Chapter 75

Bal"us*ter (&?;), n. [F. balustre, It. balaustro, fr. L. balaustium the flower of the wild pomegranate, fr. Gr. balay`stion; -- so named from the similarity of form.] (Arch.) A small column or pilaster, used as a support to the rail of an open parapet, to guard the side of a staircase, or the front of a gallery. See Balustrade. [Corrupted into banister.]

Bal"us*tered (-trd), a. Having balusters. Dryden.

Bal"us*trade` (-trd`), n. [F. balustrade, It. balaustrata fr. balaustro. See Baluster.] (Arch.) A row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet, as along the edge of a balcony, terrace, bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.

Bam (bm), n. [Prob. a contr. of bamboozle.] An imposition; a cheat; a hoax. Garrick.

To relieve the tedium, he kept plying them with all manner of bams. Prof. Wilson.

Bam, v. t. To cheat; to wheedle. [Slang] Foote.

||Bam*bi"no (bäm*b"n), n. [It., a little boy, fr. bambo silly; cf. Gr. bambali`zein, bambai`nein, to chatter.] A child or baby; esp., a representation in art of the infant Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Bam*boc`ci*ade" (&?;), n. [It. bambocciata, fr. Bamboccio a nickname of Peter Van Laer, a Dutch genre painter; properly, a child, simpleton, puppet, fr. bambo silly.] (Paint.) A representation of a grotesque scene from common or rustic life.

Bam*boo" (bm*b"), n. [Malay bambu, mambu.] (Bot.) A plant of the family of grasses, and genus Bambusa, growing in tropical countries.

The most useful species is Bambusa arundinacea, which has a woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem, and grows to the height of forty feet and upward. The flowers grow in large panicles, from the joints of the stalk, placed three in a parcel, close to their receptacles. Old stalks grow to five or six inches in diameter, and are so hard and durable as to be used for building, and for all sorts of furniture, for water pipes, and for poles to support palanquins. The smaller stalks are used for walking sticks, flutes, etc.

Bam*boo", v. t. To flog with the bamboo.

Bam*boo"zle (-z'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bamboozled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bamboozling (&?;).] [Said to be of Gipsy origin.] To deceive by trickery; to cajole by confusing the senses; to hoax; to mystify; to humbug. [Colloq.] Addison.

What oriental tomfoolery is bamboozling you? J. H. Newman.

Bam*boo"zler (bm*b"zlr), n. A swindler; one who deceives by trickery. [Colloq.] Arbuthnot.

||Ban (bn), n. A kind of fine muslin, made in the East Indies from the fiber of the banana leaf stalks.

Ban (bn), n. [AS. bann command, edict; akin to D. ban, Icel. bann, Dan. band, OHG. ban, G. bann, a public proclamation, as of interdiction or excommunication, Gr. fa`nai to say, L. fari to speak, Skr. bhan to speak; cf. F. ban, LL. bannum, of G. origin. √86. Cf. Abandon, Fame.] 1. A public proclamation or edict; a public order or notice, mandatory or prohibitory; a summons by public proclamation.

2. (Feudal & Mil.) A calling together of the king's (esp. the French king's) vassals for military service; also, the body of vassals thus assembled or summoned. In present usage, in France and Prussia, the most effective part of the population liable to military duty and not in the standing army.

3. pl. Notice of a proposed marriage, proclaimed in church. See Banns (the common spelling in this sense).

4. An interdiction, prohibition, or proscription. "Under ban to touch." Milton.

5. A curse or anathema. "Hecate's ban." Shak.

6. A pecuniary mulct or penalty laid upon a delinquent for offending against a ban; as, a mulct paid to a bishop by one guilty of sacrilege or other crimes.

Ban of the empire (German Hist.), an imperial interdict by which political rights and privileges, as those of a prince, city, or district, were taken away.

Ban, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banned (bnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Banning.] [OE. bannen, bannien, to summon, curse, AS. bannan to summon; akin to Dan. bande, forbande, to curse, Sw. banna to revile, bannas to curse. See Ban an edict, and cf. Banish.] 1. To curse; to invoke evil upon. Sir W. Scott.

