nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: badinage Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from French badinage, from the verb badiner (“jest, joke”) from badin (“playful”), from Occitan badar (“gape”). Distantly related to abash. Pronunciation: /ˌbæd.ɪˈnɑːʒ/, /ˌbæd.ɪˈnɑːdʒ/, /ˌbɑd.ɪˈnɑʒ/ 1. Playful raillery; banter. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I am persuaded, if all gay badinage were prefaced by an explanation, it would be infinitely better received. Example: Your badinage so airy, / Your manner arbitrary, / Are out of place / When face to face / With an influential Fairy.
Word: badinage Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Borrowed from French badinage, from the verb badiner (“jest, joke”) from badin (“playful”), from Occitan badar (“gape”). Distantly related to abash. Pronunciation: /ˌbæd.ɪˈnɑːʒ/, /ˌbæd.ɪˈnɑːdʒ/, /ˌbɑd.ɪˈnɑʒ/ 1. To engage in badinage or playful banter.
Word: bail Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English baille, from the Old French verb bailler (“to deliver or hand over”) and noun bail (“lease”), from Latin bāiulāre (“carry or bear”), from baiulus (“porter; steward”) (English: bailiff). Pronunciation: /beɪl/, /bæɪl/, /beːl/, /bejl/ 1. Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: He was granted bail for £20000. Example: I ſuppoſe vve ſhall hardly Rehearſe the Comedy this Morning; for the Author vvas Arreſted as he vvas going home from King's Coffee-houſe; and, as I heard, it vvas for upvvards of Four Pound: I ſuppoſe he vvill hardly get Bail. 2. Release from imprisonment on payment of such money. Labels: UK, countable, uncountable 3. The person providing such payment. Labels: UK, countable, uncountable 4. A bucket or scoop used for removing water from a boat etc. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The bail of a canoe […] made of a human skull. 5. A person who bails water out of a boat. Labels: countable, uncountable 6. Custody; keeping. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: Silly Faunus now within their baile.
Word: bail Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English baille, from the Old French verb bailler (“to deliver or hand over”) and noun bail (“lease”), from Latin bāiulāre (“carry or bear”), from baiulus (“porter; steward”) (English: bailiff). Pronunciation: /beɪl/, /bæɪl/, /beːl/, /bejl/ 1. To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail. Example: For the first time, the arrests broadened beyond payments to police, with a Ministry of Defence employee and a member of the Armed forces held by police before also being bailed to a date in May. 2. To release a person under such guarantee. 3. To hand over personal property to be held temporarily by another as a bailment. Example: to bail cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment; to bail goods to a carrier 4. To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out. Labels: intransitive, transitive Example: to bail water out of a boat Example: we had hard work to reach our haven, having to bail out the water with my straw hat. 5. To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out. Labels: transitive Example: to bail a boat Example: By the help of a small bucket and our hats we bailed her out. 6. To set free; to deliver; to release. Example: Ne none there was to reskue her, ne none to baile.
Word: bail Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From a shortening of bail out, ultimately same as above. Pronunciation: /beɪl/, /bæɪl/, /beːl/, /bejl/ 1. To leave or exit abruptly. Labels: intransitive, slang Example: With his engine in flames, the pilot had no choice but to bail. Example: The Teacher Home Visit Program takes a huge commitment—time, energy, patience, diplomacy. Quite a few schools […] have tried it and bailed. 2. To fail to meet a commitment (to a person). Labels: informal, intransitive Example: "No one bails on Bennie Milagros. No one, comprende? I'm gonna hold you to that midnight run — " Example: And I ain't got no help. Goddamn Fitch bails on me, scrambles over to Finance.
Word: bail Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English beyle, from Old English bīeġels, from bīeġan + -els. Pronunciation: /beɪl/, /bæɪl/, /beːl/, /bejl/ 1. A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket). Example: I reached across beneath the cow to attach a metal bail to each end of the strap so that the bail hung about 5 inches below the cow's belly.[…]While stroking and talking to the cow, I reached under and suspended the machine on the bail beneath the cow, with its four suction cups dangling to one side. 2. A stall for a cow (or other animal) (usually tethered with a semi-circular hoop). Example: 1953, British Institute of Management, Centre for Farm Management, Farm Management Association, Farm Managememt, 1960, John Wiley, page 160, More recently, the fixed bail, sometimes called the ‘milking parlour’, with either covered or open yards, has had a certain vogue and some very enthusiastic claims have been made for this method of housing. Example: 2011, Edith H. Whetham, Joan Thirsk, The Agrarian History of England and Wales, Volume 8: Volumes 1914-1939, page 191, Ten men thus sufficed for the milking of three hundred cows in five bails, instead of the thirty men who would normally have been employed by conventional methods. 3. A hinged bar as a restraint for animals, or on a typewriter. 4. A frame to restrain a cow during milking or feeding. Labels: Australia, New-Zealand Example: But until he had poured enough milk into the vat above the separator, I drove unmilked cows into the bail where he had previously milked and released one. He moved from one bail to the other to milk the next one I had readied. I drove each cow into the empty bail, chained her in, roped the outer hind leg then washed and massaged the udder and teats. 5. A hoop, ring, or other object used to connect a pendant to a necklace. 6. One of the two wooden crosspieces that rest on top of the stumps to form a wicket. Example: As Jason Roy's throw came in from deep mid-wicket, a diving Guptill was short when Buttler removed the bails, sending England and the whole of Lord's into delirious celebrations. 7. Normally curved handle suspended between sockets as a drawer pull. This may also be on a kettle or pail.
