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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



173 words match “BRITISH”

BUDGET n.
The annual financial statement which the British chancellor of the exchequer makes in the House of Commons. It comprehends a general view of the finances of the country, with the proposed plan of taxation for the ensuing year. The term is sometimes applied to a similar statement in other countries. To open the budget,…
BUSBY n.
A military headdress or cap, used in the British army. It is of fur, with a bag, of the same color as the facings of the regiment, hanging from the top over the right shoulder.
CAIRN n.
A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument. Now here let us place the gray stone of her cairn. Campbell.
CANADA n.
A British province in North America, giving its name to various plants and animals. Canada balsam. See under Balsam. -- Canada goose. (Zoöl.) See Whisky Jack. -- Canada lynx. (Zoöl.) See Lynx. -- Canada porcupine (Zoöl.) See Porcupine, and Urson. -- Canada rice (Bot.) See under Rick. -- Canada robin (Zoöl.), the c…
CANARESE a.
Pertaining to Canara, a district of British India.
CANDLE FOOT n.
The illumination produced by a British standard candle at a distance of one foot; --used as a unit of illumination.
CARTER n.
A British fish; the whiff.
CAVE n.
elling place was a cave. Tylor. -- Cave hyena (Zoöl.), a fossil hyena found abundanty in British caves, now usually regarded as a large variety of the living African spotted hyena. -- Cave lion (Zoöl.), a fossil lion found in the caves of Europe, believed to be a large variety of the African lion. -- Bone cave. See…
CHANNEL n.
A strait, or narrow sea, between two portions of lands; as, the British Channel.
CLOSURE n.
body. It is similar in effect to the previous question. It was first introduced into the British House of Commons in 1882. The French word clôture was originally applied to this proceeding.
COLDFINCH n.
A British wagtail.
COLONY n.
ovince or country, and remaining subject to the jurisdiction of the parent state; as, the British colonies in America. The first settlers of New England were the best of Englishmen, well educated, devout Christians, and zealous lovers of liberty. There was never a colony formed of better materials. Ames.…
COMMONS n.
The House of Commons, or lower house of the British Parliament, consisting of representatives elected by the qualified voters of counties, boroughs, and universities. It is agreed that the Commons were no part of the great council till some ages after the Conquest. Hume.
CONGRESS n.
cted for three years. The Continental Congress, an assembly of deputies from the thirteen British colonies in America, appointed to deliberate in respect to their common interests. They first met in 1774, and from time thereafter until near the close of the Revolution. -- The Federal Congress, the assembly of represen…
CONSOLIDATED p.
esigned for very dry regions; in such only they are found. Gray. The Consolidated Fund, a British fund formed by consolidating (in 1787) three public funds (the Aggregate Fund, the General Fund, and the South Sea Fund). In 1816, the larger part of the revenues of Great Britian and Ireland was assigned to what has been…
CONSOLS n.
The leading British funded government security.
CONTINENTAL SYSTEM n.
d by the Berlin decree, which Napoleon I. issued from Berlin Nov. 21, 1806, declaring the British Isles to be in a state of blockade, and British subjects, property, and merchandise subject to capture, and excluding British ships from all parts of Europe under French dominion. The retaliatory measures of England were f…
CORDITE n.
smokeless powder composed of nitroglycerin, guncotton, and mineral jelly, and used by the British army and in other services. In making it the ingredients are mixed into a paste with the addition of acetone and pressed out into cords (of various diameters) resembling brown twine, which are dried and cut to length. A v…
CORNET n.
The lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, who carried the standard. The office was abolished in 1871.
COUNTESS n.
The wife of an earl in the British peerage, or of a count in the Continental nobility; also, a lady possessed of the same dignity in her own right. See the Note under Count.
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