Chapter XXXVIII: Appendix: Vermiformis (17)

BATTER Bat"ter, n. Etym: [OE. batere, batire; cf. OF. bateure, bature, a beating. See Batter, v. t.]

1. A semi-liquid mixture of several ingredients, as, flour, eggs, milk, etc. , beaten together and used in cookery. King.

2. Paste of clay or loam. Holland.

3. (Printing)

Defn: A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form.

BATTER Bat"ter, n.

Defn: A backward slope in the face of a wall or of a bank; receding slope. Batter rule, an instrument consisting of a rule or frame, and a plumb line, by which the batter or slope of a wall is regulated in building.

BATTER Bat"ter, v. i. (Arch.)

Defn: To slope gently backward.

BATTER Bat"ter, n.

Defn: One who wields a bat; a batsman.

BATTERER Bat"ter*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, batters.

BATTERING-RAM Bat"ter*ing-ram`, n.

Defn: 1. (Mil.) An engine used in ancient times to beat down the walls of besieged places.

Note: It was a large beam, with a head of iron, which was sometimes made to resemble the head of a ram. It was suspended by ropes t a beam supported by posts, and so balanced as to swing backward and forward, and was impelled by men against the wall. Grose.

2. A blacksmith's hammer, suspended, and worked horizontally.

BATTERING TRAIN Bat"ter*ing train`. (Mil.)

Defn: A train of artillery for siege operations.

BATTERY Bat"ter*y, n.; pl. Batteries. Etym: [F. batterie, fr. battre. See Batter, v. t.]

1. The act of battering or beating.

2. (Law)

Defn: The unlawful beating of another. It includes every willful, angry and violent, or negligent touching of another's person or clothes, or anything attached to his person or held by him.

3. (Mil.) (a) Any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, for attack or defense. (b) Two or more pieces of artillery in the field. (c) A company or division of artillery, including the gunners, guns, horses, and all equipments. In the United States, a battery of flying artillery consists usually of six guns. Barbette battery. See Barbette. -- Battery d'enfilade, or Enfilading battery, one that sweeps the whole length of a line of troops or part of a work. -- Battery en écharpe, one that plays obliquely. -- Battery gun, a gun capable of firing a number, of shots simultaneously or successively without stopping to load. -- Battery wagon, a wagon employed to transport the tools and materials for repair of the carriages, etc., of the battery. -- In battery, projecting, as a gun, into an embrasure or over a parapet in readiness for firing. -- Masked battery, a battery artificially concealed until required to open upon the enemy. -- Out of battery, or From battery, withdrawn, as a gun, to a position for loading.

4. (Elec.) (a) A number of coated jars (Leyden jars) so connected that they may be charged and discharged simultaneously. (b) An apparatus for generating voltaic electricity.

Note: In the trough battery, copper and zinc plates, connected in pairs, divide the trough into cells, which are filled with an acid or oxidizing liquid; the effect is exhibited when wires connected with the two end-plates are brought together. In Daniell's battery, the metals are zinc and copper, the former in dilute sulphuric acid, or a solution of sulphate of zinc, the latter in a saturated solution of sulphate of copper. A modification of this is the common gravity battery, so called from the automatic action of the two fluids, which are separated by their specific gravities. In Grove's battery, platinum is the metal used with zinc; two fluids are used, one of them in a porous cell surrounded by the other. In Bunsen's or the carbon battery, the carbon of gas coke is substituted for the platinum of Grove's. In Leclanché's battery, the elements are zinc in a solution of ammonium chloride, and gas carbon surrounded with manganese dioxide in a porous cell. A secondary battery is a battery which usually has the two plates of the same kind, generally of lead, in dilute sulphuric acid, and which, when traversed by an electric current, becomes charged, and is then capable of giving a current of itself for a time, owing to chemical changes produced by the charging current. A storage battery is a kind of secondary battery used for accumulating and storing the energy of electrical charges or currents, usually by means of chemical work done by them; an accumulator.

5. A number of similar machines or devices in position; an apparatus consisting of a set of similar parts; as, a battery of boilers, of retorts, condensers, etc.

6. (Metallurgy)

Defn: A series of stamps operated by one motive power, for crushing ores containing the precious metals. Knight.

7. The box in which the stamps for crushing ore play up and down.

8. (Baseball)

Defn: The pitcher and catcher together.

BATTING Bat"ting, n.

1. The act of one who bats; the management of a bat in playing games of ball. Mason.

2. Cotton in sheets, prepared for use in making quilts, etc.; as, cotton batting.

BATTLE Bat"tle, a.

Defn: Fertile. See Battel, a. [Obs.]

BATTLE Bat"tle, n. Etym: [OE. bataille, bataile, F. bataille battle, OF., battle, battalion, fr. L. battalia, battualia, the fighting and fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators, fr. batuere to strike, beat. Cf. Battalia, 1st Battel, and see Batter, v. t. ]

1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat.

2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life. The whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem of the best poet of that day. H. Morley.

3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.] The king divided his army into three battles. Bacon. The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every action. Robertson.

4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia. [Obs.] Hayward.

Note: Battle is used adjectively or as the first part of a self- explaining compound; as, battle brand, a "brand" or sword used in battle; battle cry; battlefield; battle ground; battlearray; battle song. Battle piece, a painting, or a musical composition, representing a battle. -- Battle royal. (a) A fight between several gamecocks, where the one that stands longest is the victor. Grose. (b) A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two are engaged; a mêlée. Thackeray. -- Drawn battle, one in which neither party gains the victory. -- To give battle, to attack an enemy. -- To join battle, to meet the attack; to engage in battle. -- Pitched battle, one in which the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the forces. -- Wager of battle. See under Wager, n.

Syn. -- Conflict; encounter; contest; action. Battle, Combat, Fight, Engagement. These words agree in denoting a close encounter between contending parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied to the encounter of a few individuals, and more commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight. A combat is a close encounter, whether between few or many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or intermingled in the conflict.

BATTLE Bat"tle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Battled (p. pr. & vb. n. Battling.] Etym: [F. batailler, fr. bataille. See Battle, n.]

