B (continued 3)

1. A title or degree of nobility; originally, the possessor of a fief, who had feudal tenants under him; in modern times, in France and Germany, a nobleman next in rank below a count; in England, a nobleman of the lowest grade in the House of Lords, being next below a viscount.

Note: "The tenants in chief from the Crown, who held lands of the annual value of four hundred pounds, were styled Barons; and it is to them, and not to the members of the lowest grade of the nobility (to whom the title at the present time belongs), that reference is made when we read of the Barons of the early days of England's history . . . . Barons are addressed as 'My Lord,' and are styled 'Right Honorable.' All their sons and daughters 'Honorable.'" Cussans.

2. (Old Law)

Defn: A husband; as, baron and feme, husband and wife. [R.] Cowell. Baron of beef, two sirloins not cut asunder at the backbone. — Barons of the Cinque Ports, formerly members of the House of Commons, elected by the seven Cinque Ports, two for each port. — Baron of the exchequer, the judges of the Court of Exchequer, one of the three ancient courts of England, now abolished.

BARONAGE Bar"on*age, n. Etym: [OE. barnage, baronage, OF.barnage, F. baronnage; cf. LL. baronagium.]

1. The whole body of barons or peers. The baronage of the kingdom. Bp. Burnet.

2. The dignity or rank of a baron.

3. The land which gives title to a baron. [Obs.]

BARONESS Bar"on*ess, n.

Defn: A baron's wife; also, a lady who holds the baronial title in her own right; as, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts.

BARONET Bar"on*et, n. Etym: [Baron + -et.]

Defn: A dignity or degree of honor next below a baron and above a knight, having precedency of all orders of knights except those of the Garter. It is the lowest degree of honor that is hereditary. The baronets are commoners.

Note: The order was founded by James I. in 1611, and is given by patent. The word, however, in the sense of a lesser baron, was in use long before. "Baronets have the title of 'Sir' prefixed to their Christian names; their surnames being followed by their dignity, usually abbreviated Bart. Their wives are addressed as 'Lady' or 'Madam'. Their sons are possessed of no title beyond 'Esquire.'" Cussans.

BARONETAGE Bar"on*et*age, n.

1. State or rank of a baronet.

2. The collective body of baronets.

BARONETCY Bar"on*et*cy, n.

Defn: The rank or patent of a baronet.

BARONG Ba*rong", n. [Native name.]

Defn: A kind of cutting weapon with a thick back and thin razorlike edge, used by the Moros of the Philippine Islands.

BARONIAL Ba*ro"ni*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a baron or a barony. "Baronial tenure." Hallam.

BARONY Bar"o*ny, n.; pl. Baronies (. Etym: [OF. baronie, F. baronnie, LL. baronia. See Baron.]

1. The fee or domain of a baron; the lordship, dignity, or rank of a baron.

2. In Ireland, a territorial division, corresponding nearly to the English hundred, and supposed to have been originally the district of a native chief. There are 252 of these baronies. In Scotland, an extensive freehold. It may be held by a commoner. Brande & C.

BAROQUE Ba*roque", a. Etym: [F.; cf. It. barocco.] (Arch.)

Defn: In bad taste; grotesque; odd.

BAROSCOPE Bar"o*scope, n. Etym: [Gr. weight + -scope: cf. F. baroscope.]

Defn: Any instrument showing the changes in the weight of the atmosphere; also, less appropriately, any instrument that indicates - or foreshadows changes of the weather, as a deep vial of liquid holding in suspension some substance which rises and falls with atmospheric changes.

BAROSCOPIC; BAROSCOPICAL Bar`o*scop"ic, Bar`o*scop"ic*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or determined by, the baroscope.

BAROTHERMOGRAPH Bar`o*ther"mo*graph, n. [Gr. weight + thermograph.]

Defn: An instrument for recording both pressure and temperature, as of the atmosphere.

BAROUCHE Ba*rouche", n. Etym: [G. barutsche, It. baroccio, biroccio, LL. barrotium, fr. L. birotus two-wheeled; bi=bis twice + rota wheel.]

Defn: A four-wheeled carriage, with a falling top, a seat on the outside for the driver, and two double seats on the inside arranged so that the sitters on the front seat face those on the back seat.

BAROUCHET Ba`rou*chet", n.

Defn: A kind of light barouche.

BARPOST Bar"post`, n.

Defn: A post sunk in the ground to receive the bars closing a passage into a field.

BARQUE Barque, n.

Defn: Same as 3d Bark, n.

BARRACAN Bar"ra*can, n. Etym: [F. baracan, bouracan (cf. Pr. barracan, It. baracane, Sp. barragan, Pg. barregana, LL. barracanus), fr. Ar. barrakan a kind of black gown, perh. fr. Per. barak a garment made of camel's hair.]

Defn: A thick, strong stuff, somewhat like camlet; — still used for outer garments in the Levant.

BARRACK Bar"rack, n. Etym: [F. baraque, fr. It. baracca (cf. Sp. barraca), from LL. barra bar. See Bar, n.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: A building for soldiers, especially when in garrison. Commonly in the pl., originally meaning temporary huts, but now usually applied to a permanent structure or set of buildings. He lodged in a miserable hut or barrack, composed of dry branches and thatched with straw. Gibbon.

2. A movable roof sliding on four posts, to cover hay, straw, etc. [Local, U.S.]

BARRACK Bar"rack, v. t.

Defn: To supply with barracks; to establish in barracks; as, to barrack troops.

BARRACK Bar"rack, v. i.

Defn: To live or lodge in barracks.

BARRACLADE Bar"ra*clade, n. Etym: [D. baar, OD. baer, naked, bare + kleed garment, i.e., cloth undressed or without nap.]

Defn: A home-made woolen blanket without nap. [Local, New York] Bartlett.

BARRACOON Bar"ra*coon`, n. Etym: [Sp. or Pg. barraca. See Barrack.]

Defn: A slave warehouse, or an inclosure where slaves are quartered temporarily. Du Chaillu.

BARRACUDA; BARRACOUTA Bar`ra*cu"da, Bar`ra*cou"ta, n.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A voracious pikelike, marine fish, of the genus Sphyræna, sometimes used as food.

Note: That of Europe and our Atlantic coast is Sphyræna spet (or S. vulgaris); a southern species is S. picuda; the Californian is S. argentea.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large edible fresh-water fish of Australia and New Zealand (Thyrsites atun).

BARRAGE Bar"rage, n. Etym: [F., fr. barrer to bar, from barre bar.] (Engin.)

Defn: An artificial bar or obstruction placed in a river or water course to increase the depth of water; as, the barrages of the Nile.

BARRAMUNDI Bar`ra*mun"di, n. [Written also barramunda.] [Native name.] (Zoöl.) (a) A remarkable Australian fresh-water ganoid fish of the genus Ceratodus. (b) An Australian river fish (Osteoglossum Leichhardtii).

BARRANCA Bar*ran"ca, n. Etym: [Sp.]

Defn: A ravine caused by heavy rains or a watercourse. [Texas & N. Mex.]

BARRAS Bar"ras, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A resin, called also galipot.

BARRATOR Bar"ra*tor, n. Etym: [OE. baratour, OF. barateor deceiver, fr. OF. barater, bareter, to deceive, cheat, barter. See Barter, v. i.]

Defn: One guilty of barratry.

BARRATROUS Bar"ra*trous, (Law)

Defn: Tainter with, or constituting, barratry. — Bar"ra*trous*ly, adv. Kent.

BARRATRY Bar"ra*try, n. Etym: [Cf. F. baraterie, LL. barataria. See Barrator, and cf. Bartery.]

1. (Law)

Defn: The practice of exciting and encouraging lawsuits and quarrels. [Also spelt barretry.] Coke. Blackstone.

2. (Mar. Law)

Defn: A fraudulent breach of duty or willful act of known illegality on the part of a master of a ship, in his character of master, or of the mariners, to the injury of the owner of the ship or cargo, and without his consent. It includes every breach of trust committed with dishonest purpose, as by running away with the ship, sinking or deserting her, etc., or by embezzling the cargo. Kent. Part.

3. (Scots Law)

Defn: The crime of a judge who is influenced by bribery in pronouncing judgment. Wharton.

BARRED OWL Barred" owl". (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large American owl (Syrnium nebulosum); — so called from the transverse bars of a dark brown color on the breast.

BARREL Bar"rel, n.Etym: [OE. barel, F. baril, prob. fr. barre bar. Cf. Barricade.]

1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads.

2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 31

3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled.

4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged. Knight.

5. A jar. [Obs.] 1 Kings xvii. 12.

6. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The hollow basal part of a feather. Barrel bulk (Com.), a measure equal to five cubic feet, used in estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight. — Barrel drain (Arch.), a drain in the form of a cylindrical tube. — Barrel of a boiler, the cylindrical part of a boiler, containing the flues. — Barrel of the ear (Anat.), the tympanum, or tympanic cavity. — Barrel organ, an instrument for producing music by the action of a revolving cylinder. — Barrel vault. See under Vault.

BARREL Bar"rel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barreled (Barrelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Barreling, or Barrelling.]

Defn: To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels.

BARRELED; BARRELLED Bar"reled, Bar"relled, a.

Defn: Having a barrel; — used in composition; as, a double-barreled gun.

BARREL PROCESS Bar"rel proc"ess. (Metal.)

Defn: A process of extracting gold or silver by treating the ore in a revolving barrel, or drum, with mercury, chlorine, cyanide solution, or other reagent.

BARREN Bar"ren, a. Etym: [OE. barein, OF. brehaing, brehaigne, baraigne, F. bréhaigne; of uncertain origin; cf. Arm. brékha, markha, sterile; LL. brana a sterile mare, principally in Aquitanian and Spanish documents; Bisc. barau, baru, fasting.]

