Chapter 123

4. (Zoöl.) One of various species of Coleoptera; as, the ladybug; potato bug, etc.; loosely, any beetle.

5. (Zoöl.) One of certain kinds of Crustacea; as, the sow bug; pill bug; bait bug; salve bug, etc.

According to present popular usage in England, and among housekeepers in America, bug, when not joined with some qualifying word, is used specifically for bedbug. As a general term it is used very loosely in America, and was formerly used still more loosely in England. "God's rare workmanship in the ant, the poorest bug that creeps." Rogers (Naaman). "This bug with gilded wings." Pope.

Bait bug. See under Bait. -- Bug word, swaggering or threatening language. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

{ Bug`a*boo" (&?;), Bug"bear` } (&?;), n. [See Bug.] Something frightful, as a specter; anything imaginary that causes needless fright; something used to excite needless fear; also, something really dangerous, used to frighten children, etc. "Bugaboos to fright ye." Lloyd.

But, to the world no bugbear is so great As want of figure and a small estate. Pope.

The bugaboo of the liberals is the church pray. S. B. Griffin.

The great bugaboo of the birds is the owl. J. Burroughs.

Syn. -- Hobgoblin; goblin; specter; ogre; scarecrow.

Bug"bane` (&?;), n. (Bot.) A perennial white-flowered herb of the order Ranunculaceæ and genus Cimiciguga; bugwort. There are several species.

Bug"bear` (&?;), n. Same as Bugaboo. -- a. Causing needless fright. Locke.

Bug"bear`, v. t. To alarm with idle phantoms.

Bug"fish` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The menhaden. [U.S.]

Bug"ger (&?;), n. [F. bougre, fr. LL. Bulgarus, a Bulgarian, and also a heretic; because the inhabitants of Bulgaria were infected with heresy. Those guilty of the crime of buggery were called heretics, because in the eyes of their adversaries there was nothing more heinous than heresy, and it was therefore thought that the origin of such a vice could only be owing to heretics.] 1. One guilty of buggery or unnatural vice; a sodomite.

2. A wretch; -- sometimes used humorously or in playful disparagement. [Low]

Bug"ger*y (&?;), n. [OF. bougrerie, bogrerie, heresy. See Bugger.] Unnatural sexual intercourse; sodomy.

Bug"gi*ness (&?;), n. [From Buggy, a.] The state of being infested with bugs.

Bug"gy (&?;), a. [From Bug.] Infested or abounding with bugs.

Bug"gy, n.; pl. Buggies. 1. A light one horse two- wheeled vehicle. [Eng.]

Villebeck prevailed upon Flora to drive with him to the race in a buggy. Beaconsfield.

2. A light, four-wheeled vehicle, usually with one seat, and with or without a calash top. [U.S.]

Buggy cultivator, a cultivator with a seat for the driver. -- Buggy plow, a plow, or set of plows, having a seat for the driver; -- called also sulky plow.

Bu"gle (&?;), n. [OE. bugle buffalo, buffalo's horn, OF. bugle, fr. L. buculus a young bullock, steer, dim. of bos ox. See Cow the animal.] A sort of wild ox; a buffalo. E. Phillips.

Bu"gle, n. [See Bugle a wild ox.] 1. A horn used by hunters.

2. (Mus.) A copper instrument of the horn quality of tone, shorter and more conical that the trumpet, sometimes keyed; formerly much used in military bands, very rarely in the orchestra; now superseded by the cornet; -- called also the Kent bugle.

Bu"gle, n. [LL. bugulus a woman's ornament: cf. G. bügel a bent piece of metal or wood, fr. the same root as G. biegen to bend, E. bow to bend.] An elongated glass bead, of various colors, though commonly black.

Bu"gle, a. [From Bugle a bead.] Jet black. "Bugle eyeballs." Shak.

Bu"gle, n. [F. bugle; cf. It. bugola, L. bugillo.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Ajuga of the Mint family, a native of the Old World.

Yellow bugle, the Ajuga chamæpitys.

Bu"gled (&?;), a. Ornamented with bugles.

Bu"gle horn` (&?;). 1. A bugle.

One blast upon his bugle horn Were worth a thousand men. Sir W. Scott.

