foe by <b>birth</b> to Troy's unhappy name. <i>Dryden.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>The act of bringing forth; <as>as, she had two children at a <ex>birth</ex></as>.</def> "At her next <i>birth</i>."

<i> Milton.</i>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal or vegetable.</def>

<blockquote>Poets are far rarer <b>births</b> that kings. <i> B. Jonson.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>Others hatch their eggs and tend the <b>birth</b> till it is able to shift for itself. <i> Addison.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>6.</b> <def>Origin; beginning; <as>as, the birth of an empire</as>.</def>

<cs><col>New birth</col> <fld>(Theol.)</fld>, <cd>regeneration, or the commencement of a religious life.</cd></cs>

<syn>Syn. -- Parentage; extraction; lineage; race; family.</syn>

<h1>Birth</h1> <Xpage=148>

<hw>Birth</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>See <er>Berth</er>.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<i>De Foe.</i>

<h1>Birthday</h1> <Xpage=148>

<hw>Birth"day`</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <p><b>1.</b> <def>The day in which any person is born; day of origin or commencement.</def>

<blockquote>Those barbarous ages past, succeeded next The <b>birthday</b> of invention. <i>Cowper.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>The day of the month in which a person was born, in whatever succeeding year it may recur; the anniversary of one's birth.</def>