BRIDGE n.
ridge. See under Pontoon. -- Skew bridge, a bridge built obliquely from bank to bank, as sometimes required in railway engineering. -- Suspension bridge. See under Suspension. -- Trestle bridge, a bridge formed of a series of short, simple girders resting on trestles. -- Tubular bridge, a bridge in the form of a ho…
BRIGANDINE n.
A coast of armor for the body, consisting of scales or plates, sometimes overlapping each other, generally of metal, and sewed to linen or other material. It was worn in the Middle Ages. [Written also brigantine.] Jer. xlvi. 4. Then put on all thy gorgeous arms, thy helmet, And brigandine of brass. Milton.…
BRITISH a.
Of or pertaining to Great Britain or to its inhabitants; -- sometimes restrict to the original inhabitants. British gum, a brownish substance, very soluble in cold water, 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 subst…
BRONZE n.
alloy of copper and tin, to which small proportions of other metals, especially zinc, are sometimes added. It is hard and sonorous, and is used for statues, bells, cannon, etc., the proportions of the ingredients being varied to suit the particular purposes. The varieties containing the higher proportions of tin are br…