2. To forbid; to interdict. Byron.

Ban, v. i. To curse; to swear. [Obs.] Spenser.

Ban, n. [Serv. ban; cf. Russ. & Pol. pan a master, lord, Per. ban.] An ancient title of the warden of the eastern marches of Hungary; now, a title of the viceroy of Croatia and Slavonia.

Ban"al (&?;), a. [F., fr. ban an ordinance.] Commonplace; trivial; hackneyed; trite.

Ba*nal"i*ty (&?;), n.; pl. Banalities (&?;). [F. banalité. See Banal.] Something commonplace, hackneyed, or trivial; the commonplace, in speech.

The highest things were thus brought down to the banalities of discourse. J. Morley.

Ba*na"na (b*nä"n; 277), n. [Sp. banana, name of the fruit.] (Bot.) A perennial herbaceous plant of almost treelike size (Musa sapientum); also, its edible fruit. See Musa.

The banana has a soft, herbaceous stalk, with leaves of great length and breadth. The flowers grow in bunches, covered with a sheath of a green or purple color; the fruit is five or six inches long, and over an inch in diameter; the pulp is soft, and of a luscious taste, and is eaten either raw or cooked. This plant is a native of tropical countries, and furnishes an important article of food.

Banana bird (Zoöl.), a small American bird (Icterus leucopteryx), which feeds on the banana. -- Banana quit (Zoöl.), a small bird of tropical America, of the genus Certhiola, allied to the creepers.

Ban"at (&?;), n. [Cf. F. & G. banat. See Ban a warden.] The territory governed by a ban.

{ Banc (&?;), ||Ban"cus (&?;), Bank (&?;), } n. [OF. banc, LL. bancus. See Bank, n.] A bench; a high seat, or seat of distinction or judgment; a tribunal or court.

In banc, In banco (the ablative of bancus), In bank, in full court, or with full judicial authority; as, sittings in banc (distinguished from sittings at nisi prius).

||Ban"co (&?;), n. [It. See Bank.] A bank, especially that of Venice.

This term is used in some parts of Europe to indicate bank money, as distinguished from the current money, when this last has become depreciated.

Band (bnd), n. [OE. band, bond, Icel. band; akin to G., Sw., & D. band, OHG. bant, Goth. bandi, Skr. bandha a binding, bandh to bind, for bhanda, bhandh, also to E. bend, bind. In sense 7, at least, it is fr. F. bande, from OHG. bant. √90. See Bind, v. t., and cf. Bend, Bond, 1st Bandy.] 1. A fillet, strap, or any narrow ligament with which a thing is encircled, or fastened, or by which a number of things are tied, bound together, or confined; a fetter.

Every one's bands were loosed. Acts xvi. 26.

2. (Arch.) (a) A continuous tablet, stripe, or series of ornaments, as of carved foliage, of color, or of brickwork, etc. (b) In Gothic architecture, the molding, or suite of moldings, which encircles the pillars and small shafts.

3. That which serves as the means of union or connection between persons; a tie. "To join in Hymen's bands." Shak.

4. A linen collar or ruff worn in the 16th and 17th centuries.

5. pl. Two strips of linen hanging from the neck in front as part of a clerical, legal, or academic dress.

6. A narrow strip of cloth or other material on any article of dress, to bind, strengthen, ornament, or complete it. "Band and gusset and seam." Hood.

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7. A company of persons united in any common design, especially a body of armed men.

Troops of horsemen with his bands of foot. Shak.

8. A number of musicians who play together upon portable musical instruments, especially those making a loud sound, as certain wind instruments (trumpets, clarinets, etc.), and drums, or cymbals.

9. (Bot.) A space between elevated lines or ribs, as of the fruits of umbelliferous plants.

10. (Zoöl.) A stripe, streak, or other mark transverse to the axis of the body.

11. (Mech.) A belt or strap.

