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.
Brisk'ly, adv. p. 166With life and spirit; actively; vigorously.Brisk'ness, n. p. 166Liveliness; vigor in action; quickness; gayety, vivacity, effervescence of liquors.Bris'tle, n. p. 166A short, stiff, coarse hair, as of swine or other animals. 2. (Bot.) A species of pubescence on plants, in form of a stiff, roundish hair. Gray.Bris'tle, v. t. p. 166To erect the bristles of; — sometimes with up. Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest. Shak. Boy, bristle thy courage up. Shak. 2. To fix a bristle to; as, to…Bris'tle, v. i. p. 166To rise or stand erect, like bristles. His hair did bristle on his head. W. Scott. 2. To present an appearance as of bristles; to have standing thick and erect, like bristles. The hill of La Haye…Bris'tle-beâr'ing, a. p. 166Having bristles.Bris'tle-point'ed, a. p. 166(Bot.) Terminating gradually in a very fine, sharp point, as the leaves of many mosses. Lindley.Bris'tle-shaped, a. p. 166Resembling a bristle in form, as a leaf.Bris'tli-ness, n. p. 166The state of having bristles.Bris'tly, a. p. 166Thick set with bristles, or with hairs resembling bristles; rough. “A bristly neck.” Thackeray.Bris'tol-bōard, n. p. 166A kind of fine pasteboard, made with a smooth and sometimes glazed surface.Bris'tol-brick, n. p. 166A sort of brick used for cleaning steel; — so called because originally manufactured at Bristol, England.Bris'tol-dī'a-mond or Bris'tol-stōne, n. p. 166(Min.) Rock crystal, or crystals of quartz, found in a rock near the city of Bristol, in England, and frequently used for ornamental purposes.Bri-sure', n. p. 166(Fort.) Any part of a rampart or parapet which deviates from the general direction.Brit, n. p. 166(Ichth.) A fish of the herring kind (Clupea minima), from one to four inches long, found, at some seasons, in immense numbers, on the eastern coast of New England.Bri-tăn'ni-ă, n. p. 166A metallic compound or alloy, consisting of 100 parts of block-tin, with 8 of antimony, 2 of bismuth, and 2 of copper.Bri-tăn'nĭc, a. p. 166Pertaining to Great Britain; British.Brite or Bright, v. i. p. 166To be or become over-ripe, as wheat, barley, or hops. [Prov. Eng.]Brit'ish, a. p. 166Pertaining to Great Britain or its inhabitants; — sometimes restricted to the original inhabitants.Brĭt'ish-gŭm, n. p. 166A substance of a brownish color, and very soluble in cold water, formed by heating dry starch at a temperature of about 600° Fahr. It corresponds, in its properties, with dextrine, and is used, in…Brĭt'on, n. p. 166A native of Britain.Brĭt'on, a. p. 166British. [Obs.] Spenser.Brĭt'tle, a. p. 166Easily broken; apt to break; fragile; not tough or tenacious. Farewell, thou pretty, brittle piece Of fine-cut crystal. Cotton.Brit'tle-ly, adv. p. 166In a brittle manner. Sherwood.Brit'tle-ness, n. p. 166Aptness to break; fragility; want of tenacity.Britz'skā, n. p. 166A long carriage, with a calash top, so constructed as to give space for reclining atBrīze, n. p. 166The gadfly. See BREEZE. Shak.Brōach, n. p. 166A spit. [Obs.] And some failed not to take the child and bind it to a broach, and lay it to the fire to roast. Sir T. More. 2. An awl; a bodkin. [Prov. Eng.] 3. (Mech.) (a.) A tool of steel…Brōach, v. t. p. 166To spit; to pierce as with a spit. I'll broach the tadpole on my rapier's point. Shak. 2. To tap; to pierce, as a cask, in order to draw the liquor; hence, to let out. He bravely broached his…Brōach'er, n. p. 166A spit; a broach. On five sharp broachers ranked, the roast they turned. Dryden. 