Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Bāigne, v. t. p. 102To soak or drench. [Obs.] Carew.Bāi-kā'/le-an, a. p. 102(Geog.) Pertaining to Lake Bai-kal, or to the range of mountains separating it from the lowlands of Siberia. Eng. Cyc.Bāil, v. t. p. 102To deliver; to release. [Obs.] Ne none there was to rescue her, ne none to bail. Spenser. 2. (Law.) To set free, liberate, or deliver from arrest, or out of custody, to the keeping of other persons…Bāil, n. p. 102(Law.) The person or persons who procure the release of a prisoner from the custody of the officer arresting him, or from imprisonment, by becoming surety for his appearance in court. The bail must…Bāil'a-ble, a. p. 102Capable of being admitted to bail, or of being set free from the hands of an officer after arrest, upon bond with sureties;—used of persons. “He's bailable, I'm sure.” Ford. 2. Admitting of bail; as…Bāil'age, n. p. 102(Law.) A small duty paid to the city of London by aliens, and even by denizens, for certain commodities exported by them. [Written also balliage.]Bāil'-bōnd, n. p. 102(Law.) (a.) A bond or obligation given by a prisoner and his surety, to insure the prisoner's appearance in court, at the return of the writ. (b.) Special bail in court to abide the judgment. Bouvier.Bāil-ee', n. p. 103The person to whom goods are committed in trust, and who has a temporary possession and a qualified property in them, for the purposes of the trust. Blackstone.Bāil’er or Bāil’or, n. p. 103(Law.) One who delivers goods to another in trust, for some particular purpose.Bāi'ley, n. p. 103Originally, a court within a fortress; now, a prison or court of justice; as, the Old Bailey in London; the New Bailey in Manchester. Oxf. Gloss.Bāil'lie, n. p. 103A municipal officer in Scotland, corresponding to an alderman in England. W. Scott.Bāil'iff, n. p. 103(Eng. Law.) A sheriff’s deputy, appointed to make arrests, collect fines, summon juries, &c. ☞ In American law the term bailiff is seldom used except sometimes to signify a sheriff’s officer or…Bāil'i-wick, n. p. 103[From O. Fr. bailie, jurisdiction of a bailiff, and A. S. wic, a termination which signifies station, residence, from wic, n., a dwelling-place. (Law.) The precincts in which a bailiff has…Bāil'ment, n. p. 103(Law.) A delivery of goods in trust, for some special object or purpose, upon a contract, expressed or implied, that the trust shall be faithfully executed. Blackstone.Bāil'piēce, n. p. 103(Law.) A slip of parchment, or paper, containing a recognizance of bail above, or bail to the action. Blackstone.Bāil'y, n. p. 103A bailiff; a steward. [Obs.] Webster, 1607.Bāin, n. p. 103A bath; a bagnio. [Obs.] Holland. 2. [See BAN.] A ban; a curse. [Obs.] Spenser.Bai'ram, n. p. 103A Mohammedan festival held at the close of the fast called Ramadan.Bāirn or Bārn, n. p. 103A child. [Scottish & Prov. Eng.] W. Scott.Bāit, n. p. 103Any substance used to catch fish, or other animals, by alluring them to swallow a hook, or to be caught in snares, or in an inclosure or net; a lure. 2. Any thing which serves to allure: enticement…Bāit, v. t. p. 103To put on or in, as on a hook or in an inclosure, to allure fish, fowls, and other animals into human power. A crooked pin for a hook, baited with a vile earth-worm. W. Irving. 2. To give a portion…Bāit, v. i. p. 103To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment on a journey. My lord's coach conveyed me to Bury, and thence baiting at Newmarket. Evelyn.Bāit, v. t. p. 103To provoke and harass; as, to bait a bear with dogs.Bāit, v. i. p. 103To clap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey. “Kites that bait and beat.” Shak.Bāize, n. p. 103A coarse woolen stuff, with a long nap.Ba-jŏ'cō, n. p. 103A small copper coin in the Roman States, worth about three farthings, or a cent and a half. Simmonds.Bake, v. t. p. 103To heat, dry, and harden, as in an oven or furnace, or under coals of fire, or by the solar rays; as, to bake bricks; the sun bakes the ground. Specifically, to prepare for food, in a close place…Bāke, v. i. p. 103To do the work of baking; as, she brews, washes, and bakes. 