Chapter 97

Bit"ters (&?;), n. pl. A liquor, generally spirituous in which a bitter herb, leaf, or root is steeped.

Bit"ter spar" (&?;). A common name of dolomite; -- so called because it contains magnesia, the soluble salts of which are bitter. See Dolomite.

Bit"ter*sweet` (&?;), a. Sweet and then bitter or bitter and then sweet; esp. sweet with a bitter after taste; hence (Fig.), pleasant but painful.

Bit"ter*sweet`, n. 1. Anything which is bittersweet.

2. A kind of apple so called. Gower.

3. (Bot.) (a) A climbing shrub, with oval coral-red berries (Solanum dulcamara); woody nightshade. The whole plant is poisonous, and has a taste at first sweetish and then bitter. The branches are the officinal dulcamara. (b) An American woody climber (Celastrus scandens), whose yellow capsules open late in autumn, and disclose the red aril which covers the seeds; -- also called Roxbury waxwork.

Bit"ter*weed` (&?;), n. (Bot.) A species of Ambrosia (A. artemisiæfolia); Roman worm wood. Gray.

Bit"ter*wood` (&?;), n. A West Indian tree (Picræna excelsa) from the wood of which the bitter drug Jamaica quassia is obtained.

Bit"ter*wort` (&?;), n. (Bot.) The yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea), which has a very bitter taste.

Bit"tock (&?;), n. [See Bit a morsel.] A small bit of anything, of indefinite size or quantity; a short distance. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

{ Bit"tor Bit"tour } (&?;), n. [See Bittern] (Zoöl.) The bittern. Dryden.

Bitts (&?;), n. pl. [Cf. F. bitte, Icel. biti, a beam. &?;87.] (Naut.) A frame of two strong timbers fixed perpendicularly in the fore part of a ship, on which to fasten the cables as the ship rides at anchor, or in warping. Other bitts are used for belaying (belaying bitts), for sustaining the windlass (carrick bitts, winch bitts, or windlass bitts), to hold the pawls of the windlass (pawl bitts) etc.

Bi*tume" (&?;), n. [F. See Bitumen.] Bitumen. [Poetic] May.

Bi*tumed" (&?;), a. Smeared with bitumen. [R.] "The hatches caulked and bitumed." Shak.

Bi*tu"men (&?;), n. [L. bitumen: cf. F. bitume. Cf. Béton.] 1. Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See Asphalt.

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2. By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petroleums, and even the light, volatile naphthas.

Bi*tu"mi*nate (b*t"m*nt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bituminated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminating.] [L. bituminatus, p. p. of bituminare to bituminate. See Bitumen.] To treat or impregnate with bitumen; to cement with bitumen. "Bituminated walls of Babylon." Feltham.

Bi*tu`mi*nif"er*ous (&?;), a. [Bitumen + -ferous.] Producing bitumen. Kirwan.

Bi*tu`mi*ni*za"tion (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bituminisation.] The process of bituminizing. Mantell.

Bi*tu"mi*nize (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bituminized (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminizing.] [Cf. F. bituminiser.] To prepare, treat, impregnate, or coat with bitumen.

Bi*tu"mi*nous (&?;), a. [L. bituminosus: cf. F. bitumineux.] Having the qualities of bitumen; compounded with bitumen; containing bitumen.

Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flamed. Milton.

Bituminous coal, a kind of coal which yields, when heated, a considerable amount of volatile bituminous matter. It burns with a yellow smoky flame. -- Bituminous limestone, a mineral of a brown or black color, emitting an unpleasant smell when rubbed. That of Dalmatia is so charged with bitumen that it may be cut like soap. -- Bituminous shale, an argillaceous shale impregnated with bitumen, often accompanying coal.

Bi"u*ret (&?;), n. [Pref. bi- + urea.] (Chem.) A white, crystalline, nitrogenous substance, C2O2N3H5, formed by heating urea. It is intermediate between urea and cyanuric acid.

