Chapter 124

Properly, the precious metals are called bullion, when smelted and not perfectly refined, or when refined, but in bars, ingots or in any form uncoined, as in plate. The word is often often used to denote gold and silver, both coined and uncoined, when reckoned by weight and in mass, including especially foreign, or uncurrent, coin.

2. Base or uncurrent coin. [Obs.]

And those which eld's strict doom did disallow, And damm for bullion, go for current now. Sylvester.

3. Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or copper, on bridles, saddles, etc. [Obs.]

The clasps and bullions were worth a thousand pound. Skelton.

4. Heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or silver wire and used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose cords are prominent.

Bul"lion*ist, n. An advocate for a metallic currency, or a paper currency always convertible into gold.

Bul"li*rag (&?;), v. t. [Cf. bully,n.& v., and rag to scold, rail. Cf. Ballarag.] To intimidate by bullying; to rally contemptuously; to badger. [Low]

Bull"ish (&?;), a. Partaking of the nature of a bull, or a blunder.

Let me inform you, a toothless satire is as improper as a toothed sleek stone, and as bullish. Milton.

Bull"ist, n. [F. bulliste. See Bull an edict.] A writer or drawer up of papal bulls. [R.] Harmar.

Bul*li"tion (&?;), n. [L. bullire, bullitum, to boil. See Boil, v. i.] The action of boiling; boiling. [Obs.] See Ebullition. Bacon.

Bull"-necked` (&?;), a. Having a short and thick neck like that of a bull. Sir W. Scott.

Bul"lock (&?;), n. [AS. bulluc a young bull. See Bull.] 1. A young bull, or any male of the ox kind.

Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old. Judges vi. 25.

2. An ox, steer, or stag.

Bul"lock, v. t. To bully. [Obs.]

She shan't think to bullock and domineer over me. Foote.

Bul"lock's-eye` (&?;), n. See Bull's- eye, 3.

||Bul"lon (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A West Indian fish (Scarus Croicensis).

Bull"pout` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) See Bullhead, 1 (b).

Bull's"-eye` (&?;), n. 1. (Naut.) A small circular or oval wooden block without sheaves, having a groove around it and a hole through it, used for connecting rigging.

2. A small round cloud, with a ruddy center, supposed by sailors to portend a storm.

3. A small thick disk of glass inserted in a deck, roof, floor, ship's side, etc., to let in light.

4. A circular or oval opening for air or light.

5. A lantern, with a thick glass lens on one side for concentrating the light on any object; also, the lens itself. Dickens.

6. (Astron.) Aldebaran, a bright star in the eye of Taurus or the Bull.

7. (Archery & Gun.) The center of a target.

8. A thick knob or protuberance left on glass by the end of the pipe through which it was blown.

9. A small and thick old-fashioned watch. [Colloq.]

Bull's"-nose` (&?;), n. (Arch.) An external angle when obtuse or rounded.

Bull" ter"ri*er (&?;). (Zoöl.) A breed of dogs obtained by crossing the bulldog and the terrier.

Bull" trout` (&?;). (Zoöl.) (a) In England, a large salmon trout of several species, as Salmo trutta and S. Cambricus, which ascend rivers; -- called also sea trout. (b) Salvelinus malma of California and Oregon; -- called also Dolly Varden trout and red- spotted trout. (c) The huso or salmon of the Danube.

Bull"weed` (&?;), n. [Bole a stem + weed.] (Bot.) Knapweed. Prior.

Bull"wort` (&?;), n. (Bot.) See Bishop's-weed.

Bul"ly (&?;), n.; pl. Bullies (&?;). [Cf. LG. bullerjaan, bullerbäk, bullerbrook, a blusterer, D. bulderaar a bluster, bulderen to bluster; prob. of imitative origin; or cf. MHG. buole lover, G. buhle.] 1. A noisy, blustering fellow, more insolent than courageous; one who is threatening and quarrelsome; an insolent, tyrannical fellow.

Bullies seldom execute the threats they deal in. Palmerston.

2. A brisk, dashing fellow. [Slang Obs.] Shak.

Bul"ly (&?;), a. 1. Jovial and blustering; dashing. [Slang] "Bless thee, bully doctor." Shak.