2. To be baked; to dry and harden in heat; as, the bread bakes; the ground bakes in the hot sun.Bāke'house, n. p. 103A house or building for baking.Bāke'-mēat or Bāked'-mēat, n. p. 103Meat prepared by baking. 2. A pie, particularly a meat pie. [Obs.] Sherwood. Shak.Bāk'en, p. p. p. 103The same as BAKED. [Obs.]Bāk'er, n. p. 103One whose occupation is to bake bread, biscuit, &c. 2. A small portable tin oven in which baking is performed. [An Americanism.] Baker's dozen, thirteen in number, was formerly called the devil's…Bāk'er-fōot, n. p. 103An ill-shaped or distorted foot. [Obs.] Bp. Taylor.Bāk'er-lĕgged, a. p. 103Having legs like a baker, that is, crooked legs, or legs that bend inward at the knees. Wright.Bāk'er-y, n. p. 103The trade of a baker. [Rare.] 2. A place used for the business of baking bread, &c.; a bakehouse. Smollett.Bāk'ing, n. p. 103The quantity baked at once; as, a baking of bread. [Colloq.]Bāk'shīsh, n. p. 103See BACKSHISH.Bā'laam, n. p. 103Paragraphs in a newspaper describing something wonderful, used to fill out the columns; — an allusion to the miracle of Balaam's ass speaking "with man's voice," Numb. xxii. [Cant.]Bāl'a-chong, n. p. 103A kind of cake formed of small fishes or shrimps, pounded up with salt and spices, and then dried. It is much esteemed in China as a condiment for rice, &c.Bāl'ance, n. p. 103An apparatus for weighing bodies. Balance or Scales. In its original and simplest form, it consists of a beam or lever suspended exactly in the middle, with a scale or basin of precisely equal…Băl'ance, v. t. p. 103To bring to an equipoise, as the weights in the scales of a balance; to weigh in a balance. 2. To equal in number, weight, force, proportion, &c.; to counterpoise. One expression in the letter must…Bāl'ançe, v. i. p. 103To have equal weight on each side; to be in equipoise; as, the scales balance. 2. To fluctuate between motives which appear of equal force; to hesitate. He would not balance nor err in the…Bāl'ance-fish, n. p. 103(Ichth.) The hammer-headed shark (Carcharias zygæna). ☞ It is distinguished by the peculiar form of its head, which is flattened in front, and projects laterally, like the head of a hammer.Bāl'ance-knife, n. p. 103A table knife, which, when laid on the table, rests wholly on the handle, without the blade touching the cloth; — so called because the weight of the handle counterbalances that of the blade.Bāl'an-çer, n. p. 103One who balances, or uses a balance.Băl'ance-reef, n. p. 103(Naut.) A reef-band that crosses a sail diagonally, used to contract it in a storm.Bāl'ance-reef, v. t. p. 103To reduce a sail to its last reef. Totten.Bāl'ance-sheet, n. p. 103(Book-keeping.) A paper giving a summation and balance of accounts.Bāl'a-nite, n. p. 103(Paleon.) A fossil shell of the genus Balanus.Bāl'a-nŭs, n. p. 103(Zoöl.) A genus of the barnacle tribe; a barnacle. See CIRRIPED. Dana.Bāl'ase, v. t. p. 103To balance or to ballast; to counterpoise. [Obs.] Webster, 1623.Bā'las-rū'by, n. p. 103(Min.) A variety of spinel ruby, of a pale rose red, or inclining to orange. Its crystals are usually octahedrons. See SPINEL. Dana.Ba-lau'stine, n. p. 103The wild pomegranate tree. Coxe. Balaustine flowers, the dried flowers of the pomegranate, which are used in medicine as astringents.Bal-bū'ti-āte or Bal-bū'ci-nāte, v. i. p. 103To stammer. [Obs.]Bal-bū'ti-ēs, n. p. 103(Med.) The defect of stammering, or a vicious and imperfect pronunciation. Dunglison.Băl'con, n. p. 103A balcony or gallery. [Obs.] Pepys.Băl'co-nied, a. p. 103Having balconies.Băl'co-ny, n. p. 103(Arch.) A platform or projection from the external wall of a house or other building, usually resting on brackets or consoles, and having the sides encompassed with a balustrade. “The accent has…Bald, a. p. 103Destitute of the natural or common covering, as of hair, feathers, foliage, trees, &c.; as, a bald man, a bald eagle, a bald oak. On the bald top of an eminence. Wordsworth. 2. Destitute of suitable…Băl'da-chĭn, n. p. 104(Arch.) (a.) A structure in form of a canopy, sometimes supported by columns, and sometimes suspended from the roof or projecting from the wall, generally placed over an altar; as, the baldachin in…