Backrack - Baffler

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{ Backrack (băkrăk), Backrag (băkrăg), } n. See .
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backrest n. 1. a support that you can lean against while sitting.
Syn. -- back.
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backroom n. 1. the meeting place of a group of leaders who make their decisions via private negotiations.
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Backs (băks), n. pl. Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
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Backsaw (băks�), n. [2d back, n. + saw.] A saw (as a tenon saw) whose blade is stiffened by an added metallic back.
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Backset (băksĕt), n. [Back, adv. + set.] 1. A check; a relapse; a discouragement; a setback.
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2. Whatever is thrown back in its course, as water.
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Slackwater, or the backset caused by the overflow. Harper's Mag.
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Backset, v. t. To plow again, in the fall; -- said of prairie land broken up in the spring. [Western U.S.]
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Backsettler (băksĕtlẽr), n. [Back, a. + settler.] One living in the back or outlying districts of a community.
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The English backsettlers of Leinster and Munster. Macaulay.
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{ Backsheesh, Backshish } (�), n. [Pers. bakhshīsh, fr. bakhshīdan to give.] In Egypt and the Turkish empire, a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter); a gratuity; a “tip”.
Syn. -- gratuity, tip, baksheesh, bakshish, bakshis.
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Backside (băksīd), n. [Back, a. + side.] The hinder part, posteriors, or rump of a person or animal.
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☞ Backside (one word) was formerly used of the rear part or side of any thing or place, but in such senses is now two words.
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Backsight (băksīt), n. [Back, adv. + sight.] (Surv.) The reading of the leveling staff in its unchanged position when the leveling instrument has been taken to a new position; a sight directed backwards to a station previously occupied. Cf. , n., 3.
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Backslide (băkslīd; 277), v. i. [imp. Backslid (�); p. p. Backslidden (�), Backslid; p. pr. & vb. n. Backsliding.] [Back, adv. + slide.] To slide back; to fall away; esp. to abandon gradually the faith and practice of a religion that has been professed.
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Backslider (�), n. One who backslides.
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Backsliding, a. Slipping back; falling back into sin or error; sinning.
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Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord. Jer. iii. 14.
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Backsliding, n. The act of one who backslides; abandonment of faith or duty.
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Our backslidings are many. Jer. xiv. 7.
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backspace, backspacer n. 1. The key on a typewriter or other keyboard used for back spacing.
Syn. -- backspace key.
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backspace, v. i. In typing text, to press the backspace key so as to reposition the carriage or cursor on the previous space.
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Backstaff (�), n. An instrument formerly used for taking the altitude of the heavenly bodies, but now superseded by the quadrant and sextant; -- so called because the observer turned his back to the body observed.
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backstage n. (theater) the area on the stage out of sight of the audience.
Syn. -- wing, wings, offstage.
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backstage adj. concealed from the public; in private.
Syn. -- behind the scenes. [WordNet 1.5]

Backstairs, Back stairs. (băkstârz) n. Stairs in the back part of a house, as distinguished from the front stairs; a second staircase at the rear of a building; hence, a private or indirect way.
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{ Backstairs, Backstair }, a. Private; indirect; secret; conducted with secrecy; intriguing; -- as if finding access by the back stairs; as, backstairs gossip.
Syn. -- clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, on the quiet(predicate), secret, subterranean, surreptitious, undercover, underground.
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A backstairs influence. Burke.
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Female caprice and backstair influence. Trevelyan.
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Backstay (băkstā), n. [Back, a. or n. + stay.] 1. (Naut.) A rope or stay extending from the masthead to the side of a ship, slanting a little aft, to assist the shrouds in supporting the mast. [Often used in the plural.]
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2. A rope or strap used to prevent excessive forward motion.
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Backster (�), n. [See .] A baker. [Obs.]
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Backstitch (�), n. [Back, adv. + stitch.] A stitch made by setting the needle back of the end of the last stitch, and bringing it out in front of the end.
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Backstitch, v. t. To sew with backstitches; as, to backstitch a seam.
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Backstop (?), n. 1. In baseball, a fence, prop. at least 90 feet behind the home base, to stop the balls that pass the catcher; also, the catcher himself.
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2. In rounders, the player who stands immediately behind the striking base.
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3. In cricket, the longstop; also, the wicket keeper.
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Backstress (băkstrĕs), n. A female baker. [Obs.]
