Chapter 111

Boun"te*ous (&?;), a. [OE. bountevous, fr. bounte bounty.] Liberal in charity; disposed to give freely; generously liberal; munificent; beneficent; free in bestowing gifts; as, bounteous production.

But O, thou bounteous Giver of all good. Cowper.

-- Boun"te*ous*ly, adv. -- Boun"te*ous*ness, n.

Boun"ti*ful (&?;), a.

1. Free in giving; liberal in bestowing gifts and favors.

God, the bountiful Author of our being. Locke.

2. Plentiful; abundant; as, a bountiful supply of food.

Syn. -- Liberal; munificent; generous; bounteous.

-- Boun"ti*ful*ly, adv. -- Boun"ti*ful*ness, n.

{ Boun"ti*head (&?;), Boun"ty*hood (&?;), } n. Goodness; generosity. [Obs.] Spenser.

Boun"ty, n.; pl. Bounties (&?;). [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]

1. Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [Obs.]

Nature set in her at once beauty with bounty. Gower.

2. Liberality in bestowing gifts or favors; gracious or liberal giving; generosity; munificence.

My bounty is as boundless as the sea. Shak.

3. That which is given generously or liberally. "Thy morning bounties." Cowper.

4. A premium offered or given to induce men to enlist into the public service; or to encourage any branch of industry, as husbandry or manufactures.

Bounty jumper, one who, during the latter part of the Civil War, enlisted in the United States service, and deserted as soon as possible after receiving the bounty. [Collog.] -- Queen Anne's bounty (Eng. Hist.), a provision made in Queen Anne's reign for augmenting poor clerical livings.

Syn. -- Munificence; generosity; beneficence.

Bou*quet" (&?;), n. [F. bouquet bunch, bunch of flowers, trees, feathers, for bousquet, bosquet, thicket, a little wood, dim. of LL. boscus. See Bush thicket, and cf. Bosket, Busket.]

1. A nosegay; a bunch of flowers.

2. A perfume; an aroma; as, the bouquet of wine.

||Bou`que*tin" (&?;), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) The ibex.

Bour (&?;), n. [See Bower a chamber.] A chamber or a cottage. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Bour"bon (&?;), n. [From the castle and seigniory of Bourbon in central France.]

1. A member of a family which has occupied several European thrones, and whose descendants still claim the throne of France.

2. A politician who is behind the age; a ruler or politician who neither forgets nor learns anything; an obstinate conservative.

Bour"bon*ism (&?;), n. The principles of those adhering to the house of Bourbon; obstinate conservatism.

Bour"bon*ist, n. One who adheres to the house of Bourbon; a legitimist.

Bour"bon whis"ky. See under Whisky.

Bourd (&?;), n. [F. bourde fib, lie, OF. borde, bourde, jest, joke.] A jest. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Bourd (&?;), v. i. To jest. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Bourd"er (&?;), n. A jester. [Obs.]

Bour"don (&?;), n. [F., fr. L. burdo mule, esp. one used for carrying litters. Cf. Sp. muleta a young she mule; also, crutch, prop.] A pilgrim's staff.

||Bour"don` (&?;), n. [F. See Burden a refrain.] (Mus.) (a) A drone bass, as in a bagpipe, or a hurdy-gurdy. See Burden (of a song.) (b) A kind of organ stop.

Bour*geois" (&?;), n. [From a French type founder named Bourgeois, or fr. F. bourgeois of the middle class; hence applied to an intermediate size of type between brevier and long primer: cf. G. bourgeois, borgis. Cf. Burgess.] (Print.) A size of type between long primer and brevier. See Type.

This line is printed in bourgeois type.

||Bour*geois" (&?;), n. [F., fr. bourg town; of German origin. See Burgess.] A man of middle rank in society; one of the shopkeeping class. [France.]

a. Characteristic of the middle class, as in France.

||Bour*geoi*sie", n. [F.] The French middle class, particularly such as are concerned in, or dependent on, trade.

Bour"geon (&?;), v. i. [OE. burjoun a bud, burjounen to bud, F. bourgeon a bud, bourgeonner to bud; cf. OHG. burjan to raise.] To sprout; to put forth buds; to shoot forth, as a branch.

