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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



1,048 words match “SERVE”

BAR n.
Any railing that divides a room, or office, or hall of assembly, in order to reserve a space for those having special privileges; as, the bar of the House of Commons.
BARBERRY n.
fields. B. vulgaris is the species best known; its oblong red berries are made into a preserve or sauce, and have been deemed efficacious in fluxes and fevers. The bark dyes a fine yellow, esp. the bark of the root. [Also spelt berberry.]
BASE n.
A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles. Lyman.
BATHYBIUS n.
n by Prof. Huxley to a gelatinous substance found in mud dredged from the Atlantic and preserved in alcohol. He supposed that it was free living protoplasm, covering a large part of the ocean bed. It is now known that the substance is of chemical, not of organic, origin.
BAYEUX TAPESTRY n.
mbroidery representing the incidents of William the Conqueror's expedition to England, preserved in the town museum of Bayeux in Normandy. It is probably of the 11th century, and is attributed by tradition to Matilda, the Conqueror's wife.
BAYONET n.
A pin which plays in and out of holes made to receive it, and which thus serves to engage or disengage parts of the machinery. Bayonet clutch. See Clutch. -- Bayonet joint, a form of coupling similar to that by which a bayonet is fixed on the barrel of a musket. Knight.
BE n.
A prefix, originally the same word as by; joined with verbs, it serves: (a) To intensify the meaning; as, bespatter, bestir. (b) To render an intransitive verb transitive; as, befall (to fall upon); bespeak (to speak for). (c) To make the action of a verb particular or definite; as, beget (to get as offspring); beset (…
BECQUEREL RAYS n.
Radiations first observed by the French physicist Henri Becquerel, in working with uranium and its compounds. They consist of a mixture of alpha, beta, and gamma rays.
BED v.
To dress or prepare the surface of stone) so as to serve as a bed.
BELONG v.
To be deserved by. [Obs.] More evils belong us than happen to us. B. Jonson.
BELONITE n.
Minute acicular or dendritic crystalline forms sometimes observed in glassy volcanic rocks.
BEMA n.
That part of an early Christian church which was reserved for the higher clergy; the inner or eastern part of the chancel.
BESTEAD v.
To serve; to assist; to profit; to avail. Milton.
BETRAY v.
by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known. Willing to serve or betray any government for hire. Macaulay.
BETTER v.
support; to advance the interest of. [Obs.] Weapons more violent, when next we meet, May serve to better us and worse our foes. Milton.
BILIMBI; BILIMBING n.
errhoa, of the Oxalideæ or Sorrel family. They are very acid, and highly esteemed when preserved or pickled. The juice is used as a remedy for skin diseases. [Written also blimbi and blimbing.]
BILL n.
t. See Exchange. Chitty. -- Bill of fare, a written or printed enumeration of the dishes served at a public table, or of the dishes (with prices annexed) which may be ordered at a restaurant, etc. -- Bill of health, a certificate from the proper authorities as to the state of health of a ship's company at the time of…
BIND v.
To place under legal obligation to serve; to indenture; as, to bind an apprentice; -- sometimes with out; as, bound out to service. To bind over, to put under bonds to do something, as to appear at court, to keep the peace, etc. -- To bind to, to contract; as, to bind one's self to a wife. -- To bind up in, to cause…
BLAB v.
tell unnecessarily, or in a thoughtless manner; to publish (secrets or trifles) without reserve or discretion. Udall. And yonder a vile physician blabbing The case of his patient. Tennyson.
BLACKCAP n.
An apple roasted till black, to be served in a dish of boiled custard.
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