Biv"a*len*cy (&?;), n. (Chem.) The quality of being bivalent.

Biv"a*lent (&?;), a. [L. bis twice + valens, p. pr. See Valence.] (Chem.) Equivalent in combining or displacing power to two atoms of hydrogen; dyad.

Bi"valve (&?;), n. [F. bivalve; bi- (L. bis) + valve valve.] 1. (Zoöl.) A mollusk having a shell consisting of two lateral plates or valves joined together by an elastic ligament at the hinge, which is usually strengthened by prominences called teeth. The shell is closed by the contraction of two transverse muscles attached to the inner surface, as in the clam, -- or by one, as in the oyster. See Mollusca.

2. (Bot.) A pericarp in which the seed case opens or splits into two parts or valves.

Bi"valve (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + valve.] (Zoöl. & Bot.) Having two shells or valves which open and shut, as the oyster and certain seed vessels.

Bi"valved (&?;), a. Having two valves, as the oyster and some seed pods; bivalve.

Bi*val"vous (&?;), a. Bivalvular.

Bi*val"vu*lar (&?;), a. Having two valves.

Bi*vault"ed (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + vault.] Having two vaults or arches.

Bi*vec"tor (&?;), n. [Pref. bi- + vector.] (Math.) A term made up of the two parts &?; + &?;1 &?;-1, where &?; and &?;1 are vectors.

Bi*ven"tral (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + ventral.] (Anat.) Having two bellies or protuberances; as, a biventral, or digastric, muscle, or the biventral lobe of the cerebellum.

Biv"i*al (&?;), a. Of or relating to the bivium.

Biv"i*ous (&?;), a. [L. bivius; bis twice + via way.] Having, or leading, two ways.

Bivious theorems and Janus-faced doctrines. Sir T. Browne.

||Biv"i*um (&?;), n. [L., a place with two ways. See Bivious.] (Zoöl.) One side of an echinoderm, including a pair of ambulacra, in distinction from the opposite side (trivium), which includes three ambulacra.

Biv"ouac (&?;), n. [F. bivouac, bivac, prab. fr. G. beiwache, or beiwacht; bei by, near + wachen to watch, wache watch, guard. See By, and Watch.] (Mil.) (a) The watch of a whole army by night, when in danger of surprise or attack. (b) An encampment for the night without tents or covering.

Biv"ouac, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bivouacked (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bivouacking.] (Mil.) (a) To watch at night or be on guard, as a whole army. (b) To encamp for the night without tents or covering.

Bi"week`ly (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + weekly.] Occurring or appearing once every two weeks; fortnightly. -- n. A publication issued every two weeks. -- Bi"week"ly, adv.

Bi*wreye" (&?;), v. t. To bewray; to reveal. [Obs.]

Biz"an*tine (&?;). See Byzantine.

Bi*zarre" (&?;), a. [F. bizarre odd, fr. Sp. bizarro gallant, brave, liberal, prob. of Basque origin; cf. Basque bizarra beard, whence the meaning manly, brave.] Odd in manner or appearance; fantastic; whimsical; extravagant; grotesque. C. Kingsley.

Bi*zet" (&?;), n. [Cf. Bezel.] The upper faceted portion of a brilliant-cut diamond, which projects from the setting and occupies the zone between the girdle and the table. See Brilliant, n.

Blab (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blabbed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Blabbing.] [Cf. OE. blaberen, or Dan. blabbre, G. plappern, Gael. blabaran a stammerer; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. also Blubber, v.] To utter or tell unnecessarily, or in a thoughtless manner; to publish (secrets or trifles) without reserve or discretion. Udall.

And yonder a vile physician blabbing The case of his patient. Tennyson.

Blab, v. i. To talk thoughtlessly or without discretion; to tattle; to tell tales.

She must burst or blab. Dryden.

Blab, n. [OE. blabbe.] One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale. "Avoided as a blab." Milton.