Defn: To join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over theories. To meet in arms, and battle in the plain. Prior.

BATTLE Bat"tle, v. t.

Defn: To assail in battle; to fight.

BATTLE-AX; BATTLE-AXE Bat"tle-ax` Bat"tle-axe`, n. (Mil.)

Defn: A kind of broadax formerly used as an offensive weapon.

BATTLED Bat"tled, p. p.

Defn: Embattled. [Poetic] Tennyson.

BATTLEDOOR Bat"tle*door`, n. Etym: [OE. batyldour. A corrupted form of uncertain origin; cf. Sp. batallador a great combatant, he who has fought many battles, Pg. batalhador, Pr. batalhador, warrior, soldier, fr. L. battalia; or cf. Pr. batedor batlet, fr. batre to beat, fr. L. batuere. See Battle, n.]

1. An instrument, with a handle and a flat part covered with parchment or crossed with catgut, used to strike a shuttlecock in play; also, the play of battledoor and shuttlecock.

2. Etym: [OE. battleder.]

Defn: A child's hornbook. [Obs.] Halliwell.

BATTLEMENT Bat"tle*ment, n. Etym: [OE. batelment; cf. OF. bataillement combat, fr. batailler, also OF. bastillier, bateillier, to fortify. Cf. Battle, n., Bastile, Bastion.] (Arch.) (a) One of the solid upright parts of a parapet in ancient fortifications. (b) pl. The whole parapet, consisting of alternate solids and open spaces. At first purely a military feature, afterwards copied on a smaller scale with decorative features, as for churches.

BATTLEMENTED Bat"tle*ment*ed, a.

Defn: Having battlements. A battlemented portal. Sir W. Scott.

BATTLE RANGE Bat"tle range`. (Mil.)

Defn: The range within which the fire of small arms is very destructive. With the magazine rifle, this is six hundred yards.

BATTLE SHIP Battle ship. (Nav.)

Defn: An armor-plated man-of-war built of steel and heavily armed, generally having from ten thousand to fifteen thousand tons displacement, and intended to be fit to meet the heaviest ships in line of battle.

BATTOLOGIST Bat*tol"o*gist, n.

Defn: One who battologizes.

BATTOLOGIZE Bat*tol"o*gize, v. t.

Defn: To keep repeating needlessly; to iterate. Sir T. Herbert.

BATTOLOGY Bat*tol"o*gy, n. Etym: [F. battologie, fr. Gr. ; a stammerer + speech.]

Defn: A needless repetition of words in speaking or writing. Milton.

BATTON Bat"ton, n.

Defn: See Batten, and Baton.

BATTUE Bat"tue`, n. Etym: [F. battue, fr. battre to beat. See Batter, v. t., and cf. Battuta.] (Hunting) (a) The act of beating the woods, bushes, etc., for game. (b) The game itself. (c) The wanton slaughter of game. Howitt.

BATTURE Bat`ture", n. Etym: [F., fr. battre to beat. ]

Defn: An elevated river bed or sea bed.

BATTUTA Bat*tu"ta, n. Etym: [It. battuta, fr. battere to beat.] (Mus.)

Defn: The measuring of time by beating.

BATTY Bat"ty, a.

Defn: Belonging to, or resembling, a bat. "Batty wings." Shak.

BATULE Bat"ule, n.

Defn: A springboard in a circus or gymnasium; -- called also batule board.

BATZ Batz, n.; pl. Batzen. Etym: [Ger. batz, batze, batzen, a coin bearing the image of a bear, Ger. bätz, betz, bear.]

Defn: A small copper coin, with a mixture of silver, formerly current in some parts of Germany and Switzerland. It was worth about four cents.

BAUBEE Bau*bee", n.

Defn: Same as Bawbee.

BAUBLE Bau"ble, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. baubel a child's plaything, F. babiole, It. babbola, LL. baubellum gem, jewel, L. babulus,a baburrus, foolish.]

1. A trifling piece of finery; a gewgaw; that which is gay and showy without real value; a cheap, showy plaything. The ineffective bauble of an Indian pagod. Sheridan.

2. The fool's club. [Obs.] "A fool's bauble was a short stick with a head ornamented with an ass's ears fantastically carved upon it." Nares.

BAUBLING Bau"bling

Defn: , a. See Bawbling. [Obs.]

BAUDEKIN Bau"de*kin, n. Etym: [OE. bawdekin rich silk stuff, OF. baudequin. See Baldachin.]

Defn: The richest kind of stuff used in garments in the Middle Ages, the web being gold, and the woof silk, with embroidery : -- made originally at Bagdad. [Spelt also baudkin, baudkyn, bawdekin, and baldakin.] Nares.

BAUDRICK Bau"drick, n.

Defn: A belt. See Baldric.

BAUK; BAULK Bauk, Baulk, n. & v.

Defn: See Balk.

BAUME Bau`mé", a.

Defn: Designating or conforming to either of the scales used by the French chemist Antoine Baumé in the graduation of his hydrometers; of or relating to Baumé's scales or hydrometers. There are two Baumé hydrometers. One, which is used with liquids heavier than water, sinks to 0º in pure water, and to 15º in a 15 per cent salt solution; the other, for liquids lighter than water, sinks to 0º in a 10 per cent salt solution and to 10º in pure water. In both cases the graduation, based on the distance between these fundamental points, is continued along the stem as far as desired. Since all the degrees on a Baumé scale are thus equal in length, while those on a specific- gravity scale grow smaller as the density increases, there is no simple relation between degrees Bé. and Sp. gr. However, readings on Baumés scale may be approximately reduced to specific gravities by the following formulæ (x in each case being the reading on Baumé's scale) : (a) for liquids heavier than water, sp. gr. = 144 ÷ (144 - x); (b) for liquids lighter than water, sp. gr. = 144 ÷ (134 + x).

BAUNSCHEIDTISM Baun"scheidt*ism, n. Etym: [From the introducer, a German named Baunscheidt.] (Med.)

