Loading earlier words…
Beninese

a native or inhabitant of Benin.

Benison

Blessing; beatitude; benediction.

Benjamite

A descendant of Benjamin; one of the tribe of Benjamin.

Benne

The name of two plants (Sesamum orientale and Sesamum indicum), originally Asiatic; -- also called oil plant. From their seeds an oil is expressed, called benne oil or sesame oil, used mostly for making soap. In the southern United States the seeds are used in candy.

Bennet

The common yellow-flowered avens of Europe (Geum urbanum); herb bennet. The name is sometimes given to other plants, as the hemlock, valerian, etc.

Bennettitales

an order of fossil gymnospermous plans of the Carboniferous.

benni

an East Indian annual erect herb (Sesamum indicum); the source of sesame seed or benniseed and sesame oil. Same as benne

bennie

a slang name for Benzedrine, a trademark for one brand of amphetamine; -- also used generically for any brand of amphetamine.

benniseed

the small oval seed of the sesame plant.

benny

same as benne or benni.

Bent

A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass.

bentgrass

grass for pastures and lawns esp bowling and putting greens.

Benthal

Relating to the deepest zone or region of the ocean.

Benthamic

Of or pertaining to Bentham or Benthamism.

Benthamism

That phase of the doctrine of utilitarianism taught by Jeremy Bentham; the doctrine that the morality of actions is estimated and determined by their utility; also, the theory that the sensibility to pleasure and the recoil from pain are the only motives which influence human desires and actions, and that these are the sufficient explanation of ethical and jural conceptions.

Benthic

of, pertaining to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water, especially referring to the ocean depths.

Benthos

The bottom of the sea, esp. of the deep oceans; the fauna and flora of the sea bottom; -- opposed to plankton.

bentonite

An absorbent aluminum silicate clay formed from volcanic ash.

Benty

Abounding in bents, or the stalks of coarse, stiff, withered grass; as, benty fields.

Benumb

To make torpid; to deprive of sensation or sensibility; to stupefy; as, a hand or foot benumbed by cold.

Benumbed

Made torpid; numbed; stupefied; deadened; as, a benumbed body and mind.

Benumbment

Act of benumbing, or state of being benumbed; torpor.

Benzal

A compound radical, C6H5.CH=, of the aromatic series, related to benzyl and benzoyl; -- used adjectively or in combination.

Benzamide

A transparent crystalline substance, C6H5.CO.NH2, obtained by the action of ammonia upon chloride of benzoyl, as also by several other reactions with benzoyl compounds.

Benzene

A volatile, very inflammable liquid, C6H6, contained in the naphtha produced by the destructive distillation of coal, from which it is separated by fractional distillation. The name is sometimes applied also to the impure commercial product or benzole, and also, but rarely, to a similar mixed product of petroleum.

benzenoid

similar to benzene in structure or linkage; having an aromatic ring system.

Benzile

A yellowish crystalline substance, C6H5.CO.CO.C6H5, formed from benzoin by the action of oxidizing agents, and consisting of a doubled benzoyl radical.

Benzine

A liquid consisting mainly of the lighter and more volatile hydrocarbons of petroleum or kerosene oil, used as a solvent and for cleansing soiled fabrics; -- called also petroleum spirit, petroleum benzine. Varieties or similar products are gasoline, naphtha, rhigolene, ligroin, etc.

Benzoate

A salt formed by the union of benzoic acid with any salifiable base.

benzocaine

a chemical substance obtainable as a white crystalline ester (H2N.C6H4.CO.O.C2H5) used as a local anesthetic. Chemically, it is 4-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester.

Benzoic

Pertaining to, or obtained from, benzoin.

Benzoin

A resinous substance, dry and brittle, obtained from the Styrax benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, Java, etc., having a fragrant odor, and slightly aromatic taste. It is used in the preparation of benzoic acid, in medicine, and as a perfume.

Benzoinated

Containing or impregnated with benzoin; as, benzoinated lard.

Benzol Benzole

An impure benzene, used in the arts as a solvent, and for various other purposes. See Benzene.

Benzosol

Guaiacol benzoate, used as an intestinal antiseptic and as a substitute for creosote in phthisis. It is a colorless crystalline pewder.

Benzoyl

A compound radical, C6H5.CO-; the base of benzoic acid, of the oil of bitter almonds, and of an extensive series of compounds.

Benzyl

A compound radical, C6H5.CH2, related to toluene and benzoic acid; -- commonly used adjectively.

Bepaint

To paint; to cover or color with, or as with, paint.

Bepinch

To pinch, or mark with pinches.

Beplaster

To plaster over; to cover or smear thickly; to bedaub.

