Bottom - Bounden

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Bottom (bŏttŭm), n. [OE. botum, botme, AS. botm; akin to OS. bodom, D. bodem, OHG. podam, G. boden, Icel. botn, Sw. botten, Dan. bund (for budn), L. fundus (for fudnus), Gr. pyqmhn (for fyqmhn), Skr. budhna (for bhudhna), and Ir. bonn sole of the foot, W. bon stem, base. √257. Cf. 4th , , n.] 1. The lowest part of anything; the foot; as, the bottom of a tree or well; the bottom of a hill, a lane, or a page.
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Or dive into the bottom of the deep. Shak.
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2. The part of anything which is beneath the contents and supports them, as the part of a chair on which a person sits, the circular base or lower head of a cask or tub, or the plank floor of a ship's hold; the under surface.
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Barrels with the bottom knocked out. Macaulay.
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No two chairs were alike; such high backs and low backs and leather bottoms and worsted bottoms. W. Irving.
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3. That upon which anything rests or is founded, in a literal or a figurative sense; foundation; groundwork.
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4. The bed of a body of water, as of a river, lake, sea.
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5. The fundament; the buttocks.
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6. An abyss. [Obs.] Dryden.
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7. Low land formed by alluvial deposits along a river; low-lying ground; a dale; a valley. “The bottoms and the high grounds.” Stoddard.
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8. (Naut.) The part of a ship which is ordinarily under water; hence, the vessel itself; a ship.
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My ventures are not in one bottom trusted. Shak.
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Not to sell the teas, but to return them to London in the
same bottoms in which they were shipped. Bancroft.
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Coloq. Full bottom , a hull of such shape as permits carrying a large amount of merchandise.
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9. Power of endurance; as, a horse of a good bottom.
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10. Dregs or grounds; lees; sediment. Johnson.
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Coloq. At bottom , Coloq. At the bottom , at the foundation or basis; in reality. “He was at the bottom a good man.” J. F. Cooper. -- Coloq. To be at the bottom of , to be the cause or originator of; to be the source of. [Usually in an opprobrious sense.] J. H. Newman.
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He was at the bottom of many excellent counsels. Addison.
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-- Coloq. To go to the bottom , to sink; esp. to be wrecked. -- Coloq. To touch bottom , to reach the lowest point; to find something on which to rest.
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Bottom, a. Of or pertaining to the bottom; fundamental; lowest; under; as, bottom rock; the bottom board of a wagon box; bottom prices.
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Coloq. Bottom glade , a low glade or open place; a valley; a dale. Milton.
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-- Coloq. Bottom grass , grass growing on bottom lands. -- Coloq. Bottom land . See 1st , n., 7.
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Bottom, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bottomed (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bottoming.]
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1. To found or build upon; to fix upon as a support; -- followed by on or upon.
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Action is supposed to be bottomed upon principle. Atterbury.
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Those false and deceiving grounds upon which many bottom their eternal state]. South.
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2. To furnish with a bottom; as, to bottom a chair.
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3. To reach or get to the bottom of. Smiles.
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Bottom, v. i. 1. To rest, as upon an ultimate support; to be based or grounded; -- usually with on or upon.
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Find on what foundation any proposition bottoms. Locke.
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2. To reach or impinge against the bottom, so as to impede free action, as when the point of a cog strikes the bottom of a space between two other cogs, or a piston the end of a cylinder.
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Bottom, n. [OE. botme, perh. corrupt. for button. See .] A ball or skein of thread; a cocoon. [Obs.]
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Silkworms finish their bottoms in . . . fifteen days. Mortimer.
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Bottom, v. t. To wind round something, as in making a ball of thread. [Obs.]
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As you unwind her love from him,
Lest it should ravel and be good to none,
You must provide to bottom it on me. Shak.
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Bottomed (�), a. Having at the bottom, or as a bottom; resting upon a bottom; grounded; -- mostly, in composition; as, sharp-bottomed; well-bottomed.