Defn: A form of acupuncture, followed by the rubbing of the part with a stimulating fluid.

BAUXITE; BEAUXITE Baux"ite, Beaux"ite,n. Etym: [F., fr. Baux or Beaux, near Arles.] (Min.)

Defn: A ferruginous hydrate of alumina. It is largely used in the preparation of aluminium and alumina, and for the lining of furnaces which are exposed to intense heat.

BAVARDAGE Ba`var`dage", n. [F.]

Defn: Much talking; prattle; chatter. Byron.

BAVARIAN Ba*va"ri*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Bavaria. -- n.

Defn: A native or an inhabitant of Bavaria. Bavarian cream. See under Cream.

BAVAROY Bav"a*roy, n. Etym: [F. Bavarois Bavarian.]

Defn: A kind of cloak or surtout. [Obs.] Johnson. Let the looped bavaroy the fop embrace. Gay.

BAVIAN Ba"vi*an, n. Etym: [See Baboon.]

Defn: A baboon.

BAVIN Bav"in, n. Etym: [Cf. Gael. & Ir. baban tuft, tassel.]

1. A fagot of brushwood, or other light combustible matter, for kindling fires; refuse of brushwood. [Obs. or Dial. Eng.]

2. Impure limestone. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

BAWBEE Baw*bee", n. Etym: [Perh. corrupt. fr. halfpenny.]

Defn: A halfpenny. [Spelt also baubee.] [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

BAWBLE Baw"ble, n.

Defn: A trinket. See Bauble.

BAWBLING Baw"bling, a.

Defn: Insignificant; contemptible. [Obs.]

BAWCOCK Baw"cock, n. Etym: [From F. beau fine + E. cock (the bird); or more prob. fr. OF. baud bold, gay + E. cock. Cf. Bawd.]

Defn: A fine fellow; -- a term of endearment. [Obs.] "How now, my bawcock " Shak.

BAWD Bawd, n. Etym: [OE. baude, OF. balt, baut, baude, bold, merry, perh. fr. OHG. bald bold; or fr. Celtic, cf. W. baw dirt. Cf. Bold, Bawdry.]

Defn: A person who keeps a house of prostitution, or procures women for a lewd purpose; a procurer or procuress; a lewd person; -- usually applied to a woman.

BAWD Bawd, v. i.

Defn: To procure women for lewd purposes.

BAWDILY Bawd"i*ly, adv.

Defn: Obscenely; lewdly.

BAWDINESS Bawd"i*ness, n.

Defn: Obscenity; lewdness.

BAWDRICK Bawd"rick, n.

Defn: A belt. See Baldric.

BAWDRY Bawd"ry, n. Etym: [OE. baudery, OF. bauderie, balderie, boldness, joy. See Bawd.]

1. The practice of procuring women for the gratification of lust.

2. Illicit intercourse; fornication. Shak.

3. Obscenity; filthy, unchaste language. "The pert style of the pit bawdry." Steele.

BAWDY Bawd"y, a.

1. Dirty; foul; -- said of clothes. [Obs.] It [a garment] is al bawdy and to-tore also. Chaucer.

2. Obscene; filthy; unchaste. "A bawdy story." Burke.

BAWDYHOUSE Baw"dy*house`, n.

Defn: A house of prostitution; a house of ill fame; a brothel.

BAWHORSE Baw"horse`, n.

Defn: Same as Bathorse.

BAWL Bawl, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bawled (p. pr. & vb. n. Bawling.] Etym: [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]

1. To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate.

2. To cry loudly, as a child from pain or vexation.

BAWL Bawl, v. t.

Defn: To proclaim with a loud voice, or by outcry, as a hawker or town-crier does. Swift.

BAWL Bawl, n.

Defn: A loud, prolonged cry; an outcry.

BAWLER Bawl"er, n.

Defn: One who bawls.

BAWN Bawn, n. Etym: [Ir. & Gael. babhun inclosure, bulwark.]

1. An inclosure with mud or stone walls, for keeping cattle; a fortified inclosure. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. A large house. [Obs.] Swift.

BAWREL Baw"rel, n. Etym: [Cf. It. barletta a tree falcon, or hobby.]

Defn: A kind of hawk. [Obs.] Halliwell.

BAWSIN; BAWSON Baw"sin, Baw"son, n. Etym: [OE. bawson, baucyne, badger (named from its color), OF. bauzan, baucant, bauchant, spotted with white, pied; cf. It. balzano, F. balzan, a white-footed horse, It. balza border, trimming, fr. L. balteus belt, border, edge. Cf. Belt.]

1. A badger. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

2. A large, unwieldy person. [Obs.] Nares.

BAXTER Bax"ter, n. Etym: [OE. bakestre, bakistre, AS. bæcestre, prop. fem. of bæcere baker. See Baker.]

Defn: A baker; originally, a female baker. [Old Eng. & Scotch]

BAY Bay, a. Etym: [F. bai, fr. L. badius brown, chestnutcolored; -- used only of horses.]

Defn: Reddish brown; of the color of a chestnut; -- applied to the color of horses. Bay cat (Zoöl.), a wild cat of Africa and the East Indies (Felis aurata). -- Bay lynx (Zoöl.), the common American lynx (Felis, or Lynx, rufa).

BAY Bay, n. Etym: [F. baie, fr. LL. baia. Of uncertain origin: cf. Ir. & Gael. badh or bagh bay harbor, creek; Bisc. baia, baiya, harbor, and F. bayer to gape, open the mouth.]

1. (Geol.)

Defn: An inlet of the sea, usually smaller than a gulf, but of the same general character.

Note: The name is not used with much precision, and is often applied to large tracts of water, around which the land forms a curve; as, Hudson's Bay. The name is not restricted to tracts of water with a narrow entrance, but is used foe any recess or inlet between capes or headlands; as, the Bay of Biscay.

2. A small body of water set off from the main body; as a compartment containing water for a wheel; the portion of a canal just outside of the gates of a lock, etc.