Gayly to bourgeon and broadly to grow. Sir W. Scott.

||Bou"ri (&?;), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A mullet (Mugil capito) found in the rivers of Southern Europe and in Africa.

{ Bourn, Bourne } (&?;), n. [OE. burne, borne, AS. burna; akin to OS. brunno spring, G. born, brunnen, OHG. prunno, Goth. brunna, Icel. brunnr, and perh. to Gr. &?;. The root is prob. that of burn, v., because the source of a stream seems to issue forth bubbling and boiling from the earth. Cf. Torrent, and see Burn, v.] A stream or rivulet; a burn.

My little boat can safely pass this perilous bourn. Spenser.

{ Bourn, Bourne } (&?;), n. [F. borne. See Bound a limit.] A bound; a boundary; a limit. Hence: Point aimed at; goal.

Where the land slopes to its watery bourn. Cowper.

The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveler returns. Shak.

Sole bourn, sole wish, sole object of my song. Wordsworth.

To make the doctrine . . . their intellectual bourne. Tyndall.

Bourn"less, a. Without a bourn or limit.

Bour"non*ite (&?;), n. [Named after Count Bournon, a mineralogist.] (Min.) A mineral of a steel- gray to black color and metallic luster, occurring crystallized, often in twin crystals shaped like cogwheels (wheel ore), also massive. It is a sulphide of antimony, lead, and copper.

Bour*nous" (&?;), n. See Burnoose.

||Bour*rée (&?;), n. [F.] (Mus.) An old French dance tune in common time.

||Bourse (&?;), n. [F. bourse purse, exchange, LL. bursa, fr. Gr.&?; skin, hide, of which a purse was usually made. Cf. Purse, Burse.] An exchange, or place where merchants, bankers, etc., meet for business at certain hours; esp., the Stock Exchange of Paris.

Bouse (&?;), v. i. To drink immoderately; to carouse; to booze. See Booze.

Bouse, n. Drink, esp. alcoholic drink; also, a carouse; a booze. "A good bouse of liquor." Carlyle.

Bous"er (&?;), n. A toper; a boozer.

||Bou`stro*phe"don (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; turning like oxen in plowing; &?; to turn.] An ancient mode of writing, in alternate directions, one line from left to right, and the next from right to left (as fields are plowed), as in early Greek and Hittite.

Bou*stroph`e*don"ic (&?;), a. Relating to the boustrophedon made of writing.

Bou*stroph"ic (&?;), a. [Gr. boystro`fos ox-guiding.] Boustrophedonic.

Bousy (b"z), a. Drunken; sotted; boozy.

In his cups the bousy poet songs. Dryden.

Bout (bout), n. [A different spelling and application of bought bend.] 1. As much of an action as is performed at one time; a going and returning, as of workmen in reaping, mowing, etc.; a turn; a round.

In notes with many a winding bout Of linked sweetness long drawn out. Milton.

The prince . . . has taken me in his train, so that I am in no danger of starving for this bout. Goldsmith.

2. A conflict; contest; attempt; trial; a set-to at anything; as, a fencing bout; a drinking bout.

The gentleman will, for his honor's sake, have one bout with you; he can not by the duello avoid it. Shak.

Bou*tade" (&?;), n. [F., fr. bouter to thrust. See Butt.] An outbreak; a caprice; a whim. [Obs.]

Boute"feu (&?;), n. [F.; bouter to thrust, put + feu fire.] An incendiary; an inciter of quarrels. [Obs.]

Animated by . . . John à Chamber, a very boutefeu, . . . they entered into open rebellion. Bacon.

||Bou`ton`nière" (&?;), n. [F., buttonhole.] A bouquet worn in a buttonhole.

||Bouts`-ri*més" (&?;), n. pl. [F. bout end + rimé rhymed.] Words that rhyme, proposed as the ends of verses, to be filled out by the ingenuity of the person to whom they are offered.

Bo"vate (&?;), n. [LL. bovata, fr. bos, bovis, ox.] (O.Eng.Law.) An oxgang, or as much land as an ox can plow in a year; an ancient measure of land, of indefinite quantity, but usually estimated at fifteen acres.