2. A drinking vessel made of horn. [Obs.]

And drinketh of his bugle horn the wine. Chaucer.

Bu"gler (&?;), n. One who plays on a bugle.

Bu"gle*weed` (&?;), n. (Bot.) A plant of the Mint family and genus Lycopus; esp. L. Virginicus, which has mild narcotic and astringent properties, and is sometimes used as a remedy for hemorrhage.

Bu"gloss (&?;), n.; pl. Buglosses (&?;). [F. buglosse, L. buglossa, buglossus, fr. Gr. &?; oxtongue &?; ox + &?; tongue.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Anchusa, and especially the A. officinalis, sometimes called alkanet; oxtongue.

Small wild bugloss, the Asperugo procumbens and the Lycopsis arvensis. -- Viper's bugloss, a species of Echium.

Bug"wort` (&?;), n. (Bot.) Bugbane.

{ Buhl (&?;), Buhl"work } (&?;), n. [From A. Ch. Boule, a French carver in wood.] Decorative woodwork in which tortoise shell, yellow metal, white metal, etc., are inlaid, forming scrolls, cartouches, etc. [Written also boule, boulework.]

Buhl"buhl (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) See Bulbul.

Buhr"stone` (&?;), n. [OE. bur a whetstone for scythes.] (Min.) A cellular, flinty rock, used for mill stones. [Written also burrstone.]

Build (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Built (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Building. The regular imp. & p. p. Builded is antiquated.] [OE. bulden, bilden, AS. byldan to build, fr. bold house; cf. Icel. bl farm, abode, Dan. bol small farm, OSw. bol, böle, house, dwelling, fr. root of Icel. b&?;a to dwell; akin to E. be, bower, boor. √97.] 1. To erect or construct, as an edifice or fabric of any kind; to form by uniting materials into a regular structure; to fabricate; to make; to raise.

Nor aught availed him now To have built in heaven high towers. Milton.

2. To raise or place on a foundation; to form, establish, or produce by using appropriate means.

Who builds his hopes in air of your good looks. Shak.

3. To increase and strengthen; to increase the power and stability of; to settle, or establish, and preserve; -- frequently with up; as, to build up one's constitution.

I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. Acts xx. 32.

Syn. -- To erect; construct; raise; found; frame.

Build (&?;), v. i. 1. To exercise the art, or practice the business, of building.

2. To rest or depend, as on a foundation; to ground one's self or one's hopes or opinions upon something deemed reliable; to rely; as, to build on the opinions or advice of others.

Build, n. Form or mode of construction; general figure; make; as, the build of a ship.

Build"er (&?;), n. One who builds; one whose occupation is to build, as a carpenter, a shipwright, or a mason.

In the practice of civil architecture, the builder comes between the architect who designs the work and the artisans who execute it. Eng. Cyc.

Build"ing, n. 1. The act of constructing, erecting, or establishing.

Hence it is that the building of our Sion rises no faster. Bp. Hall.

2. The art of constructing edifices, or the practice of civil architecture.

The execution of works of architecture necessarily includes building; but building is frequently employed when the result is not architectural. Hosking.

3. That which is built; a fabric or edifice constructed, as a house, a church, etc.

Thy sumptuous buildings and thy wife's attire Have cost a mass of public treasury. Shak.

Built (&?;), n. Shape; build; form of structure; as, the built of a ship. [Obs.] Dryden.

Built, a. Formed; shaped; constructed; made; -- often used in composition and preceded by the word denoting the form; as, frigate-built, clipper-built, etc.

Like the generality of Genoese countrywomen, strongly built. Landor.

Buke" mus"lin (&?;). See Book muslin.

||Buk"shish (&?;), n. See Backsheesh.

||Bu"lau (&?;), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) An East Indian insectivorous mammal (Gymnura Rafflesii), somewhat like a rat in appearance, but allied to the hedgehog.

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Bulb (blb), n. [L. bulbus, Gr. bolbo`s: cf. F. bulbe.] 1. (Bot.) A spheroidal body growing from a plant either above or below the ground (usually below), which is strictly a bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc. It differs from a corm in not being solid.

2. (Anat.) A name given to some parts that resemble in shape certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta.