3. A recess or indentation shaped like a bay.

4. A principal compartment of the walls, roof, or other part of a building, or of the whole building, as marked off by the buttresses, vaulting, mullions of a window, etc.; one of the main divisions of any structure, as the part of a bridge between two piers.

5. A compartment in a barn, for depositing hay, or grain in the stalks.

6. A kind of mahogany obtained from Campeachy Bay. Sick bay, in vessels of war, that part of a deck appropriated to the use of the sick. Totten.

BAY Bay, n. Etym: [F. baie a berry, the fruit of the laurel and other trees, fr. L. baca, bacca, a small round fruit, a berry, akin to Lith. bapka laurel berry.]

1. A berry, particularly of the laurel. [Obs.]

2. The laurel tree (Laurus nobilis). Hence, in the plural, an honorary garland or crown bestowed as a prize for victory or excellence, anciently made or consisting of branches of the laurel. The patriot's honors and the poet's bays. Trumbull.

3. A tract covered with bay trees. [Local, U. S.] Bay leaf, the leaf of the bay tree (Laurus nobilis). It has a fragrant odor and an aromatic taste.

BAY Bay, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bayed (p. pr. & vb. n. Baying.] Etym: [ OE. bayen, abayen, OF. abaier, F. aboyer, to bark; of uncertain origin.]

Defn: To bark, as a dog with a deep voice does, at his game. The hounds at nearer distance hoarsely bayed. Dryden.

BAY Bay, v. t.

Defn: To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay; as, to bay the bear. Shak.

BAY Bay, n. Etym: [See Bay, v. i.]

1. Deep-toned, prolonged barking. "The bay of curs." Cowper.

2. Etym: [OE. bay, abay, OF. abai, F. aboi barking, pl. abois, prop. the extremity to which the stag is reduced when surrounded by the dogs, barking (aboyant); aux abois at bay.]

Defn: A state of being obliged to face an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible. Embolden'd by despair, he stood at bay. Dryden. The most terrible evils are just kept at bay by incessant efforts. I. Taylor

BAY Bay, v. t. Etym: [Cf. OE. bæwen to bathe, and G. bähen to foment.]

Defn: To bathe. [Obs.] Spenser.

BAY Bay, n.

Defn: A bank or dam to keep back water.

BAY Bay, v. t.

Defn: To dam, as water; -- with up or back.

BAYA Ba"ya, n. Etym: [Native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The East Indian weaver bird (Ploceus Philippinus).

BAYAD; BAYATTE Ba*yad", Ba*yatte", n. Etym: [Ar. bayad.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large, edible, siluroid fish of the Nile, of two species (Bagrina bayad and B. docmac).

BAYADERE Ba`ya*dere", n. Etym: [F., from Pg. bailadeira a female dancer, bailar to dance.]

Defn: A female dancer in the East Indies. [Written also bajadere.]

BAYAMO Ba*ya"mo, n. (Meteor.)

Defn: A violent thunder squall occurring on the south coast of Cuba, esp. near Bayamo. The gusts, called bayamo winds, are modified foehn winds.

BAY-ANTLER Bay"-ant`ler, n. Etym: [See Bez-Antler.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The second tine of a stag's horn. See under Antler.

BAYARD Bay"ard, n.

1. Etym: [OF. bayard, baiart, bay horse; bai bay + -ard. See Bay, a., and -ard.]

Defn: Properly, a bay horse, but often any horse. Commonly in the phrase blind bayard, an old blind horse. Blind bayard moves the mill. Philips.

2. Etym: [Cf. F. bayeur, fr. bayer to gape.]

Defn: A stupid, clownish fellow. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

BAYARDLY Bay"ard*ly, a.

Defn: Blind; stupid. [Obs.] "A formal and bayardly round of duties." Goodman.

BAYBERRY Bay"ber*ry, n. (Bot.) (a) The fruit of the bay tree or Laurus nobilis. (b) A tree of the West Indies related to the myrtle (Pimenta acris). (c) The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle); the shrub itself; -- called also candleberry tree. Bayberry tallow, a fragrant green wax obtained from the bayberry or wax myrtle; -- called also myrtle wax.

BAYBOLT Bay"bolt`, n.

Defn: A bolt with a barbed shank.

BAYED Bayed, a.

Defn: Having a bay or bays. "The large bayed barn." Drayton.

BAYEUX TAPESTRY Ba`yeux" tap"es*try.

Defn: A piece of linen about 1 ft. 8 in. wide by 213 ft. long, covered with embroidery representing the incidents of William the Conqueror's expedition to England, preserved in the town museum of Bayeux in Normandy. It is probably of the 11th century, and is attributed by tradition to Matilda, the Conqueror's wife.

BAY ICE Bay" ice`.

Defn: See under Ice.

BAY LEAF Bay" leaf`.

Defn: See under 3d Bay.

BAYMAN Bay"man, n. (Nav.)

Defn: In the United States navy, a sick-bay nurse; -- now officially designated as hospital apprentice.

BAYONET Bay"o*net, n. Etym: [F. bayonnette, baïonnette; -- so called, it is said, because the first bayonets were made at Bayonne.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: A pointed instrument of the dagger kind fitted on the muzzle of a musket or rifle, so as to give the soldier increased means of offense and defense.

Note: Originally, the bayonet was made with a handle, which required to be fitted into the bore of the musket after the soldier had fired.

2. (Mach.)

Defn: A pin which plays in and out of holes made to receive it, and which thus serves to engage or disengage parts of the machinery. Bayonet clutch. See Clutch. -- Bayonet joint, a form of coupling similar to that by which a bayonet is fixed on the barrel of a musket. Knight.

BAYONET Bay"o*net, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bayoneted; p. pr. & vb. n. Bayoneting.]

1. To stab with a bayonet.

2. To compel or drive by the bayonet. To bayonet us into submission. Burke.

BAYOU Bay"ou, n.; pl. Bayous (.Etym: [North Am. Indian bayuk, in F. spelling bayouc, bayouque.]

