Bister, Bistre Bis"ter, Bis"tre noun [ French
bistre a color made of soot; of unknown origin. Confer , however, LG.
biester frowning, dark, ugly.]
(Paint.) A dark brown pigment extracted from the soot of wood.
Bistipuled Bi·stip"uled adjective [ Prefix
bi- +
stipule .]
(Botany) Having two stipules.
Bistort Bis"tort noun [ Latin
bis +
tortus , past participle of
torquere to twist: confer French
bistorte .]
(Botany) An herbaceous plant of the genus Polygonum , section Bistorta ; snakeweed; adderwort. Its root is used in medicine as an astringent.
Bistoury Bis"tou·ry noun ;
plural Bistouries [ French
bistouri .]
A surgical instrument consisting of a slender knife, either straight or curved, generally used by introducing it beneath the part to be divided, and cutting towards the surface.
Bistre Bis"tre noun See Bister .
Bisulcate Bi·sul"cate adjective [ Prefix
bi- +
sulcate .]
1. Having two grooves or furrows. 2. (Zoology) Cloven; said of a foot or hoof.
Bisulcous Bi·sul"cous adjective [ Latin
bisulcus ;
bis twice +
sulcus furrow.]
Bisulcate. Sir T. Browne.
Bisulphate Bi·sul"phate noun [ Prefix
bi- +
sulphate .]
(Chemistry) A sulphate in which but half the hydrogen of the acid is replaced by a positive element or radical, thus making the proportion of the acid to the positive or basic portion twice what it is in the normal sulphates; an acid sulphate.
Bisulphide Bi·sul"phide noun [ Prefix
bi- +
sulphide .]
(Chemistry) A sulphide having two atoms of sulphur in the molecule; a disulphide, as in iron pyrites, FeS2; -- less frequently called bisulphuret .
Bisulphite Bi·sul"phite noun (Chemistry) A salt of sulphurous acid in which the base replaces but half the hydrogen of the acid; an acid sulphite.
Bisulphuret Bi·sul"phu·ret noun [ Prefix
bi- +
sulphuret .]
(Chemistry) See Bisulphide .
Bit Bit noun [ Middle English
bitt ,
bite , Anglo-Saxon
bite , bite, from
bītan to bite. See
Bite ,
noun &
v. , and confer
Bit a morsel.]
1. The part of a bridle, usually of iron, which is inserted in the mouth of a horse, and having appendages to which the reins are fastened. Shak. The foamy bridle with the bit of gold.
Chaucer.
2. Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains.
Bit Bit transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Bitted ;
present participle & verbal noun Bitting .]
To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of.
Bit Bit imperfect & past participle of Bite .
Bit Bit noun [ Middle English
bite , Anglo-Saxon
bita , from
bītan to bite; akin to Dutch
beet , German
bissen bit, morsel, Icelandic
biti . See
Bite ,
v. , and confer
Bit part of a bridle.]
1. A part of anything, such as may be bitten off or taken into the mouth; a morsel; a bite. Hence: A small piece of anything; a little; a mite. 2. Somewhat; something, but not very great. My young companion was a bit of a poet.
T. Hook.
» This word is used, also, like
jot and
whit , to express the smallest degree; as, he is not a
bit wiser.
3. A tool for boring, of various forms and sizes, usually turned by means of a brace or bitstock. See Bitstock . 4. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers. Knight. 5. The cutting iron of a plane. Knight. 6. In the Southern and Southwestern States, a small silver coin (as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12 1/2 cents; also, the sum of 12 1/2 cents. Bit my bit ,
piecemeal. Pope.
Bit Bit 3d sing. pr. of Bid , for biddeth . [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Bit Bit noun In the British West Indies, a fourpenny piece, or groat.
Bitake Bi·take" transitive verb [ See
Betake ,
Betaught .]
To commend; to commit. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Bitangent Bi·tan"gent adjective [ Prefix
bi- +
tangent .]
(Geom.) Possessing the property of touching at two points. --
noun A line that touches a curve in two points.