2. Fine; excellent; as, a bully horse. [Slang, U.S.]

Bul"ly, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bullied (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bullying.] To intimidate with threats and by an overbearing, swaggering demeanor; to act the part of a bully toward.

For the last fortnight there have been prodigious shoals of volunteers gone over to bully the French, upon hearing the peace was just signing. Tatler.

Syn. -- To bluster; swagger; hector; domineer.

Bul"ly, v. i. To act as a bully.

Bul"ly*rag (&?;), v. t. Same as Bullirag.

Bul"ly*rock` (&?;), n. A bully. [Slang Obs.] Shak.

Bul"ly tree` (&?;). (Bot.) The name of several West Indian trees of the order Sapotaceæ, as Dipholis nigra and species of Sapota and Mimusops. Most of them yield a substance closely resembling gutta-percha.

Bul"rush` (&?;), n. [OE. bulrysche, bolroysche; of uncertain origin, perh. fr. bole stem + rush.] (Bot.) A kind of large rush, growing in wet land or in water.

The name bulrush is applied in England especially to the cat-tail (Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia) and to the lake club-rush (Scirpus lacustris); in America, to the Juncus effusus, and also to species of Scirpus or club-rush.

||Bulse (&?;), n. A purse or bag in which to carry or measure diamonds, etc. [India] Macaulay.

Bul"tel (&?;), n. [LL. bultellus. See Bolt to sift.] A bolter or bolting cloth; also, bran. [Obs.]

Bul"ti (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Bolty.

Bul"tow` (&?;), n. A trawl; a boulter; the mode of fishing with a boulter or spiller.

Bul"wark (&?;), n. [Akin to D. bolwerk, G. bollwerk, Sw. bolwerk, Dan. bolvärk, bulvärk, rampart; akin to G. bohle plank, and werk work, defense. See Bole stem, and Work, n., and cf. Boulevard.] 1. (Fort.) A rampart; a fortification; a bastion or outwork.

2. That which secures against an enemy, or defends from attack; any means of defense or protection.

The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defense, . . . the floating bulwark of our island. Blackstone.

3. pl. (Naut.) The sides of a ship above the upper deck.

Syn. -- See Rampart.

Bul"wark, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bulwarked (&?;); p. pr. & vb.n. Bulwarking.] To fortify with, or as with, a rampart or wall; to secure by fortification; to protect.

Of some proud city, bulwarked round and armed With rising towers. Glover.

Bum (&?;), n. [Contr. fr. bottom in this sense.] The buttock. [Low] Shak.

Bum, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bummed (&?;); p. pr. & vb.n. Bumming (&?;).] [See Boom, v. i., to roar.] To make murmuring or humming sound. Jamieson.

Bum, n. A humming noise. Halliwell.

Bum"bail"iff (&?;), n. [A corruption of bound bailiff.] [Low, Eng.] See Bound bailiff, under Bound, a.

Bum"bard (&?;). See Bombard. [Obs.]

Bum"barge` (&?;), n. See Bumboat. Carlyle.

Bum"bast (&?;). See Bombast. [Obs.]

Bum"be*lo (&?;), n.; pl. Bumbeloes (&?;). [It. bombola.] A glass used in subliming camphor. [Spelled also bombolo and bumbolo.]

Bum"ble (&?;), n. [See Bump to boom.] (Zoöl.) The bittern. [Local, Eng.]

Bum"ble, v. i. To make a hollow or humming noise, like that of a bumblebee; to cry as a bittern.

As a bittern bumbleth in the mire. Chaucer.

Bum"ble*bee` (&?;), n. [OE. bumblen to make a humming noise (dim. of bum, v. i.) + bee. Cf. Humblebee.] (Zoöl.) A large bee of the genus Bombus, sometimes called humblebee; -- so named from its sound.

There are many species. All gather honey, and store it in the empty cocoons after the young have come out.

Bum"boat` (&?;), n. [From bum the buttocks, on account of its clumsy form; or fr. D. bun a box for holding fish in a boat.] (Naut.) A clumsy boat, used for conveying provisions, fruit, etc., for sale, to vessels lying in port or off shore.

