The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section A and B

Chapter 118

Chapter 1184,042 wordsPublic domain

In the brightest annals of a female reign. Cotton.

7. Manifest to the mind, as light is to the eyes; clear; evident; plain.

That he may with more ease, with brighter evidence, and with surer success, draw the bearner on. I. Watts.

8. Of brilliant color; of lively hue or appearance.

Here the bright crocus and blue violet grew. Pope.

Bright is used in composition in the sense of brilliant, clear, sunny, etc.; as, bright-eyed, bright-haired, bright-hued.

Syn. -- Shining; splending; luminous; lustrous; brilliant; resplendent; effulgent; refulgent; radiant; sparkling; glittering; lucid; beamy; clear; transparent; illustrious; witty; clear; vivacious; sunny.

Bright, n. Splendor; brightness. [Poetic]

Dark with excessive bright thy skirts appear. Milton.

Bright, adv. Brightly. Chaucer.

I say it is the moon that shines so bright. Shak.

Bright"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brightened (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Brightening.] [From Bright, a.] 1. To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.

2. To make illustrious, or more distinguished; to add luster or splendor to.

The present queen would brighten her character, if she would exert her authority to instill virtues into her people. Swift.

3. To improve or relieve by dispelling gloom or removing that which obscures and darkens; to shed light upon; to make cheerful; as, to brighten one's prospects.

An ecstasy, which mothers only feel, Plays round my heart and brightens all my sorrow. Philips.

4. To make acute or witty; to enliven. Johnson.

Bright"en, v. i. [AS. beorhtan.] To grow bright, or more bright; to become less dark or gloomy; to clear up; to become bright or cheerful.

And night shall brighten into day. N. Cotton.

And, all his prospects brightening to the last, His heaven commences ere world be past. Goldsmith.

Bright"-har`nessed (&?;), a. Having glittering armor. [Poetic] Milton.

Bright"ly, adv. 1. Brilliantly; splendidly; with luster; as, brightly shining armor.

2. With lively intelligence; intelligently.

Looking brightly into the mother's face. Hawthorne.

Bright"ness, n. [AS. beorhines. See Bright.] 1. The quality or state of being bright; splendor; luster; brilliancy; clearness.

A sudden brightness in his face appear. Crabbe.

2. Acuteness (of the faculties); sharpness 9wit.

The brightness of his parts . . . distinguished him. Prior.

Syn. -- Splendor; luster; radiance; resplendence; brilliancy; effulgence; glory; clearness.

Bright's" dis*ease" (&?;). [From Dr. Bright of London, who first described it.] (Med.) An affection of the kidneys, usually inflammatory in character, and distinguished by the occurrence of albumin and renal casts in the urine. Several varieties of Bright's disease are now recognized, differing in the part of the kidney involved, and in the intensity and course of the morbid process.

Bright"some (&?;), a. Bright; clear; luminous; brilliant. [R.] Marlowe.

Bri*gose" (&?;), a. [LL. brigosus, It. brigoso. See Brigue, n.] Contentious; quarrelsome. [Obs.] Puller.

Brigue (&?;), n. [F. brigue, fr. LL. briga quarrel. See Brigand.] A cabal, intrigue, faction, contention, strife, or quarrel. [Obs.] Chesterfield.

Brigue, v. i. [F. briguer. See Brigue, n.] To contend for; to canvass; to solicit. [Obs.] Bp. Hurd.

Brike (&?;), n. [AS. brice.] A breach; ruin; downfall; peril. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Brill (brl), n. [Cf. Corn. brilli mackerel, fr. brith streaked, speckled.] (Zoöl.) A fish allied to the turbot (Rhombus levis), much esteemed in England for food; -- called also bret, pearl, prill. See Bret.

||Bril*lan"te (&?;), adv. [It. See Brilliant, a.] (Mus.) In a gay, showy, and sparkling style.

Bril"liance (brl"yan*s), n. Brilliancy. Tennyson.

