Bell – Beslime

Bell

BELL, noun

1. A vessel or hollow body, used for making sounds. Its constituent parts are a barrel or hollow body, enlarged or expanded at one end, an ear or cannon by which it is hung to a beam, and a clapper on the inside. It is formed of a composition of metals. Bells are of high antiquity. The blue tunic of the Jewish High Priest was adorned with golden bells; and the kings of Persia are said to have the hem of their robe adorned with them in like manner. Among the Greeks, those who went the nightly rounds in camps or garrisons, used to ring a bell at each sentinel-box, to see that the soldier on duty was awake. Bells were also put on the necks of criminals, to warn persons to move out of the way of so ill an omen, as the sight of a criminal or his executioner; also on the necks of beasts and birds, and in houses. In churches and other public buildings, bells are now used to notify the time of meeting of any congregation or other assembly.

In private houses, bells are used to call servants, either hung and moved by a wire, or as hand-bells. Small bells are also used in electrical experiments.

2. A hollow body of metal, perforated, and containing a solid ball, to give sounds when shaken; used on animals, as on horses or hawks.

3. Any thing in form of a bell as the cup or calix of a flower.

To bear the bell is to be the first or leader, in allusion to the bell-wether of a flock, or the leading horse of a team or drove, that wears bells on his collar.

To shake the bells, a phrase of Shakespeare, signifies to move, give notice or alarm.

BELL, verb intransitive To grow in the form of bells, as buds or flowers.

BELL'-FASHIONED, adjective Having the form of a bell

Bell-Flower

BELL'-FLOWER, noun [bell and flower.] A genus of plants, so named from the shape of the corol or flower which resembles a bell, Latin Campanula, a genus of monogynian pentanders, comprehending many species.

BELL'-FOUNDER, noun [bell and founder.] A man whose occupation is to found or cast bells.

BELL'-MAN, noun [bell man.] A man who rings a bell, especially to give notice of anything in the streets.

Bell-Metal

BELL'-METAL, noun [bell and metal] A mixture of copper and tin, in the proportion of about ten parts of copper to one of tin, or according to Thomson, three parts to one, and usually a small portion of brass or zink; used for making bells.

BELL'-PEPPER, noun [bell and pepper.] A name of the Guinea pepper, a species of Capsicum. This is the red pepper of the gardens, and most proper for pickling.

BELL'-RINGER, noun One whose business is to ring a church or other bell.

Bell-Shaped

BELL'-SHAPED, adjective [bell and shape.] Having the form of a bell.

Bell-Wether

BELL'-WETHER, noun [bell and wether.] A wether or sheep which leads the flock, with a bell on his neck.

BELL'-WORT, noun A plant, the Uvularia.

Belladonna

BEL'LADONNA, noun A plant, a species of Atropa, or deadly nightshade.

Bellatrix

BEL'LATRIX, noun [Latin] A ruddy, glittering star of the second magnitude, in the left shoulder of Orion; so named from its imagined influence in exciting war.

Belle

BELLE, noun bel. [Latin bellus.] A young lady. In popular use, a lady of superior beauty and much admired.

Belled

BELL'ED, adjective Hung with bells.

Belles-Letters

BELLES-LETTERS, noun plural bel' letter, or anglicized, bell-letters. Polite literature; a word of very vague signification. It includes poetry and oratory; but authors are not agreed to what particular branches of learning the term should be restricted.

Belligerent

BELLIG'ERENT, adjective [Latin belliger, warlike; belligero, to wage war; from bellum, war, and gero, to wage; part. gerens, gerentis, waging. Gr. war.]

Waging war; carrying on war; as a belligerent nation.

BELLIG'ERENT, noun A nation, power or state carrying on war.

Belligerous

BELLIG'EROUS, adjective The same as belligerent. [Not used.]

Belling

BELL'ING, noun The noise of a roe in rutting time; a huntsman's term.

1. Growing or forming like a bell; growing full and ripe; used of hops; from bell.

Bellipotent

BELLIP'OTENT, adjective [Latin bellum, war, and potens, powerful, bellipotens.]

Powerful or mighty in war. [Little used.]

Bellique

BELLIQUE, adjective bellee'k. War-like. [Not used.]

Belllibone

BELL'LIBONE, noun A woman excelling both in beauty and goodness. [Not in use.]

Bellon

BEL'LON, noun A disease, attended with languor and intolerable griping of the bowels, common in places where lead ore is smelted.

Bellona

BELLO'NA, noun [from Latin bellum, war.] The goddess of war.

Bellow

BEL'LOW, verb intransitive [Latin balo.]

1. To make a hollow, loud noise, as a bull; to make a loud outcry; to roar. In contempt, to vociferate or clamor.

2. To roar, as the sea in a tempest, or as the wind when violent; to make a loud, hollow, continued sound.

BEL'LOW, noun A loud outcry; roar.

Bellowing

BEL'LOWING, participle present tense Making a loud hollow sound, as a bull, or as the roaring of billows.

BEL'LOWING, noun A loud hollow sound or roar.

Bellows

BEL'LOWS, noun sing.and plural [Latin bulga] An instrument, utensil or machine for blowing fire, either in private dwellings or in forges, furnaces and shops. It is so formed as by being dilated and contracted, to inhale air by a lateral orifice which is opened and closed with a valve, and to propel it through a tube upon the fire.