Defn: An inlet from the Gulf of Mexico, from a lake, or from a large river, sometimes sluggish, sometimes without perceptible movement except from tide and wind. [Southern U. S.] A dark slender thread of a bayou moves loiteringly northeastward into a swamp of huge cypresses. G. W. Cable.

BAYOU STATE Bay"ou State`.

Defn: Mississippi; -- a nickname, from its numerous bayous.

BAY RUM Bay" rum".

Defn: A fragrant liquid, used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes.

Note: The original bay rum, from the West Indies, is prepared, it is believed, by distillation from the leaves of the bayberry (Myrcia acris). The bay rum of the Pharmacopoeia (spirit of myrcia) is prepared from oil of myrcia (bayberry), oil of orange peel, oil of pimento, alcohol, and water.

BAYS; BAYZE Bays, Bayze, n.

Defn: See Baize. [Obs.]

BAY SALT Bay" salt`.

Defn: Salt which has been obtained from sea water, by evaporation in shallow pits or basins, by the heat of the sun; the large crystalline salt of commerce. Bacon. Ure.

BAY STATE Bay State.

Defn: Massachusetts, which had been called the Colony of Massachusetts Bay; -- a nickname.

BAY TREE Bay" tree`.

Defn: A species of laurel. (Laurus nobilis).

BAY WINDOW Bay" win"dow. (Arch.)

Defn: A window forming a bay or recess in a room, and projecting outward from the wall, either in a rectangular, polygonal, or semicircular form; -- often corruptly called a bow window.

BAY YARN Bay" yarn`.

Defn: Woolen yarn. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

BAZAAR; BAZAR Ba*zaar" Ba*zar", n. Etym: [Per. bazar market.]

1. In the East, an exchange, marketplace, or assemblage of shops where goods are exposed for sale.

2. A spacious hall or suite of rooms for the sale of goods, as at a fair.

3. A fair for the sale of fancy wares, toys, etc., commonly for a charitable objects. Macaulay.

BDELLIUM Bdel"lium, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. ; cf. Heb. b'dolakh bdellium (in sense 1).]

1. An unidentified substance mentioned in the Bible (Gen. ii. 12, and Num. xi. 7), variously taken to be a gum, a precious stone, or pearls, or perhaps a kind of amber found in Arabia.

2. A gum resin of reddish brown color, brought from India, Persia, and Africa.

Note: Indian bdellium or false myrrh is an exudation from Balsamodendron Roxb. Other kinds are known as African, Sicilian, etc.

BDELLOIDEA Bdel*loi"de*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. leech + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The order of Annulata which includes the leeches. See Hirudinea.

BDELLOMETER Bdel*lom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. leech + -meter.] (Med.)

Defn: A cupping glass to which are attached a scarificator and an exhausting syringe. Dunglison.

BDELLOMORPHA Bdel`lo*mor"pha,n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. leech + form.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of Nemertina, including the large leechlike worms (Malacobdella) often parasitic in clams.

BE Be, v. i. [imp. Was; p. p. Been; p. pr. & vb. n. Being.] Etym: [OE. been, beon, AS. beón to be, beóm I am; akin to OHG. bim, pim, G. bin, I am, Gael. & Ir. bu was, W. bod to be, Lith. bu-ti, O. Slav. by-ti, to be, L. fu-i I have been, fu-turus about to be, fo-re to be about to be, and perh to fieri to become, Gr. to be born, to be, Skr. bh to be. This verb is defective, and the parts lacking are supplied by verbs from other roots, is, was, which have no radical connection with be. The various forms, am, are, is, was, were, etc., are considered grammatically as parts of the verb "to be", which, with its conjugational forms, is often called the substantive verb. Future, Physic.]

1. To exist actually, or in the world of fact; to have ex To be contents his natural desire. Pope. To be, or not to be: that is the question. Shak.

2. To exist in a certain manner or relation, -- whether as a reality or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, -- a word or words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity; three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence; that is the man.

3. To take place; to happen; as, the meeting was on Thursday.

4. To signify; to represent or symbolize; to answer to. The field is the world. Matt. xiii. 38. The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Rev. i. 20.

Note: The verb to be (including the forms is, was, etc.) is used in forming the passive voice of other verbs; as, John has been struck by James. It is also used with the past participle of many intransitive verbs to express a state of the subject. But have is now more commonly used as the auxiliary, though expressing a different sense; as, "Ye have come too late -- but ye are come. " "The minstrel boy to the war is gone." The present and imperfect tenses form, with the infinitive, a particular future tense, which expresses necessity, duty, or purpose; as, government is to be supported; we are to pay our just debts; the deed is to be signed to-morrow.

Note: Have or had been, followed by to, implies movement. "I have been to Paris." Sydney Smith. "Have you been to Franchard " R. L. Stevenson.

Note: Been, or ben, was anciently the plural of the indicative present. "Ye ben light of the world." Wyclif, Matt. v. 14. Afterwards be was used, as in our Bible: "They that be with us are more than they that be with them." 2 Kings vi. 16. Ben was also the old infinitive: "To ben of such power." R. of Gloucester. Be is used as a form of the present subjunctive: "But if it be a question of words and names." Acts xviii. 15. But the indicative forms, is and are, with if, are more commonly used. Be it so, a phrase of supposition, equivalent to suppose it to be so; or of permission, signifying let it be so. Shak. -- If so be, in case. -- To be from, to have come from; as, from what place are you I am from Chicago. -- To let be, to omit, or leave untouched; to let alone. "Let be, therefore, my vengeance to dissuade." Spenser.

Syn. -- To be, Exist. The verb to be, except in a few rare case, like that of Shakespeare's "To be, or not to be", is used simply as a copula, to connect a subject with its predicate; as, man is mortal; the soul is immortal. The verb to exist is never properly used as a mere copula, but points to things that stand forth, or have a substantive being; as, when the soul is freed from all corporeal alliance, then it truly exists. It is not, therefore, properly synonymous with to be when used as a copula, though occasionally made so by some writers for the sake of variety; as in the phrase "there exists [is] no reason for laying new taxes." We may, indeed, say, "a friendship has long existed between them," instead of saying, "there has long been a friendship between them;" but in this case, exist is not a mere copula. It is used in its appropriate sense to mark the friendship as having been long in existence.

