cliffs on rocky coasts, and are composed in part of alg‘. They are of the size of a goose egg, and in substance resemble isinglass. See Illust. under Edible. 3. (Bot.) An orchideous plant with matted roots, of the genus Neottia (N. nidusÏavis.) Bird'sÐnest pudding, a pudding containing apples whose cores have been replaces by sugar. Ð Yellow bird's nest, a plant, the Monotropa hypopitys. Bird'sÐnest·ing (?), n. Hunting for, or taking, birds' nests or their contents. Bird's¶Ðtongue· (?), n. (Bot.) The knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare). Bird¶Ðwit·ted (?), a. Flighty; passing rapidly from one subject to another; not having the faculty of attention. Bacon. Bi·recÏtan¶guÏlar (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + rectangular.] Containing or having two right angles; as, a birectangular spherical triangle. Bi¶reme (?), n. [L. biremis; bis twice + remus oar: cf. F. birŠme.] An ancient galley or vessel with two banks or tiers of oars. BiÏret¶ta (?), n. Same as Berretta. Bir¶ganÏder (?), n. See Bergander. Birk (?), n. [See Birch, n.] A birch tree. [Prov. Eng.] ½The silver birk.¸ Tennyson. Birk, n. (Zo”l.) A small European minnow (Leuciscus phoxinus). Birk¶en (?), v. t. [From 1st Birk.] To whip with a birch or rod. [Obs.] Birk¶en, a. Birchen; as, birken groves. Burns. Bir¶kie (?), n. A lively or mettlesome fellow. [Jocular, Scot.] Burns. Birl (?), v. t. & i. To revolve or cause to revolve; to spin. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott. Birl (?), v. t. & i. [AS. byrlian. ?92.] To pour (beer or wine); to ply with drink; to drink; to carouse. [Obs. or Dial.] Skelton. Bir¶law (?), n. [See ByÏlaw.] (Law) A law made by husbandmen respecting rural affairs; a rustic or local law or byÏlaw. [Written also byrlaw, birlie, birley.] BiÏros·trate (?), BiÏros¶traÏted (?), } a. [Pref. biÏ + rostrate.] Having a double beak, or two processes resembling beaks. The capsule is bilocular and birostrated. Ed. Encyc. Birr (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Birred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Birring.] [Cf. OE. bur, bir, wind, storm wind, fr. Icel. byrr wind. Perh. imitative.] To make, or move with, a whirring noise, as of wheels in motion. Birr, n. 1. A whirring sound, as of a spinning wheel. 2. A rush or impetus; force. Bir¶rus (?), n. [LL., fr. L. birrus a kind of cloak. See Berretta.] 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. Birse (?), n. A bristle or bristles. [Scot.] Birt (?), n. [OE. byrte; cf. F. bertonneau. Cf. Bret, Burt.] (Zo”l.) A fish of the turbot kind; the brill. [Written also burt, bret, or brut.] [Prov. Eng.] Birth (?), n. [OE. burth, birth, AS. beor?, gebyrd, fr. beran to bear, bring forth; akin to D. geboorate, OHG. burt, giburt, G. geburt, Icel. bur?r, Skr. bhrti bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael. beirthe born, brought forth. ?92. See 1st Bear, and cf. Berth.] 1. The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; Ð generally applied to human beings; as, the birth of a son. 2. Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble extraction. Elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications. Prescott. 3. The condition to which a person is born; natural state or position; inherited disposition or tendency. A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name. Dryden. 4. The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a birth. ½At her next birth.¸ Milton. 5. That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal or vegetable. Poets are far rarer births that kings. B. Jonson. Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself. Addison. 6. Origin; beginning; as, the birth of an empire. New birth (Theol.), regeneration, or the commencement of a religious life. Syn. Ð Parentage; extraction; lineage; race; family. Birth, n. See Berth. [Obs.] De Foe. Birth¶day· (?), n. 1. The day in which any person is born; day of origin or commencement. Those barbarous ages past, succeeded next The birthday of invention. Cowper. 2. The day of the month in which a person was born, in whatever succeeding year it may recur; the anniversary of one's birth. This is my birthday; as this very day Was Cassius born. Shak. Birth¶day·, a. Of or pertaining to the day of birth, or its anniversary; as, birthday gifts or festivities. Birth¶dom (?), n. [Birth + Ïdom.] The land of one's birth; one's inheritance. [R.] Shak. Birth¶ing, n. (Naut.) Anything added to raise the sides of a ship. Bailey. Birth¶less, a. Of mean extraction. [R.] Sir W. Scott. Birth¶mark· (?), n. Some peculiar mark or blemish on the body at birth. Most part of this noble lineage carried upon their body for a natural birthmark, ... a snake. Sir T. North. Birth¶night· (?), n. The night in which a person is born; the anniversary of that night in succeeding years. The angelic song in Bethlehem field, On thy birthnight, that sung thee Savior born. Milton. Birth¶place· (?), n. The town, city, or country, where a person is born; place of origin or birth, in its more general sense. ½The birthplace of valor.¸ Burns. Birth¶right· (?), n. 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. Lest there be any ... profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Heb. xii. 16. Birth¶root· (?), n. (Bot.) An herbaceous plant (Trillium erectum), and its astringent rootstock, which is said to have medicinal properties. Birth¶wort· (?), n. A genus of herbs and shrubs (Aristolochia), reputed to have medicinal properties. Bis (?), adv. [L. bis twice, for duis, fr. root of duo two. See Two, and cf. BiÏ.] Twice; Ð a word showing that something is, or is to be, repeated; as a passage of music, or an item in accounts. BisÏ, pref. A form of BiÏ, sometimes used before s, c, or a vowel. Bi¶sa an¶teÏlope (?). (Zo”l.) See Oryx. BiÏsac¶cate (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + saccate.] (Bot.) Having two little bags, sacs, or pouches. BisÏcay¶an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Biscay in Spain. Ðn. A native or inhabitant of Biscay. Bis¶coÏtin (?), n. [F. biscotin. See Biscuit.] A confection made of flour, sugar, marmalade, and eggs; a sweet biscuit. Bis¶cuit (?), n. [F. biscuit (cf. It. biscotto, Sp. bizcocho, Pg. biscouto), fr. L. bis twice + coctus, p. p. of coquere to cook, bake. See Cook, and cf. Bisque a kind of porcelain.] 1. A kind of unraised bread, of many varieties, plain, sweet, or fancy, formed into flat cakes, and bakes hard; as, ship biscuit. According to military practice, the bread or biscuit of the Romans was twice prepared in the oven. Gibbon. 2. A small loaf or cake of bread, raised and shortened, or made light with soda or baking powder. Usually a number are baked in the same pan, forming a sheet or card. 3. Earthen ware or porcelain which has undergone the first baking, before it is subjected to the glazing. 4. (Sculp.) A species of white, unglazed porcelain, in which vases, figures, and groups are formed in miniature. Meat biscuit, an alimentary preparation consisting of matters extracted from meat by boiling, or of meat ground fine and combined with flour, so as to form biscuits. BiÏscu¶tate (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + scutate.] (Bot.) Resembling two bucklers placed side by side. ØBise (?), n. [F.] A cold north wind which prevails on the northern coasts of the Mediterranean and in Switzerland, etc.; Ð nearly the same as the mistral. Bise (?), n. (Paint.) See Bice. BiÏsect¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bisected; p. pr. & vb. n. Bisecting.] [L. bis twice + secare, sectum, to cut.] 1. To cut or divide into two parts. 2. (Geom.) To divide into two equal parts. BiÏsec¶tion (?), n. [Cf. F. bissection.] Division into two parts, esp. two equal parts. BiÏsec¶tor (?), n. One who, or that which, bisects; esp. (Geom.) a straight line which bisects an angle. BiÏsec¶trix (?), n. The line bisecting the angle between the optic axes of a biaxial crystal. BiÏseg¶ment (?), n. [Pref. biÏ + segment.] One of tow equal parts of a line, or other magnitude. BiÏsep¶tate (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + septate.] With two partitions or septa. Gray. BiÏse¶riÏal (?), BiÏse¶riÏate (?), } a. [Pref. biÏ + serial, seriate.] In two rows or series. BiÏser¶rate (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + serrate.] 1. (Bot.) Doubly serrate, or having the serratures serrate, as in some leaves. 2. (Zo”l.) Serrate on both sides, as some antenn‘. BiÏse¶tose (?), BiÏse¶tous (?), } a. [Pref. biÏ + setose, setous.] Having two bristles. BiÏsex¶ous (?), a. [L. bis twice + sexus sex: cf. F. bissexe.] Bisexual. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne. BiÏsex¶uÏal (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + sexual.] (Biol.) Of both sexes; hermaphrodite; as a flower with stamens and pistil, or an animal having ovaries and testes. BiÏsex¶uÏous (?), a. Bisexual. BiÏseye¶ (?), p. p. of Besee. [Obs.] Chaucer. Evil biseye, ill looking. [Obs.] Bish (?), n. Same as Bikh. Bish¶op (?), n. [OE. bischop, biscop, bisceop, AS. bisceop, biscop, L. episcopus overseer, superintendent, bishop, fr. Gr. ?, ? over + ? inspector, fr. root of ?, ?, to look to, perh. akin to L. specere to look at. See Spy, and cf. Episcopal.] 1. A spiritual overseer, superintendent, or director. Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Pet. ii. 25. It is a fact now generally recognized by theologians of all shades of opinion, that in the language of the New Testament the same officer in the church is called indifferently ½bishop¸ ( ? ) and ½elder¸ or ½presbyter.¸ J. B. Lightfoot. 2. In the Roman Catholic, Greek, and Anglican or Protestant Episcopal churches, one ordained to the highest order of the ministry, superior to the priesthood, and generally claiming to be a successor of the Apostles. The bishop is usually the spiritual head or ruler of a diocese, bishopric, or see. Bishop in partibus [infidelium] (R. C. Ch.), a bishop of a see which does not actually exist; one who has the office of bishop, without especial jurisdiction. Shipley. Ð Titular bishop (R. C. Ch.), a term officially substituted in 1882 for bishop in partibus. Ð Bench of Bishops. See under Bench. 3. In the Methodist Episcopal and some other churches, one of the highest church officers or superintendents. 4. A piece used in the game of chess, bearing a representation of a bishop's miter; Ð formerly called archer. 5. A beverage, being a mixture of wine, oranges or lemons, and sugar. Swift. 6. An old name for a woman's bustle. [U. S.] If, by her bishop, or her ½grace¸ alone, A genuine lady, or a church, is known. Saxe. Bish¶op, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bishoped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bishoping.] To admit into the church by confirmation; to confirm; hence, to receive formally to favor. Bish¶op (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bishoped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bishoping.] [From the name of the scoundrel who first practiced it. Youatt.] (Far.) To make seem younger, by operating on the teeth; as, to bishop an old horse or his teeth. The plan adopted is to cut off all the nippers with a saw to the proper length, and then with a cutting instrument the operator scoops out an oval cavity in the corner nippers, which is afterwards burnt with a hot iron until it is black. J. H. Walsh. Bish¶opÏdom (?), n. Jurisdiction of a bishop; episcopate. ½Divine right of bishopdom.¸ Milton. Bish¶opÏlike· (?), a. Resembling a bishop; belonging to a bishop. Fulke. Bish¶opÏly, a. Bishoplike; episcopal. [Obs.] Bish¶opÏly, adv. In the manner of a bishop. [Obs.] Bish¶opÏric (?), n. [AS. bisceoprÆce; bisceop bishop + rÆce dominion. See Ïric.] 1. A diocese; the district over which the jurisdiction of a bishop extends. 2. The office of a spiritual overseer, as of an apostle, bishop, or presbyter. Acts i. 20. Bish¶op's cap· (?). (Bot.) A plant of the genus Mitella; miterwort. Longfellow. Bish¶op sleeve· (?). A wide sleeve, once worn by women. Bish¶op's length· (?). A canvas for a portrait measuring 58 by 94 inches. The half bishop measures 45 of 56. Bish¶opÐstool· (?), n. A bishop's seat or see. Bish¶op'sÐweed· (?), n. (Bot.) (a) An umbelliferous plant of the genus Ammi. (b) Goutweed (?gopodium podagraria). Bish¶op'sÐwort· (?), n. (Bot.) Wood betony (Stachys betonica); also, the plant called fennel flower (Nigella Damascena), or devilÏinÏaÏbush. Bis¶ie (?), v. t. To busy; to employ. [Obs.] BiÏsil¶iÏcate (?), n. (Min. Chem.) A salt of metasilicic acid; Ð 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. Bisk (?), n. [F. bisque.] Soup or broth made by boiling several sorts of flesh together. King. Bisk, n. [F. bisque.] (Tennis) See Bisque. BiÏsmare¶ (?), BiÏsmer¶ (?), n. [AS. bismer.] Shame; abuse. [Obs.] Chaucer. Bis¶mer (?), n. 1. A rule steelyard. [Scot.] 2. (Zo”l.) The fifteenÏspined (Gasterosteus spinachia). ØBisÏmil¶lah (?), interj. [Arabic, in the name of God!] An adjuration or exclamation common among the Mohammedans. [Written also Bizmillah.] Bis¶mite (?), n. (Min.) Bismuth trioxide, or bismuth ocher. Bis¶muth (?), n. [Ger. bismuth, wismuth: cf. F. bismuth.] (Chem.) One of the elements; a metal of a reddish white color, crystallizing in rhombohedrons. It is somewhat harder than lead, and rather brittle; masses show broad cleavage surfaces when broken across. It metals at 507? Fahr., being easily fused in the flame of a candle. It is found in a native state, and as a constituent of some minerals. Specific gravity 9.8. Atomic weight 207.5. Symbol Bi. µ Chemically, bismuth (with arsenic and antimony is intermediate between the metals and nonmetals; it is used in thermoÏelectric piles, and as an alloy with lead and tin in the fusible alloy or metal. Bismuth is the most diamagnetic substance known. Bismuth glance, bismuth sulphide; bismuthinite. Ð Bismuth ocher, a native bismuth oxide; bismite. Bis¶muthÏal (?), a. Containing bismuth. Bis¶muthÏic (?), a. (Chem.) Of or pertaining to bismuth; containing bismuth, when this element has its higher valence; as, bismuthic oxide. Bis·muthÏif¶erÏous (?), a. [Bismuth + Ïferous.] Containing bismuth. Bis¶muthÏine (?), Bis¶muthÏinÏite (?), } n. Native bismuth sulphide; Ð sometimes called bismuthite. Bis¶muthÏous (?), a. Of, or containing, bismuth, when this element has its lower valence. Bis¶muthÏyl· (?), n. (Min.) Hydrous carbonate of bismuth, an earthy mineral of a dull white or yellowish color. [Written also bismuthite.] Bi¶son (?), n. [L. bison, Gr. ?, a wild ox; akin to OHG. wisunt, wisant, G. wisent, AS. wesend, Icel. vÆsundr: cf. F. bison.] (Zo”l.) (a) The aurochs or European bison. (b) The American bison buffalo (Bison Americanus), a large, gregarious bovine quadruped with shaggy mane and short black horns, which formerly roamed in herds over most of the temperate portion of North America, but is now restricted to very limited districts in the region of the Rocky Mountains, and is rapidly decreasing in numbers.
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BiÏspi¶nose (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + spinose.] (Zo”l.) Having two spines. ØBisque (?), n. [A corruption of biscuit.] Unglazed white porcelain. Bisque, n. [F.] A point taken by the receiver of odds in the game of tennis; also, an extra innings allowed to a weaker player in croquet. ØBisque, n. [F.] A white soup made of crayfish. BisÏsex¶tile (?), n. [L. bissextilis annus, fr. bissextus (bis + sextus sixth, fr. sex six) the sixth of the calends of March, or twentyÏfourth day of February, which was reckoned twice every fourth year, by the intercalation of a day.] 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. BisÏsex¶tile, a. Pertaining to leap year. Bis¶son (?), a. [OE. bisen, bisne, AS. bisen, prob. for bÆs?ne; bi by + s?ne clear, akin to se¢n to see; clear when near, hence shortÏsighted. See See.] Purblind; blinding. [Obs.] ½Bisson rheum.¸ Shak. Bis¶ter, Bis¶tre } (?), n. [F. bistre a color made of soot; of unknown origin. Cf., however, LG. biester frowning, dark, ugly.] (Paint.) A dark brown pigment extracted from the soot of wood. BiÏstip¶uled (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + stipule.] (Bot.) Having two stipules. Bis¶tort (?), n. [L. bis + tortus, p. p. of torquere to twist: cf. F. bistorte.] (Bot.) An herbaceous plant of the genus Polygonum, section Bistorta; snakeweed; adderwort. Its root is used in medicine as an astringent. Bis¶touÏry (?), n.; pl. Bistouries (?). [F. bistouri.] A surgical instrument consisting of a slender knife, either straight or curved, generally used by introducing it beneath the part to be divided, and cutting towards the surface. Bis¶tre (?), n. See Bister. BiÏsul¶cate (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + sulcate.] 1. Having two grooves or furrows. 2. (Zo”l.) Cloven; said of a foot or hoof. BiÏsul¶cous (?), a. [L. bisulcus; bis twice + sulcus furrow.] Bisulcate. Sir T. Browne. BiÏsul¶phate (?), n. [Pref. biÏ + sulphate.] (Chem.) 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. BiÏsul¶phide (?), n. [Pref. biÏ + sulphide.] (Chem.) A sulphide having two atoms of sulphur in the molecule; a disulphide, as in iron pyrites, FeS2; Ð less frequently called bisulphuret. BiÏsul¶phite (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of sulphurous acid in which the base replaces but half the hydrogen of the acid; an acid sulphite. BiÏsul¶phuÏret (?), n. [Pref. biÏ + sulphuret.] (Chem.) See Bisulphide. Bit (?), n. [OE. bitt, bite, AS. bite, bite, fr. bÆtan to bite. See Bite, n. & v., and cf. Bit a morsel.] 1. The part of a bridle, usually of iron, which is inserted in the mouth of a horse, and having appendages to which the reins are fastened. Shak. The foamy bridle with the bit of gold. Chaucer. 2. Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains. Bit, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bitted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bitting.] To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of. Bit, imp. & p. p. of Bite. Bit, n. [OE. bite, AS. bita, fr. bÆtan to bite; akin to D. beet, G. bissen bit, morsel, Icel. biti. See Bite, v., and cf. Bit part of a bridle.] 1. A part of anything, such as may be bitten off or taken into the mouth; a morsel; a bite. Hence: A small piece of anything; a little; a mite. 2. Somewhat; something, but not very great. My young companion was a bit of a poet. T. Hook. µ This word is used, also, like jot and whit, to express the smallest degree; as, he is not a bit wiser. 3. A tool for boring, of various forms and sizes, usually turned by means of a brace or bitstock. See Bitstock. 4. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers. Knight. 5. The cutting iron of a plane. Knight. 6. In the Southern and Southwestern States, a small silver coin (as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12 1/2 cents; also, the sum of 12 1/2 cents. Bit my bit, piecemeal. Pope. Bit, 3d sing. pr. of Bid, for biddeth. [Obs.] Chaucer. BiÏtake¶ (?), v. t. [See Betake, Betaught.] To commend; to commit. [Obs.] Chaucer. BiÏtan¶gent (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + tangent.] (Geom.) Possessing the property of touching at two points. Ð n. A line that touches a curve in two points. BiÏtar¶trate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of tartaric acid in which the base replaces but half the acid hydrogen; an acid tartrate, as cream of tartar. Bitch (?), n. [OE. biche, bicche, AS. bicce; cf. Icel. bikkja, G. betze, peize.] 1. The female of the canine kind, as of the dog, wolf, and fox. 2. An opprobrious name for a woman, especially a lewd woman. Pope. Bite (?), v. t. [imp. Bit (?); p. p. Bitten (?), Bit; p. pr. & vb. n. Biting.] [OE. biten, AS. bÆtan; akin to D. bijten, OS. bÆtan, OHG. bÆzan, G. beissen, Goth. beitan, Icel. bÆta, Sw. bita, Dan. bide, L. findere to cleave, Skr. bhid to cleave. ?87. Cf. Fissure.] 1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth; as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man. Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain. Shak. 2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some insects) used in taking food. 3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure, in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the mouth. ½Frosts do bite the meads.¸ Shak. 4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [Colloq.] Pope. 5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the anchor bites the ground. The last screw of the rack having been turned so often that its purchase crumbled, ... it turned and turned with nothing to bite. Dickens. To bite the dust, To bite the ground, to fall in the agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust. Ð To bite in (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic plates by means of an acid. Ð To bite the thumb at (any one), formerly a mark of contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. ½Do you bite your thumb at us ?¸ Shak. Ð To bite the tongue, to keep silence. Shak. Bite (?), v. i. 1. To seize something forcibly with the teeth; to wound with the teeth; to have the habit of so doing; as, does the dog bite ? 2. To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent; as, it bites like pepper or mustard. 3. To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing. At the last it biteth like serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Prov. xxiii. 32. 4. To take a bait into the mouth, as a fish does; hence, to take a tempting offer. 5. To take or keep a firm hold; as, the anchor bites. Bite, n. [OE. bite, bit, bitt, AS. bite bite, fr. bÆtan to bite, akin to Icel. bit, OS. biti, G. biss. See Bite, v., and cf. Bit.] 1. The act of seizing with the teeth or mouth; the act of wounding or separating with the teeth or mouth; a seizure with the teeth or mouth, as of a bait; as, to give anything a hard bite. I have known a very good fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite. Walton. 2. The act of puncturing or abrading with an organ for taking food, as is done by some insects. 3. The wound made by biting; as, the pain of a dog's or snake's bite; the bite of a mosquito. 4. A morsel; as much as is taken at once by biting. 5. The hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to be lifted, or the hold which one part of a machine has upon another. 6. A cheat; a trick; a fraud. [Colloq.] The baser methods of getting money by fraud and bite, by deceiving and overreaching. Humorist. 7. A sharper; one who cheats. [Slang] Johnson. 8. (Print.) A blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper. Bit¶er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, bites; that which bites often, or is inclined to bite, as a dog or fish. ½Great barkers are no biters.¸ Camden. 2. One who cheats; a sharper. [Colloq.] Spectator. BiÏter¶nate (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + ternate.] (Bot.)Doubly ternate, as when a petiole has three ternate leaflets. Ð BiÏter¶nateÏly, adv. Gray. Bi¶theÏism (?), n. [Pref. biÏ + theism.] Belief in the existence of two gods; dualism. Bit¶ing (?), a. That bites; sharp; cutting; sarcastic; caustic. ½A biting affliction.¸ ½A biting jest.¸ Shak. Bit¶ing in¶ (?). (Etching.) The process of corroding or eating into metallic plates, by means of an acid. See Etch. G. Francis. Bit¶ingÏly, adv. In a biting manner. Bit¶less (?), a. Not having a bit or bridle. Bit¶stock· (?), n. A stock or handle for holding and rotating a bit; a brace. Bitt (?), n. (Naut.) See Bitts. Bitt (?), v. t. [See Bitts.] (Naut.) To put round the bitts; as, to bitt the cable, in order to fasten it or to slacken it gradually, which is called veering away. Totten. Bit¶taÏcle (?), n. A binnacle. [Obs.] Bit¶ten (?), p. p. of Bite. Bit¶ten (?), a. (Bot.) Terminating abruptly, as if bitten off; premorse. Bit¶ter (?), n. [See Bitts.] (Naut.) AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts. Bitter end, that part of a cable which is abaft the bitts, and so within board, when the ship rides at anchor. Bit¶ter (?), a. [AS. biter; akin to Goth. baitrs, Icel. bitr, Dan., Sw., D., & G. bitter, OS. bittar, fr. root of E. bite. See Bite, v. t.] 1. Having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes. 2. Causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day. 3. Causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant. It is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God. Jer. ii. 19. 4. Characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Col. iii. 19. 5. Mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable. The Egyptians ... made their lives bitter with hard bondage. Ex. i. 14. Bitter apple, Bitter cucumber, Bitter gourd. (Bot.) See Colocynth. Ð Bitter cress (Bot.), a plant of the genus Cardamine, esp. C. amara. Ð Bitter earth (Min.), tale earth; calcined magnesia. Ð Bitter principles (Chem.), a class of substances, extracted from vegetable products, having strong bitter taste but with no sharply defined chemical characteristics. Ð Bitter salt, Epsom salts;; magnesium sulphate. Ð Bitter vetch (Bot.), a name given to two European leguminous herbs, Vicia Orobus and Ervum Ervilia. Ð To the bitter end, to the last extremity, however calamitous. Syn. Ð Acrid; sharp; harsh; pungent; stinging; cutting; severe; acrimonious. Bit¶ter (?), n. Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters. Bit¶ter, v. t. To make bitter. Wolcott. Bit¶terÏbump· (?), n. (Zo”l.) the butterbump or bittern. Bit¶terÏful (?), a. Full of bitterness. [Obs.] Bit¶terÏing, n. A bitter compound used in adulterating beer; bittern. Bit¶terÏish, a. Somewhat bitter. Goldsmith. Bit¶terÏling (?), n. [G.] (Zo”l.) A roachlike European fish (Rhodima amarus). Bit¶terÏly, adv. In a bitter manner. Bit¶tern (?), n. [OE. bitoure, betore, bitter, fr. F. butor; of unknown origin.] (Zo”l.) A wading bird of the genus Botaurus, allied to the herons, of various species. µ The common European bittern is Botaurus stellaris. It makes, during the brooding season, a noise called by Dryden bumping, and by Goldsmith booming. The American bittern is B. lentiginosus, and is also called stakeÏdriver and meadow hen. See StakeÏdriver. The name is applied to other related birds, as the least bittern (Ardetta exilis), and the sun bittern. Bit¶tern, n. [From Bitter, a.] 1. The brine which remains in salt works after the salt is concreted, having a bitter taste from the chloride of magnesium which it contains. 2. A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus Indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer. Cooley. Bit¶terÏness (?), n. [AS. biternys; biter better + Ïnys = Ïness.] 1. 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. The lip that curls with bitterness. Percival. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Job vii. 11. 2. A state of extreme impiety or enmity to God. Thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Acts viii. 23. 3. Dangerous error, or schism, tending to draw persons to apostasy. Looking diligently, ... lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. Heb. xii. 15. Bit¶terÏnut¶, n. (Bot.) The swamp hickory (Carya amara). Its thinÏshelled nuts are bitter. Bit¶terÏroot· (?), n. (Bot.) 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 Sp‘t'lum. Bit¶ters (?), n. pl. A liquor, generally spirituous in which a bitter herb, leaf, or root is steeped. Bit¶ter spar¶ (?). A common name of dolomite Ð so called because it contains magnesia, the soluble salts of which are bitter. See Dolomite. Bit¶terÏsweet· (?), a. Sweet and then bitter or bitter and then sweet; esp. sweet with a bitter after taste; hence (Fig.), pleasant but painful. Bit¶terÏsweet·, n. 1. Anything which is bittersweet. 2. A kind of apple so called. Gower. 3. (Bot.) (a) A climbing shrub, with oval coralÏred berries (Solanum dulcamara); woody nightshade. The whole plant is poisonous, and has a taste at first sweetish and then bitter. The branches are the officinal dulcamara. (b) An American woody climber (Celastrus scandens), whose yellow capsules open late in autumn, and disclose the red aril which covers the seeds; Ð also called Roxbury waxwork. Bit¶terÏweed· (?), n. (Bot.) A species of Ambrosia (A. artemisi‘folia); Roman worm wood. Gray. Bit¶terÏwood· (?), n. A West Indian tree (Picr‘na excelsa) from the wood of which the bitter drug Jamaica quassia is obtained. Bit¶terÏwort· (?), n. (Bot.) The yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea), which has a very bitter taste. Bit¶tock (?), n. [See Bit a morsel.] A small bit of anything, of indefinite size or quantity; a short distance. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott. Bit¶tor Bit¶tour } (?), n. [See Bittern] (Zo”l.) The bittern. Dryden. Bitts (?), n. pl. [Cf. F. bitte, Icel. biti, a beam. ?87.] (Naut.) A frame of two strong timbers fixed perpendicularly in the fore part of a ship, on which to fasten the cables as the ship rides at anchor, or in warping. Other bitts are used for belaying (belaying bitts), for sustaining the windlass (carrick bitts, winch bitts, or windlass bitts), to hold the pawls of the windlass (pawl bitts) etc. BiÏtume¶ (?), n. [F. See Bitumen.] Bitumen. [Poetic] May. BiÏtumed¶ (?), a. Smeared with bitumen. [R.] ½The hatches caulked and bitumed.¸ Shak. BiÏtu¶men (?), n. [L. bitumen: cf. F. bitume. Cf. B‚ton.] 1. Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. ?
