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.
Brāy'ing, p. a. p. 160Making a harsh, confused noise. “Braying trumpets.” Shak.Brā'y'ing, n. p. 160The noise of an ass. 2. Roar; noise; clamor.Brā'yle, n. p. 160See BRAIL. B. Jonson.Brā'ze, v. t. p. 160To solder with an alloy of brass and zinc; as, to braze the joints of a lock. 2. To cover or ornament with brass. “A tripod richly brazed.” Chapman. 3. To harden to impudence; to harden as with…Brā'zen, a. p. 160Pertaining to brass; proceeding from brass; made of brass. 2. Impudent; having a front like brass; as, a brazen countenance. Brazen age (Myth.), the age which succeeded the silver age, when men had…Brā'zen, v. i. p. 160To be impudent; to bully. “Men would face it and brazen it.” Latimer.Brā'zen-browed, a. p. 160Being of shameless impudence. Browne.Brā'zen-fāçe, n. p. 160An impudent person; one remarkable for effrontery. “Well said, brazen-face; hold it out.” Shak.Brā'zen-fāçed, a. p. 160Impudent; bold to excess; shameless. Shak.Brā'zen-ly, adv. p. 160In a bold, impudent manner.Brā'zen-ness, n. p. 160Appearance like brass; resemblance to brass; brassiness. 2. Impudence; excess of assurance.Brā'zier, n. p. 160An artificer who works in brass. 2. A pan to hold coals.Bra-zil' or Bra-zil'-wood, n. p. 160A very heavy wood, of a red color, growing in Brazil and other tropical countries, and used in manufactures for dyeing red. It is the produce of a papilionaceous plant, of the species Cæsalpinia…Brāz/i-lē'to, n. p. 160A kind of red dyeing-wood, inferior to the Brazil-wood, brought from Jamaica, the produce of two species of Caesalpinia (C. brasiliensis and C. crista). See BRAZIL-WOOD. Bancroft.Bra-zil'ian, n. p. 160(Geog.) A native or an inhabitant of Brazil.Bra-zĭl'ian, a. p. 160(Geog.) Pertaining to Brazil.Bra-zĭl'-nŭt, n. p. 160(Bot.) An oily, three-sided nut, the fruit of the Bertholletia excelsa.Brēach, n. p. 160The act of breaking, or state of being broken; fracture. 2. The gap or opening made by breaking; the space between the parts of a solid body parted by violence; a break; a rupture. Once more unto the…Brēach, v. t. p. 160(Mil.) To make a breach or opening in the walls of, by means of artillery.Brēach'ful, a. p. 160Full of breaches.Brēach'y, a. p. 160Apt to break fences; — applied to unruly cattle in the south of England, and in some parts of the United States.Brĕad, n. p. 160An article of food made by moistening and kneading, and usually fermenting, the flour or meal of some species of grain, and baking it. 2. Food; support of life in general. In the sweat of thy face…Brēad, v. t. p. 160To spread. [Obs.] Ray.Bréad'-chĭp/per, n. p. 160One who chips or slices bread; a baker's servant; an under butler. Shak.Brĕad'-cŏrn, n. p. 160Corn or grain of which bread is made, as wheat, rye, &c.Brĕad'en, a. p. 160Made of bread. Rogers.Brēad'-fruit, n. p. 161(Bot.) The fruit of a tree (Artocarpus incisa), found in the isles of the Pacific. It is of a roundish form, from four to six or seven inches in diameter, and, when baked, somewhat resembles bread…Bread'less, a. p. 161Without bread; destitute of food. Plump peers and breadless bards alike are dull. Whitehead.Brĕad'-rōom, n. p. 161(Naut.) An apartment in a ship's hold, where the bread is kept.Brĕad'-rōot, n. p. 161(Bot.) A large vegetable (Psoralea esculenta), resembling the beet in form, found near the Rocky Mountains. It abounds in farinaceous matter, and is sweet and palatable as food. Baird.Brĕad'stŭff, n. p. 161Bread-corn; meal; flour. [U. S.]Brĕadth, n. p. 161Distance from side to side; measure across, or at right angles to the length; width. 