BE Be*. Etym: [AS. be, and in accented form bi, akin to OS. be and bi, OHG. bi, pi, and pi, MHG. be and bi, G. be and bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. about (cf. AS. beseón to look about). By, Amb-.]

Defn: A prefix, originally the same word as by; joined with verbs, it serves: (a) To intensify the meaning; as, bespatter, bestir. (b) To render an intransitive verb transitive; as, befall (to fall upon); bespeak (to speak for). (c) To make the action of a verb particular or definite; as, beget (to get as offspring); beset (to set around).

Note: It is joined with certain substantives, and a few adjectives, to form verbs; as, bedew, befriend, benight, besot; belate (to make late); belittle (to make little). It also occurs in certain nouns, adverbs, and prepositions, often with something of the force of the preposition by, or about; as, belief (believe), behalf, bequest (bequeath); because, before, beneath, beside, between. In some words the original force of be is obscured or lost; as, in become, begin, behave, behoove, belong.

BEACH Beach, n.; pl. Beaches (. Etym: [Cf. Sw. backe hill, Dan. bakke, Icel. bakki hill, bank. Cf. Bank.]

1. Pebbles, collectively; shingle.

2. The shore of the sea, or of a lake, which is washed by the waves; especially, a sandy or pebbly shore; the strand. Beach flea (Zoöl.), the common name of many species of amphipod Crustacea, of the family Orchestidæ, living on the sea beaches, and leaping like fleas. -- Beach grass (Bot.), a coarse grass (Ammophila arundinacea), growing on the sandy shores of lakes and seas, which, by its interlaced running rootstocks, binds the sand together, and resists the encroachment of the waves. -- Beach wagon, a light open wagon with two or more seats. -- Raised beach, an accumulation of water-worn stones, gravel, sand, and other shore deposits, above the present level of wave action, whether actually raised by elevation of the coast, as in Norway, or left by the receding waters, as in many lake and river regions.

BEACH Beach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beached (p. pr. & vb. n. Beaching.]

Defn: To run or drive (as a vessel or a boat) upon a beach; to strand; as, to beach a ship.

BEACH COMBER Beach" comb`er.

Defn: A long, curling wave rolling in from the ocean. See Comber. [Amer.]

BEACHED Beached, p. p. & a.

1. Bordered by a beach. The beached verge of the salt flood. Shak.

2. Driven on a beach; stranded; drawn up on a beach; as, the ship is beached.

BEACHY Beach"y, a.

Defn: Having a beach or beaches; formed by a beach or beaches; shingly. The beachy girdle of the ocean. Shak.

BEACON Bea"con, n. Etym: [OE. bekene, AS. beácen, b; akin to OS. b, Fries. baken, beken, sign, signal, D. baak, OHG. bouhhan, G. bake; of unknown origin. Cf. Beckon.]

1. A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning. No flaming beacons cast their blaze afar. Gay.

2. A signal or conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners.

3. A high hill near the shore. [Prov. Eng.]

4. That which gives notice of danger. Modest doubt is called The beacon of the wise. Shak. Beacon fire, a signal fire.

BEACON Bea"con, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beaconed (p. pr. & vb. n. Beaconing.]

1. To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine. That beacons the darkness of heaven. Campbell.

2. To furnish with a beacon or beacons.

BEACONAGE Bea"con*age, n.

Defn: Money paid for the maintenance of a beacon; also, beacons, collectively.

BEACONLESS Bea"con*less, a.

Defn: Having no beacon.

BEAD Bead, n. Etym: [OE. bede prayer, prayer bead, AS. bed, gebed, prayer; akin to D. bede, G. bitte, AS. biddan, to ask, bid, G. bitten to ask, and perh. to Gr. to persuade, L. fidere to trust. Beads are used by the Roman Catholics to count their prayers, one bead being dropped down a string every time a prayer is said. Cf. Sp. cuenta bead, fr. contar to count. See Bid, in to bid beads, and Bide.]

1. A prayer. [Obs.]

2. A little perforated ball, to be strung on a thread, and worn for ornament; or used in a rosary for counting prayers, as by Roman Catholics and Mohammedans, whence the phrases to tell beads, to at one's beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer.

3. Any small globular body; as, (a) A bubble in spirits. (b) A drop of sweat or other liquid. "Cold beads of midnight dew." Wordsworth. (c) A small knob of metal on a firearm, used for taking aim (whence the expression to draw a bead, for, to take aim). (d) (Arch.) A small molding of rounded surface, the section being usually an arc of a circle. It may be continuous, or broken into short embossments. (e) (Chem.) A glassy drop of molten flux, as borax or microcosmic salt, used as a solvent and color test for several mineral earths and oxides, as of iron, manganese, etc., before the blowpipe; as, the borax bead; the iron bead, etc. Bead and butt (Carp.), framing in which the panels are flush, having beads stuck or run upon the two edges. Knight. -- Beat mold, a species of fungus or mold, the stems of which consist of single cells loosely jointed together so as to resemble a string of beads. [Written also bead mould.] -- Bead tool, a cutting tool, having an edge curved so as to make beads or beading. -- Bead tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus Melia, the best known species of which (M. azedarach), has blue flowers which are very fragrant, and berries which are poisonous.

BEAD Bead, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Beading.]

Defn: To ornament with beads or beading.

BEAD Bead, v. i.

Defn: To form beadlike bubbles.

BEADHOUSE; BEDEHOUSE Bead"house`, Bede"house`, n. Etym: [OE. bede prayer + E. house. See Bead, n.]

Defn: An almshouse for poor people who pray daily for their benefactors.

BEADING Bead"ing, n.

1. (Arch.)

Defn: Molding in imitation of beads.

2. The beads or bead-forming quality of certain liquors; as, the beading of a brand of whisky.

BEADLE Bea"dle, n. Etym: [OE. bedel, bidel, budel, OF. bedel, F. bedeau, fr. OHG. butil, putil, G. büttel, fr. OHG. biotan, G. bieten, to bid, confused with AS. bydel, the same word as OHG. butil. See. Bid, v.]

