Basto - Batta

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Basto (bȧst�), n. [Sp.] The ace of clubs in quadrille and omber. Pope.
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Baston (băstŭn), n. [OF. baston, F. bâton, LL. basto. See , and cf. , and 3d .]
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1. A staff or cudgel. [Obs.] “To fight with blunt bastons.” Holland.
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2. (Her.) See .
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3. An officer bearing a painted staff, who formerly was in attendance upon the king's court to take into custody persons committed by the court. Mozley & W.
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Basutos (?), n. pl.; sing. Basuto (�). (Ethnol.) A warlike South African people of the Bantu stock, divided into many tribes, at one time subjected by the English. They formerly practiced cannibalism, but have now adopted many European customs.
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Basyle (băsĭl or bāsĭl), n. [Gr. basis base + ylh wood. See .] (Chem.) A positive or nonacid constituent of compound, either elementary, or, if compound, performing the functions of an element.
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Basylous (�), a. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, a basyle; electro-positive; basic; -- opposed to chlorous. Graham.
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Bat (băt), n. [OE. batte, botte, AS. batt; perhaps fr. the Celtic; cf. Ir. bat, bata, stick, staff; but cf. also F. batte a beater (thing), wooden sword, battre to beat.]
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1. A large stick; a club; specifically, a piece of wood with one end thicker or broader than the other, used in playing baseball, cricket, etc.
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2. In badminton, tennis, and similar games, a racket.
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3. A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.
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4. A part of a brick with one whole end; a brickbat.
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5. (Mining) Shale or bituminous shale. Kirwan.
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6. A stroke; a sharp blow. [Colloq. or Slang]
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7. A stroke of work. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
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8. Rate of motion; speed. [Colloq.] “A vast host of fowl . . . making at full bat for the North Sea.” Pall Mall Mag.
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9. A spree; a jollification. [Slang, U. S.]
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10. Manner; rate; condition; state of health. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
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Coloq. Bat bolt (Machinery), a bolt barbed or jagged at its butt or tang to make it hold the more firmly. Knight.
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Bat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Batted (băttĕd); p. pr. & vb. n. Batting.] To strike or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat. Holland.
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Bat, v. i. To use a bat, as in a game of baseball; when used with a numerical postmodifier it indicates a baseball player's performance (as a decimal) at bat; as, he batted .270 in 1993 (i.e. he got safe hits in 27 percent of his official turns at bat).
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Bat, v. t. & i. 1. To bate or flutter, as a hawk. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
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2. To wink. [Local, U. S. & Prov Eng.]
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Bat, n. [Corrupt. from OE. back, backe, balke; cf. Dan. aften-bakke (aften evening), Sw. natt-backa (natt night), Icel. leðr-blaka (leðr leather), Icel. blaka to flutter.] (Zoöl.) One of the Chiroptera, an order of flying mammals, in which the wings are formed by a membrane stretched between the elongated fingers, legs, and tail. The common bats are small and insectivorous. See and .
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Silent bats in drowsy clusters cling. Goldsmith.
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Coloq. Bat tick (Zoöl.), a wingless, dipterous insect of the genus Nycteribia, parasitic on bats.
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Bat (?), n. [Siamese.] Same as , n., 1.
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Batable (�), a. [Abbrev. from debatable.] Disputable. [Obs.]
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☞ The border land between England and Scotland, being formerly a subject of contention, was called batable or debatable ground.
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Batailled (�), a. Embattled. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Batardeau (�), n. [F.] 1. A cofferdam. Brande & C.
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2. (Mil.) A wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides of the wall.
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{ Batatas (�), Batata (�), } n. An aboriginal American name for the sweet potato (Ipomæa batatas).
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Batavian (�), a. 1. Of or pertaining to the Batavi, an ancient Germanic tribe.
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2. Of or pertaining to Batavia or Holland; as, a Batavian legion.
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Coloq. Batavian Republic , the name given to Holland by the French after its conquest in 1795.
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Batavian, n. A native or inhabitant of Batavia or Holland. [R.] Bancroft.
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batboy (bătboi), n. (Baseball) A boy who holds the bats and presents the bat to a batter when the batter is going to the batter's box to bat. The batboy sometimes also keeps other team equipment.
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Batch (�), n. [OE. bache, bacche, fr. AS. bacan to bake; cf. G. gebäck and D. baksel. See , v. t.]
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1. The quantity of bread baked at one time.
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2. A quantity of anything produced at one operation; a group or collection of persons or things of the same kind; as, a batch of letters; the next batch of business. “A new batch of Lords.” Lady M. W. Montagu.
