Chapter 93

Bid (bd), v. t. [imp. Bade (bd), Bid, (Obs.) Bad; p. p. Bidden (&?;), Bid; p. pr. & vb. n. Bidding.] [OE. bidden, prop to ask, beg, AS. biddan; akin to OS. biddian, Icel. biðja, OHG. bittan, G. bitten, to pray, ask, request, and E. bead, also perh. to Gr. teiqein to persuade, L. fidere to trust, E. faith, and bide. But this word was early confused with OE. beden, beoden, AS. beódan, to offer, command; akin to Icel. bjða, Goth. biudan (in comp.), OHG. biotan to command, bid, G. bieten, D. bieden, to offer, also to Gr. pynqa`nesqai to learn by inquiry, Skr. budh to be awake, to heed, present OSlav. budti to be awake, E. bode, v. The word now has the form of OE. bidden to ask, but the meaning of OE. beden to command, except in "to bid beads." √30.]

1. To make an offer of; to propose. Specifically : To offer to pay ( a certain price, as for a thing put up at auction), or to take (a certain price, as for work to be done under a contract).

2. To offer in words; to declare, as a wish, a greeting, a threat, or defiance, etc.; as, to bid one welcome; to bid good morning, farewell, etc.

Neither bid him God speed. 2. John 10.

He bids defiance to the gaping crowd. Granrille.

3. To proclaim; to declare publicly; to make known. [Mostly obs.] "Our banns thrice bid !" Gay.

4. To order; to direct; to enjoin; to command.

That Power who bids the ocean ebb and flow. Pope

Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee. Matt. xiv. 28

I was bid to pick up shells. D. Jerrold.

5. To invite; to call in; to request to come.

As many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. Matt. xxii. 9

To bid beads, to pray with beads, as the Roman Catholics; to distinguish each bead by a prayer. [Obs.] -- To bid defiance to , to defy openly; to brave. -- To bid fair, to offer a good prospect; to make fair promise; to seem likely.

Syn. -- To offer; proffer; tender; propose; order; command; direct; charge; enjoin.

Bid (&?;), imp. & p. p. of Bid.

Bid, n. An offer of a price, especially at auctions; a statement of a sum which one will give for something to be received, or will take for something to be done or furnished; that which is offered.

Bid, v. i. [See Bid, v. t.] 1. To pray. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. To make a bid; to state what one will pay or take.

Bid"ale` (&?;), n. [Bid + ale.] An invitation of friends to drink ale at some poor man's house, and there to contribute in charity for his relief. [Prov. Eng.]

Bid"da*ble (&?;), a. Obedient; docile. [Scot.]

Bid"den (&?;), p. p. of Bid.

Bid"der (&?;), n. [AS. biddere. ] One who bids or offers a price. Burke.

Bid"der*y ware` (&?;). [From Beder or Bidar a town in India.] A kind of metallic ware made in India. The material is a composition of zinc, tin, and lead, in which ornaments of gold and silver are inlaid or damascened. [Spelt also bidry, bidree, bedery, beder.]

Bid"ding, n. 1. Command; order; a proclamation or notifying. "Do thou thy master's bidding." Shak.

2. The act or process of making bids; an offer; a proposal of a price, as at an auction.

Bid"ding prayer` (&?;). 1. (R. C. Ch.) The prayer for the souls of benefactors, said before the sermon.

2. (Angl. Ch.) The prayer before the sermon, with petitions for various specified classes of persons.

Bid"dy (&?;), n. [Etymology uncertain.] A name used in calling a hen or chicken. Shak.

Bid"dy, n. [A familiar form of Bridget.] An Irish serving woman or girl. [Colloq.]

Bide (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bided; p. pr. & vb. n. Biding.] [OE. biden, AS. bdan; akin to OHG. btan, Goth. beidan, Icel. b&?;&?;; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.] 1. To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay.

All knees to thee shall bow of them that bide In heaven or earth, or under earth, in hell. Milton.

2. To remain; to continue or be permanent in a place or state; to continue to be. Shak.

Bide, v. t. 1. To encounter; to remain firm under (a hardship); to endure; to suffer; to undergo.

Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm. Shak.

2. To wait for; as, I bide my time. See Abide.

Bi"dent (&?;), n. [L. bidens, - entis, having two prongs; bis twice + dens a tooth.] An instrument or weapon with two prongs.