Bulb of the eye, the eyeball. -- Bulb of a hair, the "root," or part whence the hair originates. -- Bulb of the spinal cord, the medulla oblongata, often called simply bulb. -- Bulb of a tooth, the vascular and nervous papilla contained in the cavity of the tooth.

3. An expansion or protuberance on a stem or tube, as the bulb of a thermometer, which may be of any form, as spherical, cylindrical, curved, etc. Tomlinson.

Bulb, v. i. To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.

Bul*ba"ceous (&?;), a. [L. bulbaceus. See Bulb, n.] Bulbous. Jonson.

Bulb"ar (&?;), a. Of or pertaining to bulb; especially, in medicine, pertaining to the bulb of the spinal cord, or medulla oblongata; as, bulbar paralysis.

Bulbed (&?;), a. Having a bulb; round- headed.

Bulb"el (&?;), n. [Dim., fr. bulb, n.] (Bot.) A separable bulb formed on some flowering plants.

Bul*bif"er*ous (&?;), a. [Bulb,n.+ -ferous: cf. F. bulbifère.] (Bot.) Producing bulbs.

Bulb"let (&?;), n. [Bulb,n.+ -let.] (Bot.) A small bulb, either produced on a larger bulb, or on some aërial part of a plant, as in the axils of leaves in the tiger lily, or replacing the flowers in some kinds of onion.

Bul*bose" (&?;), a. Bulbous.

Bul"bo-tu`ber (&?;), n. [Bulb,n.+ tuber.] (Bot.) A corm.

Bulb"ous (&?;), a. [L. bulbosus: cf. F. bulbeux. See Bulb, n.] Having or containing bulbs, or a bulb; growing from bulbs; bulblike in shape or structure.

||Bul"bul (&?;), n. [Per.] (Zoöl.) The Persian nightingale (Pycnonotus jocosus). The name is also applied to several other Asiatic singing birds, of the family Timaliidæ. The green bulbuls belong to the Chloropsis and allied genera. [Written also buhlbuhl.]

Bul"bule (&?;), n. [L. bulbulus, dim. of bulbus. See Bulb, n.] A small bulb; a bulblet.

Bul"chin (&?;), n. [Dim. of bull.] A little bull.

Bulge (&?;), n. [OE. bulge a swelling; cf. AS. belgan to swell, OSw. bulgja, Icel. blginn swollen, OHG. belgan to swell, G. bulge leathern sack, Skr. b&?;h to be large, strong; the root meaning to swell. Cf. Bilge, Belly, Billow, Bouge, n.] 1. The bilge or protuberant part of a cask.

2. A swelling, protuberant part; a bending outward, esp. when caused by pressure; as, a bulge in a wall.

3. (Naut.) The bilge of a vessel. See Bilge, 2.

Bulge ways. (Naut.) See Bilge ways.

Bulge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bulged (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bulging.] 1. To swell or jut out; to bend outward, as a wall when it yields to pressure; to be protuberant; as, the wall bulges.

2. To bilge, as a ship; to founder.

And scattered navies bulge on distant shores. Broome.

Bul"gy (&?;), a. Bulged; bulging; bending, or tending to bend, outward. [Colloq.]

{ ||Bu*lim"i*a (&?;), Bu"li*my (&?;), } n. [NL. bulimia, fr. Gr. boylimi`a, lit., ox-hunger; boy^s ox + limo`s hunger: cf. F. boulimie.] (Med.) A disease in which there is a perpetual and insatiable appetite for food; a diseased and voracious appetite.

||Bu*li"mus (b*l"ms), n. [L. bulimus hunger. See Bulimy.] (Zoöl.) A genus of land snails having an elongated spiral shell, often of large size. The species are numerous and abundant in tropical America.

Bulk (blk), n. [OE. bulke, bolke, heap; cf. Dan. bulk lump, clod, OSw. bolk crowd, mass, Icel. b&?;lkast to be bulky. Cf. Boll, n., Bile a boil, Bulge, n.] 1. Magnitude of material substance; dimensions; mass; size; as, an ox or ship of great bulk.

Against these forces there were prepared near one hundred ships; not so great of bulk indeed, but of a more nimble motion, and more serviceable. Bacon.

