Battle range Bat"tle range` (Mil.) The range within which the fire of small arms is very destructive. With the magazine rifle, this is six hundred yards.

Battle ship Battle ship (Nav.) An armor-plated man-of-war built of steel and heavily armed, generally having from ten thousand to fifteen thousand tons displacement, and intended to be fit to meet the heaviest ships in line of battle.

Battle-ax, Battle-axe Bat"tle-ax`, Bat"tle-axe` (-ăks`) noun (Mil.) A kind of broadax formerly used as an offensive weapon.

Battled Bat"tled past participle Embattled. [ Poetic] Tennyson.

Battledoor Bat"tle·door` noun [ Middle English batyldour . A corrupted form of uncertain origin; confer Spanish batallador a great combatant, he who has fought many battles, Portuguese batalhador , Pr. batalhador , warrior, soldier, from Latin battalia ; or confer Pr. batedor batlet, from batre to beat, from Latin batuere . See Battle , noun ] 1. An instrument, with a handle and a flat part covered with parchment or crossed with catgut, used to strike a shuttlecock in play; also, the play of battledoor and shuttlecock.

2. [ Middle English battleder .] A child's hornbook. [ Obsolete] Halliwell.

Battlement Bat"tle·ment (-m e nt) noun [ Middle English batelment ; confer Old French bataillement combat, from batailler , also Old French bastillier , bateillier , to fortify. Confer Battle , noun , Bastile , Bastion .] (Architecture) (a) One of the solid upright parts of a parapet in ancient fortifications. (b) plural The whole parapet, consisting of alternate solids and open spaces. At first purely a military feature, afterwards copied on a smaller scale with decorative features, as for churches.

Battlemented Bat"tle·ment·ed (-mĕnt*ĕd) adjective Having battlements.

A battlemented portal.
Sir W. Scott.

Battologist Bat·tol"o·gist noun One who battologizes.

Battologize Bat·tol"o·gize (băt*tŏl"lo*jīz) transitive verb To keep repeating needlessly; to iterate. Sir T. Herbert.

Battology Bat·tol"o·gy (-jȳ) noun [ French battologie , from Greek battologi`a ; ba`ttos ; a stammerer + lo`gos ; speech.] A needless repetition of words in speaking or writing. Milton.

Batton Bat"ton noun See Batten , and Baton .

Battue Bat"tue` noun [ French battue , from battre to beat. See Batter , transitive verb , and confer Battuta .] (Hunting) (a) The act of beating the woods, bushes, etc., for game. (b) The game itself. (c) The wanton slaughter of game. Howitt.

Batture Bat`ture" noun [ French, from battre to beat.] An elevated river bed or sea bed.

Battuta Bat·tu"ta noun [ Italian battuta , from battere to beat.] (Mus.) The measuring of time by beating.

Batty Bat"ty (băt"tȳ) adjective Belonging to, or resembling, a bat. " Batty wings." Shak.

Batule Bat"ule (băt"ūl or bȧ*tōl") noun A springboard in a circus or gymnasium; -- called also batule board .

Batz Batz (bäts) noun ; plural Batzen [ German batz , batze , batzen , a coin bearing the image of a bear, German bätz , betz , bear.] A small copper coin, with a mixture of silver, formerly current in some parts of Germany and Switzerland. It was worth about four cents.

Baubee Bau·bee" noun Same as Bawbee .

Bauble Bau"ble (ba"b'l) noun [ Confer Old French baubel a child's plaything, French babiole , Italian babbola , Late Latin baubellum gem, jewel, Latin babulus , a baburrus , foolish.] 1. A trifling piece of finery; a gewgaw; that which is gay and showy without real value; a cheap, showy plaything.

The ineffective bauble of an Indian pagod.
Sheridan.

2. The fool's club. [ Obsolete] "A fool's bauble was a short stick with a head ornamented with an ass's ears fantastically carved upon it." Nares.

Baubling Bau"bling adjective See Bawbling . [ Obsolete]

Baudekin Bau"de·kin noun [ Middle English bawdekin rich silk stuff, Old French baudequin . See Baldachin .] The richest kind of stuff used in garments in the Middle Ages, the web being gold, and the woof silk, with embroidery: -- made originally at Bagdad. [ Spelt also baudkin , baudkyn , bawdekin , and baldakin .] Nares.

Baudrick Bau"drick noun A belt. See Baldric .

Bauk, Baulk Bauk, Baulk noun & v. See Balk .

