Let now your bliss be turned into bale.
Spenser.
2. Evil; an evil, pernicious influence; something causing great injury. [Now chiefly poetic]
Bal·eÏar¶ic (?), a. [L. Balearicus, fr. Gr. ? the Balearic Islands.] Of or pertaining to the isles of Majorca, Minorca, Ivica, etc., in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Valencia.
Balearic crane. (Zo”l.) See Crane.
BaÏleen¶ (?), n. [F. baleine whale and whalibone, L. balaena a whale; cf. Gr. ?. ] (Zo”l. & Com.) Plates or blades of ½whalebone,¸ from two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Bal‘noidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth.
Bale¶fire· (?), n. [AS. b?lj?r the fire of the ?uneral pile; b?l fire, flame (akin to Icel. b¾l, OSlav. b?l?, white, Gr. ? bright, white, Skr. bh¾la brightness) + f?r, E. fire.] A signal fire; an alarm fire.
Sweet Teviot! on thy silver tide
The glaring balefires blaze no more.
Sir W. Scott.
Bale¶ful (?), a. [AS. bealoful. See Bale misery.] 1. Full of deadly or pernicious influence; destructive. ½Baleful enemies.¸
Shak.
Four infernal rivers that disgorge
Into the burning lake their baleful streams.
Milton.
2. Full of grief or sorrow; woeful; sad. [Archaic]
Bale¶fulÏly, adv. In a baleful manner; perniciously.
Bale¶fulÏness, n. The quality or state of being baleful.
ØBal¶iÏsa·ur (?), n. [Hind.] (Zo”l.) A badgerlike animal of India (Arcionyx collaris).
Bal¶isÏter (?), n. [OF. balestre. See Ballista.] A crossbow. [Obs.]
Blount.
Bal¶isÏtoid (?), a. (Zo”l.) Like a fish of the genus Balistes; of the family Balistid‘. See Filefish.
ØBal·isÏtra¶riÏa (?), n. [LL.] (Anc. Fort.) A narrow opening, often cruciform, through which arrows might be discharged.
ØBaÏlize¶ (?), n. [F. balise; cf. Sp. balisa.] A pole or a frame raised as a sea beacon or a landmark.
Balk (?), n. [AS. balca beam, ridge; akin to Icel. b¾lkr partition, bj¾lki beam, OS. balko, G. balken; cf. Gael. balc ridge of earth between two furrows. Cf. Balcony, Balk, v.i., 3d Bulk.] 1. A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside.
Bad plowmen made balks of such ground.
Fuller.
2. A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tieÐbeam ?f a house. The loft above was called ½the balks.¸
Tubs hanging in the balks.
Chaucer.
3. (Mil.) One of the beams connecting the successive supports of a trestle bridge or bateau bridge.
4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
A balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker.
South.
5. A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.
6. (Baseball) A deceptive gesture of the pitcher, as if to deliver the ball.
Balk line (Billiards), a line across a billiard table near one end, marking a limit within which the cue balls are placed in beginning a game; also, a line around the table, parallel to the sides, used in playing a particular game, called the balk line game.
Balk, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Balked (?); p.pr. & vb.n. Balking.] [From Balk a beam; orig. to put a balk or beam in one's way, in order to stop or hinder. Cf., for sense 2, AS. on balcan legan to lay in heaps.]
1. To leave or make balks in. [Obs.]
Gower.
2. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles. [Obs.]
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,
Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see.
Shak.
3. To omit, miss, or overlook by chance. [Obs.]
4. To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to let go by; to shirk. [Obs. or Obsolescent]
By reason of the contagion then in London, we balked the ?nns.
Evelyn.
Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat.
Bp. Hall.
Nor doth he any creature balk,
But lays on all he meeteth.
Drayton.
5. To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to ?hwart; as, to balk expectation.
They shall not balk my entrance.
Byron.
Balk, v.i. 1. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition. [Obs.]
In strifeful terms with him to balk.
Spenser.
2. To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to stop short; to swerve; as, the horse balks.
µ This has been regarded as an Americanism, but it occurs in Spenser's ½Fa‰rie Queene,¸ Book IV., 10, xxv.