Bum"kin (&?;), n. [Boom a beam + - kin. See Bumpkin.] (Naut.) A projecting beam or boom; as: (a) One projecting from each bow of a vessel, to haul the fore tack to, called a tack bumpkin. (b) One from each quarter, for the main-brace blocks, and called brace bumpkin. (c) A small outrigger over the stern of a boat, to extend the mizzen. [Written also boomkin.]

||Bum"ma*lo (&?;), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A small marine Asiatic fish (Saurus ophidon) used in India as a relish; -- called also Bombay duck.

Bum"mer (&?;), n. An idle, worthless fellow, who is without any visible means of support; a dissipated sponger. [Slang, U.S.]

Bum"me*ry (&?;), n. See Bottomery. [Obs.]

There was a scivener of Wapping brought to hearing for relief against a bummery bond. R. North.

Bump (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bumped (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bumping.] [Cf. W. pwmp round mass, pwmpiaw to thump, bang, and E. bum, v. i., boom to roar.] To strike, as with or against anything large or solid; to thump; as, to bump the head against a wall.

Bump, v. i. To come in violent contact with something; to thump. "Bumping and jumping." Southey.

Bump (&?;), n. [From Bump to strike, to thump.] 1. A thump; a heavy blow.

2. A swelling or prominence, resulting from a bump or blow; a protuberance.

It had upon its brow A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone. Shak.

3. (Phren.) One of the protuberances on the cranium which are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind; as, the bump of "veneration;" the bump of "acquisitiveness." [Colloq.]

4. The act of striking the stern of the boat in advance with the prow of the boat following. [Eng.]

Bump, v. i. [See Boom to roar.] To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise, as the bittern; to boom.

As a bittern bumps within a reed. Dryden.

Bump, n. The noise made by the bittern.

Bum"per (&?;), n. [A corruption of bumbard, bombard, a large drinking vessel.] 1. A cup or glass filled to the brim, or till the liquor runs over, particularly in drinking a health or toast.

He frothed his bumpers to the brim. Tennyson.

2. A covered house at a theater, etc., in honor of some favorite performer. [Cant]

Bump"er (&?;), n. 1. That which bumps or causes a bump.

2. Anything which resists or deadens a bump or shock; a buffer.

Bump"kin (&?;), n. [The same word as bumkin, which Cotgrave defines thus: "Bumkin, Fr. chicambault, the luffe-block, a long and thick piece of wood, whereunto the fore-sayle and sprit-sayle are fastened, when a ship goes by the winde." Hence, a clumsy man may easily have been compared to such a block of wood; cf. OD. boomken a little tree. See Boom a pole.] An awkward, heavy country fellow; a clown; a country lout. "Bashful country bumpkins." W. Irving.

Bump"tious (&?;), a. Self-conceited; forward; pushing. [Colloq.] Halliwell.

Bump"tious*ness, n. Conceitedness. [Colloq.]

{ Bun, Bunn } (&?;), n. [Scot. bun, bunn, OE. bunne, bonne; fr. Celtic; cf. Ir. bunna, Gael. bonnach, or OF. bugne tumor, Prov. F. bugne a kind of pancake; akin to OHG. bungo bulb, MHG. bunge, Prov. E. bung heap, cluster, bunny a small swelling.] A slightly sweetened raised cake or bisquit with a glazing of sugar and milk on the top crust.

Bunch (&?;), n. [Akin to OSw. & Dan. bunke heap, Icel. bunki heap, pile, bunga tumor, protuberance; cf. W. pwng cluster. Cf. Bunk.] 1. A protuberance; a hunch; a knob or lump; a hump.

They will carry . . . their treasures upon the bunches of camels. Isa. xxx. 6.

2. A collection, cluster, or tuft, properly of things of the same kind, growing or fastened together; as, a bunch of grapes; a bunch of keys.

3. (Mining) A small isolated mass of ore, as distinguished from a continuous vein. Page.

Bunch, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bunched (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bunching.] To swell out into a bunch or protuberance; to be protuberant or round.

Bunching out into a large round knob at one end. Woodward.

Bunch, v. t. To form into a bunch or bunches.

Bunch"-backed` (&?;), a. Having a bunch on the back; crooked. "Bunch-backed toad." Shak.

Bunch"ber`ry (&?;), n. (Bot.) The dwarf cornel (Cornus Canadensis), which bears a dense cluster of bright red, edible berries.

