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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. Bĕd'-chăm'ber, n.p. 119A chamber for a bed. Shak.
  2. Bĕd'clōthes, n. pl.p. 119Blankets, sheets, coverlets, &c., for a bed. Shak.
  3. Bĕd'der or Be-dĕt'ter, n.p. 119The nether stone of an oil mill. Chalmers.
  4. Bĕd'ding, n.p. 119A bed and its furniture; the materials of a bed, whether for man or beast. Spenser. 2. (Geol.) The state or position of beds and layers. Dana.
  5. Be-dĕād′, v. t.p. 119To make dead; to kill. [Obs.]
  6. Be-dĕck′, v. t.p. 119To deck, ornament, or adorn; to grace. “Bedecked with boughs, flowers, and garlands.” Pennant.
  7. Bĕd'e-guār, n.p. 119A hairy or spongy substance on rose-bushes, produced by the puncture of certain insects, and once supposed to have valuable medicinal properties. Booth.
  8. Bēde'-house, n.p. 119See BEAD HOUSE.
  9. Bē'del, n.p. 119Same as BEADLE, q. v.
  10. Bē'del-ry, n.p. 119The extent of a bedel's or beadle's office. Blount.
  11. Be-dĕv'il, v. t.p. 119To throw into utter disorder and confusion, as if by the agency of evil spirits. “Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew.” Sterne. 2. To spoil; to corrupt. Wright.
  12. Be-dew', v. t.p. 119To moisten with dew, or as with dew. Falling tears his face bedew. Dryden.
  13. Be-dew'er, n.p. 119One who, or that which, bedews.
  14. Be-dew'y, a.p. 119Moist with dew. [Obs.] “Night with her bedewy wings.” Brewer.
  15. Bĕd'fel-lōw, n.p. 119One who lies with another in the same bed. Shak.
  16. Bĕd'fēre, n.p. 119
  17. Bĕd'phērep. 119A bedfellow. [Obs.] Chapman.
  18. Be-dight′, v. t.p. 119To deck with ornaments; to adorn; to dress; to set off. [Rare.] Milton.
  19. Be-dīm’, v. t.p. 119p. pr. & vb. n. BEDIMMING.] [be and dim.] To make dim; to obscure or darken. I have bedimmed the noon-tide sun. Shak.
  20. Be-dĭs'mal, v. t.p. 119To make dismal. [Obs.]
  21. Be-dī'zen or Be-diz'en, v. t.p. 119To dress or adorn tawdrily or with false taste. Remnants of tapestried hangings, window curtains, and shreds of pictures, with which he had bedizened his tatters. W. Scott.
  22. Bĕd'lam, n.p. 119A place appropriated to the confinement and care of the insane; a mad-house. Tillotson. 2. An insane person; a lunatic; a madman. “Let us get the bedlam to lead him.” Shak.
  23. Bĕd'lam, a.p. 119Belonging to or fit for a mad-house. “The bedlam, brainsick duchess.” Shak.
  24. Bĕd'lam-ite, n.p. 119An inhabitant of a mad-house; a madman. “Raving bedlamites.” Beattie.
  25. Bĕd'-māk/er, n.p. 119One who makes beds.
  26. Bĕd'-mōld'ing or Bĕd'-mōuld'ing, n.p. 119(Arch.) The moldings of a cornice immediately below the corona. Oxf. Gloss.
  27. Be-dōte', v. t.p. 119To cause to dote; to deceive. [Obs.] Chaucer.
  28. Bĕd'ōu-īn, n.p. 119One of a tribe of nomadic Arabs who live in tents, and are scattered over Arabia, Egypt, and other parts of Africa.
  29. Bĕd'ōu-īn, a.p. 120Pertaining to the Bedouins.
  30. Bĕd'-păn, n.p. 120A pan for warming beds; a warming-pan. [Obs.] Nares. 2. A necessary utensil for the use of a person confined to his bed.