Ne ever ought but of their true loves talkt,
Ne ever for rebuke or blame of any balkt.
Balk, v.i. [Prob. from D. balken to bray, bawl.] To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.
Balk¶er (?), n. [See 2d Balk.] One who, or that which balks.
Balk¶er (?), n. [See last Balk.] A person who stands on a rock or eminence to espy the shoals of herring, etc., and to give notice to the men in boats which way they pass; a conder; a huer.
Bale¶ingÏly, adv. In manner to balk or frustrate.
Balk¶ish, a. Uneven; ridgy. [R.]
Holinshed.
Balk¶y (?), a. Apt to balk; as, a balky horse.
Ball (?), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. b”llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st Bale, n., Pallmall.] 1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow.
2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.
3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See Baseball, and Football.
4. Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rif?e ball; Ð often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.
5. (Pirotechnics & Mil.) A flaming, roundish body shot into the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench; as, a fire ball; a stink ball.
6. (Print.) A leatherÐcovered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; Ð formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.
7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.
8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus.
White.
9. The globe or earth.
Pope.
Move round the dark terrestrial ball.
Addison.
Ball and socket joint, a joint in which a ball moves within a socket, so as to admit of motion in every direction within certain limits. Ð Ball bearings, a mechanical device for lessening the friction of axle bearings by means of small loose metal balls. Ð Ball cartridge, a cartridge containing a ball, as distinguished from a blank cartridge, containing only powder. Ð Ball cock, a faucet or valve which is opened or closed by the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at the end of a lever. Ð Ball gudgeon, a pivot of a spherical form, which permits lateral deflection of the arbor or shaft, while retaining the pivot in its socket. Knight. Ð Ball lever, the lever used in a ball cock. Ð Ball of the eye, the eye itself, as distinguished from its lids and socket; Ð formerly, the pupil of the eye. Ð Ball valve (Mach.), a contrivance by which a ball, placed in a circular cup with a hole in its bottom, operates as a valve. Ð Ball vein (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles. Ð Three balls, or Three golden balls, a pawnbroker's sign or shop.
Syn.Ð See Globe.
Ball, v.i. [imp. & p.p. Balled (?); p.pr. & vb.n. Balling.] To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls; as, the horse balls; the snow balls.
Ball, v.t. 1. (Metal.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
2. To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.
Ball, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. ? to toss or throw, or ?, ?, to leap, bound, ? to dance, jump about; or cf. 1st Ball, n.] A social assembly for the purpose of dancing.
Bal¶lad (?), n. [OE. balade, OF. balade, F. ballade, fr. Pr. ballada a dancing song, fr. ballare to dance; cf. It. ballata. See 2d Ball, n., and Ballet.] A popular kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; as, the ballad of Chevy Chase; esp., a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas.
Bal¶lad, v.i. To make or sing ballads. [Obs.]
Bal¶lad, v.t. To make mention of in ballads. [Obs.]
BalÏlade¶ (?), n. [See Ballad, n.] A form of French versification, sometimes imitated in English, in which three or four rhymes recur through three stanzas of eight or ten lines each, the stanzas concluding with a refrain, and the whole poem with an envoy.
Bal¶ladÏer (?), n. A writer of ballads.
Bal¶lad mon·ger (?). [See Monger.] A seller or maker of ballads; a poetaster.
Shak.
Bal¶ladÏry (?), n. [From Ballad, n. ] Ballad poems; the subject or style of ballads. ½Base balladry is so beloved.¸
Drayton.
Bal¶laÏhoo, Bal¶laÏhou } (?), n. A fastÐsailing schooner, used in the Bermudas and West Indies.
Bal¶laÏrag (?), v.i. [Corrupted fr. bullirag.] To bully; to threaten. [Low]
T. Warton.
Bal¶last (?), n. [D. ballast; akin to Dan. baglast, ballast, OSw. barlast, Sw. ballast. The first part is perh. the same word as E. bare, adj.; the second is last a burden, and hence the meaning a bare, or mere, load. See Bare, a., and Last load.] 1. (Naut.) Any heavy substance, as stone, iron, etc., put into the hold to sink a vessel in the water to such a depth as to prevent capsizing.