12. A bond. [Obs.] "Thy oath and band." Shak.

13. Pledge; security. [Obs.] Spenser.

Band saw, a saw in the form of an endless steel belt, with teeth on one edge, running over wheels.

Band (bnd), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banded; p. pr. & vb. n. Banding.] 1. To bind or tie with a band.

2. To mark with a band.

3. To unite in a troop, company, or confederacy. "Banded against his throne." Milton.

Banded architrave, pier, shaft, etc. (Arch.), an architrave, pier, etc., of which the regular profile is interrupted by blocks or projections crossing it at right angles.

Band, v. i. To confederate for some common purpose; to unite; to conspire together.

Certain of the Jews banded together. Acts xxiii. 12.

Band, v. t. To bandy; to drive away. [Obs.]

Band, imp. of Bind. [Obs.] Spenser.

Band"age (bnd"j), n. [F. bandage, fr. bande. See Band.] 1. A fillet or strip of woven material, used in dressing and binding up wounds, etc.

2. Something resembling a bandage; that which is bound over or round something to cover, strengthen, or compress it; a ligature.

Zeal too had a place among the rest, with a bandage over her eyes. Addison.

Band"age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bandaged (-jd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bandaging (bnd"*jng).] To bind, dress, or cover, with a bandage; as, to bandage the eyes.

||Ban*da"la (&?;), n. A fabric made in Manilla from the older leaf sheaths of the abaca (Musa textilis).

{ Ban*dan"na, Ban*dan"a } (&?;), n. [Hind. bndhn a mode of dyeing in which the cloth is tied in different places so as to prevent the parts tied from receiving the dye. Cf. Band, n.] 1. A species of silk or cotton handkerchief, having a uniformly dyed ground, usually of red or blue, with white or yellow figures of a circular, lozenge, or other simple form.

2. A style of calico printing, in which white or bright spots are produced upon cloth previously dyed of a uniform red or dark color, by discharging portions of the color by chemical means, while the rest of the cloth is under pressure. Ure.

Band"box` (bnd"bks`), n. A light box of pasteboard or thin wood, usually cylindrical, for holding ruffs (the bands of the 17th century), collars, caps, bonnets, etc.

||Ban"deau (bn"d), n.; pl. Bandeaux (bn"dz). [F.] A narrow band or fillet; a part of a head-dress.

Around the edge of this cap was a stiff bandeau of leather. Sir W. Scott.

{ Band"e*let (&?;), Band"let } (&?;), n. [F. bandelette, dim. of bande. See Band, n., and cf. Bendlet.] (Arch.) A small band or fillet; any little band or flat molding, compassing a column, like a ring. Gwilt.

Band"er (&?;), n. One banded with others. [R.]

{ Band"e*role (&?;), Band"rol } (&?;), n. [F. banderole, dim. of bandière, bannière, banner; cf. It. banderuola a little banner. See Banner.] A little banner, flag, or streamer. [Written also bannerol.]

From the extremity of which fluttered a small banderole or streamer bearing a cross. Sir W. Scott.

Band" fish` (&?;). (Zoöl.) A small red fish of the genus Cepola; the ribbon fish.

Ban"di*coot (&?;), n. [A corruption of the native name.] (Zoöl.) (a) A species of very large rat (Mus giganteus), found in India and Ceylon. It does much injury to rice fields and gardens. (b) A ratlike marsupial animal (genus Perameles) of several species, found in Australia and Tasmania.

Band"ing plane` (&?;). A plane used for cutting out grooves and inlaying strings and bands in straight and circular work.

Ban"dit (bn"dt), n.; pl. Bandits (bn"dts), or Banditti (bn*dt"t). [It. bandito outlaw, p. p. of bandire to proclaim, to banish, to proscribe, LL. bandire, bannire. See Ban an edict, and cf. Banish.] An outlaw; a brigand.

No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer. Milton.

The plural banditti was formerly used as a collective noun.

Deerstealers are ever a desperate banditti. Sir W. Scott.

Ban"dle (&?;), n. [Ir. bannlamh cubit, fr. bann a measure + lamh hand, arm.] An Irish measure of two feet in length.