Bo"vey coal` (&?;). (Min.) A kind of mineral coal, or brown lignite, burning with a weak flame, and generally a disagreeable odor; -- found at Bovey Tracey, Devonshire, England. It is of geological age of the oölite, and not of the true coal era.

Bo"vid (&?;), a. [L. bos, bovis, ox, cow.] (Zoöl.) Relating to that tribe of ruminant mammals of which the genus Bos is the type.

Bo"vi*form (&?;), a. [L. bos, bovis, ox + -form.] Resembling an ox in form; ox- shaped. [R.]

Bo"vine (&?;), a. [LL. bovinus, fr.L. bos, bovis, ox, cow: cf. F. bovine. See Cow.]

1. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the genus Bos; relating to, or resembling, the ox or cow; oxlike; as, the bovine genus; a bovine antelope.

2. Having qualities characteristic of oxen or cows; sluggish and patient; dull; as, a bovine temperament.

The bovine gaze of gaping rustics. W. Black.

Bow (bou), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bowed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bowing.] [OE. bowen, bogen, bugen, AS. bgan (generally v. i.); akin to D. buigen, OHG. biogan, G. biegen, beugen, Icel. boginn bent, beygja to bend, Sw. böja, Dan. böie, bugne, Coth. biugan; also to L. fugere to flee, Gr. &?;, and Skr. bhuj to bend. √88. Cf. Fugitive.]

1. To cause to deviate from straightness; to bend; to inflect; to make crooked or curved.

We bow things the contrary way, to make them come to their natural straightness. Milton.

The whole nation bowed their necks to the worst kind of tyranny. Prescott.

2. To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline.

Adversities do more bow men's minds to religion. Bacon.

Not to bow and bias their opinions. Fuller.

3. To bend or incline, as the head or body, in token of respect, gratitude, assent, homage, or condescension.

They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 2 Kings ii. 15.

4. To cause to bend down; to prostrate; to depress,;&?; to crush; to subdue.

Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave. Shak.

5. To express by bowing; as, to bow one's thanks.

Bow (bou), v. i. 1. To bend; to curve. [Obs.]

2. To stop. [Archaic]

They stoop, they bow down together. Is. xlvi. 2&?;

3. To bend the head, knee, or body, in token of reverence or submission; -- often with down.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Ps. xcv. 6.

4. To incline the head in token of salutation, civility, or assent; to make bow.

Admired, adored by all circling crowd, For wheresoe'er she turned her face, they bowed. Dryden.

Bow (bou), n. An inclination of the head, or a bending of the body, in token of reverence, respect, civility, or submission; an obeisance; as, a bow of deep humility.

Bow (b), n. [OE. bowe, boge, AS. boga, fr. AS. bgan to bend; akin to D. boog, G. bogen, Icel. bogi. See Bow, v. t.]

1. Anything bent, or in the form of a curve, as the rainbow.

I do set my bow in the cloud. Gen. ix. 13.

2. A weapon made of a strip of wood, or other elastic material, with a cord connecting the two ends, by means of which an arrow is propelled.

3. An ornamental knot, with projecting loops, formed by doubling a ribbon or string.

4. The U-shaped piece which embraces the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.

5. (Mus.) An appliance consisting of an elastic rod, with a number of horse hairs stretched from end to end of it, used in playing on a stringed instrument.

6. An arcograph.

7. (Mech. & Manuf.) Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging the hair, fur, etc., used by hatters.

8. (Naut.) A rude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.

9. (Saddlery) sing. or pl. Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree.

Bow bearer (O. Eng. Law), an under officer of the forest who looked after trespassers. -- Bow drill, a drill worked by a bow and string. -- Bow instrument (Mus.), any stringed instrument from which the tones are produced by the bow. -- Bow window (Arch.) See Bay window. -- To draw a long bow, to lie; to exaggerate. [Colloq.]

Bow (b), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bowed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bowing.] To play (music) with a bow. -- v. i. To manage the bow.

Bow (b), n. [Icel. bgr shoulder, bow of a ship. See Bough.]

1. (Naut.) The bending or rounded part of a ship forward; the stream or prow.