2. Any heavy matter put into the car of a balloon to give it steadiness.
3. Gravel, broken stone, etc., laid in the bed of a railroad to make it firm and solid.
4. The larger solids, as broken stone or gravel, used in making concrete.
5. Fig.: That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security.
It [piety] is the right ballast of prosperity.
Barrow.
Ballast engine, a steam engine used in excavating and for digging and raising stones and gravel for ballast. Ð Ship in ballast, a ship carring only ballast.
Bal¶last, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Ballasted; p.pr. & vb.n. Ballasting.] 1. To steady, as a vessel, by putting heavy substances in the hold.
2. To fill in, as the bed of a railroad, with gravel, stone, etc., in order to make it firm and solid.
3. To keep steady; to steady, morally.
'T is charity must ballast the heart.
Hammond.
Bal¶lastÏage (?), n. (Law) A toll paid for the privilege of taking up ballast in a port or harbor.
Bal¶lastÏing, n. That which is used for steadying anything; ballast.
Bal¶laÏtry (?), n. See Balladry. [Obs.]
Milton.
ØBal¶let· (?), n. [F., a dim. of bal dance. See 2d Ball, n.] 1. An artistic dance performed as a theatrical entertainment, or an interlude, by a number of persons, usually women. Sometimes, a scene accompanied by pantomime and dancing.
2. The company of persons who perform the ballet.
3. (Mus.) A light part song, or madrigal, with a fa la burden or chorus, Ð most common with the Elizabethan madrigal composers.
4. (Her.) A bearing in coats of arms, representing one or more balls, which are denominated bezants, plates, etc., according to color.
Ball¶Ïflow·er (?), n. (Arch.) An ornament resembling a ball placed in a circular flower, the petals of which form a cup round it, Ð usually inserted in a hollow molding.
ØBalÏlis¶taÿ(?), n.; pl. Ballist?e (?). [L. ballista, balista, fr. Gr. ? to throw.] An ancient military engine, in the form of a crossbow, used for hurling large missiles.
Bal¶lisÏter (?), n. [L. ballista. Cf. Balister.] A crossbow. [Obs.]
BalÏlis¶tic (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to the ballista, or to the art of hurling stones or missile weapons by means of an engine.
2. Pertaining to projection, or to a projectile.
Ballistic pendulum, an instrument consisting of a mass of wood or other material suspended as a pendulum, for measuring the force and velocity of projectiles by means of the arc through which their impact impels it.
BalÏlis¶tics (?), n. [Cf. F. balistique. See Ballista.] The science or art of hurling missile weapons by the use of an engine.
Whewell.
ØBal¶liÏumÿ(?),n. [LL.] See Bailey.
BalÏloon¶ÿ(?), n. [F. ballon, aug. of balle ball: cf. It. ballone. See 1st Ball, n., and cf. Pallone.] 1. A bag made of silk or other light material, and filled with hydrogen gas or heated air, so as to rise and float in the atmosphere; especially, one with a car attached for a‰rial navigation.
2. (Arch.) A ball or globe on the top of a pillar, church, etc., as at St. Paul's, in London. [R.]
3. (Chem.) A round vessel, usually with a short neck, to hold or receive whatever is distilled; a glass vessel of a spherical form.
4. (Pyrotechnics) A bomb or shell. [Obs.]
5. A game played with a large inf?ated ball. [Obs.]
6. (Engraving) The outline inclosing words represented as coming from the mouth of a pictured figure.
Air balloon, a balloon for a‰rial navigation. Ð Balloon frame (Carp.), a house frame constructed altogether of small timber. Ð Balloon net, a variety of woven lace in which the weft threads are twisted in a peculiar manner around the warp.
BalÏloon¶, v.t. To take up in, or as if in, a balloon.
BalÏloon¶, v.i. 1. To go up or voyage in a balloon.
2. To expand, or puff out, like a balloon.
BalÏlooned¶ (?),a. Swelled out like a balloon.