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backstroke n. 1. a swimming stroke that resembles the crawl except the swimmer lies on his or her back. It is usually executed with backward-moving circular arm strokes and a flutter kick.
[WordNet 1.5]

backswept adj. aligned from front to back; slanted toward the back; -- used of hair.
Syn. -- sweptback.
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Backsword (�), n. [2d back, n. + sword.] 1. A sword with one sharp edge.
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2. In England, a stick with a basket handle, used in rustic amusements; also, the game in which the stick is used. Also called singlestick. Halliwell.
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backswimmer n. any of numerous predaceous aquatic insects of the family Notonectidae (such as Notonecta undulata) that swim on their backs and may inflict painful bites; -- also called boat bug. [RHUD]
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back-to-back adj. 1. occurring immediately one after the other; consecutive. back-to-back home runs
Syn. -- consecutive.
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2. oriented with the backs toward each other, and sometimes touching.
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back up, v. i. 1. to move in a reverse direction; -- used of vehicles or animals.
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2. to accumulate due to a blockage of flow; as, a traffic backup due to an accident; a sewage backup.
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back up, v. t. 1. to serve as a backup{3} for (another person or persons); as, the patrolmen backed up the detectives as they went inside to make the arrest; the center fielder backed up the shortstop on the play.
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2. (Computers) to make a backup{5} of; as, the sysop backed up the purchasing data files every night.
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backup, n. 1. anything kept in reserve to serve as a substitute in case of failure or unavailability of the normal or primary object; -- used for devices, plans, people, etc. Also used attributively; as, there was no backup for the electrical supply; a backup motor; a backup generator.
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2. (Music) a musician or group of musicians accompanying a soloist, whether vocalists or instrumentalists.
Syn. -- accompaniment. [PJC]

3. a person or group of persons serving as reinforcement for another or others; as, the policeman called for backup when he was fired on.
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4. an accumulation, overflow, or reverse flow (in traffic or a liquid flow system) caused by a stoppage or other malfunction.
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5. (Computers) A copy of a program or data from a computer onto a data-storage medium, usually one that may be removed to safe storage at a distance from the computer; it is used to preserve data for use in the contingency that the original data on the computer may be lost or become unusable. A backup that is removed from the building housing the computer system (to provide protection against loss of data in a disastrous event such as a fire) is called off-site backup. Also used attributively; as, backup copy.
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6. (Computers) The act or process of creating a backup{5}; as, they performed a full system backup every weekend.
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{ Backward (�), Backwards (�), } adv. [Back, adv. + -ward.] 1. With the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward.
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2. Toward the back; toward the rear; as, to throw the arms backward.
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3. On the back, or with the back downward.
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Thou wilt fall backward. Shak.
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4. Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
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Some reigns backward. Locke.
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5. By way of reflection; reflexively. Sir J. Davies.
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6. From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.
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The work went backward. Dryden.
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7. In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily; as, to read backwards.
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We might have . . . beat them backward home. Shak.
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Backward, a. 1. Directed to the back or rear; as, backward glances.
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2. Unwilling; averse; reluctant; hesitating; loath.
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For wiser brutes were backward to be slaves. Pope.
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3. Not well advanced in learning; not quick of apprehension; dull; inapt; as, a backward child. “The backward learner.” South.
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4. Late or behindhand; as, a backward season.
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5. Not advanced in civilization; undeveloped; as, the country or region is in a backward state.
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6. Already past or gone; bygone. [R.]
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And flies unconscious o'er each backward year. Byron.
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Backward, n. The state behind or past. [Obs.]
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In the dark backward and abysm of time. Shak.
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Backward, v. t. To keep back; to hinder. [Obs.]
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Backwardation (�), n. [Backward, v. t. + -ation.] (Stock Exchange) The seller's postponement of delivery of stock or shares, with the consent of the buyer, upon payment of a premium to the latter; -- also, the premium so paid. See . Biddle.
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Backwardly (�), adv. 1. Reluctantly; slowly; aversely. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
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2. Perversely; ill. [Obs.]
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And does he think so backwardly of me? Shak.
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backwardness, n. The state of being backward.
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backwash (�), v. t. 1. To clean the oil from (wool) after combing. Ash.