2. The main mass or body; the largest or principal portion; the majority; as, the bulk of a debt.

The bulk of the people must labor, Burke told them, "to obtain what by labor can be obtained." J. Morley.

3. (Naut.) The cargo of a vessel when stowed.

4. The body. [Obs.] Shak.

My liver leaped within my bulk. Turbervile.

Barrel bulk. See under Barrel. -- To break bulk (Naut.), to begin to unload or more the cargo. -- In bulk, in a mass; loose; not inclosed in separate packages or divided into separate parts; in such shape that any desired quantity may be taken or sold. -- Laden in bulk, Stowed in bulk, having the cargo loose in the hold or not inclosed in boxes, bales, or casks. -- Sale by bulk, a sale of goods as they are, without weight or measure.

Syn. -- Size; magnitude; dimension; volume; bigness; largeness; massiveness.

Bulk (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bulked (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bulking.] To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent; to swell.

The fame of Warburton possibly bulked larger for the moment. Leslie Stephen.

Bulk, n. [Icel. blkr a beam, partition. Cf. Balk, n. & v.] A projecting part of a building. [Obs.]

Here, stand behind this bulk. Shak.

Bulk"er (&?;), n. (Naut.) A person employed to ascertain the bulk or size of goods, in order to fix the amount of freight or dues payable on them.

Bulk"head` (&?;), n. [See Bulk part of a building.] 1. (Naut.) A partition in a vessel, to separate apartments on the same deck.

2. A structure of wood or stone, to resist the pressure of earth or water; a partition wall or structure, as in a mine; the limiting wall along a water front.

Bulked line, a line beyond which a wharf must not project; -- usually, the harbor line.

Bulk"i*ness (&?;), n. Greatness in bulk; size.

Bulk"y (&?;), a. Of great bulk or dimensions; of great size; large; thick; massive; as, bulky volumes.

A bulky digest of the revenue laws. Hawthorne.

Bull (&?;), n. [OE. bule, bul, bole; akin to D. bul, G. bulle, Icel. boli, Lith. bullus, Lett. bollis, Russ. vol'; prob. fr. the root of AS. bellan, E. bellow.] 1. (Zoöl.) The male of any species of cattle (Bovidæ); hence, the male of any large quadruped, as the elephant; also, the male of the whale.

The wild bull of the Old Testament is thought to be the oryx, a large species of antelope.

2. One who, or that which, resembles a bull in character or action. Ps. xxii. 12.

3. (Astron.) (a) Taurus, the second of the twelve signs of the zodiac. (b) A constellation of the zodiac between Aries and Gemini. It contains the Pleiades.

At last from Aries rolls the bounteous sun, And the bright Bull receives him. Thomson.

4. (Stock Exchange) One who operates in expectation of a rise in the price of stocks, or in order to effect such a rise. See 4th Bear, n., 5.

Bull baiting, the practice of baiting bulls, or rendering them furious, as by setting dogs to attack them. -- John Bull, a humorous name for the English, collectively; also, an Englishman. "Good-looking young John Bull." W. D.Howells. -- To take the bull by the horns, to grapple with a difficulty instead of avoiding it.

Bull, a. Of or pertaining to a bull; resembling a bull; male; large; fierce.

Bull bat (Zoöl.), the night hawk; -- so called from the loud noise it makes while feeding on the wing, in the evening. -- Bull calf. (a) A stupid fellow. -- Bull mackerel (Zoöl.), the chub mackerel. -- Bull pump (Mining), a direct single-acting pumping engine, in which the steam cylinder is placed above the pump. -- Bull snake (Zoöl.), the pine snake of the United States. -- Bull stag, a castrated bull. See Stag. -- Bull wheel, a wheel, or drum, on which a rope is wound for lifting heavy articles, as logs, the tools in well boring, etc.

Bull, v. i. To be in heat; to manifest sexual desire as cows do. [Colloq.]

Bull, v. t. (Stock Exchange) To endeavor to raise the market price of; as, to bull railroad bonds; to bull stocks; to bull Lake Shore; to endeavor to raise prices in; as, to bull the market. See 1st Bull, n., 4.