Bellows-Fish

BEL'LOWS-FISH, noun The trumpet-fish, about four inches long, with a long snout; whence its name.

Belluine

BEL'LUINE, adjective [Latin belluinus, brom bellua, a beast.] Beastly; pertaining to or like a beast; brutal. [Little used.]

Belly

BEL'LY, noun

1. That part of the human body which extends from the breast to the thighs, containing the bowels. It is called also the abdomen or lower belly to distinguish it from the head and breast, which are sometimes called bellies, from their cavity.

2. The part of a beast, corresponding to the human belly

3. The womb. Jeremiah 1:5.

4. The receptacle of food; that which requires food, in opposition to the back.

Whose god is their belly Philippians 3:19.

5. The part of any thing which resembles the human belly in protuberance or cavity, as of a harp or a bottle.

6. Any hollow inclosed place; as the belly of hell, in Jonah.

7. In scripture, belly is used for the heart. Proverbs 18:8. 20.30.John 7:38. Carnal lusts, sensual pleasure. Romans 16:18. Philippians 3:19:19. The whole man. Titus 1:12.

BEL'LY, verb transitive To fill; to swell out.

BEL'LY, verb intransitive To swell and become protuberant, like the belly; as bellying goblets; bellying canvas.

1. To strut.

Belly-Ache

BEL'LY-ACHE, noun [belly and ache.] Pain in the bowels; the colic.

BEL'LY-ACHE BUSH or WEED, A species of Jatropha.

Belly-Band

BEL'LY-BAND, noun A band that encompasses the belly of a horse, and fastens the saddle; a girth.

Belly-Bound

BEL'LY-BOUND, adjective Diseased in the belly, so as to be costive, and shrunk in the belly.

Belly-Cheer

BEL'LY-CHEER, noun Good cheer, [Not used.]

Belly-Fretting

BEL'LY-FRETTING, noun The chafing of a horse's belly, with a fore girt.

1. A violent pain in a horse's belly, caused by worms.

Belly-God

BEL'LY-GOD, noun [belly and god.] A glutton; one who makes a god of his belly; that is, whose great business or pleasure is to gratify his appetite.

Belly-Pinched

BEL'LY-PINCHED, adjective [See Pinch.] Starved; pinched with hunger.

BEL'LY ROLL, noun [See Roll.] A roller protuberant in the middle, to roll land between ridges, or in hollows.

Belly-Slave

BEL'LY-SLAVE, noun A slave to the appetite.

Belly-Timber

BEL'LY-TIMBER, noun [See Timber.[ Food; that which supports the belly.

Belly-Worm

BEL'LY-WORM, noun [See Worm.] A worm that breeds in the belly or stomach.

Bellyful

BEL'LYFUL, noun [belly and full.] As much as fills the belly, or satisfies the appetite. In familiar and ludicrous language, a great abundance; more than enough.

Bellying

BEL'LYING, participle present tense Enlarging capacity; swelling out, like the belly.

Belock

BELOCK', verb transitive To lock or fasten as with a lock.

Belomancy

BEL'OMANCY, noun [Gr.an arrow, and divination.]

A kind of divination, practiced by the ancient Scythians, Babylonians, and other nations, and by the Arabians. A number of arrows, being marked, were put into a bag or quiver, and drawn out at random; and the marks or words on the arrow drawn determined what was to happen. See Ezekiel 21:21.

Belone

BELO'NE, noun [Gr. a needle.] The gar, garfish, or sea-needle, a species of Esox. It grows to the length of two or three feet, with long pointed jaws, the edges of which are armed with small teeth.

Belong

BELONG', verb intransitive

1. To be the property of; as, a field belongs to Richard Roe; Jamaica belongs to G.Britain.

2. To be the concern or proper business of; to appertain; as, it belongs to John Doe to prove his title.

3. To be appendant to.

He went into a desert place belonging to Bethsaida. Luke 9:1.

4. To be a part of, or connected with, though detached in place; as, a beam or rafter belongs to such a frame, or to such a place in the building.

5. To have relation to.

And David said, to whom belongest thou? 1.Sam.30.

6. To be the quality or attribute of.

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. Daniel 9:9.

7. To be suitable for.

Strong meat belongeth to them of full age. Hebrews 5:14.

8. To relate to, or be referred to.

He careth for things that belong to the Lord. l Cor.7.

9. To have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town.

Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers belong Hence,

10. To be the native of; to have original residence.

There is no other country in the world to which the Gipeys could belong

11. In common language, to have a settled residence; to be domiciliated.

Belonging

BELONG'ING, participle present tense Pertaining; appertaining; being the property of; being a quality of; being the concern of; being appendant to; being a native of, or having a legal or permanent settlement in.

BELONG'ING, noun A quality. [Not in use..]

Beloved

BELOV'ED, participle present tense [be and loved, from love. Belove, as a verb, is not used.]

Loved; greatly loved; dear to the heart.

Below

BELOW, preposition [be and low] Under in place; beneath; not so high; as, below the moon; below the knee.