1. Incapable of producing offspring; producing no young; sterile; — She was barren of children. Bp. Hall.

2. Not producing vegetation, or useful vegetation; "Barren mountain tracts." Macaulay.

3. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty. Brilliant but barren reveries. Prescott. Some schemes will appear barren of hints and matter. Swift.

4. Mentally dull; stupid. Shak. Barren flower, a flower which has only stamens without a pistil, or which as neither stamens nor pistils. — Barren Grounds (Geog.), a vast tract in British America northward of the forest regions. — Barren Ground bear (Zoöl.), a peculiar bear, inhabiting the Barren Grounds, now believed to be a variety of the brown bear of Europe. — Barren Ground caribou (Zoöl.), a small reindeer (Rangifer Groenlandicus) peculiar to the Barren Grounds and Greenland.

BARREN Bar"ren, n.

1. A tract of barren land.

2. pl.

Defn: Elevated lands or plains on which grow small trees, but not timber; as, pine barrens; oak barrens. They are not necessarily sterile, and are often fertile. [Amer.] J. Pickering.

BARRENLY Bar"ren*ly, adv.

Defn: Unfruitfully; unproductively.

BARRENNESS Bar"ren*ness, n.

Defn: The condition of being barren; sterility; unproductiveness. A total barrenness of invention. Dryden.

BARRENWORT Bar"ren*wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: An herbaceous plant of the Barberry family (Epimedium alpinum), having leaves that are bitter and said to be sudorific.

BARRET Bar"ret, n. Etym: [F. barrette, LL. barretum a cap. See Berretta, and cf. Biretta.]

Defn: A kind of cap formerly worn by soldiers; — called also barret cap. Also, the flat cap worn by Roman Catholic ecclesiastics.

BARRETTER Bar"ret*ter, n. [OF. bareter to exchange. Cf. Barter.] (Wireless Teleg.)

Defn: A thermal cymoscope which operates by increased resistance when subjected to the influence of electric waves. The original form consisted of an extremely fine platinum wire loop attached to terminals and inclosed in a small glass or silver bulb. In a later variety, called the liquid barretter, wire is replace by a column of liquid in a very fine capillary tube.

BARRICADE Bar`ri*cade", n. Etym: [F. barricade, fr. Sp. barricada, orig. a barring up with casks; fr. barrica cask, perh. fr. LL. barra bar. See Bar, n., and cf. Barrel, n.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: A fortification, made in haste, of trees, earth, palisades, wagons, or anything that will obstruct the progress or attack of an enemy. It is usually an obstruction formed in streets to block an enemy's access.

2. Any bar, obstruction, or means of defense. Such a barricade as would greatly annoy, or absolutely stop, the currents of the atmosphere. Derham.

BARRICADE Bar`ri*cade", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barricaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Barricading.] Etym: [Cf. F. barricader. See Barricade, n.]

Defn: To fortify or close with a barricade or with barricades; to stop up, as a passage; to obstruct; as, the workmen barricaded the streets of Paris. The further end whereof [a bridge] was barricaded with barrels. Hakluyt.

BARRICADER Bar`ri*cad"er, n.

Defn: One who constructs barricades.

BARRICADO Bar`ri*ca"do, n. & v. t.

Defn: See Barricade. Shak.

BARRIER Bar"ri*er, n. Etym: [OE. barrere, barere, F. barrière, fr. barre bar. See Bar, n.]

1. (Fort.)

Defn: A carpentry obstruction, stockade, or other obstacle made in a passage in order to stop an enemy.

2. A fortress or fortified town, on the frontier of a country, commanding an avenue of approach.

3. pl.

Defn: A fence or railing to mark the limits of a place, or to keep back a crowd. No sooner were the barriers opened, than he paced into the lists. Sir W. Scott.

4. An any obstruction; anything which hinders approach or attack. "Constitutional barriers." Hopkinson.

5. Any limit or boundary; a line of separation. 'Twixt that [instinct] and reason, what a nice barrier ! Pope. Barrier gate, a heavy gate to close the opening through a barrier. — Barrier reef, a form of coral reef which runs in the general direction of the shore, and incloses a lagoon channel more or less extensive. — To fight at barriers, to fight with a barrier between, as a martial exercise. [Obs.]

BARRIGUDO Bar`ri*gu"do, n. Etym: [Native name, fr. Sp. barrigudo big-bellied.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large, dark-colored, South American monkey, of the genus Lagothrix, having a long prehensile tail.

BARRINGOUT Bar`ring*out", n.

Defn: The act of closing the doors of a schoolroom against a schoolmaster; — a boyish mode of rebellion in schools. Swift.

BARRIO Bar"ri*o, n.; pl. Barrios (#). [Sp.]

Defn: In Spain and countries colonized by Spain, a village, ward, or district outside a town or city to whose jurisdiction it belongs.

BARRISTER Bar"ris*ter, n. Etym: [From Bar, n.]

Defn: Counselor at law; a counsel admitted to plead at the bar, and undertake the public trial of causes, as distinguished from an attorney or solicitor. See Attorney. [Eng.]

BARROOM Bar"room`, n.

Defn: A room containing a bar or counter at which liquors are sold.

BARROW Bar"row, n. Etym: [OE. barow, fr. AS. beran to bear. See Bear to support, and cf. Bier.]

1. A support having handles, and with or without a wheel, on which heavy or bulky things can be transported by hand. See Handbarrow, and Wheelbarrow.

2. (Salt Works)

Defn: A wicker case, in which salt is put to drain.

BARROW Bar"row, n. Etym: [OE. barow, bargh, AS. bearg, bearh; akin to Icel. börgr, OHG. barh, barug, G. barch.

Defn: A hog, esp. a male hog castrated. Holland.

BARROW Bar"row, n. Etym: [OE. bergh, AS. beorg, beorh, hill, sepulchral mound; akin to G. berg mountain, Goth. bairgahei hill, hilly country, and perh. to Skr. b high, OIr. brigh mountain. Cf. Berg, Berry a mound, and Borough an incorporated town.]

1. A large mound of earth or stones over the remains of the dead; a tumulus.

2. (Mining)

Defn: A heap of rubbish, attle, etc.

BARROWIST Bar"row*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: A follower of Henry Barrowe, one of the founders of Independency or Congregationalism in England. Barrowe was executed for nonconformity in 1953.

BARRULET Bar"ru*let, n. Etym: [Dim. of bar, n.] (Her.)

Defn: A diminutive of the bar, having one fourth its width.

BARRULY Bar"ru*ly, a. (Her.)

Defn: Traversed by barrulets or small bars; — said of the field.

BARRY Bar"ry, a. (Her.)

Defn: , Divided into bars; — said of the field.

BARSE Barse, n. Etym: [AS. bears, bærs, akin to D. baars, G. bars, barsch. Cf. 1st Bass, n.]

Defn: The common perch. See 1st Bass. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

BARTENDER Bar"tend`er, n.

Defn: A barkeeper.

BARTER Bar"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bartered (p. pr. & vb. n. Bartering.] Etym: [OE. bartren, OF. barater, bareter, to cheat, exchange, perh. fr. Gr. to do, deal (well or ill), use practices or tricks, or perh. fr. Celtic; cf. Ir. brath treachery, W. brad. Cf. Barrator.]

Defn: To traffic or trade, by exchanging one commodity for another, in distinction from a sale and purchase, in which money is paid for the commodities transferred; to truck.

BARTER Bar"ter, v. t.

Defn: To trade or exchange in the way of barter; to exchange (frequently for an unworthy consideration); to traffic; to truck; — sometimes followed by away; as, to barter away goods or honor.

BARTER Bar"ter, n.

1. The act or practice of trafficking by exchange of commodities; an exchange of goods. The spirit of huckstering and barter. Burke.

2. The thing given in exchange.

Syn. — Exchange; dealing; traffic; trade; truck.

BARTERER Bar"ter*er, n.

Defn: One who barters.

BARTERY Bar"ter*y, n.

Defn: Barter. [Obs.] Camden.

BARTH Barth, n. Etym: [Etymol. unknown.]

Defn: A place of shelter for cattle. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

BARTHOLOMEW TIDE Bar*thol"o*mew tide`.

Defn: Time of the festival of St. Bartholomew, August 24th. Shak.

BARTIZAN Bar"ti*zan`, n. Etym: [Cf. Brettice.] (Arch.)

Defn: A small, overhanging structure for lookout or defense, usually projecting at an angle of a building or near an entrance gateway.

BARTLETT Bart"lett, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A Bartlett pear, a favorite kind of pear, which originated in England about 1770, and was called Williams' Bonchrétien. It was brought to America, and distributed by Mr. Enoch Bartlett, of Dorchester, Massachusetts.

BARTON Bar"ton, n. Etym: [AS. beret courtyard, grange; bere barley + t an inclosure. ]

1. The demesne lands of a manor; also, the manor itself. [Eng.] Burton.

2. A farmyard. [Eng.] Southey.

BARTRAM Bar"tram, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Bertram. Johnson.

BARWAY Bar"way`, n.

Defn: A passage into a field or yard, closed by bars made to take out of the posts.

BARWISE Bar"wise`, adv. (Her.)

Defn: Horizontally.

BARWOOD Bar"wood`, n.

Defn: A red wood of a leguminous tree (Baphia nitida), from Angola and the Gaboon in Africa. It is used as a dyewood, and also for ramrods, violin bows and turner's work.

BARYCENTRIC Bar`y*cen"tric, a. Etym: [Gr. heavy + center.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the center of gravity. See Barycentric calculus, under Calculus.

BARYPHONY Ba*ryph"o*ny, n. Etym: [Gr. heavy + a sound voice.] (Med.)

Defn: Difficulty of speech.

