Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages)

Chapter 45

Chapter 452,851 wordsPublic domain

Bilge (?), v. i. [imp. & p.p. Bilged (?); 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¶laÏry (?), 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·iÏa¶tion (?), n. (Physiol.) The production and excretion of bile. BiÏlif¶erÏous (?), a. Generating bile. Bil·iÏfus¶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. ØBiÏlim¶bi (?), ØBiÏlim¶bing (?), } n. [Malay.] The berries of two East Indian species of Averrhoa, of the Oxalide‘ or Sorrel family. They are very acid, and highly esteemed when preserved or picked. The juice is used as a remedy for skin diseases. [Written also blimbi and blimbing.] Bil¶iÏment (?), 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. BiÏlin¶eÏar (?), a. (Math.) Of, pertaining to, or included by, two lines; as, bilinear co”rdinates. BiÏlin¶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. Ð BiÏlin¶gualÏly, adv. BiÏlin¶gualÏism (?), n. Quality of being bilingual. The bilingualism of King's English. Earle. BiÏlin¶guar (?), a. See Bilingual. BiÏlin¶guist (?), n. One versed in two languages. BiÏlin¶guous (?), a. [L. bilinguis.] Having two tongues, or speaking two languages. [Obs.] Bil¶ious (?), a. [L. biliosus, fr. bilis bile.] 1. Of or pertaining to the bile. 2. Disordered in respect to the bile; troubled with and excess of bile; as, a bilious patient; dependent on, or characterized by, an excess of bile; as, bilious symptoms. 3. Choleric; passionate; ill tempered. ½A bilious old nabob.¸ Macaulay. Bilious temperament. See Temperament. Bil¶iousÏness, n. The state of being bilious. Bil·iÏpra¶sin (?), n. [L. bilis bile + prasinus green.] (Physiol.) A dark green pigment found in small quantity in human gallstones. Bil·iÏru¶bin (?), n. [L. bilis biel + ruber red.] (Physiol.) A reddish yellow pigment present in human bile, and in that from carnivorous and herbivorous animals; the normal biliary pigment. BiÏlit¶erÏal (?), a. [L. bis twice + littera letter.] Consisting of two letters; as, a biliteral root of a Sanskrit verb. Sir W. Jones. Ð n. A word, syllable, or root, consisting of two letters. BiÏlit¶erÏalÏism (?), n. The property or state of being biliteral. Bil·iÏver¶din (?), n. [L. bilis bile + viridis green. Cf. Verdure.] (Physiol.) A green pigment present in the bile, formed from bilirubin by oxidation. Bilk (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bilked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bilking.] [Origin unknown. Cf. Balk.] To frustrate or disappoint; to deceive or defraud, by nonfulfillment of engagement; to leave in the lurch; to give the slip to; as, to bilk a creditor. Thackeray. Bilk, n. 1. A thwarting an adversary in cribbage by spoiling his score; a balk. 2. A cheat; a trick; a hoax. Hudibras. 3. Nonsense; vain words. B. Jonson. 4. A person who tricks a creditor; an untrustworthy, tricky person. Marryat. Bill (?), n. [OE. bile, bille, AS. bile beak of a bird, proboscis; cf. Ir. & Gael. bil, bile, mouth, lip, bird's bill. Cf. Bill a weapon.] A beak, as of a bird, or sometimes of a turtle or other animal. Milton. Bill, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Billed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Billing.] 1. To strike; to peck. [Obs.] 2. To join bills, as doves; to caress in fondness. ½As pigeons bill.¸ Shak. To bill and coo, to interchange caresses; Ð said of doves; also of demonstrative lovers. Thackeray. Bill, n. The bell, or boom, of the bittern The bittern's hollow bill was heard. Wordsworth. Bill, n. [OE. bil, AS. bill, bil; akin to OS. bil sword, OHG. bill pickax, G. bille. Cf. Bill bea?.] 1. A cutting instrument, with hookÏshaped point, and fitted with a handle; Ð used in pruning, etc.; a billhook. When short, called a hand bill, when long, a hedge bill. 2. A weapon of infantry, in the 14th and 15th centuries. A common form of bill consisted of a broad, heavy, doubleÏedged, hookÏshaped blade, having a short pike at the back and another at the top, and attached to the end of a long staff. France had no infantry that dared to face the English bows end bills. Macaulay. 3. One who wields a bill; a billman. Strype. 4. A pickax, or mattock. [Obs.] 5. (Naut.) The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke. Bill (?), v. t. To work upon ( as to dig, hoe, hack, or chop anything) with a bill. Bill, n. [OE. bill, bille, fr. LL. billa (or OF. bille), for L. bulla anything rounded, LL., seal, stamp, letter, edict, roll; cf. F. bille a ball, prob. fr. Ger.; cf. MHG. bickel, D. bikkel, dice. Cf. Bull papal edict, Billet a paper.] 1. (Law) A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law. 2. A writing binding the signer or signers to pay a certain sum at a future day or on demand, with or without interest, as may be stated in the document. [Eng.] µ In the United States, it is usually called a note, a note of hand, or a promissory note. 3. A form or draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law. 4. A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away, to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale of goods; a placard; a poster; a handbill. She put up the bill in her parlor window. Dickens. 