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Bottom fermentation. A slow alcoholic fermentation during which the yeast cells collect at the bottom of the fermenting liquid. It takes place at a temperature of 4° - 10° C. (39° - 50°F.). It is used in making lager beer and wines of low alcohol content but fine bouquet.
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bottomland n. low-lying alluvial land near a river.
Syn. -- bottom.
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Bottomless, a. Without a bottom; hence, fathomless; baseless; as, a bottomless abyss. “Bottomless speculations.” Burke.
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Bottomry (�), n. [From 1st in sense 8: cf. D. bodemerij. Cf. .] (Mar. Law) A contract in the nature of a mortgage, by which the owner of a ship, or the master as his agent, hypothecates and binds the ship (and sometimes the accruing freight) as security for the repayment of money advanced or lent for the use of the ship, if she terminates her voyage successfully. If the ship is lost by perils of the sea, the lender loses the money; but if the ship arrives safe, he is to receive the money lent, with the interest or premium stipulated, although it may, and usually does, exceed the legal rate of interest. See .
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bottom-up adj. (Computers) planning or building the smallest parts first; as, bottom-up programming. Opposite of top-down.
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{ Bottony (�), Bottoné (�), } a. [F. boutonné, fr. boutonner to bud, button.] (Her.) Having a bud or button, or a kind of trefoil, at the end; furnished with knobs or buttons.
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Coloq. Cross bottony (Her.), a cross having each arm terminating in three rounded lobes, forming a sort of trefoil.
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Botts (�), n. pl. (Zoöl.) See .
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Botuliform (�), a. [L. botulus sausage + -form.] (Bot.) Having the shape of a sausage. Henslow.
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Bouche (�), n. [F.] Same as , a lining.
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Bouche, v. t. Same as , to line.
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{ Bouche, Bouch } (�), n. [F. bouche mouth, victuals.]
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1. A mouth. [Obs.]
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2. An allowance of meat and drink for the tables of inferior officers or servants in a nobleman's palace or at court. [Obs.]
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Bouchées (�), n. pl. [F., morsels, mouthfuls, fr. bouche mouth.] (Cookery) Small patties.
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Boucherize (?), v. t. [After Dr. Auguste Boucherie, a French chemist, who invented the process.] To impregnate with a preservative solution of copper sulphate, as timber, railroad ties, etc.
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Boud (�), n. A weevil; a worm that breeds in malt, biscuit, etc. [Obs.] Tusser.
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Boudoir (�), n. [F., fr. bouder to pout, be sulky.] A small room, esp. if pleasant, or elegantly furnished, to which a lady may retire to be alone, or to receive intimate friends; a lady's bedroom; a lady's (or sometimes a gentleman's) private room. Cowper.
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bouffant adj. being puffed out; -- used mostly of hair style, and sometimes clothing; as, a bouffant hairdo; a bouffant skirt.
Syn. -- puffy.
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Bouffe (?), n. [F., buffoon.] Comic opera. See .
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Bougainvillæa (�), n. [Named from Bougainville, the French navigator.] (Bot.) A genus of plants of the order Nyctoginaceæ, from tropical South America, having the flowers surrounded by large bracts.
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Bouge (�), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bouged (�)] [Variant of bulge. Cf. .]
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1. To swell out. [Obs.]
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2. To bilge. [Obs.] “Their ship bouged.” Hakluyt.
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Bouge, v. t. To stave in; to bilge. [Obs.] Holland.
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Bouge, n. [F. bouche mouth, victuals.] Bouche (see , 2); food and drink; provisions. [Obs.]
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[They] made room for a bombardman that brought bouge for a country lady or two, that fainted . . . with fasting. B. Jonson.
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Bouget (�), n. [Cf. F. bougette sack, bag. Cf. .] (Her.) A charge representing a leather vessel for carrying water; -- also called water bouget.