BalÏloon¶er (?), n. One who goes up in a balloon; an a‰ronaut.
BalÏloon¶ fish· (?). (Zo”l.) A fish of the genus Diodon or the genus Tetraodon, having the power of distending its body by taking air or water into its dilatable esophagus. See Globefish, and Bur fish.
BalÏloon¶ing, n. 1. The art or practice of managing balloons or voyaging in them.
2. (Stock Exchange) The process of temporarily raising the value of a stock, as by fictitious sales. [U.S.]
BalÏloon¶ing spi¶der (?). (Zo”l.) A spider which has the habit of rising into the air. Many kinds ( esp. species of Lycosa) do this while young by ejecting threads of silk until the force of the wind upon them carries the spider aloft.
BalÏloon¶ist, n. An a‰ronaut.
BalÏloon¶ryÿ(?), n. The art or practice of ascending in a balloon; a‰ronautics.
Bal¶lot (?), n. [F. ballotte, fr. It. ballotta. See Ball round body.]
1. Originally, a ball used for secret voting. Hence: Any printed or written ticket used in voting.
2. The act of voting by balls or written or printed ballots or tickets; the system of voting secretly by balls or by tickets.
The insufficiency of the ballot.
Dickens.
<-- p. 115 -->
3. The whole number of votes cast at an election, or in a given territory or electoral district.
Ballot box, a box for receiving ballots.
Bal¶lot (?), v.i. [imp. & p.p. Balloted; p.pr. & vb. n. Balloting.] [F. ballotter to toss, to ballot, or It. ballottare. See Ballot, n.] To vote or decide by ballot; as, to ballot for a candidate.
Bal¶lot, v.t. To vote for or in opposition to.
None of the competitors arriving to a sufficient number of balls, they fell to ballot some others.
Sir H. Wotton.
Bal¶loÏtade· (?), n. [F. ballottade, fr. ballotter to toss. See Ballot, v.i.] (Man.) A leap of a horse, as between two pillars, or upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking out.
Bal·loÏta¶tion (?), n. Voting by ballot. [Obs.]
Sir H. Wotton.
Bal¶lotÏer (?), n. One who votes by ballot.
Bal¶loÏtin (?),n. [F.] An officer who has charge of a ballot box. [Obs.]
Harrington.
Bal¶low (?),n. A cudgel. [Obs.]
Shak.
Ball¶proof· (?), a. Incapable of being penetrated by balls from firearms.
Ball¶room· (?), n. A room for balls or dancing.
Balm (?), n. [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F. baume, L. balsamum balsam, from Gr. ?; perhaps of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. b¾s¾m. Cf. Balsam.]
1. (Bot.) An aromatic plant of the genus Melissa.
2. The resinous and aromatic exudation of certain trees or shrubs.
Dryden.
3. Any fragrant ointment.
Shak.
4. Anything that heals or that mitigates pain. ½Balm for each ill.¸
Mrs. Hemans.
Balm cricket (Zo”l.), the European cicada. Tennyson. Ð Balm of Gilead (Bot.), a small evergreen African and Asiatic tree of the terebinthine family (Balsamodendron Gileadense). Its leaves yield, when bruised, a strong aromatic scent; and from this tree is obtained the balm of Gilead of the shops, or balsam of Mecca. This has a yellowish or greenish color, a warm, bitterish, aromatic taste, and a fragrant smell. It is valued as an unguent and cosmetic by the Turks. The fragrant herb Dracocephalum Canariense is familiarly called balm of Gilead, and so are the American trees, Populus balsamifera, variety candicans (balsam poplar), and Abies balsamea (balsam fir).
Balm, v.i. To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal. Hence: To soothe; to mitigate. [Archaic]
Shak.
Balm¶iÏfy (?), v. t. [Balm + Ðfy.] To render balmy. [Obs.]
Cheyne.
Balm¶iÏly, adv. In a balmy manner.
Coleridge.
BalÏmor¶al (?), n. [From Balmoral Castle, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.] 1. A long woolen petticoat, worn immediately under the dress.
