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Wrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister; as, the awk end of a rod (the but end). [Obs.] Golding.

ting dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments; not dexterous; without skill; clumsy; wanting ease, grace, or effectiveness in movement; ungraceful; as, he was awkward at a trick; an awkward boy. And dropped an awkward courtesy. Dryden.

A borosilicate of alumina, iron, and lime, commonly found in glassy, brown crystals with acute edges.

-- Axis of a balance, that line about which it turns. -- Axis of oscillation, of a pendulum, a right line passing through the center about which it vibrates, and perpendicular to the plane of vibration. -- Axis of polarization, the central line around which the prismatic rings or curves are arranged. Brewster. -- A…

A kind of plum cake.

One who backbites; a secret calumniator or detractor.

The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column.

The annular molding or group of moldings dividing a long shaft or clustered column into two or more parts.

A paragraph describing something wonderful, used to fill out a newspaper column; -- an allusion to the miracle of Balaam's ass speaking. Numb. xxii. 30. [Cant] Balaam basket or box (Print.), the receptacle for rejected articles. Blackw. Mag.

e thermometer, a thermometer mounted as a balance so that the movement of the mercurial column changes the indication of the tube. With the aid of electrical or mechanical devices adapted to it, it is used for the automatic regulation of the temperature of rooms warmed artificially, and as a fire alarm. -- Balance of…

heel which regulates the beats or pulses of a watch or chronometer, answering to the pendulum of a clock; -- often called simply a balance.

A structure in form of a canopy, sometimes supported by columns, and sometimes suspended from the roof or projecting from the wall; generally placed over an altar; as, the baldachin in St. Peter's.

Pertaining to projection, or to a projectile. Ballistic pendulum, an instrument consisting of a mass of wood or other material suspended as a pendulum, for measuring the force and velocity of projectiles by means of the arc through which their impact impels it.

smell. It is valued as an unguent and cosmetic by the Turks. The fragrant herb Dracocephalum Canariense is familiarly called balm of Gilead, and so are the American trees, Populus balsamifera, variety candicans (balsam poplar), and Abies balsamea (balsam fir).

A small band or fillet; any little band or flat molding, compassing a column, like a ring. Gwilt.

ube about 34 inches long with mercury and inverting it in a cup containing mercury. The column of mercury in the tube descends until balanced by the weight of the atmosphere, and its rise or fall under varying conditions is a measure of the change in the atmospheric pressure. At the sea level its ordinary height is abo…

s or silver bulb. In a later variety, called the liquid barretter, wire is replace by a column of liquid in a very fine capillary tube.

In the form of basalt; columnar.

The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented.

The pedestal of a column, pillar, or statue. [Obs.] If no basis bear my rising name. Pope.