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2. (Chem.) To clean (a filter, a chromatography column, a water softener, etc.) by passing liquid through in the reverse of the normal direction of flow. This procedure dislodges particles which clog the pores of the filter or column packing, removing them from the filter or column.
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backwash (�), n. 1. The flow of water propelled backward by the propeller, paddle wheel, or oars of a boat.
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2. (Aeron.) The backward flowing air within the wash of an airplane, caused mostly by the engine.
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Backwater (�), n. [Back, a. or adv. + -water. ] 1. Water turned back in its course by an obstruction, an opposing current, or the flow of the tide, as in a sewer or river channel, or across a river bar.
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2. An accumulation of water overflowing the low lands, caused by an obstruction.
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3. Water thrown back by the turning of a waterwheel, or by the paddle wheels of a steamer.
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Backwoods (�), n. pl. [Back, a. + woods.] The forests or partly cleared grounds on the frontiers.
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Backwoodsman (�), n.; pl. Backwoodsmen (�). A man living in the forest in or beyond the new settlements, especially on the western frontiers of the United States in former times. Fisher Ames.
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Backworm (�), n. [2d back, n. + worm.] A disease of hawks. See . Wright.
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Bacon (�), n. [OF. bacon, fr. OHG. bacho, bahho, flitch of bacon, ham; akin to E. back. Cf. Back the back side.] The back and sides of a pig salted and smoked; formerly, the flesh of a pig salted or fresh.
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Coloq. Bacon beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Dermestes lardarius) which, especially in the larval state, feeds upon bacon, woolens, furs, etc. See . -- Coloq. To save one's bacon , to save one's self or property from harm or loss. [Colloq.]
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Bacon, Roger Bacon prop. n. Roger Bacon. A celebrated English philosopher of the thirteenth century. Born at or near Ilchester, Somersetshire, about 1214: died probably at Oxford in 1294. He is credited with a recognition of the importance of experiment in answering questions about the natural world, recognized the potential importance of gunpowder and explosives generally, and wrote comments about several of the physical sciences that anticipated facts proven by experiment only much later.
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The Franciscan monk, Roger Bacon (c. 1214 - 1294) was an important transitional figure in chemistry as he was trained in the alchemical tradition, but introduced many of the modern concepts of experimental science. Bacon believed that experiment was necessary to support theory, but for him the theory as presented in the Bible was true and the experiment only underlined that truth. One of Bacon's lasting contributions was his references to gunpowder, bringing this discovery to the general attention of literate Europeans.

Gunpowder had been known for centuries in China, being used for fireworks and incendiary grenades. Gunpowder is a simple mixture of charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate (known generally as saltpeter). Saltpeter is a major component of guano (bird droppings) and may be recovered from privies where it will crystallize. By 1324, Europeans had discovered the art of using gunpowder to fire a projectile, marking the end of the period of castles and knights in armor. Prof. Tom Bitterwolf, Univ. of Idaho (Post-class notes, 1999).
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Roger Bacon was Born at or near Ilchester, Somersetshire, about 1214: died probably at Oxford in 1294. He was educated at Oxford and Paris (whence he appears to have returned to England about 1250), and joined the Franciscan order. In 1257 he was sent by his superiors to Paris where he was kept in close confinement for several years. About 1265 he was invited by Pope Clement IV. to write a general treatise on the sciences, in answer to which he composed his chief work, the Opus Majus. He was in England in 1268. In 1278 his writings were condemned as heretical by a council of his order, in consequence of which he was again placed in confinement. He was at liberty in 1292. Besides the Opus Majus, his most notable works are Opus Minus, Opus Tertium, and Compendium Philosophiae. See Siebert, Roger Bacon, 1861; Held, Roger Bacon's Praktische Philosophie, 1881; and L. Schneider, Roger Bacon, 1873. Century Dict. 1906.
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Dr. Whewell says that Roger Bacon's Opus Majus is the encyclopedia and Novam Organon of the Thirteenth Century, a work equally wonderful with regard to its general scheme and to the special treatises with which the outlines of the plans are filled up. The professed object of the work is to urge the necessity of a reform in the mode of philosophizing, to set forth the reasons why knowledge had not made a greater progress, to draw back attention to the sources of knowledge which had been unwisely neglected, to discover other sources which were yet almost untouched, and to animate men in the undertaking by a prospect of the vast advantages which it offered. In the development of this plan all the leading portions of science are expanded in the most complete shape which they had at that time assumed; and improvements of a very wide and striking kind are proposed in some of the principal branches of study. Even if the work had no leading purposes it would have been highly valuable as a treasure of the most solid knowledge and soundest speculations of the time; even if it bad contained no such details it would have been a work most remarkable for its general views and scope. James J. Walsh (Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries, .