For who will open himself to a blab or a babbler. Bacon.

Blab"ber (&?;), n. A tattler; a telltale.

Black (&?;), a. [OE. blak, AS. blæc; akin to Icel. blakkr dark, swarthy, Sw. bläck ink, Dan. blæk, OHG. blach, LG. & D. blaken to burn with a black smoke. Not akin to AS. blc, E. bleak pallid. &?;98.] 1. Destitute of light, or incapable of reflecting it; of the color of soot or coal; of the darkest or a very dark color, the opposite of white; characterized by such a color; as, black cloth; black hair or eyes.

O night, with hue so black! Shak.

2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the heavens black with clouds.

I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud. Shak.

3. Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness; destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked; cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible. "This day's black fate." "Black villainy." "Arise, black vengeance." "Black day." "Black despair." Shak.

4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen; foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.

Black is often used in self-explaining compound words; as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired, black- visaged.

Black act, the English statute 9 George I, which makes it a felony to appear armed in any park or warren, etc., or to hunt or steal deer, etc., with the face blackened or disguised. Subsequent acts inflicting heavy penalties for malicious injuries to cattle and machinery have been called black acts. -- Black angel (Zoöl.), a fish of the West Indies and Florida (Holacanthus tricolor), with the head and tail yellow, and the middle of the body black. -- Black antimony (Chem.), the black sulphide of antimony, Sb2S3, used in pyrotechnics, etc. -- Black bear (Zoöl.), the common American bear (Ursus Americanus). -- Black beast. See Bête noire. -- Black beetle (Zoöl.), the common large cockroach (Blatta orientalis). -- Black and blue, the dark color of a bruise in the flesh, which is accompanied with a mixture of blue. "To pinch the slatterns black and blue." Hudibras. -- Black bonnet (Zoöl.), the black-headed bunting (Embriza Schœniclus) of Europe. -- Black canker, a disease in turnips and other crops, produced by a species of caterpillar. -- Black cat (Zoöl.), the fisher, a quadruped of North America allied to the sable, but larger. See Fisher. -- Black cattle, any bovine cattle reared for slaughter, in distinction from dairy cattle. [Eng.] -- Black cherry. See under Cherry. -- Black cockatoo (Zoöl.), the palm cockatoo. See Cockatoo. -- Black copper. Same as Melaconite. -- Black currant. (Bot.) See Currant. -- Black diamond. (Min.) See Carbonado. -- Black draught (Med.), a cathartic medicine, composed of senna and magnesia. -- Black drop (Med.), vinegar of opium; a narcotic preparation consisting essentially of a solution of opium in vinegar. -- Black earth, mold; earth of a dark color. Woodward. -- Black flag, the flag of a pirate, often bearing in white a skull and crossbones; a signal of defiance. -- Black flea (Zoöl.), a flea beetle (Haltica nemorum) injurious to turnips. -- Black flux, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal, obtained by deflagrating tartar with half its weight of niter. Brande & C. -- Black fly. (Zoöl.) (a) In the United States, a small, venomous, two-winged fly of the genus Simulium of several species, exceedingly abundant and troublesome in the northern forests. The larvæ are aquatic. (b) A black plant louse, as the bean aphis (A. fabæ). -- Black Forest [a translation of G. Schwarzwald], a forest in Baden and Würtemburg, in Germany; a part of the ancient Hercynian forest. -- Black game, or Black grouse. (Zoöl.) See Blackcock, Grouse, and Heath grouse. -- Black grass (Bot.), a grasslike rush of the species Juncus Gerardi, growing on salt marshes, and making good hay. -- Black gum (Bot.), an American tree, the tupelo or pepperidge. See Tupelo. -- Black Hamburg (grape) (Bot.), a sweet and juicy variety of dark purple or "black" grape. -- Black horse (Zoöl.), a fish of the Mississippi valley (Cycleptus elongatus), of the sucker family; the Missouri sucker. -- Black lemur (Zoöl.), the Lemurniger of Madagascar; the acoumbo of the natives. -- Black list, a list of persons who are for some reason thought deserving of censure or punishment; -- esp. a list of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, made for the protection of tradesmen or employers. See Blacklist, v. t. -- Black manganese (Chem.), the black oxide of manganese, MnO2. -- Black Maria, the close wagon in which prisoners are carried to or from jail. -- Black martin (Zoöl.), the chimney swift. See Swift. -- Black moss (Bot.), the common so-called long moss of the southern United States. See Tillandsia. -- Black oak. See under Oak. -- Black ocher. See Wad. -- Black pigment, a very fine, light carbonaceous substance, or lampblack, prepared chiefly for the manufacture of printers' ink. It is obtained by burning common coal tar. -- Black plate, sheet iron before it is tinned. Knight. -- Black quarter, malignant anthrax with engorgement of a shoulder or quarter, etc., as of an ox. -- Black rat (Zoöl.), one of the species of rats (Mus rattus), commonly infesting houses. -- Black rent. See Blackmail, n., 3. -- Black rust, a disease of wheat, in which a black, moist matter is deposited in the fissures of the grain. -- Black sheep, one in a family or company who is unlike the rest, and makes trouble. -- Black silver. (Min.) See under Silver. -- Black and tan, black mixed or spotted with tan color or reddish brown; -- used in describing certain breeds of dogs. -- Black tea. See under Tea. -- Black tin (Mining), tin ore (cassiterite), when dressed, stamped and washed, ready for smelting. It is in the form of a black powder, like fine sand. Knight. -- Black walnut. See under Walnut. -- Black warrior (Zoöl.), an American hawk (Buteo Harlani).

