Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
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- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Băt'ter-y, n. p. 114The act of battering or beating. Strong wars they make, and cruel battery bend. Spenser. 2. (Mil.) (a.) Any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, for battering a fortification or attacking an…Băt'ting, n. p. 114The management of a bat in playing games of ball. Mason. 2. Cotton in sheets, prepared for quilts or bed-covers; bat.Băt'tish, a. p. 114Resembling a bat. [Rare.] Vernon.Băt'tle, a. p. 114See BATTEL. [Obs.]Bāt'tle, n. p. 114A fight or encounter between enemies or opposing forces; an engagement; a combat. 2. A body of forces, or division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.] The king divided his army into three battles. Bacon.…Băt'tle, v. i. p. 114To join in battle; to contend in fight. To meet in arms, and battle in the plain. Prior.Bāt'tle, v. t. p. 114To cover with armed force. Fairfax. 2. To strengthen with battlements. Fletcher.Băt'tle-ar-rāy', n. p. 114Array or order of battle; the disposition of forces preparatory to a battle. Campbell.Băt'tle-ăx or Băt'tle-ăxe, n. p. 114(Mil.) A kind of ax formerly used as an offensive weapon. W. Scott.Băt'tle-dōor, n. p. 115An instrument of play, with a handle and a flat board, or palm, used to strike a ball or shuttlecock; a racket. 2. [O. Eng. battledore.] A child's horn-book. [Obs.] Halliwell.Bāt'tle-ment, n. p. 115(Arch.) A notched or indented parapet, originally used only on fortifications, but afterward employed on ecclesiastical and other edifices. Oxf. Gloss. Up to the highest battlement, from whence The…Băt'tle-ment-ed, a. p. 115Having battlements. A battlemented portal of Gothic appearance defended the entrance. W. Scott.Bat-tŏl'o-gist, n. p. 115One who without reason repeats the same thing in speaking or writing. [Obs.] Whitlock.Bat-tōl'o-gīze, v. t. p. 115To keep repeating needlessly; to iterate. [Obs.] Herbert.Bat-tŏl'o-gy, n. p. 115A needless repetition of words in speaking or writing. [Obs.] “Heathenish battology.” Milton.Bāt'ton, n. p. 115See BATTEN and BATON.Bāt'tue, n. p. 115(Hunting.) (a.) The act of beating the woods, bushes, &c., for game. (b.) The game itself. Hewitt.Bat-tŭ'ta, n. p. 115The measuring of time by beating.Băt'ty, a. p. 115Belonging to, or resembling, a bat. [Obs.] “Batty wings.” Shak.Bătz, n. p. 115A small copper coin, with a mixture of silver, formerly current in some parts of Germany and Switzerland, worth about four cents.Baw-bee' or Baw bee', n. p. 115A halfpenny. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] Knox.Bău'ble, n. p. 115A trifling piece of finery; a gew-gaw; that which is gay and showy without real value. The ineffective bauble of an Indian pagod. Sheridan. A fool's bauble was a short stick with a head ornamented…Baud'kin or Bau'de-kin, n. p. 115The richest kind of stuff used for garments in the middle ages, the web being gold, and the woof silk, with embroidery;—made originally at Babylon. Nares.Baud'rie, n. p. 115See BALDRIC.Bau'ge, n. p. 115A drugget made in France with thread spun upon thick, coarse wool.Bauk or Baulk, n. & v. p. 115See BALK.Ba-vā'ri·an, n. p. 115(Geog.) An inhabitant of Bavaria.Bā'v'a-roy, n. p. 115A kind of cloak or surtout. Johnson. Let the looped bavaroy the fop embrace. Gay.Bā'vi-an, n. p. 115A baboon. [Obs.]Bāv'in, n. p. 115A fagot of brush-wood, or other light combustible matter, for kindling fires. “Mounted on a hazel bavin.” Hudibras. 2. Impure limestone. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.Baw'ble, n. p. 115A trinket; a gewgaw. See BAUBLE.Baw'bling, a. p. 115Trifling or contemptible. [Obs.] “A bawbling vessel.” Shak.Baw'cock, n. p. 115A fine fellow. [Obs.] “How now, my bawcock?” Shak.Bawd, n. p. 115A person who keeps a house of prostitution, and conducts criminal intrigues; a procurer or procuress; a lewd person;—usually applied to females.Bawd, v. i. p. 115To procure women for lewd purposes.Bawd'ily, adv. p. 115Obscenely; lewdly.Bawd'i-ness, n. p. 115Obscenity; lewdness.Bawd'rick, n. p. 115A belt. Chapman.Bawd'ry, n. p. 115The practice of procuring women for the gratification of lust. 2. Obscenity; filthy, unchaste language. “The pert style of the pit bawdry.” Steele. 3. Illicit intercourse; fornication. Shak.Bawd'y, a. p. 115Obscene; filthy; unchaste. Rowe.Bâwd’y-house, n. p. 115A house of lewdness and prostitution; a house of ill fame kept for the resort and unlawful commerce of lewd people of both sexes.Baw'hôrse, n. p. 115Same as BATHORSE.Bawl, v. i. p. 115To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation. 2. To cry loud, as a child from pain or vexation.Bawl, v. t. p. 115To proclaim by outcry, as a common crier. Swift.Bawl, n. p. 115A loud, prolonged cry; as, the child set up a loud bawl.Bâwl'er, n. p. 115One who bawls.Bawn, n. p. 115An inclosure with mud or stone walls, for keeping cattle; a fortification. [Obs.] Spenser. 2. A large house. [Obs.] Swift.Baw'rel, n. p. 115A kind of hawk. Halliwell.Baw'sin or Baw'son, n. p. 115A badger. [Obs.] B. Jonson. 2. A large, unwieldy person. [Obs.]Bax-tē'ri-an, a. p. 115Pertaining to Baxter, a celebrated English divine.Bāy, a. p. 115Red or reddish, inclining to a chestnut color;—applied to the color of horses.Bāy (bā), n. p. 115(Geog.) An inlet of the sea, usually smaller than a gulf, but of the same general character. ☞ The name is not used with much precision, and is often applied to large tracts of water, around which…Bāy, n. p. 115A berry, particularly of the laurel. [Obs.] 2. The laurel-tree; hence, in the plural, an honorary garland or crown bestowed as a prize for victory or excellence, anciently made or consisting of…Bāy, n. p. 115A state of being obliged to face an antagonist when escape has become impossible. I suppose he may well hold you at the bay. Ridley. The most terrible evils are just kept at bay by incessant efforts.…Bāy, v. i. p. 115To bark, as a dog at his game. The hounds at nearer distance hoarsely bayed. Dryden. 2. [From bay, an inlet of the sea.] To encompass or inclose; to embay. [Obs.] Shak. 3. [See BATHE.] To bathe.…Bāy, v. t. p. 115To bark at; to follow with barking; as, to bay the boar. Shak.Bā-ya-dēre', n. p. 115A female dancer in the East Indies. Ogilvie.Bāy'ard, n. p. 115[O. Fr. bayard, bay horse, from bay and the termination ard, q. v.; Pr. baiart, L. Lat. baiardus. See BAY, a.] Properly, a bay horse, but often any horse. Blind bayard moves the mill. Philips. 2. [O.…Bāy'ard-ly, a. p. 115Blind; stupid. [Obs.] “A formal and bayardly round of duties.” Goodman.Bāy'ber-ry, n. p. 115(Bot.) (a.) The fruit of the bay-tree, or Laurus nobilis. (b.) The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle), and the plant itself.