Bi*den"tal (&?;), a. Having two teeth. Swift.

Bi*den"tate (&?;), a. (Bot. & Zoöl.) Having two teeth or two toothlike processes; two- toothed.

Bi*det" (&?;), n. [F. bidet, perh. fr. Celtic; cr. Gael. bideach very little, diminutive, bidein a diminutive animal, W. bidan a weakly or sorry wretch.]

1. A small horse formerly allowed to each trooper or dragoon for carrying his baggage. B. Jonson.

2. A kind of bath tub for sitting baths; a sitz bath.

Bi*dig"i*tate (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + digitate.] Having two fingers or fingerlike projections.

Bid"ing (&?;), n. Residence; habitation. Rowe.

Bield (&?;), n. A shelter. Same as Beild. [Scot.]

Bield, v. t. To shelter. [Scot.]

Bi*en"ni*al (&?;), a. [L. biennalis and biennis, fr. biennium a space of two years; bis twice + annus year. Cf. Annual.] 1. Happening, or taking place, once in two years; as, a biennial election.

2. (Bot.) Continuing for two years, and then perishing, as plants which form roots and leaves the first year, and produce fruit the second.

Bi*en"ni*al, n. 1. Something which takes place or appears once in two years; esp. a biennial examination.

2. (Bot.) A plant which exists or lasts for two years.

Bi*en"ni*al*ly, adv. Once in two years.

Bier (&?;), n. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b&?;r, b&?;re; akin to D. baar, OHG. bra, G. bahre, Icel barar, D&?; baare, L. feretrum, Gr. &?;, from the same &?;&?; bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barrow.] 1. A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave.

2. (Weaving) A count of forty threads in the warp or chain of woolen cloth. Knight.

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Bier"balk` (br"bk`), n. [See Bier, and Balk, n.] A church road (e. g., a path across fields) for funerals. [Obs.] Homilies.

{ Biest"ings, Beest"ings } (&?;), n. pl. [OE. bestynge, AS. bsting, fr. bst, beost; akin to D. biest, OHG. biost, G. biest; of unknown origin.] The first milk given by a cow after calving. B. Jonson.

The thick and curdy milk . . . commonly called biestings. Newton. (1574).

Bi*fa"cial (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + facial.] Having the opposite surfaces alike.

Bi*fa"ri*ous (&?;), a. [L. bifarius; bis twice + fari to speak. Cf. Gr. &?; twofold; &?; twice + &?; to say.] 1. Twofold; arranged in two rows.

2. (Bot.) Pointing two ways, as leaves that grow only on opposite sides of a branch; in two vertical rows.

Bi*fa"ri*ous*ly, adv. In a bifarious manner.

Bif"er*ous (&?;), a. [L. bifer; bis twice + ferre to bear.] Bearing fruit twice a year.

Bif"fin (&?;), n. [Cf. Beaufin.] 1. A sort of apple peculiar to Norfolk, Eng. [Sometimes called beaufin; but properly beefin (it is said), from its resemblance to raw beef.] Wright.

2. A baked apple pressed down into a flat, round cake; a dried apple. Dickens.

Bi"fid (&?;), a. [L. bifidus; bis twice + root of findere to cleave or split: cf. F. bifide.] Cleft to the middle or slightly beyond the middle; opening with a cleft; divided by a linear sinus, with straight margins.

Bif"i*date (&?;), a. [L. bifidatus.] See Bifid.

Bi*fi"lar (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + filar.] Two-threaded; involving the use of two threads; as, bifilar suspension; a bifilar balance.

Bifilar micrometer (often called a bifilar), an instrument form measuring minute distances or angles by means of two very minute threads (usually spider lines), one of which, at least, is movable; -- more commonly called a filar micrometer.

Bi`fla*bel"late (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + flabellate.] (Zoöl.) Flabellate on both sides.

Bi`fla*gel"late (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + flagellate.] Having two long, narrow, whiplike appendages.

{ Bi*flo"rate (&?;), Bi*flo"rous (&?;), } a. [L. bis twice + flos, floris, flower.] (Bot.) Bearing two flowers; two-flowered.

Bi"fold (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + fold.] Twofold; double; of two kinds, degrees, etc. Shak.

Bi*fo"li*ate (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + foliate.] (Bot.) Having two leaves; two- leaved.

Bi*fo"li*o*late (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + foliolate.] (Bot.) Having two leaflets, as some compound leaves.