Syn. -- Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart; Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.

Black (&?;), adv. Sullenly; threateningly; maliciously; so as to produce blackness.

Black, n. 1. That which is destitute of light or whiteness; the darkest color, or rather a destitution of all color; as, a cloth has a good black.

Black is the badge of hell, The hue of dungeons, and the suit of night. Shak.

2. A black pigment or dye.

3. A negro; a person whose skin is of a black color, or shaded with black; esp. a member or descendant of certain African races.

4. A black garment or dress; as, she wears black; pl. (Obs.) Mourning garments of a black color; funereal drapery.

Friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the like show death terrible. Bacon.

That was the full time they used to wear blacks for the death of their fathers. Sir T. North.

5. The part of a thing which is distinguished from the rest by being black.

The black or sight of the eye. Sir K. Digby.

6. A stain; a spot; a smooch.

Defiling her white lawn of chastity with ugly blacks of lust. Rowley.

Black and white, writing or print; as, I must have that statement in black and white. -- Blue black, a pigment of a blue black color. -- Ivory black, a fine kind of animal charcoal prepared by calcining ivory or bones. When ground it is the chief ingredient of the ink used in copperplate printing. -- Berlin black. See under Berlin.

Black, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blacked; p. pr. & vb. n. Blacking.] [See Black, a., and cf. Blacken.]

1. To make black; to blacken; to soil; to sully.

They have their teeth blacked, both men and women, for they say a dog hath his teeth white, therefore they will black theirs. Hakluyt.

Sins which black thy soul. J. Fletcher.

2. To make black and shining, as boots or a stove, by applying blacking and then polishing with a brush.

Black"a*moor (&?;), n. [Black + Moor.] A negro or negress. Shak.

Black" art` (&?;). The art practiced by conjurers and witches; necromancy; conjuration; magic.

This name was given in the Middle Ages to necromancy, under the idea that the latter term was derived from niger black, instead of nekro`s, a dead person, and mantei`a, divination. Wright.

Black"-a-vised` (&?;), a. Dark-visaged; swart.

Black"ball` (&?;), n. 1. A composition for blacking shoes, boots, etc.; also, one for taking impressions of engraved work.

