Chapter 163

The foamy bridle with the bit of gold. Chaucer.

2. Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains.

Bit <Xpage=149>

Bit , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bitted (#) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Bitting .] To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of.

Bit <Xpage=149>

Bit , imp. & p. p. of Bite .

Bit <Xpage=149>

Bit , n. [OE. bite , AS. bita , fr. b\'c6tan to bite; akin to D. beet , G. bissen bit, morsel, Icel. biti . See Bite , v ., and cf. 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.

&hand; 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 <Xpage=149>

Bit , 3d sing. pr. of Bid , for biddeth . [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Bitake <Xpage=149>

Bi*take" (?) , v. t. [See Betake , Betaught .] To commend; to commit. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Bitangent <Xpage=149>

Bi*tan"gent (?) , a. [Pref. bi- + tangent .] (Geom.) Possessing the property of touching at two points. -- n. A line that touches a curve in two points.

Bitartrate <Xpage=149>

Bi*tar"trate (?) , n. (Chem.) A salt of tartaric acid in which the base replaces but half the acid hydrogen; an acid tartrate, as cream of tartar.

Bitch <Xpage=149>

Bitch (?) , n. [OE. biche , bicche , AS. bicce ; cf. Icel. bikkja , G. 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 <Xpage=149>

Bite (?) , v. t. [ imp. Bit (?) ; p. p. Bitten (?) , Bit ; p. pr. & vb. n. Biting .] [OE. biten , AS. b\'c6tan ; akin to D. bijten , OS. b\'c6tan , OHG. b\'c6zan , G. beissen , Goth. beitan , Icel. b\'c6ta , Sw. bita , Dan. bide , L. findere to cleave, Skr. bhid to cleave. &root;87. Cf. 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 <Xpage=149>

Bite (?) , v. i. 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 <Xpage=149>

Bite , n. [OE. bite , bit , bitt , AS. bite bite, fr. b\'c6tan to bite, akin to Icel. bit , OS. biti , G. biss . See Bite , v ., and cf. 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 <Xpage=149>

Bit"er (?) , n. 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 <Xpage=149>

Bi*ter"nate (?) , a. [Pref. bi- + ternate .] (Bot.) Doubly ternate, as when a petiole has three ternate leaflets. -- Bi*ter"nate*ly , adv.

Gray.

Bitheism <Xpage=149>

Bi"the*ism (?) , n. [Pref. bi- + theism .] Belief in the existence of two gods; dualism.

Biting <Xpage=149>

Bit"ing (?) , a. That bites; sharp; cutting; sarcastic; caustic. "A biting affliction." "A biting jest."

Shak.

Biting in <Xpage=149>

Bit"ing in" (?) . (Etching.) The process of corroding or eating into metallic plates, by means of an acid. See Etch .

G. Francis.

Bitingly <Xpage=149>

Bit"ing*ly , adv. In a biting manner.

Bitless <Xpage=149>

Bit"less (?) , a. Not having a bit or bridle.

Bitstock <Xpage=149>

Bit"stock` (?) , n. A stock or handle for holding and rotating a bit; a brace.

Bitt <Xpage=149>

Bitt (?) , n. (Naut.) See Bitts .

Bitt <Xpage=149>

Bitt (?) , v. t. [See Bitts .] (Naut.) 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 <Xpage=149>

Bit"ta*cle (?) , n. A binnacle. [Obs.]

Bitten <Xpage=149>

Bit"ten (?) , p. p. of Bite .

Bitten <Xpage=149>

Bit"ten (?) , a. (Bot.) Terminating abruptly, as if bitten off; premorse.

Bitter <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter (?) , n. [See Bitts .] (Naut.) 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 <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter (?) , a. [AS. biter ; akin to Goth. baitrs , Icel. bitr , Dan., Sw., D., & G. bitter , OS. bittar , fr. root of E. bite . See Bite , v. t. ] 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 . (Bot.) See Colocynth . -- Bitter cress (Bot.) , a plant of the genus Cardamine , esp. C. amara . -- Bitter earth (Min.) , tale earth; calcined magnesia. -- Bitter principles (Chem.) , 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 (Bot.) , 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 <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter (?) , n. Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters .

Bitter <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter , v. t. To make bitter.

Wolcott.

Bitterbump <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*bump` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) the butterbump or bittern.

Bitterful <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*ful (?) , a. Full of bitterness. [Obs.]

Bittering <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*ing , n. A bitter compound used in adulterating beer; bittern.

Bitterish <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*ish , a. Somewhat bitter.

Goldsmith.

Bitterling <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*ling (?) , n. [G.] (Zo\'94l.) A roachlike European fish ( Rhodima amarus ).

Bitterly <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*ly , adv. In a bitter manner.

Bittern <Xpage=149>

Bit"tern (?) , n. [OE. bitoure , betore , bitter , fr. F. butor ; of unknown origin.] (Zo\'94l.) A wading bird of the genus Botaurus , allied to the herons, of various species.

&hand; 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 .

Bittern <Xpage=149>

Bit"tern , n. [From Bitter , a. ] 1. The brine which remains in salt works after the salt is concreted, having a bitter taste from the chloride of magnesium which it contains.

2. A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus Indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer.

Cooley.

Bitterness <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*ness (?) , n. [AS. biternys ; biter better + -nys = -ness .] 1. The quality or state of being bitter, sharp, or acrid, in either a literal or figurative sense; implacableness; resentfulness; severity; keenness of reproach or sarcasm; deep distress, grief, or vexation of mind.

The lip that curls with bitterness . Percival.

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Job vii. 11.

2. A state of extreme impiety or enmity to God.

Thou art in the gall of bitterness , and in the bond of iniquity. Acts viii. 23.

3. Dangerous error, or schism, tending to draw persons to apostasy.

Looking diligently, . . . lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. Heb. xii. 15.

Bitternut <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*nut" , n. (Bot.) The swamp hickory ( Carya amara ). Its thin-shelled nuts are bitter.

Bitterroot <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*root` (?) , n. (Bot.) A plant ( Lewisia rediviva ) allied to the purslane, but with fleshy, farinaceous roots, growing in the mountains of Idaho, Montana, etc. It gives the name to the Bitter Root mountains and river. The Indians call both the plant and the river Sp\'91t'lum .

Bitters <Xpage=149>

Bit"ters (?) , n. pl. A liquor, generally spirituous in which a bitter herb, leaf, or root is steeped.

Bitter spar <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter spar" (?) . A common name of dolomite; -- so called because it contains magnesia, the soluble salts of which are bitter. See Dolomite .

Bittersweet <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*sweet` (?) , a. Sweet and then bitter or bitter and then sweet; esp. sweet with a bitter after taste; hence ( Fig .), pleasant but painful.

Bittersweet <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*sweet` , n. 1. Anything which is bittersweet.

2. A kind of apple so called.

Gower.

3. (Bot.) (a) A climbing shrub, with oval coral-red berries ( Solanum dulcamara ); woody nightshade. The whole plant is poisonous, and has a taste at first sweetish and then bitter. The branches are the officinal dulcamara . (b) An American woody climber ( Celastrus scandens ), whose yellow capsules open late in autumn, and disclose the red aril which covers the seeds; -- also called Roxbury waxwork .

Bitterweed <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*weed` (?) , n. (Bot.) A species of Ambrosia (A. artemisi\'91folia) ; Roman worm wood.

Gray.

Bitterwood <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*wood` (?) , n. A West Indian tree (Picr\'91na excelsa) from the wood of which the bitter drug Jamaica quassia is obtained.

Bitterwort <Xpage=149>

Bit"ter*wort` (?) , n. (Bot.) The yellow gentian ( Gentiana lutea ), which has a very bitter taste.