Bif"o*rate (&?;), a. [L. bis twice + foratus, p. p. of forare to bore or pierce.] (Bot.) Having two perforations.

Bif"o*rine (&?;), n. [L. biforis, biforus, having two doors; bis twice + foris door.] (Bot.) An oval sac or cell, found in the leaves of certain plants of the order Araceæ. It has an opening at each end through which raphides, generated inside, are discharged.

Bi"forked (&?;), a. Bifurcate.

Bi"form (&?;), a. [L. biformis; bis twice + forma shape: cf. F. biforme.] Having two forms, bodies, or shapes. Croxall.

Bi"formed (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + form.] Having two forms. Johnson.

Bi*form"i*ty (&?;), n. A double form.

Bi*forn" (&?;), prep. & adv. Before. [Obs.]

Bif"o*rous (&?;), a. [L. biforis having two doors; bis twice, two + foris door.] See Biforate.

Bi*front"ed (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + front.] Having two fronts. "Bifronted Janus." Massinger.

{ Bi*fur"cate (&?;), Bi*fur"ca*ted (&?;), } a. [Pref. bi- + furcate.] Two-pronged; forked.

Bi*fur"cate (&?;), v. i. To divide into two branches.

Bi`fur*ca"tion (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bifurcation.] A forking, or division into two branches.

Bi*fur"cous (&?;), a. [L. bifurcus; bis twice + furca fork.] See Bifurcate, a. [R.] Coles.

Big (&?;), a. [Compar. Bigger; superl. Biggest.] [Perh. from Celtic; cf. W. beichiog, beichiawg, pregnant, with child, fr. baich burden, Arm. beac'h; or cf. OE. bygly, Icel. biggiligr, (properly) habitable; (then) magnigicent, excellent, fr. OE. biggen, Icel. byggja, to dwell, build, akin to E. be.] 1. Having largeness of size; of much bulk or magnitude; of great size; large. "He's too big to go in there." Shak.

2. Great with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce; -- often figuratively.

[Day] big with the fate of Cato and of Rome. Addison.

3. Having greatness, fullness, importance, inflation, distention, etc., whether in a good or a bad sense; as, a big heart; a big voice; big looks; to look big. As applied to looks, it indicates haughtiness or pride.

God hath not in heaven a bigger argument. Jer. Taylor.

Big is often used in self-explaining compounds; as, big-boned; big-sounding; big-named; big- voiced.

To talk big, to talk loudly, arrogantly, or pretentiously.

I talked big to them at first. De Foe.

Syn. -- Bulky; large; great; massive; gross.

{ Big, Bigg }, n. [OE. bif, bigge; akin to Icel. bygg, Dan. byg, Sw. bjugg.] (Bot.) Barley, especially the hardy four-rowed kind.

"Bear interchanges in local use, now with barley, now with bigg." New English Dict.

{ Big, Bigg }, v. t. [OE. biggen, fr. Icel. byggja to inhabit, to build, b&?;a (neut.) to dwell (active) to make ready. See Boor, and Bound.] To build. [Scot. & North of Eng. Dial.] Sir W. Scott.

||Bi"ga (&?;), n. [L.] (Antiq.) A two-horse chariot.

Big"am (&?;), n. [L. bigamus twice married: cf. F. bigame. See Bigamy.] A bigamist. [Obs.]

Big"a*mist (&?;), n. [Cf. Digamist.] One who is guilty of bigamy. Ayliffe.

Big"a*mous (&?;), a. Guilty of bigamy; involving bigamy; as, a bigamous marriage.

Big"a*my (&?;), n. [OE. bigamie, fr. L. bigamus twice married; bis twice + Gr. &?; marriage; prob. akin to Skt. jmis related, and L. gemini twins, the root meaning to bind, join: cf. F. bigamie. Cf. Digamy.] (Law) The offense of marrying one person when already legally married to another. Wharton.

It is not strictly correct to call this offense bigamy: it more properly denominated polygamy, i. e., having a plurality of wives or husbands at once, and in several statutes in the United States the offense is classed under the head of polygamy.

In the canon law bigamy was the marrying of two virgins successively, or one after the death of the other, or once marrying a widow. This disqualified a man for orders, and for holding ecclesiastical offices. Shakespeare uses the word in the latter sense. Blackstone. Bouvier.

Base declension and loathed bigamy. Shak.