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occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See Asphalt. 2. By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petroleums, and even the light, volatile naphthas. BiÏtu¶miÏnate (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bituminated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminating.] [L. bituminatus, p. p. of bituminare to bituminate. See Bitumen.] To treat or impregnate with bitumen; to cement with bitumen. ½Bituminated walls of Babylon.¸ Feltham. BiÏtu·miÏnif¶erÏous (?), a. [Bitumen + Ïferous.] Producing bitumen. Kirwan. BiÏtu·miÏniÏza¶tion (?), n. [Cf. F. bituminisation.] The process of bituminizing. Mantell. BiÏtu¶miÏnize (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bituminized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminizing.] [Cf. F. bituminiser.] To prepare, treat, impregnate, or coat with bitumen. BiÏtu¶miÏnous (?), a. [L. bituminosus: cf. F. bitumineux.] Having the qualities of bitumen; compounded with bitumen; containing bitumen. Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flamed. Milton. Bituminous coal, a kind of coal which yields, when heated, a considerable amount of volatile bituminous matter. It burns with a yellow smoky flame. Ð Bituminous limestone, a mineral of a brown or black color, emitting an unpleasant smell when rubbed. That of Dalmatia is so charged with bitumen that it may be cut like soap. Ð Bituminous shale, an argillaceous shale impregnated with bitumen, often accompanying coal. Bi¶uÏret (?), n. [Pref. biÏ + urea.] (Chem.) A white, crystalline, nitrogenous substance, C2O2N3H5, formed by heating urea. It is intermediate between urea and cyanuric acid. Biv¶aÏlenÏcy (?), n. (Chem.) The quality of being bivalent. Biv¶aÏlent (?), a. [L. bis twice + valens, p. pr. See Valence.] (Chem.) Equivalent in combining or displacing power to two atoms of hydrogen; dyad. Bi¶valve (?), n. [F. bivalve; biÏ (L. bis) + valve valve.] 1. (Zo”l.) A mollusk having a shell consisting of two lateral plates or valves joined together by an elastic ligament at the hinge, which is usually strengthened by prominences called teeth. The shell is closed by the contraction of two transverse muscles attached to the inner surface, as in the clam, Ð or by one, as in the oyster. See Mollusca. 2. (Bot.) A pericarp in which the seed case opens or splits into two parts or valves. Bi¶valve (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + valve.] (Zo”l. & Bot.) Having two shells or valves which open and shut, as the oyster and certain seed vessels. Bi¶valved (?), a. Having two valves, as the oyster and some seed pods; bivalve. BiÏval¶vous (?), a. Bivalvular. BiÏval¶vuÏlar (?), a. Having two valves. BiÏvault¶ed (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + vault.] Having two vaults or arches. BiÏvec¶tor (?), n. [Pref. biÏ + vector.] (Math.) A term made up of the two parts ? + ?1 ?Ð1, where ? and ?1 are vectors. BiÏven¶tral (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + ventral.] (Anat.) Having two bellies or protuberances; as, a biventral, or digastric, muscle, or the biventral lobe of the cerebellum. Biv¶iÏal (?), a. Of or relating to the bivium. Biv¶iÏous (?), a. [L. bivius; bis twice + via way.] Having, or leading, two ways. Bivious theorems and JanusÏfaced doctrines. Sir T. Browne. ØBiv¶iÏum (?), n. [L., a place with two ways. See Bivious.] (Zo”l.) One side of an echinoderm, including a pair of ambulacra, in distinction from the opposite side (trivium), which includes three ambulacra. Biv¶ouac (?), n. [F. bivouac, bivac, prab. fr. G. beiwache, or beiwacht; bei by, near + wachen to watch, wache watch, guard. See By, and Watch.] (Mil.) (a) The watch of a whole army by night, when in danger of surprise or attack. (b) An encampment for the night without tents or covering. Biv¶ouac, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Bivouacked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bivouacking.] (Mil.) (a) To watch at night or be on guard, as a whole army. (b) To encamp for the night without tents or covering. Bi¶week·ly (?), a. [Pref. biÏ + weekly.] Occurring or appearing once every two weeks; fortnightly. Ð n. A publication issued every two weeks. Ð Bi¶week¶ly, adv. BiÏwreye¶ (?), v. t. To bewray; to reveal. [Obs.] Biz¶anÏtine (?). See Byzantine. BiÏzarre¶ (?), a. [F. bizarre odd, fr. Sp. bizarro gallant, brave, liberal, prob. of Basque origin; cf. Basque bizarra beard, whence the meaning manly, brave.] Odd in manner or appearance; fantastic; whimsical; extravagant; grotesque. C. Kingsley. BiÏzet¶ (?), n. [Cf. Bezel.] The upper faceted portion of a brilliantÏcut diamond, which projects from the setting and occupies the zone between the girdle and the table. See Brilliant, n. Blab (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blabbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blabbing.] [Cf. OE. blaberen, or Dan. blabbre, G. plappern, Gael. blabaran a stammerer; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. also Blubber, v.] To utter or tell unnecessarily, or in a thoughtless manner; to publish (secrets or trifles) without reserve or discretion. Udall. And yonder a vile physician blabbing The case of his patient. Tennyson. Blab, v. i. To talk thoughtlessly or without discretion; to tattle; to tell tales. She must burst or blab. Dryden. Blab, n. [OE. blabbe.] One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale. ½Avoided as a blab.¸ Milton. For who will open himself to a blab or a babbler. Bacon. Blab¶ber (?), n. A tattler; a telltale. Black (?), a. [OE. blak, AS. bl‘c; akin to Icel. blakkr dark, swarthy, Sw. bl„ck ink, Dan. bl‘k, OHG. blach, LG. & D. blaken to burn with a black smoke. Not akin to AS. bl¾c, E. bleak pallid. ?98.] 1. Destitute of light, or incapable of reflecting it; of the color of soot or coal; of the darkest or a very dark color, the opposite of white; characterized by such a color; as, black cloth; black hair or eyes. O night, with hue so black! Shak. 2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the heavens black with clouds. I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud. Shak. 3. Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness; destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked; cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible. ½This day's black fate.¸ ½Black villainy.¸ ½Arise, black vengeance.¸ ½Black day.¸ ½Black despair.¸ Shak. 4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen; foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks. µ Black is often used in selfÏexplaining compound words; as, blackÏeyed, blackÏfaced, blackÏhaired, blackÏvisaged. Black act, the English statute 9 George I, which makes it a felony to appear armed in any park or warren, etc., or to hunt or steal deer, etc., with the face blackened or disguised. Subsequent acts inflicting heavy penalties for malicious injuries to cattle and machinery have been called black acts. Ð Black angel (Zo”l.), a fish of the West Indies and Florida (Holacanthus tricolor), with the head and tail yellow, and the middle of the body black. Ð Black antimony (Chem.), the black sulphide of antimony, Sb2S3, used in pyrotechnics, etc. Ð Black bear (Zo”l.), the common American bear (Ursus Americanus). Ð Black beast. See Bˆte noire. Ð Black beetle (Zo”l.), the common large cockroach (Blatta orientalis). Ð Black and blue, the dark color of a bruise in the flesh, which is accompanied with a mixture of blue. ½To pinch the slatterns black and blue.¸ Hudibras. Ð Black bonnet (Zo”l.), the blackÏheaded bunting (Embriza Sch?niclus) of Europe. Ð Black canker, a disease in turnips and other crops, produced by a species of caterpillar. Ð Black cat (Zo”l.), the fisher, a quadruped of North America allied to the sable, but larger. See Fisher. Ð Black cattle, any bovine cattle reared for slaughter, in distinction from dairy cattle. [Eng.] Ð Black cherry. See under Cherry. Ð Black cockatoo (Zo”l.), the palm cockatoo. See Cockatoo. Ð Black copper. Same as Melaconite. Ð Black currant. (Bot.) See Currant. Ð Black diamond. (Min.) See Carbonado. Ð Black draught (Med.), a cathartic medicine, composed of senna and magnesia. Ð Black drop (Med.), vinegar of opium; a narcotic preparation consisting essentially of a solution of opium in vinegar. Ð Black earth, mold; earth of a dark color. Woodward. Ð Black flag, the flag of a pirate, often bearing in white a skull and crossbones; a signal of defiance. Ð Black flea (Zo”l.), a flea beetle (Haltica nemorum) injurious to turnips. Ð Black flux, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal, obtained by deflagrating tartar with half its weight of niter. Brande & C. Ð Black fly. (Zo”l.) (a) In the United States, a small, venomous, twoÏwinged fly of the genus Simuliu? of several ?, exceedingly abundant and troublesome in the northern forests. The larv‘ are aquatic. (b) A black plant louse, as the bean aphis (A. fab‘). Ð Black Forest [a translation of G. Schwarzwald], a forest in Baden and Wrtemburg, in Germany; a part of the ancient Hercynian forest. Ð Black game, or Black grouse. (Zo”l.) See Blackcock, Grouse, and Heath grouse. Ð Black grass (Bot.), a grasslike rush of the species Juncus Gerardi, growing on salt marshes, and making good hay. Ð Black gum (Bot.), an American tree, the tupelo or pepperidge. See Tupelo. Ð Black Hamburg (grape) (Bot.), a sweet and juicy variety of dark purple or ½black¸ grape. Ð Black horse (Zo”l.), a fish of the Mississippi valley (Cycleptus elongatus), of the sucker family; the Missouri sucker. Ð Black lemur (Zo”l.), the Lemurniger of Madagascar; the acoumbo of the natives. Ð Black list, a list of persons who are for some reason thought deserving of censure or punishment; Ð esp. a list of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, made for the protection of tradesmen or employers. See Blacklist, v. t. Ð Black manganese (Chem.), the black oxide of manganese, MnO2. Ð Black Maria, the close wagon in which prisoners are carried to or from jail. Ð Black martin (Zo”l.), the chimney swift. See Swift. Ð Black moss (Bot.), the common soÏcalled long moss of the southern United States. See Tillandsia. Ð Black oak. See under Oak. Ð Black ocher. See Wad. Ð Black pigment, a very fine, light carbonaceous substance, or lampblack, prepared chiefly for the manufacture of printers' ink. It is obtained by burning common coal tar. Ð Black plate, sheet iron before it is tinned. Knight. Ð Black quarter, malignant anthrax with engorgement of a shoulder or quarter, etc., as of an ox. Ð Black rat (Zo”l.), one of the species of rats (Mus rattus), commonly infesting houses. Ð Black rent. See Blackmail, n., 3. Ð Black rust, a disease of wheat, in which a black, moist matter is deposited in the fissures of the grain. Ð Black sheep, one in a family or company who is unlike the rest, and makes trouble. Ð Black silver. (Min.) See under Silver. Ð Black and tan, black mixed or spotted with tan color or reddish brown; Ð used in describing certain breeds of dogs. Ð Black tea. See under Tea. Ð Black tin (Mining), tin ore ( cassiterite), when dressed, stamped and washed, ready for smelting. It is in the form of a black powder, like fine sand. Knight. Ð Black walnut. See under Walnut. Ð Black warrior (Zo”l.), an American hawk (Buteo Harlani). Syn. Ð Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart; Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious. Black (?), adv. Sullenly; threateningly; maliciously; so as to produce blackness. Black, n. 1. That which is destitute of light or whiteness; the darkest color, or rather a destitution of all color; as, a cloth has a good black. Black is the badge of hell, The hue of dungeons, and the suit of night. Shak. 2. A black pigment or dye. 3. A negro; a person whose skin is of a black color, or shaded with black; esp. a member or descendant of certain African races. 4. A black garment or dress; as, she wears black pl. (Obs.) Mourning garments of a black color; funereal drapery. Friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the like show death terrible. Bacon. That was the full time they used to wear blacks for the death of their fathers. Sir T. North. 5. The part of a thing which is distinguished from the rest by being black. The black or sight of the eye. Sir K. Digby. 6. A stain; a spot; a smooch. Defiling her white lawn of chastity with ugly blacks of lust. Rowley. Black and white, writing or print; as, I must have that statement in black and white. Ð Blue black, a pigment of a blue black color. Ð Ivory black, a fine kind of animal charcoal prepared by calcining ivory or bones. When ground it is the chief ingredient of the ink used in copperplate printing. Ð Berlin black. See under Berlin. Black, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blacked ; p. pr. & vb. n. Blacking.] [See Black, a., and cf. Blacken.] 1. To make black; to blacken; to soil; to sully. They have their teeth blacked, both men and women, for they say a dog hath his teeth white, therefore they will black theirs. Hakluyt. Sins which black thy soul. J. Fletcher. 2. To make black and shining, as boots or a stove, by applying blacking and then polishing with a brush. Black¶aÏmoor (?), n. [Black + Moor.] A negro or negress. Shak. Black¶ art· (?). The art practiced by conjurers and witches; necromancy; conjuration; magic. µ This name was given in the Middle Ages to necromancy, under the idea that the latter term was derived from niger black, instead of ?, a dead person, and ?, divination. Wright. Black¶ÐaÐvised· (?), a. DarkÏvisaged; swart. Black¶ball· (?), n. 1. A composition for blacking shoes, boots, etc.; also, one for taking impressions of engraved work. 2. A ball of black color, esp. one used as a negative in voting; Ð in this sense usually two words. Black¶ball·, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blackballed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blackballing.] 1. To vote against, by putting a black ball into a ballot box; to reject or exclude, as by voting against with black balls; to ostracize. He was blackballed at two clubs in succession. Thackeray. 2. To blacken (leather, shoes, etc.) with blacking. Black¶band· (?), n. (Min.) An earthy carbonate of iron containing considerable carbonaceous matter; Ð valuable as an iron ore. Black¶ bass· (?). (Zo”l.) 1. An edible, freshÏwater fish of the United States, of the genus Micropterus. the smallÏmouthed kind is M. dolomieÆ; the largemouthed is M. salmoides. 2. The sea bass. See Blackfish, 3. Black¶berÏry (?), n. [OE. blakberye, AS. bl‘cerie;ÿbl‘c black + berie berry.] 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. Black¶bird (?), n. (Zo”l.) In England, a species of thrush (Turdus merula), a singing bird with a fin note; the merle. In America the name is given to several birds, as the Quiscalus versicolor, or crow blackbird; the Agel‘us ph?niceus, or redÏwinged blackbird; the cowbird; the rusty grackle, etc. See Redwing. Black¶board· (?), n. 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· (?). 1. One of several books of a political character, published at different times and for different purposes; Ð so called either from the color of the binding, or from the character of the contents.
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2. 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. 3. 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. 4. A book of admiralty law, of the highest authority, compiled in the reign of Edw. III. Bouvier. Wharton. 5. 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. 6. Any book which treats of necromancy. Black¶Ðbrowed· (?), a. Having black eyebrows. Hence: Gloomy; dismal; threatening; forbidding. Shak. Dryden. BlackÏbur¶niÏan war¶Ïbler (?). [Named from Mrs. Blackburn, an English lady.] (Zo”l.) A beautiful warbler of the United States (Dendroica Blackburni‘). The male is strongly marked with orange, yellow, and black on the head and neck, and has an orangeÏyellow breast. Black¶cap· (?), n. 1. (Zo”l.) (a) A small European song bird (Sylvia atricapilla), with a black crown; the mock nightingale. (b) An American titmouse (Parus atricapillus); the chickadee. 2. (Cookery) An apple roasted till black, to be served in a dish of boiled custard. 3. The black raspberry. Black¶coat· (?), n. A clergyman; Ð familiarly so called, as a soldier is sometimes called a redcoat or a bluecoat. Black¶cock· (?), n. (Zo”l.) The male of the European black grouse (Tetrao tetrix, Linn.); Ð so called by sportsmen. The female is called gray hen. See Heath grouse. Black¶ death· (?). A pestilence which ravaged Europe and Asia in the fourteenth century. Black¶en (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blackened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blackening.] [See Black, a., and cf. Black, v. t. ] 1. To make or render black. While the long funerals blacken all the way. Pope. 2. To make dark; to darken; to cloud. ½Blackened the whole heavens.¸ South. 3. To defame; to sully, as reputation; to make infamous; as, vice blackens the character. Syn. Ð To denigrate; defame; vilify; slander; calumniate; traduce; malign; asperse. Black¶en, v. i. To grow black or dark. Black¶enÏer (?), n. One who blackens. Black¶Ðeyed· (?), a. Having black eyes. Dryden. Black¶Ðfaced· (?), a. Having a black, dark, or gloomy face or aspect. Black¶feet· (?), n. pl. (Ethn.) A tribe of North American Indians formerly inhabiting the country from the upper Missouri River to the Saskatchewan, but now much reduced in numbers. Black¶fin· (?), n. (Zo”l.) See Bluefin. Black¶fish (?), n. 1. (Zo”l.) A small kind of whale, of the genus Globicephalus, of several species. The most common is G. melas. Also sometimes applied to other whales of larger size. 2. (Zo”l.) The tautog of New England (Tautoga). 3. (Zo”l.) The black sea bass (Centropristis atrarius) of the Atlantic coast. It is excellent food fish; Ð locally called also black Harry. 4. (Zo”l.) A fish of southern Europe (Centrolophus pompilus) of the Mackerel family. 5. (Zo”l.) The female salmon in the spawning season. µ The name is locally applied to other fishes. Black¶foot· (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Blackfeet; as, a Blackfoot Indian. Ð n. A Blackfoot Indian. Black¶ fri·ar (?). (Eccl.) A friar of the Dominican order; Ð called also predicant and preaching friar; in France, Jacobin. Also, sometimes, a Benedictine. Black¶guard (?), n. [Black + guard.] 1. 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 ½black guard¸; also, the servants and hangersÏon of an army. [Obs.] A lousy slave, that ... rode with the black guard in the duke's carriage, 'mongst spits and dripping pans. Webster (1612). 2. The criminals and vagrants or vagabonds of a town or community, collectively. [Obs.] 3. A person of stained or low character, esp. one who uses scurrilous language, or treats others with foul abuse; a scoundrel; a rough. A man whose manners and sentiments are decidedly below those of his class deserves to be called a blackguard. Macaulay. 4. A vagrant; a bootblack; a gamin. [Obs.] Black¶guard·, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blackguarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blackguarding.] To revile or abuse in scurrilous language. Southey. Black¶guard, a. Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, blackguard language. Black¶guardÏism (?), n. The conduct or language of a blackguard; rufflanism. Black¶guardÏly, adv. & a. In the manner of or resembling a blackguard; abusive; scurrilous; ruffianly. Black¶head· (?), n. (Zo”l.) The scaup duck. Black¶heart· (?), n. A heartÏshaped cherry with a very darkÏcolored skin. Black¶Ðheart·ed, a. Having a wicked, malignant disposition; morally bad. Black¶ hole· (?). A dungeon or dark cell in a prison; a military lockÏup or guardroom; Ð 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. A discipline of unlimited autocracy, upheld by rods, and ferules, and the black hole. H. Spencer. Black¶ing, n. 1. Any preparation for making things black; esp. one for giving a black luster to boots and shoes, or to stoves. 2. The act or process of making black. Black¶ish, a. Somewhat black. Black¶Ðjack· , n. 1. (Min.) A name given by English miners to sphalerite, or zinc blende; Ð called also false galena. See Blende. 2. Caramel or burnt sugar, used to color wines, spirits, ground coffee, etc. 3. A large leather vessel for beer, etc. [Obs.] 4. (Bot.) The Quercus nigra, or barren oak. 5. The ensign of a pirate. Black· lead¶ (?). Plumbago; graphite.It leaves a blackish mark somewhat like lead. See Graphite. Black·lead¶, v. t. To coat or to polish with black lead. Black¶leg· (?), n. 1. A notorious gambler. [Colloq.] 2. A disease among calves and sheep, characterized by a settling of gelatinous matter in the legs, and sometimes in the neck. [Eng.] Black¶ let·ter (?). 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¶Ðlet·ter, a. 1. Written or printed in black letter; as, a blackÏletter manuscript or book. 2. Given to the study of books in black letter; that is, of old books; out of date. Kemble, a blackÐletter man! J. Boaden. 3. Of or pertaining to the days in the calendar not marked with red letters as saints' days. Hence: Unlucky; inauspicious. Black¶list· (?), v. t. To put in a black list as deserving of suspicion, censure, or punishment; esp. to put in a list of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, Ð as tradesmen and employers do for mutual protection; as, to blacklist a workman who has been discharged. See Black list, under Black, a. If you blacklist us, we will boycott you. John Swinton. Black¶ly, adv. In a black manner; darkly, in color; gloomily; threateningly; atrociously. ½Deeds so blackly grim and horrid.¸ Feltham. Black¶mail· (?), n. [Black + mail a piece of money.] 1. A certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage. Sir W. Scott. 2. Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure. 3. (Eng. Law) Black rent, or rent paid in corn, flesh, or the lowest coin, a opposed to ½white rent¸, which paid in silver. To levy blackmail, to extort money by threats, as of injury to one's reputation. Black¶mail·, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blackmailed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blackmailing.] To extort money from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation, distress of mind, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud. [U. S.] Black¶mail·er (?), n. One who extorts, or endeavors to extort, money, by black mailing. Black¶mail·ing, n. The act or practice of extorting money by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation. Black¶ Mon·day (?). 1. 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. Stow. Then it was not for nothing that may nose fell a bleeding on Black Monday last. Shak. 2. The first Monday after the holidays; Ð so called by English schoolboys. Halliwell. Black¶ monk· (?). A Benedictine monk. Black¶moor (?), n. See Blackamoor. Black¶Ðmouthed· (?), a. Using foul or scurrilous language; slanderous. Black¶ness, n. The quality or state of being black; black color; atrociousness or enormity in wickedness. They're darker now than blackness. Donne. Black¶poll· (?), n. [Black + poll head.] (Zo”l.) A warbler of the United States (Dendroica striata). Black¶ pud¶ding (?). A kind of sausage made of blood, suet, etc., thickened with meal. And fat black puddings, Ð proper food, For warriors that delight in blood. Hudibras. Black¶ Rod· (?). (a) the usher to the Chapter of the Garter, so called from the black rod which he carries. He is of the king's chamber, and also usher to the House of Lords. [Eng.] (b) An usher in the legislature of British colonies. Cowell. Committed to the custody of the Black Rod. Macaulay. Black¶root· , n. (Bot.) See Colicroot. Blacks (?), n. pl. 1. The name of a kind of in used in copperplate printing, prepared from the charred husks of the grape, and residue of the wine press. 2. Soot flying in the air. [Eng.] 3. Black garments, etc. See Black, n., 4. Black¶salt·er (?), n. One who,makes crude potash, or black salts. Black¶ salts· (?). Crude potash. De Colange. Black¶smith· (?), n. [Black (in allusion to the color of the metal) + smith. Cf. Whitesmith.] 1. A smith who works in iron with a forge, and makes iron utensils, horseshoes, etc. The blacksmith may forge what he pleases. Howell. 2. (Zo”l.) A fish of the Pacific coast (Chromis, or Heliastes, punctipinnis), of a blackish color. Black¶ snake· (?) or Black¶snake, n. (Zo”l.) 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. µ %The name is also applied to various other black serpents, as Natrix atra of Jamaica. Black¶strap· (?), n. 1. A mixture of spirituous liquor (usually rum) and molasses. No blackstrap toÏnight; switchel, or ginger pop. Judd. 2. Bad port wine; any commo wine of the Mediterranean; Ð so called by sailors. Black¶tail· (?), n. [Black + tail.] 1. (Zo”l.) A fish; the ruff or pope. 2. (Zo”l.) The blackÏtailed deer (Cervus or Cariacus Columbianus) of California and Oregon; also, the mule deer of the Rocky Mountains. See Mule deer. Black¶thorn· (?), n. (Bot.) (a) A spreading thorny shrub or small tree (Prunus spinosa), with blackish bark, and bearing little black plums, which are called sloes; the sloe. (b) A species of Crat‘gus or hawthorn (C. tomentosa). Both are used for hedges. Black¶ vom¶it (?). (Med.) A copious vomiting of darkÏcolored matter; or the substance so discharged; Ð one of the most fatal symptoms in yellow fever. Black¶ wash· (?) or Black¶wash, n. 1. (Med.) A lotion made by mixing calomel and lime water. 2. A wash that blackens, as opposed to whitewash; hence, figuratively, calumny. To remove as far as he can the modern layers of black wash, and let the man himself, fair or foul, be seen. C. Kingsley. Black¶wood (?), n. A name given to several darkÏcolored timbers. The East Indian black wood is from the tree Dalbergia latifolia. Balfour. Black¶work· (?), n. Work wrought by blacksmiths; Ð so called in distinction from that wrought by whitesmiths. Knight. Blad¶der (?), n. [OE. bladder, bleddre, AS. bl?dre, bl?ddre; akin to Icel. bla?ra, SW. bl„ddra, Dan. bl‘re, D. blaar, OHG. bl¾tara the bladder in the body of animals, G. blatter blister, bustule; all fr. the same root as AS. bl¾wan, E. blow, to puff. See Blow to puff.] 1. (Anat.) A bag or sac in animals, which serves as the receptacle of some fluid; as, the urinary bladder; the gall bladder; Ð applied especially to the urinary bladder, either within the animal, or when taken out and inflated with air. 2. Any vesicle or blister, especially if filled with air, or a thin, watery fluid. 3. (Bot.) A distended, membranaceous pericarp. 4. Anything inflated, empty, or unsound. ½To swim with bladders of philosophy.¸ Rochester. Bladder nut, or Bladder tree (Bot.), a genus of plants (Staphylea) with bladderlike seed pods. Ð Bladder pod (Bot.), a genus of low herbs (Vesicaria) with inflated seed pods. Ð Bladdor senna (Bot.), a genus of shrubs (Colutea), with membranaceous, inflated pods. Ð Bladder worm (Zo”l.), the larva of any species of tapeworm (T‘nia), found in the flesh or other parts of animals. See Measle, Cysticercus. Ð Bladder wrack (Bot.), the common black rock weed of the seacoast (Fucus nodosus and F. vesiculosus) Ð called also bladder tangle. See Wrack. Blad¶der, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bladdered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bladdering.] 1. To swell out like a bladder with air; to inflate. [Obs.] G. Fletcher. 2. To put up in bladders; as, bladdered lard. Blad¶derÏwort· (?), n. (Bot.) A genus (Utricularia) of aquatic or marshy plants, which usually bear numerous vesicles in the divisions of the leaves. These serve as traps for minute animals. See Ascidium. Blad¶derÏy (?), a. Having bladders; also, resembling a bladder. Blade (?), n. [OE. blade, blad, AS. bl‘d leaf; akin to OS., D., Dan., & Sw. blad, Icel. bla?, OHG. blat, G. blatt, and perh. to L. folium, Gr. ?. The root is prob. the same as that of AS. bl?wan, E. blow, to blossom. See Blow to blossom, and cf. Foil leaf of metal.] 1. Properly, the leaf, or flat part of the leaf, of any plant, especially of gramineous plants. The term is sometimes applied to the spire of grasses. The crimson dulse ... with its waving blade. Percival. First the blade, then ear, after that the full corn in the ear. Mark iv. 28. 2. The cutting part of an instrument; as, the blade of a knife or a sword. 3. The broad part of an oar; also, one of the projecting arms of a screw propeller. 4. The scapula or shoulder blade. 5. pl. (Arch.) The principal rafters of a roof. Weale. 6. pl. (Com.) The four large shell plates on the sides, and the five large ones of the middle, of the carapace of the sea turtle, which yield the best tortoise shell. De Colange. 7. A sharpÏwitted, dashing, wild, or reckless, fellow; Ð a word of somewhat indefinite meaning. He saw a turnkey in a trice Fetter a troublesome blade. Coleridge.