Bull, n. [OE. bulle, fr. L. bulla bubble, stud, knob, LL., a seal or stamp: cf. F. bulle. Cf. Bull a writing, Bowl a ball, Boil, v. i.] 1. A seal. See Bulla.

2. A letter, edict, or respect, of the pope, written in Gothic characters on rough parchment, sealed with a bulla, and dated "a die Incarnationis," i. e., "from the day of the Incarnation." See Apostolical brief, under Brief.

A fresh bull of Leo's had declared how inflexible the court of Rome was in the point of abuses. Atterbury.

3. A grotesque blunder in language; an apparent congruity, but real incongruity, of ideas, contained in a form of expression; so called, perhaps, from the apparent incongruity between the dictatorial nature of the pope's bulls and his professions of humility.

And whereas the papist boasts himself to be a Roman Catholic, it is a mere contradiction, one of the pope's bulls, as if he should say universal particular; a Catholic schimatic. Milton.

The Golden Bull, an edict or imperial constitution made by the emperor Charles IV. (1356), containing what became the fundamental law of the German empire; -- so called from its golden seal.

Syn. -- See Blunder.

||Bul"la (&?;), n.; pl. Bullæ (&?;). [L. bulla bubble. See Bull an edict.] 1. (Med.) A bleb; a vesicle, or an elevation of the cuticle, containing a transparent watery fluid.

2. (Anat.) The ovoid prominence below the opening of the ear in the skulls of many animals; as, the tympanic or auditory bulla.

3. A leaden seal for a document; esp. the round leaden seal attached to the papal bulls, which has on one side a representation of St. Peter and St. Paul, and on the other the name of the pope who uses it.

4. (Zoöl.) A genus of marine shells. See Bubble shell.

Bul"lace (&?;), n. [OE. bolas, bolace, OF. beloce; of Celtic origin; cf. Arm. bolos, polos, Gael. bulaistear.] (Bot.) (a) A small European plum (Prunus communis, var. insitita). See Plum. (b) The bully tree.

Bul*lan"tic (&?;), a. [See Bull an edict.] Pertaining to, or used in, papal bulls. Fry.

Bullantic letters, Gothic letters used in papal bulls.

Bul"la*ry (&?;), n. [LL. bullarium: cf. F. bullairie. See Bull an edict.] A collection of papal bulls.

Bul"la*ry, n.; pl. Bullaries (-rz). [Cf. Boilary.] A place for boiling or preparing salt; a boilery. Crabb.

And certain salt fats or bullaries. Bills in Chancery.

Bul"late (bl"lt/), a. [L. bullatus, fr. bulla bubble.] (Biol.) Appearing as if blistered; inflated; puckered.

Bullate leaf (Bot.), a leaf, the membranous part of which rises between the veins puckered elevations convex on one side and concave on the other.

Bull"beg`gar (&?;), n. Something used or suggested to produce terror, as in children or persons of weak mind; a bugbear.

And being an ill-looked fellow, he has a pension from the church wardens for being bullbeggar to all the forward children in the parish. Mountfort (1691).

Bull" bri`er (&?;). (Bot.) A species of Smilax (S. Pseudo-China) growing from New Jersey to the Gulf of Mexico, which has very large tuberous and farinaceous rootstocks, formerly used by the Indians for a sort of bread, and by the negroes as an ingredient in making beer; -- called also bamboo brier and China brier.

Bull"comb*er (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A scaraboid beetle; esp. the Typhæus vulgaris of Europe.

Bull"dog` (&?;), n. 1. (Zoöl.) A variety of dog, of remarkable ferocity, courage, and tenacity of grip; -- so named, probably, from being formerly employed in baiting bulls.

2. (Metal.) A refractory material used as a furnace lining, obtained by calcining the cinder or slag from the puddling furnace of a rolling mill.

Bull"dog`, a. Characteristic of, or like, a bulldog; stubborn; as, bulldog courage; bulldog tenacity.

Bulldog bat (Zo'94l.), a bat of the genus Nyctinomus; -- so called from the shape of its face.

Bull"doze` (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bulldozed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bulldozing.] To intimidate; to restrain or coerce by intimidation or violence; -- used originally of the intimidation of negro voters, in Louisiana. [Slang, U.S.]