BARYSPHERE Bar"y*sphere, n. [Gr. heavy + sphere.] (Geol.)

Defn: The heavy interior portion of the earth, within the lithosphere.

BARYTA Ba*ry"ta, n. Etym: [Gr. heavy. Cf. Baria.] (Chem.)

Defn: An oxide of barium (or barytum); a heavy earth with a specific gravity above 4.

BARYTES Ba*ry"tes, n. Etym: [Gr. heavy: cf. Gr. heaviness, F. baryte.] (Min.)

Defn: Barium sulphate, generally called heavy spar or barite. See Barite.

BARYTIC Ba*ryt"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to baryta.

BARYTO-CALCITE Ba*ry"to-cal"cite, n. Etym: [Baryta + calcite.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral of a white or gray color, occurring massive or crystallized. It is a compound of the carbonates of barium and calcium.

BARYTONE; BARITONE Bar"y*tone, Bar"i*tone, a. Etym: [Gr. ; heavy + tone.]

1. (Mus.)

Defn: Grave and deep, as a kind of male voice.

2. (Greek Gram.)

Defn: Not marked with an accent on the last syllable, the grave accent being understood.

BARYTONE; BARITONE Bar"y*tone, Bar"i*tone, n. Etym: [F. baryton: cf. It. baritono.]

1. (Mus.) (a) A male voice, the compass of which partakes of the common bass and the tenor, but which does not descend as low as the one, nor rise as high as the other. (b) A person having a voice of such range. (c) The viola di gamba, now entirely disused.

2. (Greek Gram.)

Defn: A word which has no accent marked on the last syllable, the grave accent being understood.

BARYTUM Ba*ry"tum, n. Etym: [NL.] (Chem.)

Defn: The metal barium. See Barium. [R.]

BASAL Ba"sal, a.

Defn: Relating to, or forming, the base. Basal cleavage. See under Cleavage. — Basal plane (Crystallog.), one parallel to the lateral or horizontal axis.

BASAL-NERVED Ba"sal-nerved`, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having the nerves radiating from the base; — said of leaves.

BASALT Ba*salt", n. Etym: [N. basaltes (an African word), a dark and hard species of marble found in Ethiopia: cf. F. basalte.]

1. (Geol.)

Defn: A rock of igneous origin, consisting of augite and triclinic feldspar, with grains of magnetic or titanic iron, and also bottle- green particles of olivine frequently disseminated.

Note: It is usually of a greenish black color, or of some dull brown shade, or black. It constitutes immense beds in some regions, and also occurs in veins or dikes cutting through other rocks. It has often a prismatic structure as at the Giant's Causeway, in Ireland, where the columns are as regular as if the work of art. It is a very tough and heavy rock, and is one of the best materials for macadamizing roads.

2. An imitation, in pottery, of natural basalt; a kind of black porcelain.

BASALTIC Ba*salt"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. basaltique.]

Defn: Pertaining to basalt; formed of, or containing, basalt; as basaltic lava.

BASALTIFORM Ba*salt"i*form, a. Etym: [Basalt + -form.]

Defn: In the form of basalt; columnar.

BASALTOID Ba*salt"oid, a. Etym: [Basalt + -oid.]

Defn: Formed like basalt; basaltiform.

BASAN Bas"an, n.

Defn: Same as Basil, a sheepskin.

BASANITE Bas"a*nite, n. Etym: [L. basanites lapis, Gr. the touchstone: cf. F. basanite.] (Min.)

Defn: Lydian stone, or black jasper, a variety of siliceous or flinty slate, of a grayish or bluish black color. It is employed to test the purity of gold, the amount of alloy being indicated by the color left on the stone when rubbed by the metal.

BASBLEU Bas`bleu", n. Etym: [F., fr. bas stocking + bleu blue.]

Defn: A bluestocking; a literary woman. [Somewhat derisive]

BASCINET Bas"ci*net, n. Etym: [OE. bacinet, basnet, OF. bassinet, bacinet, F. bassinet, dim. of OF. bacin, F. bassin, a helmet in the form of a basin.]

Defn: A light helmet, at first open, but later made with a visor. [Written also basinet, bassinet, basnet.]

BASCULE Bas"cule, n. Etym: [F., a seesaw.]

Defn: In mechanics an apparatus on the principle of the seesaw, in which one end rises as the other falls. Bascule bridge, a counterpoise or balanced drawbridge, which is opened by sinking the counterpoise and thus lifting the footway into the air.

BASE Base, a. Etym: [OE. bass, F. bas, low, fr. LL. bassus thick, fat, short, humble; cf. L. Bassus, a proper name, and W. bas shallow. Cf. Bass a part in music.]

1. Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base shrubs. [Archaic] Shak.

2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] Shak.

3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] "A pleasant and base swain." Bacon.

4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic] Why bastard wherefore base Shak.

5. Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals.

6. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion.

7. Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base motives; base occupations. "A cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind." Robynson (More's Utopia). "Base ingratitude." Milton.

8. Not classical or correct. "Base Latin." Fuller.

9. Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin. [In this sense, commonly written bass.]

10. (Law)

Defn: Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate, one held by services not honorable; held by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. Base fee, formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord; now, a qualified fee. See note under Fee, n., 4. — Base metal. See under Metal.

Syn. — Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous; sordid; degraded. — Base, Vile, Mean. These words, as expressing moral qualities, are here arranged in the order of their strength, the strongest being placed first. Base marks a high degree of moral turpitude; vile and mean denote, in different degrees, the want of what is valuable or worthy of esteem. What is base excites our abhorrence; what is vile provokes our disgust or indignation; what is mean awakens contempt. Base is opposed to high-minded; vile, to noble; mean, to liberal or generous. Ingratitude is base; sycophancy is vile; undue compliances are mean.

BASE Base, n. Etym: [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. a stepping step, a base, pedestal, fr. to go, step, akin to E. come. Cf. Basis, and see Come.]

1. The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue. "The base of mighty mountains." Prescott.

2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork.

3. (Arch.) (a) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented. (b) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration.

4. (Bot.)

Defn: That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.

5. (Chem.)

Defn: The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt; — applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their property of forming salts with acids.

6. (Pharmacy)

Defn: The chief ingredient in a compound.

7. (Dyeing)

Defn: A substance used as a mordant. Ure.

8. (Fort.)

Defn: The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.

9. (Geom.)

Defn: The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand.

10. (Math.)

Defn: The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms.

11. Etym: [See Base low.]

Defn: A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part; the deepest male voice. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base. [Now commonly written bass.] The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar. Dryden.

12. (Mil.)

Defn: A place or tract of country, protected by fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc.

13. (Mil.)

Defn: The smallest kind of cannon. [Obs.]

14. (Zoöl.)

Defn: That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ.

15. (Crystallog.)

Defn: The basal plane of a crystal.

16. (Geol.)

Defn: The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline.

17. (Her.)

Defn: The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon.

18. The housing of a horse. [Obs.]

19. pl.

Defn: A kind of skirt ( often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower. [Obs.]

20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.]

21. An apron. [Obs.] "Bakers in their linen bases." Marston.

22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games. To their appointed base they went. Dryden.

23. (Surv.)

Defn: A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles. Lyman.

24. A rustic play; — called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars. "To run the country base." Shak.

25. (Baseball)

Defn: Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield. Altern base. See under Altern. — Attic base. (Arch.) See under Attic. — Base course. (Arch.) (a) The first or lower course of a foundation wall, made of large stones of a mass of concrete; — called also foundation course. (b) The architectural member forming the transition between the basement and the wall above. — Base hit (Baseball), a hit, by which the batsman, without any error on the part of his opponents, is able to reach the first base without being put out. — Base line. (a) A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in military operations. (b) A line traced round a cannon at the rear of the vent. — Base plate, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of the steam engine; the bed plate. — Base ring (Ordnance), a projecting band of metal around the breech, connected with the body of the gun by a concave molding. H. L. Scott.

BASE Base, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (p. pr. & vb. n. Basing.] Etym: [From Base, n.]

Defn: To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; — used with on or upon. Bacon.

BASE Base, v. t. Etym: [See Base, a., and cf. Abase.]

1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.] If any . . . based his pike. Sir T. North.

2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.] Metals which we can not base. Bacon.

BASEBALL Base"ball", n.

1. A game of ball, so called from the bases or bounds ( four in number) which designate the circuit which each player must endeavor to make after striking the ball.

2. The ball used in this game.

BASEBOARD Base"board, n. (Arch.)

Defn: A board, or other woodwork, carried round the walls of a room and touching the floor, to form a base and protect the plastering; — also called washboard (in England), mopboard, and scrubboard.

BASEBORN Base"born`, a.

1. Born out of wedlock. Gay.

2. Born of low parentage.

3. Vile; mean. "Thy baseborn heart." Shak.

BASE-BURNER Base"-burn`er, n.

Defn: A furnace or stove in which the fuel is contained in a hopper or chamber, and is fed to the fire as the lower stratum is consumed.

BASE-COURT Base"-court`, n. Etym: [F. basse-cour. See Base, a., and Court, n.]

1. The secondary, inferior, or rear courtyard of a large house; the outer court of a castle.

2. (Law)

Defn: An inferior court of law, not of record.

BASED Based, p. p. & a.

1. Having a base, or having as a base; supported; as, broad-based.

2. Etym: [See Base, n., 18-21.]

Defn: Wearing, or protected by, bases. [Obs.] "Based in lawny velvet." E. Hall.

BASEDOW'S DISEASE Ba"se*dow's dis*ease". Etym: [Named for Dr. Basedow, a German physician.] (Med.)

Defn: A disease characterized by enlargement of the thyroid gland, prominence of the eyeballs, and inordinate action of the heart; — called also exophthalmic goiter. Flint.