5. An account of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; a statement of a creditor's claim, in gross or by items; as, a grocer's bill. 6. Any paper, containing a statement of particulars; as, a bill of charges or expenditures; a weekly bill of mortality; a bill of fare, etc. Bill of adventure. See under Adventure. Ð Bill of costs, a statement of the items which form the total amount of the costs of a party to a suit or action. Ð Bill of credit. (a) Within the constitution of the United States, a paper issued by a State, on the mere faith and credit of the State, and designed to circulate as money. No State shall ½emit bills of credit.¸ U. S. Const. Peters. Wharton. Bouvier (b) Among merchants, a letter sent by an agent or other person to a merchant, desiring him to give credit to the bearer for goods or money. Ð Bill of divorce, in the Jewish law, a writing given by the husband to the wife, by which the marriage relation was dissolved. Jer. iii. 8. Ð Bill of entry, a written account of goods entered at the customhouse, whether imported or intended for exportation. Ð Bill of exceptions. See under Exception. Ð Bill of exchange (Com.), a written order or request from one person or house to another, desiring the latter to pay to some person designated a certain sum of money therein generally is, and, to be negotiable, must be, made payable to order or to bearer. So also the order generally expresses a specified time of payment, and that it is drawn for value. The person who draws the bil is called the drawer, the person on whom it is drawn is, before acceptance, called the drawee, Ð after acceptance, the acceptor; the person to whom the money is directed to be paid is called the payee. The person making the order may himself be the payee. The bill itself is frequently called a draft. See Exchange. Chitty. Ð Bill of fare, a written or printed enumeration of the dishes served at a public table, or of the dishes (with prices annexed) which may be ordered at a restaurant, etc. Ð Bill of health, a certificate from the proper authorities as to the state of health of a ship's company at the time of her leaving port. Ð Bill of indictment, a written accusation lawfully presented to a grand jury. If the jury consider the evidence sufficient to support the accusation, they indorse it ½A true bill,¸ or ½Not found,¸ or ½Ignoramus¸, or ½Ignored.¸ Ð Bill of lading, a written account of goods shipped by any person, signed by the agent of the owner of the vessel, or by its master, acknowledging the receipt of the goods, and promising to deliver them safe at the place directed, dangers of the sea excepted. It is usual for the master to sign two, three, or four copies of the bill; one of which he keeps in possession, one is kept by the shipper, and one is sent to the consignee of the goods. Ð Bill of mortality, an official statement of the number of deaths in a place or district within a given time; also, a district required to be covered by such statement; as, a place within the bills of mortality of London. Ð Bill of pains and penalties, a special act of a legislature which inflicts a punishment less than death upon persons supposed to be guilty of treason or felony, without any conviction in the ordinary course of judicial proceedings. Bouvier. Wharton. Ð Bill of parcels, an account given by the seller to the buyer of the several articles purchased, with the price of each. Ð Bill of particulars (Law), a detailed statement of the items of a plaintiff's demand in an action, or of the defendant's setÏoff. Ð Bill of rights, a summary of rights and privileges claimed by a people. Such was the declaration presented by the Lords and Commons of England to the Prince and Princess of Orange in 1688, and enacted in Parliament after they became king and queen. In America, a bill or declaration of rights is prefixed to most of the constitutions of the several States. Ð Bill of sale, a formal instrument for the conveyance or transfer of goods and chattels. Ð Bill of sight, a form of entry at the customhouse, by which goods, respecting which the importer is not possessed of full information, may be provisionally landed for examination. Ð Bill of store, a license granted at the customhouse to merchants, to carry such stores and provisions as are necessary for a voyage, custom free. Wharton. Ð Bills payable (pl.), the outstanding unpaid notes or acceptances made and issued by an individual or firm. Ð Bills receivable (pl.), the unpaid promissory notes or acceptances held by an individual or firm. McElrath. Ð A true bill, a bill of indictment sanctioned by a grand jury. Bill, v. t. 1. To advertise by a bill or public notice. 2. To charge or enter in a bill; as, to bill goods. Bil¶lage (?), n. and v. t. & i. Same as Bilge. Bil¶lard (?), n. (Zo”l.) An English fish, allied to the cod; the coalfish. [Written also billet and billit.] Bill·bee¶tle (?), or Bill¶bug· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A weevil or curculio of various species, as the corn weevil. See Curculio. Bill¶board· (?), n. 1. (Naut.) A piece of thick plank, armed with iron plates, and fixed on the bow or fore channels of a vessel, for the bill or fluke of the anchor to rest on. Totten. 