2. A kind of stout walking shoe, laced in front.
A man who uses his balmorals to tread on your toes.
George Eliot.
Balm¶y (?), a. 1. Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild. ½The balmy breeze.¸
Tickell.
Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep !
Young.
2. Producing balm. ½The balmy tree.¸
Pope.
Syn. Ð Fragrant; sweetÐscented; odorous; spicy.
Bal¶neÏalÿ(?), a. [L. balneum bath.] Of or pertaining to a bath.
Howell.
Bal¶neÏaÏry (?), n. [L. balnearium, fr. balneum bath.] A bathing room.
Sir T. Browne.
Bal·neÏa¶tion (?), n. [LL. balneare to bathe, fr. L. balneum bath.] The act of bathing. [R.]
Bal¶neÏaÏtoÏry (?), a. [L. balneatorius.] Belonging to a bath. [Obs.]
Bal·neÏog¶raÏphy (?), n. [L. balneum bath + Ðgraphy.] A description of baths.
Bal·neÏol¶oÏgy (?), n. [L. balneum bath + Ðlogy.] A treatise on baths; the science of bathing.
Bal·neÏoÏther¶aÏpy (?), n. [L. balneum bath + Gr. ? to heal.] The treatment of disease by baths.
Bal¶oÏtade· (?), n. See Ballotade.
ØBal¶sa (?), n. [Sp. or Pg. balsa.] (Naut.) A raft or float, used principally on the Pacific coast of South America.
Bal¶sam (?), n. [L. balsamum the balsam tree or its resin, Gr. ?. See Balm, n.] 1. A resin containing more or less of an essential o? volatile oil.
µ The balsams are aromatic resinous substances, flowing spontaneously r by incision from certain plants. A great variety of substances pass under this name, but the term is now usually restricted to resins which, in addition to a volatile oil, contain benzoic and cinnamic acid. Among the true balsams are the balm of Gilead, and the balsams of copaiba, Peru, and Tolu. There are also many pharmaceutical preparations and resinous substances, possessed of a balsamic smell, to which the name balsam has been given.
2. (Bot.) (a) A species of tree (Abies balsamea). (b) An annual garden plant (Impatiens balsamina) with beautiful flowers; balsamine.
3. Anything that heals, soothes, or restores.
Was not the people's blessing a balsam to thy blood?
Tennyson.
Balsam apple (Bot.), an East Indian plant ( Momordica balsamina), of the gourd family, with red or orangeÐyellow cucumberÐshaped fruit of the size of a walnut, used as a vulnerary, and in liniments and poultices. ÐBalsam fir (Bot.), the American coniferous tree, Abies balsamea, from which the useful Canada balsam is derived. Ð Balsam of copaiba. See Copaiba. Ð Balsam of Mecca, balm of Gilead. Ð Balsam of Peru, a reddish brown, syrupy balsam, obtained from a Central American tree ( Myroxylon Pereir‘ and used as a stomachic and expectorant, and in the treatment of ulcers, etc. It was long supposed to be a product of Peru. Ð Balsam of Tolu, a reddish or yellowish brown semisolid or solid balsam, obtained from a South American tree ( Myxoxylon toluiferum.). It is highly fragrant, and is used as a stomachic and expectorant. Ð Balsam tree, any tree from which balsam is obtained, esp. the Abies balsamea. Ð Canada balsam, Balsam of fir, Canada turpentine, a yellowish, viscid liquid, which, by time and exposure, becomes a transparent solid mass. It is obtained from the balm of Gilead (or balsam) fir (Abies balsamea) by breaking the vesicles upon the trunk and branches. See Balm.
Bal¶sam (?), v.t. To treat or anoint with balsam; to relieve, as with balsam; to render balsamic.
Bal·samÏa¶tionÿ(?), n. 1. The act of imparting balsamic properties.
2. The art or process of embalming.
BalÏsam¶icÿ(?), BalÏsam¶icÏalÿ(?), } a. [Cf. F. balsamique.] Having the qualities of balsam; containing, or resembling, balsam; soft; mitigative; soothing; restorative.
