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A writer in short hand; a stenographer. He asked the brachygrapher whether he wrote the notes of the sermon. Gayton.

A burning piece of wood; or a stick or piece of wood partly burnt, whether burning or after the fire is extinct. Snatching a live brand from a wigwam, Mason threw it on a matted roof. Palfrey.

To put into, or clothe with, breeches. A great man . . . anxious to know whether the blacksmith's youngest boy was breeched. Macaulay.

A body of troops, whether cavalry, artillery, infantry, or mixed, consisting of two or more regiments, under the command of a brigadier general.

The quality of being brilliant; splendor; glitter; great brighness, whether in a literal or figurative sense. With many readers brilliancy of style passes for affluence of thought. Longfellow.

The young from the same dam, whether produced at the same time or not; young children of the same mother, especially if nearly of the same age; offspring; progeny; as, a woman with a brood of children. The lion roars and gluts his tawny brood. Wordsworth.

Any rough or prickly envelope of the seeds of plants, whether a pericarp, a persistent calyx, or an involucre, as of the chestnut and burdock. Also, any weed which bears burs. Amongst rude burs and thistles. Milton. Bur and brake and brier. Tennyson.

the dwelling house of another, in the nighttime, with intent to commit a felony therein, whether the felonious purpose be accomplished or not. Wharton. Burrill.

bject is treated with mock gravity; jocular; ironical. It is a dispute among the critics, whether burlesque poetry runs best in heroic verse, like that of the Dispensary, or in doggerel, like that of Hudibras. Addison.

h engages the time, attention, or labor of any one, as his principal concern or interest, whether for a longer or shorter time; constant employment; regular occupation; as, the business of life; business before pleasure. Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business Luke ii. 49.

The portion of the human figure included between the head and waist, whether in statuary or in the person; the chest or thorax; the upper part of the trunk of the body.

A cloth of exceedingly fine texture, used by the ancients. It is disputed whether it was of cotton, linen, or silk. [Written also byss and byssin.]

A decorative piece of furniture, whether open like an étagère or closed with doors. See Etagere.

low a bed of black lava, in Calaveras County, California. It is regarded as very doubtful whether the skull really belonged to the deposit in which it was found. If it did, it indicates an unprecedented antiquity for human beings of an advanced type.

e a calculation; to forecast caonsequences; to estimate; to compute. The strong passions, whether good or bad, never calculate. F. W. Robertson.

Likely to produce a certain effect, whether intended or not; fitted; adapted; suited. The only danger that attends multiplicity of publication is, that some of them may be calculated to injure rather than benefit society. Goldsmith. The minister, on the other hand, had never gone through an experience calculated to lea…

or iron made to be fired from a cannon, but now often applied to a missile of any shape, whether solid or hollow, made for cannon. Elongated and cylindrical missiles are sometimes called bolts; hollow ones charged with explosives are properly called shells. -- Cannon bullet, a cannon ball. [Obs.] -- Cannon cracker, a…

A piece or pessage, whether vocal or instrumental, pecuilarly adapted to singing; -- sometimes called cantilena.

A dead body, whether of man or beast; a corpse; now commonly the dead body of a beast. He turned to see the carcass of the lion. Judges xiv. 8. This kept thousands in the town whose carcasses went into the great pits by cartloads. De Foe.

A throw of dice; hence, a chance or venture. An even cast whether the army should march this way or that way. Sowth. I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die. Shak.