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Blade (?), v. t. To furnish with a blade. Blade, v. i. To put forth or have a blade. As sweet a plant, as fair a flower, is faded As ever in the Muses' garden bladed. P. Fletcher. Blade¶bone· (?), n. The scapula. See Blade, 4. Blad¶ed (?), a. 1. Having a blade or blades; as a twoÏbladed knife. Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass. Shak. 2. Divested of blades; as, bladed corn. 3. (Min.) Composed of long and narrow plates, shaped like the blade of a knife. Blade¶fish· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A long, thin, marine fish of Europe (Trichiurus lepturus); the ribbon fish. Blade¶smith· (?), n. A sword cutler. [Obs.] Blad¶y (?), a. Consisting of blades. [R.] ½Blady grass.¸ Drayton. Bl‘ (?), a. [See Blue.] Dark blue or bluish gray; leadÏcolored. [Scot.] Bl‘¶berÏry (?), n. [Bl‘ + berry; akin to Icel bl¾ber, Sw. bl?b„r, D. blaab‘r. Cf. Blueberry.] The bilberry. [North of Eng. & Scot.] ØBlague (?), n. [F.] Mendacious boasting; falcefood; humbug. Blain (?), n. [OE. blein, bleyn, AS. bl?gen; akin to Dan. blegn, D. blein; perh. fr. the same root as E. bladder. See Bladder.] 1. An inflammatory swelling or sore; a bulla, pustule, or blister. Blotches and blains must all his flesh emboss. Milton. 2. (Far.) A bladder growing on the root of the tongue of a horse, against the windpipe, and stopping the breath. Blam¶aÏble (?), a. [Cf. F. blƒmable.] Deserving of censure; faulty; culpable; reprehensible; censurable; blameworthy. Ð Blam¶aÏbleÏness, n. Ð Blam¶ÏaÏbly (?), adv. Blame , v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blamed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blaming.] [OE. blamen, F. blƒr, OF. blasmer, fr. L. blasphemare to blaspheme, LL. also to blame, fr. Gr. ? to speak ill to slander, to blaspheme, fr. ? evil speaking, perh, for ?; ? injury (fr. ? to injure) + ? a saying, fr. ? to say. Cf. Blaspheme, and see Fame.] 1. To censure; to express disapprobation of; to find fault with; to reproach. We have none to blame gut ourselves. Tillotson. 2. To bring reproach upon; to blemish. [Obs.] She ... blamed her noble blood. Spenser. To blame, to be blamed, or deserving blame; in fault; as, the conductor was to blame for the accident. You were to blame, I must be plain with you. Shak. Blame, n. [OE. blame, fr. F. blƒme, OF. blasme, fr. blƒmer, OF. blasmer, to blame. See Blame, v.] 1. An expression of disapprobation fir something deemed to be wrong; imputation of fault; censure. Let me bear the blame forever. Gen. xiiii. 9. 2. That which is deserving of censure or disapprobation; culpability; fault; crime; sin. Holy and without blame before him in love. Eph. i. 4. 3. Hurt; injury. [Obs.] Spenser. Syn. Ð Censure; reprehension; condemnation; reproach; fault; sin; crime; wrongdoing. Blame¶ful (?), a. 1. Faulty; meriting blame. Shak. 2. Attributing blame or fault; implying or conveying censure; faultfinding; censorious. Chaucer. Ð Blame¶fulÏly, adv. Ð Blame¶fulÏness, n. Blame¶less, a. Free from blame; without fault; innocent; guiltless; Ð sometimes followed by of. A bishop then must be blameless. 1 Tim. iii. 2. Blameless still of arts that polish to deprave. Mallet. We will be blameless of this thine oath. Josh. ii. 17. Syn. Ð Irreproachable; sinless; unblemished; inculpable. Ð Blameless, Spotless, Faultless, Stainless. We speak of a thing as blameless when it is free from blame, or the just imputation of fault; as, a blameless life or character. The others are stronger. We speak of a thing as faultless, stainless, or spotless, only when we mean that it is absolutely without fault or blemish; as, a spotless or stainless reputation; a faultless course of conduct. The last three words apply only to the general character, while blameless may be used in reverence to particular points; as, in this transaction he was wholly blameless. We also apply faultless to personal appearance; as, a faultless figure; which can not be done in respect to any of the other words. Blame¶lessÏly, adv. In a blameless manner. Blame¶lessÏness, n. The quality or state of being blameless; innocence. Blam¶er (?), n. One who blames. Wyclif. Blame¶wor·thy (?), a. Deserving blame; culpable; reprehensible. Ð Blame¶wor·thiÏness, n. Blan¶card (?), n. [F., fr. blanc white.] A kind of linen cloth made in Normandy, the thread of which is partly blanches before it is woven. Blanch (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blanched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blanching.] [OE. blanchen, blaunchen, F. blanchir, fr. blanc white. See Blank, a.] 1. To take the color out of, and make white; to bleach; as, to blanch linen; age has blanched his hair. 2. (Gardening) To bleach by excluding the light, as the stalks or leaves of plants, by earthing them up or tying them together. 3. (Confectionery & Cookery) (a) To make white by removing the skin of, as by scalding; as, to blanch almonds. (b) To whiten, as the surface of meat, by plunging into boiling water and afterwards into cold, so as to harden the surface and retain the juices. 4. To give a white luster to (silver, before stamping, in the process of coining.). 5. To cover (sheet iron) with a coating of tin. 6. Fig.: To whiten; to give a favorable appearance to ; to whitewash; to palliate. Blanch over the blackest and most absurd things. Tillotson. Syn. Ð To Blanch, Whiten. To whiten is the generic term, denoting, to render white; as, to whiten the walls of a room. Usually (though not of necessity) this is supposed to be done by placing some white coloring matter in or upon the surface of the object in question. To blanch is to whiten by the removal of coloring matter; as, to blanch linen. So the cheek is blanched by fear, i. e., by the withdrawal of the blood, which leaves it white. Blanch (?), v. i. To grow or become white; as, his cheek blanched with fear; the rose blanches in the sun. [Bones] blanching on the grass. Tennyson. Blanch, v. t. [See Blench.] 1. To avoid, as from fear; to evade; to leave unnoticed. [Obs.] Ifs and ands to qualify the words of treason, whereby every man might express his malice and blanch his danger. Bacon. I suppose you will not blanch Paris in your way. Reliq. Wot. 2. To cause to turn aside or back; as, to blanch a deer. Blanch, v. i. To use evasion. [Obs.] Books will speak plain, when counselors blanch. Bacon. Blanch, n. (Mining) Ore, not in masses, but mixed with other minerals. Blanch¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, blanches or whitens; esp., one who anneals and cleanses money; also, a chemical preparation for this purpose. Blanch¶er, n. One who, or that which, frightens away or turns aside. [Obs.] And Gynecia, a blancher, which kept the dearest deer from her. Sir P. Sidney. And so even now hath he divers blanchers belonging to the market, to let and stop the light of the gospel. Latimer. Blanch¶ hold·ing (?). (Scots Law) A mode of tenure by the payment of a small duty in white rent (silver) or otherwise. BlanchÏim¶eÏter (?), n. [1st blanch + Ïmeter.] An instrument for measuring the bleaching power of chloride of lime and potash; a chlorometer. Ure. BlancÏmange¶ (?), n. [F. blancmanger, lit. white food; blanc white + manger to eat.] (Cookery) 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. BlancÏman¶ger (?), n. [F. See Blancmange.] A sort of fricassee with white sauce, variously made of capon, fish, etc. [Obs.] Chaucer. Bland (?), a. [L. blandus, of unknown origin.] 1. Mild; soft; gentle; smooth and soothing in manner; suave; as, a bland temper; bland persuasion; a bland sycophant. ½Exhilarating vapor bland.¸ Milton. 2. Having soft and soothing qualities; not drastic or irritating; not stimulating; as, a bland oil; a bland diet. BlanÏda¶tion (?), n. [Cf. L. blanditia, blandities, fr. blandus. See Bland.] Flattery. [Obs.] BlanÏdil¶oÏquence (?), n. [L. blandiloquentia; blandus mild + loqui to speak.] Mild, flattering speech. BlanÏdil¶oÏquous (?), BlanÏdiÏlo¶quiÏous (?), } a. FairÏspoken; flattering. Blan¶dise (?), v. i. [Same word as Blandish.] To blandish any one. [Obs.] Chaucer. Blan¶dish (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blandished (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blandishing.] [OE. blaundisen, F. blandir, fr. L. blandiri, fr. blandus mild, flattering.] 1. To flatter with kind words or affectionate actions; to caress; to cajole. 2. To make agreeable and enticing. Mustering all her wiles, With blandished parleys. Milton. Blan¶dishÏer (?), n. One who uses blandishments. Blan¶dishÏment (?), n. [Cf. OF. blandissement.] 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. Cowering low with blandishment. Milton. Attacked by royal smiles, by female blandishments. Macaulay. Bland¶ly (?), adv. In a bland manner; mildly; suavely. Bland¶ness, n. The state or quality of being bland. Blank (?), a. [OE. blank, blonc, blaunc, blaunche, fr. F. blanc, fem. blanche, fr. OHG. blanch shining, bright, white, G. blank; akin to E. blink, cf. also AS. blanc white. ?98. See Blink, and cf. 1st Blanch.] 1. Of a white or pale color; without color. To the blank moon Her office they prescribed. Milton. 2. Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in with some special writing; Ð said of checks, official documents, etc.; as, blank paper; a blank check; a blank ballot. 3. Utterly confounded or discomfited. Adam ... astonied stood, and blank. Milton. 4. Empty; void; without result; fruitless; as, a blank space; a blank day. 5. Lacking characteristics which give variety; as, a blank desert; a blank wall; destitute of interests, affections, hopes, etc.; as, to live a blank existence; destitute of sensations; as, blank unconsciousness. 6. Lacking animation and intelligence, or their associated characteristics, as expression of face, look, etc.; expressionless; vacant. ½Blank and horrorÏstricken faces.¸ C. Kingsley. The blank ... glance of a half returned consciousness. G. Eliot. 7. Absolute; downright; unmixed; as, blank terror. Blank bar (Law), a plea put in to oblige the plaintiff in an action of trespass to assign the certain place where the trespass was committed; Ð called also common bar. Ð Blank cartridge, a cartridge containing no ball. Ð Blank deed. See Deed. Ð Blank door, or Blank window (Arch.), a depression in a wall of the size of a door or window, either for symmetrical effect, or for the more convenient insertion of a door or window at a future time, should it be needed. Ð Blank indorsement (Law), an indorsement which omits the name of the person in whose favor it is made; it is usually made by simply writing the name of the indorser on the back of the bill. Ð Blank line (Print.), a vacant space of the breadth of a line, on a printed page; a line of quadrats. Ð Blank tire (Mech.), a tire without a flange. Ð Blank tooling. See Blind tooling, under Blind. Ð Blank verse. See under Verse. Ð Blank wall, a wall in which there is no opening; a dead wall. Blank (?), n. 1. Any void space; a void space on paper, or in any written instrument; an interval void of consciousness, action, result, etc; a void. I can not write a paper full, I used to do; and yet I will not forgive a blank of half an inch from you. Swift. From this time there ensues a long blank in the history of French legislation. Hallam. I was ill. I can't tell how long Ð it was a blank. G. Eliot. 2. A lot by which nothing is gained; a ticket in a lottery on which no prize is indicated. In Fortune's lottery lies A heap of blanks, like this, for one small prize. Dryden. 3. A paper unwritten; a paper without marks or characters a blank ballot; Ð especially, a paper on which are to be inserted designated items of information, for which spaces are left vacant; a bland form. The freemen signified their approbation by an inscribed vote, and their dissent by a blank. Palfrey. 4. A paper containing the substance of a legal instrument, as a deed, release, writ, or execution, with spaces left to be filled with names, date, descriptions, etc. 5. The point aimed at in a target, marked with a white spot; hence, the object to which anything is directed. Let me still remain The true blank of thine eye. Shak. 6. Aim; shot; range. [Obs.] I have stood ... within the blank of his displeasure For my free speech. Shak. 7. A kind of base silver money, first coined in England by Henry V., and worth about 8 pence; also, a French coin of the seventeenth century, worth about 4 pence. Nares. 8. (Mech.) A piece of metal prepared to be made into something by a further operation, as a coin, screw, nuts. 9. (Dominoes) A piece or division of a piece, without spots; as, the ½double blank¸; the ½six blank.¸ In blank, with an essential portion to be supplied by another; as, to make out a check in blank. Blank, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blanked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blanking.] [Cf. 3d Blanch.] 1. To make void; to annul. [Obs.] Spenser. 2. To blanch; to make blank; to damp the spirits of; to dispirit or confuse. [Obs.] Each opposite that blanks the face of joy. Shak. Blan¶ket (?), n. [F. blanchet, OF. also blanket, a woolen waistcoat or shirt, the blanket of a printing press; prop. white woolen stuff, dim. of blanc white; blanquette a kind of white pear, fr. blanc white. See Blank, a.] 1. A heavy, loosely woven fabric, usually of wool, and having a nap, used in bed clothing; also, a similar fabric used as a robe; or any fabric used as a cover for a horse. 2. (Print.) A piece of rubber, felt, or woolen cloth, used in the tympan to make it soft and elastic. 3. A streak or layer of blubber in whales. µ The use of blankets formerly as curtains in theaters explains the following figure of Shakespeare. Nares. Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark To cry, ½Hold, hold!¸ Shak. Blanket sheet, a newspaper of folio size. Ð A wet blanket, anything which damps, chills, dispirits, or discour?ges. Blan¶ket, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blanketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Blanketing.] 1. To cover with a blanket. I'll ... blanket my loins. Shak. 2. To toss in a blanket by way of punishment. We'll have our men blanket 'em i' the hall. B. Jonson. 3. To take the wind out of the sails of (another vessel) by sailing to windward of her. Blanket cattle. See Belted cattle, under Belted. Blan¶ketÏing, n. 1. Cloth for blankets. 2. The act or punishment of tossing in a blanket. That affair of the blanketing happened to thee for the fault thou wast guilty of. Smollett. Blank¶ly (?), adv. 1. In a blank manner; without expression; vacuously; as, to stare blankly. G. Eliot. 2. Directly; flatly; point blank. De Quincey. Blank¶ness, n. The state of being blank. ØBlanÏquette¶ (?), n. [F. blanquette, from blanc white.] (Cookery) A white fricassee. ØBlanÏquil¶lo (?), n. [Sp. blanquillo whitish.] (Zo”l.) A large fish of Florida and the W. Indies (Caulolatilus chrysops). It is red, marked with yellow. Blare (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blared (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blaring.] [OE. blaren, bloren, to cry, woop; cf. G. pl„rren to bleat, D. blaren to bleat, cry, weep. Prob. an imitative word, but cf. also E. blast. Cf. Blore.] To sound loudly and somewhat harshly. ½The trumpet blared.¸ Tennyson. Blare, v. t. To cause to sound like the blare of a trumpet; to proclaim loudly. To blare its own interpretation. Tennyson. Blare, n. The harsh noise of a trumpet; a loud and somewhat harsh noise, like the blast of a trumpet; a roar or bellowing. With blare of bugle, clamor of men. Tennyson. His ears are stunned with the thunder's blare. J. R. Drake. Blar¶ney (?), n. [Blarney, a village and castle near Cork.] Smooth, wheedling talk; flattery. [Colloq.] Blarney stone, a stone in Blarney castle, Ireland, said to make those who kiss it proficient in the use of blarney. Blar¶ney, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blarneyed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blarneying.] To influence by blarney; to wheedle with smooth talk; to make or accomplish by blarney. ½Blarneyed the landlord.¸ Irving. Had blarneyed his way from Long Island. S. G. Goodrich. ØBlaÏs‚¶ (?), a. [F., p. p. of blaser.] Having the sensibilities deadened by excess or frequency of enjoyment; sated or surfeited with pleasure; used u?
