Bif"o*rous (&?;), a. [L. biforis having two doors; bis twice, two + foris door.] See Biforate.
Bi*front"ed (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + front.] Having two fronts. "Bifronted Janus." Massinger.
{ Bi*fur"cate (&?;), Bi*fur"ca*ted (&?;), } a. [Pref. bi- + furcate.] Two-pronged; forked.
Bi*fur"cate (&?;), v. i. To divide into two branches.
Bi`fur*ca"tion (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bifurcation.] A forking, or division into two branches.
Bi*fur"cous (&?;), a. [L. bifurcus; bis twice + furca fork.] See Bifurcate, a. [R.] Coles.
Big (&?;), a. [Compar. Bigger; superl. Biggest.] [Perh. from Celtic; cf. W. beichiog, beichiawg, pregnant, with child, fr. baich burden, Arm. beac'h; or cf. OE. bygly, Icel. biggiligr, (properly) habitable; (then) magnigicent, excellent, fr. OE. biggen, Icel. byggja, to dwell, build, akin to E. be.] 1. Having largeness of size; of much bulk or magnitude; of great size; large. "He's too big to go in there." Shak.
2. Great with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce; -- often figuratively.
[Day] big with the fate of Cato and of Rome.
Addison.
3. Having greatness, fullness, importance, inflation, distention, etc., whether in a good or a bad sense; as, a big heart; a big voice; big looks; to look big. As applied to looks, it indicates haughtiness or pride.
God hath not in heaven a bigger argument.
Jer. Taylor.
Big is often used in self-explaining compounds; as, big-boned; big-sounding; big-named; big- voiced.
To talk big, to talk loudly, arrogantly, or pretentiously.
I talked big to them at first.
De Foe.
Syn. -- Bulky; large; great; massive; gross.
{ Big, Bigg }, n. [OE. bif, bigge; akin to Icel. bygg, Dan. byg, Sw. bjugg.] (Bot.) Barley, especially the hardy four-rowed kind.
"Bear interchanges in local use, now with barley, now with bigg."
New English Dict.
{ Big, Bigg }, v. t. [OE. biggen, fr. Icel. byggja to inhabit, to build, b&?;a (neut.) to dwell (active) to make ready. See Boor, and Bound.] To build. [Scot. & North of Eng. Dial.] Sir W. Scott.
||Bi"ga (&?;), n. [L.] (Antiq.) A two-horse chariot.
Big"am (&?;), n. [L. bigamus twice married: cf. F. bigame. See Bigamy.] A bigamist. [Obs.]
Big"a*mist (&?;), n. [Cf. Digamist.] One who is guilty of bigamy. Ayliffe.
Big"a*mous (&?;), a. Guilty of bigamy; involving bigamy; as, a bigamous marriage.
Big"a*my (&?;), n. [OE. bigamie, fr. L. bigamus twice married; bis twice + Gr. &?; marriage; prob. akin to Skt. jmis related, and L. gemini twins, the root meaning to bind, join: cf. F. bigamie. Cf. Digamy.] (Law) The offense of marrying one person when already legally married to another. Wharton.
It is not strictly correct to call this offense bigamy: it more properly denominated polygamy, i. e., having a plurality of wives or husbands at once, and in several statutes in the United States the offense is classed under the head of polygamy.
In the canon law bigamy was the marrying of two virgins successively, or one after the death of the other, or once marrying a widow. This disqualified a man for orders, and for holding ecclesiastical offices. Shakespeare uses the word in the latter sense. Blackstone. Bouvier.
Base declension and loathed bigamy.
Shak.
{ Big`ar*reau" (&?;), Big`a*roon" (&?;), } n. [F. bigarreau, fr. bigarré variegated.] (Bot.) The large white-heart cherry.
Big"-bel`lied (&?;), a. Having a great belly; as, a big-bellied man or flagon; advanced in pregnancy.
Bi*gem"i*nate (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + geminate.] (Bot.) Having a forked petiole, and a pair of leaflets at the end of each division; biconjugate; twice paired; -- said of a decompound leaf.
Bi*gen"tial (&?;), a. [Pref. bi- + L. gens, gentis, tribe.] (Zoöl.) Including two tribes or races of men.
Big"eye` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A fish of the genus Priacanthus, remarkable for the large size of the eye.
Bigg (&?;), n. & v. See Big, n. & v.
Big"gen (&?;), v. t. & i. To make or become big; to enlarge. [Obs. or Dial.] Steele.
Big"ger (&?;), a., compar. of Big.
Big"gest (&?;), a., superl. of Big.
Big"gin (&?;), n. [F. béguin, prob. from the cap worn by the Béguines. Cf. Beguine, Biggon.] A child's cap; a hood, or something worn on the head.
An old woman's biggin for a nightcap.
Massinger.
Big"gin, n. A coffeepot with a strainer or perforated metallic vessel for holding the ground coffee, through which boiling water is poured; -- so called from Mr. Biggin, the inventor.
{ Big"gin, Big"ging, } n. [OE. bigging. See Big, Bigg, v. t.] A building. [Obs.]
{ Big"gon (&?;), Big"gon*net (&?;), } n. [F. béguin and OF. beguinet, dim of béguin. See Biggin a cap.] A cap or hood with pieces covering the ears.
||Big"ha (&?;), n. A measure of land in India, varying from a third of an acre to an acre.
Big"horn` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The Rocky Mountain sheep (Ovis or Caprovis montana).
Bight (bt), n. [OE. bit a bending; cf. Sw. & Dan. bugt bend, bay; fr. AS. byht, fr. bgan. √88. Cf. Bout, Bought a bend, and see Bow, v.] 1. A corner, bend, or angle; a hollow; as, the bight of a horse's knee; the bight of an elbow.