Baumé Bau`mé" adjective Designating or conforming to either of the scales used by the French chemist Antoine Baumé in the graduation of his hydrometers; of or relating to Baumé's scales or hydrometers. There are two Baumé hydrometers. One, which is used with liquids heavier than water, sinks to 0° in pure water, and to 15° in a 15 per cent salt solution; the other, for liquids lighter than water, sinks to 0° in a 10 per cent salt solution and to 10° in pure water. In both cases the graduation, based on the distance between these fundamental points, is continued along the stem as far as desired. Since all the degrees on a Baumé scale are thus equal in length, while those on a specific-gravity scale grow smaller as the density increases, there is no simple relation between degrees Bé. and Spanish gr. However, readings on Baumés scale may be approximately reduced to specific gravities by the following formulæ ( x in each case being the reading on Baumé's scale) : (a) for liquids heavier than water, sp. gr. = 144 ÷ (144 - x ); (b) for liquids lighter than water, sp. gr. = 144 ÷ (134 + x ).

Baunscheidtism Baun"scheidt·ism noun [ From the introducer, a German named Baunscheidt .] (Medicine) A form of acupuncture, followed by the rubbing of the part with a stimulating fluid.

Bauxite, Beauxite Baux"ite, Beaux"ite noun [ French, from Baux or Beaux , near Arles.] (Min.) A ferruginous hydrate of alumina. It is largely used in the preparation of aluminium and alumina, and for the lining of furnaces which are exposed to intense heat.

Bavardage Ba`var`dage" noun [ French] Much talking; prattle; chatter. Byron.

Bavarian Ba·va"ri·an adjective Of or pertaining to Bavaria. -- noun A native or an inhabitant of Bavaria.

Bavarian cream . See under Cream .

Bavaroy Bav"a·roy noun [ French Bavarois Bavarian.] A kind of cloak or surtout. [ Obsolete] Johnson.

Let the looped bavaroy the fop embrace.
Gay.

Bavian Ba"vi·an (bā"vĭ* a n) noun [ See Baboon .] A baboon.

Bavin Bav"in (băv"ĭn) noun [ Confer Gael. & Ir. baban tuft, tassel.] 1. A fagot of brushwood, or other light combustible matter, for kindling fires; refuse of brushwood. [ Obsolete or Dial. Eng.]

2. Impure limestone. [ Prov. Eng.] Wright.

Bawbee Baw·bee" noun [ Perh. corrupt. from halfpenny .] A halfpenny. [ Spelt also baubee .] [ Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

Bawble Baw"ble noun A trinket. See Bauble .

Bawbling Baw"bling adjective Insignificant; contemptible. [ Obsolete]

Bawcock Baw"cock noun [ From French beau fine + English cock (the bird); or more probably from Old French baud bold, gay + English cock . Confer Bawd .] A fine fellow; -- a term of endearment. [ Obsolete] "How now, my bawcock ?" Shak.

Bawd Bawd noun [ Middle English baude , Old French balt , baut , baude , bold, merry, perhaps from Old High German bald bold; or from Celtic, confer W. baw dirt. Confer Bold , Bawdry .] A person who keeps a house of prostitution, or procures women for a lewd purpose; a procurer or procuress; a lewd person; -- usually applied to a woman.

Bawd Bawd intransitive verb To procure women for lewd purposes.

Bawdily Bawd"i·ly adverb Obscenely; lewdly.

Bawdiness Bawd"i·ness noun Obscenity; lewdness.

Bawdrick Bawd"rick noun A belt. See Baldric .

Bawdry Bawd"ry noun [ Middle English baudery , Old French bauderie , balderie , boldness, joy. See Bawd .] 1. The practice of procuring women for the gratification of lust.

2. Illicit intercourse; fornication. Shak.

3. Obscenity; filthy, unchaste language. "The pert style of the pit bawdry ." Steele.

Bawdy Bawd"y adjective 1. Dirty; foul; -- said of clothes. [ Obsolete]

It [ a garment] is al bawdy and to-tore also.
Chaucer.

2. Obscene; filthy; unchaste. "A bawdy story." Burke.

Bawdyhouse Baw"dy·house` noun A house of prostitution; a house of ill fame; a brothel.

Bawhorse Baw"horse` noun Same as Bathorse .

Bawl Bawl (bal) intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bawled (bald); present participle & verbal noun Bawling .] [ Icelandic baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Swedish böla ; confer AS bellan , German bellen to bark, English bellow , bull .] 1. To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate.

2. To cry loudly, as a child from pain or vexation.

Bawl Bawl transitive verb To proclaim with a loud voice, or by outcry, as a hawker or town-crier does. Swift.

Bawl Bawl noun A loud, prolonged cry; an outcry.

Bawler Bawl"er noun One who bawls.

Bawn Bawn (ban) noun [ Ir. & Gael. babhun inclosure, bulwark.] 1. An inclosure with mud or stone walls, for keeping cattle; a fortified inclosure. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

2. A large house. [ Obsolete] Swift.

Bawrel Baw"rel noun [ Confer Italian barletta a tree falcon, or hobby.] A kind of hawk. [ Obsolete] Halliwell.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter B > Page 23 of 120.
« Previous ¦15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 ¦ Next »