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bar of cartilage at the base of the embryonic fins of some fishes. It develops into the metapterygium. -- Ba*sip`ter*yg"i*al (, a.

Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person.

A trailing plant of the heath family (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), having leaves which are tonic and astringent, and glossy red berries of which bears are said to be fond.

To dress or adorn tawdrily or with false taste. Remnants of tapestried hangings, . . . and shreds of pictures with which he had bedizened his tatters. Sir W. Scott.

A conical calcareous fossil, tapering to a point at the lower extremity, with a conical cavity at the other end, where it is ordinarily broken; but when perfect it contains a small chambered cone, called the phragmocone, prolonged, on one side, into a delicate concave blade; the thunderstone. It is the internal shell o…

A coarse tapestry, manufactured from flock of cotton or hemp, mixed with ox's or goat's hair; -- said to have been invented at Bergamo, Italy. Encyc. Brit. Wild bergamot (Bot.), an American herb of the Mint family (Monarda fistulosa).

dders of philosophy." Rochester. Bladder nut, or Bladder tree (Bot.), a genus of plants (Staphylea) with bladderlike seed pods. -- Bladder pod (Bot.), a genus of low herbs (Vesicaria) with inflated seed pods. -- Bladdor senna (Bot.), a genus of shrubs (Colutea), with membranaceous, inflated pods. -- Bladder worm (Zo…

To lose sap, gum, or juice; as, a tree or a vine bleeds when tapped or wounded.

To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap. If any man happened by long sitting to sleep . . . he was suddenly bobbed on the face by the servants. Elyot.

A kind of needle with a large eye and a blunt point, for drawing tape, ribbon, etc., through a loop or a hem; a tape needle. Wedged whole ages in a bodkin's eye. Pope.

A shaft or missile intended to be shot from a crossbow or catapult, esp. a short, stout, blunt-headed arrow; a quarrel; an arrow, or that which resembles an arrow; a dart. Look that the crossbowmen lack not bolts. Sir W. Scott. A fool's bolt is soon shot. Shak.

em with a bombast circumstance, Horribly stuffed with epithets of war. Shak. Nor a tall metaphor in bombast way. Cowley.

nstead of a head; also, a small wire nail, with a flat circular head; sometimes, a small, tapering, square-bodied finishing nail, with a countersunk head.

Having a breast; -- used in composition with qualifying words, in either a literal or a metaphorical sense; as, a single-breasted coat. The close minister is buttoned up, and the brave officer open- breasted, on these occasions. Spectator.

A tool of steel, generally tapering, and of a polygonal form, with from four to eight cutting edges, for smoothing or enlarging holes in metal; sometimes made smooth or without edges, as for burnishing pivot holes in watches; a reamer. The broach for gun barrels is commonly square and without taper.…

An elementary principle or maximum; a short, proverbial rule, in law, ethics, or metaphysics. The legal brocard, "Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus," is a rule not more applicable to other witness than to consciousness. Sir W. Hamilton.

A kind of coarse brocade, or figured fabric, used chiefly for tapestry, linings for carriages, etc.

boat can be dispatched to save them. -- Nut or Nun buoy, a buoy large in the middle, and tapering nearly to a point at each end. -- To stream the buoy, to let the anchor buoy fall by the ship's side into the water, before letting go the anchor. -- Whistling buoy, a buoy fitted with a whistle that is blown by the act…

h, to approach anything in a round-about manner, instead of coming directly to it; -- a metaphor taken from hunting. -- Bush bean (Bot.), a variety of bean which is low and requires no support (Phaseolus vulgaris, variety nanus). See Bean, 1. -- Bush buck, or Bush goat (Zoöl.), a beautiful South African antelope (Tra…

A coarse cloth so woven as to form regular meshes for working with the needle, as in tapestry, or worsted work.