Bitartrate Bi·tar"trate noun (Chemistry) A salt of tartaric acid in which the base replaces but half the acid hydrogen; an acid tartrate, as cream of tartar.
Bitch Bitch noun [ Middle English
biche ,
bicche , Anglo-Saxon
bicce ; confer Icelandic
bikkja , German
betze ,
peize .]
1. The female of the canine kind, as of the dog, wolf, and fox. 2. An opprobrious name for a woman, especially a lewd woman. Pope.
Bite Bite transitive verb [
imperfect Bit ;
past participle Bitten Bit ;
present participle & verbal noun Biting .] [ Middle English
biten , Anglo-Saxon
bītan ; akin to Dutch
bijten , Old Saxon
bītan , Old High German
bīzan , German
beissen , Goth.
beitan , Icelandic
bīta , Swedish
bita , Danish
bide , Latin
findere to cleave, Sanskrit
bhid to cleave. √87. Confer
Fissure .]
1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth; as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man. Such smiling rogues as these,
Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain.
Shak.
2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some insects) used in taking food. 3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure, in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the mouth. "Frosts do
bite the meads."
Shak. 4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [ Colloq.]
Pope. 5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the anchor bites the ground. The last screw of the rack having been turned so often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned and turned with nothing to bite .
Dickens.
To bite the dust ,
To bite the ground ,
to fall in the agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust . --
To bite in (Etching) ,
to corrode or eat into metallic plates by means of an acid. --
To bite the thumb at (any one),
formerly a mark of contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. "Do you
bite your thumb at us?"
Shak. --
To bite the tongue ,
to keep silence. Shak.
Bite Bite intransitive verb 1. To seize something forcibly with the teeth; to wound with the teeth; to have the habit of so doing; as, does the dog bite ? 2. To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent; as, it bites like pepper or mustard. 3. To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing. At the last it [ wine] biteth like serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Prov. xxiii. 32.
4. To take a bait into the mouth, as a fish does; hence, to take a tempting offer. 5. To take or keep a firm hold; as, the anchor bites .
Bite Bite noun [ Middle English
bite ,
bit ,
bitt , Anglo-Saxon
bite bite, from
bītan to bite, akin to Icelandic
bit , Old Saxon
biti , German
biss . See
Bite ,
v. , and confer
Bit .]
1. The act of seizing with the teeth or mouth; the act of wounding or separating with the teeth or mouth; a seizure with the teeth or mouth, as of a bait; as, to give anything a hard bite . I have known a very good fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite .
Walton.
2. The act of puncturing or abrading with an organ for taking food, as is done by some insects. 3. The wound made by biting; as, the pain of a dog's or snake's bite ; the bite of a mosquito. 4. A morsel; as much as is taken at once by biting. 5. The hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to be lifted, or the hold which one part of a machine has upon another. 6. A cheat; a trick; a fraud. [ Colloq.]
The baser methods of getting money by fraud and bite , by deceiving and overreaching.
Humorist.
7. A sharper; one who cheats. [ Slang]
Johnson. 8. (Print.) A blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper.
Biter Bit"er noun 1. One who, or that which, bites; that which bites often, or is inclined to bite, as a dog or fish. "Great barkers are no
biters ."
Camden. 2. One who cheats; a sharper. [ Colloq.]
Spectator.
Biternate Bi·ter"nate adjective [ Prefix
bi- +
ternate .]
(Botany) Doubly ternate, as when a petiole has three ternate leaflets. --
Bi*ter"nate*ly ,
adverb Gray.
Bitheism Bi"the·ism noun [ Prefix
bi- +
theism .]
Belief in the existence of two gods; dualism.
Biting Bit"ing adjective That bites; sharp; cutting; sarcastic; caustic. "A
biting affliction." "A
biting jest."
Shak.
Biting in Bit"ing in" (Etching.) The process of corroding or eating into metallic plates, by means of an acid. See Etch . G. Francis.
Bitingly Bit"ing·ly adverb In a biting manner.