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Bough (�), n. [OE. bogh, AS. bōg, bōh, bough, shoulder; akin to Icel. bōgr shoulder, bow of a ship, Sw. bog, Dan. bov, OHG. buog, G. bug, and to Gr.� ( for � ) forearm, Skr. bāhu (for bhāghu) arm. √88, 251. Cf. of a ship.]
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1. An arm or branch of a tree, esp. a large arm or main branch.
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2. A gallows. [Archaic] Spenser.
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boughless adj. 1. having no limbs. Opposite of limbed.
Syn. -- limbless.
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2. lacking a bough or boughs. Opposite of boughed.
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Bought (�), n. [Cf. Dan. bugt bend, turning, Icel. bug�a. Cf. , , and see to bend.]
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1. A flexure; a bend; a twist; a turn; a coil, as in a rope; as the boughts of a serpent. [Obs.] Spenser.
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The boughts of the fore legs. Sir T. Browne.
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2. The part of a sling that contains the stone. [Obs.]
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Bought (�), imp. & p. p. of .
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Bought, p. a. Purchased; bribed.
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Boughten (�), a. Purchased; not obtained or produced at home. Coleridge.
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Boughty (�), a. Bending. [Obs.] Sherwood.
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Bougie (�), n. [F. bougie wax candle, bougie, fr. Bougie, Bugia, a town of North Africa, from which these candles were first imported into Europe.]
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1. (Surg.) A long, flexible instrument, that is introduced into the urethra, esophagus, etc., to remove obstructions, or for the other purposes. It was originally made of waxed linen rolled into cylindrical form.
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2. (Pharm.) A long slender rod consisting of gelatin or some other substance that melts at the temperature of the body. It is impregnated with medicine, and designed for introduction into urethra, etc.
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Bougie décimale (?). [F., lit., decimal candle.] A photometric standard used in France, having the value of one twentieth of the Violle platinum standard, or slightly less than a British standard candle. Called also decimal candle.
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Bouilli (�), n. [F., fr. bouillir to boil.] (Cookery) Boiled or stewed meat; beef boiled with vegetables in water from which its gravy is to be made; beef from which bouillon or soup has been made.
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Bouillon (�), n. [F., fr. bouillir to boil.] 1. A nutritious liquid food made by boiling beef, or other meat, in water; a clear soup or broth.
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2. (Far.) An excrescence on a horse's frush or frog.
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Bouk (b�k), n. [AS. būc belly; akin to G. bauch, Icel. būkr body.]
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1. The body. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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2. Bulk; volume. [Scot.]
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Boul (b�l), n. A curved handle. Sir W. Scott.
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Boulangerite (�), n. [From Boulanger, a French mineralogist.] (Min.) A mineral of a bluish gray color and metallic luster, usually in plumose masses, also compact. It is a sulphide of antimony and lead.
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Boulangism (?), n. [F. boulangisme.] The spirit or principles of a French political movement identified with Gen. Georges Boulanger (d. 1891), whose militarism and advocacy of revenge on Germany attracted to him a miscellaneous party of monarchists and Republican malcontents. -- Boulangist (#), n.
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Boulder (bōldẽr), n. Same as .
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bouldered adj. abounding in large rocks or stones; as, bouldered fields.
Syn. -- rocky, bouldery, stony.
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Bouldery (�), a. Characterized by bowlders.
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{ Boule (�), Boulework } (�), n. Same as , .
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Boule (?), n. [Gr. �.] 1. (Gr. Antiq.) A legislative council of elders or chiefs; a senate. The boule of Homeric times was an aristocratic body of princes and leaders, merely advisory to the king. The Athenian boule of Solon's time was an elective senate of 400, acting as a check on the popular ecclesia, for which it examined and prepared bills for discussion. It later increased to 500, chosen by lot, and extended its functions to embrace certain matters of administration and oversight.
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2. Legislature of modern Greece. See .
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Boulevard (�), n. [F. boulevard, boulevart, fr. G. bollwerk. See .]
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1. Originally, a bulwark or rampart of fortification or fortified town.
