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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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Blūe'-pē'ter, n. p. 145(British Marine.) A blue flag with a white square in the center, used as a signal for sailing, to recall boats, &c. It is a corruption of blue repeater, one of the British signal flags.Blūe'-pill, n. p. 145(Med.) A pill of prepared mercury, used as an aperient, &c. Dunglison.Blūe'-spär, n. p. 145(Min.) Azure spar; lazulite; a species of mineral. Dana.Blue'-stŏck'ing, n. p. 145A literary lady; a female pedant. [Colloq.] This term is derived from the name given to certain meetings held by ladies, in the days of Dr. Johnson, for conversation with distinguished literary men.…Bluë'-stōck'ing-ĭsm, n. p. 145The character or manner of a blue-stocking; female pedantry. [Rare.]Blūe'-stōne, n. p. 145Blue vitriol. Douglass.Bluĕ'-thrōat, n. p. 145(Ornith.) A bird with a tawny breast, marked with a sky-blue crescent, inhabiting the northern parts of Europe and Asia.Blu'ets, n. p. 145(Bot.) A name given to several different species of plants having blue flowers, as the Oldenlandia cærulea; the Centaurea cyanus, or blue-bottle; the Vaccinium angustifolium.Blūe'-veined, a. p. 145Having blue veins or streaks.Blūe'-vĕr'di-ter, n. p. 145See VERDITER.Blūe'-vīt/ri-ol, n. p. 145(Chem.) Sulphate of copper.Blue'ly, a. p. 145Somewhat blue; bluish. [Rare.]Blŭff, a. p. 145Rude or coarse in manner or appearance; surly; blustering; pompous. “Bluff visages.” Irving. Black-browed and bluff, like Homer’s Jupiter. Dryden. 2. Sometimes in a good sense, roughly frank…Blŭff, n. p. 145A high bank, almost perpendicular, projecting into the sea or a river. “Beach, bluff, and wave, adieu.” Whittier. 2. A high bank presenting a steep or precipitous front, though it be at a distance…Blŭff, v. t. p. 145To repulse rudely or by gruff answers; to frighten or deter one from accomplishing his ends. [U. S.] [Low.] Bartlett.Blŭff'-bowed, a. p. 145(Naut.) Having broad and flat bows.Blŭff'-hĕad'ed, a. p. 145(Naut.) Having a full, square stem; bluff-bowed.Blŭff'ness, n. p. 145Quality of being bluff; surliness. “A remarkable bluffness of face.” The World.Blŭff'y, a. p. 145Having bluffs, or bold projecting points of land.Blū'ing, n. p. 145The act of rendering blue; as, the bluing of steel. Tomlinson. 2. Something to give a bluish tint, as indigo used by washerwomen.Blū'ish, a. p. 145Blue in a small degree. Somewhat, methought, did rise like bluish mists. Dryden.Blū'ish-ly, adv. p. 145In a bluish manner.Blū'ish-ness, n. p. 145A small or slight degree of blue color. Boyle.Blŭn'der, v. i. p. 145To mistake grossly from confusion of thought or purpose; to err through want of care or deliberation; to do a thing without forethought, or at haphazard; to flounder; to stumble. I was never…Blŭn'der, v. t. p. 145To cause to blunder. [Obs.] “To blunder an adversary.” Ditton. 2. To mix in a blundering manner. [Obs.] He blunders and confounds all these together. Stillingfleet.Blŭn'der, n. p. 145A mistake through ignorance and heedlessness, or without due exercise of judgment; a gross mistake. O, let him alone For making a blunder or picking a bone! Goldsmith. Syn. — BLUNDER, ERROR, MISTAKE.…Blŭn'der-bŭss, n. p. 145A short gun or firearm, with a large bore, capable of holding a number of balls, and intended to do execution without exact aim. With blunderbusses, taught to ride, Like pocket pistols, by his side…Blŭn'der-er, n. p. 145One who is apt to blunder, or to make gross mistakes; a careless person; a blunderhead.Blŭn'der-hĕad, n. p. 145A stupid fellow; one who blunders.Blŭn'der-ing, p. a. p. 145Apt to make blunders; characterized by blunders; mistaking grossly; stumbling. “His wild, blundering talk.” Macaulay.Blŭn'der-ing-ly, adv. p. 145In a blundering manner.Blŭn'ġer, n. p. 145A wooden blade with a cross handle, used for mixing the clay in potteries; a plunger. See PLUNGER. Tomlinson.Blŭn'ġing, n. p. 145The process of mixing clay in potteries with a blunger; plunging. Tomlinson.Blūnt, a. p. 145Having a thick edge or point, as an instrument; dull; not sharp. “The murderous knife was dull and blunt.” Shak. 2. Dull in understanding; slow of discernment. “His wits are not so blunt.” Shak. 3.