Dictionary
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.
Bōurse, n. p. 155An exchange, or place where merchants, bankers, &c., meet for business at certain hours. See BURSE.Bōuse or Boose, v. i. p. 155To drink to excess; to drink greedily or immoderately. [Written also booze.] [Low.] Spenser.Bou'stro-phē'don, n. p. 155An ancient Greek mode of writing, in alternate lines, one from right to left, and the next from left to right, as fields are plowed.Bou'sy, a. p. 155Drunk-en; intoxicated. [Written also boozy.] [Low.] With a long legend of romantic things Which in his cups the boozy poet sings. Dryden.Bout, n. p. 155A conflict; contest; attempt; trial; a set-to at any thing; as, a drinking-bout. The gentleman will, for his honor's sake, have one bout with you; he can not by the duello avoid it. Shak. 2. As much…Bou-tāde’, n. p. 155A caprice; whim; fancy. [Obs.] Swift.Bou-tānt', a. p. 155See ARC-BOUTANT.Boute-feu, n. p. 155An incendiary; an inciter of quarrels. [Obs.] Animated by . . . John a Chamber, a very boutefeu, . . . they entered into open rebellion. Bacon.Bou'ti-sāle, n. p. 155A sale at a cheap rate. [Obs.] Hayward.Bouts-rimés', n. pl. p. 155Words that rhyme given to be formed into verse.Bō'vate, n. p. 155(Old Law.) An ox gang, or as much land as an ox can plow in a year; an ancient measure of land, of indefinite quantity, but usually estimated at 15 acres.Bō'vey-cōal, n. p. 155(Min.) A kind of mineral coal, or brown lignite, burning with a weak flame, and generally a disagreeable odor; found at Bovey Hatfield, near Exeter, in England. It is of the geological age of the…Bō'vid, a. p. 155(Zoöl.) Relating to that tribe of ruminant mammals of which the genus Bos is the type.Bō'vi-fōrm, a. p. 155Resembling an ox. [Obs.]Bō'vine, a. p. 155Pertaining to oxen and cows, or the quadrupeds of the genus Bos. This animal is the strongest and fiercest of the bovine genus. Burr w. The ox-born souls mean nothing more than the eight living souls…Bow, v. t. p. 155To cause to deviate from straightness; to bend; to inflect; to make crooked or curved. We bow things the contrary way, to make them come to their natural straightness. Bacon. The whole nation bowed…Bow, v. i. p. 156To bend, in token of reverence, respect, or civility; to bend; to curve; to be inflected; — often with down. Admired, adored by all the circling crowd, For wheresoe’er she turned her face, they…Bow, n. p. 156An inclination of the head, or a bending of the body, in token of reverence, respect, civility, or submission; as, a bow of deep humility. 2. (Naut.) The bending or rounded part of a ship forward…Bōw, n. p. 156Any thing bent, or in form of a curve; as, the rainbow; the doubling of a string in a knot; the part of a yoke which embraces the neck, &c. 2. A weapon made of a strip of wood, or other elastic…Bow'a-ble, a. p. 156Capable of being bowed or bent; flexible; easily influenced; yielding. [Obs.]Bōw'-beâr'er, n. p. 156An under officer of the forest, whose duty was to inform of trespasses. Cowell.Bōw'-bĕll, n. p. 156One born within hearing distance of Bow-bells; a cockney. Halliwell.Bōw'-bĕlls, n. pl. p. 156The bells of the Bow Church in London; hence the central part of London; cockneydom. Knight.Bōw'bĕnt, a. p. 156Crooked. Milton.Bow'-chās'er, n. p. 156(Naut.) A gun fired from the bow of a ship in chasing another. Totten.Bōw'-cȯm'pass-es, n. pl. p. 156A pair of compasses, with a bow or arched plate of metal riveted to one of the legs, upon which the other leg slides, to steady the motion. 2. A small pair of compasses furnished with a bow-pen for…Bōw'-drill, n. p. 156A drill worked by a bow and string.Bow'el, n. p. 156One of the intestines of an animal; an entrail, especially of man; a gut; — chiefly used in the plural. He burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. Acts i. 18. 