Bal·samÏif¶erÏous (?), a. [Balsam + Ðferous.] Producing balsam.
Bal¶samÏineÿ(?), n. [Cf. F. balsamine, fr. Gr. ? balsam plant.] (Bot.) The Impatiens balsamina, or garden balsam.
Bal¶samÏous (?), a. Having the quality of balsam; containing balsam. ½A balsamous substance.¸
Sterne.
Bal¶terÿ(?), v. t. [Etymol. uncertain. Cf. Bloodboltered.] To stick together.[Obs.]
Holland.
Bal¶tic (?), a. [NL. mare Balticum, fr. L. balteus belt, from certain straits or channels surrounding its isles, called belts. See Belt.] Of or pertaining to the sea which separates Norway and Sweden from Jutland, Denmark, and Germany; situated on the Baltic Sea.
Bal¶tiÏmore bird· (?). Bal¶tiÏmore o¶riÏoleÿ(?). } (Zo”l.) A common American bird (Icterus galbula), named after Lord Baltimore, because its colors (black and orange red) are like those of his coat of arms; Ð called also golden robin.
Bal¶usÏter (?), n. [F. balustre, It. balaustro, fr. L. balaustium the flower of the wild pomegranate, fr. Gr. ?; Ð so named from the similarity of form.] (Arch.) A row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet, as along the edge of a balcony, terrace, bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.
Bam (?), n. [Prob. a contr. of bamboozle.] An imposition; a cheat; a hoax.
Garrick.
To relieve the tedium? he kept plying them with all manner of bams.
Prof. Wilson.
Bam, v.t. To cheat; to wheedle. [Slang]
Foote.
ØBamÏbi¶noÿ(?), n. [It., a little boy, fr. bambo silly; cf. Gr. ?, ?, to chatter.] A child or baby; esp., a representation in art of the infant Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes.
BamÏboc·ciÏade¶ÿ(?), n. [It. bambocciata, fr. Bamboccio a nickname of Peter Van Laer, a Dutch genre painter; properly, a child, simpleton, puppet, fr. bambo silly.] (Paint.) A representation of a grotesque scene from common or rustic life.
BamÏboo¶ (?), n. [Malay bambu, mambu.] (Bot.) A plant of the family of grasses, and genus Bambusa, growing in tropical countries.
µ The most useful species is Bambusa arundinacea, which has a woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem, and grows to the height of forty feet and upward. The flowers grow in large panicles, from the joints of the stalk, placed three in a parcel, close to their receptacles. Old stalks grow to five or six inches in diameter, and are so hard and durable as to be used for building, and for all sorts of furniture, for water pipes, and for poles to support palanquins. The smaller stalks are used for walking sticks, flutes, etc.
BamÏboo¶, v.t. To flog with the bamboo.
BamÏboo¶zle (?), v.t. [Imp. & p.p. Bamboozled (?); p.pr. & vb.n. Bamboozlingÿ(?).] [Said to be of Gipsy origin.] To deceive by trickery; to cajole by confusing the senses; to hoax; to mystify; to humbug. [Colloq.]
Addison.
What oriental tomfoolery is bamboozling you?
J.H.Newman.
BamÏboo¶zler (?), n. A swindler; one who deceives by trickery. [Colloq.]
Arbuthnot.
ØBan (?), n. [AS. bann command, edict; akin to D. ban, Icel. bann, Dan. band, OHG. ban, G. bann, a public proclamation, as of interdiction or excommunication, Gr. ? to say, L. fari to speak, Skr. bhan to speak; cf. F. ban, LL. bannum, of G. origin. ?. Cf. Abandon, Fame.] 1. A public proclamation or edict; a public order or notice, mandatory or prohibitory; a summons by public proclamation.
2. (Feudal & Mil.) A calling together of the king's (esp. the French king's) vassals for military service; also, the body of vassals thus assembled or summoned. In present usage, in France and Prussia, the most effective part of the population liable to military duty and not in the standing army.
3. pl. Notice of a proposed marriage, proclaimed in church. See Banns (the common spelling in this sense).