…Blŭnt, v. t. p. 145To dull the edge or point of, by making it thicker. “Blunt his natural edge.” Shak. 2. To repress or weaken, as any appetite, desire, or power of the mind; to impair the force of, as of any passion…Blūnt, n. p. 145Money. [Cant.] Wright.Blūnt'ing, n. p. 145The act of making blunt. Not impediments or bluntings, but rather as whetstones, to set an edge on our desires. Bp. Taylor.Blŭnt'ish, a. p. 145Somewhat blunt.Blūnt'ish-ness, n. p. 145A slight degree of bluntness. “Tempered with an honest bluntishness.” Wood.Blūnt'ly, adv. p. 145In a blunt manner; coarsely; plainly; abruptly; without delicacy, or the usual forms of civility. Sometimes after bluntly giving his opinions, he would quietly lay himself asleep until the end of…Jeffrey p. 145Blŭnt'ness, n. p. 145Want of edge or point; dullness; obtuseness; want of sharpness. “Bluntness of angles.” Holland. 2. Coarseness of address; roughness of manners; rude sincerity or plainness. “Bluntness of speech.”…Blunt'-wit-ted, a. p. 145Dull; stupid. Blunt-witted lord, ignoble in demeanor. Shak.Blŭr, n. p. 145That which obscures without effacing; a stain; a blot, as upon paper, or other substance. As for those who cleanse blurs with blotted fingers, they make it worse. Fuller. 2. A dim, confused…Blŭr, v. t. p. 145To obscure by a dark spot, or in any manner, without quite effacing. But time hath nothing blurred those lines of favor Which then he wore. Shak. 2. To cause imperfection of vision in; to dim; to…Blurt, v. t. p. 145To utter suddenly or unadvisedly; to divulge inconsiderately;—commonly with out. Others . . . can not hold, but blurt out, those words which afterward they are forced to eat. Hakewill. And yet the…Blŭsh, v. i. p. 145To grow red; to have a red or rosy color. The sun of heaven, methought, was loth to set, But staid, and made the western welkin blush. Shak. 2. To redden in the cheeks or face, as from a sense of…Blūsh, v. t. p. 145To make red; to express by blushing. “I'll blush you thanks.” Shak.Blŭsh, n. p. 145A red or reddish color; a rosy tint. Light’s last blushes tinged the distant hills. Littleton. 2. A red color suffusing the cheeks or the face, caused by shame, modesty, diffidence, or surprise.…Blŭsh'et, n. p. 145A young, modest girl. [Obs.] B. Jon.Blŭsh'ful, a. p. 145Full of blushes. While from his ardent look the turning Spring, Averts her blushful face. Thomson.Blŭsh'ful-ly, adv. p. 145In a blushful manner; with many blushes.Blŭsh'ing, p. a. p. 145Showing blushes; of a bright reddish color; blooming. To the nuptial bower I led her blushing like the morn. Milton. The dappled pink and blushing rose. Prior.Blŭsh'ing, n. p. 145The act of turning red; the appearance of a reddish color upon the cheeks.Blŭsh'ing-ly, adv. p. 145In a blushing manner.Blŭsh'less, a. p. 145Unblushing; past blushing; impudent. Vice now, secure, her blushless front shall raise. Dodsley.Blŭsh'y, a. p. 145Like a blush; having the color of a blush. [Rare.] “A blushy color.” Harvey.Blŭs'ter, v. i. p. 145To blow fitfully with violence and noise, as wind; to be windy and boisterous. And ever-threatening storms Of chaos blustering round. Milton. 2. To talk with noisy violence; to swagger, as a…Blŭs'ter, v. t. p. 145To utter, or effect, with noisy violence. He bloweth and blustereth out . . . his abominable blasphemy. Sir T. More. As if therewith he meant to bluster all princes into a perfect obedience to his…Blŭs'ter, n. p. 145Fitful noise and violence, as of a storm; violent winds; boisterousness. To the winds they set Their corners, when with bluster to confound Sea, air, and shore. Milton. 2. Noisy and violent or…