Bitless Bit"less adjective Not having a bit or bridle.
Bito Bi"to noun ,
Bi"to tree` [ Etym. uncertain.]
(Botany) A small scrubby tree ( Balanites Ægyptiaca ) growing in dry regions of tropical Africa and Asia. » The hard yellowish white wood is made into plows in Abyssinia; the bark is used in Farther India to stupefy fish; the ripe fruit is edible, when green it is an anthelmintic; the fermented juice is used as a beverage; the seeds yield a medicinal oil called
zachun . The African name of the tree is
hajilij .
Bitstock Bit"stock` noun A stock or handle for holding and rotating a bit; a brace.
Bitt Bitt noun (Nautical) See Bitts .
Bitt Bitt transitive verb [ See
Bitts .]
(Nautical) To put round the bitts; as, to bitt the cable, in order to fasten it or to slacken it gradually, which is called veering away . Totten.
Bittacle Bit"ta·cle noun A binnacle. [ Obsolete]
Bitten Bit"ten past participle of Bite .
Bitten Bit"ten adjective (Botany) Terminating abruptly, as if bitten off; premorse.
Bitter Bit"ter noun [ See
Bitts .]
(Nautical) AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts. Bitter end ,
that part of a cable which is abaft the bitts, and so within board, when the ship rides at anchor.
Bitter Bit"ter adjective [ Anglo-Saxon
biter ; akin to Goth.
baitrs , Icelandic
bitr , Dan., Swedish , D., & German
bitter , Old Saxon
bittar , from root of English
bite . See
Bite ,
transitive verb ]
1. Having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes. 2. Causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day. 3. Causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant. It is an evil thing and bitter , that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God.
Jer. ii. 19.
4. Characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Col. iii. 19.
5. Mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable. The Egyptians . . . made their lives bitter with hard bondage.
Ex. i. 14.
Bitter apple ,
Bitter cucumber ,
Bitter gourd .
(Botany) See Colocynth . --
Bitter cress (Botany) ,
a plant of the genus Cardamine , esp. C. amara . --
Bitter earth (Min.) ,
tale earth; calcined magnesia. --
Bitter principles (Chemistry) ,
a class of substances, extracted from vegetable products, having strong bitter taste but with no sharply defined chemical characteristics. --
Bitter salt ,
Epsom salts; magnesium sulphate. --
Bitter vetch (Botany) ,
a name given to two European leguminous herbs, Vicia Orobus and Ervum Ervilia . --
To the bitter end ,
to the last extremity, however calamitous. Syn. -- Acrid; sharp; harsh; pungent; stinging; cutting; severe; acrimonious.
Bitter Bit"ter noun Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters .
Bitter Bit"ter transitive verb To make bitter. Wolcott.
Bitter spar Bit"ter spar" A common name of dolomite; -- so called because it contains magnesia, the soluble salts of which are bitter. See Dolomite .
Bitterbump Bit"ter·bump` noun (Zoology) the butterbump or bittern.
Bitterful Bit"ter·ful adjective Full of bitterness. [ Obsolete]
Bittering Bit"ter·ing noun A bitter compound used in adulterating beer; bittern.
Bitterish Bit"ter·ish adjective Somewhat bitter. Goldsmith.
Bitterling Bit"ter·ling noun [ G.]
(Zoology) A roachlike European fish ( Rhodima amarus ).
Bitterly Bit"ter·ly adverb In a bitter manner.
Bittern Bit"tern noun [ Middle English
bitoure ,
betore ,
bitter , from French
butor ; of unknown origin.]
(Zoology) A wading bird of the genus Botaurus , allied to the herons, of various species. » The common European bittern is
Botaurus stellaris . It makes, during the brooding season, a noise called by Dryden bumping, and by Goldsmith booming. The American bittern is
B. lentiginosus , and is also called
stake-driver and
meadow hen . See
Stake- driver . The name is applied to other related birds, as the
least bittern (
Ardetta exilis ), and the
sun bittern .
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