1. Inferior in rank, excellence or dignity.

2. Unworthy of; unbefitting.

BELOW, adverb In a lower place, with respect to any object; as, the heavens above and the earth below

1. On the earth, as opposed to the heavens.

The fairest child of Jove below

2. In hell, or the region of the dead; as the realms below

3. In a court of inferior jurisdiction; as, at the trial below

Belowt

BELOWT', verb transitive [See Lowt.] To treat with contemptuous language. [Not in use.]

Belswagger

BEL'SWAGGER, noun A lewd man.

Belt

BELT, noun [Latin balteus.]

1. A girdle; a band, usually of leather, in which a sword or other weapon is hung.

2. A narrow passage, or strait between the isle of Zealand and that of Funen at the entrance of the Baltic, usually called the Great belt The Lesser belt is the passage between the isle of Funen, and the coast of Jutland.

3. A bandage or band used by surgeons for various purposes.

4. In astronomy, certain girdles or rings, which surround the planet Jupiter, are called belts.

5. A disease among sheep, cured by cutting off the tail, laying the sore bare, then casting mold on it, and applying tar and goose grease.

BELT, verb transitive To encircle.

Beluga

BELU'GA, noun A fish of the cetaceous order, and genus Delphinus, from 12 to 18 feet in length. The tail is divided into two lobes, lying horizontally, and there is no dorsal fin. In swimming, this fish bends its tail under its body like a lobster, and thrusts itself along with the rapidity of an arrow. This fish is found in the arctic seas and rivers, and is caught for its oil and its skin.

Belvidere

BEL'VIDERE, noun [Latin bellus, fine and video, to see.]

1. A plant, a species of chenopodium, goosefoot or wild orach, called scoparia or annual mock cypress. It is of a beautiful pyramidical form, and much esteemed in China, as a salad, and for other uses.

2. In Italian architecture, a pavilion on the top of an edifice; an artificial eminence in a garden.

Belye

BELYE. [See Belie.]

Bema

BE'MA, noun A chancel. [Not in use.]

1. In ancient Greece, a state or kind of pulpit, on which speakers stood when addressing an assembly.

BEMAD'verb intransitive [be and mad.] to make mad. [Not in use.]

Bemangle

BEMAN'GLE, verb transitive [be and mangle.] To mangle; to tear asunder. [Little used.]

Bemask

BEM'ASK, verb transitive [be and mask.] To mask; to conceal.

Bemaze

BEMA'ZE, verb transitive To bewilder. [See Maze.] [Little used.]

Bemete

BEME'TE, verb transitive [be and mete.] To measure. [Not in use.]

Bemingle

BEMIN'GLE, verb transitive [be and mingle.] To mingle; to mix. [Little used.]

Bemire

BEMI'RE, verb transitive [be and mire.] To drag or incumber in the mire; to soil by passing through mud or dirty places.

Bemist

BEMIST', verb transitive [be and mist.] To cover or involve in mist. [Not used.]

Bemoan

BEMOAN, verb transitive [be and moan.] To lament; to bewail; to express sorrow for; as, to bemoan the loss of a son.

Bemoanable

BEMOANABLE, adjective That may be lamented. [Not used.]

Bemoaned

BEMOANED, participle passive Lamented; bewailed.

Bemoaner

BEMOANER, noun One who laments.

Bemoaning

BEMOANING, participle present tense Lamenting; bewailing.

Bemock

BEMOCK', verb transitive [be and mock.] To treat with mockery. [Little used.]

BEMOCK', verb intransitive To laugh at.

Bemoil

BEMOIL', verb transitive [be and moil.] To bedraggle; to bemire; to soil or incumber with mire and dirt. [Not in use.]

Bemol

BEMOL, noun In music, a half note.

Bemonster

BEMON'STER, verb transitive [be and monster.] To make monstrous. [Not in use.]

Bemourn

BEMOURN, verb transitive To weep or mourn over. [Little used.]

Bemused

BEMU'SED, adjective [be and muse.] Overcome with musing; dreaming; a word of contempt.

Ben

BEN or BEN'-NUT, noun A purgative fruit or nut, the largest of which resembles a filbert, yielding an oil used in pharmacy.

Bench

BENCH, noun

1. A long seat, usually of board or plank, differing from a stool in its greater length.

2. The seat where judges sit in court; the seat of justice. Hence,

3. The persons who sit as judges; the court.

Free bench in England, the estate in copy hold lands, which the wife, being espoused a virgin, has for her dower, after the decease of her husband. This is various in different manors, according to their respective customs.

King's bench in England, a court in which the king formerly sat in person, and which accompanied his household. The court consists of the Lord Chief Justice, and three other justices, who have jurisdiction over all matters of a criminal or public nature. It has a crown side and a plea side; the former determining criminal, the latter, civil causes.

BENCH, verb transitive To furnish with benches.

1. To seat on a bench

2. verb intransitive To sit on a seat of justice.

Bencher

BENCH'ER, noun In England, the benchers in the inns of court, are the senior members of the society who have the government of it. They have been readers, and being admitted to please within the bar, are called inner barristers. They annually elect a treasurer.