Bepommel

To pommel; to beat, as with a stick; figuratively, to assail or criticise in conversation, or in writing.

Bepowder

To sprinkle or cover with powder; to powder.

Bepraise

To praise greatly or extravagantly.

Bepurple

To tinge or dye with a purple color.

Bequeath

To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property.

Bequeathal

The act of bequeathing; bequeathment; bequest.

Bequeathment

The act of bequeathing, or the state of being bequeathed; a bequest.

Bequest

To bequeath, or leave as a legacy.

Bequote

To quote constantly or with great frequency.

Berain

To rain upon; to wet with rain.

Berate

To rate or chide vehemently; to scold.

Berattle

To make rattle; to scold vociferously; to cry down.

Beray

To make foul; to soil; to defile.

Berbe

An African genet (Genetta pardina). See Genet.

Berber

A member of a race somewhat resembling the Arabs, but often classed as Hamitic, who were formerly the inhabitants of the whole of North Africa from the Mediterranean southward into the Sahara, and who still occupy a large part of that region; -- called also Kabyles. Also, the language spoken by this people.

Berberine

An alkaloid obtained, as a bitter, yellow substance, from the root of the barberry, gold thread, and other plants.

Berceuse

A vocal or instrumental composition of a soft tranquil character, having a lulling effect; a cradle song.

Bercy

a sauce prepared from butter creamed with white wine, shallots, parsley and fish stock; -- also called Bercy sauce.

Bere

See Bear, barley.

Bere Bear

Barley; the six-rowed barley or the four-rowed barley, commonly the former (Hordeum hexastichon or Hordeum vulgare).

bereaved

mourning due to the death of a loved one.

Bereavement

The state of being bereaved; deprivation; esp., the loss of a relative by death.

beret

a cap made of soft cloth with no brim or bill, widening somewhat outward from a close-fitting headband to a flat top, which often has a button or tab in its center.

Berg

A large mass or hill, as of ice.

bergall

a small wrasse (Tautogolabrus adspersus), common in north Atantic coastal waters of the U. S.; -- also called the cunner.

Bergamot

A tree of the Orange family (Citrus bergamia), having a roundish or pear-shaped fruit, from the rind of which an essential oil of delicious odor is extracted, much prized as a perfume. Also, the fruit. A variety of mint (Mentha aquatica, var. glabrata).

Bergander

A European duck (Anas tadorna). See Sheldrake.

Bergmeal

An earthy substance, resembling fine flour. It is composed of the shells of infusoria, and in Lapland and Sweden is sometimes eaten, mixed with flour or ground birch bark, in times of scarcity. This name is also given to a white powdery variety of calcite.

Bergomask

A rustic dance, so called in ridicule of the people of Bergamo, in Italy, once noted for their clownishness.

Bergschrund

The crevasse or series of crevasses, usually deep and often broad, frequently occurring near the head of a mountain glacier, about where the n/v/ field joins the valley portion of the glacier.

Bergstock

A long pole with a spike at the end, used in climbing mountains; an alpenstock.

Bergylt

The Norway haddock. See Rosefish.

Berhyme

To mention in rhyme or verse; to rhyme about.

Beriberi

An acute disease occurring in India, characterized by multiple inflammatory changes in the nerves, producing great muscular debility, a painful rigidity of the limbs, and cachexy.

Berith

the Jewish rite of circumcision.

Berkeleian

Of or relating to Bishop Berkeley or his system of idealism; as, Berkeleian philosophy.

Berkeley

Bishop George Berkeley; b. 1685, d. 1753.

berkelium

a chemical element of the transuranic series. Chemical symbol Bk; atomic number 97; atomic weight 247. It is a radioactive element, with no stable isotopes; the longest-lived isotope is of mass number 247.07, decaying by alpha-emission with a half-life of 1,400 years. The isotope with atomic weight 249 has a half-life of 314 days, and was isolated in weighable quantities.

Berlin

A four-wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin.

Berme Berm

A narrow shelf or path between the bottom of a parapet and the ditch.

Bermudan

a native or inhabitant of Bermuda.

Bermudas

a group of islands in the Atlantic off the Carolina coast; British colony; resort.

Bern

The capital city of Switzerland. Population (2000) = 129,423.

Bernardine

Of or pertaining to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, or to the Cistercian monks. A Cistercian monk.

Bernese

Pertaining to the city or canton of Bern, in Switzerland, or to its inhabitants. A native or natives of Bern.

Beroe

A small, oval, transparent jellyfish, belonging to the Ctenophora.

Berretta

A square cap worn by ecclesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church. A cardinal's berretta is scarlet; that worn by other clerics is black, except that a bishop's is lined with green.

Loading more words…