Search the Dictionary

One who assists or supports another in a contest; an abettor; a backer. [Colloq.] Lord Palmerston considered himself the bottleholder of oppressed states. The London Times.

A long slender rod consisting of gelatin or some other substance that melts at the temperature of the body. It is impregnated with medicine, and designed for introduction into urethra, etc.

An appliance consisting of an elastic rod, with a number of horse hairs stretched from end to end of it, used in playing on a stringed instrument.

dge, a bridge formed of an arch of timber or iron, often braced, the thrust of which is resisted by a tie forming a chord of the arch. -- Bowstring girder, an arched beam strengthened by a tie connecting its two ends. -- Bowstring hemp (Bot.), the tenacious fiber of the Sanseviera Zeylanica, growing in India and Afri…

A kite, invented by Lawrence Hargrave, of Sydney, Australia, which consist of two light rectangular boxes, or cells open on two sides, and fastened together horizontally. Called also Hargrave, or cellular, kite.

To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd. A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced. Fairfax.

The One First Cause; also, one of the triad of Hindoo gods. The triad consists of Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Siva, the Destroyer.

To mingle, or to bring to a uniformly soft consistence, by beating, rubbing, or straining, as in some culinary operations.

Full of branches; having wide-spreading branches; consisting of branches. Beneath thy branchy bowers of thickest gloom. J. Scott.

Having the appearance of bran; consisting of or containing bran. Wiseman.

r for the arm; -- generally used for the whole arm from the shoulder to the wrist, and consisting, in the 15th and 16th centuries, of many parts.

To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.

Consisting of angular fragments cemented together; resembling breccia in appearance. The brecciated appearance of many specimens [of meteorites]. H. A. Newton.

The movable piece which closes the breech of a breech-loading firearm, and resists the backward force of the discharge. It is withdrawn for the insertion of a cartridge, and closed again before the gun is fired.

A device to measure the resistance of a wire or other conductor forming part of an electric circuit.

The head gear with which a horse is governed and restrained, consisting of a headstall, a bit, and reins, with other appendages.

A body of troops, whether cavalry, artillery, infantry, or mixed, consisting of two or more regiments, under the command of a brigadier general.

A coast of armor for the body, consisting of scales or plates, sometimes overlapping each other, generally of metal, and sewed to linen or other material. It was worn in the Middle Ages. [Written also brigantine.] Jer. xlvi. 4. Then put on all thy gorgeous arms, thy helmet, And brigandine of brass. Milton.…

A portion of the Church of England, consisting of persons who claim to hold a position, in respect to doctrine and fellowship, intermediate between the High Church party and the Low Church, or evangelical, party. The term has been applied to otherbodies of men holding liberal or comprehensive views of Christian doctrin…

A mineral consisting of titanic oxide, and hence identical with rutile and octahedrite in composition, but crystallizing in the orthorhombic system.