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2. A public walk or street occupying the site of demolished fortifications. Hence: A broad avenue in or around a city.
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Boulevardier (?), n. [F.] A frequenter of a city boulevard, esp. in Paris. F. Harrison.
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Bouleversement (�), n. [F., fr. bouleverser to overthrow.] Complete overthrow; disorder; a turning upside down.
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Boult (�), n. Corrupted form .
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{ Boultel (�), Boultin } (�), n. (Arch.) (a) A molding, the convexity of which is one fourth of a circle, being a member just below the abacus in the Tuscan and Roman Doric capital; a torus; an ovolo. (b) One of the shafts of a clustered column. [Written also bowtel, boltel, boultell, etc.]
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Boulter (�), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A long, stout fishing line to which many hooks are attached.
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Boun (�), a. [See ready.] Ready; prepared; destined; tending. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Boun, v. t. To make or get ready. Sir W. Scott.
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Bounce (�), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bounced (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bouncing (�).] [OE. bunsen; cf. D. bonzen to strike, bounce, bons blow, LG. bunsen to knock; all prob. of imitative origin.]
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1. To strike or thump, so as to rebound, or to make a sudden noise; a knock loudly.
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Another bounces as hard as he can knock. Swift.
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Against his bosom bounced his heaving heart. Dryden.
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2. To leap or spring suddenly or unceremoniously; to bound; as, she bounced into the room.
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Out bounced the mastiff. Swift.
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Bounced off his arm+chair. Thackeray.
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3. To boast; to talk big; to bluster. [Obs.]
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Bounce, v. t. 1. To drive against anything suddenly and violently; to bump; to thump. Swift.
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2. To cause to bound or rebound; sometimes, to toss.
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3. To eject violently, as from a room; to discharge unceremoniously, as from employment. [Collog. U. S.]
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4. To bully; to scold. [Collog.] J. Fletcher.
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Bounce (�), n.
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1. A sudden leap or bound; a rebound.
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2. A heavy, sudden, and often noisy, blow or thump.
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The bounce burst open the door. Dryden.
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3. An explosion, or the noise of one. [Obs.]
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4. Bluster; brag; untruthful boasting; audacious exaggeration; an impudent lie; a bouncer. Johnson. De Quincey.�
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5. (Zoöl.) A dogfish of Europe (Scyllium catulus).
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Bounce, adv. With a sudden leap; suddenly.
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This impudent puppy comes bounce in upon me. Bickerstaff.
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Bouncer (�), n. 1. One who bounces; a large, heavy person who makes much noise in moving.
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2. A boaster; a bully. [Collog.] Johnson.
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3. A bold lie; also, a liar. [Collog.] Marryat.
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4. Something big; a good stout example of the kind.
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The stone must be a bouncer. De Quincey.
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5. a person employed by a tavern, nightclub, or other place of public meeting, to eject persons who become violent or unruly.
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Bouncing (�), a. 1. Stout; plump and healthy; lusty; buxom.
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Many tall and bouncing young ladies. Thackeray.
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2. Excessive; big. “A bouncing reckoning.” B. & Fl.
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Coloq. Bouncing Bet (Bot.), the common soapwort (Saponaria officinalis). Harper's Mag.
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Bouncingly, adv. With a bounce.
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bouncy adj. 1. readily regaining its original shape or position after stretching, compression, or other deformation; as, clean bouncy hair.
Syn. -- live, lively, resilient, springy, whippy.
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2. showing a joyous enthusiasm. Opposite of dull.
Syn. -- animated, bouncing, buoyant, exuberant, peppy, perky, spirited, zippy.
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Bound (bound), n. [OE. bounde, bunne, OF. bonne, bonde, bodne, F. borne, fr. LL. bodina, bodena, bonna; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Arm. bonn boundary, limit, and boden, bod, a tuft or cluster of trees, by which a boundary or limit could be marked. Cf. .] The external or limiting line, either real or imaginary, of any object or space; that which limits or restrains, or within which something is limited or restrained; limit; confine; extent; boundary.
