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.
Bōw'-pēn, n. p. 156A metallic ruling-pen, having the part which holds the ink bowed out toward the middle.Bow'-piēce, n. p. 156A piece of ordnance carried at the bow of a ship.Bōw'-saw, n. p. 156A saw with a narrow blade set in a strong frame, and used for cutting curved forms from wood. Francis.Bowse, v. i. p. 156To carouse; to bouse; to booze. De Quincey. 2. (Naut.) To pull or haul hard; as, to bowse upon a tack; to bowse away, to pull all together.Bōw'-shōt, n. p. 156The space which an arrow may pass when shot from a bow.Bow'sprit, n. p. 156(Naut.) A large boom or spar, which projects over the stem of a ship, or other vessel, to carry sail forward.Bows'sen, v. t. p. 156To drink; to drench. [Obs.] [Written also bowse.] Carew.Bōw'string, n. p. 156The string of a bow. 2. A string used by the Turks for strangling offenders.Bōw'string, v. t. p. 156To strangle with a bowstring.Bōw'stringed, p. a. p. 156Furnished with bowstrings. 2. Put to death with a bowstring; strangled.Bōw'tell, n. p. 156(Arch.) The shaft of a clustered pillar, or any plain round molding. Oxf. Gloss.Bōw'-wĭn'dōw, n. p. 156See BAY'-WINDOW. [Obs.]Bōw'yer, n. p. 156An archer; one who uses a bow. [Obs.] 2. One who makes bows. [Obs.]Bōx, n. p. 156A case or receptacle of any size, or made of any material. 2. The quantity that a box contains. 3. An inclosed space with seats in a theater, or other place of public amusement. Thy plays Are laughed…Bŏx, n. p. 157A tree or shrub flourishing in different parts of the globe. The common box (Buxus sempervirens) has two varieties, one of which, the dwarf box (suffruticosa), is much used for borders in gardens.…Bŏx, n. p. 157A blow on the head or ear with the hand. “A good-humored box on the ear.” Irving.Bŏx, v. i. p. 157To fight with the fist; to combat with the hand or fist.Bŏx, v. t. p. 157To inclose in a box. 2. To furnish with boxes, as a wheel. 3. To strike with the hand or fist, especially to strike the ear or side of the head. 4. [Sp. boxar.] To sail round. To box a tree, to make…Bŏx'-crăb, n. p. 157(Zoöl.) A genus, or one of a genus, of crustacea named Calappa. C. granulata, inhabiting the Mediterranean, is also called coq-de-mer. In form, when at rest, and with the feet retracted, it resembles…Bŏx'-ĕl'der, n. p. 157(Bot.) The ash-leaved maple (Negundium Americanum), a native of North America. Loudon.Bŏx'en, a. p. 157Made of box-wood; pertaining to or resembling box. [Rare.] The faded hue of sapless boxen leaves. Dryden.Bŏx'er, n. p. 157One who fights with his fist.Bŏx'haul, v. t. p. 157(Naut.) To wear, as a ship, in a particular manner, when close-hauled, short round on to the other tack; — so called from the circumstance of bracing the headyards aback. Totten.Bŏx'haul-ing, n. p. 157(Naut.) The act or method of going from one tack to another by bracing the yards aback, &c. Totten.Bŏx'ing, n. p. 157The act of fighting with the fist; a combat with the fist. Blackstone.Bŏx'ing-dāy or Bŏx'ing-night, n. p. 157The day and night after Christmas, when presents, or boxes, are given in England. Wright.Bŏx'-ī'ron, n. p. 157A hollow smoothing iron containing a heater within, thus differing from a flat-iron, which is itself heated. Simmonds.Bŏx'-keep'er, n. p. 157An attendant at a theater or any other place of public amusement. Simmonds.Bŏx'-lŏb'by, n. p. 157The lobby leading to the boxes in a theater.Bŏx'-thôrn, n. p. 157(Bot.) A plant, the Lycium barbarum, and other species of the genus. Loudon.Bŏx'-tick'et, n. p. 157A ticket for theater-boxes. Clarke.Bŏx'-tree, n. p. 157The box (Buxus sempervirens).Bŏx'-wood, n. p. 157The wood of the box-tree (Buxus sempervirens).Boy, n. p. 157A male child, from birth to the age of puberty; a lad. Sometimes it is used in contempt or familiarity for a man.Boy, v. t. p. 157To act as a boy, in allusion to the practice of employing boys to act women's parts on the early English stage. I shall see Some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness. Shak.Boy'ar, n. p. 157A nobleman of Russia, Transylvania, &c. See BOIAR.Boy'au, n. p. 157or BOY'AUS. [Fr. boyau, gut, a long and narrow place, and (of trenches) a branch. See BOWEL.] (Fort.) A small trench, or a branch of a trench, leading to a magazine, or to any particular point. They…Boy'-bish'op, n. p. 157A boy (usually a chorister) elected bishop, in old Christmas sports, and invested with robes and other insignia. He practiced a kind of mimicry of the ceremonies in which the bishop usually…Boy'-blind, a. p. 157Blind as a boy; undiscerning. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.Boy'er, n. p. 157(Naut.) A Flemish sloop with a castle at each end.Boy'hood, n. p. 157The state of a boy, or of immature age. Turning to mirth all things of earth, As only boyhood can. Hood.Boy'ish, a. p. 157Resembling a boy in manners or opinions; belonging to a boy; childish; trifling; puerile. “A boyish, odd conceit.” Baillie.Boy'ish-ly, adv. p. 157In a boyish manner; like a boy; childishly.Boy'ish-ness, n. p. 157The manners or behavior of a boy; childishness.Boy'ism, n. p. 157Childishness; puerility. Dryden. 2. The state of a boy; boyhood. [Rare.] Warton.Boy's'-play, n. p. 157Childish amusement; any thing trifling.Bo-yū'na, n. p. 157A large serpent of America, black and slender, having an intolerable smell. Also, a harmless reptile.Bra-bant'ine, a. p. 157(Geog.) Pertaining to Brabant, a province of the Netherlands, or to its inhabitants.Brāb'ble, n. p. 157A broil; a clamorous contest; a wrangle. [Obs.] This petty brabble will undo us all. Shak.Brāb'ble, v. i. p. 157To clamor; to contest noisily. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.Brāb'ble-ment, n. p. 157Clamorous, contentious language. [Obs.] Holland.Brāb'bler, n. p. 157A clamorous, quarrelsome, noisy fellow; a wrangler. [Obs.] Shak.Brāb'bling, n. p. 157The act of contentious clamoring. [Obs.] Sir T. More.Brăc'cāte, a. p. 157(Ornith.) Furnished with feathers which conceal the feet.Brāce, n. p. 157A prop or support; especially (Carp.), a piece of timber extending like an arm across a corner from one piece of timber to another, which forms an angle with it in the frame of a building, to give…Brāce, v. t. p. 157To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam on a building. 2. To draw tight; to tighten; to bind or tie close; to put in a state of tension; to strengthen; as, to brace the…Brāçē'let, n. p. 157An ornament for the wrist, worn mostly by ladies. He had bracelets of gold upon his arm. Scott. 2. A piece of defensive armor for the arm. Johnson.Brā'cer, n. p. 157That which braces, binds, or makes firm; a band or bandage. 2. Armor for the arm. Chaucer. 3. A medicine which gives tension or tone to any part of the body. Johnson.Brāch, n. p. 157A bitch of the hound kind. Shak.Brāch'i-al or Brā'chi-al, a. p. 157Belonging to the arm; as, the brachial artery; the brachial nerve. Hooper. 2. Of the nature of an arm; resembling an arm.