Word: bail Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English beyle, from Old English bīeġels, from bīeġan + -els. Pronunciation: /beɪl/, /bæɪl/, /beːl/, /bejl/ 1. To secure the head of a cow during milking.
Word: bail Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Borrowed from French baillier. Pronunciation: /beɪl/, /bæɪl/, /beːl/, /bejl/ 1. To confine. Labels: rare 2. To secure (a cow) by placing its head in a bail for milking. Labels: Australia, New-Zealand 3. To keep (a traveller) detained in order to rob them; to corner (a wild animal); loosely, to detain, hold up. Labels: Australia, New-Zealand, usually, with-up Example: The transition over the rooftop would have been quicker if Sellers had not been bailed up by a particularly hostile spiritual presence speaking Swedish. Example: While celebrating our “graduation”, a handsome Scot bailed me up outside a pub and insisted I help him solve the cryptic crossword.
Word: bailiwick Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From bailie (“bailiff”) and wick (“dwelling”), from Old English wīc. Pronunciation: /ˈbeɪ.lɪ.wɪk/ 1. The district within which a bailie or bailiff has jurisdiction. Example: The Bailiwick of Jersey. 2. A person's concern or sphere of operations, their area of skill or authority. Labels: broadly Example: I established the fairly well-understood pattern that affairs of state were not in my bailiwick. Example: Jack is full of these insights, thoughtful turns of phrase from a character whose perpetual struggle between wastrel and righteous is all too familiar a bailiwick for the universal insecurities of the human condition.
Word: bailey Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Old French baile (“palisade, enclosure”), from Latin bacula, plural of baculum (“stick, rod”). Pronunciation: /ˈbeɪli/ 1. The outer wall of a feudal castle. 2. The space immediately within the outer wall of a castle or fortress. 3. A prison or court of justice. Example: the Old Bailey in London; the New Bailey in Manchester 4. An argument which is controversial and more difficult to defend (in the context of a motte and bailey fallacy). Example: "Birds are dinosaurs" is the bailey; "birds are more similar to dinosaurs than anything else" is the motte.
Word: bait Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bayte, bait, beite, from Old Norse beita (“food, bait”), from Proto-Germanic *baitō (“that which is bitten, bait”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with German Beize (“mordant, corrosive fluid; marinade”), Old English bāt (“that which can be bitten, food, bait”). Related to bite. Pronunciation: /beɪt/ 1. Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: attach bait to a hook Example: catch a few using bait 2. Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. Anything which allures; something or someone used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: One of the “girls” used in this way, Pamella Bordes, later spoke of being “part of an enormous group … used as sexual bait.” 4. Anything which allures; something or someone used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: queerbait Example: sequel bait 5. Anything which allures; something or someone used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something. Labels: countable, uncountable, vulgar Example: somno bait Example: snuff bait 6. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: A short stop, but no refreshment. Such baits are frequently given by the natives of the principality to their keffels, or horses, particularly after climbing a hill. Example: The tediousness of a two hours' bait at Petty-France, in which there was nothing to be done but to eat without being hungry, and loiter about without any thing to see, next followed […] 7. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment. Labels: Durham, Geordie, countable, uncountable 8. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment. Labels: East-Anglia, countable, uncountable 9. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment. Labels: Northern-England, countable, uncountable 10. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment. Labels: countable, uncountable 11. A post intended to elicit a, usually strong or negative, reaction from others. Labels: Internet, countable, uncountable Example: Please stop posting bait, or I will have to mute you.