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BlasÏpheme¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blasphemed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blaspheming.] [OE. blasfem?n, L. blasphemare, fr. Gr. ?: cf. F. blasph‚mer. See Blame, v.] 1. To speak of, or address, with impious irreverence; to revile impiously (anything sacred); as, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. So Dagon shall be magnified, and God, Besides whom is no god, compared with idols, Disglorified, blasphemed, and had in scorn. Milton. How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge thyself on all those who thus continually blaspheme thy great and allÏglorious name? Dr. W. Beveridge. 2. Figuratively, of persons and things not religiously sacred, but held in high honor: To calumniate; to revile; to abuse. You do blaspheme the good in mocking me. Shak. Those who from our labors heap their board, Blaspheme their feeder and forget their lord. Pope. BlasÏpheme¶, v. i. To utter blasphemy. He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness. Mark iii. 29. BlasÏphem¶er (?), n. One who blasphemes. And each blasphemer quite escape the rod, Because the insult's not on man, but God ? Pope. Blas¶pheÏmous (?), a. [L. blasphemus, Gr. ?.] Speaking or writing blasphemy; uttering or exhibiting anything impiously irreverent; profane; as, a blasphemous person; containing blasphemy; as, a blasphemous book; a blasphemous caricature. ½Blasphemous publications.¸ Porteus. Nor from the Holy One of Heaven Refrained his tongue blasphemous. Milton. µ Formerly this word was accented on the second syllable, as in the above example. Blas¶pheÏmousÏly, adv. In a blasphemous manner. Blas¶pheÏmy (?), n. [L. blasphemia, Gr. ?: cf. OF. blasphemie.] 1. An indignity offered to God in words, writing, or signs; impiously irreverent words or signs addressed to, or used in reference to, God; speaking evil of God; also, the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of deity. µ When used generally in statutes or at common law, blasphemy is the use of irreverent words or signs in reference to the Supreme Being in such a way as to produce scandal or provoke violence. 2. Figuratively, of things held in high honor: Calumny; abuse; vilification. Punished for his blasphemy against learning. Bacon. Ïblast (?). [Gr. ? sprout, shoot.] A suffix or terminal formative, used principally in biological terms, and signifying growth, formation; as, bioblast, epiblast, mesoblast, etc. Blast (?), n. [AS. bl?st a puff of wind, a blowing; akin to Icel. bl¾str, OHG. bl¾st, and fr. a verb akin to Icel. bl¾sa to blow, OHG. blƒsan, Goth. bl?san (in comp.); all prob. from the same root as E. blow. See Blow to eject air.] 1. A violent gust of wind. And see where surly Winter passes off, Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blasts; His blasts obey, and quit the howling hill. Thomson. 2. A forcible stream of air from an orifice, as from a bellows, the mouth, etc. Hence: The continuous blowing to which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a furnace; as, to melt so many tons of iron at a blast. µ The terms hot blast and cold blast are employed to designate whether the current is heated or not heated before entering the furnace. A blast furnace is said to be in blast while it is in operation, and out of blast when not in use. 3. The exhaust steam from and engine, driving a column of air out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast. 4. The sound made by blowing a wind instrument; strictly, the sound produces at one breath. One blast upon his bugle horn Were worth a thousand men. Sir W. Scott. The blast of triumph o'er thy grave. Bryant. 5. A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight. By the blast of God they perish. Job iv. 9. Virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast. Shak. 6. The act of rending, or attempting to rend, heavy masses of rock, earth, etc., by the explosion of gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; also, the charge used for this purpose. ½Large blasts are often used.¸ Tomlinson. 7. A flatulent disease of sheep. Blast furnace, a furnace, usually a shaft furnace for smelting ores, into which air is forced by pressure. Ð Blast hole, a hole in the bottom of a pump stock through which water enters. Ð Blast nozzle, a fixed or variable orifice in the delivery end of a blast pipe; Ð called also blast orifice. Ð In full blast, in complete operation; in a state of great activity. See Blast, n., 2. [Colloq.] Blast, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blasting.] 1. To injure, as by a noxious wind; to cause to wither; to stop or check the growth of, and prevent from fruitÏbearing, by some pernicious influence; to blight; to shrivel. Seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind. Gen. xii. 6. 2. Hence, to affect with some sudden violence, plague, calamity, or blighting influence, which destroys or causes to fail; to visit with a curse; to curse; to ruin; as, to blast pride, hopes, or character. I'll cross it, though it blast me. Shak. Blasted with excess of light. T. Gray. 3. To confound by a loud blast or din. Trumpeters, With brazen din blast you the city's ear. Shak. 4. To rend open by any explosive agent, as gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; to shatter; as, to blast rocks. Blast, v. i. 1. To be blighted or withered; as, the bud blasted in the blossom. 2. To blow; to blow on a trumpet. [Obs.] Toke his blake trumpe faste And gan to puffen and to blaste. Chaucer. Blast¶ed (?), a. 1. Blighted; withered. Upon this blasted heath. Shak. 2. Confounded; accursed; detestable. Some of her own blasted gypsies. Sir W. Scott. 3. Rent open by an explosive. The blasted quarry thunders, heard remote. Wordsworth. ØBlasÏte¶ma (?), n.; pl. Blastemata (?). [Gr. ? bud, sprout.] (Biol.) The structureless, protoplasmic tissue of the embryo; the primitive basis of an organ yet unformed, from which it grows. BlasÏte¶mal (?), a. (Biol.) Relating to the blastema; rudimentary. Blas·teÏmat¶ic (?), a. (Biol.) Connected with, or proceeding from, the blastema; blastemal. Blast¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, blasts or destroys. Blas¶tide (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout, fr. ? to grow.] (Biol.) A small, clear space in the segments of the ovum, the precursor of the nucleus. Blast¶ing (?), n. 1. A blast; destruction by a blast, or by some pernicious cause. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew. Amos iv. 9. 2. The act or process of one who, or that which, blasts; the business of one who blasts. Blast¶ment (?), n. A sudden stroke or injury produced by some destructive cause. [Obs.] Shak. Blas·toÏcar¶pous (?), a. [Gr. ? sprout, germ + ? fruit.] (Bot.) Germinating inside the pericarp, as the mangrove. Brande & C. Blas¶toÏc?le (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + ? hollow.] (Biol.) The cavity of the blastosphere, or segmentation cavity. Blas¶toÏcyst (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + E. cyst.] (Biol.) The germinal vesicle. Blas¶toÏderm (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + E. derm.] (Biol.) The germinal membrane in an ovum, from which the embryo is developed. Blas·toÏderÏmat¶ic (?), Blas·toÏder¶mic (?), } a. Of or pertaining to the blastoderm. Blas·toÏgen¶eÏsis (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + E. genesis.] (Biol.) Multiplication or increase by gemmation or budding. Blas¶toid (?), n. (Zo”l.) One of the Blastoidea. ØBlasÏtoid¶eÏa (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ? sprout + Ïoid.] (Zo”l.) One of the divisions of Crinoidea found fossil in paleozoic rocks; pentremites. They are so named on account of their budlike form. Blas¶toÏmere (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + Ïmere.] (Biol.) One of the segments first formed by the division of the ovum. Balfour. Blas·toph¶oÏral (?), Blas·toÏphor¶ic (?), } a. Relating to the blastophore. Blas¶toÏphore (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + ? to bear.] (Biol.) That portion of the spermatospore which is not converted into spermatoblasts, but carries them. Blas¶toÏpore (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + E. pore.] (Biol.) The pore or opening leading into the cavity of invagination, or archenteron. [See Illust. of Invagination.] Balfour. Blas¶toÏsphere (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout + E. sphere.] (Biol.) The hollow globe or sphere formed by the arrangement of the blastomeres on the periphery of an impregnated ovum. [See Illust. of Invagination.] Blas¶toÏstyle (?), n. [Gr. ? sprout, bud + ? a pillar.] (Zo”l.) In certain hydroids, an imperfect zooid, whose special function is to produce medusoid buds. See Hydroidea, and Athecata. Blast¶ pipe· (?). The exhaust pipe of a steam engine, or any pipe delivering steam or air, when so constructed as to cause a blast. ØBlas¶tuÏla (?), n. [NL., dim. of Gr. ? a sprout.] (Biol.) That stage in the development of the ovum in which the outer cells of the morula become more defined and form the blastoderm. Blas¶tule (?), n. (Biol.) Same as Blastula. Blast¶y (?), a. 1. Affected by blasts; gusty. 2. Causing blast or injury. [Obs.] Boyle. Blat (?), v. i. To cry, as a calf or sheep; to bleat; to make a senseless noise; to talk inconsiderately. Blat, v. t. To utter inconsiderately. If I have anything on my mind, I have to blat it right out. W. D. Howells. Bla¶tanÏcy (?), n. Blatant quality. Bla¶tant (?), a. [Cf. Bleat.] Bellowing, as a calf; bawling; brawling; clamoring; disagreeably clamorous; sounding loudly and harshly. ½Harsh and blatant tone.¸ R. H. Dana. A monster, which the blatant beast men call. Spenser. Glory, that blatant word, which haunts some military minds like the bray of the trumpet. W. Irving. Bla¶tantÏly, adv. In a blatant manner. Blath¶erÏskite (?), n. A blustering, talkative fellow. [Local slang, U. S.] Barllett. Blat¶ter (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blattered (?).] [L. blaterare to babble: cf. F. blat‚rer to bleat.] To prate; to babble; to rail; to make a senseless noise; to patter. [Archaic] ½The rain blattered.¸ Jeffrey. They procured ... preachers to blatter against me, ... so that they had place and time to belie me shamefully. Latimer. Blat·terÏa¶tion (?), n. [L. blateratio a babbling.] Blattering. Blat¶terÏer (?), n. One who blatters; a babbler; a noisy, blustering boaster. Blat¶terÏing, n. Senseless babble or boasting. Blat·terÏoon¶ (?), n. [L. blatero, Ïonis.] A senseless babbler or boaster. [Obs.] ½I hate such blatteroons.¸ Howell. ØBlau¶bok (?), n. [D. blauwbok.] (Zo”l.) The blue buck. See Blue buck, under Blue. Blay (?), n. [AS. bl?ge, fr. bl?c, bleak, white; akin to Icel. bleikja, OHG. bleicha, G. bleihe. See Bleak, n. & a.] (Zo”l.) A fish. See Bleak, n. Blaze (?), n. [OE. blase, AS. bl‘se, blase; akin to OHG. blass whitish, G. blass pale, MHG. blas torch, Icel. blys torch; perh. fr. the same root as E. blast. Cf. Blast, Bluch, Blink.] 1. A steam of gas or vapor emitting light and heat in the process of combustion; a bright flame. ½To heaven the blaze uprolled.¸ Croly. 2. Intense, direct light accompanied with heat; as, to seek shelter from the blaze of the sun. O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon ! Milton. 3. A bursting out, or active display of any quality; an outburst; a brilliant display. ½Fierce blaze of riot.¸ ½His blaze of wrath.¸ Shak. For what is glory but the blaze of fame? Milton. 4. [Cf. D. bles; akin to E. blaze light.] A white spot on the forehead of a horse. 5. A spot made on trees by chipping off a piece of the bark, usually as a surveyor's mark. Three blazes in a perpendicular line on the same tree indicating a legislative road, the single blaze a settlement or neighborhood road. Carlton. In a blaze, on fire; burning with a flame; filled with, giving, or reflecting light; excited or exasperated. Ð Like blazes, furiously; rapidly. ½The horses did along like blazes tear.¸ Poem in Essex dialect. µ In low language in the U. S., blazes is frequently used of something extreme or excessive, especially of something very bad; as, blue as blazes. Neal. Syn. Ð Blaze, Flame. A blaze and a flame are both produced by burning gas. In blaze the idea of light rapidly evolved is prominent, with or without heat; as, the blaze of the sun or of a meteor. Flame includes a stronger notion of heat; as, he perished in the flames. Blaze, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blazed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blazing.] 1. To shine with flame; to glow with flame; as, the fire blazes. 2. To send forth or reflect glowing or brilliant light; to show a blaze. And far and wide the icy summit blazed. Wordsworth. 3. To be resplendent. Macaulay. To blaze away, to discharge a firearm, or to continue firing; Ð said esp. of a number of persons, as a line of soldiers. Also used (fig.) of speech or action. [Colloq.] Blaze, v. t. 1. To mark (a tree) by chipping off a piece of the bark. I found my way by the blazed trees. Hoffman. 2. To designate by blazing; to mark out, as by blazed trees; as, to blaze a line or path. Champollion died in 1832, having done little more than blaze out the road to be traveled by others. Nott. Blaze, v. t. [OE. blasen to blow; perh. confused with blast and blaze a flame, OE. blase. Cf. Blaze, v. i., and see Blast.] 1. To make public far and wide; to make known; to render conspicuous. On charitable lists he blazed his name. Pollok. To blaze those virtues which the good would hide. Pope. 2. (Her.) To blazon. [Obs.] Peacham. Blaz¶er (?), n. One who spreads reports or blazes matters abroad. ½Blazers of crime.¸ Spenser. Blaz¶ing, a. Burning with a blaze; as, a blazing fire; blazing torches. Sir W. Scott. Blazing star. (a) A comet. [Obs.] (b) A brilliant center of attraction. (c) (Bot.) A name given to several plants; as, to Cham‘lirium luteum of the Lily family; Liatris squarrosa; and Aletris farinosa, called also colicroot and star grass. Bla¶zon (?), n. [OE. blason, blasoun, shield, fr. F. blason coat of arms, OF. shield, from the root of AS. bl‘se blaze, i. e., luster, splendor, MHG. blas torch See Blaze, n.] 1. A shield. [Obs.] 2. An heraldic shield; a coat of arms, or a bearing on a coat of arms; armorial bearings. Their blazon o'er his towers displayed. Sir W. Scott. 3. The art or act of describing or depicting heraldic bearings in the proper language or manner. Peacham. 4. Ostentatious display, either by words or other means; publication; show; description; record. Obtrude the blazon of their exploits upon the company. Collier. Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit, Do give thee fivefold blazon. Shak. Bla¶zon, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blazoned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blazoning (?).] [From blazon, n.; confused with 4th blaze: cf. F. blasonner.] 1. To depict in colors; to display; to exhibit conspicuously; to publish or make public far and wide. Thyself thou blazon'st. Shak. There pride sits blazoned on th' unmeaning brow. Trumbull. To blazon his own worthless name. Cowper. 2. To deck; to embellish; to adorn. She blazons in dread smiles her hideous form. Garth. 3. (Her.) To describe in proper terms (the figures of heraldic devices); also, to delineate (armorial bearings); to emblazon. The coat of , arms, which I am not herald enough to blazon into English. Addison. Bla¶zon, v. i. To shine; to be conspicuous. [R.] Bla¶zonÏer (?), n. One who gives publicity, proclaims, or blazons; esp., one who blazons coats of arms; a herald. Burke.
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Bla¶zonÏment (?), n. The act or blazoning; blazoning; emblazonment. Bla¶zonÏry , n. 1. Same as Blazon, 3. The principles of blazonry. Peacham. 2. A coat of arms; an armorial bearing or bearings. The blazonry of Argyle. Lord Dufferin. 3. Artistic representation or display. Blea (?), n. The part of a tree which lies immediately under the bark; the alburnum or sapwood. Blea¶berÏry (?), n. (Bot.) See Blaeberry. Bleach (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bleached (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bleaching.] [OE. blakien, blechen, v. t. & v. i., AS. bl¾cian, bl?can, to grow pale; akin to Icel. bleikja, Sw. bleka, Dan. blege, D. bleeken, G. bleichen, AS. bl¾c pale. See Bleak, a.] To make white, or whiter; to remove the color, or stains, from; to blanch; to whiten. The destruction of the coloring matters attached to the bodies to be bleached is effected either by the action of the air and light, of chlorine, or of sulphurous acid. Ure. Immortal liberty, whose look sublime Hath bleached the tyrant's cheek in every varying clime. Smollett. Bleach, v. i. To grow white or lose color; to whiten. Bleached (?), a. Whitened; make white. Let their bleached bones, and blood's unbleaching stain, Long mark the battlefield with hideous awe. Byron. Bleach¶er (?), n. One who whitens, or whose occupation is to whiten, by bleaching. Bleach¶erÏy (?), n.; pl. Bleacheries (?). A place or an establishment where bleaching is done. Bleach¶ing, n. The act or process of whitening, by removing color or stains; esp. the process of whitening fabrics by chemical agents. Ure. Bleaching powder, a powder for bleaching, consisting of chloride of lime, or some other chemical or chemicals. Bleak (?), a. [OE. blac, bleyke, bleche, AS. bl¾c, bl?c, pale, wan; akin to Icel. bleikr, Sw. blek, Dan. bleg, OS. bl?k, D. bleek, OHG. pleih, G. bleich; all from the root of AS. blÆcan to shine; akin to OHG. blÆchen to shine; cf. L. flagrare to burn, Gr. ? to burn, shine, Skr. bhr¾j to shine, and E. flame. ?98. Cf. Bleach, Blink, Flame.] 1. Without color; pale; pallid. [Obs.] When she came out she looked as pale and as bleak as one that were laid out dead. Foxe. 2. Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds. Wastes too bleak to rear The common growth of earth, the foodful ear. Wordsworth. At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach. Longfellow. 3. Cold and cutting; cheerless; as, a bleak blast. ÐBleak¶ish, a. Ð Bleak¶ly, adv. Ð Bleak¶ness, n. Bleak, n. [From Bleak, a., cf. Blay.] (Zo”l.) A small European river fish (Leuciscus alburnus), of the family Cyprinid‘; the blay. [Written also blick.] µ The silvery pigment lining the scales of the bleak is used in the manufacture of artificial pearls. Baird. Bleak¶y (?), a. Bleak. [Obs.] Dryden. Blear (?), a. [See Blear, v.] 1. Dim or sore with water or rheum; Ð said of the eyes. His blear eyes ran in gutters to his chin. Dryden. 2. Causing or caused by dimness of sight; dim. Power to cheat the eye with blear illusion. Milton. Blear, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bleared (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blearing.] [OE. bleren; cf. Dan. plire to blink, Sw. plira to twinkle, wink, LG. plieren; perh. from the same root as E. blink. See Blink, and cf. Blur.] To make somewhat sore or watery, as the eyes; to dim, or blur, as the sight. Figuratively: To obscure (mental or moral perception); to blind; to hoodwink. That tickling rheums Should ever tease the lungs and blear the sight. Cowper. To blear the eye of, to deceive; to impose upon. [Obs.] Chaucer. Bleared (?), a. Dimmed, as by a watery humor; affected with rheum. Ð Blear¶edÏness (?), n. Dardanian wives, With bleared visages, come forth to view The issue of the exploit. Shak. Blear¶eye· (?), n. (Med.) A disease of the eyelids, consisting in chronic inflammation of the margins, with a gummy secretion of sebaceous matter. Dunglison. Blear¶Ðeyed· (?), a. 1. Having sore eyes; having the eyes dim with rheum; dimÏsighted. The blearÏeyed Crispin. Drant. 2. Lacking in perception or penetration; shortÏsighted; as, a blearÏeyed bigot. Blear¶eyed·ness, n. The state of being blearÏeyed. Blear¶y (?), a. Somewhat blear. Bleat (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Bleated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bleating.] [OE. bleten, AS. bl?tan; akin to D. blaten, bleeten, OHG. bl¾zan, pl¾zan; prob. of imitative origin.] To make the noise of, or one like that of, a sheep; to cry like a sheep or calf. Then suddenly was heard along the main, To low the ox, to bleat the woolly train. Pope The ewe that will not hear her lamb when it baas, will never answer a calf when he bleats. Shak. Bleat, n. A plaintive cry of, or like that of, a sheep. The bleat of fleecy sheep. Chapman's Homer. Bleat¶er (?), n. One who bleats; a sheep. In cold, stiff soils the bleaters oft complain Of gouty ails. Dyer. Bleat¶ing, a. Crying as a sheep does. Then came the shepherd back with his bleating flocks from the seaside. Longfellow. Bleat¶ing, n. The cry of, or as of, a sheep. Chapman. Bleb (?), n. [Prov. E. bleb, bleib, blob, bubble, blister. This word belongs to the root of blub, blubber, blabber, and perh. blow to puff.] A large vesicle or bulla, usually containing a serous fluid; a blister; a bubble, as in water, glass, etc. Arsenic abounds with air blebs. Kirwan. Bleb¶by (?), a. Containing blebs, or characterized by blebs; as, blebby glass. Bleck, Blek (?), v. t. To blacken; also, to defile. [Obs. or Dial.] Wyclif. Bled (?), imp. & p. p. of Bleed. Blee (?), n. [AS. ble¢, ble¢h.] Complexion; color; hue; likeness; form. [Archaic] For him which is so bright of blee. Lament. of Mary Magd. That boy has a strong blee of his father. Forby. Bleed (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Bled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bleeding.] [OE. bleden, AS. bl?dan, fr. bl?d blood; akin to Sw. bl”da, Dan. bl”de, D. bloeden, G. bluten. See Blood.] 1. To emit blood; to lose blood; to run with blood, by whatever means; as, the arm bleeds; the wound bled freely; to bleed at the nose. 2. To withdraw blood from the body; to let blood; as, Dr. A. bleeds in fevers. 3. To lose or shed one's blood, as in case of a violent death or severe wounds; to die by violence. ½C‘sar must bleed.¸ Shak. The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed toÏday. Pope. 4. To issue forth, or drop, as blood from an incision. For me the balm shall bleed. Pope. 5. To lose sap, gum, or juice; as, a tree or a vine bleeds when tapped or wounded. 6. To pay or lose money; to have money drawn or extorted; as, to bleed freely for a cause. [Colloq.] To make the heart bleed, to cause extreme pain, as from sympathy or pity. Bleed, v. t. 1. To let blood from; to take or draw blood from, as by opening a vein. 2. To lose, as blood; to emit or let drop, as sap. A decaying pine of stately size, bleeding amber. H. Miller. 3. To draw money from (one); to induce to pay; as, they bled him freely for this fund. [Colloq.] Bleed¶er (?), n. (Med.) (a) One who, or that which, draws blood. (b) One in whom slight wounds give rise to profuse or uncontrollable bleeding. Bleed¶ing, a. Emitting, or appearing to emit, blood or sap, etc.; also, expressing anguish or compassion. Bleed¶ing, n. A running or issuing of blood, as from the nose or a wound; a hemorrhage; the operation of letting blood, as in surgery; a drawing or running of sap from a tree or plant. Blem¶ish (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blemished (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blemishing.] [OE. blemissen, blemishen, OF. blemir, blesmir, to strike, injure, soil, F. blˆmir to grow pale, fr. OF. bleme, blesme, pale, wan, F. blˆme, prob. fr. Icel bl¾man the livid color of a wound, fr. bl¾r blue; akin to E. blue. OF. blemir properly signifies to beat one (black and) blue, and to render blue or dirty. See Blue.] 1. To mark with deformity; to injure or impair, as anything which is well formed, or excellent; to mar, or make defective, either the body or mind. Sin is a soil which blemisheth the beauty of thy soul. Brathwait. 2. To tarnish, as reputation or character; to defame. There had nothing passed between us that might blemish reputation. Oldys. Blem¶ish, n.; pl. Blemishes (?). Any mark of deformity or injury, whether physical or moral; anything; that diminishes beauty, or renders imperfect that which is otherwise well formed; that which impairs reputation. He shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish. Lev. xiv. 10. The reliefs of an envious man are those little blemishes and imperfections that discover themselves in an illustrious character. Spectator. Syn. Ð Spot; speck; flaw; deformity; stain; defect; fault; taint; reproach; dishonor; imputation; disgrace. Blem¶ishÏless, a. Without blemish; spotless. A life in all so blemishless. Feltham. Blem¶ishÏment (?), n. The state of being blemished; blemish; disgrace; damage; impairment. For dread of blame and honor's blemishment. Spenser. Blench (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blenched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blenching.] [OE. blenchen to blench, elude, deceive, AS. blencan to deceive; akin to Icel. blekkja to impose upon. Prop. a causative of blink to make to wink, to deceive. See Blink, and cf. 3d Blanch.] 1. To shrink; to start back; to draw back, from lack of courage or resolution; to flinch; to quail. Blench not at thy chosen lot. Bryant. This painful, heroic task he undertook, and never blenched from its fulfillment. Jeffrey. 2. To fly off; to turn aside. [Obs.] Though sometimes you do blench from this to that. Shak. Blench, v. t. 1. To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; Ð also, to obstruct; to hinder. [Obs.] Ye should have somewhat blenched him therewith, yet he might and would of likelihood have gone further. Sir T. More. 2. To draw back from; to deny from fear. [Obs.] He now blenched what before he affirmed. Evelyn. Blench, n. A looking aside or askance. [Obs.] These blenches gave my heart another youth. Shak. Blench, v. i. & t. [See 1st Blanch.] To grow or make pale. Barbour. Blench¶er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, scares another; specifically, a person stationed to prevent the escape of the deer, at a hunt. See Blancher. [Obs.] 2. One who blenches, flinches, or shrinks back. Blench¶ hold·ing. (Law) See Blanch holding. Blend (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blended or Blent (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blending.] [OE. blenden, blanden, AS. blandan to blend, mix; akin to Goth. blandan to mix, Icel. blanda, Sw. blanda, Dan. blande, OHG. blantan to mis; to unknown origin.] 1. To mix or mingle together; esp. to mingle, combine, or associate so that the separate things mixed, or the line of demarcation, can not be distinguished. Hence: To confuse; to confound. Blending the grand, the beautiful, the gay. Percival. 2. To pollute by mixture or association; to spoil or corrupt; to blot; to stain. [Obs.] Spenser. Syn. Ð To commingle; combine; fuse; merge; amalgamate; harmonize. Blend (?), v. i. To mingle; to mix; to unite intimately; to pass or shade insensibly into each other, as colors. There is a tone of solemn and sacred feeling that blends with our conviviality. Irving. Blend, n. A thorough mixture of one thing with another, as color, tint, etc., into another, so that it cannot be known where one ends or the other begins. Blend, v. t. [AS. blendan, from blind blind. See Blind, a.] To make blind, literally or figuratively; to dazzle; to deceive. [Obs.] Chaucer. Blende (?), n. [G., fr. blenden to blind, dazzle, deceive, fr. blind blind. So called either in allusion to its dazzling luster; or (Dana) because, though often resembling galena, it yields no lead. Cf. Sphalerite.] (Min.) (a) A mineral, called also sphalerite, and by miners mock lead, false galena, and blackÏjack. It is a zinc sulphide, but often contains some iron. Its color is usually yellow, brown, or black, and its luster resinous. (b) A general term for some minerals, chiefly metallic sulphides which have a somewhat brilliant but nonmetallic luster. Blend¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, blends; an instrument, as a brush, used in blending. Blend¶ing, n. 1. The act of mingling. 2. (Paint.) The method of laying on different tints so that they may mingle together while wet, and shade into each other insensibly. Weale. Blend¶ous (?), a. Pertaining to, consisting of, or containing, blende. Blend¶wa·ter (?), n. A distemper incident to cattle, in which their livers are affected. Crabb. Blen¶heim span¶iel (?). [So called from Blenheim House, the seat of the duke of Marlborough, in England.] A small variety of spaniel, kept as a pet. Blenk, v. i. To blink; to shine; to look. [Obs.] Blen¶niÏoid (?), Blen¶niÏid (?), } a. [Blenny + Ðoid] (Zo”l.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the blennies. BlenÏnog¶eÏnous (?), a. [Gr. ? mucus + Ïgenous.] Generating mucus. ØBlen·norÏrhe¶a (?), n. [Gr. ? mucus + ? to flow.] (Med.) (a) An inordinate secretion and discharge of mucus. (b) Gonorrhea. Dunglison. Blen¶ny (?), n.; pl. Blennies (?). [L. blennius, blendius, blendea, Gr. ?, fr. ? slime, mucus.] (Zo”l.) A marine fish of the genus Blennius or family Blenniid‘; Ð so called from its coating of mucus. The species are numerous. Blent (?), imp. & p. p. of Blend to mingle. Mingled; mixed; blended; also, polluted; stained. Rider and horse, friend, foe, in one red burial blent. Byron. Blent, imp. & p. p. of Blend to blind. Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth. [Obs.] ØBles¶bok (?), n. [D., fr. bles a white spot on the forehead + bok buck.] (Zo”l.) A South African antelope (Alcelaphus albifrons), having a large white spot on the forehead. Bless (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blessed (?) or Blest; p. pr. & vb. n. Blessing.] [OE. blessien, bletsen, AS. bletsian, bledsian, bloedsian, fr. bl?d blood; prob. originally to consecrate by sprinkling with blood. See Blood.] 1. To make or pronounce holy; to consecrate And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. Gen. ii. 3. 2. To make happy, blithesome, or joyous; to confer prosperity or happiness upon; to grant divine favor to. The quality of mercy is ... twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. Shak. It hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee. 1 Chron. xvii. 27 (R. V.) 3. To express a wish or prayer for the happiness of; to invoke a blessing upon; Ð applied to persons. Bless them which persecute you. Rom. xii. 14. 4. To invoke or confer beneficial attributes or qualities upon; to invoke or confer a blessing on, Ð as on food. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. Luke ix. 16. 5. To make the sign of the cross upon; to cross (one's self). [Archaic] Holinshed. 6. To guard; to keep; to protect. [Obs.] 7. To praise, or glorify; to extol for excellences. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Ps. ciii. 1. 8. To esteem or account happy; to felicitate. The nations shall bless themselves in him. Jer. iv. 3. 9. To wave; to brandish. [Obs.] And burning blades about their heads do bless. Spenser. Round his armed head his trenchant blade he blest. Fairfax. µ This is an old sense of the word, supposed by Johnson, Nares, and others, to have been derived from the old rite of blessing a field by directing the hands to all parts of it. ½In drawing [their bow] some fetch such a compass as though they would turn about and bless all the field.¸ Ascham.