BASELARD Bas"e*lard, n. Etym: [OF. baselarde, LL. basillardus.]

Defn: A short sword or dagger, worn in the fifteenth century. [Written also baslard.] Fairholt.

BASELESS Base"less, a.

Defn: Without a base; having no foundation or support. "The baseless fabric of this vision." Shak.

BASELY Base"ly, adv.

1. In a base manner; with despicable meanness; dishonorably; shamefully.

2. Illegitimately; in bastardy. [Archaic] Knolles.

BASEMENT Base"ment, n. Etym: [F. soubassement. Of uncertain origin. Cf. Base, a., Bastion.] (Arch.)

Defn: The outer wall of the ground story of a building, or of a part of that story, when treated as a distinct substructure. ( See Base, n., 3 (a).) Hence: The rooms of a ground floor, collectively. Basement membrane (Anat.), a delicate membrane composed of a single layer of flat cells, forming the substratum upon which, in many organs, the epithelioid cells are disposed.

BASENESS Base"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or condition of being base; degradation; vileness. I once did hold it a baseness to write fair. Shak.

BASENET Bas"e*net, n.

Defn: See Bascinet. [Obs.]

BASE VIOL Base" vi`ol.

Defn: See Bass viol.

BASH Bash, v. t. & i. Etym: [OE. baschen, baissen. See Abash.]

Defn: To abash; to disconcert or be disconcerted or put out of countenance. [Obs.] His countenance was bold and bashed not. Spenser.

BASHAW Ba*shaw", n. Etym: [See Pasha.]

1. A Turkish title of honor, now written pasha. See Pasha.

2. Fig.: A magnate or grandee.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A very large siluroid fish (Leptops olivaris) of the Mississippi valley; — also called goujon, mud cat, and yellow cat.

BASHFUL Bash"ful, a. Etym: [See Bash.]

1. Abashed; daunted; dismayed. [Obs.]

2. Very modest, or modest excess; constitutionally disposed to shrink from public notice; indicating extreme or excessive modesty; shy; as, a bashful person, action, expression.

Syn. — Diffident; retiring; reserved; shamefaced; sheepish.

BASHFULLY Bash"ful*ly, adv.

Defn: In a bashful manner.

BASHFULNESS Bash"ful*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being bashful.

Syn. — Bashfulness, Modesty, Diffidence, Shyness. Modesty arises from a low estimate of ourselves; bashfulness is an abashment or agitation of the spirits at coming into contact with others; diffidence is produced by an undue degree of self-distrust; shyness usually arises from an excessive self-consciousness, and a painful impression that every one is looking at us. Modesty of deportment is becoming at all; bashfulness often gives rise to mistakes and blundering; diffidence is society frequently makes a man a burden to himself; shyness usually produces a reserve or distance which is often mistaken for haughtiness.

BASHI-BAZOUK Bash"i-ba*zouk", n. Etym: [Turkish, light-headed, a foolish fellow.]

Defn: A soldier belonging to the irregular troops of the Turkish army.

BASHLESS Bash"less, a.

Defn: Shameless; unblushing. [Obs.] Spenser.

BASHYLE Bas"hyle, n. (Chem.)

Defn: See Basyle.

BASI- Ba"si-.

Defn: A combining form, especially in anatomical and botanical words, to indicate the base or position at or near a base; forming a base; as, basibranchials, the most ventral of the cartilages or bones of the branchial arches; basicranial, situated at the base of the cranium; basifacial, basitemporal, etc.

BASIC Ba"sic, a.

1. (Chem.) (a) Relating to a base; performing the office of a base in a salt. (b) Having the base in excess, or the amount of the base atomically greater than that of the acid, or exceeding in proportion that of the related neutral salt. (c) Apparently alkaline, as certain normal salts which exhibit alkaline reactions with test paper.

2. (Min.)

Defn: Said of crystalline rocks which contain a relatively low percentage of silica, as basalt. Basic salt (Chem.), a salt formed from a base or hydroxide by the partial replacement of its hydrogen by a negative or acid element or radical.

BASICERITE Ba*sic"er*ite, n. Etym: [Basi- + Gr. horn, antenna.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The second joint of the antennæ of crustaceans.

BASICITY Ba*sic"i*ty, n. (Chem.) (a) The quality or state of being a base. (b) The power of an acid to unite with one or more atoms or equivalents of a base, as indicated by the number of replaceable hydrogen atoms contained in the acid.

BASIC PROCESS Ba"sic proc"ess. (Iron Metal.)

Defn: A Bessemer or open-hearth steel-making process in which a lining that is basic, or not siliceous, is used, and additions of basic material are made to the molten charge during treatment. Opposed to acid process, above. Called also Thomas process.

BASIC SLAG Basic slag.

Defn: A by-product from the manufacture of steel by the basic process, used as a fertilizer. It is rich in lime and contains 14 to 20 per cent of phosphoric acid. Called also Thomas slag, phosphatic slag, and odorless phosphate.

BASIC STEEL Basic steel.

Defn: Steel produced by the basic process.

BASIDIOMYCETES Ba*sid`i*o*my*ce"tes, n. pl. [NL., fr. NL. & E. basidium + Gr. , , fungus.] (Bot.)

Defn: A large subdivision of fungi coördinate with the Ascomycetes, characterized by having the spores borne on a basidium. It embraces those fungi best known to the public, such as mushrooms, toadstools, etc.

BASIDIOSPORE Ba*sid"i*o*spore, n. Etym: [Basidium + spore.] (Bot.)

Defn: A spore borne by a basidium. — Ba*sid`i*o*spor"ous (, a.

BASIDIUM Ba*sid"i*um, n. Etym: [NL., dim. of Gr. base.] (Bot.)

Defn: A special oblong or pyriform cell, with slender branches, which bears the spores in that division of fungi called Basidiomycetes, of which the common mushroom is an example.

BASIFIER Ba"si*fi`er, n. (Chem.)

Defn: That which converts into a salifiable base.

BASIFUGAL Ba*sif"u*gal, a. Etym: [Base,n.+ L. fugere to flee.] (Bot.)

Defn: Tending or proceeding away from the base; as, a basifugal growth.

BASIFY Ba"si*fy, v. t. Etym: [Base + -fy.] (Chem.)

Defn: To convert into a salifiable base.

BASIGYNIUM Ba`si*gyn"i*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. base + woman.] (Bot.)

Defn: The pedicel on which the ovary of certain flowers, as the passion flower, is seated; a carpophore or thecaphore.

BASIHYAL Ba`si*hy"al, a. Etym: [Basi- + Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Noting two small bones, forming the body of the inverted hyoid arch.

BASIHYOID Ba`si*hy"oid, n. Etym: [Basi- + hyoid.] (Anat.)

Defn: The central tongue bone.

BASIL Bas"il, n. Etym: [Cf. F. basile and E. Bezel.]

Defn: The slope or angle to which the cutting edge of a tool, as a plane, is ground. Grier.

BASIL Bas"il, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Basiled (p. pr. & vb. n. Basiling.]

Defn: To grind or form the edge of to an angle. Moxon.

BASIL Bas"il, n. Etym: [F. basilic, fr. L. badilicus royal, Gr. , fr. king.] (Bot.)

Defn: The name given to several aromatic herbs of the Mint family, but chiefly to the common or sweet basil (Ocymum basilicum), and the bush basil, or lesser basil (O. minimum), the leaves of which are used in cookery. The name is also given to several kinds of mountain mint (Pycnanthemum). Basil thyme, a name given to the fragrant herbs Calamintha Acinos and C. Nepeta. — Wild basil, a plant (Calamintha clinopodium) of the Mint family.

BASIL Bas"il, n. Etym: [Corrupt. from E. basan, F. basane, LL. basanium, bazana, fr. Ar. bithana, prop., lining.]

Defn: The skin of a sheep tanned with bark.

BASILAR; BASILARY Bas"i*lar, Bas"i*la*ry, a. Etym: [F. basilaire, fr. L. basis. See Base, n.]

1. Relating to, or situated at, the base.

2. Lower; inferior; applied to impulses or springs of action. [R.] "Basilar instincts." H. W. Beecher.

BASILIC Ba*sil"ic, n. Etym: [F. basilique.]

Defn: Basilica.

BASILIC; BASILICAL Ba*sil"ic, Ba*sil"ic*al, a. Etym: [See Basilica.]

1. Royal; kingly; also, basilican.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: Pertaining to certain parts, anciently supposed to have a specially important function in the animal economy, as the middle vein of the right arm.

BASILICA Ba*sil"i*ca, n.; pl. Basilicas; sometimes Basilic. Etym: [L. basilica, Gr. ( sc. , or ) fr. royal, fr. .]

Defn: Originally, the place of a king; but afterward, an apartment provided in the houses of persons of importance, where assemblies were held for dispensing justice; and hence, any large hall used for this purpose.

2. (Arch.) (a) A building used by the Romans as a place of public meeting, with court rooms, etc., attached. (b) A church building of the earlier centuries of Christianity, the plan of which was taken from the basilica of the Romans. The name is still applied to some churches by way of honorary distinction.

BASILICA Ba*sil"i*ca, n.

Defn: A digest of the laws of Justinian, translated from the original Latin into Greek, by order of Basil I., in the ninth century. P. Cyc.

BASILICAN Ba*sil"i*can, a.

Defn: Of, relating to, or resembling, a basilica; basilical. There can be no doubt that the first churches in Constantinople were in the basilican form. Milman.

BASILICOK Ba*sil"i*cok, n. Etym: [OF. basilicoc.]

Defn: The basilisk. [Obs.] Chaucer

BASILICON Ba*sil"i*con, n. Etym: [L. basilicon, Gr. , neut. of : cf. F. basilicon. See Basilica.] (Med.)