Word: bait Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English bayte, bait, beite, from Old Norse beita (“food, bait”), from Proto-Germanic *baitō (“that which is bitten, bait”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with German Beize (“mordant, corrosive fluid; marinade”), Old English bāt (“that which can be bitten, food, bait”). Related to bite. Pronunciation: /beɪt/ 1. To attract with bait; to entice. Labels: transitive 2. To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line. Labels: transitive Example: a crooked pin […] baited with a vile earthworm 3. To lay baits in an environment to control pest species. Labels: transitive 4. To target a pest species by laying baits. Labels: transitive
Word: bait Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English bayten, baiten, beiten, from Old Norse beita (“to bait, cause to bite, feed, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite, bridle”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to cleave, split, separate”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to bait”), Swedish beta (“to bait, pasture, graze”), German beizen (“to cause to bite, bait”), Old English bǣtan (“to bait, hunt, bridle, bit”). Pronunciation: /beɪt/ 1. To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport. Labels: transitive Example: to bait a bear with dogs Example: to bait a bull 2. To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass. Labels: transitive Example: I remember once before, a mad woman, from about Alnwick, by name baited me with letters and plans — first for charity for herself or some protégé — I gave my guinea— then she wanted to have half the profits of a novel which I was to publish under my name and auspices. Example: But [US Vice President J.D.] Vance, the champion of diplomacy, shouldn’t have baited a war-weary man fighting for the survival of his country in the first place. 3. To feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey. Labels: archaic, transitive Example: And than they com into a lowe medow that was full of swete floures, and there thes noble knyghtes bayted her horses. Example: The Sunne that measures heauen all day long, / At night doth baite his steedes the Ocean waues emong. 4. Of a horse or other animal: to take food, especially during a journey. Labels: intransitive Example: King Cyrus, that he might more speedily receave news from al parts of his Empire (which was of exceeding great length), would needs have it tried how far a horse could in a day goe outright without baiting, at which distance he caused stations to be set up, and men to have fresh horses ready for al such as came to him. Example: [H]orses' playful neigh, / From rustic's whips, and plough, and waggon, free, / Baiting in careless freedom o'er the leas, / Or turn'd to knap each other at their ease. 5. (of a person) To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey. Labels: intransitive Example: For evil news rides post, while good news baits. Example: My Lord’s coach convey’d me to Bury, and thence baiting at Newmarket, stepping in at Audley End to see that house againe, I slept at Bishops Strotford, and the next day home.
Word: bait Part of Speech: verb Etymology: French battre de l'aile or des ailes, to flap or flutter. Pronunciation: /beɪt/ 1. To flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey. Labels: intransitive, obsolete Example: Kites that baite and beate.
Word: bait Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology unknown. Pronunciation: /beɪt/ 1. Obvious; blatant. Labels: Multicultural-London-English Example: I've been at home all day / Cloning £50 notes, this is sick / But it's a bit bait / Cause all the serial numbers are the same / So I can't spend them in the same place 2. Well-known; famous; renowned. Labels: Multicultural-London-English Example: My face is bait, I can't hide it
Word: baize Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French baies, feminine plural of adjective bai (“bay-colored”) mistaken as a singular noun. Pronunciation: /beɪz/ 1. A thick, soft, usually woolen cloth resembling felt; often colored green and used for coverings on card tables, billiard and snooker tables, etc. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. A coarse woolen material with a long nap; usually dyed in plain colors. Labels: countable, dated, uncountable Example: my goods being all English manufacture, such as cloths, stuffs, baize, and things particularly valuable and desirable in the country, I found means to sell them to a very great advantage... Example: At the further end, a flight of stairs mounted to a door covered with a red baize; and through this, Mr. Utterson was at last received into the doctor's cabinet.
Word: baize Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From French baies, feminine plural of adjective bai (“bay-colored”) mistaken as a singular noun. Pronunciation: /beɪz/ 1. To cover or line with baize. Labels: transitive
Word: bale Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bale (“evil”), from Old English bealu, from Proto-West Germanic *balu, from Proto-Germanic *balwą. Cognate with Low German bal- (“bad, ill”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (balweins, “torture”), Old High German balo (“destruction”), Old Norse bǫl (“disaster”). Pronunciation: /beɪl/ 1. Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death. Labels: uncountable 2. Suffering, woe, torment. Labels: uncountable Example: That other ſwayne, like aſhes deadly pale, Lay in the lap of death, rewing his wretched bale. Example: Rome, and her Rats, are at the point of battell, The one ſide muſt haue baile.
Word: bale Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bale (“pyre, funeral pyre”), from Old English bǣl (“pyre, funeral pyre”), from Proto-Germanic *bēlą (“pyre”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine; gleam; sparkle”). Cognate with Old Norse bál (which may have been the direct source for the English word). Pronunciation: /beɪl/ 1. A large fire, a conflagration or bonfire. Labels: obsolete 2. A funeral pyre. Labels: archaic 3. A beacon-fire. Labels: archaic
Word: bale Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bale (“bale”), from Old French bale and Medieval Latin bala, of Germanic origin. Doublet of ball. Pronunciation: /beɪl/ 1. A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation. Example: So having made up my mind, I packed up in bales a quantity of precious stuffs suited for sea-trade and repaired with them from Baghdad-city to Bassorah-town, where I found ship ready for sea, and in her a company of considerable merchants. 2. A bundle of compressed fibers (especially hay, straw, cotton, or wool), compacted for shipping and handling and bound by twine or wire. Example: What I claim therein as new, and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is the within described apparatus for forming a bale of cotton under pressure on a spindle or revolving rod,... 3. A measurement of hay equal to 10 flakes. Approximately 70-90 lbs (32-41 kg). 4. A measurement of paper equal to 10 reams. 5. A block of compressed cannabis. 6. A group of turtles. Labels: collective
Word: bale Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English bale (“bale”), from Old French bale and Medieval Latin bala, of Germanic origin. Doublet of ball. Pronunciation: /beɪl/ 1. To wrap into a bale. Labels: transitive
Word: bale Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Alternative spelling of bail. Pronunciation: /beɪl/ 1. To remove water from a boat with buckets etc. Labels: UK
Word: ballista Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Latin ballista, from Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα (ballístra), from βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”). Pronunciation: /bəˈlɪstə/ 1. An ancient military engine, in the form of a crossbow, used for hurling large missiles. Labels: historical
Word: banker Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From bank + -er, after French banquier. Pronunciation: /ˈbæŋkəː/, [ˈbæŋkəː], /ˈbæŋkɚ/, [ˈbæŋkɚ] ~ [ˈbæŋkɹ̩], /ˈbeɪ̯ŋkɚ/ 1. One who conducts the business of banking; one who, individually, or as a member of a company, keeps an establishment for the deposit or loan of money, or for traffic in money, bills of exchange, etc. Example: I have a good banker in this city, but I would not wish to draw upon the house until the time when I shall draw for a round sum. 2. The dealer in a casino, or one who keeps the bank in a banking game. 3. A money changer. Labels: obsolete 4. The stone bench on which a mason cuts or squares his work. Example: [T]he new traceries, mullions, transoms, shafts, pinnacles, and battlements standing on the bankers half worked[.] 5. A type of envelope with a diamond shape or V-flap that opens on the long edge.
