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

To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.

Gravel, broken stone, etc., laid in the bed of a railroad to make it firm and solid.

the system of voting secretly by balls or by tickets. The insufficiency of the ballot. Dickens.

In France, a second ballot taken after an indecisive first ballot to decide between two or several candidates.

by which political rights and privileges, as those of a prince, city, or district, were taken away.

aw by which the property of a person who is unable or unwilling to pay his debts may be taken and distributed to his creditors, and by which a person who has made a full surrender of his property, and is free from fraud, may be discharged from the legal obligation of his debts. See Insolvent, a.

hed or scantily furnished; -- used with of (rarely with in) before the thing wanting or taken away; as, a room bare of furniture. "A bare treasury." Dryden.

Same as Barkentine.

A pistol. [Slang] Dickens.

illusory advantage or benefit. Also used as an adj.: Barmecidal. "A Barmecide feast." Dickens.

s; -- so called from their resemblance to the barnacles used by farriers. [Cant, Eng.] Dickens.

Tainter with, or constituting, barratry. -- Bar"ra*trous*ly, adv. Kent.

y running away with the ship, sinking or deserting her, etc., or by embezzling the cargo. Kent. Part.

, is able to reach the first base without being put out. -- Base line. (a) A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in military operations. (b) A line traced round a cannon at the rear of the vent. -- Base plate, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of the steam engine; the bed plate. -- Base ring (Ord…

A church building of the earlier centuries of Christianity, the plan of which was taken from the basilica of the Romans. The name is still applied to some churches by way of honorary distinction.

The art of making baskets; also, baskets, taken collectively.

The language spoken by the Basque people.

s at Bath. "People walked out, or drove out, or were pushed out in their Bath chairs." Dickens. -- Bath metal, an alloy consisting of four and a half ounces of zinc and one pound of copper. -- Bath note, a folded writing paper, 8 1/2 by 14 inches. -- Bath stone, a species of limestone (oölite) found near Bath, used…

unidentified substance mentioned in the Bible (Gen. ii. 12, and Num. xi. 7), variously taken to be a gum, a precious stone, or pearls, or perhaps a kind of amber found in Arabia.