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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.

  1. Bro͝ok'mĭnt, n.p. 168(Bot.) The water-mint (Mentha aquatica).
  2. Brōōk'weed, n.p. 168(Bot.) A small marsh plant, of the genus Samolus. Loudon.
  3. Brōōk'y, a.p. 168Abounding with brooks. [Rare.] Dyer.
  4. Brōōm, n.p. 168(Bot.) A genus of leguminous plants (the Cytisus), especially the C. scoparius. No gipsy cowered o’er fires of firs and broom. Wordsworth. 2. A besom, or brush with a long handle, for sweeping…
  5. Brōōm, v. t.p. 168See BREAM.
  6. Brōōm'-cōrn, n.p. 168(Bot.) A species of Sorghum, or Guinea-corn (Sorghum vulgare), having a jointed stem, like a reed, or the stem of maize, rising to the height of eight or ten feet, bearing a head of which brooms are…
  7. Brōōm'ing, n.p. 168(Naut.) See BREAM.
  8. Brōōm'-lănd, n.p. 168Land producing broom. Mortimer.
  9. Brōōm'-rāpe, n.p. 168(Bot.) A British parasitic plant, of the genus Orobanche, which is destitute of green foliage, and adheres to the roots of other plants, particularly the broom, furze, clover, and the like.
  10. Brōōm'stāff or Brōōm'stĭck, n.p. 168The staff or handle of a broom.
  11. Brōōm'y, a.p. 168Full of broom; consisting of broom. “If land grow mossy or broomy.” Mortimer.
  12. Brōse, n.p. 168A dish made by pouring some boiling liquid (as beef-broth, water, &c.) on the meal of oats or pease, and stirring it until small lumps are formed. It is called beef-brose, kale-brose, water-brose…
  13. Brō'sen, a.p. 168Burst. [Obs.]
  14. Brōth, n.p. 168Liquor in which flesh or any thing else is boiled and macerated. I am sure by your unprejudiced discourses that you love broth better than soup. Addison.
  15. Brōth'el, n.p. 168A house of lewdness; a house appropriated to the purposes of prostitution; a bawdy-house. The libertine retires to the stews and to the brothel. Rogers.
  16. Brōth'el-er, n.p. 168One that frequents brothels.
  17. Brōth'el-house, n.p. 168A brothel.
  18. Brōth'el-ry, n.p. 168Lewdness; obscenity. B. Jonson.
  19. Brōth’er, n.p. 168or BRĔTH’REN. [A.-S. brōðor, brōður, brōðer, O. Sax. & Goth. brōthar, D. broeder, Icel. bróðir, Sw. & Dan. broder, O. H. Ger. bruoder, M. H. Ger. bruoder, N. H. Ger. bruder, Lat. frater, It.…
  20. Brōth'er, v. t.p. 168To make a brother of; to call or treat as a brother. W. Scott.
  21. Brōth'er-gēr'man, n.p. 168(Law.) A brother by the father's and mother's side, in contradistinction to a uterine brother, or by the mother only. Bouvier.
  22. Brōth’er-hood, n.p. 168The state of being a brother. This deep disgrace of brotherhood. Touches me deeper than you can imagine. Shak. 2. An association for any purpose, as a society of monks; a fraternity. One great…
  23. Brōth'er-in-lāw, n.p. 168The brother of a husband or wife; also, a sister’s husband.
  24. Brōth'er-less, a.p. 168Without a brother.
  25. Brōth'er-like, a.p. 168Becoming a brother. Shak.
  26. Brōth'er-li-ness, n.p. 168State of being brotherly.
  27. Brȯth'er-lȯve, n.p. 168Brotherly affection. Shak.
  28. Brȯth'er-ly, a.p. 168Pertaining to brothers; such as is natural for brothers; becoming brothers; kind; affectionate; as, brotherly love.
  29. Brȯth'er-ly, adv.p. 168Like a brother; affectionately; kindly. “I speak but brotherly.” Shak.
  30. Brougham, n.p. 168A kind of two-wheeled or four-wheeled carriage, for general use, being either single or double, i. e., for either two or four persons. Simmonds.