1. The alderman of a corporation.

2. A judge.

Bend

BEND, [Latin pando, pandare, to bend in; pando, pandere, to open; pandus, bent, crooked]

1. To strain, or to crook by straining; as, to bend a bow.

2. To crook; to make crooked; to curve; to inflect; as, to bend the arm.

3. To direct to a certain point; as, to bend our steps or course to a particular place.

4. To exert; to apply closely; to exercise laboriously; to intend or stretch; as, to bend the mind to study.

5. To prepare or put in order for use; to stretch or strain.

He hath bent his bow and made it ready. Psalms 7:1.

6. To incline; to be determined; that is, to stretch towards, or cause to tend; as, to be bent on mischief.

7. To subdue; to cause to yield; to make submissive; as, to bend a man to our will.

8. In seamanship, to fasten, as one rope to another or to an anchor; to fasten, as a sail to its yard or stay; to fasten, as a cable to the ring of an anchor.

9. To bend the brow, is to knit the brow; to scowl; to frown.

BEND, verb intransitive To be crooked; to crook, or be curving.

1. To incline; to lean or turn; as, a road bends to the west.

2. To jut over; as a bending cliff.

3. To resolve, or determine.[See Bent on.]

4. To bow or be submissive. Isaiah 60:1.

BEND, noun A curve; a crook; a turn in a road or river; flexure; incurvation.

1. In marine language, that part of a rope which is fastened to another or to an anchor. [See To bend No.8.]

2. Bends of a ship, are the thickest and strongest planks in her sides, more generally called wales. They are reckoned from the water, first, second or third bend They have the beams, knees, and foot hooks bolted to them, and are the chief strength of the ship's sides.

3. In heraldry, one of the nine honorable ordinaries, containing a third part of the field, when charged, and a fifth, when plain. It is made by two lines drawn across from the dexter chief, to the sinister base point. It sometimes is indented, ingrained, etc.

BEND, noun A band. [Not in use.]

Bendable

BEND'ABLE, adjective That may be bent or incurvated.

Bended

BEND'ED

BEND'ER, noun The person who bends, or makes crooked; also, an instrument for bending other things.

Bender

BEND'ER, n. The person who bends, or makes crooked; also, an instrument for bending other things.

Bending

BEND'ING, participle present tense Incurvating; forming into a curve; stooping subduing; turning as a road or river; inclining; leaning; applying closely, as the mind; fastening.

Bendlet

BEND'LET, noun In heraldry, a little bend, which occupies a sixth part of a shield.

BEND'-WITH, noun A plant.

Bendy

BEND'Y, noun In heraldry, the field divided into four, six or more parts, diagonally, and varying in metal and color.

Bene

BENE, noun ben'y. The popular name of the sesamum orientale, called in the West Indies vangloe, an African plant.

Beneaped

BENE'APED, adjective [be and neap.] Among seamen, a ship is beneaped when the water does not flow high enough to float her from a dock or over a bar.

Beneath

BENE'ATH, preposition

1. Under; lower in place, with something directly over or on, as to place a cushion beneath one; often with the sense of pressure or oppression, as to sink beneath a burden, in a literal sense.

2. Under, in a figurative sense; bearing heavy impositions, as taxes, or oppressive government.

Our country sinks beneath the yoke.

3. Lower in rank, dignity or excellence; as, brutes are beneath man; ; man is beneath angels, in the seale of beings.

4. Unworthy of; unbecoming; not equal to; as, he will do nothing beneath his station or character.

BENE'ATH, adverb In a lower place; as, the earth from beneath will be barren.

1. Below, as opposed to heaven, or to any superior region; as, in heaven above, or in earth beneath

Benedict

BEN'EDICT, adjective [Latin benedictus.] Having mild and salubrious qualities. [ Not in use.]

Benedictine

BENEDIC'TINE, adjective Pertaining to the order or monks of St. Benedict, or St. Benet.

Benedictines

BENEDIC'TINES, noun An order of monks, who profess to follow the rules of St. Benedict; an order of great celebrity. They wear a loose black gown, with large wide sleeves, and a cowl on the head, ending in a point. In the canon law, they are called black

friars.

Benediction

BENEDIC'TION, noun [Latin benedictio, from bene, well, and dictio, speaking. See Boon and Diction.]

1. The act of blessing; a giving praise to God or rendering thanks for his favors; a blessing pronounced; hence grace before and after meals.

2. Blessing, prayer, or kind wishes, uttered in favor of any person or thing; a solemn or affectionate invocation of happiness; thanks; expression of gratitude.

3. The advantage conferred by blessing.

4. The form of instituting an abbot, answering to the consecration of a bishop.

5. The external ceremony performed by a priest in the office of matrimony is called the nuptial benediction

6. In the Romish Church, an ecclesiastical ceremony by which a thing is rendered sacred or venerable.

Benefaction

BENEFAC'TION, noun [Latin benefacio, of bene, well, and facio, to make or do.]

1. The act of conferring a benefit.

More generally,

2. A benefit conferred, especially a charitable donation.

Benefactor

BENEFAC'TOR, noun He who confers a benefit, especially one who makes charitable contributions either for public institutions or for private use.

Benefactress

BENEFAC'TRESS, noun A female who confers a benefit.

Benefice

BEN'EFICE, noun [Latin beneficium.]

