Backrack, Backrag

Back"rack (?), Back"rag (?), n. See Bacharach.
Backs
Backs (?), n. pl. Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
Backsaw
Back"saw` (?), n. [2d back,n.+ saw.] A saw (as a tenon saw) whose blade is stiffened by an added metallic back.
Backset
Back"set` (?), n. [Back, adv. + set.]
1. A check; a relapse; a discouragement; a setback.
2. Whatever is thrown back in its course, as water.
Slackwater, or the backset caused by the overflow. Harper's Mag.

Backset
Back"set`, v. i. To plow again, in the fall; -- said of prairie land broken up in the spring. [Western U.S.]
Backsettler
Back"set"tler (?), n. [Back, a. + settler.] One living in the back or outlying districts of a community.
The English backsettlers of Leinster and Munster. Macaulay.

Backsheesh, Backshish
Back"sheesh`, Back"shish` (?), n. [Pers. bakhshīsh, fr. bakhshīdan to give.] In Egypt and the Turkish empire, a gratuity; a tip".
Backside
Back"side` (?), n. [Back, a. + side. ] The hinder part, posteriors, or rump of a person or animal. &hand; 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.
Backsight
Back"sight` (?), 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. Foresight, n., 3.
Backslide
Back`slide" (?), 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.
Backslider
Back"slid"er (?), n. One who backslides.
Backsliding
Back"slid"ing, a. Slipping back; falling back into sin or error; sinning.
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord. Jer. iii. 14.

Backsliding
Back"slid"ing, n. The act of one who backslides; abandonment of faith or duty.
Our backslidings are many. Jer. xiv. 7.

Backstaff
Back"staff` (?), n. An instrument formerly used for taking the altitude of the heavenly bodies, but now superseded by the quadrant and sextant; -- so called because the observer turned his back to the body observed.
Back stairs
Back" stairs`. Stairs in the back part of a house, as distinguished from the front stairs; hence, a private or indirect way.
Backstairs, Backstair
Back"stairs`, Back"stair`, a. Private; indirect; secret; intriguing; as if finding access by the back stairs.
A backstairs influence. Burke.

Female caprice and backstairs influence. Trevelyan.

Backstay
Back"stay` (?), n. [Back, a. orn.+ 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.]
2. A rope or strap used to prevent excessive forward motion.
Backster
Back"ster (?), n. [See Baxter.] A backer. [Obs.]
Backstitch
Back"stitch` (?), 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.
Backstitch
Back"stitch`, v. i. To sew with backstitches; as, to backstitch a seam.
Backstress
Back"stress (?), n. A female baker. [Obs.]
Backsword
Back"sword` (?), n. [2d back,n.+ sword.]
1. A sword with one sharp edge.
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.
Backward, Backwards
Back"ward (?), Back"wards (?), adv. [Back, adv. + -ward.]
1. With the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward.
2. Toward the back; toward the rear; as, to throw the arms backward.
3. On the back, or with the back downward.
Thou wilt fall backward. Shak.

4. Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
Some reigns backward. Locke.

5. By way of reflection; reflexively. Sir J. Davies.
6. From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.
The work went backward. Dryden.

7. In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily; as, to read backwards.
We might have . . . beat them backward home. Shak.

Backward
Back"ward, a.
1. Directed to the back or rear; as, backward glances.
2. Unwilling; averse; reluctant; hesitating; loath.
For wiser brutes were backward to be slaves. Pope.

3. Not well advanced in learning; not quick of apprehension; dull; inapt; as, a backward child. The backward learner." South.
4. Late or behindhand; as, a backward season.
5. Not advanced in civilization; undeveloped; as, the country or region is in a backward state.
6. Already past or gone; bygone. [R.]
And flies unconscious o'er each backward year. Byron.

Backward
Back"ward, n. The state behind or past. [Obs.]
In the dark backward and abysm of time. Shak.

Backward
Back"ward, v. i. To keep back; to hinder. [Obs.]
Backwardation
Back`war*da"tion (?), n. [Backward, v.i.+ -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 Contango. Biddle.
Backwardly
Back"ward*ly (?), adv.
1. Reluctantly; slowly; aversely. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
2. Perversely; ill.[Obs.]
And does he think so backwardly of me? Shak.