2. (Naut.) One who rows in the forward part of a boat; the bow oar.

Bow chaser (Naut.), a gun in the bow for firing while chasing another vessel. Totten.

- Bow piece, a piece of ordnance carried at the bow of a ship. -- On the bow (Naut.), on that part of the horizon within 45° on either side of the line ahead. Totten.

Bow"a*ble (&?;), a. Capable of being bowed or bent; flexible; easily influenced; yielding. [Obs.]

Bow"bell` (&?;), n. One born within hearing distance of Bow-bells; a cockney. Halliwell.

Bow"-bells` (&?;), n. pl. The bells of Bow Church in London; cockneydom.

People born within the sound of Bow-bells are usually called cockneys. Murray's Handbook of London.

Bow"bent` (&?;), a. Bent, like a bow. Milton.

Bow"-com`pass (&?;), n.; pl. Bow-compasses (&?;).

1. An arcograph.

2. A small pair of compasses, one leg of which carries a pencil, or a pen, for drawing circles. Its legs are often connected by a bow-shaped spring, instead of by a joint.

3. A pair of compasses, with a bow or arched plate riveted to one of the legs, and passing through the other.

Bow"el (?), n. [OE. bouel, bouele, OF. boel, boele, F. boyau, fr. L. botellus a small sausage, in LL. also intestine, dim. of L. botulus sausage.]

1. One of the intestines of an animal; an entrail, especially of man; a gut; -- generally used in the plural.

He burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. Acts i. 18.

2. pl. Hence, figuratively: The interior part of anything; as, the bowels of the earth.

His soldiers . . . cried out amain, And rushed into the bowels of the battle. Shak.

3. pl. The seat of pity or kindness. Hence: Tenderness; compassion. "Thou thing of no bowels." Shak.

Bloody Bonner, that corpulent tyrant, full (as one said) of guts, and empty of bowels. Fuller.

4. pl. Offspring. [Obs.] Shak.

Bow"el, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Boweled or Bowelled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Boweling or Bowelling.] To take out the bowels of; to eviscerate; to disembowel.

Bow"eled (&?;), a. [Written also bowelled.] Having bowels; hollow. "The boweled cavern." Thomson.

Bow"el*less, a. Without pity. Sir T. Browne.

Bow"en*ite (&?;), n. [From G.T. Bowen, who analyzed it in 1822.] (Min.) A hard, compact variety of serpentine found in Rhode Island. It is of a light green color and resembles jade.

Bo"wer (&?;), n. [From Bow, v. & n.]

1. One who bows or bends.

2. (Naut.) An anchor carried at the bow of a ship.

3. A muscle that bends a limb, esp. the arm. [Obs.]

His rawbone arms, whose mighty brawned bowers Were wont to rive steel plates and helmets hew.

Spenser.

Best bower, Small bower. See the Note under Anchor.

<! p. 172 !>

Bow"er (bou"r), n. [G. bauer a peasant. So called from the figure sometimes used for the knave in cards. See Boor.] One of the two highest cards in the pack commonly used in the game of euchre.

Right bower, the knave of the trump suit, the highest card (except the "Joker") in the game. -- Left bower, the knave of the other suit of the same color as the trump, being the next to the right bower in value. -- Best bower or Joker, in some forms of euchre and some other games, an extra card sometimes added to the pack, which takes precedence of all others as the highest card.

Bow"er, n. [OE. bour, bur, room, dwelling, AS. br, fr. the root of AS. ban to dwell; akin to Icel. br chamber, storehouse, Sw. br cage, Dan. buur, OHG. pr room, G. bauer cage, bauer a peasant. &radic;97] Cf.Boor, Byre.]

1. Anciently, a chamber; a lodging room; esp., a lady's private apartment.

Give me my lute in bed now as I lie, And lock the doors of mine unlucky bower. Gascoigne.

2. A rustic cottage or abode; poetically, an attractive abode or retreat. Shenstone. B. Johnson.

3. A shelter or covered place in a garden, made with boughs of trees or vines, etc., twined together; an arbor; a shady recess.

Bow"er, v. t. To embower; to inclose. Shak.