Bull"do`zer (&?;), n. One who bulldozes. [Slang]

Bulled (&?;), a. [Cf. Boln.] Swollen. [Obs.]

||Bul"len-bul"len (&?;), n. [Native Australian name, from its cry.] (Zoöl.) The lyre bird.

Bul"len-nail` (&?;), n. [Bull large, having a large head + nail.] A nail with a round head and short shank, tinned and lacquered.

Bul"let (&?;), n. [F. boulet, dim. of boule ball. See Bull an edict, and cf. Boulet.] 1. A small ball.

2. A missile, usually of lead, and round or elongated in form, to be discharged from a rifle, musket, pistol, or other small firearm.

3. A cannon ball. [Obs.]

A ship before Greenwich . . . shot off her ordnance, one piece being charged with a bullet of stone. Stow.

4. The fetlock of a horse. [See Illust. under Horse.]

Bul"let-proof` (&?;), a. Capable of resisting the force of a bullet.

Bullet tree. See Bully tree. -- Bullet wood, the wood of the bullet tree.

Bul"le*tin (&?;), n. [F. bulletin, fr. It. bullettino, dim. of bulletta, dim. of bulla, bolla, an edict of the pope, from L. bulla bubble. See Bull an edict.] 1. A brief statement of facts respecting some passing event, as military operations or the health of some distinguished personage, issued by authority for the information of the public.

2. Any public notice or announcement, especially of news recently received.

3. A periodical publication, especially one containing the proceeding of a society.

Bulletin board, a board on which announcements are put, particularly at newsrooms, newspaper offices, etc.

Bull"faced` (&?;), a. Having a large face.

Bull"feast` (&?;), n. See Bullfight. [Obs.]

{ Bull"fight` (&?;), Bull"fight`ing }, n. A barbarous sport, of great antiquity, in which men torment, and fight with, a bull or bulls in an arena, for public amusement, -- still popular in Spain. -- Bull"fight`er (&?;), n.

Bull"finch` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A bird of the genus Pyrrhula and other related genera, especially the P. vulgaris or rubicilla, a bird of Europe allied to the grosbeak, having the breast, cheeks, and neck, red.

As a cage bird it is highly valued for its remarkable power of learning to whistle correctly various musical airs.

Crimson-fronted bullfinch. (Zoöl.) See Burion. -- Pine bullfinch, the pine finch.

{ Bull"fist (&?;), Bull"fice } (&?;), n. [Cf. G. bofist, AS. wulfes fist puffball, E. fizz, foist.] (Bot.) A kind of fungus. See Puffball.

{ Bull" fly` or Bull"fly` } (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) Any large fly troublesome to cattle, as the gadflies and breeze flies.

Bull"frog` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A very large species of frog (Rana Catesbiana), found in North America; -- so named from its loud bellowing in spring.

Bull"head` (&?;), n. 1. (Zoöl.) (a) A fresh-water fish of many species, of the genus Uranidea, esp. U. gobio of Europe, and U. Richardsoni of the United States; -- called also miller's thumb. (b) In America, several species of Amiurus; -- called also catfish, horned pout, and bullpout. (c) A marine fish of the genus Cottus; the sculpin.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) The black-bellied plover (Squatarola helvetica); -- called also beetlehead. (b) The golden plover.

3. A stupid fellow; a lubber. [Colloq.] Jonson.

4. (Zoöl.) A small black water insect. E. Phillips.

Bullhead whiting (Zoöl.), the kingfish of Florida (Menticirrus alburnus).

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Bull"head`ed (bl"hd`d), a. Having a head like that of a bull. Fig.: Headstrong; obstinate; dogged.

Bul"lion (bl"yn), n. [Cf. OE. bullyon a hook used for fastening the dress, a button, stud, an embossed ornament of various kinds, e. g., on the cover of a book, on bridles or poitrels, for purses, for breeches and doublets, LL. bullio the swelling of boiling water, a mass of gold or silver, fr. L. bulla boss, stud, bubble (see Bull an edict), or perh. corrupted fr. F. billon base coin, LL. billio bullion. Cf. Billon, Billet a stick.] 1. Uncoined gold or silver in the mass.