1. A messenger or crier of a court; a servitor; one who cites or bids persons to appear and answer; -- called also an apparitor or summoner.

2. An officer in a university, who precedes public processions of officers and students. [Eng.]

Note: In this sense the archaic spellings bedel (Oxford) and bedell (Cambridge) are preserved.

3. An inferior parish officer in England having a variety of duties, as the preservation of order in church service, the chastisement of petty offenders, etc.

BEADLERY Bea"dle*ry, n.

Defn: Office or jurisdiction of a beadle.

BEADLESHIP Bea"dle*ship, n.

Defn: The state of being, or the personality of, a beadle. A. Wood.

BEAD PROOF Bead" proof`.

1. Among distillers, a certain degree of strength in alcoholic liquor, as formerly ascertained by the floating or sinking of glass globules of different specific gravities thrown into it; now ascertained by more accurate meters.

2. A degree of strength in alcoholic liquor as shown by beads or small bubbles remaining on its surface, or at the side of the glass, when shaken.

BEADROLL Bead"roll`, n. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A catalogue of persons, for the rest of whose souls a certain number of prayers are to be said or counted off on the beads of a chaplet; hence, a catalogue in general. On Fame's eternal beadroll worthy to be field. Spenser. It is quite startling, on going over the beadroll of English worthies, to find how few are directly represented in the male line. Quart. Rev.

BEADSMAN; BEDESMAN Beads"man, Bedes"man, n.; pl. -men (.

Defn: A poor man, supported in a beadhouse, and required to pray for the soul of its founder; an almsman. Whereby ye shall bind me to be your poor beadsman for ever unto Almighty God. Fuller.

BEADSNAKE Bead"snake`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small poisonous snake of North America (Elaps fulvius), banded with yellow, red, and black.

BEADSWOMAN; BEDESWOMAN Beads"wom`an, Bedes"wom`an, n.; pl. -women (.

Defn: Fem. of Beadsman.

BEADWORK Bead"work`, n.

Defn: Ornamental work in beads.

BEADY Bead"y, a.

1. Resembling beads; small, round, and glistening. "Beady eyes." Thackeray.

2. Covered or ornamented with, or as with, beads.

3. Characterized by beads; as, beady liquor.

BEAGLE Bea"gle, n. Etym: [OE. begele; perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. beag small, little, W. bach. F. bigle is from English.]

1. A small hound, or hunting dog, twelve to fifteen inches high, used in hunting hares and other small game. See Illustration in Appendix.

2. Fig.: A spy or detective; a constable.

BEAK Beak, n. Etym: [OE. bek, F. bec, fr. Celtic; cf. Gael. & Ir. bac, bacc, hook, W. bach.]

Defn: 1. (Zoöl.) (a) The bill or nib of a bird, consisting of a horny sheath, covering the jaws. The form varied much according to the food and habits of the bird, and is largely used in the classification of birds. (b) A similar bill in other animals, as the turtles. (c) The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects, and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. (d) The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. (e) The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal.

2. Anything projecting or ending in a point, like a beak, as a promontory of land. Carew.

3. (Antiq.)

Defn: A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, in order to pierce the vessel of an enemy; a beakhead.

4. (Naut.)

Defn: That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee.

5. (Arch.)

Defn: A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off.

6. (Bot.)

Defn: Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant.

7. (Far.)

Defn: A toe clip. See Clip, n. (Far.).

8. A magistrate or policeman. [Slang, Eng.]

BEAKED Beaked, a.

1. Having a beak or a beaklike point; beak-shaped. "Each beaked promontory." Milton.

2. (Biol.)

Defn: Furnished with a process or a mouth like a beak; rostrate. Beaked whale (Zoöl.), a cetacean of the genus Hyperoodon; the bottlehead whale.

BEAKER Beak"er, n. Etym: [OE. biker; akin to Icel. bikarr, Sw. bägare, Dan. baeger, G. becher, It. bicchiere; -- all fr. LL. bicarium, prob. fr. Gr. wine jar, or perh. L. bacar wine vessel. Cf. Pitcher a jug.]

1. A large drinking cup, with a wide mouth, supported on a foot or standard.

2. An open-mouthed, thin glass vessel, having a projecting lip for pouring; -- used for holding solutions requiring heat. Knight.

BEAKHEAD Beak"head`, n.

1. (Arch.)

Defn: An ornament used in rich Norman doorways, resembling a head with a beak. Parker.

2. (Naut.) (a) A small platform at the fore part of the upper deck of a vessel, which contains the water closets of the crew. (b) (Antiq.) Same as Beak, 3.

BEAKIRON Beak"i*ron, n. Etym: [From Bickern.]

Defn: A bickern; a bench anvil with a long beak, adapted to reach the interior surface of sheet metal ware; the horn of an anvil.

BEAL Beal (, n. Etym: [See Boil a tumor.] (Med.)

Defn: A small inflammatory tumor; a pustule. [Prov. Eng.]

BEAL Beal, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bealed (; p. pr & vb. n. Bealing.]

Defn: To gather matter; to swell and come to a head, as a pimple. [Prov. Eng.]

BE-ALL Be"-all`, n.

Defn: The whole; all that is to be. [Poetic] Shak.

BEAM Beam, n. Etym: [AS. beám beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. bam tree, OS. b, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. ba, Goth. bahms and Gr. a growth, to become, to be. Cf. L. radius staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. Be; cf. Boom a spar.]

1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship. The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks. Totten.

3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another.

4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended. The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. Pope.

5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches.

6. The pole of a carriage. [Poetic] Dryden.

7. A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam.

8. The straight part or shank of an anchor.

9. The main part of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it.

10. (Steam Engine)

Defn: A heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft; -- called also working beam or walking beam.

11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat. How far that little candle throws his beams ! Shak.

12. Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort. Mercy with her genial beam. Keble.

