Boatswain's mate, an assistant of the boatswain. Totten.
Boat"-tail` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A large grackle or blackbird (Quiscalus major), found in the Southern United States.
Boat"wom`an (&?;), n.; pl. Boatwomen (&?;). A woman who manages a boat.
Bob (&?;), n. [An onomatopoetic word, expressing quick, jerky motion; OE. bob bunch, bobben to strike, mock, deceive. Cf. Prov. Eng. bob, n., a ball, an engine beam, bunch, blast, trick, taunt, scoff; as, a v., to dance, to courtesy, to disappoint, OF. bober to mock.] 1. Anything that hangs so as to play loosely, or with a short abrupt motion, as at the end of a string; a pendant; as, the bob at the end of a kite's tail.
In jewels dressed and at each ear a bob.
Dryden.
2. A knot of worms, or of rags, on a string, used in angling, as for eels; formerly, a worm suitable for bait.
Or yellow bobs, turned up before the plow,
Are chiefest baits, with cork and lead enow.
Lauson.
3. A small piece of cork or light wood attached to a fishing line to show when a fish is biting; a float.
4. The ball or heavy part of a pendulum; also, the ball or weight at the end of a plumb line.
5. A small wheel, made of leather, with rounded edges, used in polishing spoons, etc.