{ Big`ar*reau" (&?;), Big`a*roon" (&?;), } n. [F. bigarreau, fr. bigarré variegated.] (Bot.) The large white-heart cherry.

Big"-bel`lied (&?;), a. Having a great belly; as, a big-bellied man or flagon; advanced in pregnancy.

Bi*gem"i*nate (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + geminate.] (Bot.) Having a forked petiole, and a pair of leaflets at the end of each division; biconjugate; twice paired; -- said of a decompound leaf.

Bi*gen"tial (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + L. gens, gentis, tribe.] (Zoöl.) Including two tribes or races of men.

Big"eye` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A fish of the genus Priacanthus, remarkable for the large size of the eye.

Bigg (&?;), n. & v. See Big, n. & v.

Big"gen (&?;), v. t. & i. To make or become big; to enlarge. [Obs. or Dial.] Steele.

Big"ger (&?;), a., compar. of Big.

Big"gest (&?;), a., superl. of Big.

Big"gin (&?;), n. [F. béguin, prob. from the cap worn by the Béguines. Cf. Beguine, Biggon.] A child's cap; a hood, or something worn on the head.

An old woman's biggin for a nightcap. Massinger.

Big"gin, n. A coffeepot with a strainer or perforated metallic vessel for holding the ground coffee, through which boiling water is poured; -- so called from Mr. Biggin, the inventor.

{ Big"gin, Big"ging, } n. [OE. bigging. See Big, Bigg, v. t.] A building. [Obs.]

{ Big"gon (&?;), Big"gon*net (&?;), } n. [F. béguin and OF. beguinet, dim of béguin. See Biggin a cap.] A cap or hood with pieces covering the ears.

||Big"ha (&?;), n. A measure of land in India, varying from a third of an acre to an acre.

Big"horn` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The Rocky Mountain sheep (Ovis or Caprovis montana).

Bight (bt), n. [OE. bit a bending; cf. Sw. & Dan. bugt bend, bay; fr. AS. byht, fr. bgan. &radic;88. Cf. Bout, Bought a bend, and see Bow, v.] 1. A corner, bend, or angle; a hollow; as, the bight of a horse's knee; the bight of an elbow.

2. (Geog.) A bend in a coast forming an open bay; as, the Bight of Benin.

3. (Naut.) The double part of a rope when folded, in distinction from the ends; that is, a round, bend, or coil not including the ends; a loop.

Bi*glan"du*lar (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + glandular.] Having two glands, as a plant.

Big"ly (&?;), adv. [From Big, a.] In a tumid, swelling, blustering manner; haughtily; violently.

He brawleth bigly. Robynson (More's Utopia. )

Big"ness, n. The state or quality of being big; largeness; size; bulk.

Big*no"ni*a (&?;), n. [Named from the Abbé Bignon.] (Bot.) A large genus of American, mostly tropical, climbing shrubs, having compound leaves and showy somewhat tubular flowers. B. capreolata is the cross vine of the Southern United States. The trumpet creeper was formerly considered to be of this genus.

Big*no`ni*a"ceous (&?;), a. (Bot.) Of pertaining to, or resembling, the family of plants of which the trumpet flower is an example.

Big"ot (&?;), n. [F. bigot a bigot or hypocrite, a name once given to the Normans in France. Of unknown origin; possibly akin to Sp. bigote a whisker; hombre de bigote a man of spirit and vigor; cf. It. s-bigottire to terrify, to appall. Wedgwood and others maintain that bigot is from the same source as Beguine, Beghard.]

1. A hypocrite; esp., a superstitious hypocrite. [Obs.]

2. A person who regards his own faith and views in matters of religion as unquestionably right, and any belief or opinion opposed to or differing from them as unreasonable or wicked. In an extended sense, a person who is intolerant of opinions which conflict with his own, as in politics or morals; one obstinately and blindly devoted to his own church, party, belief, or opinion.

To doubt, where bigots had been content to wonder and believe. Macaulay.

Big"ot, a. Bigoted. [Obs.]

In a country more bigot than ours. Dryden.

Big"ot*ed, a. Obstinately and blindly attached to some creed, opinion practice, or ritual; unreasonably devoted to a system or party, and illiberal toward the opinions of others. "Bigoted to strife." Byron.

Syn. -- Prejudiced; intolerant; narrow-minded.

Big"ot*ed*ly, adv. In the manner of a bigot.