Bril"lian*cy (brl"yan*s), n. [See Brilliant.] The quality of being brilliant; splendor; glitter; great brightness, whether in a literal or figurative sense.

With many readers brilliancy of style passes for affluence of thought. Longfellow.

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Bril"liant (brl"yant), a. [F. brillant, p. pr. of briller to shine or sparkle (cf. Pr. & Sp. brillar, It. brillare), fr. L. beryllus a precious stone of sea-green color, Prov. It. brill. See Beryl.] 1. Sparkling with luster; glittering; very bright; as, a brilliant star.

2. Distinguished by qualities which excite admiration; splendid; shining; as, brilliant talents.

Washington was more solicitous to avoid fatal mistakes than to perform brilliant exploits. Fisher Ames.

Syn. -- See Shining.

Bril"liant, n. [F. brillant. See Brilliant, a.] 1. A diamond or other gem of the finest cut, formed into faces and facets, so as to reflect and refract the light, by which it is rendered more brilliant. It has at the middle, or top, a principal face, called the table, which is surrounded by a number of sloping facets forming a bizet; below, it has a small face or collet, parallel to the table, connected with the girdle by a pavilion of elongated facets. It is thus distinguished from the rose diamond, which is entirely covered with facets on the surface, and is flat below.

This snuffbox -- on the hinge see brilliants shine. Pope.

2. (Print.) The smallest size of type used in England printing.

This line is printed in the type called Brilliant.

3. A kind of cotton goods, figured on the weaving.

Bril"liant*ly, adv. In a brilliant manner.

Bril"liant*ness, n. Brilliancy; splendor; glitter.

Brills (&?;), n. pl. [CF. G. brille spectacles, D. bril, fr. L. berillus. See Brilliant.] The hair on the eyelids of a horse. Bailey.

Brim (&?;), n. [OE. brim, brimme, AS. brymme edge, border; akin to Icel. barmr, Sw. bräm, Dan. bræmme, G. brame, bräme. Possibly the same word as AS. brim surge, sea, and properly meaning, the line of surf at the border of the sea, and akin to L. fremere to roar, murmur. Cf. Breeze a fly.] 1. The rim, border, or upper edge of a cup, dish, or any hollow vessel used for holding anything.

Saw I that insect on this goblet's brim I would remove it with an anxious pity. Coleridge.

2. The edge or margin, as of a fountain, or of the water contained in it; the brink; border.

The feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water. Josh. iii. 15.

3. The rim of a hat. Wordsworth.

Brim, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Brimmed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Brimming.] To be full to the brim. "The brimming stream." Milton.

To brim over (literally or figuratively), to be so full that some of the contents flows over the brim; as, a cup brimming over with wine; a man brimming over with fun.

Brim, v. t. To fill to the brim, upper edge, or top.

Arrange the board and brim the glass. Tennyson.

Brim, a. Fierce; sharp; cold. See Breme. [Obs.]

Brim"ful (&?;), a. Full to the brim; completely full; ready to overflow. "Her brimful eyes." Dryden.

Brim"less, a. Having no brim; as, brimless caps.

Brimmed (&?;), a. 1. Having a brim; -- usually in composition. "Broad-brimmed hat." Spectator.

2. Full to, or level with, the brim. Milton.

Brim"mer (&?;), n. A brimful bowl; a bumper.

Brim"ming, a. Full to the brim; overflowing.

Brim"stone (&?;), n. [OE. brimston, bremston, bernston, brenston; cf. Icel. brennistein. See Burn, v. t., and Stone.] Sulphur; See Sulphur.

Brim"stone, a. Made of, or pertaining to, brimstone; as, brimstone matches.

From his brimstone bed at break of day A-walking the devil has gone. Coleridge.

Brim"sto`ny (&?;), a. Containing or resembling brimstone; sulphurous. B. Jonson.

Brin (&?;), n. [F.] One of the radiating sticks of a fan. The outermost are larger and longer, and are called panaches. Knight.