Bunch" grass` (&?;). (Bot.) A grass growing in bunches and affording pasture. In California, Atropis tenuifolia, Festuca scabrella, and several kinds of Stipa are favorite bunch grasses. In Utah, Eriocoma cuspidata is a good bunch grass.

Bunch"i*ness (&?;), n. The quality or condition of being bunchy; knobbiness.

Bunch"y (&?;), a. 1. Swelling out in bunches.

An unshapen, bunchy spear, with bark unpiled. Phaer.

2. Growing in bunches, or resembling a bunch; having tufts; as, the bird's bunchy tail.

3. (Mining) Yielding irregularly; sometimes rich, sometimes poor; as, a bunchy mine. Page.

{ Bun"combe, Bun"kum } (&?;), n. [Buncombe a county of North Carolina.] Speech-making for the gratification of constituents, or to gain public applause; flattering talk for a selfish purpose; anything said for mere show. [Cant or Slang, U.S.]

All that flourish about right of search was bunkum -- all that brag about hanging your Canada sheriff was bunkum . . . slavery speeches are all bunkum. Haliburton.

To speak for Buncombe, to speak for mere show, or popularly.

"The phrase originated near the close of the debate on the famous ‘Missouri Question,' in the 16th Congress. It was then used by Felix Walker -- a naïve old mountaineer, who resided at Waynesville, in Haywood, the most western country of North Carolina, near the border of the adjacent county of Buncombe, which formed part of his district. The old man rose to speak, while the house was impatiently calling for the ‘Question,' and several members gathered round him, begging him to desist. He preserved, however, for a while, declaring that the people of his district expected it, and that he was bound to ‘make a speech for Buncombe.'" W. Darlington.

||Bund (&?;), n. [G.] League; confederacy; esp. the confederation of German states.

||Bund (&?;), n. [Hindi band.] An embankment against inundation. [India] S. Wells Williams.

||Bun"der (&?;), n. [Pers. bandar a landing place, pier.] A boat or raft used in the East Indies in the landing of passengers and goods.

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||Bun"des*rath` (bn"ds*rät`), n. [G., from bund (akin to E. bond) confederacy + rath council, prob. akin to E. read.] The federal council of the German Empire. In the Bundesrath and the Reichstag are vested the legislative functions. The federal council of Switzerland is also so called.

The Bundesrath of the German empire is presided over by a chancellor, and is composed of sixty-two members, who represent the different states of the empire, being appointed for each session by their respective governments.

By this united congress, the highest tribunal of Switzerland, -- the Bundesrath -- is chosen, and the head of this is a president. J. P. Peters (Trans. Müller's Pol. Hist.).

Bun"dle (bn"d'l), n. [OE. bundel, AS. byndel; akin to D. bondel, bundel, G. bündel, dim. of bund bundle, fr. the root of E. bind. See Bind.] A number of things bound together, as by a cord or envelope, into a mass or package convenient for handling or conveyance; a loose package; a roll; as, a bundle of straw or of paper; a bundle of old clothes.

The fable of the rods, which, when united in a bundle, no strength could bend. Goldsmith.

Bundle pillar (Arch.), a column or pier, with others of small dimensions attached to it. Weale.

Bun"dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bundled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bundling (&?;).] 1. To tie or bind in a bundle or roll.

2. To send off abruptly or without ceremony.

They unmercifully bundled me and my gallant second into our own hackney coach. T. Hook.

To bundle off, to send off in a hurry, or without ceremony. -- To bundle one's self up, to wrap one's self up warmly or cumbrously.

Bun"dle, v. i. 1. To prepare for departure; to set off in a hurry or without ceremony.

2. To sleep on the same bed without undressing; -- applied to the custom of a man and woman, especially lovers, thus sleeping. Bartlett.

Van Corlear stopped occasionally in the villages to eat pumpkin pies, dance at country frolics, and bundle with the Yankee lasses. W. Irving.

Bung (&?;), n. [Cf. W. bwng orfice, bunghole, Ir. buinne tap, spout, OGael. buine.] 1. The large stopper of the orifice in the bilge of a cask.

2. The orifice in the bilge of a cask through which it is filled; bunghole.

3. A sharper or pickpocket. [Obs. & Low]

You filthy bung, away. Shak.