1. Literally, a benefit, advantage or kindness. But in present usage, en ecclesiastical living; a church endowed with a revenue, for the maintenance of divine service, or the revenue itself. All church preferments are called benefices, except bishoprics, which are called dignities. But ordinarily, the term dignity is applied to bishoprics, deaneries, arch-deaconries, and prebendaries; and benefice to parsonages, vicarages, and donatives.

2. In the middle ages, benefice was used for a fee, or an estate in lands, granted at first for like only, and held ex mero beneficio of the donor. The estate afterwards becoming hereditary, took the appellation of feud, and benefice became appropriated to church livings.

Beneficed

BEN'EFICED, adjective Possessed of a benefice or church preferment.

Beneficeless

BEN'EFICELESS, adjective Having no benefice. [Not used.]

Beneficence

BENEF'ICENCE, noun [Latin beneficentia, from the participle of benefacio.] The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity.

Beneficent

BENEF'ICENT, adjective Doing good; performing acts of kindness and charity. It differs from benign, as the act from the disposition; beneficence being benignity or kindness exerted in action.

Beneficently

BENEF'ICENTLY, adverb In a beneficent manner.

Beneficial

BENEFI'CIAL, adjective Advantageous; conferring benefits; useful; profitable; helpful; contributing to a valuable end; followed by to; as, industry is beneficial to the body, as well as to the property.

1. Receiving or entitled to have or receive advantage, use or benefit; as the beneficial owner of an estate.

Beneficially

BENEFI'CIALLY, adverb Advantageously; profitably; helpfully.

Beneficialness

BENEFI'CIALNESS, noun Usefulness; profitableness.

Beneficiary

BENEFI'CIARY, adjective [Latin beneficiarius. See Benefaction.]

Holding some office or valuable possession, in subordination to another; having a dependent and secondary possession.

BENEFI'CIARY, noun One who holds a benefice. A beneficiary is not the proprietor of the revenues of his church; but he has the administration of them, without being accountable to any person. The word was used, in the middle ages, for a feudatory, or vassal.

1. One who receives any thing as a gift, or is maintained by charity.

Beneficiency

BENEFI'CIENCY, noun Kindness or favor bestowed.

Beneficient

BENEFI'CIENT, adjective Doing good.

Benefit

BEN'EFIT, noun [Primarily from Latin beneficium, or benefactum.]

1. An act of kindness; a favor conferred.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalms 103:2.

2. Advantage; profit; a word of extensive use, and expressing whatever contributes to promote prosperity and personal happiness, or add value to property.

Men have no right to what is not for their benefit

3. In law, benefit of clergy. [See Clergy.]

BEN'EFIT, verb transitive To do good to; to advantage; to advance in health, or prosperity; applied either to persons or things; as, exercise benefits health; trade benefits a nation.

BEN'EFIT, verb intransitive To gain advantage; to make improvement; as, he has benefited by good advice; that is, he has been benefited.

Benefited

BEN'EFITED, participle passive Profited; having received benefit.

Benefiting

BEN'EFITING, participle present tense Doing good to; profiting; gaining advantage.

Beneme

BENE'ME, verb transitive To name. [Not in use.]

1. To promise; to give. [Not in use.]

Benempne

BENEMP'NE, verb transitive To name. [Not in use.]

Beneplaciture

BENEPLAC'ITURE, noun [Latin beneplacitum, bene, well, and placitum, from placeo, to please.]

Will; choice. [Not in use.]

Benet

BENET', verb transitive [be and net.] To catch in a net; to ensnare. [Not used.]

Benevolence

BENEV'OLENCE, noun [Latin benevolentia, of bene, well and volo, to will or wish. See Will.]

1. The disposition to do good; good will; kindness; charitableness; the love, of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness.

The benevolence of God is one of his moral attributes; that attribute which delights in the happiness of intelligent beings. 'God is love.' 1 John 4:1.

2. An act of kindness; good done; charity given.

3. A species of contribution or tax illegally exacted by arbitrary kings of England.

Benevolent

BENEV'OLENT, adjective [Latin benevolens, of bene and volo.]

Having a disposition to do good; possessing love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; kind.

Benevolently

BENEV'OLENTLY, adverb In a kind manner; with good will.

Bengal

BENGAL', noun A thin stuff made of silk and hair, for women's apparel, so called from bengal in the E.Indies.

Bengalee

BENGALEE', noun The language or dialect spoken in Bengal.

Bengalese

BENGALE'SE, noun sing. and plural A native or the natives of Bengal. As.Res.7.171.

Benight

BENI'GHT, verb transitive [be and night.] To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of night.

The clouds benight the sky.

1. To overtake with night; as a benighted traveler.

2. To involve in moral darkness, or ignorance; to debar from intellectual light; as benighted nations, or heathen.

Benighted

BENI'GHTED, participle passive Involved in darkness, physical or moral; overtaken by the night.

Benign

BENI'GN, adjective beni'ne. [Latin benignus, from the same root, as bonus, bene, ancient Latin benus, Eng. boon.]

1. Kind; of a kind disposition; gracious; favorable.

Our Creator, bounteous and benign

2. Generous; liberal; as a benign benefactor.

3. Favorable; having a salutary influence; as the benign aspect of the seasons.

The benign light of revelation.

4. Wholesome; not pernicious; as a benign medicine.

5. Favorable; not malignant; as a benign disease.

Benignant

BENIG'NANT, adjective Kind; gracious; favorable.