Brin"ded (&?;), a. [Cf. Icel. bröndttr brindled, fr. brandr brand; and OE. bernen, brinnen, to burn. See Brand, Burn.] Of a gray or tawny color with streaks of darker hue; streaked; brindled. "Three brinded cows," Dryden. "The brinded cat." Shak.

Brin"dle (&?;), n. [See Brindled.] 1. The state of being brindled.

2. A brindled color; also, that which is brindled.

Brin"dle, a. Brindled.

Brin"dled (&?;), a. [A dim. form of brinded.] Having dark streaks or spots on a gray or tawny ground; brinded. "With a brindled lion played." Churchill.

Brine (&?;), n. [AS. bryne a burning, salt liquor, brine, fr. brinnan, brynnan, to burn. See Burn.] 1. Water saturated or strongly impregnated with salt; pickle; hence, any strong saline solution; also, the saline residue or strong mother liquor resulting from the evaporation of natural or artificial waters.

2. The ocean; the water of an ocean, sea, or salt lake.

Not long beneath the whelming brine . . . he lay. Cowper.

3. Tears; -- so called from their saltness.

What a deal of brine Hath washed thy sallow cheecks for Rosaline! Shak.

Brine fly (Zoöl.), a fly of the genus Ephydra, the larvæ of which live in artificial brines and in salt lakes. -- Brine gauge, an instrument for measuring the saltness of a liquid. -- Brine pan, a pit or pan of salt water, where salt is formed by cristallization. -- Brine pit, a salt spring or well, from which water is taken to be boiled or evaporated for making salt. -- Brine pump (Marine Engin.), a pump for changing the water in the boilers, so as to clear them of the brine which collects at the bottom. -- Brine shrimp, Brine worm (Zoöl.), a phyllopod crustacean of the genus Artemia, inhabiting the strong brines of salt works and natural salt lakes. See Artemia. -- Brine spring, a spring of salt water. -- Leach brine (Saltmaking), brine which drops from granulated salt in drying, and is preserved to be boiled again.

Brine (&?;), v. t. 1. To steep or saturate in brine.

2. To sprinkle with salt or brine; as, to brine hay.

Bring (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brought (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bringing.] [OE. bringen, AS. bringan; akin to OS. brengian, D. brengen, Fries. brenga, OHG. bringan, G. bringen, Goth. briggan.] 1. To convey to the place where the speaker is or is to be; to bear from a more distant to a nearer place; to fetch.

And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread. 1 Kings xvii. 11.

To France shall we convey you safe, And bring you back. Shak.

2. To cause the accession or obtaining of; to procure; to make to come; to produce; to draw to.

There is nothing will bring you more honor . . . than to do what right in justice you may. Bacon.

3. To convey; to move; to carry or conduct.

In distillation, the water . . . brings over with it some part of the oil of vitriol. Sir I. Newton.

4. To persuade; to induce; to draw; to lead; to guide.

It seems so preposterous a thing . . . that they do not easily bring themselves to it. Locke.

The nature of the things . . . would not suffer him to think otherwise, how, or whensoever, he is brought to reflect on them. Locke.