Backwardness
Back"ward*ness, n. The state of being backward.
Backwash
Back"wash` (?), v. i. To clean the oil from (wood) after combing.
Backwater
Back"wa`ter (?), n. [Back, a. or adv. + -ward. ]
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.
2. An accumulation of water overflowing the low lands, caused by an obstruction.
3. Water thrown back by the turning of a waterwheel, or by the paddle wheels of a steamer.
Backwoods
Back"woods" (?), n. pl. [Back, a. + woods.] The forests or partly cleared grounds on the frontiers.
Backwoodsman
Back"woods"man (?), n.; pl. Backwoodsmen (). A men living in the forest in or beyond the new settlements, especially on the western frontiers of the older portions of the United States. Fisher Ames.
Backworm
Back"worm` (?), n. [2d back,n.+ worm. ] A disease of hawks. See Filanders. Wright.
Bacon
Ba"con (?), 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. Bacon beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Dermestes lardarius) which, especially in the larval state, feeds upon bacon, woolens, furs, etc. See Dermestes. -- To save one's bacon, to save one's self or property from harm or less. [Colloq.]
Baconian
Ba*co"ni*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Lord Bacon, or to his system of philosophy. Baconian method, the inductive method. See Induction.
Bacteria
Bac*te"ri*a (?), n.p. See Bacterium.
Bacterial
Bac*te"ri*al (?), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to bacteria.
Bactericidal
Bac*te"ri*ci`dal (?), a. Destructive of bacteria.
Bactericide
Bac*te"ri*cide (?), n. [Bacterium + L. caedere to kill] (Biol.) Same as Germicide.
Bacteriological
Bac*te"ri*o*log`ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to bacteriology; as, bacteriological studies.
Bacteriologist
Bac*te"ri*ol`o*gist, n. One skilled in bacteriology.
Bacteriology
Bac*te"ri*ol`o*gy (?), n. [Bacterium + -logy. ] (Biol.) The science relating to bacteria.
Bacterioscopic
Bac*te`ri*o*scop"ic (?), a. (Biol.) Relating to bacterioscopy; as, a bacterioscopic examination.
Bacterioscopist
Bac*te`ri*os"co*pist (?), n. (Biol.) One skilled in bacterioscopic examinations.
Bacterioscopy
Bac*te`ri*os"co*py (?), n. [Bacterium + -scopy ] (Biol.) The application of a knowledge of bacteria for their detection and identification, as in the examination of polluted water.
Bacterium
Bac*te"ri*um (?), n.; pl. Bacteria (#). [NL., fr. Gr., , a staff: cf. F. bactérie. ] (Biol.) A microscopic vegetable organism, belonging to the class Algæ, usually in the form of a jointed rodlike filament, and found in putrefying organic infusions. Bacteria are destitute of chlorophyll, and are the smallest of microscopic organisms. They are very widely diffused in nature, and multiply with marvelous rapidity, both by fission and by spores. Certain species are active agents in fermentation, while others appear to be the cause of certain infectious diseases. See Bacillus.
Bacteroid, Bacteroidal
Bac"te*roid (?), Bac`te*roid"al (?), a. [Bacterium + -oid.] (Biol.) Resembling bacteria; as, bacteroid particles.
Bactrian
Bac"tri*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Bactria in Asia. -- n. A native of Bactria. Bactrian camel, the two-humped camel.
Bacule
Bac"ule (?), n. [F.] (Fort.) See Bascule.
Baculine
Bac"u*line (?), a. [L. baculum staff.] Of or pertaining to the rod or punishment with the rod.
Baculite
Bac"u*lite (?), n. [L. baculune 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.
Baculometry
Bac`u*lom"e*try (?), n. [L. baculum staff + -metry] Measurement of distance or altitude by a staff or staffs.
Bad
Bad (?), imp. of Bid. Bade. [Obs.] Dryden.
Bad
Bad (?), a. [Compar. Worse (?); superl. Worst (?). ] [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 health; bad crop; bad news. Sometimes used substantively.
The strong antipathy of good to bad. Pope.
Syn. -- Pernicious; deleterious; noxious; baneful; injurious; hurtful; evil; vile; wretched; corrupt; wicked; vicious; imperfect.
Badder
Bad"der (?), compar. of Bad, a. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Badderlocks
Bad"der*locks (?), 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.
Baddish
Bad"dish, a. Somewhat bad; inferior. Jeffrey.
Bade
Bade (?). A form of the pat tense of Bid.
Badge
Badge (?), n. [LL. bagea, bagia, sign, prob. of German origin; cf. AS. beág, beáh, bracelet, collar, crown, OS bg- in comp., AS. bgan to bow, bend, G. biegen. See Bow 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.
2. Something characteristic; a mark; a token.
Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge. Shak.

