Search the Dictionary

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

An amphibian of the salamander tribe found in the elevated lakes of Mexico; the siredon.

A singular nocturnal quadruped, allied to the lemurs, found in Madagascar (Cheiromys Madagascariensis), remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth.

Lit., gate; -- a title given to the founder of Babism, and taken from that of Bab-ud-Din, assumed by him.

The doctrine of a modern religious pantheistical sect in Persia, which was founded, about 1844, by Mirza Ali Mohammed ibn Rabhik (1820 -- 1850), who assumed the title of Bab-ed-Din (Per., Gate of the Faith). Babism is a mixture of Mohammedan, Christian, Jewish, and Parsi elements. This doctrine forbids concubinage and…

e; as, to back a friend. "Parliament would be backed by the people." Macaulay. Have still found it necessary to back and fortify their laws with rewards and punishments. South. The mate backed the captain manfully. Blackw. Mag.

nism, belonging to the class Algæ, usually in the form of a jointed rodlike filament, and found in putrefying organic infusions. Bacteria are destitute of chlorophyll, and are the smallest of microscopic organisms. They are very widely diffused in nature, and multiply with marvelous rapidity, both by fission and by spo…

A cephalopod of the extinct genus Baculites, found fossil in the Cretaceous rocks. It is like an uncoiled ammonite.

A light or hasty luncheon. Bait bug (Zoöl), a crustacean of the genus Hippa found burrowing in sandy beaches. See Anomura.

th a hole in its bottom, operates as a valve. -- Ball vein (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles. -- Three balls, or Three golden balls, a pawnbroker's sign or shop.

A species of very large rat (Mus giganteus), found in India and Ceylon. It does much injury to rice fields and gardens.

evation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or shallow; as, the banks of Newfoundland.

A vessel employed in the cod fishery on the banks of Newfoundland. Grabb. J. Q. Adams.

A large fresh-water fish ( Barbus vulgaris) found in many European rivers. Its upper jaw is furnished with four barbels.

A follower of Henry Barrowe, one of the founders of Independency or Congregationalism in England. Barrowe was executed for nonconformity in 1953.

of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue. "The base of mighty mountains." Prescott.

Without a base; having no foundation or support. "The baseless fabric of this vision." Shak.

The foundation of anything; that on which a thing rests. Dryden.

folded writing paper, 8 1/2 by 14 inches. -- Bath stone, a species of limestone (oölite) found near Bath, used for building.

A name given 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.