Big"ot*ry (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bigoterie.] 1. The state of mind of a bigot; obstinate and unreasoning attachment of one's own belief and opinions, with narrow-minded intolerance of beliefs opposed to them.

2. The practice or tenets of a bigot.

Big"wig` (&?;), n. [Big, a. + wig.] A person of consequence; as, the bigwigs of society. [Jocose]

In our youth we have heard him spoken of by the bigwigs with extreme condescension. Dickens.

Big"-wigged` (&?;), a. characterized by pomposity of manner. [Eng.]

Bi`hy*drog"u*ret (&?;), n. [Pref. bi- + hydroguret.] (Chem.) A compound of two atoms of hydrogen with some other substance. [Obs.]

||Bi*jou" (&?;), n.; pl. Bijoux (&?;). [F.; of uncertain origin.] A trinket; a jewel; -- a word applied to anything small and of elegant workmanship.

Bi*jou"try (&?;), n. [F. bijouterie. See Bijou.] Small articles of virtu, as jewelry, trinkets, etc.

Bij"u*gate (&?;), a. [L. bis twice + jugatus, p. p. of jugare to join.] (Bot.) Having two pairs, as of leaflets.

Bij"u*gous (&?;), a. [L. bijugus yoked two together; bis twice + jugum yoke, pair.] (Bot.) Bijugate.

Bike (&?;), n. [Ethymol. unknown.] A nest of wild bees, wasps, or ants; a swarm. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

||Bikh (&?;), n. [Hind., fr. Skr. visha poison.] (Bot.) The East Indian name of a virulent poison extracted from Aconitum ferox or other species of aconite: also, the plant itself.

Bi*la"bi*ate (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + labiate.] (Bot.) Having two lips, as the corols of certain flowers.

Bi`la*cin"i*ate (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + laciniate.] Doubly fringed.

||Bi*la"lo (&?;), n. A two-masted passenger boat or small vessel, used in the bay of Manila.

{ Bi*lam"el*late (&?;), Bi*lam"el*la`ted (&?;), } a. [Pref. bi- + lamellate.] (Bot.) Formed of two plates, as the stigma of the Mimulus; also, having two elevated ridges, as in the lip of certain flowers.

{ Bi*lam"i*nar (&?;), Bi*lam"i*nate (&?;), } a. [Pref. bi- + laminar, laminate.] Formed of, or having, two laminæ, or thin plates.

Bi"land (&?;), n. A byland. [Obs.] Holland.

Bil"an*der (&?;), n. [D. bijlander; bij by + land land, country.] (Naut.) A small two-masted merchant vessel, fitted only for coasting, or for use in canals, as in Holland.

Why choose we, then, like bilanders to creep Along the coast, and land in view to keep? Dryden.

Bi*lat"er*al (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + lateral: cf. F. bilatéral.] 1. Having two sides; arranged upon two sides; affecting two sides or two parties.

2. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to the two sides of a central area or organ, or of a central axis; as, bilateral symmetry in animals, where there is a similarity of parts on the right and left sides of the body.

Bi*lat`er*al"i*ty (&?;), n. State of being bilateral.

Bil"ber*ry (&?;), n.; pl. Bilberries (&?;). [Cf. Dan. böllebær bilberry, where bölle is perh. akin to E. ball.] 1. (Bot.) The European whortleberry (Vaccinium myrtillus); also, its edible bluish black fruit.

There pinch the maids as blue as bilberry. Shak.

2. (Bot.) Any similar plant or its fruit; esp., in America, the species Vaccinium myrtilloides, V. cæspitosum and V. uliginosum.

Bil"bo (&?;), n.; pl. Bilboes (&?;). 1. A rapier; a sword; so named from Bilbao, in Spain. Shak.

2. pl. A long bar or bolt of iron with sliding shackles, and a lock at the end, to confine the feet of prisoners or offenders, esp. on board of ships.

Methought I lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Shak.

||Bil"bo*quet (&?;), n. [F.] The toy called cup and ball.

Bil"cock (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The European water rail.

||Bild"stein (&?;), n. [G., fr. bild image, likeness + stein stone.] Same as Agalmatolite.

Bile (&?;), n. [L. bilis: cf. F. bile.] 1. (Physiol.) A yellow, or greenish, viscid fluid, usually alkaline in reaction, secreted by the liver. It passes into the intestines, where it aids in the digestive process. Its characteristic constituents are the bile salts, and coloring matters.