5. To produce in exchange; to sell for; to fetch; as, what does coal bring per ton?

To bring about, to bring to pass; to effect; to accomplish. -- To bring back. (a) To recall. (b) To restore, as something borrowed, to its owner. -- To bring by the lee (Naut.), to incline so rapidly to leeward of the course, when a ship sails large, as to bring the lee side suddenly to the windward, any by laying the sails aback, expose her to danger of upsetting. -- To bring down. (a) To cause to come down. (b) To humble or abase; as, to bring down high looks. -- To bring down the house, to cause tremendous applause. [Colloq.] -- To bring forth. (a) To produce, as young fruit. (b) To bring to light; to make manifest. -- To bring forward (a) To exhibit; to introduce; to produce to view. (b) To hasten; to promote; to forward. (c) To propose; to adduce; as, to bring forward arguments. -- To bring home. (a) To bring to one's house. (b) To prove conclusively; as, to bring home a charge of treason. (c) To cause one to feel or appreciate by personal experience. (d) (Naut.) To lift of its place, as an anchor. -- To bring in. (a) To fetch from without; to import. (b) To introduce, as a bill in a deliberative assembly. (c) To return or repot to, or lay before, a court or other body; to render; as, to bring in a verdict or a report. (d) To take to an appointed place of deposit or collection; as, to bring in provisions or money for a specified object. (e) To produce, as income. (f) To induce to join. -- To bring off, to bear or convey away; to clear from condemnation; to cause to escape. -- To bring on. (a) To cause to begin. (b) To originate or cause to exist; as, to bring on a disease. -- To bring one on one's way, to accompany, guide, or attend one. -- To bring out, to expose; to detect; to bring to light from concealment. -- To bring over. (a) To fetch or bear across. (b) To convert by persuasion or other means; to cause to change sides or an opinion. -- To bring to. (a) To resuscitate; to bring back to consciousness or life, as a fainting person. (b) (Naut.) To check the course of, as of a ship, by dropping the anchor, or by counterbracing the sails so as to keep her nearly stationary (she is then said to lie to). (c) To cause (a vessel) to lie to, as by firing across her course. (d) To apply a rope to the capstan. -- To bring to light, to disclose; to discover; to make clear; to reveal. -- To bring a sail to (Naut.), to bend it to the yard. -- To bring to pass, to accomplish to effect. "Trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." Ps. xxxvii. 5. -- To bring under, to subdue; to restrain; to reduce to obedience. -- To bring up. (a) To carry upward; to nurse; to rear; to educate. (b) To cause to stop suddenly. (c) [v. i. by dropping the reflexive pronoun] To stop suddenly; to come to a standstill. [Colloq.] -- To bring up (any one) with a round turn, to cause (any one) to stop abruptly. [Colloq.] -- To be brought to bed. See under Bed.

Syn. -- To fetch; bear; carry; convey; transport; import; procure; produce; cause; adduce; induce.

Bring"er (&?;), n. One who brings.

Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news Hath but a losing office. Shak.

Bringer in, one who, or that which, introduces.

Brin"i*ness (&?;), n. The state or quality of being briny; saltness; brinishness.

Brin"ish (&?;), a. Like brine; somewhat salt; saltish. "Brinish tears." Shak.

Brin"ish*ness, n. State or quality of being brinish.

||Brin"ja*ree` (&?;), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A rough-haired East Indian variety of the greyhound.

Brink (&?;), n. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.] The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. "The brink of vice." Bp. Porteus. "The brink of ruin." Burke.

The plashy brink of weedy lake. Bryant.

Brin"y (&?;), a. [From Brine.] Of or pertaining to brine, or to the sea; partaking of the nature of brine; salt; as, a briny taste; the briny flood.

Bri"o*ny (&?;), n. See Bryony. Tennyson.

Brisk (&?;), a. [Cf. W. brysg, fr. brys haste, Gael. briosg quick, lively, Ir. broisg a start, leap, jerk.] 1. Full of liveliness and activity; characterized by quickness of motion or action; lively; spirited; quick.

Cheerily, boys; be brick awhile. Shak.

Brick toil alternating with ready ease. Wordworth.

2. Full of spirit of life; effervesc&?;ng, as liquors; sparkling; as, brick cider.

Syn. -- Active; lively; agile; alert; nimble; quick; sprightly; vivacious; gay; spirited; animated.

Brisk (&?;), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Bricked (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bricking.] To make or become lively; to enliven; to animate; to take, or cause to take, an erect or bold attitude; -- usually with up.

Bris"ket (&?;), n. [OE. bruskette, OF. bruschet, F. bréchet, brichet; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. brysced the breast of a slain animal, brisket, Corn. vrys breast, Armor. brusk, bruched, the front of the chest, Gael. brisgein the cartilaginous part of a bone.] That part of the breast of an animal which extends from the fore legs back beneath the ribs; also applied to the fore part of a horse, from the shoulders to the bottom of the chest. [See Illust. of Beef.]