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Bless me! Bless us! an exclamation of surprise. Milton. Ð To bless from, to secure, defend, or preserve from. ½Bless me from marrying a usurer.¸ Shak. To bless the doors from nightly harm. Milton. ÐTo bless with, To be blessed with, to favor or endow with; to be favored or endowed with; as, God blesses us with health; we are blessed with happiness. Bless¶ed (?), a. 1. Hallowed; consecrated; worthy of blessing or adoration; heavenly; holy. O, run; prevent them with thy humble ode, And lay it lowly at his blessed feet. Milton. 2. Enjoying happiness or bliss; favored with blessings; happy; highly favored. All generations shall call me blessed. Luke i. 48. Towards England's blessed shore. Shak. 3. Imparting happiness or bliss; fraught with happiness; blissful; joyful. ½Then was a blessed time.¸ ½So blessed a disposition.¸ Shak. 4. Enjoying, or pertaining to, spiritual happiness, or heavenly felicity; as, the blessed in heaven. Reverenced like a blessed saint. Shak. Cast out from God and blessed vision. Milton. 5. (R. C. Ch.) Beatified. 6. Used euphemistically, ironically, or intensively. Not a blessed man came to set her [a boat] free. R. D. Blackmore. Bless¶edÏly, adv. Happily; fortunately; joyfully. We shall blessedly meet again never to depart. Sir P. Sidney. Bless¶edÏness, n. The state of being blessed; happiness; felicity; bliss; heavenly joys; the favor of God. The assurance of a future blessedness. Tillotson. Single blessedness, the unmarried state. ½Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.¸ Shak. Syn. Ð Delight; beatitude; ecstasy. See Happiness. Bless¶ed this¶tle (?). See under Thistle. Bless¶er (?), n. One who blesses; one who bestows or invokes a blessing. Bless¶ing, n. [AS. bletsung. See Bless, v. t.] 1. The act of one who blesses. 2. A declaration of divine favor, or an invocation imploring divine favor on some or something; a benediction; a wish of happiness pronounces. This is the blessing, where with Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel. Deut. xxxiii. 1. 3. A means of happiness; that which promotes prosperity and welfare; a beneficent gift. Nature's full blessings would be well dispensed. Milton. 4. (Bib.) A gift. [A Hebraism] Gen. xxxiii. 11. 5. Grateful praise or worship. Blest, a. Blessed. ½This patriarch blest.¸ Milton. White these blest sounds my ravished ear assail. Trumbull. Blet (?), n. [F. blet, blette, a., soft from over ripeness.] A form of decay in fruit which is overripe. Ble¶tonÏism (?), n. The supposed faculty of perceiving subterraneous springs and currents by sensation; Ð so called from one Bleton, of France. Blet¶ting (?), n. A form of decay seen in fleshy, overripe fruit. Lindley. Blew (?), imp. of Blow. Bleyme (?), n. [F. bleime.] (Far.) An inflammation in the foot of a horse, between the sole and the bone. [Obs.] Bleyn¶te (?), imp. of Blench. [Obs.] Chaucer. Blick¶ey (?), n. [D. blik tin.] A tin dinner pail. [Local, U. S.] Bartlett. Blight (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blighting.] [Perh. contr. from AS. blÆcettan to glitter, fr. the same root as E. bleak. The meaning ½to blight¸ comes in that case from to glitter, hence, to be white or pale, grow pale, make pale, bleach. Cf. Bleach, Bleak.] 1. To affect with blight; to blast; to prevent the growth and fertility of. [This vapor] blasts vegetables, blights corn and fruit, and is sometimes injurious even to man. Woodward. 2. Hence: To destroy the happiness of; to ruin; to mar essentially; to frustrate; as, to blight one's prospects. Seared in heart and lone and blighted. Byron. Blight, v. i. To be affected by blight; to blast; as, this vine never blights. Blight, n. 1. Mildew; decay; anything nipping or blasting; Ð applied as a general name to various injuries or diseases of plants, causing the whole or a part to wither, whether occasioned by insects, fungi, or atmospheric influences. 2. The act of blighting, or the state of being blighted; a withering or mildewing, or a stoppage of growth in the whole or a part of a plant, etc. 3. That which frustrates one's plans or withers one's hopes; that which impairs or destroys. A blight seemed to have fallen over our fortunes. Disraeli. 4. (Zo”l.) A downy species of aphis, or plant louse, destructive to fruit trees, infesting both the roots and branches; Ð also applied to several other injurious insects. 5. pl. A rashlike eruption on the human skin. [U. S.] Blight¶ing, a. Causing blight. Blight¶ingÏly, adv. So as to cause blight. Blim¶bi (?), Blim¶bing (?), n. See Bilimbi, etc. Blin (?), v. t. & i. [OE. blinnen, AS. blinnan; pref. beÏ + linnan to cease.] To stop; to cease; to desist. [Obs.] Spenser. Blin, n. [AS. blinn.] Cessation; end. [Obs.] Blind (?), a. [AS.; akin to D., G., OS., Sw., & Dan. blind, Icel. blindr, Goth. blinds; of uncertain origin.] 1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect or by deprivation; without sight. He that is strucken blind can not forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost. Shak. 2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge; as, authors are blind to their own defects. But hard be hardened, blind be blinded more, That they may stumble on, and deeper fall. Milton. 3. Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate. This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation. Jay. 4. Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to a person who is blind; not well marked or easily discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed; as, a blind path; a blind ditch. 5. Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced. The blind mazes of this tangled wood. Milton. 6. Having no openings for light or passage; as, a blind wall; open only at one end; as, a blind alley; a blind gut. 7. Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible; as, a blind passage in a book; illegible; as, blind writing. 8. (Hort.) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as, blind buds; blind flowers. Blind alley, an alley closed at one end; a culÏdeÏsac. Ð Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. Knight. Ð Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night. Ð Blind cat (Zo”l.), a species of catfish (Gronias nigrolabris), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania. Ð Blind coal, coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal. Simmonds. Ð Blind door, Blind window, an imitation of a door or window, without an opening for passage or light. See Blank door or window, under Blank, a. Ð Blind level (Mining), a level or drainage gallery which has a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted siphon. Knight. Ð Blind nettle (Bot.), dead nettle. See Dead nettle, under Dead. Ð Blind shell (Gunnery), a shell containing no charge, or one that does not explode. Ð Blind side, the side which is most easily assailed; a weak or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or disposed to see danger. Swift. Ð Blind snake (Zo”l.), a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of the family Typhlopid‘, with rudimentary eyes. Ð Blind spot (Anat.), the point in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to light. Ð Blind tooling, in bookbinding and leather work, the indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; Ð called also blank tooling, and blind blocking. Ð Blind wall, a wall without an opening; a blank wall. Blind (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blinded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blinding.] 1. To make blind; to deprive of sight or discernment. ½To blind the truth and me.¸ Tennyson. A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is ... a much greater. South. 2. To deprive partially of vision; to make vision difficult for and painful to; to dazzle. Her beauty all the rest did blind. P. Fletcher. 3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal; to deceive. Such darkness blinds the sky. Dryden. The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound. Stillingfleet. 4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel; as a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled. Blind (?), n. 1. Something to hinder sight or keep out light; a screen; a cover; esp. a hinged screen or shutter for a window; a blinder for a horse. 2. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge. 3. [Cf. F. blindes, p?., fr. G. blende, fr. blenden to blind, fr. blind blind.] (Mil.) A blindage. See Blindage. 4. A halting place. [Obs.] Dryden. Blind, Blinde (?), n. See Blende. Blind¶age (?), n. [Cf. F. blindage.] (Mil.) A cover or protection for an advanced trench or approach, formed of fascines and earth supported by a framework. Blind¶er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, blinds. 2. (Saddlery) One of the leather screens on a bridle, to hinder a horse from seeing objects at the side; a blinker. Blind¶fish· (?), n. A small fish (Amblyopsis spel‘us) destitute of eyes, found in the waters of the Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky. Related fishes from other caves take the same name. Blind¶fold· (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blindfolded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blindfolding.] [OE. blindfolden, blindfelden, blindfellen; AS. blind blind + prob. fellan, fyllan, to fell, strike down.] To cover the eyes of, as with a bandage; to hinder from seeing. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face. Luke xxii. 64. Blind¶fold·, a. Having the eyes covered; blinded; having the mental eye darkened. Hence: Heedless; reckless; as, blindfold zeal; blindfold fury. Fate's blindfold reign the atheist loudly owns. Dryden. Blind¶ing, a. Making blind or as if blind; depriving of sight or of understanding; obscuring; as, blinding tears; blinding snow. Blind¶ing, n. A thin coating of sand and fine gravel over a newly paved road. See Blind, v. t., 4. Blind¶ly, adv. Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own. By his imperious mistress blindly led. Dryden. Blind¶man's buff¶ (?). [See Buff a buffet.] A play in which one person is blindfolded, and tries to catch some one of the company and tell who it is. Surely he fancies I play at blindman's buff with him, for he thinks I never have my eyes open. Stillingfleet. Blind·man's hol¶iÏday (?). The time between daylight and candle light. [Humorous] Blind¶ness (?), n. State or condition of being blind, literally or figuratively. Darwin. Color blindness, inability to distinguish certain color. See Daltonism. Blind¶sto·ry (?), n. (Arch.) The triforium as opposed to the clearstory. Blind¶worm· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A small, burrowing, snakelike, limbless lizard (Anguis fragilis), with minute eyes, popularly believed to be blind; the slowworm; Ð formerly a name for the adder. Newts and blindworms do no wrong. Shak. Blink (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blinked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blinking.] [OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. blicken to look, glance, AS. blÆcan to shine, E. bleak. ?98. See Bleak; cf. 1st Blench.] 1. To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame. Pope 2. To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes. Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne. Shak. 3. To shine, esp. with intermittent light; to twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer, as a lamp. The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink. Wordsworth. The sun blinked fair on pool and stream . Sir W. Scott. 4. To turn slightly sour, as beer, mild, etc. Blink, v. t. 1. To shut out of sight; to avoid, or purposely evade; to shirk; as, to blink the question. 2. To trick; to deceive. [Scot.] Jamieson. Blink, n. [OE. blink. See Blink, v. i. ] 1. A glimpse or glance. This is the first blink that ever I had of him. Bp. Hall. 2. Gleam; glimmer; sparkle. Sir W. Scott. Not a blink of light was there. Wordsworth. 3. (Naut.) The dazzling whiteness about the horizon caused by the reflection of light from fields of ice at sea; ice blink. 4. pl. [Cf. Blencher.] (Sporting) Boughs cast where deer are to pass, to turn or check them. [Prov. Eng.] Blink¶ard (?), n. [Blind + Ïard.] 1. One who blinks with, or as with, weak eyes. Among the blind the oneÏeyed blinkard reigns. Marvell. 2. That which twinkles or glances, as a dim star, which appears and disappears. Hakewill. Blink¶ beer· (?). Beer kept unbroached until it is sharp. Crabb. Blink¶er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, blinks. 2. A blinder for horses; a flap of leather on a horse's bridle to prevent him from seeing objects as his side hence, whatever obstructs sight or discernment. Nor bigots who but one way see, through blinkers of authority. M. Green. 3. pl. A kind of goggles, used to protect the eyes form glare, etc. Blink¶Ðeyed· (?), a. Habitually winking. Marlowe. Blirt (?), n. (Naut.) A gust of wind and rain. Ham. Nav. Encyc. Bliss , n.; pl. Blisses (?). [OE. blis, blisse, AS. blis, blÆ?s, fr. blÆ?e blithe. See Blithe.] Orig., blithesomeness; gladness; now, the highest degree of happiness; blessedness; exalted felicity; heavenly joy. An then at last our bliss Full and perfect is. Milton. Syn. Ð Blessedness; felicity; beatitude; happiness; joy; enjoyment. See Happiness. Bliss¶ful (?), a. Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree. ½Blissful solitude.¸ Milton. Ð Bliss¶fulÏly, adv. Ð Bliss¶fulÏness, n. Bliss¶less, a. Destitute of bliss. Sir P. Sidney. Blis¶som (?), v. i. [For blithesome: but cf. also Icel. bl?sma of a goat at heat.] To be lustful; to be lascivious. [Obs.] Blis¶som, a. Lascivious; also, in heat; Ð said of ewes. Blis¶ter (?), n. [OE.; akin to OD. bluyster, fr. the same root as blast, bladder, blow. See Blow to eject wind.] 1. A vesicle of the skin, containing watery matter or serum, whether occasioned by a burn or other injury, or by a vesicatory; a collection of serous fluid causing a bladderlike elevation of the cuticle. And painful blisters swelled my tender hands. Grainger. 2. Any elevation made by the separation of the film or skin, as on plants; or by the swelling of the substance at the surface, as on steel. 3. A vesicatory; a plaster of Spanish flies, or other matter, applied to raise a blister. Dunglison. Blister beetle, a beetle used to raise blisters, esp. the Lytta (or Cantharis) vesicatoria, called Cantharis or Spanish fly by druggists. See Cantharis. Ð Blister fly, a blister beetle. Ð Blister plaster, a plaster designed to raise a blister; Ð usually made of Spanish flies. Ð Blister steel, crude steel formed from wrought iron by cementation; Ð so called because of its blistered surface. Called also blistered steel. Ð Blood blister. See under Blood. Blis¶ter, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blistered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blistering.] To be affected with a blister or blisters; to have a blister form on. Let my tongue blister. Shak. Blis¶ter, v. t. 1. To raise a blister or blisters upon. My hands were blistered. Franklin. 2. To give pain to, or to injure, as if by a blister. This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongue. Shak. Blis¶terÏy (?), a. Full of blisters. Hooker. Blite (?), n. [L. blitum, Gr. ?.] (Bot.) A
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genus of herbs (Blitum) with a fleshy calyx. Blitum capitatum is the strawberry blite. Blithe (?), a. [AS. blÆ?e blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei?s kind, Icel. blÆ?r mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blÆdi kind, blithe.] Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. The blithe sounds of festal music. Prescott. A daughter fair, So buxom, blithe, and debonair. Milton. Blithe¶ful (?), a. Gay; full of gayety; joyous. Blithe¶ly, adv. In a blithe manner. Blithe¶ness, n. The state of being blithe. Chaucer. Blithe¶some (?), a. Cheery; gay; merry. The blithesome sounds of wassail gay. Sir W. Scott. Ð Blithe¶someÏly, adv. Ð Blithe¶someÏness, n. Blive (?), adv. [A contraction of Belive.] Quickly; forthwith. [Obs.] Chaucer. Bliz¶zard (?), n. [Cf. Blaze to flash. Formerly, in local use, a rattling volley; cf. ½to blaze away¸ to fire away.] A gale of piercingly cold wind, usually accompanied with fine and blinding snow; a furious blast. [U. S.] Bloat (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bloated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bloating.] [Cf. Icel. blotna to become soft, blautr soft, wet, Sw. bl”t soft, bl”ta to soak; akin to G. bloss bare, and AS. ble t wretched; or perh. fr. root of Eng. 5th blow. Cf. Blote.] 1. To make turgid, as with water or air; to cause a swelling of the surface of, from effusion of serum in the cellular tissue, producing a morbid enlargement, often accompanied with softness. 2. To inflate; to puff up; to make vain. Dryden. Bloat, v. i. To grow turgid as by effusion of liquid in the cellular tissue; to puff out; to swell. Arbuthnot. Bloat, a. Bloated. [R.] Shak. Bloat, n. A term of contempt for a worthless, dissipated fellow. [Slang] Bloat, v. t. To dry (herrings) in smoke. See Blote. Bloat¶ed (?), p. a. Distended beyond the natural or usual size, as by the presence of water, serum, etc.; turgid; swollen; as, a bloated face. Also, puffed up with pride; pompous. Bloat¶edÏness, n. The state of being bloated. Bloat¶er (?), n. [See Bloat, Blote.] The common herring, esp. when of large size, smoked, and half dried; Ð called also bloat herring. Blob (?), n. [See Bleb.] 1. Something blunt and round; a small drop or lump of something viscid or thick; a drop; a bubble; a blister. Wright. 2. (Zo”l.) A small freshÏwater fish (Uranidea Richardsoni); the miller's thumb. Blob¶ber (?), n. [See Blubber, Blub.] A bubble; blubber. T. Carew. Blobber lip, a thick, protruding lip. His blobber lips and beetle brows commend. Dryden. Blob¶berÐlipped· (?), a. Having thick lips. ½A blobberÐlipped shell.¸ Grew. ØBloÏcage¶ (?), n. [F.] (Arch.) The roughest and cheapest sort of rubblework, in masonry. Block (?), n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. Block, v. t., Blockade, and see Lock.] 1. A piece of wood more or less bulky; a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more plane, or approximately plane, faces; as, a block on which a butcher chops his meat; a block by which to mount a horse; children's playing blocks, etc. Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas blocks are burning. Wither. All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry. Tennyson. 2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded. Noble heads which have been brought to the block. E. Everett. 3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped. Hence: The pattern on shape of a hat. He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block. Shak. 4. A large or long building divided into separate houses or shops, or a number of houses or shops built in contact with each other so as to form one building; a row of houses or shops. 5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not. The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks, each block containing thirty building lots. Such an average block, comprising 282 houses and covering nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street. Lond. Quart. Rev. 6. A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it may be attached to an object. It is used to change the direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion, or to exert increased force; Ð used especially in the rigging of ships, and in tackles. 7. (Falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept. 8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way. 9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work. 10. (Print.) A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high. 11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.] What a block art thou ! Shak. 12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See Block system, below. A block of shares (Stock Exchange), a large number of shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. Bartlett. Ð Block printing. (a) A mode of printing (common in China and Japan) from engraved boards by means of a sheet of paper laid on the linked surface and rubbed with a brush. S. W. Williams. (b) A method of printing cotton cloth and paper hangings with colors, by pressing them upon an engraved surface coated with coloring matter. Ð Block system on railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are so run by the guidance of electric signals that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it. Block (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blocked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blocking.] [Cf. F. bloquer, fr. bloc block. See Block, n.] 1. To obstruct so as to prevent passage or progress; to prevent passage from, through, or into, by obstructing the way; Ð used both of persons and things; Ð often followed by up; as, to block up a road or harbor. With moles ... would block the port. Rowe. A city ... besieged and blocked about. Milton. 2. To secure or support by means of blocks; to secure, as two boards at their angles of intersection, by pieces of wood glued to each. 3. To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat. To block out, to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out roughly; to lay out; as, to block out a plan. BlockÏade¶ (?), n. [Cf. It. bloccata. See Block, v. t. ] 1. The shutting up of a place by troops or ships, with the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the reception of supplies; as, the blockade of the ports of an enemy. µ Blockade is now usually applied to an investment with ships or vessels, while siege is used of an investment by land forces. To constitute a blockade, the investing power must be able to apply its force to every point of practicable access, so as to render it dangerous to attempt to enter; and there is no blockade of that port where its force can not be brought to bear. Kent. 2. An obstruction to passage. To raise a blockade. See under Raise. BlockÏade¶, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blockaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blockading.] 1. To shut up, as a town or fortress, by investing it with troops or vessels or war for the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the introduction of supplies. See note under Blockade, n. ½Blockaded the place by sea.¸ Gilpin. 2. Hence, to shut in so as to prevent egress. Till storm and driving ice blockade him there. Wordsworth. 3. To obstruct entrance to or egress from. Huge bales of British cloth blockade the door. Pope. BlockÏad¶er (?), n. 1. One who blockades. 2. (Naut.) A vessel employed in blockading. Block¶age (?), n. The act of blocking up; the state of being blocked up. Block¶ book· (?). A book printed from engraved wooden blocks instead of movable types. Block¶head· (?), n. [Block + head.] A stupid fellow; a dolt; a person deficient in understanding. The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head. Pope. Block¶head·ed, a. Stupid; dull. Block¶headÏism (?), n. That which characterizes a blockhead; stupidity. Carlyle. Block¶house· (?), n. [Block + house: cf. G. blockhaus.] 1. (Mil.) 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; Ð formerly much used in America and Germany. 2. A house of squared logs. [West. & South. U. S.] Block¶ing, n. 1. The act of obstructing, supporting, shaping, or stamping with a block or blocks. 2. Blocks used to support (a building, etc.) temporarily. Block¶ing course· (?). (Arch.) The finishing course of a wall showing above a cornice. Block¶ish, a. Like a block; deficient in understanding; stupid; dull. ½Blockish Ajax.¸ Shak. Ð Block¶ishÏly, adv. Ð Block¶ishÏness, n. Block¶like· (?), a. Like a block; stupid. Block¶ tin· (?). See under Tin. Bloe¶dite (?), n. [From the chemist Bl”de.] (Min.) A hydrous sulphate of magnesium and sodium. Blom¶aÏry (?), n. See Bloomery. Blonc¶ket, Blon¶ket (?), a. [OF. blanquet whitish, dim. of blanc white. Cf. Blanket.] Gray; bluish gray. [Obs.] Our bloncket liveries been all too sad. Spenser. Blond, Blonde (?), a. [F., fair, light, of uncertain origin; cf. AS. blondenÏfeax grayÏhaired, old, prop. blendedÏhaired, as a mixture of white and brown or black. See Blend, v. t.] Of a fair color; lightÏcolored; as, blond hair; a blond complexion. Blonde (?), n. [F.] 1. A person of very fair complexion, with light hair and light blue eyes. [Written also blond.] 2. [So called from its color.] A kind of silk lace originally of the color of raw silk, now sometimes dyed; Ð called also blond lace. Blond¶ met·al (?). A variety of clay ironstone, in Staffordshire, England, used for making tools. Blond¶ness, n. The state of being blond. G. Eliot. Blood (?), n. [OE. blod, blood, AS. bl?d; akin to D. bloed, OHG. bluot, G. blut, Goth, bl??, Sw. & Dan. blod; prob. fr. the same root as E. blow to bloom. See Blow to bloom.] 1. The fluid which circulates in the principal vascular system of animals, carrying nourishment to all parts of the body, and bringing away waste products to be excreted. See under Arterial. µ The blood consists of a liquid, the plasma, containing minute particles, the blood corpuscles. In the invertebrate animals it is usually nearly colorless, and contains only one kind of corpuscles; but in all vertebrates, except Amphioxus, it contains some colorless corpuscles, with many more which are red and give the blood its uniformly red color. See Corpuscle, Plasma. 2. Relationship by descent from a common ancestor; consanguinity; kinship. To share the blood of Saxon royalty. Sir W. Scott. A friend of our own blood. Waller. Half blood (Law), relationship through only one parent. Ð Whole blood, relationship through both father and mother. In American Law, blood includes both half blood, and whole blood. Bouvier. Peters. 3. Descent; lineage; especially, honorable birth; the highest royal lineage. Give us a prince of blood, a son of Priam. Shak. I am a gentleman of blood and breeding. Shak. 4. (Stock Breeding) Descent from parents of recognized breed; excellence or purity of breed. µ In stock breeding half blood is descent showing one half only of pure breed. Blue blood, full blood, or warm blood, is the same as blood. 5. The fleshy nature of man. Nor gives it satisfaction to our blood. Shak. 6. The shedding of blood; the taking of life, murder; manslaughter; destruction. So wills the fierce, avenging sprite, Till blood for blood atones. Hood. 7. A bloodthirsty or murderous disposition. [R.] He was a thing of blood, whose every motion Was timed with dying cries. Shak. 8. Temper of mind; disposition; state of the passions; Ð as if the blood were the seat of emotions. When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth. Shak. µ Often, in this sense, accompanied with bad, cold, warm, or other qualifying word. Thus, to commit an act in cold blood, is to do it deliberately, and without sudden passion; to do it in bad blood, is to do it in anger. Warm blood denotes a temper inflamed or irritated. To warm or heat the blood is to excite the passions. Qualified by up, excited feeling or passion is signified; as, my blood was up. 9. A man of fire or spirit; a fiery spark; a gay, showy man; a rake. Seest thou not ... how giddily 'a turns about all the hot bloods between fourteen and five and thirty? Shak. It was the morning costume of a dandy or blood. Thackeray. 10. The juice of anything, especially if red. He washed ... his clothes in the blood of grapes. Gen. xiix. 11. µ Blood is often used as an adjective, and as the first part of selfÏexplaining compound words; as, bloodÏbespotted, bloodÏbought, bloodÏcurdling, bloodÏdyed, bloodÏred, bloodÏspilling, bloodÏstained, bloodÏwarm, bloodÏwon. Blood baptism (Eccl. Hist.), the martyrdom of those who had not been baptized. They were considered as baptized in blood, and this was regarded as a full substitute for literal baptism. Ð Blood blister, a blister or bleb containing blood or bloody serum, usually caused by an injury. Ð Blood brother, brother by blood or birth. Ð Blood clam (Zo”l.), a bivalve mollusk of the genus Arca and allied genera, esp. Argina pexata of the American coast. So named from the color of its flesh. Ð Blood corpuscle. See Corpuscle. Ð Blood crystal (Physiol.), one of the crystals formed by the separation in a crystalline form of the h‘moglobin of the red blood corpuscles; h‘matocrystallin. All blood does not yield blood crystals. Ð Blood heat, heat equal to the temperature of human blood, or about 98« ? F hr. Ð Blood horse, a horse whose blood or lineage is derived from the purest and most highly prized origin or stock. Ð Blood money. See in the Vocabulary. Ð Blood orange, an orange with dark red pulp. Ð Blood poisoning (Med.), a morbid state of the blood caused by the introduction of poisonous or infective matters from without, or the absorption or retention of such as are produced in the body itself; tox‘mia. Ð Blood pudding, a pudding made of blood and other materials. Ð Blood relation, one connected by blood or descent. Ð Blood spavin. See under Spavin. Ð Blood vessel. See in the Vocabulary. Ð Blue blood, the blood of noble or aristocratic families, which, according to a Spanish prover , has in it a tinge of blue; Ð hence, a member of an old and aristocratic family. Ð Flesh and blood. (a) A blood relation, esp. a child. (b) Human nature. Ð In blood (Hunting), in a state of perfect health and vigor. Shak. Ð To let blood. See under Let. Ð Prince of the blood, the son of a sovereign, or the issue of a royal family. The sons, brothers, and uncles of the sovereign are styled princes of the blood royal; and the daughters, sisters, and aunts are princesses of the blood royal. Blood (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blooded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blooding.] 1. To bleed. [Obs.] Cowper.