Bow"er, v. i. To lodge. [Obs.] Spenser.

Bow"er, n. [From Bough, cf. Brancher.] (Falconry) A young hawk, when it begins to leave the nest. [Obs.]

Bow"er bird` (&?;). (Zoöl.) An Australian bird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus or holosericeus), allied to the starling, which constructs singular bowers or playhouses of twigs and decorates them with bright-colored objects; the satin bird.

The name is also applied to other related birds of the same region, having similar habits; as, the spotted bower bird (Chalmydodera maculata), and the regent bird (Sericulus melinus).

Bow"er*y (&?;), a. Shading, like a bower; full of bowers.

A bowery maze that shades the purple streams. Trumbull.

Bow"er*y, n.; pl. Boweries (&?;). [D. bouwerij.] A farm or plantation with its buildings. [U.S.Hist.]

The emigrants [in New York] were scattered on boweries or plantations; and seeing the evils of this mode of living widely apart, they were advised, in 1643 and 1646, by the Dutch authorities, to gather into "villages, towns, and hamlets, as the English were in the habit of doing." Bancroft.

Bow"er*y, a. Characteristic of the street called the Bowery, in New York city; swaggering; flashy.

Bow"ess (&?;), n. (Falconry) Same as Bower. [Obs.]

Bow"fin` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A voracious ganoid fish (Amia calva) found in the fresh waters of the United States; the mudfish; -- called also Johnny Grindle, and dogfish.

Bowge (&?;), v. i. To swell out. See Bouge. [Obs.]

Bowge, v. t. To cause to leak. [Obs.] See Bouge.

Bow"grace` (&?;), n. (Naut.) A frame or fender of rope or junk, laid out at the sides or bows of a vessel to secure it from injury by floating ice.

Bow" hand` (&?;). 1. (Archery) The hand that holds the bow, i. e., the left hand.

Surely he shoots wide on the bow hand. Spenser.

2. (Mus.) The hand that draws the bow, i. e., the right hand.

Bow"head` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The great Arctic or Greenland whale. (Balæna mysticetus). See Baleen, and Whale.

Bow"ie knife` (&?;). A knife with a strong blade from ten to fifteen inches long, and double-edged near the point; -- used as a hunting knife, and formerly as a weapon in the southwestern part of the United States. It was named from its inventor, Colonel James Bowie. Also, by extension, any large sheath knife.

Bow"ing (&?;), n. (Mus.) 1. The act or art of managing the bow in playing on stringed instruments.

Bowing constitutes a principal part of the art of the violinist, the violist, etc. J. W. Moore.

2. In hatmaking, the act or process of separating and distributing the fur or hair by means of a bow, to prepare it for felting.

Bow"ing*ly (&?;), adv. In a bending manner.

Bow"knot` (&?;), n. A knot in which a portion of the string is drawn through in the form of a loop or bow, so as to be readily untied.

Bowl (bl), n. [OE. bolle, AS. bolla; akin to Icel. bolli, Dan. bolle, G. bolle, and perh. to E. boil a tumor. Cf. Boll.]

1. A concave vessel of various forms (often approximately hemispherical), to hold liquids, etc.

Brought them food in bowls of basswood. Longfellow.

2. Specifically, a drinking vessel for wine or other spirituous liquors; hence, convivial drinking.

3. The contents of a full bowl; what a bowl will hold.

4. The hollow part of a thing; as, the bowl of a spoon.

Bowl (bl), n. [F. boule, fr. L. bulla bubble, stud. Cf. Bull an edict, Bill a writing.]

1. A ball of wood or other material used for rolling on a level surface in play; a ball of hard wood having one side heavier than the other, so as to give it a bias when rolled.

2. pl. An ancient game, popular in Great Britain, played with biased balls on a level plat of greensward.

Like an uninstructed bowler, . . . who thinks to attain the jack by delivering his bowl straightforward upon it. Sir W. Scott.

3. pl. The game of tenpins or bowling. [U.S.]

Bowl (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bowled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bowling.] 1. To roll, as a bowl or cricket ball.

Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven. Shak.

