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he agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust. -- To bite in (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic plates by means of an acid. -- To bite the thumb at (any one), formerly a mark of contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. "Do you bite your thumb at us " Shak. -- To bite the tongue, to keep s…

The process of corroding or eating into metallic plates, by means of an acid. See Etch. G. Francis.

magnesia. -- Bitter principles (Chem.), a class of substances, extracted from vegetable products, having strong bitter taste but with no sharply defined chemical characteristics. -- Bitter salt, Epsom salts;; magnesium sulphate. -- Bitter vetch (Bot.), a name given to two European leguminous herbs, Vicia Orobus and…

ry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See Asphalt.

Producing bitumen. Kirwan.

Sullenly; threateningly; maliciously; so as to produce blackness.

ners died before morning from lack of air. A discipline of unlimited autocracy, upheld by rods, and ferules, and the black hole. H. Spencer.

ck guard"; also, the servants and hangers-on of an army. [Obs.] A lousy slave, that . . . rode with the black guard in the duke's carriage, 'mongst spits and dripping pans. Webster (1612).

One who blasphemes. And each blasphemer quite escape the rod, Because the insult's not on man, but God Pope.

boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast.

A sudden stroke or injury produced by some destructive cause. [Obs.] Shak.

In certain hydroids, an imperfect zooid, whose special function is to produce medusoid buds. See Hydroidea, and Athecata.

Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as, blind buds; blind flowers. Blind alley, an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac. -- Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. Knight. -- Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night. -- Blind cat (Zoöl.), a specie…

r; to cause a swelling of the surface of, from effusion of serum in the cellular tissue, producing a morbid enlargement, often accompanied with softness.

with troops or vessels or war for the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the introduction of supplies. See note under Blockade, n. "Blockaded the place by sea." Gilpin.

ystem of animals, carrying nourishment to all parts of the body, and bringing away waste products to be excreted. See under Arterial.

To produce or yield blossoms; to blossom; to flower or be in flower. A flower which once In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom. Milton.

The flower of a plant, or the essential organs of reproduction, with their appendages; florescence; bloom; the flowers of a plant, collectively; as, the blossoms and fruit of a tree; an apple tree in blossom.

A forcible stroke with the hand, fist, or some instrument, as a rod, a club, an ax, or a sword. Well struck ! there was blow for blow. Shak.

A device for producing a current of air; as: (a) A metal plate temporarily placed before the upper part of a grate or open fire. (b) A machine for producing an artificial blast or current of air by pressure, as for increasing the draft of a furnace, ventilating a building or shaft, cleansing gram, etc.…