3. (Naut.) A carved ornament on the stern of a vessel, containing a window or the representation of one.
Badge
Badge (?), v. t. To mark or distinguish with a badge.
Badgeless
Badge"less, a. Having no badge. Bp. Hall.
Badger
Badg"er (?), 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.]
Badger
Badg"er, n. [OE. bageard, prob. fr. badge + -ard, in reference to the white mark on its forehead. See Badge,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 (M. vulgaris), called also brock, inhabits the north of Europe and Asia; another species (Taxidea Americana or Labradorica) inhabits the northern parts of North America. See Teledu.
2. A brush made of badgers' hair, used by artists. Badger dog. (Zoöl.) See Dachshund.
Badger
Badg"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Badgered ();p. pr. & vb. n. Badgering.] [For sense 1, see 2d Badger; for 2, see 1st Badger.]
1. To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or irritate persistently.
2. To beat down; to cheapen; to barter; to bargain.
Badgerer
Badg"er*er (?), n.
1. One who badgers.
2. A kind of dog used in badger baiting.
Badgering
Badg"er*ing, n.
1. The act of one who badgers.
2. The practice of buying wheat and other kinds of food in one place and selling them in another for a profit. [Prov. Eng.]
Badger-legged
Badg"er-legged` (?), a. Having legs of unequal length, as the badger was thought to have. Shak.
Badiaga
Bad`i*a"ga (?), 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.
Badian
Ba"di*an (?), 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.
Badigeon
Ba*di"geon (?), n. [F.] A cement or paste (as of plaster and freestone, or of sawdust and glue or lime) used by sculptors, builders, and workers in wood or stone, to fill holes, cover defects, or finish a surface.
Badinage
Ba`di`nage" (?), 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.
Bad lands
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 canons, 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).
Badly
Bad"ly, adv. In a bad manner; poorly; not well; unskillfully; imperfectly; unfortunately; grievously; so as to cause harm; disagreeably; seriously. &hand; Badly is often used colloquially for very much or very greatly, with words signifying to want or need.
Badminton
Bad"min*ton (?), n. [From the name of the seat of the Duke of Beaufort in England.]
1. A game, similar to lawn tennis, played with shuttlecocks.
2. A preparation of claret, spiced and sweetened.
Badness
Bad"ness, n. The state of being bad.
Bænomere
Bæ"no*mere (?), n. [Gr. to walk + -mere.] (Zoöl.) One of the somites (arthromeres) that make up the thorax of Arthropods. Packard.
Bænopod
Bæ"no*pod (?), n. [Gr. to walk + -pod.] (Zoöl.) One of the thoracic legs of Arthropods.
Bænosome
Bæ"no*some (?), n. [Gr. to walk + -some body.] (Zoöl.) The thorax of Arthropods. Packard.
Baff
Baff (?), n. A blow; a stroke. [Scot.] H. Miller.
Baffle
Baf"fle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Baffled (); p. pr. & vb. n. Baffling ().] [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.]
1. To cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight. [Obs.]
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.

2. To check by shifts and turns; to elude; to foil.
The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim. Cowper.

3. To check by perplexing; to disconcert, frustrate, or defeat; to thwart. A baffled purpose." De Quincey.
A suitable scripture ready to repel and baffle them all. South.

Calculations so difficult as to have baffled, until within a . . . recent period, the most enlightened nations. Prescott.

The mere intricacy of a question should not baffle us. Locke.
Baffling wind (Naut.), one that frequently shifts from one point to another. Syn. -- To balk; thwart; foil; frustrate; defeat.
Baffle
Baf"fle, v. i.
1. To practice deceit. [Obs.] Barrow.
2. To struggle against in vain; as, a ship baffles with the winds. [R.]
Baffle
Baf"fle, n. A defeat by artifice, shifts, and turns; discomfiture. [R.] A baffle to philosophy." South.
Bafflement
Baf"fle*ment (?), n. The process or act of baffling, or of being baffled; frustration; check.
Baffler
Baf"fler (?), n. One who, or that which, baffles.