<-- p. 157 -->
2. To stain, smear or wet, with blood. [Archaic] Reach out their spears afar, And blood their points. Dryden. 3. To give (hounds or soldiers) a first taste or sight of blood, as in hunting or war. It was most important too that his troops should be blooded. Macaulay. 4. To heat the blood of; to exasperate. [Obs.] The auxiliary forces of the French and English were much blooded one against another. Bacon. Blood¶bird· (?), n. (Zo”l.) An Australian honeysucker (Myzomela sanguineolata); Ð so called from the bright red color of the male bird. Blood¶Ðbol·tered (?), a. [Blood + Prov. E. bolter to mat in tufts. Cf. Balter.] Having the hair matted with clotted blood. [Obs. & R.] The bloodÐboltered Banquo smiles upon me. Shak. Blood¶ed, a. Having pure blood, or a large admixture or pure blood; of approved breed; of the best stock. µ Used also in composition in phrases indicating a particular condition or quality of blood; as, coldÐblooded; warmÐblooded. Blood¶flow·er (?), n. [From the color of the flower.] (Bot.) A genus of bulbous plants, natives of Southern Africa, named H‘manthus, of the Amaryllis family. The juice of H. toxicarius is used by the Hottentots to poison their arrows. Blood¶guilt·y (?), a. Guilty of murder or bloodshed. ½A bloodguilty life.¸ Fairfax. Ð Blood¶guilt·iÏness (?), n. Ð Blood¶guilt·less, a. Blood¶hound· (?), n. 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. Blood¶iÏly (?), adv. In a bloody manner; cruelly; with a disposition to shed blood. Blood¶iÏness, n. 1. The state of being bloody. 2. Disposition to shed blood; bloodthirstiness. All that bloodiness and savage cruelty which was in our nature. Holland. Blood¶less, a. [AS. bl?dle s.] 1. Destitute of blood, or apparently so; as, bloodless cheeks; lifeless; dead. The bloodless carcass of my Hector sold. Dryden. 2. Not attended with shedding of blood, or slaughter; as, a bloodless victory. Froude. 3. Without spirit or activity. Thou bloodless remnant of that royal blood ! Shak. Ð Blood¶lessÏly, adv. Ð Blood¶lessÏness, n. Blood¶let· (?), v. t. [AS. bl?dl?tan; bl?d blood + l?atan to let.] To bleed; to let blood. Arbuthnot. Blood¶let·ter (?), n. One who, or that which, lets blood; a phlebotomist. Blood¶let·ting, n. (Med.) The act or process of letting blood or bleeding, as by opening a vein or artery, or by cupping or leeches; Ð esp. applied to venesection. Blood¶ mon·ey (?). 1. Money paid to the next of kin of a person who has been killed by another. 2. Money obtained as the price, or at the cost, of another's life; Ð said of a reward for supporting a capital charge, of money obtained for betraying a fugitive or for committing murder, or of money obtained from the sale of that which will destroy the purchaser. Blood¶root· (?), n. (Bot.) A plant (Sanguinaria Canadensis), with a red root and red sap, and bearing a pretty, white flower in early spring; Ð called also puccoon, redroot, bloodwort, tetterwort, turmeric, and Indian paint. It has acrid emetic properties, and the rootstock is used as a stimulant expectorant. See Sanguinaria. µ In England the name is given to the tormentil, once used as a remedy for dysentery. Blood¶shed· (?), n. [Blood + shed] The shedding or spilling of blood; slaughter; the act of shedding human blood, or taking life, as in war, riot, or murder. Blood¶shed·der (?), n. One who sheds blood; a manslayer; a murderer. Blood¶shed·ding (?), n. Bloodshed. Shak. Blood¶shot· (?), a. [Blood + shot, p. p. of shoot to variegate.] Red and inflamed; suffused with blood, or having the vessels turgid with blood, as when the conjunctiva is inflamed or irritated. His eyes were bloodshot, ... and his hair disheveled. Dickens. Blood¶Ðshot·ten (?), a. Bloodshot. [Obs.] Blood¶stick¶ (?), n. (Far.) A piece of hard wood loaded at one end with lead, and used to strike the fleam into the vein. Youatt. Blood¶stone· (?), n. (Min.) (a) A green siliceous stone sprinkled with red jasper, as if with blood; hence the name; Ð called also heliotrope. (b) Hematite, an ore of iron yielding a blood red powder or ½streak.¸ Blood¶stroke¶ (?), n. [Cf. F. coup de sang.] Loss of sensation and motion from hemorrhage or congestion in the brain. Dunglison. Blood¶suck·er (?), n. 1. (Zo”l.) Any animal that sucks blood; esp., the leech (Hirudo medicinalis), and related species. 2. One who sheds blood; a cruel, bloodthirsty man; one guilty of bloodshed; a murderer. [Obs.] Shak. 3. A hard and exacting master, landlord, or money lender; an extortioner. Blood¶thirst·y (?), a. Eager to shed blood; cruel; sanguinary; murderous. Ð Blood¶thirst·iÏness (?), n. Blood¶ulf (?), n. (Zo”l.) The European bullfinch. Blood¶ ves·sel (?). (Anat.) Any vessel or canal in which blood circulates in an animal, as an artery or vein. Blood¶wite· (?), Blood¶wit· (?), } n. [AS. bl?wÆte; bl?d blood, + wÆte wite, fine.] (Anc. Law) A fine or amercement paid as a composition for the shedding of blood; also, a riot wherein blood was spilled. Blood¶wood (?), n. (Bot.) A tree having the wood or the sap of the color of blood. Norfolk Island bloodwood is a euphorbiaceous tree (Baloghia lucida), from which the sap is collected for use as a plant. Various other trees have the name, chiefly on account of the color of the wood, as Gordonia H‘matoxylon of Jamaica, and several species of Australian Eucalyptus; also the true logwood (H‘matoxylon Campechianum). Blood¶wort· (?), n. (Bot.) A plant, Rumex sanguineus, or bloodyÏveined dock. The name is applied also to bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis), and to an extensive order of plants (H‘modorace‘), the roots of many species of which contain a red coloring matter useful in dyeing. Blood¶y (?), a. [AS. bl?dig.] 1. Containing or resembling blood; of the nature of blood; as, bloody excretions; bloody sweat. 2. Smeared or stained with blood; as, bloody hands; a bloody handkerchief. 3. Given, or tending, to the shedding of blood; having a cruel, savage disposition; murderous; cruel. Some bloody passion shakes your very frame. Shak. 4. Attended with, or involving, bloodshed; sanguinary; esp., marked by great slaughter or cruelty; as, a bloody battle. 5. Infamous; contemptible; Ð variously used for mere emphasis or as a low epithet. [Vulgar] Thackeray. Blood¶y, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bloodied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bloodying.] To stain with blood. Overbury. Blood¶yÏbones· (?), n. A terrible bugbear. Blood¶y flux· (?). The dysentery, a disease in which the flux or discharge from the bowels has a mixture of blood. Arbuthnot. Blood¶y hand· (?). 1. A hand stained with the blood of a deer, which, in the old forest laws of England, was sufficient evidence of a man's trespass in the forest against venison. Jacob. 2. (Her.) A red hand, as in the arms of Ulster, which is now the distinguishing mark of a baronet of the United Kingdom. Blood¶yÐmind¶ed (?), a. Having a cruel, ferocious disposition; bloodthirsty. Dryden. Blood¶y sweat· (?). A sweat accompanied by a discharge of blood; a disease, called sweating sickness, formerly prevalent in England and other countries. Bloom (?), n. [OE. blome, fr. Icel. bl?m, bl?mi; akin to Sw. blom, Goth. bl?ma, OS. bl?mo, D. bloem, OHG. bluomo, bluoma, G. blume; fr. the same root as AS. bl?wan to blow, blossom. See Blow to bloom, and cf. Blossom.] 1. A blossom; the flower of a plant; an expanded bud; flowers, collectively. The rich blooms of the tropics. Prescott. 2. The opening of flowers in general; the state of blossoming or of having the flowers open; as, the cherry trees are in bloom. ½Sight of vernal bloom.¸ Milton. 3. A state or time of beauty, freshness, and vigor; an opening to higher perfection, analogous to that of buds into blossoms; as, the bloom of youth. Every successive mother has transmitted a fainter bloom, a more delicate and briefer beauty. Hawthorne. 4. The delicate, powdery coating upon certain growing or newlyÏgathered fruits or leaves, as on grapes, plums, etc. Hence: Anything giving an appearance of attractive freshness; a flush; a glow. A new, fresh, brilliant world, with all the bloom upon it. Thackeray. 5. The clouded appearance which varnish sometimes takes upon the surface of a picture. 6. A yellowish deposit or powdery coating which appears on wellÐtanned leather. Knight. 7. (Min.) A popular term for a brightÐhued variety of some minerals; as, the roseÐred cobalt bloom. Bloom, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Bloomed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blooming.] 1. To produce or yield blossoms; to blossom; to flower or be in flower. A flower which once In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom. Milton. 2. To be in a state of healthful, growing youth and vigor; to show beauty and freshness, as of flowers; to give promise, as by or with flowers. A better country blooms to view, Beneath a brighter sky. Logan. Bloom, v. t. 1. To cause to blossom; to make flourish. [R.] Charitable affection bloomed them. Hooker. 2. To bestow a bloom upon; to make blooming or radiant. [R.] Milton. While barred clouds bloom the softÐdying day. Keats. Bloom, n. [AS. bl?ma a mass or lump, Æsenes bl?ma a lump or wedge of iron.] (Metal.) (a) A mass of wrought iron from the Catalan forge or from the puddling furnace, deprived of its dross, and shaped usually in the form of an oblong block by shingling. (b) A large bar of steel formed directly from an ingot by hammering or rolling, being a preliminary shape for further working. Bloom¶aÏry (?), n. See Bloomery. Bloom¶er (?), n. [From Mrs. Bloomer, an American, who sought to introduce this style of dress.] 1. A costume for women, consisting of a short dress, with loose trousers gathered round ankles, and (commonly) a broadÐbrimmed hat. 2. A woman who wears a Bloomer costume. Bloom¶erÏy (?), n. (Manuf.) A furnace and forge in which wrought iron in the form of blooms is made directly from the ore, or (more rarely) from cast iron. Bloom¶ing, n. (Metal.) The process of making blooms from the ore or from cast iron. Bloom¶ing, a. 1. Opening in blossoms; flowering. 2. Thriving in health, beauty, and vigor; indicating the freshness and beauties of youth or health. Bloom¶ingÏly, adv. In a blooming manner. Bloom¶ingÏness, n. A blooming condition. Bloom¶less, a. Without bloom or flowers. Shelley. Bloom¶y (?), a. 1. Full of bloom; flowery; flourishing with the vigor of youth; as, a bloomy spray. But all the bloomy flush of life is fled. Goldsmith. 2. Covered with bloom, as fruit. Dryden. Blooth (?), n. Bloom; a blossoming. [Prov. Eng.] All that blooth means heavy autumn work for him and his hands. T. Hardy. Blore (?), n. [Perh. a variant of blare, v. i.; or cf. Gael. & Ir. blor a loud noise.] The act of blowing; a roaring wind; a blast. [Obs.] A most tempestuous blore. Chapman. Blos¶my (?), a. Blossomy. [Obs.] Chaucer. Blos¶som (?), n. [OE. blosme, blostme, AS. bl?sma, bl?stma, blossom; akin to D. bloesem, L. fios, and E. flower; from the root of E. blow to blossom. See Blow to blossom, and cf. Bloom a blossom.] 1. The flower of a plant, or the essential organs of reproduction, with their appendages; florescence; bloom; the flowers of a plant, collectively; as, the blossoms and fruit of a tree; an apple tree in blossom. µ The term has been applied by some botanists, and is also applied in common usage, to the corolla. It is more commonly used than flower or bloom, when we have reference to the fruit which is to succeed. Thus we use flowers when we speak of plants cultivated for ornament, and bloom in a more general sense, as of flowers in general, or in reference to the beauty of flowers. Blossoms flaunting in the eye of day. Longfellow. 2. A blooming period or stage of development; something lovely that gives rich promise. In the blossom of my youth. Massinger. 3. The color of a horse that has white hairs intermixed with sorrel and bay hairs; Ð otherwise called peach color. In blossom, having the blossoms open; in bloom. Blos¶som, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blossomed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blossoming.] [AS. bl?stmian. See Blossom, n.] 1. To put forth blossoms or flowers; to bloom; to blow; to flower. The moving whisper of huge trees that branched And blossomed. Tennyson. 2. To flourish and prosper. Israel shall blossom and bud, and full the face of the world with fruit. Isa. xxvii. 6. Blos¶somÏless, a. Without blossoms. Blos¶somÏy (?), a. Full of blossoms; flowery. Blot (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blotted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blotting.] [Cf. Dan. plette. See 3d Blot.] 1. To spot, stain, or bespatter, as with ink. The brief was writ and blotted all with gore. Gascoigne. 2. To impair; to damage; to mar; to soil. It blots thy beauty, as frosts do bite the meads. Shak. 3. To stain with infamy; to disgrace. Blot not thy innocence with guiltless blood. Rowe. 4. To obliterate, as writing with ink; to cancel; to efface; Ð generally with out; as, to blot out a word or a sentence. Often figuratively; as, to blot out offenses. One act like this blots out a thousand crimes. Dryden. 5. To obscure; to eclipse; to shadow. He sung how earth blots the moon's gilded wane. Cowley. 6. To dry, as writing, with blotting paper. Syn. Ð To obliterate; expunge; erase; efface; cancel; tarnish; disgrace; blur; sully; smear; smutch. Blot, v. i. To take a blot; as, this paper blots easily. Blot, n. [Cf. Icel. blettr, Dan. plet.] 1. A spot or stain, as of ink on paper; a blur. ½Inky blots and rotten parchment bonds.¸ Shak. 2. An obliteration of something written or printed; an erasure. Dryden. 3. A spot on reputation; a stain; a disgrace; a reproach; a blemish. This deadly blot in thy digressing son. Shak. Blot, n. [Cf. Dan. blot bare, naked, Sw. blott, d. bloot, G. bloss, and perh. E. bloat.] 1. (Backgammon) (a) An exposure of a single man to be taken up. (b) A single man left on a point, exposed to be taken up. He is too great a master of his art to make a blot which may be so easily hit. Dryden. 2. A weak point; a failing; an exposed point or mark. Blotch (?), n. [Cf. OE. blacche in blacchepot blacking pot, akin to black, as bleach is akin to bleak. See Black, a., or cf. Blot a spot.] 1. A blot or spot, as of color or of ink; especially a large or irregular spot. Also Fig.; as, a moral blotch. Spots and blotches ... some red, others yellow. Harvey. 2. (Med.) A large pustule, or a coarse eruption. Foul scurf and blotches him defile. Thomson. Blotched (?), a. Marked or covered with blotches. To give their blotched and blistered bodies ease. Drayton. Blotch¶y (?), a. Having blotches. Blote (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bloted; p. pr. & vb. n. Bloting.] [Cf. Sw. bl”tÐfisk soaked fish, fr. bl”ta to soak. See 1st Bloat.] To cure, as herrings, by salting and smoking them; to bloat. [Obs.] Blot¶less (?), a. Without blot. Blot¶ter (?), n. 1. One who, or that which blots; esp. a device for absorbing superfluous ink.
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2. (Com.) A wastebook, in which entries of transactions are made as they take place. BlotÏtesque¶ (?), a. (Painting) Characterized by blots or heavy touches; coarsely depicted; wanting in delineation. Ruskin. Blot¶ting pa·per (?). A kind of thick, bibulous, unsized paper, used to absorb superfluous ink from freshly written manuscript, and thus prevent blots. Blouse (?), n. [F. blouse. Of unknown origin.] A light, loose overÏgarment, like a smock frock, worn especially by workingmen in France; also, a loose coat of any material, as the undress uniform coat of the United States army. Blow (?), v. i. [imp. Blew (?); p. p. Blown (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blowing.] [OE. blowen, AS. bl?wan to blossom; akin to OS. bl?jan, D. bloeijen, OHG. pluojan, MHG. bl?ejen, G. blhen, L. florere to flourish, OIr. blath blossom. Cf. Blow to puff, Flourish.] To flower; to blossom; to bloom. How blows the citron grove. Milton. Blow, v. t. To cause to blossom; to put forth (blossoms or flowers). The odorous banks, that blow Flowers of more mingled hue. Milton. Blow, n. (Bot.) A blossom; a flower; also, a state of blossoming; a mass of blossoms. ½Such a blow of tulips.¸ Tatler. Blow, n. [OE. blaw, blowe; cf. OHG. bliuwan, pliuwan, to beat, G. bl„uen, Goth. bliggwan.] 1. A forcible stroke with the hand, fist, or some instrument, as a rod, a club, an ax, or a sword. Well struck ! there was blow for blow. Shak. 2. A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault. A vigorous blow might win [Hanno's camp]. T. Arnold. 3. The infliction of evil; a sudden calamity; something which produces mental, physical, or financial suffering or loss (esp. when sudden); a buffet. A most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows. Shak. At a blow, suddenly; at one effort; by a single vigorous act. ½They lose a province at a blow.¸ Dryden. Ð To come to blows, to engage in combat; to fight; Ð said of individuals, armies, and nations. Syn. Ð Stroke; knock; shock; misfortune. Blow, v. i. [imp. Blew (?); p. p. Blown (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blowing.] [OE. blawen, blowen, AS. bl?wan to blow, as wind; akin to OHG. pl?jan, G. bl„hen, to blow up, swell, L. flare to blow, Gr. ? to spout out, and to E. bladder, blast, inflate, etc., and perh. blow to bloom.] 1. To produce a current of air; to move, as air, esp. to move rapidly or with power; as, the wind blows. Hark how it rains and blows ! Walton. 2. To send forth a forcible current of air, as from the mouth or from a pair of bellows. 3. To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing. Shak. 4. To sound on being blown into, as a trumpet. There let the pealing organ blow. Milton. 5. To spout water, etc., from the blowholes, as a whale. 6. To be carried or moved by the wind; as, the dust blows in from the street. The grass blows from their graves to thy own. M. Arnold. 7. To talk loudly; to boast; to storm. [Colloq.] You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face. Bartlett. To blow hot and cold (a saying derived from a fable of ?sop's), to favor a thing at one time and treat it coldly at another; or to appear both to favor and to oppose. Ð To blow off, to let steam escape through a passage provided for the purpose; as, the engine or steamer is blowing off. Ð To blow out. (a) To be driven out by the expansive force of a gas or vapor; as, a steam cock or valve sometimes blows out. (b) To talk violently or abusively. Ð To blow over, to pass away without effect; to cease, or be dissipated; as, the storm and the clouds have blown over. Ð To blow up, to be torn to pieces and thrown into the air as by an explosion of powder or gas or the expansive force of steam; to burst; to explode; as, a powder mill or steam boiler blows up. ½The enemy's magazines blew up.¸ Tatler. Blow, v. t. 1. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means; as, to blow the fire. 2. To drive by a current air; to impel; as, the tempest blew the ship ashore. Off at sea northeast winds blow Sabean odors from the spicy shore. Milton. 3. To cause air to pass through by the action of the mouth, or otherwise; to cause to sound, as a wind instrument; as, to blow a trumpet; to blow an organ. Hath she no husband That will take pains to blow a horn before her? Shak. Boy, blow the pipe until the bubble rise, Then cast it off to float upon the skies. Parnell. 4. To clear of contents by forcing air through; as, to blow an egg; to blow one's nose. 5. To burst, shatter, or destroy by an explosion; Ð usually with up, down, open, or similar adverb; as, to blow up a building. 6. To spread by report; to publish; to disclose. Through the court his courtesy was blown. Dryden. His language does his knowledge blow. Whiting. 7. To form by inflation; to swell by injecting air; as, to blow bubbles; to blow glass. 8. To inflate, as with pride; to puff up. Look how imagination blows him. Shak. 9. To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue; as, to blow a horse. Sir W. Scott. 10. To deposit eggs or larv‘ upon, or in (meat, etc.). To suffer The flesh fly blow my mouth. Shak. To blow great guns, to blow furiously and with roaring blasts; Ð said of the wind at sea or along the coast. Ð To blow off, to empty (a boiler) of water through the blowÏoff pipe, while under steam pressure; also, to eject (steam, water, sediment, etc.) from a boiler. Ð To blow one's own trumpet, to vaunt one's own exploits, or sound one's own praises. Ð To blow out, to extinguish by a current of air, as a candle. Ð To blow up. (a) To fill with air; to swell; as, to blow up a bladder or bubble. (b) To inflate, as with pride, selfÏconceit, etc.; to puff up; as, to blow one up with flattery. ½Blown up with high conceits engendering pride.¸ Milton. (c) To excite; as, to blow up a contention.(d) To burst, to raise into the air, or to scatter, by an explosion; as, to blow up a fort. (e) To scold violently; as, to blow up a person for some offense. [Colloq.] I have blown him up well Ð nobody can say I wink at what he does. G. Eliot. Ð To blow upon. (a) To blast; to taint; to bring into discredit; to render stale, unsavory, or worthless. (b) To inform against. [Colloq.] How far the very custom of hearing anything spouted withers and blows upon a fine passage, may be seen in those speeches from [Shakespeare's] Henry V. which are current in the mouths of schoolboys. C. Lamb. A lady's maid whose character had been blown upon. Macaulay. Blow (?), n. 1. A blowing, esp., a violent blowing of the wind; a gale; as, a heavy blow came on, and the ship put back to port. 2. The act of forcing air from the mouth, or through or from some instrument; as, to give a hard blow on a whistle or horn; to give the fire a blow with the bellows. 3. The spouting of a whale. 4. (Metal.) A single heat or operation of the Bessemer converter. Raymond. 5. An egg, or a larva, deposited by a fly on or in flesh, or the act of depositing it. Chapman. Blow¶ball· (?), n. The downy seed head of a dandelion, which children delight to blow away. B. Jonson. Blow¶en (?), Blow¶ess (?), } n. A prostitute; a courtesan; a strumpet. Smart. Blow¶er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, blows. 2. (Mech.) A device for producing a current of air; as: (a) A metal plate temporarily placed before the upper part of a grate or open fire. (b) A machine for producing an artificial blast or current of air by pressure, as for increasing the draft of a furnace, ventilating a building or shaft, cleansing gram, etc. 3. A blowing out or excessive discharge of gas from a hole or fissure in a mine. 4. The whale; Ð so called by seamen, from the circumstance of its spouting up a column of water. 5. (Zo”l.) A small fish of the Atlantic coast (Tetrodon turgidus); the puffer. 