Word: banker Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From bank (“an elevation, or rising ground”) + -er (relational noun suffix) or + -er (occupational suffix). Pronunciation: /ˈbæŋkəː/, [ˈbæŋkəː], /ˈbæŋkɚ/, [ˈbæŋkɚ] ~ [ˈbæŋkɹ̩], /ˈbeɪ̯ŋkɚ/ 1. A vessel employed in the cod fishery on the banks of Newfoundland. Example: May 20 1815, John Quincy Adams, letter to a merchant I think the 584 Bankers may be put down 36,540 tons, navigated by 4,627 men and boys 2. A ditcher; a drain digger. Labels: UK, dialectal Example: But this was no storm, the bankers could have told him. It was break of the year. 3. Synonym of browman. 4. A watercourse filled from bank to bank. Labels: Australia, colloquial
Word: banker Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From bank on + -er. Pronunciation: /ˈbæŋkəː/, [ˈbæŋkəː], /ˈbæŋkɚ/, [ˈbæŋkɚ] ~ [ˈbæŋkɹ̩], /ˈbeɪ̯ŋkɚ/ 1. A bet that is almost certain to succeed. Labels: UK 2. A very safe option. Labels: UK, broadly Example: When Jose came to Manchester United, two and a half years ago, this was the no-brainer, the banker, the one which couldn't fail. The one who had never failed.
Word: banker Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From bank (“an incline or hill”) + -er. Pronunciation: /ˈbæŋkəː/, [ˈbæŋkəː], /ˈbæŋkɚ/, [ˈbæŋkɚ] ~ [ˈbæŋkɹ̩], /ˈbeɪ̯ŋkɚ/ 1. A railway locomotive that can be attached to the rear of a train to assist it in climbing an incline. Labels: Australia, UK Example: Between them these engines work passenger trains on the Keith line, and also act as bankers up to Dava when required. Example: Because of a shortage of W.R. pannier tanks, two "E6" 0-6-2 tanks, Nos. 32410/5, were engaged as bankers on the Folkestone Harbour branch at the beginning of March; [...].
Word: banner Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bandizder. Old French baniereder. Middle English baner English banner From Middle English baner, from Old French baniere (Modern bannière), of Germanic origin. More at band. Pronunciation: /ˈbænə/, /ˈbænɚ/, /ˈbæːnə/ 1. A flag or standard used by a military commander, monarch or nation. Example: “To hold Arrakis,” the Duke said, “one is faced with decisions that may cost one his self-respect.” He pointed out the window to the Atreides green and black banner hanging limply from a staff at the edge of the landing field. "That honorable banner could come to mean many evil things." 2. The military unit under such a flag or standard. Labels: broadly 3. A military or administrative subdivision. Labels: broadly 4. Any large sign, especially when made of soft material or fabric. Example: The mayor hung a banner across Main Street to commemorate the town's 100th anniversary. 5. A large piece of cloth with a slogan, motto, or emblem carried in a demonstration or other procession or suspended in some conspicuous place. 6. A cause or purpose; a campaign or movement. Labels: broadly, figuratively Example: They usually make their case under the banner of environmentalism. 7. The title of a newspaper as printed on its front page; the nameplate; masthead. 8. A type of advertisement on a web page or on television, usually taking the form of a graphic or animation above or alongside the content. Labels: Internet 9. The principal standard of a knight. 10. A type of administrative division in Inner Mongolia and Tuva, made during the Qing dynasty; at that time, Outer Mongolia and part of Xinjiang were also divided into banners. Example: Hanggin Rear Banner, Bayannur, Inner Mongolia, China Example: The first Inner Mongolian modern prose work was “Struggling in a Sea of Suffering” (Gashigun-u dotorakhi telchilegchi khemekhü üliger, 1940) by Rinchinkhorlo (1904-63) of Khüriye (Hure) banner, who also translated an American detective story from Japanese into Mongolian.