Bittock <Xpage=149>

Bit"tock (?) , n. [See Bit a morsel.] A small bit of anything, of indefinite size or quantity; a short distance. [Scot.]

Sir W. Scott.

Bittor Bittour <Xpage=149>

Bit"tor Bit"tour (?) , n. [See Bittern ] (Zo\'94l.) The bittern.

Dryden.

Bitts <Xpage=149>

Bitts (?) , n. pl. [Cf. F. bitte , Icel. biti , a beam. <?/87.] (Naut.) A frame of two strong timbers fixed perpendicularly in the fore part of a ship, on which to fasten the cables as the ship rides at anchor, or in warping. Other bitts are used for belaying ( belaying bitts ), for sustaining the windlass ( carrick bitts , winch bitts , or windlass bitts ), to hold the pawls of the windlass ( pawl bitts ) etc.

Bitume <Xpage=149>

Bi*tume" (?) , n. [F. See Bitumen .] Bitumen. [Poetic]

May.

Bitumed <Xpage=149>

Bi*tumed" (?) , a. Smeared with bitumen. [R.] "The hatches caulked and bitumed ."

Shak.

Bitumen <Xpage=149>

Bi*tu"men (?) , n. [L. bitumen : cf. F. bitume . Cf. B\'82ton .] 1. Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See Asphalt .

<page="150"> Page 150

2. By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petroleums, and even the light, volatile naphthas.

Bituminate <Xpage=150>

Bi*tu"mi*nate (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bituminated ; p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminating .] [L. bituminatus , p. p. of bituminare to bituminate. See Bitumen .] To treat or impregnate with bitumen; to cement with bitumen. " Bituminated walls of Babylon."

Feltham.

Bituminiferous <Xpage=150>

Bi*tu`mi*nif"er*ous (?) , a. [ Bitumen + -ferous .] Producing bitumen.

Kirwan.

Bituminization <Xpage=150>

Bi*tu`mi*ni*za"tion (?) , n. [Cf. F. bituminisation .] The process of bituminizing.

Mantell.

Bituminize <Xpage=150>

Bi*tu"mi*nize (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bituminized (<?/) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminizing .] [Cf. F. bituminiser .] To prepare, treat, impregnate, or coat with bitumen.

Bituminous <Xpage=150>

Bi*tu"mi*nous (?) , a. [L. bituminosus : cf. F. bitumineux .] Having the qualities of bitumen; compounded with bitumen; containing bitumen.

Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flamed. Milton.

Bituminous coal , a kind of coal which yields, when heated, a considerable amount of volatile bituminous matter. It burns with a yellow smoky flame. -- Bituminous limestone , a mineral of a brown or black color, emitting an unpleasant smell when rubbed. That of Dalmatia is so charged with bitumen that it may be cut like soap. -- Bituminous shale , an argillaceous shale impregnated with bitumen, often accompanying coal.

Biuret <Xpage=150>

Bi"u*ret (?) , n. [Pref. bi- + urea .] (Chem.) A white, crystalline, nitrogenous substance, C2O2N3H5, formed by heating urea. It is intermediate between urea and cyanuric acid.

Bivalency <Xpage=150>

Biv"a*len*cy (?) , n. (Chem.) The quality of being bivalent.

Bivalent <Xpage=150>

Biv"a*lent (?) , a. [L. bis twice + valens , p. pr. See Valence .] (Chem.) Equivalent in combining or displacing power to two atoms of hydrogen; dyad.

Bivalve <Xpage=150>

Bi"valve (?) , n. [F. bivalve ; bi- (L. bis ) + valve valve.] 1. (Zo\'94l.) A mollusk having a shell consisting of two lateral plates or valves joined together by an elastic ligament at the hinge, which is usually strengthened by prominences called teeth . The shell is closed by the contraction of two transverse muscles attached to the inner surface, as in the clam, -- or by one, as in the oyster. See Mollusca.