  31. Brow, n.p. 168The prominent ridge over the eye, with the hair that covers it, forming an arch above the orbit. And his arched brows, pulled o'er his eyes, Churchill. With solemn proof proclaims him wise.…
  32. Brow, v. t.p. 168To bound; to limit; to form the edge or border of. Milton.
  33. Brow'-ānt'ler, n.p. 168The first start that grows on a deer's head. Bailey.
  34. Brow’beat, v. t.p. 168To depress or bear down with haughty, stern looks, or with arrogant speech and dogmatic assertions; to bear down by impudence; as, to browbeat witnesses. My grandfather was not a man to be…
  35. Brow'beat'ing, n.p. 168A bearing down with stern looks, supercilious manners, or confident assertions. “The imperious browbeatings and scorn of great men.” L’Estrange.
  36. Brow'bound, a.p. 168Crowned; having the head encircled as with a diadem. Shak.
  37. Brow'less, a.p. 168Without shame. Addison.
  38. Brown, n.p. 168A dark color inclining to red or yellow, resulting from the mixture of red, black, and yellow; a tawny, dusky hue.
  39. Brown, a.p. 168Dusky; of a dark or dusky color, of various shades, inclining to red or yellow. “Cheeks brown as the oak leaves.” Longfellow.
  40. Brown, v. t.p. 168To make brown or dusky. A trembling twilight o’er the welkin moves. Browns the dim void and darkens deep the groves. Barlow. 2. To give a bright brown color to, as gun-barrels, by forming a thin…
  41. Brown'-bill, n.p. 168A kind of battle-ax or halbert formerly used by the English foot-soldiers. Many a time, but for a sallet, my brain-pan had been Cleft with a brown-bill. Shak. The black, or, as it is sometimes…
  42. Brown'-brĕad, n.p. 168A coarse wheaten bread made of unbolted meal, called in the United States Graham bread. He would mouth with a beggar though she smelt brown-bread and garlic. Shak. 2. A dark-colored bread made of…
  43. Brown'-cōal, n.p. 168Wood coal, or lignite. See LIGNITE.
  44. Brown'ie, n.p. 168A good-natured spirit, who was supposed often to perform important services around the house by night, such as thrashing, churning, &c. [Scot.]
  45. Brown'ing, n.p. 168The act or operation of giving a brown color to iron; as gun-barrels, &c. “The finest kind of browning is the Damascus, in which dark and bright lines run through the brown ground.” Tomlinson.
  46. Brown'ish, a.p. 168Somewhat brown; inclined to brown.
  47. Brown'ism, n.p. 168(Eccl. Hist.) The views or teachings of the Brownists, who held that any body of professing Christians, united under one pastor, or communing together, constitutes a church independent of any other.
  48. Brown'ist, n.p. 168(Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Robert Brown, a Puritan, or dissenter from the church of England, in the 16th century. He was the head of a party of Independents in church government. “The Brownists did…
  49. Brown'ness, n.p. 168The quality of having a brown color. Now like I brown (O lovely brown thy hair): Only in brownness beauty dwelleth there. Drayton.
  50. Brown'-spär, n.p. 168(Min.) A sparry or crystallized variety of dolomite, of a reddish-brown color from the presence of a small portion of oxide of iron and manganese.
  51. Brown'-stout', n.p. 168A superior kind of porter.
  52. Brown'-stūd'y, n.p. 168A state of mental abstraction or serious reverie; thoughtful absent-mindedness. My companion approached and startled him from his fit of brown-study. W. Irving.
  53. Brown'-wort, n.p. 169(Bot.) A species of Scrophularia (the S. vernalis, or yellow figwort), with brown stalks.
  54. Brown'y, a.p. 169Brown. “Browny locks.” [Obs.] Shak.
  55. Brow'-pōst, n.p. 169(Carp.) A beam that goes across a building.
  56. Browse, v. t.p. 169To eat or nibble off, as the ends of branches of trees, shrubs, &c., by cattle or deer. Yea, like the stag, when snow the pasture sheets, The barks of trees thou browsedst. Shak.
  57. Browse, v. i.p. 169To feed on the tender branches or shoots of shrubs or trees, as cattle, sheep, and goats. Wild beasts there browse, and make their food Her grapes and tender fruits. Milton.
  58. Browse, n.p. 169The tender branches or twigs of trees and shrubs, fit for the food of cattle and other animals. The whiles their goats upon the browses feed. Spencer. Sheep, goats, and oxen, and the nobler steed, On…
  59. Browse'er, n.p. 169An animal that browses.
  60. Browse'-wood, n.p. 169Shrubs and bushes upon which animals browse.