Defn: An ointment composed of wax, pitch, resin, and olive oil, lard, or other fatty substance.

BASILISK Bas"i*lisk, n. Etym: [L. basiliscus, Gr. little king, kind of serpent, dim. of king; — so named from some prominences on the head resembling a crown.]

1. A fabulous serpent, or dragon. The ancients alleged that its hissing would drive away all other serpents, and that its breath, and even its look, was fatal. See Cockatrice. Make me not sighted like the basilisk. Shak.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A lizard of the genus Basiliscus, belonging to the family Iguanidæ.

Note: This genus is remarkable for a membranous bag rising above the occiput, which can be filled with air at pleasure; also for an elevated crest along the back, that can be raised or depressed at will.

3. (Mil.)

Defn: A large piece of ordnance, so called from its supposed resemblance to the serpent of that name, or from its size. [Obs.]

BASIN Ba"sin, n. Etym: [OF. bacin, F. bassin, LL. bacchinus, fr. bacca a water vessel, fr. L. bacca berry, in allusion to the round shape; or perh. fr. Celtic. Cf. Bac.]

1. A hollow vessel or dish, to hold water for washing, and for various other uses.

2. The quantity contained in a basin.

3. A hollow vessel, of various forms and materials, used in the arts or manufactures, as that used by glass grinders for forming concave glasses, by hatters for molding a hat into shape, etc.

4. A hollow place containing water, as a pond, a dock for ships, a little bay.

5. (Physical Geog.) (a) A circular or oval valley, or depression of the surface of the ground, the lowest part of which is generally occupied by a lake, or traversed by a river. (b) The entire tract of country drained by a river, or sloping towards a sea or lake.

6. (Geol.)

Defn: An isolated or circumscribed formation, particularly where the strata dip inward, on all sides, toward a center; — especially applied to the coal formations, called coal basins or coal fields.

BASINED Ba"sined, a.

Defn: Inclosed in a basin. "Basined rivers." Young.

BASINET Bas"i*net, n.

Defn: Same as Bascinet.

BASIOCCIPITAL Ba`si*oc*cip"i*tal, a. Etym: [Basi- + occipital.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the bone in the base of the cranium, frequently forming a part of the occipital in the adult, but usually distinct in the young. — n.

Defn: The basioccipital bone.

BASION Ba"si*on, n. Etym: [Gr. a base.] (Anat.)

Defn: The middle of the anterior margin of the great foramen of the skull.

BASIPODITE Ba*sip"o*dite, n. Etym: [Basi- + , , foot.] (Anat.)

Defn: The basal joint of the legs of Crustacea.

BASIPTERYGIUM Ba*sip`te*ryg"i*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. a base + a fin.] (Anat.)

Defn: A bar of cartilage at the base of the embryonic fins of some fishes. It develops into the metapterygium. — Ba*sip`ter*yg"i*al (, a.

BASIPTERYGOID Ba`sip*ter"y*goid, a. & n. Etym: [Basi- + pierygoid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Applied to a protuberance of the base of the sphenoid bone.

BASIS Ba"sis, n.; pl. Bases. Etym: [L. basis, Gr. . See Base, n.]

1. The foundation of anything; that on which a thing rests. Dryden.

2. The pedestal of a column, pillar, or statue. [Obs.] If no basis bear my rising name. Pope.

3. The ground work the first or fundamental principle; that which supports. The basis of public credit is good faith. A. Hamilton.

4. The principal component part of a thing.

BASISOLUTE Ba*sis"o*lute, a. Etym: [Basi- + solute, a.] (Bot.)

Defn: Prolonged at the base, as certain leaves.

BASISPHENOID; BASISPHENOIDAL Ba`si*sphe"noid, Ba`si*sphe*noid"al, a. Etym: [Basi- + spheroid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to that part of the base of the cranium between the basioccipital and the presphenoid, which usually ossifies separately in the embryo or in the young, and becomes a part of the sphenoid in the adult.

BASISPHENOID Ba`si*sphe"noid, n. (Anat.)

Defn: The basisphenoid bone.

BASK Bask, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Basked (p. pr. & vb. n. Basking.] Etym: [ OScand. ba to bathe one's self, or perh. bakask to bake one's self, sk being reflexive. See Bath, n., Bake, v. t.]

Defn: To lie in warmth; to be exposed to genial heat. Basks in the glare, and stems the tepid wave. Goldsmith.

BASK Bask, v. t.

Defn: To warm by continued exposure to heat; to warm with genial heat. Basks at the fire his hairy strength. Milton.

BASKET Bas"ket, n. Etym: [Of unknown origin. The modern Celtic words seem to be from the English.]

1. A vessel made of osiers or other twigs, cane, rushes, splints, or other flexible material, interwoven. "Rude baskets . . . woven of the flexile willow." Dyer.

2. The contents of a basket; as much as a basket contains; as, a basket of peaches.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: The bell or vase of the Corinthian capital. [Improperly so used.] Gwilt.

4. The two back seats facing one another on the outside of a stagecoach. [Eng.] Goldsmith. Basket fish (Zoöl.), an ophiuran of the genus Astrophyton, having the arms much branched. See Astrophyton. — Basket hilt, a hilt with a covering wrought like basketwork to protect the hand. Hudibras. Hence, Baskethilted, a. — Basket work, work consisting of plaited osiers or twigs. — Basket worm (Zoöl.), a lepidopterous insect of the genus Thyridopteryx and allied genera, esp. T. ephemeræformis. The larva makes and carries about a bag or basket-like case of silk and twigs, which it afterwards hangs up to shelter the pupa and wingless adult females.

BASKET Bas"ket, v. t.

Defn: To put into a basket. [R.]

BASKET BALL Bas"ket ball`.

Defn: A game, usually played indoors, in which two parties of players contest with each other to toss a large inflated ball into opposite goals resembling baskets.

BASKETFUL Bas"ket*ful, n.; pl. Basketfuls (.

Defn: As much as a basket will contain.

BASKETRY Bas"ket*ry, n.

Defn: The art of making baskets; also, baskets, taken collectively.

BASKING SHARK Bask"ing shark`. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the largest species of sharks (Cetorhinus maximus), so called from its habit of basking in the sun; the liver shark, or bone shark. It inhabits the northern seas of Europe and America, and grows to a length of more than forty feet. It is a harmless species.

BASNET Bas"net, n.

Defn: Same as Bascinet.

BASOMMATOPHORA Ba*som`ma*toph"o*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. base + eye + to bear.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of Pulmonifera having the eyes at the base of the tentacles, including the common pond snails.

BASON Ba"son, n.

Defn: A basin. [Obs. or Special form]

BASQUE Basque, a. Etym: [F.]

Defn: Pertaining to Biscay, its people, or their language.

BASQUE Basque, n. Etym: [F.]

1. One of a race, of unknown origin, inhabiting a region on the Bay of Biscay in Spain and France.

2. The language spoken by the Basque people.

3. A part of a lady's dress, resembling a jacket with a short skirt; — probably so called because this fashion of dress came from the Basques.

BASQUISH Basqu"ish, a. Etym: [F. Basque Biscayan: cf. G. Baskisch.]

Defn: Pertaining to the country, people, or language of Biscay; Basque [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

BAS-RELIEF Bas`-re*lief", n. Etym: [F. bas-relief; bas law + relief raised work, relever to raise: cf. It. bassorilievo.]

Defn: Low relief; sculpture, the figures of which project less than half of their true proportions; — called also bassrelief and basso- rilievo. See Alto-rilievo.

BASS Bass, n.

Defn: ; pl. Bass, and sometimes Basses. Etym: [A corruption of barse.] (Zoöl.)

1. An edible, spiny-finned fish, esp. of the genera Roccus, Labrax, and related genera. There are many species.

Note: The common European bass is Labrax lupus. American species are: the striped bass (Roccus lineatus); white or silver bass of the lakes. (R. chrysops); brass or yellow bass (R. interruptus).

2. The two American fresh-water species of black bass (genus Micropterus). See Black bass.

3. Species of Serranus, the sea bass and rock bass. See Sea bass.

4. The southern, red, or channel bass (Sciæna ocellata). See Redfish.

Note: The name is also applied to many other fishes. See Calico bass, under Calico.

BASS Bass, n. Etym: [A corruption of bast.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The linden or lime tree, sometimes wrongly called whitewood; also, its bark, which is used for making mats. See Bast.

2. (Pron.

Defn: A hassock or thick mat.

BASS Bass, n. Etym: [F. basse, fr. bas low. See Base, a.]

1. A bass, or deep, sound or tone.

2. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part in a musical composition. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, bass. [Written also base.] Thorough bass. See Thorough bass.

BASS Bass, a.

Defn: Deep or grave in tone. Bass clef (Mus.), the character placed at the beginning of the staff containing the bass part of a musical composition. [See Illust. under Clef.] — Bass voice, a deepsounding voice; a voice fitted for singing bass.

BASS Bass, v. t.

Defn: To sound in a deep tone. [R.] Shak.

BASSA; BASSAW Bas"sa, Bas*saw", n.

Defn: See Bashaw.

BASS DRUM Bass` drum". (Mus.)

Defn: The largest of the different kinds of drums, having two heads, and emitting a deep, grave sound. See Bass, a.

BASSET Bas"set, n. Etym: [F. bassette, fr.It. bassetta. Cf. Basso.]

Defn: A game at cards, resembling the modern faro, said to have been invented at Venice. Some dress, some dance, some play, not to forget Your piquet parties, and your dear basset. Rowe.

BASSET Bas"set, a. Etym: [Cf. OF. basset somewhat low, dim. of bas low.] (Geol.)

Defn: Inclined upward; as, the basset edge of strata. Lyell.

BASSET Bas"set, n. (Geol.)