  31. Bĕd'-piēce or Bĕd'-plāte, n.p. 120(Mach.) The principal or foundation framing or piece, by which the other parts are supported and held in place; the bed;—called also base-plate and sole-plate.
  32. Bēd'-prēss'er, n.p. 120A heavy, lazy fellow. [Obs.] Shak.
  33. Be-drăg'gle, v. t.p. 120To soil, as garments which are suffered, in walking, to drag in dirt, mud, &c. Swift.
  34. Be-drĕnch', v. t.p. 120To drench; to saturate with moisture; to soak; to wet through. Shak.
  35. Bĕd'rid or Bĕd'rid-den, a.p. 120Confined to the bed by age or infirmity. Shak.
  36. Bĕd'right or Bĕd'rite, n.p. 120The rite or the privilege of the marriage bed. Shak.
  37. Bēd'rōom, n.p. 120A room or apartment intended or used for a bed; a lodging-room. 2. Room in a bed. [Obs.] Then by your side no bed-room me deny. Shak.
  38. Be-drŏp’, v. t.p. 120To sprinkle, or cover as with drops. “Scales bedropped with gold.” Pope.
  39. Bĕd'sīde, n.p. 120The side of the bed.
  40. Bĕd'-site, n.p. 120A recess in a room for a bed. Of the three bed-rooms, two have fire-places, and all are of fair size, with windows and bed-site well placed. (Quart. Rev.)
  41. Bĕd'stăff, n.p. 120A wooden pin anciently inserted on the sides of bedsteads, to keep the clothes from slipping on either side. B. Jonson.
  42. Bĕd'stĕad, n.p. 120A frame for supporting a bed.
  43. Bĕd'-stēps, n. pl.p. 120Steps for mounting up to a bed of unusual height.
  44. Bĕd'-strāw, n.p. 120<br>1. Straw put into a bed. Bacon.<br>2. (Bot.) An odoriferous plant, a species of Galium (G. verum);—so called from a custom formerly practiced of strewing beds with it. [See STRAW, v. t. To strew…
  45. Bĕd′/swĕrv-er, n.p. 120One who swerves from his bed; that is, one who is false and unfaithful to the marriage vow. Shak.
  46. Bĕd'-tĭck, n.p. 120A case of linen or cotton cloth, used for inclosing the feathers or other materials of a bed. Booth.
  47. Bĕd'-time, n.p. 120The time to go to rest; the usual hour of going to bed. Shak.
  48. Be-dúck’, v. t.p. 120To duck; to put the head under water; to immerse. “Deep himself beducked.” Spenser.
  49. Be-düng’, v. t.p. 120To cover with dung. Bp. Hall.
  50. Be-düst', v. t.p. 120To sprinkle, soil, or cover with dust. Sherwood.
  51. Bĕd'ward, adv.p. 120Toward bed.
  52. Be-dwarf', v. t.p. 120To make a dwarf of; to stunt or hinder the growth of. Donne.
  53. Bēd'work, n.p. 120Work done in bed, without toil of the hands, or with ease. Shak.
  54. Be-dye′, v. t.p. 120To dye or stain. “With Sarazin blood bedyed.” Spenser.
  55. Bee, p. p.p. 120of be, used for been.
  56. Bee, n.p. 120(Entom.) A four-winged insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apis. There are many genera and species; the common honey-bee is the Apis mellifica, and lives in swarms, each of which has its own…
  57. Bee'-brĕad, n.p. 120A brown, bitter substance, the pollen of flowers collected by bees, as food for their young.
  58. Beech, n.p. 120(Bot.) A tree of the genus Fagus. It grows to a large size, having a smooth bark and thick foliage, and bears a triangular nut, of which swine are fond. The F. sylvatica is the European species, and…
  59. Beech’en, a.p. 120Consisting of the wood or bark of the beech; belonging to the beech. “Plain beechen vessels.” Dryden.
  60. Beech'-māst, n.p. 120The fruit or nuts of the beech.