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Bacon, Francis Bacon prop. n. Francis Bacon. A celebrated English philosopher, jurist, and statesman, son of Sir Nicholas Bacon. Born at York House, London, Jan. 22, 1561: died at Highgate, April 9, 1626, created Baron Verulam July 12, 1618, and Viscount St. Albans Jan. 27, 1621: commonly, but incorrectly, called Lord Bacon. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, April, 1573, to March, 1575, and at Gray's Inn 1575; became attached to the embassy of Sir Amias Paulet in France in 1576; was admitted to the bar in 1582; entered Parliament in 1584; was knighted in 1603; became solicitor-general in 1607, and attorney-general in 1613; was made a privy councilor in 1616, lord keeper in 1617, and lord chancellor in 1618; and was tried in 1621 for bribery, condemned, fined, and removed from office. A notable incident of his career was his connection with the Earl of Essex, which began in July, 1591, remained an intimate friendship until the fall of Essex (1600-01), and ended in Bacon's active efforts to secure the conviction of the earl for treason. (See Essex.) His great fame rests upon his services as a reformer of the methods of scientific investigation; and though his relation to the progress of knowledge has been exaggerated and misunderstood, his reputation as one of the chief founders of modern inductive science is well grounded. His chief works are the Advancement of Learning, published in English as The Two Books of Francis Bacon of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning Divine and Human, in 1605; the Novum organum sive indicia vera de interpretatione naturae, published in Latin, 1620, as a second part of the (incomplete) Instauratio magna; the De dignitate et augmentis scientiarum, published in Latin in 1623; Historia Ventorum (1622), Historia Vitae et Mortis (1623), Historia Densi et Rari (posthumously, 1658), Sylva Sylvarum (posthumously, 1627), New Atlantis, Essays (1597, 1612, 1625), De Sapientia Veterum (1609), Apothegms New and Old, History of Henry VII. (1622). Works edited by Ellis, Spedding, and Heath (7 vols. 1857); Life by Spedding (7 vols. 1861, 2 vols. 1878). See Shakspere. Century Dict. 1906.
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Baconian (�), a. Of or pertaining to Lord Francis Bacon, or to his system of philosophy.
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Baconian (?), n. 1. One who adheres to the philosophy of Lord Bacon.
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2. One who maintains that Lord Bacon is the author of the works commonly attributed to Shakespeare.
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Coloq. Baconian method , the inductive method. See .
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bacteremia (băktērēmēȧ or băktŭrēmēȧ), n. The presence of bacteria in the blood.
Syn. -- bacteriemia.
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bacteremic adj. Of or pertaining to bacteremia.
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Bacteria (�), n. pl. See .
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Bacterial (�), a. (Biol.) Of, pertaining to, or caused by bacteria.
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Bactericidal (�), a. Destructive of bacteria.
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Bactericide (băktērĭsīd), n. [Bacterium + L. caedere to kill] (Biol.) Same as .
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bacteriemia (băktẽrēēmēȧ) n. The presence of bacteria in the blood; same as .
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Bacterin (?), n. (Med.) A bacterial vaccine.
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Bacteriological (băktērĭ�lŏjĭk�l), a. Of or pertaining to bacteriology; as, bacteriological studies.
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Bacteriologist, n. One skilled in bacteriology.
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Bacteriology (�), n. [Bacterium + -logy.] (Biol.) The branch of microbiology relating to bacteria.
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Bacteriolysis (?), n. [NL.; fr. Gr. bakthrion, baktron, a staff + � a loosing.] 1. Chemical decomposition brought about by bacteria without the addition of oxygen.
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2. The destruction or dissolution of bacterial cells. -- Bacteriolytic (#), a.
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bacteriophage n. sing. & pl. a virus which infects bacteria; -- also colloquially called phage in laboratory jargon. Bacteriophages are of many varieties, generally specific for one or a narrow range of bacterial species, and almost every bacterium is susceptible to at least one bacteriophage. They may have DNA or RNA as their genetic component. Certain types of bacteriophage, called Coloq. temperate bacteriophage , may infect but not kill their host bacteria, residing in and replicating either as a plasmid or integrated into the host genome. Under certain conditions, a resident temperate phage may become induced to multiply rapidly and vegetatively, killing and lysing its host bacterium, and producing multiple progeny. The lambda phage of Eschericia coli, much studied in biochemical and genetic research, is of the temperate type.