Defn: The edge of a geological stratum at the surface of the ground; the outcrop.

BASSET Bas"set, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Basseted; p. pr. & vb. n. Basseting.] (Geol.)

Defn: To inclined upward so as to appear at the surface; to crop out; as, a vein of coal bassets.

BASSET HORN Bas"set horn`. Etym: [See Basset, a.] (Mus.)

Defn: An instrument blown with a reed, and resembling a clarinet, but of much greater compass, embracing nearly four octaves.

BASSET HOUND Bas"set hound`. Etym: [F. basset.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small kind of hound with a long body and short legs, used as an earth dog.

BASSETING Bas"set*ing, n.

Defn: The upward direction of a vein in a mine; the emergence of a stratum at the surface.

BASSETTO Bas*set"to, n. Etym: [It., adj., somewhat low; n., counter tenor. See Basso.] (Mus.)

Defn: A tenor or small bass viol.

BASS HORN Bass" horn". (Mus.)

Defn: A modification of the bassoon, much deeper in tone.

BASSINET Bas"si*net, n. Etym: [Cf. F. bassinet, dim. of bassin. See Basin, and cf. Bascinet.]

1. A wicker basket, with a covering or hood over one end, in which young children are placed as in a cradle.

2. See Bascinet. Lord Lytton.

BASSO Bas"so, n. Etym: [It., fr. LL. bassus. See Base, a.] (Mus.) (a) The bass or lowest part; as, to sing basso. (b) One who sings the lowest part. (c) The double bass, or contrabasso. Basso continuo (. Etym: [It., bass continued.] (Mus.) A bass part written out continuously, while the other parts of the harmony are indicated by figures attached to the bass; continued bass.

BASSOCK Bas"sock, n.

Defn: A hassock. See 2d Bass, 2.

BASSOON Bas*soon", n. Etym: [F. basson, fr. basse bass; or perh. fr. bas son low sound. See Bass a part in music. ] (Mus.)

Defn: A wind instrument of the double reed kind, furnished with holes, which are stopped by the fingers, and by keys, as in flutes. It forms the natural bass to the oboe, clarinet, etc.

Note: Its compass comprehends three octaves. For convenience of carriage it is divided into two parts; whence it is also called a fagot.

BASSOONIST Bas*soon"ist, n.

Defn: A performer on the bassoon. Busby.

BASSO-RILIEVO; BASSO-RELIEVO Bas"so-ri*lie"vo, Bas"so-re*lie"vo, n. Etym: [It. basso-rilievo.]

Defn: Same as Bas-relief.

BASSORIN Bas"so*rin, n. Etym: [Cf. F. bassorine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A constituent part of a species of gum from Bassora, as also of gum tragacanth and some gum resins. It is one of the amyloses. Ure.

BASS-RELIEF Bass"-re*lief`, n.

Defn: Some as Bas-relief.

BASS VIOL Bass" vi`ol. (Mus.)

Defn: A stringed instrument of the viol family, used for playing bass. See 3d Bass, n., and Violoncello.

BASSWOOD Bass"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The bass (Tilia) or its wood; especially, T. Americana. See Bass, the lime tree. All the bowls were made of basswood, White and polished very smoothly. Longfellow.

BAST Bast, n. Etym: [AS. bæst; akin to Icel., Sw., Dan., D., & G. bast, of unknown origin. Cf. Bass the tree.]

1. The inner fibrous bark of various plants; esp. of the lime tree; hence, matting, cordage, etc., made therefrom.

2. A thick mat or hassock. See 2d Bass, 2.

BASTA Bas"ta, interj. Etym: [It.]

Defn: Enough; stop. Shak.

BASTARD Bas"tard, n. Etym: [OF. bastard, bastart, F. b, prob. fr. OF. bast, F. b, a packsaddle used as a bed by the muleteers (fr. LL. bastum) + -ard. OF. fils de bast son of the packsaddle; as the muleteers were accustomed to use their saddles for beds in the inns. See Cervantes, "Don Quixote," chap. 16; and cf.G. bankert, fr. bank bench.]

1. A "natural" child; a child begotten and born out of wedlock; an illegitimate child; one born of an illicit union.

Note: By the civil and canon laws, and by the laws of many of the United States, a bastard becomes a legitimate child by the intermarriage of the parents at any subsequent time. But by those of England, and of some states of the United States, a child, to be legitimate, must at least be born after the lawful marriage. Kent. Blackstone.

2. (Sugar Refining) (a) An inferior quality of soft brown sugar, obtained from the sirups that (b) A large size of mold, in which sugar is drained.

3. A sweet Spanish wine like muscadel in flavor. Brown bastard is your only drink. Shak.

4. A writing paper of a particular size. See Paper.

BASTARD Bas"tard, a.

1. Begotten and born out of lawful matrimony; illegitimate. See Bastard, n., note.

2. Lacking in genuineness; spurious; false; adulterate; — applied to things which resemble those which are genuine, but are really not so. That bastard self-love which is so vicious in itself, and productive of so many vices. Barrow.

3. Of an unusual make or proportion; as, a bastard musket; a bastard culverin. [Obs.]

4. (Print.)

Defn: Abbreviated, as the half title in a page preceding the full title page of a book. Bastard ashlar (Arch.), stones for ashlar work, roughly squared at the quarry. — Bastard file, a file intermediate between the coarsest and the second cut. — Bastard type (Print.), type having the face of a larger or a smaller size than the body; e.g., a nonpareil face on a brevier body. — Bastard wing (Zoöl.), three to five quill feathers on a small joint corresponding to the thumb in some mam malia; the alula.

BASTARD Bas"tard, v. t.

Defn: To bastardize. [Obs.] Bacon.

BASTARDISM Bas"tard*ism, n.

Defn: The state of being a bastard; bastardy.

BASTARDIZE Bas"tard*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bastardized (p. pr. & vb. n. Bastardizing.]

1. To make or prove to be a bastard; to stigmatize as a bastard; to declare or decide legally to be illegitimate. The law is so indulgent as not to bastardize the child, if born, though not begotten, in lawful wedlock. Blackstone.

2. To beget out of wedlock. [R.] Shak.

BASTARDLY Bas"tard*ly, a.

Defn: Bastardlike; baseborn; spuripous; corrupt. [Obs.] — adv.

Defn: In the manner of a bastard; spuriously. [Obs.] Shak. Donne.

BASTARDY Bas"tar*dy, n.

1. The state of being a bastard; illegitimacy.

2. The procreation of a bastard child. Wharton.

BASTE Baste, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Basted; p. pr. & vb. n. Basting.] Etym: [Cf. Icel. beysta to strike, powder; Sw. basa to beat with a rod: perh. akin to E. beat.]

1. To beat with a stick; to cudgel. One man was basted by the keeper for carrying some people over on his back through the waters. Pepys.

2. (Cookery)

Defn: To sprinkle flour and salt and drip butter or fat on, as on meat in roasting.

3. To mark with tar, as sheep. [Prov. Eng.]

BASTE Baste, v. t. Etym: [OE. basten, OF. bastir, F. b, prob. fr. OHG. bestan to sew, MHG. besten to bind, fr. OHG. bast bast. See Bast.]

Defn: To sew loosely, or with long stitches; — usually, that the work may be held in position until sewed more firmly. Shak.

BASTILE; BASTILLE Bas*tile" Bas*tille", n. Etym: [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. b.]

1. (Feud. Fort.)

Defn: A tower or an elevated work, used for the defense, or in the siege, of a fortified place. The high bastiles . . . which overtopped the walls. Holland.

2. "The Bastille", formerly a castle or fortress in Paris, used as a prison, especially for political offenders; hence, a rhetorical name for a prison.

BASTINADE Bas`ti*nade", n.

Defn: See Bastinado, n.

BASTINADE Bas`ti*nade", v. t.

Defn: To bastinado. [Archaic]

BASTINADO Bas`ti*na"do, n.; pl. Bastinadoes. Etym: [Sp. bastonada (cf. F. bastonnade), fr. baston (cf. F. b) a stick or staff. See Baston.]

1. A blow with a stick or cudgel.

2. A sound beating with a stick or cudgel. Specifically: A form of punishment among the Turks, Chinese, and others, consisting in beating an offender on the soles of his feet.

BASTINADO Bas`ti*na"do, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bastinadoes (; p. pr. & vb. n. Bastinadoing.]

Defn: To beat with a stick or cudgel, especially on the soles of the feet.

BASTION Bas"tion, n. Etym: [F. bastion (cf. It. bastione), fr. LL. bastire to build (cf. F. b, It. bastire), perh. from the idea of support for a weight, and akin to Gr. to lift, carry, and to E. baston, baton.] (Fort.)

Defn: A work projecting outward from the main inclosure of a fortification, consisting of two faces and two flanks, and so constructed that it is able to defend by a flanking fire the adjacent curtain, or wall which extends from one bastion to another. Two adjacent bastions are connected by the curtain, which joins the flank of one with the adjacent flank of the other. The distance between the flanks of a bastion is called the gorge. A lunette is a detached bastion. See Ravelin.

BASTIONED Bas"tioned, a.

Defn: Furnished with a bastion; having bastions.

BASTO Bas"to, n. Etym: [Sp.]

Defn: The ace of clubs in qua Pope.

BASTON Bas"ton, n. Etym: [OF. baston, F. b, LL. basto. See Bastion, and cf. Baton, and 3d Batten.]

1. A staff or cudgel. [Obs.] "To fight with blunt bastons." Holland.

2. (Her.)

Defn: See Baton.

3. An officer bearing a painted staff, who formerly was in attendance upon the king's court to take into custody persons committed by the court. Mozley & W.

BASUTOS Ba*su"tos, n. pl.; sing. Basuto. (Ethnol.)