Word: banner Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bandizder. Old French baniereder. Middle English baner English banner From Middle English baner, from Old French baniere (Modern bannière), of Germanic origin. More at band. Pronunciation: /ˈbænə/, /ˈbænɚ/, /ˈbæːnə/ 1. Exceptional; very good. Labels: not-comparable Example: The year just closed has been the banner year for New-Hampshire Home Missions. The amount raised for the cause is $505,38 more than ever was raised before in any one year. Example: The Zenger decision was a banner achievement for freedom of the press. It pointed the way to the kind of open public discussion required by the diverse society that colonial New York already was and that all America was to become.
Word: banner Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bandizder. Old French baniereder. Middle English baner English banner From Middle English baner, from Old French baniere (Modern bannière), of Germanic origin. More at band. Pronunciation: /ˈbænə/, /ˈbænɚ/, /ˈbæːnə/ 1. To adorn with a banner. Labels: transitive 2. To display as a banner headline. Labels: transitive Example: At 8:11, bannering the headline “Cheney in Charge?” the Drudge Report runs a story speculating that the president may be incapacitated.
Word: banner Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English ban Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English banner From ban + -er. Pronunciation: /ˈbænə/, /ˈbænɚ/, /ˈbæːnə/ 1. One who bans something. Example: How ridiculous the banners of some of the books at present on the list will appear in the future.
Word: barque Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English barke (“boat”), borrowed from Middle French barque, itself borrowed from Italian barca or a Medieval Latin equivalent, from Late Latin barca, from Vulgar Latin barica, from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris) 'Egyptian boat', from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare, “small boat”), from Demotic Egyptian br, from Egyptian bꜣjr (“transport ship, type of fish”), b-bA-A-y:r*Z1-P1. Doublet of bark, barge and baris. Possibly cognate with Spanish barco. Pronunciation: /bɑɹk/, /bɑːk/ 1. A sailing vessel of three or more masts, with all masts but the sternmost square-rigged, the sternmost being fore-and-aft-rigged Example: On being told, however, that the Norwegian barque Daphne was about to leave An-peng for Tamsui, I had my things taken on board, and we set sail a few hours later. 2. Any small sailing vessel. Labels: archaic 3. A sailing vessel or boat of any kind. Labels: poetic Example: Barque of phosphor On the palmy beach…
Word: bauble Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bable, babel, babull, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel (“trinket, child's toy”), most likely a reduplication of bel, ultimately from Latin bellus (“pretty”). Pronunciation: [ˈbɔːbəɫ], [ˈbɒbəɫ], /ˈbɔbəl/, /ˈbɑbəl/ 1. A cheap showy ornament or piece of jewellery; a gewgaw. Example: […] as to the bauble on which the chief proof rests, if she had earnestly desired it, I should have willingly given it to her, so much do I esteem and value her. Example: Have none before or after him staked all their treasure of life, as a savage does his land and possessions against a draught of the fair-skins’ fire-water, or a couple of bauble eyes? 2. Anything trivial and worthless. Labels: broadly, figuratively Example: His hind quarters were likewise short, and not racinglike, and taken as a specimen of the horse, he was a mere bauble when looked at by the side of an English race-horse, much less a hunter. 3. A small shiny spherical decoration, commonly put on Christmas trees. 4. A club or sceptre carried by a jester.
Word: beacon Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“beacon”), Middle Low German bāke (“beacon, sign”), German Bake (“traffic sign”), Middle High German bouchen (“sign”). Pronunciation: /ˈbiːkən/ 1. A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning. Example: No flaming Beacons caſt their Blaze afar, / The dreadful Signal of invaſive VVar. 2. A signal, buoy, post, or other conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners, particularly to warn vessels of danger. Example: Henceforth, wherever thou may’st roam, / ⁠My blessing, like a line of light, / ⁠Is on the waters day and night, / And like a beacon guards thee home. 3. A high hill or other easily distinguishable object near the shore which can serve as guidance for seafarers. 4. That which gives notice of danger, hope, etc., or keeps people on the correct path; a source of inspiration. Labels: figuratively Example: a beacon of hope Example: Modest doubt is called / The beacon of the wise. 5. An electronic device that broadcasts a signal to nearby portable devices, enabling smartphones etc. to perform actions when in physical proximity to the beacon. 6. Ellipsis of web beacon. Labels: Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Word: beacon Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“beacon”), Middle Low German bāke (“beacon, sign”), German Bake (“traffic sign”), Middle High German bouchen (“sign”). Pronunciation: /ˈbiːkən/ 1. To act as a beacon. Labels: intransitive 2. To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine. Labels: transitive Example: That beacons the darkness of heaven. 3. To furnish with a beacon or beacons. Labels: transitive