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bacteriophagic bacteriophagous adj. 1. of or pertaining to bacteriophage.
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Bacterioscopic (�), a. (Biol.) Relating to bacterioscopy; as, a bacterioscopic examination.
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Bacterioscopist (�), n. (Biol.) One skilled in bacterioscopic examinations.
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Bacterioscopy (băktērĭŏsk�p�), n. [Bacterium + -scopy; fr. Gr. bakthrion, baktron, a staff + skopei^n to view.] (Biol.) 1. The application of a knowledge of bacteria for their detection and identification, as in the examination of polluted water.
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2. Microscopic examination or investigation of bacteria. -- Bacterioscopic (#), a. -- scopically (#), adv. -- Bacterioscopist (#), n.
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bacteriostasis n. inhibition of the growth of bacteria, without outright killing of the organism.
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bacteriostat n. a chemical or biological material that inhibits bacterial growth.
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bacteriostatic adj. 1. of or pertaining to bacteriostasis or a bacteriostat.
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2. causing bacteriostasis; -- said of chemical substances, such as certain antibacterial agents.
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☞ Substances, such as antibiotics, which inhibit bacterial growth are usually classified as bacteriostatic or bacteriocidal depending on the rate at which bacteria exposed to the agents{4} die. The rates of death of bacteria exposed to antibacterial agents{4} are, however, dependent on the concentration of the agent{4}, and form a continuum with some antibacterial agents{4} of intermediate type. The penicillins are considered as typical bactericidal agents, and chloramphenicol or the sulfa drugs as typical bacteriostatic agents. In general, inhibitors of cell-wall synthesis will be bactericidal and many inhibitors of protein synthesis are classed as bacteriostatic, but some of the aminoglycosides also kill bacteria rapidly.
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bacterise v. to subject to the action of bacteria.
Syn. -- bacterize.
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Bacterium (băktērĭŭm), n.; pl. Bacteria (băktērĭȧ). [NL., fr. Gr. bakthrion, baktron, a staff: cf. F. bactérie.] (Biol.) A microscopic single-celled organism having no distinguishable nucleus, belonging to the kingdom Monera. Bacteria have varying shapes, usually taking the form of a jointed rodlike filament, or a small sphere, but also in certain cases having a branched form. Bacteria are destitute of chlorophyll, but in those members of the phylum Cyanophyta (the blue-green algae) other light-absorbing pigments are present. They are the smallest of microscopic organisms which have their own metabolic processes carried on within cell membranes, viruses being smaller but not capable of living freely. The bacteria are very widely diffused in nature, and multiply with marvelous rapidity, both by fission and by spores. Bacteria may require oxygen for their energy-producing metabolism, and these are called aerobes; or may multiply in the absence of oxygen, these forms being anaerobes. Certain species are active agents in fermentation, while others appear to be the cause of certain infectious diseases. The branch of science with studies bacteria is , being a division of . See .
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bacterize v. to subject to the action of bacteria.
Syn. -- bacterise.
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{ Bacteroid (�), Bacteroidal (�), } a. [Bacterium + -oid.] (Biol.) Resembling bacteria; as, bacteroid particles.
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Bactrian (�), a. Of or pertaining to Bactria in Asia. -- n. A native of Bactria.
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Coloq. Bactrian camel , the two-humped camel.
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Bacule (�), n. [F.] (Fort.) See .
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baculiform adj. shaped like a rod.
Syn. -- baccilar, bacillary, bacilliform, rod-shaped.
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Baculine (�), a. [L. baculum staff.] Of or pertaining to the rod or punishment with the rod.
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Baculite (�), n. [L. baculum stick, staff; cf. F. baculite.] (Paleon.) A cephalopod of the extinct genus Baculites, found fossil in the Cretaceous rocks. It is like an uncoiled ammonite.
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Baculometry (�), n. [L. baculum staff + -metry.] Measurement of distance or altitude by a staff or staffs.
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Bad (băd), imp. of . Bade. [Obs.] Dryden.