Defn: A warlike South African people of the Bantu stock, divided into many tribes, subject to the English. They formerly practiced cannibalism, but have now adopted many European customs.

BASYLE Bas"yle, n. Etym: [Gr. base + wood. See -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: A positive or nonacid constituent of compound, either elementary, or, if compound, performing the functions of an element.

BASYLOUS Bas"y*lous, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or having the nature of, a basyle; electro- positive; basic; — opposed to chlorous. Graham.

BAT Bat, n. Etym: [OE. batte, botte, AS. batt; perhaps fr. the Celtic; cf. Ir. bat, bata, stick, staff; but cf. also F. batte a beater (thing), wooden sword, battre to beat.]

1. A large stick; a club; specifically, a piece of wood with one end thicker or broader than the other, used in playing baseball, cricket, etc.

2. (Mining)

Defn: Shale or bituminous shale. Kirwan.

3. A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.

4. A part of a brick with one whole end. Bat bolt (Machinery), a bolt barbed or jagged at its butt or tang to make it hold the more firmly. Knight.

BAT Bat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Batted (p. pr. & vb. n. Batting.]

Defn: To strike or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat. Holland.

BAT Bat, v. i.

Defn: To use a bat, as in a game of baseball.

BAT Bat, n. Etym: [Corrupt. from OE. back, backe, balke; cf. Dan. aften- bakke] (aften evening), Sw. natt-backa] (natt night), Icel. le (le leather), Icel. blaka to flutter.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Cheiroptera, an order of flying mammals, in which the wings are formed by a membrane stretched between the elongated fingers, legs, and tail. The common bats are small and insectivorous. See Cheiroptera and Vampire. Bat tick (Zoöl.), a wingless, dipterous insect of the genus Nycteribia, parasitic on bats.

BATABLE Bat"a*ble, a. Etym: [Abbrev. from debatable.]

Defn: Disputable. [Obs.]

Note: The border land between England and Scotland, being formerly a subject of contention, was called batable or debatable ground.

BATAILLED Bat"ailled, a.

Defn: Embattled. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BATARDEAU Ba`tar*deau", n. Etym: [F.]

1. A cofferdam. Brande & C.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: A wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides of the wall.

BATATAS; BATATA Ba*ta"tas, Ba*ta"ta, n.

Defn: An aboriginal American name for the sweet potato (Ipomæa batatas).

BATAVIAN Ba*ta"vi*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to (a) the Batavi, an ancient Germanic tribe; or to (b) as, a Batavian legion. Batavian Republic, the name given to Holland by the French after its conquest in 1795.

BATAVIAN Ba*ta"vi*an, n.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Batavia or Holland. [R.] Bancroft.

BATCH Batch, n. Etym: [OE. bache, bacche, fr. AS. bacan to bake; cf. G. gebäck and D. baksel. See Bake, v. t.]

1. The quantity of bread baked at one time.

2. A quantity of anything produced at one operation; a group or collection of persons or things of the same kind; as, a batch of letters; the next batch of business. "A new batch of Lords." Lady M. W. Montagu.

BATE Bate, n. Etym: [Prob. abbrev. from debate.]

Defn: Strife; contention. [Obs.] Shak.

BATE Bate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bating.] Etym: [From abate.]

1. To lessen by retrenching, deducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat down; to lower. He must either bate the laborer's wages, or not employ or not pay him. Locke.

2. To allow by way of abatement or deduction. To whom he bates nothing or what he stood upon with the parliament. South.

3. To leave out; to except. [Obs.] Bate me the king, and, be he flesh and blood. He lies that says it. Beau. & Fl.

4. To remove. [Obs.] About autumn bate the earth from about the roots of olives, and lay them bare. Holland.

5. To deprive of. [Obs.] When baseness is exalted, do not bate The place its honor for the person's sake. Herbert.

BATE Bate, v. i.

1. To remit or retrench a part; — with of. Abate thy speed, and I will bate of mine. Dryden.

2. To waste away. [Obs.] Shak.

BATE Bate, v. t.

Defn: To attack; to bait. [Obs.] Spenser.

BATE Bate, imp.

Defn: of Bite. [Obs.] Spenser.

BATE Bate, v. i. Etym: [F. battre des ailes to flutter. Cf. Bait to flutter.]

Defn: To flutter as a hawk; to bait. [Obs.] Bacon.

BATE Bate, n. (Jewish Antiq.)

Defn: See 2d Bath.

BATE Bate, n. Etym: [Cf. Sw. beta maceration, soaking, G. beize, and E. bite.]

Defn: An alkaline solution consisting of the dung of certain animals; — employed in the preparation of hides; grainer. Knight.

BATE Bate, v. t.

Defn: To steep in bate, as hides, in the manufacture of leather.

BATEAU Ba*teau", n.; pl. Bateaux. Etym: [F. bateau, LL. batellus, fr. battus, batus, boa, which agrees with AS. bat boat: cf. W. bad boat. See Boat, n.]

Defn: A boat; esp. a flat-bottomed, clumsy boat used on the Canadian lakes and rivers. [Written also, but less properly, batteau.] Bateau bridge, a floating bridge supported by bateaux.

BATED Bat"ed, a.

Defn: Reduced; lowered; restrained; as, to speak with bated breath. Macaulay.

BATEFUL Bate"ful, a.

Defn: Exciting contention; contentious. [Obs.] "It did bateful question frame. " Sidney.

BATELESS Bate"less, a.

Defn: Not to be abated. [Obs.] Shak.

BATEMENT Bate"ment, n. Etym: [For Abatement. See 2d Bate.]

Defn: Abatement; diminution. Moxon. Batement light (Arch.), a window or one division of a window having vertical sides, but with the sill not horizontal, as where it follows the rake of a staircase.

BATFISH Bat"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A name given to several species of fishes: (a) The Malthe vespertilio of the Atlantic coast. (b) The flying gurnard of the Atlantic (Cephalacanthus spinarella). (c) The California batfish or sting ray (Myliobatis Californicus.)

BATFOWLER Bat"fowl`er, n.

Defn: One who practices or finds sport in batfowling.

BATFOWLING Bat"fowl`ing, n. Etym: [From Bat a stick.]

Defn: A mode of catching birds at night, by holding a torch or other light, and beating the bush or perch where they roost. The birds, flying to the light, are caught with nets or otherwise.

BATFUL Bat"ful, a. Etym: [Icel. bati amelioration, batna to grow better; akin to AS. bet better. Goth. ga-batnan to profit. Batten, v. i., Better.]

Defn: Rich; fertile. [Obs.] "Batful valleys." Drayton.

BATH Bath, n.; pl. Baths. Etym: [AS. bæ; akin to OS. & Icel. ba, Sw., Dan., D., & G. bad, and perh. to G. bähen to foment.]

1. The act of exposing the body, or part of the body, for purposes of cleanliness, comfort, health, etc., to water, vapor, hot air, or the like; as, a cold or a hot bath; a medicated bath; a steam bath; a hip bath.

2. Water or other liquid for bathing.

3. A receptacle or place where persons may immerse or wash their bodies in water.

4. A building containing an apartment or a series of apartments arranged for bathing. Among the ancients, the public baths were of amazing extent and magnificence. Gwilt.

5. (Chem.)

Defn: A medium, as heated sand, ashes, steam, hot air, through which heat is applied to a body.

6. (Photog.)

Defn: A solution in which plates or prints are immersed; also, the receptacle holding the solution.

Note: Bath is used adjectively or in combination, in an obvious sense of or for baths or bathing; as, bathroom, bath tub, bath keeper. Douche bath. See Douche. — Order of the Bath, a high order of British knighthood, composed of three classes, viz., knights grand cross, knights commanders, and knights companions, abbreviated thus: G. C. B., K. C. B., K. B. — Russian bath, a kind of vapor bath which consists in a prolonged exposure of the body to the influence of the steam of water, followed by washings and shampooings. — Turkish bath, a kind of bath in which a profuse perspiration is produced by hot air, after which the body is washed and shampooed. — Bath house, a house used for the purpose of bathing; — also a small house, near a bathing place, where a bather undresses and dresses.

BATH Bath, n. Etym: [Heb.]

Defn: A Hebrew measure containing the tenth of a homer, or five gallons and three pints, as a measure for liquids; and two pecks and five quarts, as a dry measure.

BATH Bath, n.

Defn: A city in the west of England, resorted to for its hot springs, which has given its name to various objects. Bath brick, a preparation of calcareous earth, in the form of a brick, used for cleaning knives, polished metal, etc. — Bath chair, a kind of chair on wheels, as used by invalids at Bath. "People walked out, or drove out, or were pushed out in their Bath chairs." Dickens. — Bath metal, an alloy consisting of four and a half ounces of zinc and one pound of copper. — Bath note, a folded writing paper, 8 1/2 by 14 inches. — Bath stone, a species of limestone (oölite) found near Bath, used for building.

BATHE Bathe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bathed (p. pr. & vb. n. Bathing.] Etym: [OE. ba, AS. ba, fr. bæ bath. See 1st Bath, and cf. Bay to bathe.]

1. To wash by immersion, as in a bath; to subject to a bath. Chancing to bathe himself in the River Cydnus. South.

2. To lave; to wet. "The lake which bathed the foot of the Alban mountain." T. Arnold.

3. To moisten or suffuse with a liquid. And let us bathe our hands in Cæsar's blood. Shak.

4. To apply water or some liquid medicament to; as, to bathe the eye with warm water or with sea water; to bathe one's forehead with camphor.

5. To surround, or envelop, as water surrounds a person immersed. "The rosy shadows bathe me. " Tennyson. "The bright sunshine bathing all the world." Longfellow.

BATHE Bathe, v. i.