2. A ball of black color, esp. one used as a negative in voting; -- in this sense usually two words.

Black"ball`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blackballed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Blackballing.] 1. To vote against, by putting a black ball into a ballot box; to reject or exclude, as by voting against with black balls; to ostracize.

He was blackballed at two clubs in succession. Thackeray.

2. To blacken (leather, shoes, etc.) with blacking.

Black"band` (&?;), n. (Min.) An earthy carbonate of iron containing considerable carbonaceous matter; -- valuable as an iron ore.

Black" bass` (&?;). (Zoöl.) 1. An edible, fresh-water fish of the United States, of the genus Micropterus. the small-mouthed kind is M. dolomie; the large-mouthed is M. salmoides.

2. The sea bass. See Blackfish, 3.

Black"ber*ry (blk"br*r), n. [OE. blakberye, AS. blæcberie; blæc black + berie berry.] The fruit of several species of bramble (Rubus); also, the plant itself. Rubus fruticosus is the blackberry of England; R. villosus and R. Canadensis are the high blackberry and low blackberry of the United States. There are also other kinds.

Black"bird (blk"brd), n. (Zoöl.) In England, a species of thrush (Turdus merula), a singing bird with a fin note; the merle. In America the name is given to several birds, as the Quiscalus versicolor, or crow blackbird; the Agelæus phœniceus, or red-winged blackbird; the cowbird; the rusty grackle, etc. See Redwing.

Black"board` (-brd`), n. A broad board painted black, or any black surface on which writing, drawing, or the working of mathematical problems can be done with chalk or crayons. It is much used in schools.

Black" book` (bk`). 1. One of several books of a political character, published at different times and for different purposes; -- so called either from the color of the binding, or from the character of the contents.

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2. A book compiled in the twelfth century, containing a description of the court of exchequer of England, an official statement of the revenues of the crown, etc.

3. A book containing details of the enormities practiced in the English monasteries and religious houses, compiled by order of their visitors under Henry VIII., to hasten their dissolution.

4. A book of admiralty law, of the highest authority, compiled in the reign of Edw. III. Bouvier. Wharton.

5. A book kept for the purpose of registering the names of persons liable to censure or punishment, as in the English universities, or the English armies.

6. Any book which treats of necromancy.

Black"-browed` (blk"broud`), a. Having black eyebrows. Hence: Gloomy; dismal; threatening; forbidding. Shak. Dryden.

Black*bur"ni*an war"bler (&?;). [Named from Mrs. Blackburn, an English lady.] (Zoöl.) A beautiful warbler of the United States (Dendroica Blackburniæ). The male is strongly marked with orange, yellow, and black on the head and neck, and has an orange-yellow breast.

Black"cap` (-kp`), n. 1. (Zoöl.) (a) A small European song bird (Sylvia atricapilla), with a black crown; the mock nightingale. (b) An American titmouse (Parus atricapillus); the chickadee.

2. (Cookery) An apple roasted till black, to be served in a dish of boiled custard.

3. The black raspberry.

Black"coat` (&?;), n. A clergyman; -- familiarly so called, as a soldier is sometimes called a redcoat or a bluecoat.

Black"cock` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The male of the European black grouse (Tetrao tetrix, Linn.); - - so called by sportsmen. The female is called gray hen. See Heath grouse.

Black" death` (&?;). A pestilence which ravaged Europe and Asia in the fourteenth century.

Black"en (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blackened (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Blackening.] [See Black, a., and cf. Black, v. t. ] 1. To make or render black.

While the long funerals blacken all the way. Pope.

2. To make dark; to darken; to cloud. "Blackened the whole heavens." South.

3. To defame; to sully, as reputation; to make infamous; as, vice blackens the character.

Syn. -- To denigrate; defame; vilify; slander; calumniate; traduce; malign; asperse.

Black"en, v. i. To grow black or dark.

Black"en*er (&?;), n. One who blackens.

Black"-eyed` (&?;), a. Having black eyes. Dryden.