2. One who broaches, opens, or utters; a first publisher or promoter. “Some such broacher of heresy.” Atterbury.Broad, a. p. 166Wide; extended in breadth, or from side to side. “A broad area.” Prescott. “Broad, gnarled arms.” Scott. 2. Extended, in the sense of diffused; spread abroad; open. “Broad and open day.” Porteus. 3.…Broad'-ăx or Broad'-ăxe, n. p. 166A military weapon. [Obs.] 2. An ax with a broad edge, for hewing timber.Broad'-bill, n. p. 166(Ornith.) A wild duck (Anas marila), which appears in large numbers on the eastern coast of the United States, in October. On the Chesapeake, it is called black-head, and in Virginia raft-duck.…Broad'-blown, a. p. 166Full blown. [Obs.] Shak.Broad'-brim, n. p. 166A particular kind of hat for men, like those worn by the members of the society of Friends. Simmonds. 2. A member of the society of Friends; a Qua-Broad'cast, n. p. 166(Agric.) A casting or throwing seed from the hand for dispersion in sowing.Broad'cast, adv. p. 166By scattering or throwing at large from the hand; as, to sow broadcast.Broad'cast, a. p. 166Cast or dispersed upon the ground with the hand, as seed in sowing. 2. Widely spread or diffused.Broad Church p. 166A portion of the church of England, comprising those who claim to hold a position, in respect to doctrine and fellowship, intermediate between the old High Church party and the modern Low Church or…Broad'cloth, n. p. 166A fine kind of woolen cloth for men's garments, exceeding twenty-nine inches in width; all woolens of less width being known as narrow-cloths. Simmonds.Broad'en, v. i. p. 166To grow broad. “The broadening sun appears.” Wordsworth.Broad'en, v. a. p. 166To make broad; to render more broad or comprehensive.Broad'-ēyĕd, a. p. 166Having a wide view or survey. “Broad-eyed day.” Shak.Broad'-gāuge, n. p. 166A wide distance (usually six or seven feet) between the rails on a railway, in contradistinction from the narrow gauge of four feet eight inches and a half. Simmonds.Broad'-hŏrn, n. p. 166A flat-boat on the Mississippi and other Western rivers. [Obs. and local, U. S.] At Wheeling I embarked in a flat-bottomed family boat, technically called a broad-horn. W. Irving.Broad'-hôrnèd, a. p. 166Having wide- spread horns. Hulboet.Broad'ish, a. p. 166Rather broad; moderately broad.Broad'-leaf, n. p. 166(Bot.) A tree found in Jamaica (the Terminalia latifolia), the wood of which is used for boards, scantling, shingles, &c.; — sometimes called the almond-tree, from the shape of its fruit.Broad'-lĕafed or Broad'-lĕaved, a. p. 166Having broad leaves. Keats.Broad'ly, adv. p. 166In a broad manner.Broad'ness, n. p. 166Quality of being broad; breadth; extent from side to side; coarseness; grossness.Broad'-pĕn'/nant, n. p. 166(Naut.) A square piece of bunting carried at the mast-head of a commodore's vessel. Simmonds.Broad'-piece, n. p. 166A piece of gold coin broader than a guinea. Encyc. Brit.Broad'-sēal, n. p. 166The great seal of England; the public seal of a country or state.Broad'-sēal, v. t. p. 166To stamp with the broad seal; to make sure; to guarantee or warrant. [Obs.] Thy presence broad-seals our delights for pure. B. Jonson.Broad'side, n. p. 166A discharge of all the guns on one side of a ship, above and below, at the same time. “All his thunders roaring from his broad-sides.” Everett. 2. (Naut.) The side of a ship above the water, from the…Broad'-spread, a. p. 166Wide-spread.Broad'-spread'ing, a. p. 166Spreading widely.Broad'swōrd, n. p. 166A sword with a broad blade and a cutting edge. I heard the broadsword's deadly clang. W. Scott.Broad'-wīse, adv. p. 166In the direction of the breadth.