{ Bal*sam"ic (bl*sm"k or bl-; 277), Bal*sam"ic*al (&?;), } a. [Cf. F. balsamique.] Having the qualities of balsam; containing, or resembling, balsam; soft; mitigative; soothing; restorative.
Bal`sam*if"er*ous (bl`sam*f"r*s or bl`-), a. [Balsam + -ferous.] Producing balsam.
Bal"sam*ine (&?;), n. [Cf. F. balsamine, fr. Gr. balsami`nh balsam plant.] (Bot.) The Impatiens balsamina, or garden balsam.
Bal"sam*ous (&?;), a. Having the quality of balsam; containing balsam. "A balsamous substance." Sterne.
Bal"ter (&?;), 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"ti*more bird` (&?;). Bal"ti*more o"ri*ole (&?;). } (Zoöl.) 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; -- called also golden robin.
Bal"us*ter (&?;), n. [F. balustre, It. balaustro, fr. L. balaustium the flower of the wild pomegranate, fr. Gr. balay`stion; -- so named from the similarity of form.] (Arch.) A small column or pilaster, used as a support to the rail of an open parapet, to guard the side of a staircase, or the front of a gallery. See Balustrade. [Corrupted into banister.]
Bal"us*tered (-trd), a. Having balusters. Dryden.
Bal"us*trade` (-trd`), n. [F. balustrade, It. balaustrata fr. balaustro. See Baluster.] (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 (bm), 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.
||Bam*bi"no (bäm*b"n), n. [It., a little boy, fr. bambo silly; cf. Gr. bambali`zein, bambai`nein, to chatter.] A child or baby; esp., a representation in art of the infant Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Bam*boc`ci*ade" (&?;), 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.
Bam*boo" (bm*b"), n. [Malay bambu, mambu.] (Bot.) A plant of the family of grasses, and genus Bambusa, growing in tropical countries.
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.
Bam*boo", v. t. To flog with the bamboo.
Bam*boo"zle (-z'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bamboozled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bamboozling (&?;).] [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.
Bam*boo"zler (bm*b"zlr), n. A swindler; one who deceives by trickery. [Colloq.] Arbuthnot.
||Ban (bn), n. A kind of fine muslin, made in the East Indies from the fiber of the banana leaf stalks.
Ban (bn), 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. fa`nai to say, L. fari to speak, Skr. bhan to speak; cf. F. ban, LL. bannum, of G. origin. √86. 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).