Band"let (&?;), n. Same as Bandelet.

Band"mas`ter (&?;), n. The conductor of a musical band.

Ban"dog` (bn"dg`; 115), n. [Band + dog, i.e., bound dog.] A mastiff or other large and fierce dog, usually kept chained or tied up.

The keeper entered leading his bandog, a large bloodhound, tied in a leam, or band, from which he takes his name. Sir W. Scott.

{ Ban`do*leer", Ban`do*lier" } (&?;), n. [F. bandoulière (cf. It. bandoliera, Sp. bandolera), fr. F. bande band, Sp. & It. banda. See Band, n.] 1. A broad leather belt formerly worn by soldiers over the right shoulder and across the breast under the left arm. Originally it was used for supporting the musket and twelve cases for charges, but later only as a cartridge belt.

2. One of the leather or wooden cases in which the charges of powder were carried. [Obs.]

Ban"do*line (&?;), n. [Perh. allied to band.] A glutinous pomatum for the hair.

Ban"don (&?;), n. [OF. bandon. See Abandon.] Disposal; control; license. [Obs.] Rom. of R.

Ban"dore (&?; or &?;), n. [Sp. bandurria, fr. L. pandura, pandurium, a musical instrument of three strings, fr. Gr. pandoy^ra. Cf. Pandore, Banjo, Mandolin.] A musical stringed instrument, similar in form to a guitar; a pandore.

Band"rol (&?;), n. Same as Banderole.

Ban"dy (bn"d), n. [Telugu bai.] A carriage or cart used in India, esp. one drawn by bullocks.

Ban"dy, n.; pl. Bandies (-dz). [Cf. F. bandé, p. p. of bander to bind, to bend (a bow), to bandy, fr. bande. See Band, n.] 1. A club bent at the lower part for striking a ball at play; a hockey stick. Johnson.

2. The game played with such a club; hockey; shinney; bandy ball.

Ban"dy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bandied (-dd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bandying.] 1. To beat to and fro, as a ball in playing at bandy.

Like tennis balls bandied and struck upon us . . . by rackets from without. Cudworth.

2. To give and receive reciprocally; to exchange. "To bandy hasty words." Shak.

3. To toss about, as from man to man; to agitate.

Let not obvious and known truth be bandied about in a disputation. I. Watts.

Ban"dy, v. i. To contend, as at some game in which each strives to drive the ball his own way.

Fit to bandy with thy lawless sons. Shak.

Ban"dy, a. Bent; crooked; curved laterally, esp. with the convex side outward; as, a bandy leg.

Ban"dy-legged` (&?;), a. Having crooked legs.

Bane (bn), n. [OE. bane destruction, AS. bana murderer; akin to Icel. bani death, murderer, OHG. bana murder, bano murderer, Goth. banja stroke, wound, Gr. foney`s murderer, fo`nos murder, OIr. bath death, benim I strike. &radic;31.] 1. That which destroys life, esp. poison of a deadly quality. [Obs. except in combination, as in ratsbane, henbane, etc.]

2. Destruction; death. [Obs.]

The cup of deception spiced and tempered to their bane. Milton.

3. Any cause of ruin, or lasting injury; harm; woe.

Money, thou bane of bliss, and source of woe. Herbert.

4. A disease in sheep, commonly termed the rot.

Syn. -- Poison; ruin; destruction; injury; pest.

Bane, v. t. To be the bane of; to ruin. [Obs.] Fuller.

Bane"ber`ry (&?;), n. (Bot.) A genus (Actæa) of plants, of the order Ranunculaceæ, native in the north temperate zone. The red or white berries are poisonous.

Bane"ful (&?;), a. Having poisonous qualities; deadly; destructive; injurious; noxious; pernicious. "Baneful hemlock." Garth. "Baneful wrath." Chapman.

-- Bane"ful*ly, adv. -- Bane"ful*ness, n.

Bane"wort (&?;), n. (Bot.) Deadly nightshade.