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He hath compassed the waters with bounds. Job xxvi. 10.
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On earth's remotest bounds. Campbell.
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And mete the bounds of hate and love. Tennyson.
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Coloq. To keep within bounds , not to exceed or pass beyond assigned limits; to act with propriety or discretion.
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Syn. -- See .
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Bound, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bounding.]
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1. To limit; to terminate; to fix the furthest point of extension of; -- said of natural or of moral objects; to lie along, or form, a boundary of; to inclose; to circumscribe; to restrain; to confine.
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Where full measure only bounds excess. Milton.
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Phlegethon . . .
Whose fiery flood the burning empire bounds. Dryden.
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2. To name the boundaries of; as, to bound France.
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Bound, v. i. [F. bondir to leap, OF. bondir, bundir, to leap, resound, fr. L. bombitare to buzz, hum, fr. bombus a humming, buzzing. See .]
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1. To move with a sudden spring or leap, or with a succession of springs or leaps; as the beast bounded from his den; the herd bounded across the plain.
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Before his lord the ready spaniel bounds. Pope.
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And the waves bound beneath me as a steed
That knows his rider. Byron.
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2. To rebound, as an elastic ball.
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Bound, v. t. 1. To make to bound or leap; as, to bound a horse. [R.] Shak.
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2. To cause to rebound; to throw so that it will rebound; as, to bound a ball on the floor. [Collog.]
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Bound, n. 1. A leap; an elastic spring; a jump.
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A bound of graceful hardihood. Wordsworth.
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2. Rebound; as, the bound of a ball. Johnson.
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3. (Dancing) Spring from one foot to the other.
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Bound, imp. & p. p. of .
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Bound, p. p. & a. 1. Restrained by a hand, rope, chain, fetters, or the like.
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2. Inclosed in a binding or cover; as, a bound volume.
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3. Under legal or moral restraint or obligation.
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4. Constrained or compelled; destined; certain; -- followed by the infinitive; as, he is bound to succeed; he is bound to fail.
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5. Resolved; as, I am bound to do it. [Collog. U. S.]
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6. Constipated; costive.
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☞ Used also in composition; as, icebound, windbound, hidebound, etc.
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Coloq. Bound bailiff (Eng. Law), a sheriff's officer who serves writs, makes arrests, etc. The sheriff being answerable for the bailiff's misdemeanors, the bailiff is usually under bond for the faithful discharge of his trust. -- Coloq. Bound up in , entirely devoted to; inseparable from.
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Bound, a. [Past p. of OE. bounen to prepare, fr. boun ready, prepared, fr. Icel. būinn, p. p. of būa to dwell, prepare; akin to E. boor and bower. See , a., and cf. , v.] Ready or intending to go; on the way toward; going; -- with to or for, or with an adverb of motion; as, a ship is bound to Cadiz, or for Cadiz. “The mariner bound homeward.” Cowper.
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Boundary (�), n.; pl. Boundaries (�) [From a limit; cf. LL. bonnarium piece of land with fixed limits.] That which indicates or fixes a limit or extent, or marks a bound, as of a territory; a bounding or separating line; a real or imaginary limit.
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But still his native country lies
Beyond the boundaries of the skies. N. Cotton.
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That bright and tranquil stream, the boundary of Louth and Meath. Macaulay.
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Sensation and reflection are the boundaries of our thoughts. Locke.
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Syn. -- Limit; bound; border; term; termination; barrier; verge; confines; precinct. , . Boundary, in its original and strictest sense, is a visible object or mark indicating a limit. Bound is the limit itself. But in ordinary usage the two words are made interchangeable.
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bounded adj. 1. having the limits or boundaries established.
Syn. -- delimited.
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2. having a defined physical border.
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boundedness n. (Math.) the quality of being finite.
Syn. -- finiteness, finitude.
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Bounden (�), p. p & a. [Old. p. p. of bind.]
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1. Bound; fastened by bonds. [Obs.]
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