2. To roll or carry smoothly on, or as on, wheels; as, we were bowled rapidly along the road.

3. To pelt or strike with anything rolled.

Alas, I had rather be set quick i' the earth, And bowled to death with turnips&?; Shak.

To bowl (a player) out, in cricket, to put out a striker by knocking down a bail or a stump in bowling.

Bowl, v. i. 1. To play with bowls.

2. To roll a ball on a plane, as at cricket, bowls, etc.

3. To move rapidly, smoothly, and like a ball; as, the carriage bowled along.

{ Bowl"der, Boul"der (&?;), } n. [Cf. Sw. bullra to roar, rattle, Dan. buldre, dial. Sw. bullersteen larger kind of pebbles; perh. akin to E. bellow.]

1. A large stone, worn smooth or rounded by the action of water; a large pebble.

2. (Geol.) A mass of any rock, whether rounded or not, that has been transported by natural agencies from its native bed. See Drift.

Bowlder clay, the unstratified clay deposit of the Glacial or Drift epoch, often containing large numbers of bowlders. -- Bowlder wall, a wall constructed of large stones or bowlders.

Bowl"der*y (&?;), a. Characterized by bowlders.

Bow"leg` (&?;), n. A crooked leg. Jer. Taylor.

Bow"-legged` (&?;), a. Having crooked legs, esp. with the knees bent outward. Johnson.

Bowl"er (&?;), n. One who plays at bowls, or who rolls the ball in cricket or any other game.

Bow"less, a. Destitute of a bow.

Bow"line (&?;), n. [Cf. D. boelijn, Icel. böglïna&?;, Dan. bovline; properly the line attached to the shoulder or side of the sail. See Bow (of a ship), and Line.] (Naut.) A rope fastened near the middle of the leech or perpendicular edge of the square sails, by subordinate ropes, called bridles, and used to keep the weather edge of the sail tight forward, when the ship is closehauled.

Bowline bridles, the ropes by which the bowline is fastened to the leech of the sail. -- Bowline knot. See Illust. under Knot. -- On a bowline, close-hauled or sailing close to the wind; -- said of a ship.

Bowl"ing (&?;), n. The act of playing at or rolling bowls, or of rolling the ball at cricket; the game of bowls or of tenpins.

Bowling alley, a covered place for playing at bowls or tenpins. -- Bowling green, a level piece of greensward or smooth ground for bowling, as the small park in lower Broadway, New York, where the Dutch of New Amsterdam played this game.

Bowls (blz), n. pl. See Bowl, a ball, a game.

Bow"man (&?;), n.; pl. Bowmen (&?;). A man who uses a bow; an archer.

The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. Jer. iv. 29.

Bowman's root. (Bot.) See Indian physic, under Indian.

Bow"man (&?;), n. (Naut.) The man who rows the foremost oar in a boat; the bow oar.

Bowne (&?;), v. t. [See Boun.] To make ready; to prepare; to dress. [Obs.]

We will all bowne ourselves for the banquet. Sir W. Scott.

Bow" net` (&?;). 1. A trap for lobsters, being a wickerwork cylinder with a funnel-shaped entrance at one end.

2. A net for catching birds. J. H. Walsh.

Bow" oar` (&?;). 1. The oar used by the bowman.

2. One who rows at the bow of a boat.

Bow"-pen` (&?;), n. Bow-compasses carrying a drawing pen. See Bow-compass.

Bow"-pen`cil (&?;), n. Bow-compasses, one leg of which carries a pencil.

Bow"-saw` (&?;), n. A saw with a thin or narrow blade set in a strong frame.

Bowse (&?;), v. i. [See Booze, and Bouse.]

1. To carouse; to bouse; to booze. De Quincey.

2. (Naut.) To pull or haul; as, to bowse upon a tack; to bowse away, i. e., to pull all together.

Bowse, n. A carouse; a drinking bout; a booze.

Bow"shot` (&?;), n. The distance traversed by an arrow shot from a bow.

Bow"sprit` (&?;), n. [Bow + sprit; akin to D. boegspriet; boeg bow of a ship + spriet, E. sprit, also Sw. bogspröt, G. bugspriet.] (Naut.) A large boom or spar, which projects over the stem of a ship or other vessel, to carry sail forward.