Bang (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banged; p. pr. & vb. n. Banging.] [Icel. banga to hammer; akin to Dan. banke to beat, Sw. bångas to be impetuous, G. bengel club, clapper of a bell.] 1. To beat, as with a club or cudgel; to treat with violence; to handle roughly.

The desperate tempest hath so banged the Turks. Shak.

2. To beat or thump, or to cause (something) to hit or strike against another object, in such a way as to make a loud noise; as, to bang a drum or a piano; to bang a door (against the doorpost or casing) in shutting it.

Bang, v. i. To make a loud noise, as if with a blow or succession of blows; as, the window blind banged and waked me; he was banging on the piano.

Bang, n. 1. A blow as with a club; a heavy blow.

Many a stiff thwack, many a bang. Hudibras.

2. The sound produced by a sudden concussion.

Bang, v. t. To cut squarely across, as the tail of a horse, or the forelock of human beings; to cut (the hair).

His hair banged even with his eyebrows. The Century Mag.

Bang, n. The short, front hair combed down over the forehead, esp. when cut squarely across; a false front of hair similarly worn.

His hair cut in front like a young lady's bang. W. D. Howells.

{ Bang, Bangue } (&?;), n. See Bhang.

Bang"ing, a. Huge; great in size. [Colloq.] Forby.

Ban"gle (b"g'l), v. t. [From 1st Bang.] To waste by little and little; to fritter away. [Obs.]

Ban"gle, n. [Hind. bangr bracelet, bangle.] An ornamental circlet, of glass, gold, silver, or other material, worn by women in India and Africa, and in some other countries, upon the wrist or ankle; a ring bracelet.

Bangle ear, a loose hanging ear of a horse, like that of a spaniel.

Ban"ian (bn"yan or bn*yn"; 277), n. [Skr. banij merchant. The tree was so named by the English, because used as a market place by the merchants.] 1. A Hindoo trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer. [Written also banyan.]

2. A man's loose gown, like that worn by the Banians.

3. (Bot.) The Indian fig. See Banyan.

Banian days (Naut.), days in which the sailors have no flesh meat served out to them. This use seems to be borrowed from the Banians or Banya race, who eat no flesh.

Ban"ish (bn"sh), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banished (-sht); p. pr. & vb. n. Banishing.] [OF. banir, F. bannir, LL. bannire, fr. OHG. bannan to summon, fr. ban ban. See Ban an edict, and Finish, v. t.] 1. To condemn to exile, or compel to leave one's country, by authority of the ruling power. "We banish you our territories." Shak.

2. To drive out, as from a home or familiar place; -- used with from and out of.

How the ancient Celtic tongue came to be banished from the Low Countries in Scotland. Blair.

3. To drive away; to compel to depart; to dispel. "Banish all offense." Shak.

Syn. -- To Banish, Exile, Expel. The idea of a coercive removal from a place is common to these terms. A man is banished when he is forced by the government of a country (be he a foreigner or a native) to leave its borders. A man is exiled when he is driven into banishment from his native country and home. Thus to exile is to banish, but to banish is not always to exile. To expel is to eject or banish summarily or authoritatively, and usually under circumstances of disgrace; as, to expel from a college; expelled from decent society.

Ban"ish*er (&?;), n. One who banishes.

Ban"ish*ment (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bannissement.] The act of banishing, or the state of being banished.

He secured himself by the banishment of his enemies. Johnson.

Round the wide world in banishment we roam. Dryden.

Syn. -- Expatriation; ostracism; expulsion; proscription; exile; outlawry.

Ban"is*ter (&?;), n. [A corruption of baluster.] A baluster; (pl.) the balustrade of a staircase.

He struggled to ascend the pulpit stairs, holding hard on the banisters. Sir W. Scott.

Ban"jo (&?;), n. [Formerly also banjore and banjer; corrupted from bandore, through negro slave pronunciation.] A stringed musical instrument having a head and neck like the guitar, and its body like a tambourine. It has five strings, and is played with the fingers and hands.