13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather. Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams, and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed. -- Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of an engine vibrates. -- Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles. -- Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft. -- Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that point of the compass toward which the ship steers. -- On the beam , in a line with the beams, or at right angled with the keel. -- On the weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind. -- To be on her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her beams approach a vertical position.

BEAM Beam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beamed (p. pr. & vb. n. Beaming.]

Defn: To send forth; to emit; -- followed ordinarily by forth; as, to beam forth light.

BEAM Beam, v. i.

Defn: To emit beams of light. He beamed, the daystar of the rising age. Trumbull.

BEAMBIRD Beam"bird`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European flycatcher (Muscicapa gricola), so called because it often nests on a beam in a building.

BEAMED Beamed, a.

Defn: Furnished with beams, as the head of a stag. Tost his beamed frontlet to the sky. Sir W. Scott.

BEAMFUL Beam"ful, a.

Defn: Beamy; radiant.

BEAMILY Beam"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a beaming manner.

BEAMINESS Beam"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being beamy.

BEAMING Beam"ing, a.

Defn: Emitting beams; radiant.

BEAMINGLY Beam"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a beaming manner; radiantly.

BEAMLESS Beam"less, a.

1. Not having a beam.

2. Not emitting light.

BEAMLET Beam"let, n.

Defn: A small beam of light.

BEAM TREE Beam" tree`. Etym: [AS. beám a tree. See Beam.] (Bot.)

Defn: A tree (Pyrus aria) related to the apple.

BEAMY Beam"y, a.

1. Emitting beams of light; radiant; shining. "Beamy gold." Tickell.

2. Resembling a beam in size and weight; massy. His double-biting ax, and beamy spear. Dryden.

3. Having horns, or antlers. Beamy stags in toils engage. Dryden.

BEAN Bean, n. Etym: [OE. bene, AS.beán; akin to D. boon, G. bohne, OHG. p, Icel. baun, Dan. bönne, Sw. böna, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to the seed of certain leguminous herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and Dolichos; also, to the herbs.

Note: The origin and classification of many kinds are still doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and China bean, included in Dolichos Sinensis; black Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, D. Lablab; the common haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and pole beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the lower bush bean, Ph. vulgaris, variety nanus; Lima bean, Ph. lunatus; Spanish bean and scarlet runner, Ph. maltiflorus; Windsor bean, the common bean of England, Faba vulgaris. As an article of food beans are classed with vegetables.

2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more or less resembling true beans. Bean aphis (Zoöl.), a plant louse (Aphis fabæ) which infests the bean plant. -- Bean fly (Zoöl.), a fly found on bean flowers. -- Bean goose (Zoöl.), a species of goose (Anser segetum). -- Bean weevil (Zoöl.), a small weevil that in the larval state destroys beans. The American species in Bruchus fabæ. -- Florida bean (Bot.), the seed of Mucuna urens, a West Indian plant. The seeds are washed up on the Florida shore, and are often polished and made into ornaments. -- Ignatius bean, or St. Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species of Strychnos. -- Navy bean, the common dried white bean of commerce; probably so called because an important article of food in the navy. -- Pea bean, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the edible white bean; -- so called from its size. -- Sacred bean. See under Sacred. -- Screw bean. See under Screw. -- Sea bean. (a) Same as Florida bean. (b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament. -- Tonquin bean, or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of Dipteryx odorata, a leguminous tree. -- Vanilla bean. See under Vanilla.

BEAN CAPER Bean" ca`per. (Bot.)

Defn: A deciduous plant of warm climates, generally with fleshy leaves and flowers of a yellow or whitish yellow color, of the genus Zygophyllum.

BEAN TREFOIL Bean" tre"foil. (Bot.)

Defn: A leguminous shrub of southern Europe, with trifoliate leaves (Anagyris foetida).

BEAR Bear, v. t. [imp. Bore (formerly Bare (); p. p. Born, Borne (p. pr. & vb. n. Bearing.] Etym: [OE. beren, AS. beran, beoran, to bear, carry, produce; akin to D. baren to bring forth, G. gebären, Goth. baíran to bear or carry, Icel. bera, Sw. bära, Dan. bære, OHG. beran, peran, L. ferre to bear, carry, produce, Gr. , OSlav brati to take, carry, OIr. berim I bear, Skr. bh to bear. sq. root92. Cf. Fertile.]

1. To support or sustain; to hold up.

2. To support and remove or carry; to convey. I 'll bear your logs the while. Shak.

3. To conduct; to bring; -- said of persons. [Obs.] Bear them to my house. Shak.

4. To possess and use, as power; to exercise. Every man should bear rule in his own house. Esther i. 22.

5. To sustain; to have on (written or inscribed, or as a mark), as, the tablet bears this inscription.

6. To possess or carry, as a mark of authority or distinction; to wear; as, to bear a sword, badge, or name.

7. To possess mentally; to carry or hold in the mind; to entertain; to harbor Dryden. The ancient grudge I bear him. Shak.

8. To endure; to tolerate; to undergo; to suffer. Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne. Pope. I cannot bear The murmur of this lake to hear. Shelley. My punishment is greater than I can bear. Gen. iv. 13.

9. To gain or win. [Obs.] Some think to bear it by speaking a great word. Bacon. She was . . . found not guilty, through bearing of friends and bribing of the judge. Latimer.

10. To sustain, or be answerable for, as blame, expense, responsibility, etc. He shall bear their iniquities. Is. liii. 11. Somewhat that will bear your charges. Dryden.

11. To render or give; to bring forward. "Your testimony bear" Dryden.

12. To carry on, or maintain; to have. "The credit of bearing a part in the conversation." Locke.

13. To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change. In all criminal cases the most favorable interpretation should be put on words that they can possibly bear. Swift.

14. To manage, wield, or direct. "Thus must thou thy body bear." Shak. Hence: To behave; to conduct. Hath he borne himself penitently in prison Shak.

15. To afford; to be to ; to supply with. bear him company. Pope.

16. To bring forth or produce; to yield; as, to bear apples; to bear children; to bear interest. Here dwelt the man divine whom Samos bore. Dryden.