Benignity

BENIG'NITY, noun Goodness of disposition or heart; kindness of nature; graciousness.

1. Actual goodness; beneficence.

2. Salubrity; wholesome quality; or that which tends to promote health.

Benignly

BENI'GNLY, adverb beni'nely. Favorably; ; kindly; graciously.

Benison

BEN'ISON, noun s as z. Blessing; benediction. [Nearly antiquated.]

Benjamin

BEN'JAMIN, noun A tree, the Laurus Benzoin, a native of America, called also spicebush. It grows to the height of 15 or 20 feet, with a very branchy head.

1. A gum or resin, or rather a balsam. [See Benzoin.]

Bennet

BEN'NET, noun The herb bennet or avens, known in botany by the generic term Geum.

BEN'NET FISH, noun A fish of two feet in length, caught in the African seas, having scales of a deep purple, streaked with gold.

BENT, participle passive of bend. Incurvated; inflected; inclined; prone to or having a fixed propensity; determined.

Bent on, having a fixed inclination; resolved or determined on.

BENT, noun The state of being curving, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity.

1. Declivity; as the bent of a hill. [Unusual.]

2. Inclination; disposition; a leaning or bias of mind; propensity; as the bent of the mind or will; the bent of a people towards an object. This may be natural or artificial, occasional or habitual, with indefinite degrees of strength.

3. Flexion; tendency; particular direction; as the bents and turns of a subject.

4. Application of the mind; a bending of the mind in study or investigation.

BENT

BENT'-GRASS, noun A kind of grass, called in botany, Agrostis, of several species.

Bent

BENT, participle passive Strained; incurvated; made crooked; inclined; subdued.

Benting-Time

BENT'ING-TIME, noun The time when pigeons feed on bents, before peas are ripe.

Benum

BENUM', corruptly BENUMB', verb transitive

1. To make torpid; to deprive of sensation; as, a hand or foot benummed by cold.

2. To stupify; to render inactive; as, to benum the senses.

Benummed

BENUM'MED, participle passive Rendered torpid; deprived of sensation; stupified.

Benumming

BENUM'MING, participle present tense Depriving of sensation; stupifying.

Benzoate

BEN'ZOATE, noun [See Benzoin.] A salt formed by the union of the benzoic acid with any salifiable base.

Benzoic

BENZO'IC, adjective Pertaining to benzoin.

Benzoic acid, or flowers of Benzoin, is a peculiar vegetable acid, obtained from Benzoin and other balsams, by sublimation or decoction. It is a fine light white matter in small needles; its taste pungent and bitterish, its odor slightly aromatic.

Benzoin

BENZOIN'

BEN'JAMIN, noun Gum benjamin; a concrete resinous juice flowing from the Styrax benzoin a tree of Sumatra, etc. It is properly a balsam, as it yields benzoic acid. It flows from incisions made in the stem or branches. It is solid and brittle, sometimes in yellowish white tears joined together by a brown substance, and sometimes of a uniform brown substance like resin. It has little taste, but its smell, especially when rubbed or heated, is extremely fragrant and agreeable. It is chiefly used in cosmetics and perfumes.

Bepaint

BEPA'INT, verb transitive [be and paint.] To paint; to cover with paint. [Little used.]

Bepale

BEPA'LE, verb transitive [be and pale.] To make pale. [Not in use.]

Bepinch

BEPINCH', verb transitive [be and pinch.] To mark with pinches.

Bepinched

BEPINCH'ED

BEPINCHT' , participle passive Marked with pinches.

Bepowder

BEPOW'DER, verb transitive [be and powder.] To powder; to sprinkle or cover with powder.

Bepraise

BEPRA'ISE, verb transitive [be and praise.] To praise greatly or extravagantly.

Bepurple

BEPUR'PLE, verb transitive [be and purple.] To tinge or dye with a purple color.

Bequeath

BEQUE'ATH, verb transitive [Eng.quoth.] To give or leave by will; to devise some species of property by testament; as, to bequeath an estate or a legacy.

Bequeathed

BEQUE'ATHED, participle passive Given or left by will.

Bequeathing

BEQUE'ATHING, participle present tense Giving or devising by testament.

Bequeathment

BEQUE'ATHMENT, noun The act of bequeathing; a bequest.

Bequest

BEQUEST', noun Something left by will; a legacy.

Berain

BERA'IN, verb transitive To rain upon. [Not in use.]

Berate

BERA'TE, verb transitive [be and rate.] To chide vehemently; to scold.

Berattle

BERAT'TLE, verb transitive [be and rattle.] To fill with rattling sounds or noise.

Beray

BERA'Y, verb transitive To make foul; to soil. [Not in use.]

Berberry

BER'BERRY, noun [Latin berberis.] [See Barberry.]

Bere

BERE, noun The name of a species of barley in Scotland.

Bereave

BERE'AVE, verb transitive preterit tense bereaved, bereft: participle passive bereaved, bereft.

1. To deprive; to strip; to make destitute; with of before the thing taken away.

Me have ye bereaved of my children. Genesis 42:36.

It is sometimes used without of, and is particularly applied to express the loss of friends by death.

2. To take away from.

Bereaved

BERE'AVED, participle passive Deprived; stripped and left destitute.