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Bate (�), n. [Prob. abbrev. from debate.] Strife; contention. [Obs.] Shak.
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Bate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bating.] [From abate.] 1. To lessen by retrenching, deducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat down; to lower.
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He must either bate the laborer's wages, or not employ or not pay him. Locke.
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2. To allow by way of abatement or deduction.
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To whom he bates nothing of what he stood upon with the parliament. South.
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3. To leave out; to except. [Obs.]
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Bate me the king, and, be he flesh and blood,
He lies that says it. Beau. & Fl.
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4. To remove. [Obs.]
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About autumn bate the earth from about the roots of olives, and lay them bare. Holland.
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5. To deprive of. [Obs.]
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When baseness is exalted, do not bate
The place its honor for the person's sake. Herbert.
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Bate, v. i. 1. To remit or retrench a part; -- with of.
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Abate thy speed, and I will bate of mine. Dryden.
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2. To waste away. [Obs.] Shak.
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Bate (�), v. t. To attack; to bait. [Obs.] Spenser.
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Bate, imp. of . [Obs.] Spenser.
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Bate, v. i. [F. battre des ailes to flutter. Cf. to flutter.] To flutter as a hawk; to bait. [Obs.] Bacon.
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Bate, n. (Jewish Antiq.) See 2d .
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Bate, n. [Cf. Sw. beta maceration, soaking, G. beize, and E. bite.] An alkaline solution consisting of the dung of certain animals; -- employed in the preparation of hides; grainer. Knight.
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Bate, v. t. To steep in bate, as hides, in the manufacture of leather.
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Bateau (�), n.; pl. Bateaux (�). [F. bateau, LL. batellus, fr. battus, batus, boat, which agrees with AS. bāt boat: cf. W. bad boat. See , n.] A boat; esp. a flat-bottomed, clumsy boat used on the Canadian lakes and rivers. [Written also, but less properly, batteau.]
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Coloq. Bateau bridge , a floating bridge supported by bateaux.
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Bated (�), a. Reduced; lowered; restrained; as, to speak with bated breath. Macaulay.
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Bateful (�), a. Exciting contention; contentious. [Obs.] “It did bateful question frame.” Sidney.
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Bateless, a. Not to be abated. [Obs.] Shak.
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Batement (�), n. [For . See 2d .] Abatement; diminution. Moxon.
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Coloq. Batement light (Arch.), a window or one division of a window having vertical sides, but with the sill not horizontal, as where it follows the rake of a staircase.
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Batfish (�), n. (Zoöl.) A name given to several species of fishes: (a) The Malthe vespertilio of the Atlantic coast. (b) The flying gurnard of the Atlantic (Cephalacanthus spinarella). (c) The California batfish or sting ray (Myliobatis Californicus.)
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Batfowler (�), n. One who practices or finds sport in batfowling.
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Batfowling (�), n. [From a stick.] A mode of catching birds at night, by holding a torch or other light, and beating the bush or perch where they roost. The birds, flying to the light, are caught with nets or otherwise.
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Batful (bătfụl), a. [Icel. bati amelioration, batna to grow better; akin to AS. bet better. Goth. ga-batnan to profit. √255. Cf. , v. i., .] Rich; fertile. [Obs.] “Batful valleys.” Drayton.
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Bath (bȧth; 61), n.; pl. Baths (bȧ�z). [AS. bæð; akin to OS. & Icel. bað, Sw., Dan., D., & G. bad, and perh. to G. bähen to foment.] 1. The act of exposing the body, or part of the body, for purposes of cleanliness, comfort, health, etc., to water, vapor, hot air, or the like; as, a cold or a hot bath; a medicated bath; a steam bath; a hip bath.
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2. Water or other liquid for bathing.
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3. A receptacle or place where persons may immerse or wash their bodies in water.
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4. A building containing an apartment or a series of apartments arranged for bathing.
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Among the ancients, the public baths were of amazing extent and magnificence. Gwilt.
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5. (Chem.) A medium, as heated sand, ashes, steam, hot air, through which heat is applied to a body.
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6. (Photog.) A solution in which plates or prints are immersed; also, the receptacle holding the solution.
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☞ Bath is used adjectively or in combination, in an obvious sense of or for baths or bathing; as, bathroom, bath tub, bath keeper.