2. (Paint.) The quality of having the colors and shadows broad and massive, and the arrangement of objects such as…Brĕadth'less, a. p. 161Having no breadth. More.Breāk, v. t. p. 161(a.) To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle. “Shall break the locks of prison gates.” Shak. Hence, to lay open…Breāk, v. i. p. 161To come apart or to pieces with violence; to burst asunder. Else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out. Matt. ix. 17. 2. To open spontaneously, or by force from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a…Break, n. p. 161An opening made by fracture or disruption. 2. An interruption; a pause. Johnson. 3. In writing or printing, a short, horizontal line, noting a pause, or an abrupt change of sense. All modern trash is…Break'a-ble, a. p. 161Capable of being broken.Break'age, n. p. 161A breaking. 2. An allowance for things broken, in transportation.Break'down, n. p. 161The act of breaking down, as of a carriage; downfall; destruction. Howitt. 2. A riotous dance, terminating a ball. [Colloq.] Don't clear out when the quadrilles are over, for we are going to have a…Break'er, n. p. 161One who breaks, or that which breaks. I'll be no breaker of the law. Shak. 2. (Naut.) A small, flat water-cask, used in boats for ballast and for emergencies. Totten. 3. (pl.) Waves breaking into…Brĕak'fast, n. p. 161The first meal in the day; or the thing eaten at the first meal. “A sorry breakfast for my lord.” Shak. 2. A meal after fasting, or food in general. The wolves would get a breakfast by my death.…Brĕak'fast, v. i. p. 161To break one's fast in the morning; to eat the first meal in the day. First, sir, I read, and then I break'fast. Prior.Brĕak'fast, v. t. p. 161To furnish with the first meal in the morning. Milton.Brĕak'fast-ing, n. p. 161A party at breakfast. 2. Act of eating breakfast.Break'ing-īn, n. p. 161The act of subduing and training to labor.Break'man, n. p. 161See BRAKEMAN.Break'nĕck, n. p. 161A fall that breaks the neck. 2. A steep place endangering the neck.Break'-nĕck, a. p. 161Producing danger of a broken neck; as, break-neck speed.Break'-prōm'ise, n. p. 161One who makes a practice of breaking his promise. [Obs.] Shak.Break'-ŭp, a. p. 161Pertaining to, or causing, a breaking up, or termination. “One break-up party was held in the junior common room at the end of each term.” Justice Coleridge.Breāk'-vow, n. p. 161One who habitually breaks his vows. [Obs.] Shak.Break'wa-ter, n. p. 161Any structure or contrivance, as a mole, mound, wall, sunken hulk, to break the force of waves, and protect a harbor, or any thing which is exposed to the force of waves. Weale.Brēam, n. p. 161(Ichth.) A certain fish inhabiting lakes and deep water, extremely insipid, and little valued. There are several species, constituting the genus Brama. The name is also applied to species of…Brēam, v. t. p. 161(Naut.) To burn filth, such as grass, seaweed, ooze, &c., off from.Brēam'ing, n. p. 161(Naut.) The burning off of grass, filth, and the like, from a ship's bottom. Totten.Brĕast, n. p. 161The fore part of the body, between the neck and the belly. “Whose heads stood in their breasts.” Shak. 2. The protuberant glands, situated on the front of the chest or thorax in the female of man and…Brēast, v. t. p. 162To meet with the breast; to oppose manfully. Goldsmith. The court breasted the popular current by sustaining the demurrer. Wirt. To breast up a hedge, to cut the face of it on one side so as to lay…Brĕast'-bānd, n. p. 162(Naut.) A band of canvas, or a rope, passed round the body of a man who heaves the lead in sounding, and fastened to the rigging to prevent his falling into the sea. Totten.Brēast'-bēam, n. p. 162(Mach.) The front cross-beam.Bŭf'fer-bēam p. 162of a locomotive frame.