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A letter patent, from proper authority, authorizing a collection or charitable contribution of money in churches, for any public or private purpose. [Eng.] Apostolical brief, a letter of the pope written on fine parchment in modern characters, subscribed by the secretary of briefs, dated "a die Nativitatis," i. e., "fr…

ie to). (c) To cause (a vessel) to lie to, as by firing across her course. (d) To apply a rope to the capstan. -- To bring to light, to disclose; to discover; to make clear; to reveal. -- To bring a sail to (Naut.), to bend it to the yard. -- To bring to pass, to accomplish to effect. "Trust also in Him; and He shal…

formed by heating dry starch at a temperature of about 600° Fahr. It corresponds, in its properties, to dextrin, and is used, in solution, as a substitute for gum in stiffering goods. -- British lion, the national emblem of Great Britain. -- British seas, the four seas which surround Great Britain.

Separated into parts or pieces by violence; divided into fragments; as, a broken chain or rope; a broken dish.

making brooms to sweep with when bound together; esp., the Cytisus scoparius of Western Europe, which is a low shrub with long, straight, green, angular branches, mintue leaves, and large yellow flowers. No gypsy cowered o'er fires of furze and broom. Wordsworth.

A genus (Orobanche) of parasitic plants of Europe and Asia. They are destitute of chlorophyll, have scales instead of leaves, and spiked flowers, and grow attached to the roots of other plants, as furze, clover, flax, wild carrot, etc. The name is sometimes applied to other plants related to this genus, as Aphyllon uni…

great injury to domestic animals, often killing large numbers of cattle and horses. In Europe the Columbatz fly is a species with similar habits. -- Buffalo grass (Bot.), a species of short, sweet grass (Buchloë dactyloides), from two to four inches high, covering the prairies on which the buffaloes, or bisons, feed.…

int family and genus Lycopus; esp. L. Virginicus, which has mild narcotic and astringent properties, and is sometimes used as a remedy for hemorrhage.

. -- Bull stag, a castrated bull. See Stag. -- Bull wheel, a wheel, or drum, on which a rope is wound for lifting heavy articles, as logs, the tools in well boring, etc.

A small European plum (Prunus communis, var. insitita). See Plum.

A scaraboid beetle; esp. the Typhæus vulgaris of Europe.

s Pyrrhula and other related genera, especially the P. vulgaris or rubicilla, a bird of Europe allied to the grosbeak, having the breast, cheeks, and neck, red.

A fresh-water fish of many species, of the genus Uranidea, esp. U. gobio of Europe, and U. Richardsoni of the United States; -- called also miller's thumb.

ing of the nature of a bull, or a blunder. Let me inform you, a toothless satire is as improper as a toothed sleek stone, and as bullish. Milton.

A collection, cluster, or tuft, properly of things of the same kind, growing or fastened together; as, a bunch of grapes; a bunch of keys.

One of the ropes toggled to the footrope of a sail, used to haul up to the yard the body of the sail when taking it in. Totten.

The property of floating on the surface of a liquid, or in a fluid, as in the atmosphere; specific lightness, which is inversely as the weight compared with that of an equal volume of water.

To injure by fire or heat; to change destructively some property or properties of, by undue exposure to fire or heat; to scorch; to scald; to blister; to singe; to char; to sear; as, to burn steel in forging; to burn one's face in the sun; the sun burns the grass.

An exchange, for merchants and bankers, in the cities of continental Europe. Same as Bourse.

A shrub or branch, properly, a branch of ivy (as sacred to Bacchus), hung out at vintners' doors, or as a tavern sign; hence, a tavern sign, and symbolically, the tavern itself. If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 't is true that a good play needs no epilogue. Shak.