Black"-faced` (&?;), a. Having a black, dark, or gloomy face or aspect.

Black"feet` (&?;), n. pl. (Ethn.) A tribe of North American Indians formerly inhabiting the country from the upper Missouri River to the Saskatchewan, but now much reduced in numbers.

Black"fin` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) See Bluefin.

Black"fish (&?;), n. 1. (Zoöl.) A small kind of whale, of the genus Globicephalus, of several species. The most common is G. melas. Also sometimes applied to other whales of larger size.

2. (Zoöl.) The tautog of New England (Tautoga).

3. (Zoöl.) The black sea bass (Centropristis atrarius) of the Atlantic coast. It is excellent food fish; -- locally called also black Harry.

4. (Zoöl.) A fish of southern Europe (Centrolophus pompilus) of the Mackerel family.

5. (Zoöl.) The female salmon in the spawning season.

The name is locally applied to other fishes.

Black"foot` (&?;), a. Of or pertaining to the Blackfeet; as, a Blackfoot Indian. -- n. A Blackfoot Indian.

Black" fri`ar (&?;). (Eccl.) A friar of the Dominican order; -- called also predicant and preaching friar; in France, Jacobin. Also, sometimes, a Benedictine.

Black"guard (&?;), n. [Black + guard.] 1. The scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who, in a removal from one residence to another, had charge of the kitchen utensils, and being smutted by them, were jocularly called the "black guard"; also, the servants and hangers-on of an army. [Obs.]

A lousy slave, that . . . rode with the black guard in the duke's carriage, 'mongst spits and dripping pans. Webster (1612).

2. The criminals and vagrants or vagabonds of a town or community, collectively. [Obs.]

3. A person of stained or low character, esp. one who uses scurrilous language, or treats others with foul abuse; a scoundrel; a rough.

A man whose manners and sentiments are decidedly below those of his class deserves to be called a blackguard. Macaulay.

4. A vagrant; a bootblack; a gamin. [Obs.]

Black"guard`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blackguarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blackguarding.] To revile or abuse in scurrilous language. Southey.

Black"guard, a. Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, blackguard language.

Black"guard*ism (&?;), n. The conduct or language of a blackguard; ruffianism.

Black"guard*ly, adv. & a. In the manner of or resembling a blackguard; abusive; scurrilous; ruffianly.

Black"head` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The scaup duck.

Black"heart` (&?;), n. A heart-shaped cherry with a very dark-colored skin.

Black"-heart`ed, a. Having a wicked, malignant disposition; morally bad.

Black" hole` (&?;). A dungeon or dark cell in a prison; a military lock-up or guardroom; -- now commonly with allusion to the cell (the Black Hole) in a fort at Calcutta, into which 146 English prisoners were thrust by the nabob Suraja Dowla on the night of June 20, 17656, and in which 123 of the prisoners died before morning from lack of air.

A discipline of unlimited autocracy, upheld by rods, and ferules, and the black hole. H. Spencer.

Black"ing, n. 1. Any preparation for making things black; esp. one for giving a black luster to boots and shoes, or to stoves.

2. The act or process of making black.

Black"ish, a. Somewhat black.

Black"-jack`, n. 1. (Min.) A name given by English miners to sphalerite, or zinc blende; -- called also false galena. See Blende.

2. Caramel or burnt sugar, used to color wines, spirits, ground coffee, etc.

3. A large leather vessel for beer, etc. [Obs.]

4. (Bot.) The Quercus nigra, or barren oak.

5. The ensign of a pirate.

Black` lead" (&?;). Plumbago; graphite. It leaves a blackish mark somewhat like lead. See Graphite.

Black`lead", v. t. To coat or to polish with black lead.

Black"leg` (&?;), n. 1. A notorious gambler. [Colloq.]

2. A disease among calves and sheep, characterized by a settling of gelatinous matter in the legs, and sometimes in the neck. [Eng.]