4. An interdiction, prohibition, or proscription. ½Under ban to touch.¸
Milton.
5. A curse or anathema. ½Hecate's ban.¸
Shak.
6. A pecuniary mulct or penalty laid upon a delinquent for offending against a ban; as, a mulct paid to a bishop by one guilty of sacrilege or other crimes.
Ban of the empire (German Hist.), an imperial interdict by which political rights and privileges, as those of a prince, city, or district, were taken away.
Ban, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Banned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Banning.] [OE. bannen, bannien, to summon, curse, AS. bannan to summon; akin to Dan. bande, forbande, to curse, Sw. banna to revile, bannas to curse. See Ban an edict, and cf. Banish.] 1. To curse; to invoke evil upon.
Sir W. Scott.
2. To forbid; to interdict.
Byron.
Ban, v.i. To curse; to swear. [Obs.]
Spenser.
Ban, n. [Serv. ban; cf. Russ. & Pol. pan a master? lord, Per. ban.] An ancient title of the warden of the eastern marches of Hungary; now, a title of the viceroy of Croatia and Slavonia.
Ban¶alÿ(?), a. [F., fr. ban an ordinance.] Commonplace; trivial; hackneyed; trite.
BaÏnal¶iÏty (?), n.; pl. Banalities (?). [F. banalit‚. See Banal.] Something commonplace, hackneyed, or trivial; the commonplace, in speech.
The highest things were thus brought down to the banalities of discourse.
J. Morley.
BaÏna¶na (?), n. [Sp. banana, name of the fruit.] (Bot.) A perennial herbaceous plant of almost treelike size (Musa sapientum); also, its edible fruit. See Musa.
µ The banana has a soft, herbaceous stalk, with leaves of great length and breadth. The flowers grow in bunches, covered with a sheath of a green or purple color; the fruit is five or six inches long, and over an inch in diameter; the pulp is soft, and of a luscious taste, and is eaten either raw or cooked. This plant is a native of tropical countries, and furnishes an important article of food.
Banana bird (Zo”l.), a small American bird (Icterus leucopteryx), which feeds on the banana. Ð Banana quit (Zo”l.), a small bird of tropical America, of the genus Certhiola, allied to the creepers.
Ban¶at (?), n. [Cf. F. & G. banat. See Ban a warden.] The territory governed by a ban.
Banc (?), ØBan¶cus (?), Bank (?), } n. [OF. banc, LL. bancus. See Bank, n.] A bench; a high seat, or seat of distinction or judgment; a tribunal or court.
In banc, In banco (the ablative of bancus), In bank, in full court, or with full judicial authority; as, sittings in banc (distinguished from sittings at nini prius).
ØBan¶co (?), n. [It. See Bank.] A bank, especially that of Venice.
µ This term is used in some parts of Europe to indicate bank money, as distinguished from the current money, when this last has become depreciated.
Bandÿ(?), n. [OE. band, bond, Icel. band; akin to G., Sw., & D. band, OHG. bant, Goth. banti, Skr. bandha a binding, bandh to bind, for bhanda, bhandh, also to E. bend, bind. In sense 7, at least, it is fr. F. bande, from OHG. bant. ? See Bind, v.t., and cf. Bend, Bond, 1st Bandy.] 1. A fillet, strap, or any narrow ligament with which a thing is encircled, or fastened, or by which a number of things are tied, bound together, or confined; a fetter.
Every one's bands were loosed.
Acis xvi 26.
2. (Arch.) (a) A continuous tablet, stripe, or series of ornaments, as of carved foliage, of color, or of brickwork, etc. (b) In Gothic architecture, the molding, or suite of moldings, which encircles the pillars and small shafts.
3. That which serves as the means of union or connection between persons; a tie. ½To join in Hymen's bands.¸
Shak.
4. A linen collar or ruff worn in the 16th and 17th centuries.
5. pl. Two strips of linen hanging from the neck in front as part of a clerical, legal, or academic dress.
6. A narrow strip of cloth or other material on any article of dress, to bind, strengthen, ornament, or complete it. ½Band and gusset and seam.¸
Hood.
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