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An axis; as, the sun's axle. Had from her axle torn The steadfast earth. Milton.

Of or relating to one of the early races in Mexico that inhabited the great plateau of that country at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1519. -- n.

and outer faces of a wall, or upon the haunches of an arch or vault. -- Back pressure. (Steam Engine) See under Pressure. -- Back rest, a guide attached to the slide rest of a lathe, and placed in contact with the work, to steady it in turning. -- Back slang, a kind of slang in which every word is written or pronoun…

similar air-fed burner, to light so that the flame proceeds from the internal gas jet instead of from the external jet of mixed gas and air. -- Back"-fir`ing, n.

Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness. Shelley's thought never had any backbone. Shairp. To the backbone, through and through; thoroughly; entirely. "Staunch to the backbone." Lord Lytton.

Water thrown back by the turning of a waterwheel, or by the paddle wheels of a steamer.

To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or irritate persistently.

ing properties of yeast. -- Baker's salt, the subcarbonate of ammonia, sometimes used instead of soda, in making bread.

The state of being in equipoise; equilibrium; even adjustment; steadiness. And hung a bottle on each side To make his balance true. Cowper. The order and balance of the country were destroyed. Buckle. English workmen completely lose their balance. J. S. Mill.

The last reef in a fore-and-aft sail, taken to steady the ship.

One of the beams connecting the successive supports of a trestle bridge or bateau bridge.

Any heavy matter put into the car of a balloon to give it steadiness.

That which is used for steadying anything; ballast.

The slope of a bank, especially of the bank of a steam.

A double-decked passenger or freight vessel, towed by a steamboat. [U.S.]

the rear of the vent. -- Base plate, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of the steam engine; the bed plate. -- Base ring (Ordnance), a projecting band of metal around the breech, connected with the body of the gun by a concave molding. H. L. Scott.

c., to water, vapor, hot air, or the like; as, a cold or a hot bath; a medicated bath; a steam bath; a hip bath.

el or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles. -- Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft. -- Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line…

ggle with (any one) to secure a lower price; to force down. [Colloq.] -- To beat into, to teach or instill, by repetition. -- To beat off, to repel or drive back. -- To beat out, to extend by hammering. -- To beat out of a thing, to cause to relinquish it, or give it up. "Nor can anything beat their posterity out of…

ifically: A sack or mattress, filled with some soft material, in distinction from the bedstead on which it is placed (as, a feather bed), or this with the bedclothes added. In a general sense, any thing or place used for sleeping or reclining on or in, as a quantity of hay, straw, leaves, or twigs. And made for him [a…