1. To bathe one's self; to take a bath or baths. "They bathe in summer." Waller.

2. To immerse or cover one's self, as in a bath. "To bathe in fiery floods." Shak. "Bathe in the dimples of her cheek." Lloyd.

3. To bask in the sun. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BATHE Bathe, n.

Defn: The immersion of the body in water; as to take one's usual bathe. Edin. Rev.

BATHER Bath"er, n.

Defn: One who bathes.

BATHETIC Ba*thet"ic, a.

Defn: Having the character of bathos. [R.]

BATHING Bath"ing, n.

Defn: Act of taking a bath or baths. Bathing machine, a small room on wheels, to be driven into the water, for the convenience of bathers, who undress and dress therein.

BATHMISM Bath"mism, n.

Defn: See Vital force.

BATHOMETER Ba*thom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. depth + -meter.]

Defn: An instrument for measuring depths, esp. one for taking soundings without a sounding line.

BATHORSE Bat"horse`, n. Etym: [F. b packsaddle (cheval de b packhorse) + E. horse. See Bastard.]

Defn: A horse which carries an officer's baggage during a campaign.

BATHOS Ba"thos, n. Etym: [Gr. depth, fr. deep.] (Rhet.)

Defn: A ludicrous descent from the elevated to the low, in writing or speech; anticlimax.

BATHYBIUS Ba*thyb"i*us, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. deep + life] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A name given by Prof. Huxley to a gelatinous substance found in mud dredged from the Atlantic and preserved in alcohol. He supposed that it was free living protoplasm, covering a large part of the ocean bed. It is now known that the substance is of chemical, not of organic, origin.

BATHYGRAPHIC Bath`y*graph"ic, a. [Gr. deep + graphic.]

Defn: Descriptive of the ocean depth; as, a bathygraphic chart.

BATHYMETRIC; BATHYMETRICAL Bath`y*met"ric, Bath`y*met"ric*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to bathymetry; relating to the measurement of depths, especially of depths in the sea.

BATHYMETRY Ba*thym"e*try, n. Etym: [Gr. depth + -metry.]

Defn: The art or science of sounding, or measuring depths in the sea.

BATING Bat"ing, prep. Etym: [Strictly p. pr. of Bat to abate.]

Defn: With the exception of; excepting. We have little reason to think that they bring many ideas with them, bating some faint ideas of hunger and thirst. Locke.

BATISTE Ba*tiste", n. Etym: [F. batiste, from the name of the alleged first maker, Baptiste of Cambrai. Littré.]

Defn: Originally, cambric or lawn of fine linen; now applied also to cloth of similar texture made of cotton.

BATLET Bat"let, n. Etym: [Bat stick + -let.]

Defn: A short bat for beating clothes in washing them; — called also batler, batling staff, batting staff. Shak.

BATMAN Bat"man, n. Etym: [Turk. batman.]

Defn: A weight used in the East, varying according to the locality; in Turkey, the greater batman is about 157 pounds, the lesser only a fourth of this; at Aleppo and Smyrna, the batman is 17 pounds. Simmonds.

BATMAN Bat"man, n.; pl. Batmen. Etym: [F. b packsaddle + E. man. Cf. Bathorse.]

Defn: A man who has charge of a bathorse and his load. Macaulay.

BATOIDEI Ba*toi"de*i, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. a kind of ray + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The division of fishes which includes the rays and skates.

BATON Bat"on, n. Etym: [F. b. See Baston.]

1. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes; as, the baton of a field marshal; the baton of a conductor in musical performances. He held the baton of command. Prescott.

2. (Her.)

Defn: An ordinary with its ends cut off, borne sinister as a mark of bastardy, and containing one fourth in breadth of the bend sinister; — called also bastard bar. See Bend sinister.

BATOON Ba*toon", n.

Defn: See Baton, and Baston.

BAT PRINTING Bat" print`ing. (Ceramics)

Defn: A mode of printing on glazed ware.

BATRACHIA Ba*tra"chi*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. belonging to a frog, fr. frog.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The order of amphibians which includes the frogs and toads; the Anura. Sometimes the word is used in a wider sense as equivalent to Amphibia.

BATRACHIAN Ba*tra"chi*an, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to the Batrachia. — n.

Defn: One of the Batrachia.

BATRACHOID Bat"ra*choid, a. Etym: [Batrachia + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Froglike. Specifically: Of or pertaining to the Batrachidæ, a family of marine fishes, including the toadfish. Some have poisonous dorsal spines.

BATRACHOMYOMACHY Bat`ra*cho*my*om"a*chy, n. Etym: [Gr. ; frog + mouse + battle.]

Defn: The battle between the frogs and mice; — a Greek parody on the Iliad, of uncertain authorship.

BATRACHOPHAGOUS Bat`ra*choph"a*gous, a. Etym: [Gr. frog + to eat.]

Defn: Feeding on frogs. Quart. Rev.

BATSMAN Bats"man, n.; pl. Batsmen (.

Defn: The one who wields the bat in cricket, baseball, etc.

BAT'S-WING; BATWING Bat's"-wing" or Bat"wing, a.

Defn: Shaped like a bat's wing; as, a bat's-wing burner.

BATTA Bat"ta, n. Etym: [Prob. through Pg. for Canarese bhatta rice in the husk.]

Defn: Extra pay; esp. an extra allowance to an English officer serving in India. Whitworth.

BATTA Bat"ta, n. Etym: [Hind. ba.]

Defn: Rate of exchange; also, the discount on uncurrent coins. [India]

BATTABLE Bat"ta*ble, a. Etym: [See Batful.]

Defn: Capable of culti [Obs.] Burton.

BATTAILANT Bat"tail*ant, a. Etym: [F. bataillant, p. pr. See Battle, v. i. ] [Obs.]

Defn: Prepared for battle; combatant; warlike. Spenser. — n.

Defn: A combatant. Shelton.

BATTAILOUS Bat"tail*ous, a. Etym: [OF. bataillos, fr. bataille. See Battle, n.]

Defn: Arrayed for battle; fit or eager for battle; warlike. [Obs.] "In battailous aspect." Milton.

BATTALIA Bat*tal"ia, n. Etym: [LL. battalia battle, a body of troops. See Battle, n.]

1. Order of battle; disposition or arrangement of troops (brigades, regiments, battalions, etc.), or of a naval force, for action. A drawing up the armies in battalia. Jer. Taylor.

2. An army in battle array; also, the main battalia or body. [Obs.] Shak.

BATTALION Bat*tal"ion, n. Etym: [F. bataillon, fr. It. battaglione. See Battalia.]

1. A body of troops; esp. a body of troops or an army in battle array. "The whole battalion views." Milton.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: A regiment, or two or more companies of a regiment, esp. when assembled for drill or battle.

BATTALION Bat*tal"ion, v. t.

Defn: To form into battalions. [R.]

BATTEL Bat"tel, n. Etym: [Obs. form. of Battle.] (Old Eng. Law)

Defn: A single combat; as, trial by battel. See Wager of battel, under Wager.

BATTEL Bat"tel, n. Etym: [Of uncertain etymology.]

Defn: Provisions ordered from the buttery; also, the charges for them; — only in the pl., except when used adjectively. [Univ. of Oxford, Eng.]

BATTEL Bat"tel, v. i.

Defn: To be supplied with provisions from the buttery. [Univ. of Oxford, Eng.]

BATTEL Bat"tel, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Batful, Batten, v. i.]

Defn: To make fertile. [Obs.] "To battel barren land." Ray.

BATTEL Bat"tel, a.

Defn: Fertile; fruitful; productive. [Obs.] A battel soil for grain, for pasture good. Fairfax.

BATTELER; BATTLER Bat"tel*er, Bat"tler, n. Etym: [See 2d Battel, n.]

Defn: A student at Oxford who is supplied with provisions from the buttery; formerly, one who paid for nothing but what he called for, answering nearly to a sizar at Cambridge. Wright.

BATTEN Bat"ten, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battened (p. pr. & vb. n. Battening.] Etym: [See Batful.]

1. To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten. "Battening our flocks." Milton.

2. To fertilize or enrich, as land.

BATTEN Bat"ten, v. i.

Defn: To grow fat; to grow fat in ease and luxury; to glut one's self. Dryden. The pampered monarch lay battening in ease. Garth. Skeptics, with a taste for carrion, who batten on the hideous facts in history, — persecutions, inquisitions. Emerson.

BATTEN Bat"ten, n . Etym: [F. b stick, staff. See Baton.]

Defn: A strip of sawed stuff, or a scantling; as, (a) pl. (Com. & Arch.) Sawed timbers about 7 by 2 1/2 inches and not less than 6 feet long. Brande & C. (b) (Naut.) A strip of wood used in fastening the edges of a tarpaulin to the deck, also around masts to prevent chafing. (c) A long, thin strip used to strengthen a part, to cover a crack, etc. Batten door (Arch.), a door made of boards of the whole length of the door, secured by battens nailed crosswise.

BATTEN Bat"ten, v. t.

Defn: To furnish or fasten with battens. To batten down, to fasten down with battens, as the tarpaulin over the hatches of a ship during a storm.

BATTEN Bat"ten, n. Etym: [F. battant. See Batter, v. t.]

Defn: The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.

BATTENING Bat"ten*ing, n. (Arch.)

Defn: Furring done with small pieces nailed directly upon the wall.

BATTER Bat"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battered (; p. pr. & vb. n. Battering.] Etym: [OE. bateren, OF. batre, F. battre, fr. LL. battere, for L. batuere to strike, beat; of unknown origin. Cf. Abate, Bate to abate.]

1. To beat with successive blows; to beat repeatedly and with violence, so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; as, to batter a wall or rampart.

2. To wear or impair as if by beating or by hard usage. "Each battered jade." Pope.

3. (Metallurgy)

Defn: To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it inwardly and spread it outwardly.

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.