Word: beam Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bagmaz? Proto-West Germanic *baum Old English bēam Middle English beem English beam From Middle English beem, from Old English bēam (“tree, cross, gallows, column, pillar, wood, beam, splint, post, stock, rafter, piece of wood”), from Proto-West Germanic *baum, from Proto-Germanic *baumaz (“tree, beam, balk”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to grow, swell”). Cognate with North Frisian Boom, buum (“tree”), Saterland Frisian Boom (“tree”), West Frisian beam (“tree”), Cimbrian pome, póom, puam (“tree”), Dutch boom (“tree”), German Low German Boom (“tree”), German Baum (“tree”), Luxembourgish Bam (“tree”), Mòcheno pa'm (“tree”), Vilamovian baojm (“tree”), Yiddish בוים (boym, “tree”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish bom (“beam”), Icelandic baðmur (“tree”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃 (bagms, “tree”), Albanian bimë (“a plant”). Doublet of boom. The original English meaning of beam ("tree") is preserved in some compound words such as quickbeam. The verb is from Middle English bemen, from Old English bēamian (“to shine, to cast forth rays or beams of light”), from the noun. Pronunciation: /ˈbiːm/, [ˈbɪi̯m] 1. To emit beams of light; to shine; to radiate. Labels: ambitransitive Example: to beam forth light Example: Jesus beams golden light from his solar plexus into Eric's root chakra. 2. To smile broadly or especially cheerfully. Labels: figuratively, intransitive Example: to beam with pride 3. To furnish or supply with beams. Labels: transitive 4. To give the appearance of beams to. Labels: transitive 5. To transmit matter or information via a high-tech wireless mechanism. Labels: transitive Example: Beam me up, Scotty; there's no intelligent life down here. Example: The injured crewmembers were immediately beamed to sickbay. 6. To transmit, especially by direct wireless means such as infrared. Labels: transitive Example: To beam a file using the File Transfer Protocol. Example: To beam a file to another Pocket PC, follow these steps: […] 7. To stretch something (for example, an animal hide) on a beam. Labels: transitive 8. To put (something) on a beam. Labels: transitive 9. To connect (musical notes) with a beam, or thick line, in music notation. Labels: transitive
Word: beastly Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English bestely, bestly, equivalent to beast + -ly. Compare West Frisian bistachtich (“beastly”), Dutch beestachtig (“beastly”), German biestig (“beastly”). Pronunciation: /ˈbiːstli/ 1. Pertaining to, or having the form, nature, or habits of, a beast. Labels: UK 2. Similar to the nature of a beast; contrary to the nature and dignity of human beings. Labels: UK Example: beastly culture 3. Abominable; very unpleasant; hideous. Labels: UK, dated Example: beastly weather Example: Stop being so beastly to her! 4. Of computer hardware or motor vehicles etc.: ostentatiously powerful. Labels: UK, slang Example: In addition to a Core i7-860 with a full-sized heatsink and 4GB of DDR3 RAM, the company showed its SUGO SG07 housing today's most beastly graphics card, the dual-GPU Radeon HD 5970, which is about 30cm long. Example: A very big, very black, and very beastly Hummer H2, Spotted in China in in the rain the great city of Zigong in Sichuan Province.
Word: beastly Part of Speech: adv Etymology: From Middle English bestely, bestly, equivalent to beast + -ly. Compare West Frisian bistachtich (“beastly”), Dutch beestachtig (“beastly”), German biestig (“beastly”). Pronunciation: /ˈbiːstli/ 1. Like a beast; brutishly. Labels: UK Example: Beastly he threwe her downe, ne car'd to spill / Her garments gay with scales of fish that all did fill. Example: They have insulted me most beastly. Moreover, they are, everyone of them, black-satan filthmen. 2. Very much; terribly. Labels: UK, colloquial, dated Example: "I'm beastly sorry, Wynn, old man," he muttered. "I ought to have remembered." Example: The baths were mostly tiled showers, with an endless variety of spouting mechanisms, but with one definitely non-Laodicean characteristic in common, a propensity, while in use, to turn instantly beastly hot or blindingly cold upon you, depending on whether your neighbor turned on his cold or his hot to deprive you of a necessary complement in the shower you had so carefully blended.