2. Hence…Bow'el, v. t. p. 156To take out the bowels of; to eviscerate; to penetrate the bowels of. Ainsworth.Bow'eled, p. a. p. 156Having bowels; hollow. “The boweled cavern.” Thomson.Bow'el-less, a. p. 156Without tenderness. Browne.Bow'er, n. p. 156One who bows or bends. 2. (Naut.) An anchor carried at the bow of a ship. 3. (Anat.) A muscle that bends a limb, especially the arm; an inflexor. [Obs.] Rawbone arms, whose mighty brawned bowers Were…Bow'er, n. p. 156Anciently, a chamber; a lodging room. She led him up into a godly bower. Spenser. Give me my lute in bed as now I lie, And lock the doors of mine unlucky bower. Gascoigne. 2. A country-seat; a…Bow'er, v. t. p. 156To embower; to inclose.Bow'er, v. i. p. 156To lodge. [Obs.] Spenser:Bow'er-ie, n. p. 156A well descended by steps. [India.] Weale.Bow'er-y, a. p. 156Covering; shading, as a bower; also, containing bowers. A bowery maze that shades the purple streams. Trumbull.Bow'ess or Bow'et, n. p. 156(Falconry.) A young hawk, when it begins to get out of the nest. [Written also bower.]Bow'ge, v. i. p. 156To swell out. See BOUGE.Bowge, v. t. p. 156To cause to leak; to bilge. [Obs.] See BOUGE. So offensive and dangerous to bowge and pierce any enemie ship which they do encounter. Holland.Bow'-grāce, n. p. 156(Naut.) A frame of rope or junk, laid out at the sides or bows of a vessel to secure it from injury by ice.Bōw'-hănd, n. p. 156(Archery.) The hand that holds the bow, i. e., the left hand. “Surely he shoots wide on the bow-hand.” Spenser. 2. (Mus.) The hand that draws the bow, i. e., the right hand.Bōw'ie-knife, n. p. 156A knife from ten to fifteen inches long, and about two inches broad, worn as a weapon in the Southern and South-western States;—so named from its inventor, Colonel James Bowie. Bartlett.Bōw'ing, n. p. 156The act or art of managing the bow in playing on stringed instruments. “Bowing constitutes a principal part of the art of the violinist.” Moore.Bow'ing-ly, adv. p. 156In a bending manner.Bōw'-in'stru-ment, n. p. 156(Mus.) A stringed instrument from which musical tones are produced by means of a bow. Moore.Bōw'-knŏt, n. p. 156A knot in which a portion of the string is drawn through in the form of a loop or bow, so as to be readily untied.Bōwl, n. p. 156A concave vessel to hold liquors, in form approximately the segment of a sphere. “Give them drink in bowls of bass-wood.” Longfellow. 2. The hollow part of any thing; as, the bowl of a spoon.Bōwl, n. p. 156A ball of wood or other material used for rolling on a level surface in play; a ball. Like an uninstructed bowler, he thinks to attain the jack by delivering his bowl straightforward upon it. W.…Bōwl, v. t. p. 156To roll, as a bowl. Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel. And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven. Shak. 2. To pelt with any thing rolled. Alas! I had rather be set quick i’ th’…Bōwl, v. i. p. 156To play with bowls. 2. To roll the ball on a level plane, as at cricket, wicket, or skittles. 3. To move rapidly, smoothly, and like a ball; as, the carriage bowled along.Bōw'l·der, n. p. 156A large stone, worn smooth or rounded by the action of water; a large pebble. 2. (Geol.) A mass of any rock, whether rounded or not, that has been transported by natural agencies from its native bed.…Bōw'lder, a. p. 156Pertaining to, or consisting of, bowlders.Boulder-wall p. 156a wall constructed of large stones or boulders.Bōw'-lĕg, n. p. 156A crooked leg. Bp. Taylor.Bōw'-lēgged, a. p. 156Having crooked legs. Johnson.Bōwl'er, n. p. 156One who plays at bowls, or who rolls in cricket or any other game.Bōw'less, a. p. 156Destitute of a bow.Bōw'line, n. p. 156(Naut.) A rope fastened near the middle of the leech or perpendicular edge of the square sails, by subordinate parts, called bridles, and used to keep the weather edge of the sail tight forward, when…Bōwl'ing, n. p. 156The act of rolling bowls, or the ball at cricket.