Brisk"ly (&?;), adv. In a brisk manner; nimbly.

Brisk"ness, n. Liveliness; vigor in action; quickness; gayety; vivacity; effervescence.

Bris"tle (brs"s'l), n. [OE. bristel, brustel, AS. bristl, byrst; akin to D. borstel, OHG. burst, G. borste, Icel. burst, Sw. borst, and to Skr. bhshti edge, point, and prob, L. fastigium extremity, Gr. 'a`flaston stern of a ship, and E. brush, burr, perh. to brad. &radic;96.] 1. A short, stiff, coarse hair, as on the back of swine.

2. (Bot.) A stiff, sharp, roundish hair. Gray.

Bris"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bristled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bristling (&?;).] 1. To erect the bristles of; to cause to stand up, as the bristles of an angry hog; -- sometimes with up.

Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest. Shak.

Boy, bristle thy courage up. Shak.

2. To fix a bristle to; as, to bristle a thread.

Bris"tle, v. i. 1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles.

His hair did bristle upon his head. Sir W. Scott.

2. To appear as if covered with bristles; to have standing, thick and erect, like bristles.

The hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets. Thackeray.

Ports bristling with thousands of masts. Macaulay.

3. To show defiance or indignation.

To bristle up, to show anger or defiance.

Bris"tle-point`ed (&?;), a. (Bot.) Terminating in a very fine, sharp point, as some leaves.

Bris"tle-shaped` (&?;), a. Resembling a bristle in form; as, a bristle-shaped leaf.

Bris"tle*tail` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) An insect of the genera Lepisma, Campodea, etc., belonging to the Thysanura.

Bris"tli*ness (&?;), n. The quality or state of having bristles.

Bris"tly (&?;), a. Thick set with bristles, or with hairs resembling bristles; rough.

The leaves of the black mulberry are somewhat bristly. Bacon.

Bris"tol (&?;), n. A seaport city in the west of England.

Bristol board, a kind of fine pasteboard, made with a smooth but usually unglazed surface. -- Bristol brick, a brick of siliceous matter used for polishing cultery; -- originally manufactured at Bristol. -- Bristol stone, rock crystal, or brilliant crystals of quartz, found in the mountain limestone near Bristol, and used in making ornaments, vases, etc. When polished, it is called Bristol diamond.

Bri*sure" (&?;), n. [F.] 1. (Fort.) Any part of a rampart or parapet which deviates from the general direction.

2. (Her.) A mark of cadency or difference.

{ Brit, Britt } (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The young of the common herring; also, a small species of herring; the sprat. (b) The minute marine animals (chiefly Entomostraca) upon which the right whales feed.

Bri*tan"ni*a (&?;), n. [From L. Britannia Great Britain.] A white-metal alloy of tin, antimony, bismuth, copper, etc. It somewhat resembles silver, and is used for table ware. Called also Britannia metal.

Bri*tan"nic (&?;), a. [L. Britannicus, fr. Britannia Great Britain.] Of or pertaining to Great Britain; British; as, her Britannic Majesty.

{ Brite, Bright } (&?;), v. t. To be or become overripe, as wheat, barley, or hops. [Prov. Eng.]

Brit"i*cism (&?;), n. A word, phrase, or idiom peculiar to Great Britain; any manner of using a word or words that is peculiar to Great Britain.

Brit"ish (brt"sh), a. [AS. Brittisc, Bryttisc.] Of or pertaining to Great Britain or to its inhabitants; -- sometimes restricted to the original inhabitants.

British gum, a brownish substance, very soluble in cold water, formed by heating dry starch at a temperature of about 600° Fahr. It corresponds, in its properties, to dextrin, and is used, in solution, as a substitute for gum in stiffering goods. -- British lion, the national emblem of Great Britain. -- British seas, the four seas which surround Great Britain.

Brit"ish, n. pl. People of Great Britain.