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Coloq. Douche bath . See . -- Coloq. Order of the Bath , a high order of British knighthood, composed of three classes, viz., knights grand cross, knights commanders, and knights companions, abbreviated thus: G. C. B., K. C. B., K. B. -- Coloq. Russian bath , a kind of vapor bath which consists in a prolonged exposure of the body to the influence of the steam of water, followed by washings and shampooings. -- Coloq. Turkish bath , a kind of bath in which a profuse perspiration is produced by hot air, after which the body is washed and shampooed. -- Coloq. Bath house , a house used for the purpose of bathing; -- also a small house, near a bathing place, where a bather undresses and dresses.
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Bath (�), n. [Heb.] A Hebrew measure containing the tenth of a homer, or five gallons and three pints, as a measure for liquids; and two pecks and five quarts, as a dry measure.
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Bath (�), n. A city in the west of England, resorted to for its hot springs, which has given its name to various objects.
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Coloq. Bath brick , a preparation of calcareous earth, in the form of a brick, used for cleaning knives, polished metal, etc. -- Coloq. Bath chair , a kind of chair on wheels, as used by invalids at Bath. “People walked out, or drove out, or were pushed out in their Bath chairs.” Dickens. -- Coloq. Bath metal , an alloy consisting of four and a half ounces of zinc and one pound of copper. -- Coloq. Bath note , a folded writing paper, 8 1/2 by 14 inches. -- Coloq. Bath stone , a species of limestone (oölite) found near Bath, used for building.
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Bathe (bā�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bathed (bā�d); p. pr. & vb. n. Bathing.] [OE. baðien, AS. baðian, fr. bæð bath. See 1st , and cf. to bathe.] 1. To wash by immersion, as in a bath; to subject to a bath.
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Chancing to bathe himself in the River Cydnus. South.
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2. To lave; to wet. “The lake which bathed the foot of the Alban mountain.” T. Arnold.
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3. To moisten or suffuse with a liquid.
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And let us bathe our hands in Cæsar's blood. Shak.
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4. To apply water or some liquid medicament to; as, to bathe the eye with warm water or with sea water; to bathe one's forehead with camphor.
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5. To surround, or envelop, as water surrounds a person immersed. “The rosy shadows bathe me. ” Tennyson. “The bright sunshine bathing all the world.” Longfellow.
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Bathe (�), v. i. 1. To bathe one's self; to take a bath or baths. “They bathe in summer.” Waller.
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2. To immerse or cover one's self, as in a bath. “To bathe in fiery floods.” Shak. “Bathe in the dimples of her cheek.” Lloyd.
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3. To bask in the sun. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Bathe, n. The immersion of the body in water; as, to take one's usual bathe. Edin. Rev.
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Bather (bā�ẽr), n. One who bathes.
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Bathetic (�), a. Having the character of bathos. [R.]
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bathhouse n. 1. a building containing dressing rooms for bathers.
Syn. -- bathing machine.
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2. a building containing public baths.
Syn. -- bagnio.
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Bathing (�), n. Act of taking a bath or baths.
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Coloq. Bathing machine , a small room on wheels, to be driven into the water, for the convenience of bathers, who undress and dress therein.
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Bathmism (�), n. See .
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batholite n. A large mass of intrusive igneous rock believed to have solidified deep within the earth.
Syn. -- batholith, pluton, plutonic rock.
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batholith (băth�lĭth), n. [Gr. baqos depth + -lith.] A large mass of intrusive igneous rock believed to have solidified deep within the earth.
Syn. -- batholite, pluton, plutonic rock.
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batholithic adj. Of or pertaining to a batholith.
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Bathometer (�), n. [Gr. baqos depth + -meter.] An instrument for measuring depths, esp. one for taking soundings without a sounding line.
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Bathorse (�), n. [F. bât packsaddle (cheval de bât packhorse) + E. horse. See .] A horse which carries an officer's baggage during a campaign.
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Bathos (bāthŏs), n. [Gr. baqos depth, fr. baqys deep.] (Rhet.) A ludicrous descent from the elevated to the low, in writing or speech; anticlimax.
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bath towel, bath-towel n. a large towel used to dry oneself after a bath.
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bathtub n. A relatively large tub used to take a bath, usually a permanent fixture in a bathroom; it is an open container that is filled with water, in which a person immerses himself for the purpose of washing the body.
Syn. -- bath, tub.
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bathyal adj. of or pertaining to bathymetry.
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Bathybius (�), n. [NL., fr. Gr. baqys deep + bios life] (Zoöl.) A name given by Prof. Huxley to a gelatinous substance found in mud dredged from the Atlantic and preserved in alcohol. He supposed that it was free living protoplasm, covering a large part of the ocean bed. It is now known that the substance is of chemical, not of organic, origin.