6. A braggart, or loud talker. [Slang] Bartlett. Blow¶fly· (?), n. (Zo”l.) Any species of fly of the genus Musca that deposits its eggs or young larv‘ (called flyblows and maggots) upon meat or other animal products. Blow¶gun· (?), n. A tube, as of cane or reed, sometimes twelve feet long, through which an arrow or other projectile may be impelled by the force of the breath. It is a weapon much used by certain Indians of America and the West Indies; Ð called also blowpipe, and blowtube. See Sumpitan. Blow¶hole· (?), n. 1. A cavern in a cliff, at the water level, opening to the air at its farther extremity, so that the waters rush in with each surge and rise in a lofty jet from the extremity. 2. A nostril or spiracle in the top of the head of a whale or other cetacean. µ There are two spiracles or blowholes in the common whales, but only one in sperm whales, porpoises, etc. 3. A hole in the ice to which whales, seals, etc., come to breathe. 4. (Founding) An air hole in a casting. Blown (?), p. p. & a. 1. Swollen; inflated; distended; puffed up, as cattle when gorged with green food which develops gas. 2. Stale; worthless. 3. Out of breath; tired; exhausted. ½Their horses much blown.¸ Sir W. Scott. 4. Covered with the eggs and larv‘ of flies; fly blown. Blown, p. p. & a. Opened; in blossom or having blossomed, as a flower. Shak. Blow¶Ðoff· (?), n. 1. A blowing off steam, water, etc. Ð Also, adj.; as, a blowÐoff cock or pipe. 2. An outburst of temper or excitement. [Colloq.] Blow¶Ðout· (?), n. The cleaning of the flues of a boiler from scale, etc., by a blast of steam. Blow¶pipe· (?), n. 1. A tube for directing a jet of air into a fire or into the flame of a lamp or candle, so as to concentrate the heat on some object. µ It is called a mouth blowpipe when used with the mouth; but for both chemical and industrial purposes, it is often worked by a bellows or other contrivance. The common mouth blowpipe is a tapering tube with a very small orifice at the end to be inserted in the flame. The oxyhydrogen blowpipe, invented by Dr. Hare in 1801, is an instrument in which oxygen and hydrogen, taken from separate reservoirs, in the proportions of two volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen, are burned in a jet, under pressure. It gives a heat that will consume the diamond, fuse platinum, and dissipate in vapor, or in gaseous forms, most known substances. 2. A blowgun; a blowtube. Blowpipe analysis (Chem.), analysis by means of the blowpipe. Ð Blowpipe reaction (Chem.), the characteristic behavior of a substance subjected to a test by means of the blowpipe. Blow¶point· (?), n. A child's game. [Obs.] Blowse , n. See Blowze. Blowth (?), n. [From Blow to blossom: cf. Growth.] A blossoming; a bloom. [Obs. or Archaic] ½In the blowth and bud.¸ Sir W. Raleigh. Blow¶tube· (?), n. 1. A blowgun. Tylor. 2. A similar instrument, commonly of tin, used by boys for discharging paper wads and other light missiles. 3. (Glassmaking) A long wrought iron tube, on the end of which the workman gathers a quantity of ½metal¸ (melted glass), and through which he blows to expand or shape it; Ð called also blowing tube, and blowpipe. Blow¶ valve· (?). (Mach.) See Snifting valve. Blow¶y (?), a. Windy; as, blowy weather; a blowy upland. Blowze (?), n. [Prob. from the same root as blush.] A ruddy, fatÏfaced woman; a wench. [Obs.] Shak. Blowzed (?), a. Having high color from exposure to the weather; ruddyÏfaced; blowzy; disordered. Huge women blowzed with health and wind. Tennyson. Blowz¶y (?), a. Coarse and ruddyÏfaced; fat and ruddy; high colored; frowzy. Blub (?), v. t. & i. [Cf. Bleb, Blob.] To swell; to puff out, as with weeping. [Obs.] Blub¶ber (?), n. [See Blobber, Blob, Bleb.] 1. A bubble. At his mouth a blubber stood of foam. Henryson. 2. The fat of whales and other large sea animals from which oil is obtained. It lies immediately under the skin and over the muscular flesh. 3. (Zo”l.) A large sea nettle or medusa. Blub¶ber, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blubbered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blubbering.] To weep noisily, or so as to disfigure the face; to cry in a childish manner. She wept, she blubbered, and she tore her hair. Swift. Blub¶ber, v. t. 1. To swell or disfigure (the face) with weeping; to wet with tears. Dear Cloe, how blubbered is that pretty face! Prior. 2. To give vent to (tears) or utter (broken words or cries); Ð with forth or out. Blub¶bered (?), p. p. & a. Swollen; turgid; as, a blubbered lip. Spenser. Blub¶berÏing, n. The act of weeping noisily. He spake well save that his blubbering interrupted him. Winthrop. Blub¶berÏy (?), a. 1. Swollen; protuberant. 2. Like blubber; gelatinous and quivering; as, a blubbery mass. Blu¶cher (?), n. A kind of half boot, named from the Prussian general Blcher. Thackeray. Bludg¶eon (?), n. [Cf. Ir. blocan a little block, Gael. plocan a mallet, W. plocyn, dim. of ploc block; or perh. connected with E. blow a stroke. Cf. Block, Blow a stroke.] A short stick, with one end loaded, or thicker and heavier that the other, used as an offensive weapon. Blue (?), a. [Compar. Bluer (?); superl. Bluest.] [OE. bla, blo, blew, blue, Sw. bl?, D. blauw, OHG. bl?o, G. blau; but influenced in form by F. bleu, from OHG. bl¾o.] 1. Having the color of the clear sky, or a hue resembling it, whether lighter or darker; as, the deep, blue sea; as blue as a sapphire; blue violets. ½The blue firmament.¸ Milton. 2. Pale, without redness or glare, Ð said of a flame; hence, of the color of burning brimstone, betokening the presence of ghosts or devils; as, the candle burns blue; the air was blue with oaths. 3. Low in spirits; melancholy; as, to feel blue. 4. Suited to produce low spirits; gloomy in prospect; as, thongs looked blue. [Colloq.] 5. Severe or over strict in morals; gloom; as, blue and sour religionists; suiting one who is over strict in morals; inculcating an impracticable, severe, or gloomy mortality; as, blue laws. 6. Literary; Ð applied to women; Ð an abbreviation of bluestocking. [Colloq.] The ladies were very blue and well informed. Thackeray. Blue asbestus. See Crocidolite. Ð Blue black, of, or having, a very dark blue color, almost black. Ð Blue blood. See under Blood. Ð Blue buck (Zo”l.), a small South African antelope (Cephalophus pygm‘us); also applied to a larger species (?goceras leucoph‘us); the blaubok. Ð Blue cod (Zo”l.), the buffalo cod. Ð Blue crab (Zo”l.), the common edible crab of the Atlantic coast of the United States (Callinectes hastatus). Ð Blue curls (Bot.), a common plant (Trichostema dichotomum), resembling pennyroyal, and hence called also bastard pennyroyal. Ð Blue devils, apparitions supposed to be seen by persons suffering with delirium tremens; hence, very low spirits. ½Can Gumbo shut the hall door upon blue devils, or lay them all in a red sea of claret?¸ Thackeray. Ð Blue gage. See under Gage, a plum. Ð Blue gum, an Australian myrtaceous tree (Eucalyptus globulus), of the loftiest proportions, now cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions for its timber, and as a protection against malaria. The essential oil is beginning to be used in medicine. The timber is very useful. See Eucalyptus. Ð Blue jack, Blue stone, blue vitriol; sulphate of copper. Ð Blue jacket, a manÏof war's man; a sailor wearing a naval uniform. Ð Blue jaundice. See under Jaundice. Ð Blue laws, a name first used in the eighteenth century to describe certain supposititious laws of extreme rigor reported to have been enacted in New Haven; hence, any puritanical laws. [U. S.] Ð Blue light, a composition which burns with a brilliant blue flame; Ð used in pyrotechnics and as a night signal at sea, and in military operations. Ð Blue mantle (Her.), one of the four pursuivants of the English college of arms; Ð so called from the color of his official robes. Ð Blue mass, a preparation of mercury from which is formed the blue pill. McElrath. Ð Blue mold, or mould, the blue fungus (Aspergillus glaucus) which grows on cheese. Brande & C. Ð Blue Monday, a Monday following a Sunday of dissipation, or itself given to dissipation (as the Monday before Lent). Ð Blue ointment (Med.), mercurial ointment. Ð Blue Peter (British Marine), a blue flag with a white square in the center, used as a signal for sailing, to recall boats, etc. It is a corruption of blue repeater, one of the British signal flags. Ð Blue pill. (Med.) (a) A pill of prepared mercury, used as an aperient, etc. (b) Blue mass. Ð Blue ribbon. (a) The ribbon worn by
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members of the order of the Garter; Ð hence, a member of that order. (b) Anything the attainment of which is an object of great ambition; a distinction; a prize. ½These [scholarships] were the blue ribbon of the college.¸ Farrar. (c) The distinctive badge of certain temperance or total abstinence organizations, as of the Blue ribbon Army. Ð Blue ruin, utter ruin; also, gin. [Eng. Slang] Carlyle. Ð Blue spar (Min.), azure spar; lazulite. See Lazulite. Ð Blue thrush (Zo”l.), a European and Asiatic thrush (Petrocossyphus cyaneas). Ð Blue verditer. See Verditer. Ð Blue vitriol (Chem.), sulphate of copper, a violet blue crystallized salt, used in electric batteries, calico printing, etc. Ð Blue water, the open ocean. Ð To look blue, to look disheartened or dejected. Ð True blue, genuine and thorough; not modified, nor mixed; not spurious; specifically, of uncompromising Presbyterianism, blue being the color adopted by the Covenanters. For his religion... 'T was Presbyterian, true blue. Hudibras. Blue (?), n. 1. One of the seven colors into which the rays of light divide themselves, when refracted through a glass prism; the color of the clear sky, or a color resembling that, whether lighter or darker; a pigment having such color. Sometimes, poetically, the sky. 2. A pedantic woman; a bluestocking. [Colloq.] 3. pl. [Short for blue devils.] Low spirits; a fit of despondency; melancholy. [Colloq.] Berlin blue, Prussian blue. Ð Mineral blue. See under Mineral. Ð Prussian blue. See under Prussian. Blue, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blued (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bluing.] To make blue; to dye of a blue color; to make blue by heating, as metals, etc. Blue¶back· (?), n. (Zo”l.) (a) A trout (Salmo oquassa) inhabiting some of the lakes of Maine. (b) A salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) of the Columbia River and northward. (c) An American river herring (Clupea ‘stivalis), closely allied to the alewife. Blue¶beard (?), n. The hero of a medi‘val French nursery legend, who, leaving home, enjoined his young wife not to open a certain room in his castle. She entered it, and found the murdered bodies of his former wives. Ð Also used adjectively of a subject which it is forbidden to investigate. The Bluebeard chamber of his mind, into which no eye but his own must look. Carlyle. Blue¶bell· (?), n. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Campanula, especially the Campanula rotundifolia, which bears blue bellÏshaped flowers; the harebell. (b) A plant of the genus Scilla (Scilla nutans). Blue¶berry (?), n. [Cf. Blaeberry.] (Bot.) The berry of several species of Vaccinium, and ericaceous genus, differing from the American huckleberries in containing numerous minute seeds instead of ten nutlets. The commonest species are V. Pennsylvanicum and V. vacillans. V. corymbosum is the tall blueberry. Blue¶bill· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A duck of the genus Fuligula. Two American species (F. marila and F. affinis) are common. See Scaup duck. Blue¶bird· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A small song bird (Sialia sialis), very common in the United States, and, in the north, one of the earliest to arrive in spring. The male is blue, with the breast reddish. It is related to the European robin. Pairy bluebird (Zo”l.), a brilliant Indian or East Indian bird of the genus Irena, of several species. Blue¶ bon·net or Blue¶Ïbon·net (?), n. 1. A broad, flat Scottish cap of blue woolen, or one waring such cap; a Scotchman. 2. (Bot.) A plant. Same as Bluebottle. 3. (Zo”l.) The European blue titmouse (Parus c?ruleus); the bluecap. Blue¶ book· (?). 1. A parliamentary publication, so called from its blue paper covers. [Eng.] 2. The United States official ½Biennial Register.¸ Blue¶bot·tle (?), n. 1. (Bot.) A plant (Centaurea cyanus) which grows in grain fields. It receives its name from its blue bottleÐshaped flowers. 2. (Zo”l.) A large and troublesome species of blowfly (Musca vomitoria). Its body is steel blue. Blue¶breast· (?), n. (Zo”l.) (a) A small European bird; the blueÐthroated warbler. Blue¶cap· (?), n. 1. (Zo”l.) (a) The bluepoll. (b) The blue bonnet or blue titmouse. 2. A Scot; a Scotchman; Ð so named from wearing a blue bonnet. [Poetic] Shak. Blue¶coat· (?), n. One dressed in blue, as a soldier, a sailor, a beadle, etc. Blue¶Ðeye· (?), a. Having blue eyes. BlueÐeyed grass (Bot.), a grasslike plant (Sisyrinchium anceps), with small flowers of a delicate blue color. Blue¶fin· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A species of whitefish (Coregonus nigripinnis) found in Lake Michigan. Blue¶fish· (?), n. (Zo”l.) 1. A large voracious fish (Pomatomus saitatrix), of the family Carangid‘, valued as a food fish, and widely distributed on the American coast. On the New Jersey and Rhode Island coast it is called the horse mackerel, in Virginia saltwater tailor, or skipjack. 2. A West Indian fish (Platyglossus radiatus), of the family Labrid‘. µ The name is applied locally to other species of fishes; as the cunner, sea bass, squeteague, etc. Blue¶gown· (?), n. One of a class of paupers or pensioners, or licensed beggars, in Scotland, to whim annually on the king's birthday were distributed certain alms, including a blue gown; a beadsman. Blue¶ grass· (?). (Bot.) A species of grass (Poa compressa) with bluish green stems, valuable in thin gravelly soils; wire grass. Kentucky blue grass, a species of grass (Poa pratensis) which has running rootstocks and spreads rapidly. It is valuable as a pasture grass, as it endures both winter and drought better than other kinds, and is very nutritious. Blue¶ jay· (?). (Zo”l.) The common jay of the United States (Cyanocitta, or Cyanura, cristata). The predominant color is bright blue. Blue¶Ðjohn· (?), n. A name given to fluor spar in Derbyshire, where it is used for ornamental purposes. Blue¶ly, adv. With a blue color. Swift. Blue¶ness, n. The quality of being blue; a blue color. Boyle. Blue¶nose (?), n. A nickname for a Nova Scotian. Blue¶poll· (?), n. [Blue + poll head.] (Zo”l.) A kind of salmon (Salmo Cambricus) found in Wales. Blue¶print. See under Print. Blue¶stock·ing (?), n. 1. A literary lady; a female pedant. [Colloq.] µ As explained in Boswell's ½Life of Dr. Johnson¸, this term is derived from the name given to certain meetings held by ladies, in Johnson's time, for conversation with distinguished literary men. An eminent attendant of these assemblies was a Mr. Stillingfleet, who always wore blue stockings. He was so much distinguished for his conversational powers that his absence at any time was felt to be a great loss, so that the remark became common, ½We can do nothing without the blue stockings.¸ Hence these meetings were sportively called bluestocking clubs, and the ladies who attended them, bluestockings. 2. (Zo”l.) The American avocet (Recurvirostra Americana). Blue¶stock·ingÏism (?), n. The character or manner of a bluestocking; female pedantry. [Colloq.] Blue¶stone· (?), n. 1. Blue vitriol. Dunglison. 2. A grayish blue building stone, as that commonly used in the eastern United States. Blue¶throat· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A singing bird of northern Europe and Asia (Cyanecula Suecica), related to the nightingales; Ð called also blueÐthroated robin and blueÐthroated warbler. Blu¶ets (?), n. [F. bluet, bleuet, dim. of bleu blue. See Blue, a.] (Bot.) A name given to several different species of plants having blue flowers, as the Houstonia c?rulea, the Centaurea cyanus or bluebottle, and the Vaccinium angustifolium. Blue¶Ðveined· (?), a. Having blue veins or blue streaks. Blue¶wing· (?), n. (Zo”l.) The blueÐwinged teal. See Teal. Blue¶y (?), a. Bluish. Southey. Bluff (?), a. [Cf. OD. blaf flat, broad, blaffaert one with a broad face, also, a boaster; or G. verblffen to confuse, LG. bluffen to frighten; to unknown origin.] 1. Having a broad, flattened front; as, the bluff bows of a ship. ½Bluff visages.¸ Irving. 2. Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front. ½A bluff or bold shore.¸ Falconer. Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect. Judd. 3. Surly; churlish; gruff; rough. 4. Abrupt; roughly frank; unceremonious; blunt; brusque; as, a bluff answer; a bluff manner of talking; a bluff sea captain. ½Bluff King Hal.¸ Sir W. Scott. There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defense in a moment of surprise. I. Taylor. Bluff, n. 1. A high, steep bank, as by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face. Beach, bluff, and wave, adieu. Whittier. 2. An act of bluffing; an expression of selfÐconfidence for the purpose of intimidation; braggadocio; as, that is only bluff, or a bluff. 3. A game at cards; poker. [U.S.] Bartlett. Bluff, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bluffed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bluffing.] 1. (Poker) To deter (an opponent) from taking the risk of betting on his hand of cards, as the bluffer does by betting heavily on his own hand although it may be of less value. [U. S.] 2. To frighten or deter from accomplishing a purpose by making a show of confidence in one's strength or resources; as, he bluffed me off. [Colloq.] Bluff, v. i. To act as in the game of bluff. Bluff¶Ðbowed· (?), a. (Naut.) Built with the stem nearly straight up and down. Bluff¶ness, n. The quality or state of being bluff. Bluff¶y (?), a. 1. Having bluffs, or bold, steep banks. 2. Inclined to bo bluff; brusque. Blu¶ing (?), n. 1. The act of rendering blue; as, the bluing of steel. Tomlinson. 2. Something to give a bluish tint, as indigo, or preparations used by washerwomen. Blu¶ish (?), a. Somewhat blue; as, bluish veins. ½Bluish mists.¸ Dryden. Ð Blu¶ishÏly, adv. Ð Blu¶ishÏness, n. Blun¶der (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blundered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blundering.] [OE. blunderen, blondren, to stir, confuse, blunder; perh. allied to blend to mix, to confound by mixture.] 1. To make a gross error or mistake; as, to blunder in writing or preparing a medical prescription. Swift. 2. To move in an awkward, clumsy manner; to flounder and stumble. I was never distinguished for address, and have often even blundered in making my bow. Goldsmith. Yet knows not how to find the uncertain place, And blunders on, and staggers every pace. Dryden. To blunder on. (a) To continue blundering. (b) To find or reach as if by an accident involving more or less stupidity, Ð applied to something desirable; as, to blunder on a useful discovery. Blun¶der, v. t. 1. To cause to blunder. [Obs.] ½To blunder an adversary.¸ Ditton. 2. To do or treat in a blundering manner; to confuse. He blunders and confounds all these together. Stillingfleet. Blun¶der, n. 1. Confusion; disturbance. [Obs.] 2. A gross error or mistake, resulting from carelessness, stupidity, or culpable ignorance. Syn. Ð Blunder, Error, Mistake, Bull. An error is a departure or deviation from that which is right or correct; as, an error of the press; an error of judgment. A mistake is the interchange or taking of one thing for another, through haste, inadvertence, etc.; as, a careless mistake. A blunder is a mistake or error of a gross kind. It supposes a person to flounder on in his course, from carelessness, ignorance, or stupidity. A bull is a verbal blunder containing a laughable incongruity of ideas. Blun¶derÏbuss (?), n. [Either fr. blunder + D. bus tube, box, akin to G. bchse box, gun, E. box; or corrupted fr. D. donderbus (literally) thunder box, gun, musket.] 1. A short gun or firearm, with a large bore, capable of holding a number of balls, and intended to do execution without exact aim. 2. A stupid, blundering fellow. Blun¶derÏer (?), n. One who is apt to blunder. Blun¶derÏhead· (?), n. [Blunder + head.] A stupid, blundering fellow. Blun¶derÏing, a. Characterized by blunders. Blun¶derÏingÏly, adv. In a blundering manner. Blunge (?), v. t. To amalgamate and blend; to beat up or mix in water, as clay. Blun¶ger (?), n. [Corrupted from plunger.] A wooden blade with a cross handle, used for mi?ing the clay in potteries; a plunger. Tomlinson. Blun¶ging (?), n. The process of mixing clay in potteries with a blunger. Tomlinson. Blunt (?), a. [Cf. Prov. G. bludde a dull or blunt knife, Dan. blunde to sleep, Sw. & Icel. blunda; or perh. akin to E. blind.] 1. Having a thick edge or point, as an instrument; dull; not sharp. The murderous knife was dull and blunt. Shak. 2. Dull in understanding; slow of discernment; stupid; Ð opposed to acute. His wits are not so blunt. Shak. 3. Abrupt in address; plain; unceremonious; wanting the forms of civility; rough in manners or speech. ½Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior.¸ ½A plain, blunt man.¸ Shak. 4. Hard to impress or penetrate. [R.] I find my heart hardened and blunt to new impressions. Pope. µ Blunt is much used in composition, as bluntÏedged, bluntÏsighted, bluntÏspoken. Syn. Ð Obtuse; dull; pointless; curt; short; coarse; rude; brusque; impolite; uncivil. Blunt, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blunted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blunting.] 1. To dull the edge or point of, by making it thicker; to make blunt. Shak. 2. To repress or weaken, as any appetite, desire, or power of the mind; to impair the force, keenness, or susceptibility, of; as, to blunt the feelings. Blunt, n. 1. A fencer's foil. [Obs.] 2. A short needle with a strong point. See Needle. 3. Money. Beaconsfield. Blunt¶ish, a. Somewhat blunt. Ð Blunt¶ishÏness, n. Blunt¶ly, adv. In a blunt manner; coarsely; plainly; abruptly; without delicacy, or the usual forms of civility. Sometimes after bluntly giving his opinions, he would quietly lay himself asleep until the end of their deliberations. Jeffrey. Blunt¶ness, n. 1. Want of edge or point; dullness; obtuseness; want of sharpness. The multitude of elements and bluntness of angles. Holland. 2. A bruptness of address; rude plainness. ½Bluntness of speech.¸ Boyle. Blunt¶Ðwit·ted (?), n. Dull; stupid. BluntÐwitted lord, ignoble in demeanor! Shak. Blur (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blurred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blurring.] [Prob. of same origin as blear. See Blear.] 1. To render obscure by making the form or outline of confused and uncertain, as by soiling; to smear; to make indistinct and confused; as, to blur manuscript by handling it while damp; to blur the impression of a woodcut by an excess of ink. But time hath nothing blurred those lines of favor Which then he wore. Shak. 2. To cause imperfection of vision in; to dim; to darken. Her eyes are blurred with the lightning's glare. J. R. Drake. 3. To sully; to stain; to blemish, as reputation. Sarcasms may eclipse thine own, But can not blur my lost renown. Hudibras. Syn. Ð To spot; blot; disfigure; stain; sully.