Word: beatification Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle French béatification, from Medieval Latin beātificātiō. Pronunciation: /biˌætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ 1. The act of beatifying, or the state of being beatified; especially, in the Roman Catholic Church, the act or process of ascertaining and declaring that a deceased person is one of "the blessed," or has attained the second degree of sanctity, — usually a stage in the process of canonization. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: bedeck Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From be- + deck. Compare West Frisian bedekke (“to cover”), Dutch bedekken (“to cover, coat, overlay”), German bedecken (“to cover, top, overlay”), Swedish betäcka (“to cover, shelter”). Doublet of bethatch. Pronunciation: /bɪˈdɛk/ 1. To deck, ornament, or adorn Labels: transitive Example: She bedecked her wedding gown with seed pearls. 2. to grace. Labels: transitive
Word: befoul Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From be- + foul. Pronunciation: /bɪˈfaʊl/ 1. To make foul; to soil; to contaminate, pollute. Labels: literally Example: These heights are a desirable retreat, for less picturesque reasons—as an escape from a compound of vile smells perpetually arising from a great harbour full of stagnant water, and befouled by the refuse of innumerable ships with all sorts of cargoes: which, in hot weather, is dreadful in the last degree. Example: 1897, Robert Gwynneddon Davies (translator), The Sleeping Bard by Ellis Wynne, London: Simplkon, Marshall & Co., Part I, At last, what with a round of blasphemy, and the whole crowd with clay pistols belching smoke and fire and slander of their neighbours, and the floor already befouled with dregs and spittle, I feared lest viler deeds should happen, and craved to depart. 2. To make foul; to soil; to contaminate, pollute. Labels: literally, specifically Example: For its an ill Bird will befoule her own Nest […] Example: “[…] But pray what smell is that? Sure your lapdog has befoul’d himself;—let me catch hold of the nasty cur, I’ll teach him better manners.” 3. To stain or mar (e.g., with infamy or disgrace). Labels: figuratively Example: For three days Pete bore himself according to his wont, thinking to silence the evil tongues of the little world about him, and keep sweet and alive the dear name which they were waiting to befoul and destroy. Example: “[…] you combine a vulgar atheism and an iconoclastic desire to befoul the sacred ideas of the average man or woman, collectively scorned as the bourgeoisie——” 4. To entangle or run against so as to impede motion. Labels: figuratively
Word: behalf Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bihalve (“nearby”), from Old English bī healfe (“by [his/her] side”), from bī (“by”) + healfe (“side, half”), equivalent to be- + half. Pronunciation: /bɪˈhæf/, /bɪˈhɑːf/, /bəˈhɑːf/ 1. The interest, benefit, or wellbeing of someone or something. Example: She appeared on behalf of the U.N. Secretary General at a conference held in behalf of the world's children. Example: The one exception to this was William Hilhouse, who was widely regarded as the colonist with the greatest experience of the interior and its native inhabitants, on whose behalf he endlessly campaigned. 2. One's role or rightful place; stead or authority. Example: He was not only my Representative who died on my behalf; He was my Substitute who died in my very stead. Example: Which indeed is so true, that she herself may seek back for her own gain the dowry offered by another on her behalf, unless by chance he who offered it immediately (that is, at the time of offering or of promising) stipulated or made an agreement that the afore-mentioned dowry would be returned to him.
Word: belay Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English beleggen, bileggen, from Old English beleċġan (“to cover, invest, surround, afflict, attribute to, charge with, accuse”), From Proto-West Germanic *bilaggjan, equivalent to be- (“about, around”) + lay. Cognate with Dutch beleggen (“to cover, overlay, belay”), German belegen (“to cover, occupy, belay”), Swedish belägga (“to pave”). Pronunciation: /bɪˈleɪ/, /ˈbiːleɪ/ 1. To make (a rope) fast by turning it around a fastening point such as a cleat. Labels: ambitransitive 2. To handle a climbing rope to prevent (a climber) from falling to the ground. Labels: transitive Example: He would need an experienced partner to belay him on the difficult climbs. Example: I could only hope the remaining piton would belay his fall. 3. To lay aside; to stop; to cancel. Labels: transitive Example: Belay that order! Example: "We landed in their killbox?" "We did. I am sor... No, belay that. Heads down! Cavalry incoming!" 4. The general command to stop or cease. Labels: intransitive 5. To surround; to environ; to enclose. Labels: obsolete, transitive 6. To overlay; to adorn. Labels: obsolete, transitive Example: jacket […] belayd with silver lace 7. To besiege; invest; surround. Labels: obsolete, transitive 8. To lie in wait for in order to attack; block up or obstruct. Labels: obsolete, transitive
Word: belay Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English beleggen, bileggen, from Old English beleċġan (“to cover, invest, surround, afflict, attribute to, charge with, accuse”), From Proto-West Germanic *bilaggjan, equivalent to be- (“about, around”) + lay. Cognate with Dutch beleggen (“to cover, overlay, belay”), German belegen (“to cover, occupy, belay”), Swedish belägga (“to pave”). Pronunciation: /ˈbiːleɪ/ 1. The securing of a rope to a rock or other sturdy object. 2. The object to which a rope is secured. 3. A location at which a climber stops and builds an anchor with which to secure their partner. Example: But instead of swapping over at the ice axe belay, you carry on in the lead, cutting or kicking steps until you are about twenty feet above.
Word: belay Part of Speech: verb Pronunciation: /bɪˈleɪ/ 1. simple past of belie (“encompass”) Labels: form-of, past
Word: benevolent Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Old French benevolent, borrowed from Latin benevolēns ("benevolent"). Displaced native Old English welwillende (literally well-wishing). Pronunciation: /bəˈnɛvələnt/ 1. Having a disposition to do good. Example: Chinese and Eastern mythologies describe dragons as benevolent. Example: Benevolence? vvhich ſhall I be benevolent to; or vvhich firſt? I am puſſell'd in the choice. 2. Possessing or manifesting love for mankind. 3. Altruistic, charitable, good, just and fair. Example: This bill was not a gift from a benevolent legislature; it was a victory for the community which worked for its passage.
Word: benignant Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From benign + -ant, on the model of malignant. Pronunciation: /bəˈnɪɡnənt/ 1. Kind; gracious; favorable. Labels: archaic Example: Here Nature appears in her richest attire, and Art, dressed with the modestest simplicity, attends her benignant mistress. Example: And in the silence of the midnight trance, In snowy robe she comes to cheer my sight; So holy, so benignant is her glance, Her brow so placid,—and her eye so bright,...