Bung, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bunged (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bunging (&?;).] To stop, as the orifice in the bilge of a cask, with a bung; to close; -- with up.

To bung up, to use up, as by bruising or over exertion; to exhaust or incapacitate for action. [Low]

He had bunged up his mouth that he should not have spoken these three years. Shelton (Trans. Don Quixote).

Bun"ga*low (&?;), n. [Bengalee bngl] A thatched or tiled house or cottage, of a single story, usually surrounded by a veranda. [India]

||Bun"ga*rum (&?;), n. [Bungar, the native name.] (Zoöl.) A venomous snake of India, of the genus Bungarus, allied to the cobras, but without a hood.

Bung"hole` (&?;), n. See Bung, n., 2. Shak.

Bun"gle (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bungled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bungling (&?;).] [Prob. a diminutive from, akin to bang; cf. Prov. G. bungen to beat, bang, OSw. bunga. See Bang.] To act or work in a clumsy, awkward manner.

Bun"gle, v. t. To make or mend clumsily; to manage awkwardly; to botch; -- sometimes with up.

I always had an idea that it would be bungled. Byron.

Bun"gle (&?;), n. A clumsy or awkward performance; a botch; a gross blunder.

Those errors and bungles which are committed. Cudworth.

Bun"gler (&?;), n. A clumsy, awkward workman; one who bungles.

If to be a dunce or a bungler in any profession be shameful, how much more ignominious and infamous to a scholar to be such! Barrow.

Bun"gling (&?;), a. Unskillful; awkward; clumsy; as, a bungling workman. Swift.

They make but bungling work. Dryden.

Bun"gling*ly, adv. Clumsily; awkwardly.

Bun"go (&?;), n. (Naut.) A kind of canoe used in Central and South America; also, a kind of boat used in the Southern United States. Bartlett.

Bun"ion (&?;), n. (Med.) Same as Bunyon.

Bunk (&?;), n. [Cf. OSw. bunke heap, also boaring, flooring. Cf. Bunch.] 1. A wooden case or box, which serves for a seat in the daytime and for a bed at night. [U.S.]

2. One of a series of berths or bed places in tiers.

3. A piece of wood placed on a lumberman's sled to sustain the end of heavy timbers. [Local, U.S.]

Bunk, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bunked (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bunking.] To go to bed in a bunk; -- sometimes with in. [Colloq. U.S.] Bartlett.

Bun"ker (&?;), n. [Scot. bunker, bunkart, a bench, or low chest, serving for a seat. Cf. Bunk, Bank, Bench.]

1. A sort of chest or box, as in a window, the lid of which serves for a seat. [Scot.] Jamieson.

2. A large bin or similar receptacle; as, a coal bunker.

Bun"ko (&?;), n. [Sf. Sp. banco bank, banca a sort of game at cards. Cf. Bank (in the commercial sense).] A kind of swindling game or scheme, by means of cards or by a sham lottery. [Written also bunco.]

Bunko steerer, a person employed as a decoy in bunko. [Slang, U.S.]

Bun"kum (&?;), n. See Buncombe.

Bunn (&?;), n. See Bun.

Bun"nian (&?;), n. See Bunyon.

Bun"ny (&?;), n. (Mining) A great collection of ore without any vein coming into it or going out from it.

Bun"ny, n. A pet name for a rabbit or a squirrel.

{ ||Bu`no*don"ta (&?;), Bu"no*donts (&?;), } n. pl. [NL. bunodonta, fr. Gr. &?; hill, heap + &?;, &?;, a tooth.] (Zoöl.) A division of the herbivorous mammals including the hogs and hippopotami; -- so called because the teeth are tuberculated.

{ Bun"sen's bat"ter*y (&?;), Bun"sen's burn`er } (&?;). See under Battery, and Burner.

Bunt (&?;), n. (Bot.) A fungus (Ustilago fœtida) which affects the ear of cereals, filling the grains with a fetid dust; -- also called pepperbrand.

Bunt, n. [Cf. Sw. bunt bundle, Dan. bundt, G. bund, E. bundle.] (Naut.) The middle part, cavity, or belly of a sail; the part of a furled sail which is at the center of the yard. Totten.

Bunt, v. i. (Naut.) To swell out; as, the sail bunts.