Brit"ish*er, n. An Englishman; a subject or inhabitant of Great Britain, esp. one in the British military or naval service. [Now used jocosely]

Brit"on (&?;), a. [AS. bryten Britain.] British. [Obs.] Spenser. -- n. A native of Great Britain.

Brit"tle (&?;), a. [OE. britel, brutel, AS. bryttian to dispense, fr. breótan to break; akin to Icel. brytja, Sw. bryta, Dan. bryde. Cf. Brickle.] Easily broken; apt to break; fragile; not tough or tenacious.

Farewell, thou pretty, brittle piece Of fine-cut crystal. Cotton.

Brittle silver ore, the mineral stephanite.

Brit"tle*ly, adv. In a brittle manner. Sherwood.

Brit"tle*ness, n. Aptness to break; fragility.

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Brit"tle star` (brt"t'l stär`), (Zoöl.) Any species of ophiuran starfishes. See Ophiuroidea.

Britz"ska (brts"k), n. [Russ. britshka; cf. Pol. bryczka, dim. of bryka freight wagon.] A long carriage, with a calash top, so constructed as to give space for reclining at night, when used on a journey.

Brize (brz), n. The breeze fly. See Breeze. Shak.

Broach (&?;), n. [OE. broche, F. broche, fr. LL. brocca; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. proc thrust, stab, Gael. brog awl. Cf. Brooch.] 1. A spit. [Obs.]

He turned a broach that had worn a crown. Bacon.

2. An awl; a bodkin; also, a wooden rod or pin, sharpened at each end, used by thatchers. [Prov. Eng.] Forby.

3. (Mech.) (a) A tool of steel, generally tapering, and of a polygonal form, with from four to eight cutting edges, for smoothing or enlarging holes in metal; sometimes made smooth or without edges, as for burnishing pivot holes in watches; a reamer. The broach for gun barrels is commonly square and without taper. (b) A straight tool with file teeth, made of steel, to be pressed through irregular holes in metal that cannot be dressed by revolving tools; a drift.

4. (Masonry) A broad chisel for stonecutting.

5. (Arch.) A spire rising from a tower. [Local, Eng.]

6. A clasp for fastening a garment. See Brooch.

7. A spitlike start, on the head of a young stag.

8. The stick from which candle wicks are suspended for dipping. Knight.

9. The pin in a lock which enters the barrel of the key.

Broach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Broached (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Broaching.] [F. brocher, fr. broche. See Broach, n.] 1. To spit; to pierce as with a spit.

I'll broach the tadpole on my rapier's point. Shak.

2. To tap; to pierce, as a cask, in order to draw the liquor. Hence: To let out; to shed, as blood.

Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade, He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast. Shak.

3. To open for the first time, as stores.

You shall want neither weapons, victuals, nor aid; I will open the old armories, I will broach my store, and will bring forth my stores. Knolles.

4. To make public; to utter; to publish first; to put forth; to introduce as a topic of conversation.

Those very opinions themselves had broached. Swift.

5. To cause to begin or break out. [Obs.] Shak.

6. (Masonry) To shape roughly, as a block of stone, by chiseling with a coarse tool. [Scot. & North of Eng.]

7. To enlarge or dress (a hole), by using a broach.

To broach to (Naut.), to incline suddenly to windward, so as to lay the sails aback, and expose the vessel to the danger of oversetting.

Broach"er (&?;), n. 1. A spit; a broach.

On five sharp broachers ranked, the roast they turned. Dryden.

2. One who broaches, opens, or utters; a first publisher or promoter.

Some such broacher of heresy. Atterbury.

Broad (&?;), a. [Compar. Broader (&?;); superl. Broadest.] [OE. brod, brad, AS. brd; akin to OS. brd, D. breed, G. breit, Icel. brei&?;r, Sw. & Dan. bred, Goth. braids. Cf. Breadth.] 1. Wide; extend in breadth, or from side to side; -- opposed to narrow; as, a broad street, a broad table; an inch broad.

2. Extending far and wide; extensive; vast; as, the broad expanse of ocean.

3. Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full. "Broad and open day." Bp. Porteus.