2. A flat surface, as of a panel or of a fence, on which bills are posted; a bulletin board. Bill¶ book· (?). (Com.) A book in which a person keeps an account of his notes, bills, bills of exchange, etc., thus showing all that he issues and receives. Bill¶ bro·ker (?). One who negotiates the discount of bills. Billed (?), a. Furnished with, or having, a bill, as a bird; Ð used in composition; as, broadÏbilled. Bil¶let (?), n. [F. billet, dim. of an OF. bille bill. See Bill a writing.] 1. A small paper; a note; a short letter. ½I got your melancholy billet.¸ Sterne. 2. A ticket from a public officer directing soldiers at what house to lodge; as, a billet of residence. Bil¶let, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Billeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Billeting.] [From Billet a ticket.] (Mil.) To direct, by a ticket or note, where to lodge. Hence: To quarter, or place in lodgings, as soldiers in private houses. Billeted in so antiquated a mansion. W. Irving. Bil¶let, n. [F. billette, bille, log; of unknown origin; a different word from bille ball. Cf. Billiards, Billot.] 1. A small stick of wood, as for firewood. They shall beat out my brains with billets. Shak. 2. (Metal.) A short bar of metal, as of gold or iron. 3. (Arch.) An ornament in Norman work, resembling a billet of wood either square or round. 4. (Saddlery) (a) A strap which enters a buckle. (b) A loop which receives the end of a buckled strap. Knight. 5. (Her.) A bearing in the form of an oblong rectangle. ØBil·letÐdoux¶ (?), n.; pl. BilletsÐdoux (?). [F. billet note + doux sweet, L. dulcis.] A love letter or note. A lover chanting out a billetÐdoux. Spectator. Bil¶letÏhead· (?), n. (Naut.) A round piece of timber at the bow or stern of a whaleboat, around which the harpoon lone is run out when the whale darts off. Bill¶fish· (?), n. (Zo”l.) A name applied to several distinct fishes: (a) The garfish (Tylosurus, or Belone, longirostris) and allied species. (b) The saury, a slender fish of the Atlantic coast (Scomberesox saurus). (c) The Tetrapturus albidus, a large oceanic species related to the swordfish; the spearfish. (d) The American freshÏwater garpike (Lepidosteus osseus). Bill¶head· (?), n. A printed form, used by merchants in making out bills or rendering accounts. Bill¶ hold·er (?). 1. A person who holds a bill or acceptance. 2. A device by means of which bills, etc., are held. Bill¶hook· (?), n. [Bill + hook.] A thick, heavy knife with a hooked point, used in pruning hedges, etc. When it has a short handle, it is sometimes called a hand bill; when the handle is long, a hedge bill or scimiter. Bil¶liard (?), a. Of or pertaining to the game of billiards. ½Smooth as is a billiard ball.¸ B. Jonson. Bil¶liards (?), n. [F. billiard billiards, OF. billart staff, cue form playing, fr. bille log. See Billet a stick.] A game played with ivory balls o a clothÏcovered, rectangular table, bounded by elastic cushions. The player seeks to impel his ball with his cue so that it shall either strike (carom upon) two other balls, or drive another ball into one of the pockets with which the table sometimes is furnished. Bill¶ing (?), a. & n. Caressing; kissing. Bil¶lingsÏgate· (?), n. 1. A market near the Billings gate in London, celebrated for fish and foul language. 2. Coarsely abusive, foul, or profane language; vituperation; ribaldry. Bil¶lion (?), n. [F. billion, arbitrarily formed fr. L. bis twice, in imitation of million a million. See Million.] According to the French and American method of numeration, a thousand millions, or 1,000,000,000; according to the English method, a million millions, or 1,000,000,000,000. See Numeration. Bill¶man (?), n.; pl. Billmen (?). One who uses, or is armed with, a bill or hooked ax. ½A billman of the guard.¸ Savile. ØBil·lon¶ (?), n. [F. Cf. Billet a stick.] An alloy of gold and silver with a large proportion of copper or other base metal, used in coinage. Bil¶lot (?), n. [F. billot, dim. of bille. See Billet a stick.] Bullion in the bar or mass. Bil¶low (?), n. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. b”lge, Sw. b”lja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.] 1. A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. Whom the winds waft where'er the billows roll. Cowper. 2. A great wave or flood of anything. Milton. Bil¶low, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Billowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Billowing.] To surge; to rise and roll in waves or surges; to undulate. ½The billowing snow.¸ Prior. Bil¶lowÏy (?), a. Of or pertaining to billows; swelling or swollen into large waves; full of billows or surges; resembling billows. And whitening down the manyÏtinctured stream, Descends the billowy foam. Thomson. Bill¶post·er (?), Bill¶stick¶er (?), } n. One whose occupation is to post handbills or posters in public places. Bil¶ly (?), n. 1. A club; esp., a policeman's club. 2. (Wool Manuf.) A slubbing or roving machine. Bil¶lyÏboy· (?), n. A flatÏbottomed river barge or coasting vessel. [Eng.] Bil¶ly goat· (?). A male goat. [Colloq.]

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