Bunt, v. t. & i. To strike or push with the horns or head; to butt; as, the ram bunted the boy.

Bun"ter (&?;), n. A woman who picks up rags in the streets; hence, a low, vulgar woman. [Cant]

Her . . . daughters, like bunters in stuff gowns. Goldsmith.

Bun"ting (&?;), n. [Scot. buntlin, corn-buntlin, OE. bunting, buntyle; of unknown origin.] (Zoöl.) A bird of the genus Emberiza, or of an allied genus, related to the finches and sparrows (family Fringillidæ).

Among European species are the common or corn bunting (Emberiza miliaria); the ortolan (E. hortulana); the cirl (E. cirlus); and the black-headed (Granitivora melanocephala). American species are the bay-winged or grass (Poöcætes or Poœcetes gramineus); the black- throated (Spiza Americana); the towhee bunting or chewink (Pipilo); the snow bunting (Plectrophanax nivalis); the rice bunting or bobolink, and others. See Ortolan, Chewick, Snow bunting, Lark bunting.

{ Bun"ting, Bun"tine } (&?;), n. [Prov. E. bunting sifting flour, OE. bonten to sift, hence prob. the material used for that purpose.] A thin woolen stuff, used chiefly for flags, colors, and ships' signals.

Bunt"line (&?;), n. [2d bunt + line.] (Naut.) One of the ropes toggled to the footrope of a sail, used to haul up to the yard the body of the sail when taking it in. Totten.

{ Bun"yon, Bun"ion } (&?;), n. [Cf. Prov. E. bunny a small swelling, fr. OF. bugne, It. bugna, bugnone. See Bun.] (Med.) An enlargement and inflammation of a small membranous sac (one of the bursæ muscosæ), usually occurring on the first joint of the great toe.

Buoy (&?;), n. [D. boei buoy, fetter, fr. OF. boie, buie, chain, fetter, F. bouée a buoy, from L. boia. "Boiae genus vinculorum tam ferreae quam ligneae." Festus. So called because chained to its place.] (Naut.) A float; esp. a floating object moored to the bottom, to mark a channel or to point out the position of something beneath the water, as an anchor, shoal, rock, etc.

Anchor buoy, a buoy attached to, or marking the position of, an anchor. -- Bell buoy, a large buoy on which a bell is mounted, to be rung by the motion of the waves. -- Breeches buoy. See under Breeches. -- Cable buoy, an empty cask employed to buoy up the cable in rocky anchorage. -- Can buoy, a hollow buoy made of sheet or boiler iron, usually conical or pear-shaped. -- Life buoy, a float intended to support persons who have fallen into the water, until a boat can be dispatched to save them. -- Nut or Nun buoy, a buoy large in the middle, and tapering nearly to a point at each end. -- To stream the buoy, to let the anchor buoy fall by the ship's side into the water, before letting go the anchor. -- Whistling buoy, a buoy fitted with a whistle that is blown by the action of the waves.

Buoy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buoyed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Buoying.] 1. To keep from sinking in a fluid, as in water or air; to keep afloat; -- with up.

2. To support or sustain; to preserve from sinking into ruin or despondency.

Those old prejudices, which buoy up the ponderous mass of his nobility, wealth, and title. Burke.

3. To fix buoys to; to mark by a buoy or by buoys; as, to buoy an anchor; to buoy or buoy off a channel.

Not one rock near the surface was discovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed. Darwin.

Buoy, v. i. To float; to rise like a buoy. "Rising merit will buoy up at last." Pope.

Buoy"age (&?;), n. Buoys, taken collectively; a series of buoys, as for the guidance of vessels into or out of port; the providing of buoys.

Buoy"ance (&?;), n. Buoyancy. [R.]

Buoy"an*cy (&?;), n.; pl. Buoyancies (&?;). 1. The property of floating on the surface of a liquid, or in a fluid, as in the atmosphere; specific lightness, which is inversely as the weight compared with that of an equal volume of water.

2. (Physics) The upward pressure exerted upon a floating body by a fluid, which is equal to the weight of the body; hence, also, the weight of a floating body, as measured by the volume of fluid displaced.

Such are buoyancies or displacements of the different classes of her majesty's ships. Eng. Cyc.