Bank (bk), n. [OE. banke; akin to E. bench, and prob. of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. bakki. See Bench.] 1. A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a bank of clouds; a bank of snow.

They cast up a bank against the city. 2 Sam. xx. 15.

2. A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine.

3. The margin of a watercourse; the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea, or forming the edge of a cutting, or other hollow.

Tiber trembled underneath her banks. Shak.

4. An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or shallow; as, the banks of Newfoundland.

5. (Mining) (a) The face of the coal at which miners are working. (b) A deposit of ore or coal, worked by excavations above water level. (c) The ground at the top of a shaft; as, ores are brought to bank.

Bank beaver (Zoöl.), the otter. [Local, U.S.] -- Bank swallow, a small American and European swallow (Clivicola riparia) that nests in a hole which it excavates in a bank.

Bank, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banked(bkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Banking.] 1. To raise a mound or dike about; to inclose, defend, or fortify with a bank; to embank. "Banked well with earth." Holland.

2. To heap or pile up; as, to bank sand.

3. To pass by the banks of. [Obs.] Shak.

To bank a fire, To bank up a fire, to cover the coals or embers with ashes or cinders, thus keeping the fire low but alive.

Bank, n. [Prob. fr. F. banc. Of German origin, and akin to E. bench. See Bench.] 1. A bench, as for rowers in a galley; also, a tier of oars.

Placed on their banks, the lusty Trojan sweep Neptune's smooth face, and cleave the yielding deep. Waller.

2. (Law) (a) The bench or seat upon which the judges sit. (b) The regular term of a court of law, or the full court sitting to hear arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at Nisi Prius, or a court held for jury trials. See Banc. Burrill.

3. (Printing) A sort of table used by printers.

4. (Music) A bench, or row of keys belonging to a keyboard, as in an organ. Knight.

Bank, n. [F. banque, It. banca, orig. bench, table, counter, of German origin, and akin to E. bench; cf. G. bank bench, OHG. banch. See Bench, and cf. Banco, Beach.] 1. An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue, of money, and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or bills of exchange; an institution incorporated for performing one or more of such functions, or the stockholders (or their representatives, the directors), acting in their corporate capacity.

2. The building or office used for banking purposes.

3. A fund from deposits or contributions, to be used in transacting business; a joint stock or capital. [Obs.]

Let it be no bank or common stock, but every man be master of his own money. Bacon.

4. (Gaming) The sum of money or the checks which the dealer or banker has as a fund, from which to draw his stakes and pay his losses.

5. In certain games, as dominos, a fund of pieces from which the players are allowed to draw.

Bank credit, a credit by which a person who has given the required security to a bank has liberty to draw to a certain extent agreed upon. -- Bank of deposit, a bank which receives money for safe keeping. -- Bank of issue, a bank which issues its own notes payable to bearer.

Bank, v. t. To deposit in a bank. Johnson.

Bank, v. i. 1. To keep a bank; to carry on the business of a banker.

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2. To deposit money in a bank; to have an account with a banker.

Bank"a*ble (bk"*b'l), a. Receivable at a bank.

Bank" bill` (&?;). 1. In America (and formerly in England), a promissory note of a bank payable to the bearer on demand, and used as currency; a bank note.

2. In England, a note, or a bill of exchange, of a bank, payable to order, and usually at some future specified time. Such bills are negotiable, but form, in the strict sense of the term, no part of the currency.

Bank" book` (&?;). A book kept by a depositor, in which an officer of a bank enters the debits and credits of the depositor's account with the bank.

Bank"er (&?;), n. [See the nouns Bank and the verbs derived from them.] 1. One who conducts the business of banking; one who, individually, or as a member of a company, keeps an establishment for the deposit or loan of money, or for traffic in money, bills of exchange, etc.

2. A money changer. [Obs.]

3. The dealer, or one who keeps the bank in a gambling house.

4. A vessel employed in the cod fishery on the banks of Newfoundland. Grabb. J. Q. Adams.

5. A ditcher; a drain digger. [Prov. Eng.]