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Blur (?), n. 1. That which obscures without effacing; a stain; a blot, as upon paper or other substance. As for those who cleanse blurs with blotted fingers, they make it worse. Fuller. 2. A dim, confused appearance; indistinctness of vision; as, to see things with a blur; it was all blur. 3. A moral stain or blot. Lest she ... will with her railing set a great blur on mine honesty and good name. Udall. Blur¶ry (?), a. Full of blurs; blurred. Blurt (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blurted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blurting.] [Cf. Blare.] To utter suddenly and unadvisedly; to divulge inconsiderately; to ejaculate; Ð commonly with out. Others ... can not hold, but blurt out, those words which afterward they forced to eat. Hakewill. To blurt at, to speak contemptuously of. [Obs.] Shak. Blush (?) v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blushed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blushing.] [OE. bluschen to shine, look, turn red, AS. blyscan to glow; akin to blysa a torch, ¾bl?sian to blush, D. blozen, Dan. blusse to blaze, blush.] 1. To become suffused with red in the cheeks, as from a sense of shame, modesty, or confusion; to become red from such cause, as the cheeks or face. To the nuptial bower I led her blushing like the morn. Milton. In the presence of the shameless and unblushing, the young offender is ashamed to blush. Buckminster. He would stroke The head of modest and ingenuous worth, That blushed at its own praise. Cowper. 2. To grow red; to have a red or rosy color. The sun of heaven, methought, was loth to set, But stayed, and made the western welkin blush. Shak. 3. To have a warm and delicate color, as some roses and other flowers. Full many a flower is born to blush unseen. T. Gray. Blush, v. t. 1. To suffuse with a blush; to redden; to make roseate. [Obs.] To blush and beautify the cheek again. Shak. 2. To express or make known by blushing. I'll blush you thanks. Shak. Blush, n. 1. A suffusion of the cheeks or face with red, as from a sense of shame, confusion, or modesty. The rosy blush of love. Trumbull. 2. A red or reddish color; a rosy tint. Light's last blushes tinged the distant hills. Lyttleton. At first blush, or At the first blush, at the first appearance or view. ½At the first blush, we thought they had been ships come from France.¸ Hakluyt. This phrase is used now more of ideas, opinions, etc., than of material things. ½All purely identical propositions, obviously, and at first blush, appear.¸ etc. Locke. Ð To put to the blush, to cause to blush with shame; to put to shame. Blush¶er (?), n. One that blushes. Blush¶et (?), n. A modest girl. [Obs.] B. Jonson. Blush¶ful (?), a. Full of blushes. While from his ardent look the turning Spring Averts her blushful face. Thomson. Blush¶ing, a. Showing blushes; rosy red; having a warm and delicate color like some roses and other flowers; blooming; ruddy; roseate. The dappled pink and blushing rose. Prior. Blush¶ing, n. The act of turning red; the appearance of a reddish color or flush upon the cheeks. Blush¶ingÏly, adv. In a blushing manner; with a blush or blushes; as, to answer or confess blushingly. Blush¶less, a. Free from blushes; incapable of blushing; shameless; impudent. Vice now, secure, her blushless front shall raise. Dodsley. Blush¶y (?), a. Like a blush; having the color of a blush; rosy. [R.] ½A blushy color.¸ Harvey. Blus¶ter (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Blustered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blustering.] [Allied to blast.] 1. To blow fitfully with violence and noise, as wind; to be windy and boisterous, as the weather. And everÏthreatening storms Of Chaos blustering round. Milton. 2. To talk with noisy violence; to swagger, as a turbulent or boasting person; to act in a noisy, tumultuous way; to play the bully; to storm; to rage. Your ministerial directors blustered like tragic tyrants. Burke. Blus¶ter, v. t. To utter, or do, with noisy violence; to force by blustering; to bully. He bloweth and blustereth out ... his abominable blasphemy. Sir T. More. As if therewith he meant to bluster all princes into a perfect obedience to his commands. Fuller. Blus¶ter, n. 1. Fitful noise and violence, as of a storm; violent winds; boisterousness. To the winds they set Their corners, when with bluster to confound Sea, air, and shore. Milton. 2. Noisy and violent or threatening talk; noisy and boastful language. L'Estrange. Syn. Ð Noise; boisterousness; tumult; turbulence; confusion; boasting; swaggering; bullying. Blus¶terÏer (?), n. One who, or that which, blusters; a noisy swaggerer. Blus¶terÏing, a. 1. Exhibiting noisy violence, as the wind; stormy; tumultuous. A tempest and a blustering day. Shak. 2. Uttering noisy threats; noisy and swaggering; boisterous. ½A blustering fellow.¸ L'Estrange. Blus¶terÏingÏly, adv. In a blustering manner. Blus¶terÏous (?), a. Inclined to bluster; given to blustering; blustering. Motley. Blus¶trous (?), a. Blusterous. Shak. Bo (?), interj. [Cf. W. bw, an interj. of threatening or frightening; n., terror, fear, dread.] An exclamation used to startle or frighten. [Spelt also boh and boo.] Bo¶a (?), n.; pl. Boas. [L. boa a kind of water serpent. Perh. fr. bos an ox.] 1. (Zo”l.) A genus of large American serpents, including the boa constrictor, the emperor boa of Mexico (B. imperator), and the chevalier boa of Peru (B. eques). µ The name is also applied to related genera; as, the dogÐheaded boa (Xiphosoma caninum). 2. A long, round fur tippet; Ð so called from its resemblance in shape to the boa constrictor. Bo¶a conÏstrict¶or (?). [NL. See Boa, and Constrictor.] (Zo”l.) A large and powerful serpent of tropical America, sometimes twenty or thirty feet long. See Illustration in Appendix. µ It has a succession of spots, alternately black and yellow, extending along the back. It kills its prey by constriction. The name is also loosely applied to other large serpents which crush their prey, particularly to those of the genus Python, found in Asia and Africa. Ø Bo·aÏner¶ges (?). [Gr. ?, fr. Heb. bn? hargem sons of thunder. Ð an appellation given by Christ to two of his disciples (James and John). See Mark iii. 17.] Any declamatory and vociferous preacher or orator. Boar (?), n. [OE. bar, bor, bore, AS. b¾r; akin to OHG. p?r, MHG. b?r, G. b„r, boar (but not b„r bear), and perh. Russ. borov' boar.] (Zo”l.) The uncastrated male of swine; specifically, the wild hog. Board (?), n. [OE. bord, AS. bord board, shipboard; akin to bred plank, Icel. bor? board, side of a ship, Goth. f?tuÐbaurd footstool, D. bord board, G. brett, bort. See def. 8. ?92.] 1. A piece of timber sawed thin, and of considerable length and breadth as compared with the thickness, Ð used for building, etc. µ When sawed thick, as over one and a half or two inches, it is usually called a plank. 2. A table to put food upon. µ The term board answers to the modern table, but it was often movable, and placed on trestles. Halliwell. Fruit of all kinds ... She gathers, tribute large, and on the board Heaps with unsparing hand. Milton. 3. Hence: What is served on a table as food; stated meals; provision; entertainment; Ð usually as furnished for pay; as, to work for one's board; the price of board. 4. A table at which a council or court is held. Hence: A council, convened for business, or any authorized assembly or meeting, public or private; a number of persons appointed or elected to sit in council for the management or direction of some public or private business or trust; as, the Board of Admiralty; a board of trade; a board of directors, trustees, commissioners, etc. Both better acquainted with affairs than any other who sat then at that board. Clarendon. We may judge from their letters to the board. Porteus. 5. A square or oblong piece of thin wood or other material used for some special purpose, as, a molding board; a board or surface painted or arranged for a game; as, a chessboard; a backgammon board. 6. Paper made thick and stiff like a board, for book covers, etc.; pasteboard; as, to bind a book in boards. 7. pl. The stage in a theater; as, to go upon the boards, to enter upon the theatrical profession. 8. [In this use originally perh. a different word meaning border, margin; cf. D. boord, G. bord, shipboard, and G. borte trimming; also F. bord (fr. G.) the side of a ship. Cf. Border.] The border or side of anything. (Naut.) (a) The side of a ship. ½Now board to board the rival vessels row.¸ Dryden. See On board, below. (b) The stretch which a ship makes in one tack. µ Board is much used adjectively or as the last part of a compound; as, fir board, clapboard, floor board, shipboard, sideboard, ironing board, chessboard, cardboard, pasteboard, seaboard; board measure. The American Board, a shortened form of ½The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions¸ (the foreign missionary society of the American Congregational churches). Ð Bed and board. See under Bed. Ð Board and board (Naut.), side by side. Ð Board of control, six privy councilors formerly appointed to superintend the affairs of the British East Indies. Stormonth. Ð Board rule, a figured scale for finding without calculation the number of square feet in a board. Haldeman. Ð Board of trade, in England, a committee of the privy council appointed to superintend matters relating to trade. In the United States, a body of men appointed for the advancement and protection of their business interests; a chamber of commerce. Ð Board wages. (a) Food and lodging supplied as compensation for services; as, to work hard, and get only board wages. (b) Money wages which are barely sufficient to buy food and lodging. (c) A separate or special allowance of wages for the procurement of food, or food and lodging. Dryden. Ð By the board, over the board, or side. ½The mast went by the board.¸ Totten. Hence (Fig.), To go by the board, to suffer complete destruction or overthrow. Ð To enter on the boards, to have one's name inscribed on a board or tablet in a college as a student. [Cambridge, England.] ½Having been entered on the boards of Trinity college.¸ Hallam. Ð To make a good board (Naut.), to sail in a straight line when closeÐhauled; to lose little to leeward. Ð To make short boards, to tack frequently. Ð On board. (a) On shipboard; in a ship or a boat; on board of; as, I came on board early; to be on board ship. (b) In or into a railway car or train. [Colloq. U. S.] Ð Returning board, a board empowered to canvass and make an official statement of the votes cast at an election. [U.S.] Board, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Boarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Boarding.] 1. To cover with boards or boarding; as, to board a house. ½The boarded hovel.¸ Cowper. 2. [Cf. Board to accost, and see Board, n.] To go on board of, or enter, as a ship, whether in a hostile or a friendly way. You board an enemy to capture her, and a stranger to receive news or make a communication. Totten. 3. To enter, as a railway car. [Colloq. U. S.] 4. To furnish with regular meals, or with meals and lodgings, for compensation; to supply with daily meals. 5. To place at board, for compensation; as, to board one's horse at a livery stable. Board (?), v. i. To obtain meals, or meals and lodgings, statedly for compensation; as, he boards at the hotel. We are several of us, gentlemen and ladies, who board in the same house. Spectator. Board, v. t. [F. aborder. See Abord, v. t.] To approach; to accost; to address; hence, to woo. [Obs.] I will board her, though she chide as loud As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack. Shak. Board¶aÏble (?), a. That can be boarded, as a ship. Board¶er (?), n. 1. One who has food statedly at another's table, or meals and lodgings in his house, for pay, or compensation of any kind. 2. (Naut.) One who boards a ship; one selected to board an enemy's ship. Totten. Board¶ing, n. 1. (Naut.) The act of entering a ship, whether with a hostile or a friendly purpose. Both slain at one time, as they attempted the boarding of a frigate. Sir F. Drake. 2. The act of covering with boards; also, boards, collectively; or a covering made of boards. 3. The act of supplying, or the state of being supplied, with regular or specified meals, or with meals and lodgings, for pay. Boarding house, a house in which boarders are kept. Ð Boarding nettings (Naut.), a strong network of cords or ropes erected at the side of a ship to prevent an enemy from boarding it. Ð Boarding pike (Naut.), a pike used by sailors in boarding a vessel, or in repelling an attempt to board it. Totten. Ð Boarding school, a school in which pupils receive board and lodging as well as instruction. Boar¶fish· (?), n. (Zo”l.) (a) A Mediterranean fish (Capros aper), of the family Caproid‘; Ð so called from the resemblance of the extended lips to a hog's snout. (b) An Australian percoid fish (Histiopterus recurvirostris), valued as a food fish. Boar¶ish, a. Swinish; brutal; cruel. In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs. Shak. Boast (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Boasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Boasting.] [OE. bosten, boosten, v., bost, boost, n., noise, boasting; cf. G. bausen, bauschen, to swell, pusten, Dan. puste, Sw. pusta, to blow, Sw. p”sa to swell; or W. bostio to boast, bost boast, Gael. bosd. But these last may be from English.] 1. To vaunt one's self; to brag; to say or tell things which are intended to give others a high opinion of one's self or of things belonging to one's self; as, to boast of one's exploits courage, descent, wealth. ? grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your selves: .. not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph. ii. 8, 9. 2. To speak in exulting language of another; to glory; to exult. In God we boast all the day long. Ps. xiiv. 8 Syn. Ð 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 selfÐcommendation; 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; Ð followed by of and the thing to which the boasting relates. [Archaic] Boast not thyself of toÏmorrow. Prov. xxvii.? 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, Ð 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 broadÐfaced chisel. Boast¶ful (?), a. Given to, or full of, boasting; inclined to boast; vaunting; vainglorious; selfÐpraising. Ð Boast¶fulÏly, adv. Ð Boast¶fulÏness, n. Boast¶ing, n. The act of glorying or vaunting; vainglorious speaking; ostentatious display. When boasting ends, then dignity begins. Young. Boast¶ingÏly, adv. Boastfully; with boasting. ½He boastingly tells you.¸ Burke. Boast¶ive (?), a. Presumptuous. [R.] Boast¶less, a. Without boasting or ostentation. Boat (?), n. [OE. boot, bat, AS. b¾t; akin to Icel. b¾tr, Sw. b†t, 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. µ 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.
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µ Boat is much used either adjectively or in combination; as, boat builder or boatbuilder; boat building or boatbuilding; boat hook or boathook; boathouse; boat keeper or boatkeeper; boat load; boat race; boat racing; boat rowing; boat song; boatlike; boatÐshaped. Advice boat. See under Advice. Ð Boat hook (Naut.), an iron hook with a point on the back, fixed to a long pole, to pull or push a boat, raft, log, etc. Totten. Ð Boat rope, a rope for fastening a boat; Ð usually called a painter. Ð In same boat, in the same situation or predicament. [Colloq.] F. W. Newman. Boat (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Boated; p. pr. & vb. n. Boating.] 1. To transport in a boat; as, to boat goods. 2. To place in a boat; as, to boat oars. To boat the oars. See under Oar. Boat, v. i. To go or row in a boat. I boated over, ran my craft aground. Tennyson. Boat¶aÏble (?), a. 1. Such as can be transported in a boat. 2. Navigable for boats, or small river craft. The boatable waters of the Alleghany. J. Morse. Boat¶age (?), n. Conveyance by boat; also, a charge for such conveyance. Boat¶bill· (?), n. (Zo”l.) 1. A wading bird (Cancroma cochlearia) of the tropical parts of South America. Its bill is somewhat like a boat with the keel uppermost. 2. A perching bird of India, of the genus Eurylaimus. Boat¶ bug· (?). (Zo”l.) An aquatic hemipterous insect of the genus Notonecta; Ð so called from swimming on its back, which gives it the appearance of a little boat. Called also boat fly, boat insect, boatman, and water boatman. Boat¶ful (?), n.; pl. Boatfuls. The quantity or amount that fills a boat. Boat¶house· (?), n. A house for sheltering boats. Half the latticed boathouse hides. Wordsworth. Boat¶ing, n. 1. The act or practice of rowing or sailing, esp. as an amusement; carriage in boats. 2. In Persia, a punishment of capital offenders, by laying them on the back in a covered boat, where they are left to perish. BoÏa¶tion (?), n. [L. boatus, fr. boare to roar.] A crying out; a roaring; a bellowing; reverberation. [Obs.] The guns were heard ... about a hundred Italian miles, in long boations. Derham. Boat¶man (?), n.; pl. Boatmen (?). 1. A man who manages a boat; a rower of a boat. As late the boatman hies him home. Percival. 2. (Zo”l.) A boat bug. See Boat bug. Boat¶manÏship, n. The art of managing a boat. Boat¶Ðshaped· (?), a. (Bot.) See Cymbiform. Boat¶ shell· (?). (Zo”l.) (a) A marine gastropod of the genus Crepidula. The species are numerous. It is so named from its form and interior deck. (b) A marine univalve shell of the genus Cymba. Boats¶man (?), n. A boatman. [Archaic] Boat¶swain (?), n. [Boat + swain.] 1. (Naut.) An officer who has charge of the boats, sails, rigging, colors, anchors, cables, cordage, etc., of a ship, and who also summons the crew, and performs other duties. 2. (Zo”l.) (a) The jager gull. (b) The tropic bird. Boatswain's mate, an assistant of the boatswain. Totten. Boat¶Ðtail· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A large grackle or blackbird (Quiscalus major), found in the Southern United States. Boat¶wom·an (?), n.; pl. Boatwomen (?). A woman who manages a boat. Bob (?), n. [An onomatopoetic word, expressing quick, jerky motion; OE. bob bunch, bobben to strike, mock, deceive. Cf. Prov. Eng. bob, n., a ball, an engine beam, bunch, blast, trick, taunt, scoff; as, a v., to dance, to courtesy, to disappoint, OF. bober to mock.] 1. Anything that hangs so as to play loosely, or with a short abrupt motion, as at the end of a string; a pendant; as, the bob at the end of a kite's tail. In jewels dressed and at each ear a bob. Dryden. 2. A knot of worms, or of rags, on a string, used in angling, as for eels; formerly, a worm suitable for bait. Or yellow bobs, turned up before the plow, Are chiefest baits, with cork and lead enow. Lauson. 3. A small piece of cork or light wood attached to a fishing line to show when a fish is biting; a float. 4. The ball or heavy part of a pendulum; also, the ball or weight at the end of a plumb line. 5. A small wheel, made of leather, with rounded edges, used in polishing spoons, etc. 6. A short, jerking motion; act of bobbing; as, a bob of the head. 7. (Steam Engine) A working beam. 8. A knot or short curl of hair; also, a bob wig. A plain brown bob he wore. Shenstone. 9. A peculiar mode of ringing changes on bells. 10. The refrain of a song. To bed, to bed, will be the bob of the song. L'Estrange. 11. A blow; a shake or jog; a rap, as with the fist. 12. A jeer or flout; a sharp jest or taunt; a trick. He that a fool doth very wisely hit, Doth very foolishly, although he smart, Not to seem senseless of the bob. Shak. 13. A shilling. [Slang, Eng.] Dickens. Bob (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bobbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bobbing.] [OE. bobben. See Bob, n.] 1. To cause to move in a short, jerking manner; to move (a thing) with a bob. ½He bobbed his head.¸ W. Irving. 2. To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap. If any man happened by long sitting to sleep... he was suddenly bobbed on the face by the servants. Elyot. 3. To cheat; to gain by fraud or cheating; to filch. Gold and jewels that I bobbed from him. Shak. 4. To mock or delude; to cheat. To play her pranks, and bob the fool, The shrewish wife began. Turbervile. 5. To cut short; as, to bob the hair, or a horse's tail. Bob, v. i. 1. To have a short, jerking motion; to play to and fro, or up and down; to play loosely against anything. ½Bobbing and courtesying.¸ Thackeray. 2. To angle with a bob. See Bob, n., 2 & 3. He ne'er had learned the art to bob For anything but eels. Saxe. To bob at an apple, cherry, etc. to attempt to bite or seize with the mouth an apple, cherry, or other round fruit, while it is swinging from a string or floating in a tug of water. Ø Bo¶bac (?), n. (Zo”l.) The Poland marmot (Arctomys bobac). BoÏbance¶ (?), n. [OF. bobance, F. bombance, boasting, pageantry, fr. L. bombus a humming, buzzing.] A boasting. [Obs.] Chaucer. Bob¶ber (?), n. One who, or that which, bobs. Bob¶berÏy (?), n. [Prob. an AngloÐIndian form of Hindi b¾p re O thou father! (a very disrespectful address).] A squabble; a tumult; a noisy disturbance; as, to raise a bobbery. Halliwell. Bob¶bin (?), n. [F. bobine; of uncertain origin; cf. L. bombus a humming, from the noise it makes, or Ir. & Gael. baban tassel, or E. bob.] 1. A small pin, or cylinder, formerly of bone, now most commonly of wood, used in the making of pillow lace. Each thread is wound on a separate bobbin which hangs down holding the thread at a slight tension. 2. A spool or reel of various material and construction, with a head at one or both ends, and sometimes with a hole bored through its length by which it may be placed on a spindle or pivot. It is used to hold yarn or thread, as in spinning or warping machines, looms, sewing machines, etc. 3. The little rounded piece of wood, at the end of a latch string, which is pulled to raise the latch. 4. (Haberdashery) A fine cord or narrow braid. 5. (Elec.) A cylindrical or spoolÐshaped coil or insulated wire, usually containing a core of soft iron which becomes magnetic when the wire is traversed by an electrical current. Bobbin and fly frame, a roving machine. Ð Bobbin lace, lace made on a pillow with bobbins; pillow lace. Bob·biÏnet¶ (?), n. [Bobbin + net.] A kind of cotton lace which is wrought by machines, and not by hand. [Sometimes written bobbin net.] The English machineÐmade net is now confined to point net, warp net, and bobbin net, so called from the peculiar construction of the machines by which they are produced. Tomlinsom. Bob¶binÏwork· (?), n. Work woven with bobbins. Bob¶bish (?), a. Hearty; in good spirits. [Low, Eng.] Dickens. Bob¶by (?), n. A nickname for a policeman; Ð from Sir Robert Peel, who remodeled the police force. See Peeler. [Slang, Eng.] Dickens. Bob¶Ðcher·ry (?), n. A play among children, in which a cherry, hung so as to bob against the mouth, is to be caught with the teeth. Bob¶fly· (?), n. (Fishing) The fly at the end of the leader; an end fly. Bob¶oÏlink· (?), n. (Zo”l.) An American singing bird (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). The male is black and white; the female is brown; Ð called also, ricebird, reedbird, and Boblincoln. The happiest bird of our spring is the bobolink. W. Irving. Bob¶sled· (?), Bob¶sleigh· (?), n. A short sled, mostly used as one of a pair connected by a reach or coupling; also, the compound sled so formed. [U. S.] The long wagon body set on bobsleds. W. D. Howells. Bob¶stay· (?), n. [Bob + stay.] (Naut.) A rope or chain to confine the bowsprit of a ship downward to the stem or cutwater; Ð usually in the pl. Bob¶tail· (?), n. [Bob + tail.] An animal (as a horse or dog) with a short tail. Rag, tag, and bobtail, the rabble. Bob¶tail·, a. Bobtailed. ½Bobtail cur.¸ Marryat. Bob¶tailed· (?), a. Having the tail cut short, or naturally short; curtailed; as, a bobtailed horse or dog; a bobtailed coat. Bob¶white· (?), n. (Zo”l.) The common qua? of North America (Colinus, or Ortyx, Virginianus); Ð so called from its note. Bob¶ wig· (?). A short wig with bobs or short curls; Ð called also bobtail wig. Spectator. Bo¶cal (?), n. [F.] A cylindrical glass vessel, with a large and short neck. BoÏcar¶do (?), n. [A mnemonic word.] 1. (Logic) A form of syllogism of which the first and third propositions are particular negatives, and the middle term a universal affirmative. Baroko and Bocardo have been stumbling blocks to the logicians. Bowen. 2. A prison; Ð originally the name of the old north gate in Oxford, which was used as a prison. [Eng.] Latimer. Boc¶aÏsine (?), n. [F. bocassin, boucassin.] A sort of fine buckram. Ø Boc¶ca (?), n. [It., mouth.] The round hole in the furnace of a glass manufactory through which the fused glass is taken out. Craig. Boce (?), n. [L. box, bocis, Gr. ?, ?.] (Zo”l.) A European fish (Box vulgaris), having a compressed body and bright colors; Ð called also box, and bogue. Bock¶ beer· (?). [G. bockbier; bock a buck + bier beer; Ð said to be so named from its tendency to cause the drinker to caper like a goat.] A strong beer, originally made in Bavaria. [Also written buck beer.] Bock¶eÏlet (?), n. (Zo”l.) A kind of longÏwinged hawk; Ð called also bockerel, and bockeret. [Obs.] Bock¶ey (?), n. [D. bokaal.] A bowl or vessel made from a gourd. [Local, New York] Bartlett. Bock¶ing, n. A coarse woolen fabric, used for floor cloths, to cover carpets, etc.; Ð so called from the town of Bocking, in England, where it was first made. Bock¶land (?), n. See Bookland. Bod¶dice (?), n. See Bodick. Bode (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Boded; p. pr. & vb. n. Boding.] [OE. bodien, AS. bodian to announce, tell from bod command; akin to Icel. bo?a to announce, Sw. b†da to announce, portend. ?89. See Bid.] To indicate by signs, as future events; to be the omen of; to portend to presage; to foreshow. A raven that bodes nothing but mischief. Goldsmith. Good onset bodes good end. Spenser. Bode, v. i. To foreshow something; to augur. Whatever now The omen proved, it boded well to you. Dryden. Syn. Ð To forebode; foreshadow; augur; betoken. Bode, n. 1. An omen; a foreshadowing. [Obs.] The owl eke, that of death the bode bringeth. Chaucer. 2. A bid; an offer. [Obs. or Dial.] Sir W. Scott Bode, n. [AS. boda; akin to OFries. boda, AS. bodo, OHG. boto. See Bode, v. t.] A messenger; a herald. Robertson. Bode, n. [See Abide.] A stop; a halting; delay. [Obs.] Bode, imp. & p. p. from Bide. Abode. There that night they bode. Tennyson. Bode, p. p. of Bid. Bid or bidden. [Obs.] Chaucer. Bode¶ful (?), a. Portentous; ominous. Carlyle. Bode¶ment (?), n. An omen; a prognostic. [Obs.] This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl Makes all these bodements. Shak. Bodge (?), n. A botch; a patch. [Dial.] Whitlock. Bodge (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bodged (?).] To botch; to mend clumsily; to patch. [Obs. or Dial.] Bodge, v. i. See Budge. Bo¶diÏan (?), n. (Zo”l.) A large food fish (Diagramma lineatum), native of the East Indies. Bod¶ice (?), n. [This is properly the plural of body, Oe. bodise a pair of bodies, equiv. to a bodice. Cf. Corset, and see Body.] 1. A kind of under waist stiffened with whalebone, etc., worn esp. by women; a corset; stays. 2. A closeÏfitting outer waist or vest forming the upper part of a woman's dress, or a portion of it. Her bodice half way she unlaced. Prior. Bod¶iced (?), a. Wearing a bodice. Thackeray. Bod¶ied (?), a. Having a body; Ð usually in composition; as, ableÐbodied. A doe ... not altogether so fat, but very good flesh and good bodied. Hakluyt. Bod¶iÏless (?), a. 1. Having no body. 2. Without material form; incorporeal. Phantoms bodiless and vain. Swift. Bod¶iÏliÏness (?), n. Corporeality. Minsheu. Bod¶iÏly (?), a. 1. Having a body or material form; physical; corporeal; consisting of matter. You are a mere spirit, and have no knowledge of the bodily part of us. Tatler. 2. Of or pertaining to the body, in distinction from the mind. ½Bodily defects.¸ L'Estrange. 3. Real; actual; put in execution. [Obs.] Be brought to bodily act. Shak. Bodily fear, apprehension of physical injury. Syn. Ð See Corporal. Bod¶iÏly, adv. 1. Corporeally; in bodily form; united with a body or matter; in the body. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Col.ii.9 2. In respect to, or so as to affect, the entire body of
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