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Bad (băd), a. [Compar. Worse (wûs); superl. Worst (wûst).] [Probably fr. AS. bæddel hermaphrodite; cf. bædling effeminate fellow.] Wanting good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, either physically or morally; evil; vicious; wicked; -- the opposite of good; as, a bad man; bad conduct; bad habits; bad soil; bad air; bad health; a bad crop; bad news.
Sometimes used substantively.
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The strong antipathy of good to bad. Pope.
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Syn. -- Pernicious; deleterious; noxious; baneful; injurious; hurtful; evil; vile; wretched; corrupt; wicked; vicious; imperfect.
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Badaud (?), n. [F.] A person given to idle observation of everything, with wonder or astonishment; a credulous or gossipy idler.
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A host of stories . . . dealing chiefly with the subject of his great wealth, an ever delightful topic to the badauds of Paris. Pall Mall Mag.
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Badder (�), compar. of , a. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Badderlocks (�), n. [Perh. for Balderlocks, fr. Balder the Scandinavian deity.] (Bot.) A large black seaweed (Alaria esculenta) sometimes eaten in Europe; -- also called murlins, honeyware, and henware.
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Baddish, a. Somewhat bad; inferior. Jeffrey.
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Bade (băd). A form of the past tense of .
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Badge (băj), n. [LL. bagea, bagia, sign, prob. of German origin; cf. AS. beág, beáh, bracelet, collar, crown, OS. bōg- in comp., AS. būgan to bow, bend, G. biegen. See to bend.] 1. A distinctive mark, token, sign, or cognizance, worn on the person; as, the badge of a society; the badge of a policeman. “Tax gatherers, recognized by their official badges.” Prescott.
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2. Something characteristic; a mark; a token.
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Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge. Shak.
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3. (Naut.) A carved ornament on the stern of a vessel, containing a window or the representation of one.
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Badge (băj), v. t. To mark or distinguish with a badge.
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Badgeless, a. Having no badge. Bp. Hall.
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Badger (�), n. [Of uncertain origin; perh. fr. an old verb badge to lay up provisions to sell again.] An itinerant licensed dealer in commodities used for food; a hawker; a huckster; -- formerly applied especially to one who bought grain in one place and sold it in another. [Now dialectic, Eng.]
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Badger, n. [OE. bageard, prob. fr. badge + -ard, in reference to the white mark on its forehead. See ,n.] 1. A carnivorous quadruped of the genus Meles or of an allied genus. It is a burrowing animal, with short, thick legs, and long claws on the fore feet. One species (Meles meles or Meles vulgaris), called also brock, inhabits the north of Europe and Asia; another species (Taxidea taxus or Taxidea Americana or Taxidea Labradorica) inhabits the northern parts of North America. See .
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2. A brush made of badgers' hair, used by artists.
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Coloq. Badger dog . (Zoöl.) See .
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Badger, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Badgered (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Badgering.] [For sense 1, see 2d ; for 2, see 1st .] 1. To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or irritate persistently.
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2. To beat down; to cheapen; to barter; to bargain.
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Badgerer (�), n. 1. One who badgers.
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2. A kind of dog used in badger baiting.
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Badger game. The method of blackmailing by decoying a person into a compromising situation and extorting money by threats of exposure. [Cant]
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Badgering, n. 1. The act of one who badgers.
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2. The practice of buying wheat and other kinds of food in one place and selling them in another for a profit. [Prov. Eng.]
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Badger-legged (�), a. Having legs of unequal length, as the badger was thought to have. Shak.
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Badger State. Wisconsin; -- a nickname.
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Badiaga (bădĭāgȧ or bȧdyägȧ), n. [Russ. badiaga.] (Zoöl.) A fresh-water sponge (Spongilla), common in the north of Europe, the powder of which is used to take away the livid marks of bruises.
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Badian (�), n. [F. badiane, fr. Per. bādiān anise.] (Bot.) An evergreen Chinese shrub of the Magnolia family (Illicium anisatum), and its aromatic seeds; Chinese anise; star anise.
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Badigeon (bȧdĭjŭn), n. [F.] A cement or distemper paste (as of plaster and powdered freestone, or of sawdust and glue or lime) used by sculptors, builders, and workers in wood or stone, to fill holes, cover defects, finish a surface, etc.
