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An American Dictionary of the English Language

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

  1. Bāt'ton, n.p. 115See BATTEN and BATON.
  2. Bāt'tue, n.p. 115(Hunting.) (a.) The act of beating the woods, bushes, &c., for game. (b.) The game itself. Hewitt.
  3. Bat-tŭ'ta, n.p. 115The measuring of time by beating.
  4. Băt'ty, a.p. 115Belonging to, or resembling, a bat. [Obs.] “Batty wings.” Shak.
  5. 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.
  6. Baw-bee' or Baw bee', n.p. 115A halfpenny. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] Knox.
  7. 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…
  8. 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.
  9. Baud'rie, n.p. 115See BALDRIC.
  10. Bau'ge, n.p. 115A drugget made in France with thread spun upon thick, coarse wool.
  11. Bauk or Baulk, n. & v.p. 115See BALK.
  12. Ba-vā'ri·an, n.p. 115(Geog.) An inhabitant of Bavaria.
  13. Bā'v'a-roy, n.p. 115A kind of cloak or surtout. Johnson. Let the looped bavaroy the fop embrace. Gay.
  14. Bā'vi-an, n.p. 115A baboon. [Obs.]
  15. 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.
  16. Baw'ble, n.p. 115A trinket; a gewgaw. See BAUBLE.
  17. Baw'bling, a.p. 115Trifling or contemptible. [Obs.] “A bawbling vessel.” Shak.
  18. Baw'cock, n.p. 115A fine fellow. [Obs.] “How now, my bawcock?” Shak.
  19. 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.
  20. Bawd, v. i.p. 115To procure women for lewd purposes.
  21. Bawd'ily, adv.p. 115Obscenely; lewdly.
  22. Bawd'i-ness, n.p. 115Obscenity; lewdness.
  23. Bawd'rick, n.p. 115A belt. Chapman.
  24. 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.
  25. Bawd'y, a.p. 115Obscene; filthy; unchaste. Rowe.
  26. 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.
  27. Baw'hôrse, n.p. 115Same as BATHORSE.
  28. 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.
  29. Bawl, v. t.p. 115To proclaim by outcry, as a common crier. Swift.
  30. Bawl, n.p. 115A loud, prolonged cry; as, the child set up a loud bawl.
  31. Bâwl'er, n.p. 115One who bawls.
  32. Bawn, n.p. 115An inclosure with mud or stone walls, for keeping cattle; a fortification. [Obs.] Spenser. 2. A large house. [Obs.] Swift.
  33. Baw'rel, n.p. 115A kind of hawk. Halliwell.
  34. Baw'sin or Baw'son, n.p. 115A badger. [Obs.] B. Jonson. 2. A large, unwieldy person. [Obs.]
  35. Bax-tē'ri-an, a.p. 115Pertaining to Baxter, a celebrated English divine.
  36. Bāy, a.p. 115Red or reddish, inclining to a chestnut color;—applied to the color of horses.
  37. 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…
  38. 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…
  39. 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.…
  40. 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.…
  41. Bāy, v. t.p. 115To bark at; to follow with barking; as, to bay the boar. Shak.
  42. Bā-ya-dēre', n.p. 115A female dancer in the East Indies. Ogilvie.
  43. 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.…
  44. Bāy'ard-ly, a.p. 115Blind; stupid. [Obs.] “A formal and bayardly round of duties.” Goodman.
  45. 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.
  46. Bāy'ber-ry-tál'lōw, n.p. 115A fragrant green wax obtained from the bayberry, or wax myrtle;—called also myrtle-wax.
  47. Bāyed, a.p. 115Having bays. “The large bayed barn.” Drayton.
  48. Bāy'o-net, n.p. 115(Mil.) A short, pointed instrument of iron, or broad dagger, formerly with a handle fitted to the bore of a gun, where it was inserted for use after the soldier had fired; but now made with a ring…
  49. Bāy'o-net, v. t.p. 115To stab with a bayonet. 2. To compel or drive by the bayonet. “To bayonet us into submission.” Burke.
  50. Bāy'ou, n.p. 115The outlet of a lake; a channel for water. [Southern States.]
  51. Bāy'-rūm, n.p. 115A fragrant liquor obtained by distilling the leaves of the bay-tree.
  52. Bāys or Bāyze, n.p. 115A sort of coarse woolen cloth. See BAIZE.
  53. Bāy'-salt, n.p. 115Salt which has been obtained from sea-water, by evaporation in shallow pits or basins, by the heat of the sun. Bacon.
  54. Bāy'-tree, n.p. 115A species of laurel; Laurus nobilis.
  55. Bāy'-wīn'dōw, n.p. 115(Arch.) A window forming a bay or recess in a room, and projecting outward from the wall, either in a rectangular, polygonal, or semicircular form;—often corruptly called a bow-window. Oxf. Gloss.
  56. Bāy'-yārn, n.p. 115The same as woolen yarn. Chambers.
  57. Ba-zāar', n.p. 115
  58. Ba-zār'p. 115In the East, an exchange, marketplace, or assemblage of shops where goods are exposed to sale. 2. A spacious hall or suite of rooms fitted up with counters or stands for the sale of goods; a fair.
  59. Bdĕll'ium, n.p. 115A gummy, resinous exudation from an Oriental tree or shrub. ☞ It is externally of a dark brown color, internally clear, and not unlike glue in appearance, slightly bitterish and pungent in taste, and…
  60. Bdel-lōm'e-ter, n.p. 115(Med.) A cupping glass to which are attached a scarificator and an ex- hausting syringe. Dunglison.