Bereavement

BERE'AVEMENT, noun Deprivation, particularly by the loss of a friend by death.

Bereaving

BERE'AVING, participle present tense Stripping bare; depriving.

Bereft

BEREFT', participle passive of bereave. Deprived; made destitute.

Berengarianism

BERENGA'RIANISM, noun The opinions or doctrines of Berengarius, archdeacon of St.Mary at Anjou, and of his followers, who deny the reality of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.

Berg

BERG, noun A borough; a town that sends burgesses to Parliament; a castle. [See Burg.]

Bergamot

BERG'AMOT, noun

1. A species of pear.

2. A species of citron, at first casually produced by an Italian, who grafted a citron on the stock of a bergamot pear tree. The fruit has a fine taste and smell, and its essential oil is in high esteem as a perfume. This oil is extracted from

the yellow rind of the fruit. Hence,

3. An essence or perfume from the citron thus produced.

4. A species of snuff perfumed with bergamot

5. A coarse tapestry, manufactured with flocks of wool, silk, cotton, hemp and ox or goat's hair, said to have been invented at Bergamo in Italy.

Bergander

BERG'ANDER, noun [berg, a cliff] A burrow duck; a duck that breeds in holes under cliffs.

Bergeret

BER'GERET, noun A song. [Not used.]

Bergmanite

BERG'MANITE, noun [from Bergman, the mineralogist.]

A mineral classed with scapolite, in the family of felspath. It occurs massive, with gray and red quartz in Norway. Its colors are greenish and grayish white.

Bergmaster

BERG'MASTER, noun The bailiff or chief officer among the Derbyshire miners.

Bergmote

BERG'MOTE, noun A court held on a hill in Derbyshire, in England, for deciding controversies between the miners.

Berhyme

BERHY'ME, verb transitive [be and rhyme.] To mention in rhyme or verse; used in contempt.

Berlin

BER'LIN, noun A vehicle of the chariot kind, supposed to have this name from berlin the chief city of Prussia, where it was first made, or from the Italian berlina, a sort of state or pillory, and a coach.

Berluccio

BERLUC'CIO, noun A small bird, somewhat like the yellow hammer, but less and more slender.

Berme

BERME, noun In fortification, a space of ground of three, four or five feet in width, left between the rampart and the moat or foss, designed to receive the ruins of the rampart, and prevent the earth from filling the foss. Sometimes, it is palisaded, and in Holland, it is generally planted with quick-set hedge.

Bernacle

BER'NACLE, [See Barnacle.]

Bernardine

BER'NARDINE, adjective Pertaining to St. Bernard, and the monks of the order.

Bernardins

BER'NARDINS, noun An order of monks, founded by Robert, abbot of Moleme, and reformed by St. Bernard. The order originated about the beginning of the 12th century. They wear a white robe, with a black scapulary; and when they officiate, they are clothed with a large white gown, with great sleeves, and a hood of the same color.

Berob

BEROB', verb transitive [be and rob.] To rob. [Not in use.]

Beroe

BER'OE, noun A marine animal of an oval or spherical form, nearly an inch in diameter, and divided into longitudinal ribs, like a melon.

Berried

BER'RIED, adjective Furnished with berries.

Berry

BER'RY, noun

1. A succulent or pulpy fruit, containing naked seeds. Or in more technical language, a succulent pulpy pericarp, or seed vessel, without valves, containing several seeds, which are naked, that is, which have no covering but the pulp and rind. It is commonly round or oval. This botanical definition includes the orange and other like fruits. But in popular language, berry extends only to the smaller fruits, as strawberry, gooseberry, etc., containing seeds or granules.

2. A mound. [for barrow.]

BER'RY, verb intransitive To bear or produce berries.

Berry-Bearing

BER'RY-BEARING, adjective Producing berries.

Bert

BERT [Eng.bright.] [See bright.]

Berth

BERTH, noun [from the root of bear.]

1. A station in which a ship rides at anchor, comprehending the space in which she ranges. In more familiar usage, the word signifies any situation or place, where a vessel lies or can lie, whether at anchor or at a wharf.

2. A room or apartment in a ship, where a number of officers or men mess and reside.

3. The box or place for sleeping at the sides of a cabin; the place for a hammoc, or a repository for chests, etc.

To berth in seamen's language, is to allot to each man a place for his hammoc.

Bertram

BER'TRAM, noun [Latin pyrethrum, said to be from fire, from its acrid quality.]

Bastard pellitory, a plant.

Beryl

BER'YL, noun [Latin beryllus; Eng.brilliant.]

A mineral, considered by Cleaveland as a subspecies of Emerald. Its prevailing color is green of various shades, but always pale. Its crystals are usually longer and larger than those of the precious emerald, and its structure more distinctly foliated. It is harder than the apatite, with which it has been confounded; harder and less heavy than the pycnite. The best beryls are found in Brazil, in Siberia and Ceylon, and in Dauria, on the frontiers of China. They are found in many parts of the United States.

Beryl-Crystal

BER'YL-CRYSTAL, noun A species of imperfect crystal, of a very pure, clear, and equal texture. It is always of the figure of a long and slender column, irregularly hexangular, and tapering at the top. Its color is a pale brown, of a fine transparency.