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Bathyergidae n. a natural family inclusing the mole rats and sand rats.
Syn. -- family Bathyergidae.
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Bathyergus n. a genus consisting of the mole rats.
Syn. -- genus Bathyergus.
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Bathygraphic (?), a. [Gr. baqys deep + graphic.] Descriptive of the ocean depth; as, a bathygraphic chart.
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{ Bathymetric (�), Bathymetrical (�), } a. Pertaining to bathymetry; relating to the measurement of depths, especially of depths in the sea. -- Bathymetrically, adv.
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Bathymetry (�), n. [Gr. baqos depth + -metry.] The art or science of sounding, or measuring depths in the sea.
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bathyscaph, bathyscaphe n. navigable deep diving vessel for underwater exploration.
Syn. -- bathyscape.
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bathysphere n. a spherical deep diving apparatus (lowered by a cable) for underwater exploration; it is constructed with a strong steel shell to withstand high pressures at the ocean bottom.
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Batidaceae n. a natural family coextensive with genus Batis; the saltworts.
Syn. -- family Batidaceae, saltwort family.
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batik n. 1. A dyed fabric with designs drawn on by applying a removable wax where the dye is not wanted.
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2. The method used to create a batik{1}; using wax to allow drawing or printing of designs on a fabric.
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Bating (�), prep. [Strictly p. pr. of to abate.] With the exception of; excepting.
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We have little reason to think that they bring many ideas with them, bating some faint ideas of hunger and thirst. Locke.
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Batis n. A small genus of plants constituting the family Batidaceae: low straggling dioecious shrubs.
Syn. -- genus Batis.
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Batiste (�), n. [F. batiste, from the name of the alleged first maker, Baptiste of Cambrai. Littré.] Originally, cambric or lawn of fine linen; now applied also to cloth of similar texture made of cotton.
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Batlet (�), n. [Bat stick + -let.] A short bat for beating clothes in washing them; -- called also batler, batling staff, batting staff. Shak.
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Batman (bătmăn), n. [Turk. baṭman.] A weight used in the East, varying according to the locality; in Turkey, the greater batman is about 157 pounds, the lesser only a fourth of this; at Aleppo and Smyrna, the batman is 17 pounds. Simmonds.
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Batman (b�m�n or bătm�n), n.; pl. Batmen (bătm�n). [F. bât packsaddle + E. man. Cf. .] A man who has charge of a bathorse and his load. Macaulay.
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Batoidei (�), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. batos a kind of ray + -oid.] (Zoöl.) The division of fishes which includes the rays and skates.
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Baton (bătŭn, F. bätôN; 277), n. [F. bâton. See .] 1. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes; as, the baton of a field marshal; the baton of a conductor in musical performances.
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He held the baton of command. Prescott.
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2. (Her.) An ordinary with its ends cut off, borne sinister as a mark of bastardy, and containing one fourth in breadth of the bend sinister; -- called also bastard bar. See .
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Batoon (�), n. See , and .
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Bat printing (�). (Ceramics) A mode of printing on glazed ware.
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Batrachia (�), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. batracheios belonging to a frog, fr. batrachos frog.] (Zoöl.) The order of amphibians which includes the frogs and toads; the Anura. Sometimes the word is used in a wider sense as equivalent to Amphibia.
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Batrachian (�), a. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the Batrachia. -- n. One of the Batrachia.
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Batrachoid (�), a. [Batrachia + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Froglike. Specifically: Of or pertaining to the Batrachidæ, a family of marine fishes, including the toadfish. Some have poisonous dorsal spines.
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Batrachomyomachy (�), n. [Gr. batrachomyomachia; batrachos frog + my^s mouse + machh battle.] The battle between the frogs and mice; -- a Greek parody on the Iliad, of uncertain authorship.
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Batrachophagous (�), a. [Gr. batrachos frog + fagei^n to eat.] Feeding on frogs. Quart. Rev.
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bats (băts), a. Crazy; insane; loony; demented; batty.
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Batsman (�), n.; pl. Batsmen (�). The one who wields the bat in cricket, baseball, etc.; in baseball, the batsman is usually called the batter.
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{Bat's-wing (�) or Batwing }, a. Shaped like a bat's wing; as, a bat's-wing burner.
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Batta (băttȧ), n. [Prob. through Pg. for Canarese bhatta rice in the husk.] Extra pay; esp. an extra allowance to an English officer serving in India. Whitworth.
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