2. Bitterness of feeling; choler; anger; ill humor; as, to stir one's bile. Prescott.

The ancients considered the bile to be the "humor" which caused irascibility.

Bile, n. [OE. byle, bule, bele, AS. b&?;le, b&?;l; skin to D. buil, G. beule, and Goth. ufbauljan to puff up. Cf. Boil a tumor, Bulge.] A boil. [Obs. or Archaic]

Bi*lec"tion (&?;), n. (Arch.) That portion of a group of moldings which projects beyond the general surface of a panel; a bolection.

Bile"stone` (&?;), n. [Bile + stone.] A gallstone, or biliary calculus. See Biliary. E. Darwin.

Bilge (&?;), n. [A different orthography of bulge, of same origin as belly. Cf. Belly, Bulge.] 1. The protuberant part of a cask, which is usually in the middle.

2. (Naut.) That part of a ship's hull or bottom which is broadest and most nearly flat, and on which she would rest if aground.

3. Bilge water.

Bilge free (Naut.), stowed in such a way that the bilge is clear of everything; -- said of a cask. -- Bilge pump, a pump to draw the bilge water from the gold of a ship. -- Bilge water (Naut.), water which collects in the bilge or bottom of a ship or other vessel. It is often allowed to remain till it becomes very offensive. -- Bilge ways, the timbers which support the cradle of a ship upon the ways, and which slide upon the launching ways in launching the vessel.

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Bilge (blj), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bilged (bljd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bilging.] 1. (Naut.) To suffer a fracture in the bilge; to spring a leak by a fracture in the bilge.

2. To bulge.

Bilge, v. t. 1. (Naut.) To fracture the bilge of, or stave in the bottom of (a ship or other vessel).

2. To cause to bulge.

Bil"gy (&?;), a. Having the smell of bilge water.

Bil"ia*ry (bl"y*r; 106), a. [L. bilis bile: cf. F. biliaire.] (Physiol.) Relating or belonging to bile; conveying bile; as, biliary acids; biliary ducts.

Biliary calculus (Med.), a gallstone, or a concretion formed in the gall bladder or its duct.

Bil`i*a"tion (&?;), n. (Physiol.) The production and excretion of bile.

Bi*lif"er*ous (&?;), a. Generating bile.

Bil`i*fus"cin (&?;), n. [L. bilis bile + fuscus dark.] (Physiol.) A brownish green pigment found in human gallstones and in old bile. It is a derivative of bilirubin.

{ ||Bi*lim"bi (&?;), ||Bi*lim"bing (&?;), } n. [Malay.] The berries of two East Indian species of Averrhoa, of the Oxalideæ or Sorrel family. They are very acid, and highly esteemed when preserved or pickled. The juice is used as a remedy for skin diseases. [Written also blimbi and blimbing.]

Bil"i*ment (&?;), n. A woman's ornament; habiliment. [Obs.]

Bi"lin (&?;), n. [Cf. F. biline, from L. bilis bile.] (Physiol. Chem.) A name applied to the amorphous or crystalline mass obtained from bile by the action of alcohol and ether. It is composed of a mixture of the sodium salts of the bile acids.

Bi*lin"e*ar (&?;), a. (Math.) Of, pertaining to, or included by, two lines; as, bilinear coördinates.

Bi*lin"gual (&?;), a. [L. bilinguis; bis twice + lingua tongue, language.] Containing, or consisting of, two languages; expressed in two languages; as, a bilingual inscription; a bilingual dictionary. -- Bi*lin"gual*ly, adv.

Bi*lin"gual*ism (&?;), n. Quality of being bilingual.

The bilingualism of King's English. Earle.

Bi*lin"guar (&?;), a. See Bilingual.

Bi*lin"guist (&?;), n. One versed in two languages.

Bi*lin"guous (&?;), a. [L. bilinguis.] Having two tongues, or speaking two languages. [Obs.]

Bil"ious (bl"ys), a. [L. biliosus, fr. bilis bile.] 1. Of or pertaining to the bile.

2. Disordered in respect to the bile; troubled with an excess of bile; as, a bilious patient; dependent on, or characterized by, an excess of bile; as, bilious symptoms.

3. Choleric; passionate; ill tempered. "A bilious old nabob." Macaulay.

Bilious temperament. See Temperament.

Bil"ious*ness, n. The state of being bilious.