Berylline

BER'YLLINE, adjective Like a beryl; of a light or bluish green.

Besaint

BESA'INT, verb transitive [be and saint.] To make a saint. [Not in use.]

Besayle

BESA'YLE, noun A great grandfather.

If the abatement happened on the death of one's grandfather or grandmother, a writ of ayle lieth; if on the death of the great grandfather, then a writ of besayle; but if it mounts one degree higher, to the tresayle, or grandfather's grandfather, etc., the writ is called a writ of cosinage, or de consanguineo.

Bescatter

BESCAT'TER, verb transitive [be and scatter.] To scatter over. [Not used.]

Bescorn

BESCORN', verb transitive [be and scorn.] To treat with scorn; to mock at. [Not used.]

Bescratch

BESCRATCH', verb transitive [be and scratch.] To scratch; to tear with the nails. [Not in use.]

Bescrawl

BESCRAWL', verb transitive [be and scrawl.] To scrawl; to scribble over.

Bescreen

BESCREE'N, verb transitive [be and screen.] To cover with a screen; to shelter; to conceal.

Bescreened

BESCREE'NED, participle passive Covered; sheltered; concealed.

Bescribble

BESCRIB'BLE, verb transitive To scribble over.

Bescumber

BESCUM'BER, verb transitive [from cumber.] To encumber. [Not legitimate nor used.]

Besee

BESEE', verb intransitive [be and see.] To look; to mind. [Not in use.]

Beseech

BESEE'CH, verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive besought.

To entreat; to supplicate; to implore; to ask or pray with urgency; followed by a person; as, 'I Paul beseech you by the meekness of Christ, ', 2 Corinthians 10:1; or by a thing; as, I beseech your patience.

Beseecher

BESEE'CHER, noun One who beseeches.

Beseeching

BESEE'CHING, participle present tense Entreating.

Beseek

BESEE'K, verb transitive to beseech. [Not used.]

Beseem

BESEE'M, verb transitive [be and seem.] To become; to be fit for, or worthy of; to be decent for.

What form of speech or behavior beseemeth us, in our prayers to god?

Beseeming

BESEE'MING, participle present tense or adjective Becoming; fit; worthy of.

BESEE'MING, noun Comeliness.

Beseemly

BESEE'MLY, adjective Becoming; fit; suitable.

Beseen

BESEE'N, adjective Adapted; adjusted. [Not used.]

Beset

BESET', verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive beset

1. To surround; to inclose; to hem in; to besiege; as, we are beset with enemies; a city is beset with troops. Hence,

2. To press on all sides, so as to perplex; to entangle, so as to render escape difficult or impossible.

Adam sore beset replied.

3. To waylay.

4. To fall upon.

Besetting

BESET'TING, participle present tense Surrounding; besieging; waylaying.

BESET'TING, adjective Habitually attending, or pressing; as a besetting sin.

Beshine

BESHI'NE, verb transitive To shine upon. [Not used.]

Beshrew

BESHREW', verb transitive [be and shrew.] To wish a curse to; to execrate.

1. To happen ill to. [Not in use.]

Beshut

BESHUT', verb transitive To shut up. [Not used.]

Beside

BESI'DE, preposition [be and side, by the side.]

1. At the side of a person or thing; near; as, sit down beside me, or beside the stream.

2. Over and above; distinct from.

Beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed. Luke 16:26.

3. On one side; out of the regular course or order; not according to, but not contrary.

It is beside my present business to enlarge upon this speculation.

4. Out of; in a state deviating from; as, to put one beside his patience. Hence,

5. With the reciprocal pronoun, beside one's self is out of the wits or senses; out of the order of reason, or of rational beings.

Paul, thou are beside thyself. Acts 26:24.

Besidery

BESID'ERY, noun A species of pear.

Besides

BESI'DES, preposition Over and above; separate or distinct from.

And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine. Genesis 26:1.

Note. This word, though radically the same as beside, and a corruption of it, ought not to be confounded with it, for it is never used in the senses explained under beside, except in the second.

BESI'DE

BESI'DES, adverb Moreover; more than that; over and above; distinct from; not included in the number, or in what has been mentioned.

Besides, you know not what is the fate of your friend.

The men said to Lot, hast thou here any besides:Ben.19.

To all beside, as much an empty shade.

An Eugene living, as a Caesar dead.

These sentences may be considered as elliptical.

Besiege

BESIE'GE, verb transitive [be and siege.]

1. To lay siege to; to beleaguer; to beset, or surround with armed forces, for the purpose of compelling to surrender, either by famine or by violent attacks; as, to besiege a castle or city.

2. To beset; to throng round.

Besieged

BESIE'GED, participle passive Surrounded or beset with hostile troops.

Besieger

BESIE'GER, noun One who lays siege, or is employed in a siege.

Besieging

BESIE'GING, , participle present tense Laying siege; surrounding with armed forces.

BESIE'GING, adjective Surrounding in a hostile manner; employed in a siege; as a besieging army.

Besit

BESIT', verb transitive [be and sit.] To suit; to become. [Not used.]

Beslave

BESLA'VE, verb transitive To subjugate; to enslave. [Not used.]

Beslime

BESLI'ME, verb transitive To daub with slime; ; to soil. [Not used.]