Word: benison Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English benysoun, beneson, borrowed from Old French beneïson, from Latin benedictiō, benedictiōnem. First known use: 14th century. Doublet of benediction. Pronunciation: /ˈbɛnɪsən/, /ˈbɛnɪzʌn/, /ˈbɛnɪzən/ 1. A blessing; benediction. Labels: literary Example: That elf-maiden smote with her hand so white, “Sorrow and sickness on thee alight” That elf-maiden smote with her cap so small, “No more shall priest's benison on thee fall!” Example: Poor old men! how could they be cordial with their sore consciences and shamed faces? how could they bid God bless him with hearty voices and a true benison, knowing, as they did, that their vile cabal had driven him from his happy home, and sent him in his old age to seek shelter under a strange roof-tree?
Word: bequeath Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English biquethen, from Old English becweþan (“to say, to speak, to address, exhort, admonish, blame, bequeath, leave by will”). Cognate with Old Frisian biquetha. Pronunciation: /bɪˈkwiːθ/, /bɪˈkwiːð/ 1. To give or leave by will; to give by testament. 2. To hand down; to transmit. Example: Ownership of manufacturing workshops is not essential to that job; but BR happen to have been bequeathed a considerable number with a proud history. Example: First Xavier (Vernon Chatman): Looks like I already did. You're the sad figment of my twisted psyche's tragic dividend. You're the un-me. I'm the real me. You wanna be me? Second Xavier (Vernon Chatman): Kiddo, I was the real me when you were still in my short pants. First Xavier: Hate to break it to you, but I wore them first. Me bequeathed thee the psychopathological hand-you-down. Second Xavier: So you're the one who stained them!! First Xavier: Whoever found it, browned it. 3. To give; to offer; to commit. Example: These young gay men and lesbians were more militant and began to reject advice from the homophile movement to try to "fit into" society, not to make waves, and to rely on professionals and establishment figures to bequeath them social rights.
Word: berserk Part of Speech: noun Etymology: The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserker. The adjective is derived from the noun. The verb might partly be a back-formation from berserker, analyzed as containing the suffix -er. Cognates * Danish bersærk * Icelandic berserkur * Norwegian Bokmål berserk * Norwegian Nynorsk berserk * Swedish bärsärk Pronunciation: /ˈbɜːsɜːk/, /ˈbɚˌsɚk/ 1. Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”). Labels: historical Example: She had heard of his profligacy, his bursts of fierce Berserk-madness; and yet now these very faults, instead of repelling, seemed to attract her, and intensify her longing to save him. Example: The Professor, with his face flushed, his nostrils dilated, and his beard bristling, was now in a proper Berserk mood.
Word: berserk Part of Speech: adj Etymology: The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserker. The adjective is derived from the noun. The verb might partly be a back-formation from berserker, analyzed as containing the suffix -er. Cognates * Danish bersærk * Icelandic berserkur * Norwegian Bokmål berserk * Norwegian Nynorsk berserk * Swedish bärsärk Pronunciation: /ˈbɜːsɜːk/, /ˈbɚˌsɚk/, /bəˈzɜːk/, /bɜː-/, /-ˈsɜːk/ 1. Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control. Example: After seeing his sister stabbed to death, he went berserk and attacked the killer like a wild animal. Example: 'You went Berserk. I've read all about it in Hypatia.' […] 'You've gone Berserk and pretty soon you'll go to sleep. But you'll probably be liable to fits of it all your life,' Beetle concluded. 2. Bizarre; weird. Labels: broadly Example: [T]he writer conjured up a dystopian fantasy more berserk than anything you might find yourself listening to in the small hours at the Stone Circle. 3. Wildly joyous; ecstatic. Labels: broadly, dialectal, rare, slang Example: In amongst the strife, Scott McTominay, whose stoppage-time winner against Israel sent Hampden berserk, and Ryan Christie offered signs of an attacking pulse.
Word: berserk Part of Speech: verb Etymology: The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserker. The adjective is derived from the noun. The verb might partly be a back-formation from berserker, analyzed as containing the suffix -er. Cognates * Danish bersærk * Icelandic berserkur * Norwegian Bokmål berserk * Norwegian Nynorsk berserk * Swedish bärsärk Pronunciation: /ˈbɜːsɜːk/, /ˈbɚˌsɚk/, /bəˈzɜːk/, /bɜː-/, /-ˈsɜːk/ 1. To be or become berserk. Labels: intransitive Example: When great champions went berserking and were angry, they lost their human nature and went mad like dogs. Example: I suppose losing one hand made Stack especially sensitive to the possible loss of another. The wound was superficial, but he berserked. He killed the native with a riot gun, then turned it on the rest of them. A lieutenant had to bludgeon him into unconsciousness before he could be stopped. 2. To make berserk. Labels: transitive Example: He neither knows himself nor his outriders; he berserks a fearful dimension and dismounts, miraculously, in bed! Example: O holy Virgin, whereabout / Were you when all the swinish rout / Berserked the town? Those legions of the dead / Move only at the lash of lust. / Pray for us, or we die to trust— / Charred matchwood cursing Christ, who also bled.