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Badinage (�), n. [F., fr. badiner to joke, OF. to trifle, be silly, fr. badin silly.] Playful raillery; banter. “He . . . indulged himself only in an elegant badinage.” Warburton.
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Bad lands (�). Barren regions, especially in the western United States, where horizontal strata (Tertiary deposits) have been often eroded into fantastic forms, and much intersected by cañons, and where lack of wood, water, and forage increases the difficulty of traversing the country, whence the name, first given by the Canadian French, Mauvaises Terres (bad lands).
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Badly, adv. In a bad manner; poorly; not well; unskillfully; imperfectly; unfortunately; grievously; so as to cause harm; disagreeably; seriously.
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☞ Badly is often used colloquially for very much or very greatly, with words signifying to want or need.
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Badminton (�), n. [From the name of the seat of the Duke of Beaufort in England.] 1. A game, similar to lawn tennis, played with shuttlecocks.
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2. A preparation of claret, spiced and sweetened.
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Badness, n. The state of being bad.
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Bænomere (�), n. [Gr. bainein to walk + -mere.] (Zoöl.) One of the somites (arthromeres) that make up the thorax of Arthropods. Packard.
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Bænopod (�), n. [Gr. bainein to walk + -pod.] (Zoöl.) One of the thoracic legs of Arthropods.
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Bænosome (�), n. [Gr. bainein to walk + -some body.] (Zoöl.) The thorax of Arthropods. Packard.
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Bætulus (?), n.; pl. Bætuli (#). [L., fr. Gr. baitylos a sacred meteorite.] (Antiq.) A meteorite, or similar rude stone artificially shaped, held sacred or worshiped as of divine origin.
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All the evidence goes to prove that these menhirs are bætuli, i. e., traditional and elementary images of the deity. I. Gonino (Perrot & Chipiez).
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Baff (băf), n. 1. A blow; a stroke; thud. [Scot.] H. Miller.
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2. specif. (Golf), a stroke in which the sole of the club hits the ground and drives the ball aloft. [Scot. or Golf]
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Baff (băf), v. t. & i. [Scot., prob. imitative; cf. G. baff, interj. imitating the sound of a shot.] To strike; to beat; to make a baff. [Scot. or Golf]
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Baffle (băff'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Baffled (-f'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Baffling (-flĭng).] [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. bāgr uneasy, poor, or bāgr, n., struggle, bægja to push, treat harshly, OF. beffler, beffer, to mock, deceive, dial. G. bäppe mouth, beffen to bark, chide.]
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1. To cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight. [Obs.]
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He by the heels him hung upon a tree,
And baffled so, that all which passed by
The picture of his punishment might see. Spenser.
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2. To check by shifts and turns; to elude; to foil.
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The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim. Cowper.
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3. To check by perplexing; to disconcert, frustrate, or defeat; to thwart. “A baffled purpose.” De Quincey.
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A suitable scripture ready to repel and baffle them all. South.
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Calculations so difficult as to have baffled, until within a . . . recent period, the most enlightened nations. Prescott.
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The mere intricacy of a question should not baffle us. Locke.
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Coloq. Baffling wind (Naut.), one that frequently shifts from one point to another.
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Syn. -- To balk; thwart; foil; frustrate; defeat.
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Baffle, v. i. 1. To practice deceit. [Obs.] Barrow.
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2. To struggle against in vain; as, a ship baffles with the winds. [R.]
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Baffle, n. 1. A defeat by artifice, shifts, and turns; discomfiture. [R.] “A baffle to philosophy.” South.
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2. (Engin.) (a) A deflector, as a plate or wall, so arranged across a furnace or boiler flue as to mingle the hot gases and deflect them against the substance to be heated. (b) A grating or plate across a channel or pipe conveying water, gas, or the like, by which the flow is rendered more uniform in different parts of the cross section of the stream; -- used in measuring the rate of flow, as by means of a weir.
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2. (Coal Mining) A lever for operating the throttle valve of a winding engine. [Local, U. S.]
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baffled adj. not understanding.
Syn. -- uncomprehending.
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2. discouraged by failure to accomplish a goal and uncertain how to proceed; -- used especially of feelings of defeat and discouragement.
Syn. -- balked, discomfited, discouraged, frustrated.
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Bafflement (băff'lm�nt), n. The process or act of baffling, or of being baffled; frustration; check.

Baffler (băfflẽr), n. One who, or that which, baffles.
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