Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

Page 186

Browse

Browse (?), v. i.

1. To feed on the tender branches or shoots of shrubs or trees, as do cattle, sheep, and deer.

2. To pasture; to feed; to nibble. Shak.

Browser

Brows"er (?), n. An animal that browses.

Browsewood

Browse"wood` (?), n. Srubs and bushes upon which animals browse.

Browsing

Brows"ing, n. Browse; also, a place abounding with shrubs where animals may browse.

Browsings for the deer. Howell.

Browspot

Brow"spot` (?), n. (Zoöl.) A rounded organ between the eyes of the frog; the interocular gland.

Bruang

Bru*ang" (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) The Malayan sun bear.

Brucine

Bru"cine (?), n. [Cf. F. brucine, fr. James Bruce, a Scottish traveler.] (Chem.) A poweful vegetable alkaloid, found, associated with strychnine, in the seeds of different species of Strychnos, especially in the Nux vomica. It is less powerful than strychnine. Called also brucia and brucina.

Brucite

Bru"cite (?), n. [Named after Dr. A.Bruce of New York.] (Min.) (a) A white, pearly mineral, occurring thin and foliated, like talc, and also fibrous; a native magnesium hydrate. (b) The mineral chondrodite. [R.]

Bruckeled

Bruck"eled (?), a. Wet and dirty; begrimed. [Obs. or Dial.] Herrick.

Bruh

Bruh (?), n. (Zoöl.) [Native name.] The rhesus monkey. See Rhesus.

Bruin

Bru"in (?), n. [D. bruin brown. In the epic poem of Reynard the Fox" the bear is so called from his color. See Brown, a.] A bear; -- so called in popular tales and fables.

Bruise

Bruise (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bruised (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Bruising.] [OE. brusen, brisen, brosen, bresen, AS. brsan or fr. OF. bruiser, bruisier, bruser, to break, shiver, perh. from OHG. brochisn. Cf. Break, v. t.]

1. To injure, as by a blow or collision, without laceration; to contuse; as, to bruise one's finger with a hammer; to bruise the bark of a tree with a stone; to bruise an apple by letting it fall.

2. To break; as in a mortar; to bray, as minerals, roots, etc.; to crush.

Nor bruise her flowerets with the armed hoofs. Shak.

Syn. -- To pulverize; bray; triturate; pound; contuse.

Bruise

Bruise, v. i. To fight with the fists; to box.

Bruising was considered a fine, manly, old English custom. Thackeray.

Bruise

Bruise, n. An injury to the flesh of animals, or to plants, fruit, etc., with a blunt or heavy instrument, or by collision with some other body; a contusion; as, a bruise on the head; bruises on fruit.

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises. Isa. i. 6.

Bruiser

Bruis"er (?), n.

1. One who, or that which, bruises.

2. A boxer; a pugilist. R. Browning.

Like a new bruiser on Broughtonic aand, Amid the lists our hero takes his stand. T. Warton.

3. A concave tool used in grinding lenses or the speculums of telescopes. Knight.

Bruisewort

Bruise"wort` (?), n. A plant supposed to heal bruises, as the true daisy, the soapwort, and the comfrey.

Bruit

Bruit (?), n. [OE. bruit, brut, noise, bruit, F. bruit, fr. LL. brugitus; cf. L. rugire to roar; perh. influenced by the source of E. bray to make a harsh noise, Armor. brud bruit.]

1. Report; rumor; fame.

The bruit thereof will bring you many friends. Shak.

2. [French pron. .] (Med.) An abnormal sound of several kinds, heard on auscultation.

Bruit

Bruit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bruited; p. pr. & vb. n. Bruiting.] To report; to noise abroad.

I find thou art no less than fame hath bruited. Shak.

Brumaire

Bru`maire" (?), n. [F., fr. L. bruma winter.] The second month of the calendar adopted by the first French republic. It began thirty days after the autumnal equinox. See Vendemiaire.

Brumal

Bru"mal (?), a. [L. brumalis, fr. bruma winter: cf. F. brumal.] Of or pertaining to winter. The brumal solstice." Sir T. Browne.

Brume

Brume (?), n. [F. brume winter season, mist, L. bruma winter.] Mist; fog; vapors. The drifting brume." Longfellow.

Brummagem

Brum"ma*gem (?), a. [Birmingham (formerly Bromwycham), Eng., the great mart and manufactory of gilt toys, cheap jewelry," etc.] Counterfeit; gaudy but worthless; sham. [Slang] These Brummagem gentry." Lady D. Hardy.

Brumous

Bru"mous (?), a. Foggy; misty.

Brun

Brun (?), n. [See Broun a brook.] Same as Brun, a brook. [Scot.]

Brunette

Bru*nette" (?), n. [F. brunet, brunette, brownish, dim. of brun, brune, brown, fr. OHG. brn. See Brown, a.] A girl or woman with a somewhat brown or dark complexion. -- a. Having a dark tint.

Brunion

Brun"ion (?), n. [F. brugnon (cf. It. brugna, prugna), fr. L. prunum. See Prune, n.] A nectarine.

Brunonian

Bru*no"ni*an (?), a. Pertaining to, or invented by, Brown; -- a term applied to a system of medicine promulgated in the 18th century by John Brown, of Scotland, the fundamental doctrine of which was, that life is a state of excitation produced by the normal action of external agents upon the body, and that disease consists in excess or deficiency of excitation.

Brunswick black

Bruns"wick black` (?). See Japan black.

Brunswick green

Bruns"wick green` (?). [G. Braunschweiger gr\'81n, first made at Brunswick, in Germany.] An oxychloride of copper, used as a green pigment; also, a carbonate of copper similarly employed.

Brunt

Brunt (?), n. [OE. brunt, bront, fr. Icel. bruna to rush; cf. Icel. brenna to burn. Cf. Burn, v. t.]

1. The heat, or utmost violence, of an onset; the strength or greatest fury of any contention; as, the brunt of a battle.

2. The force of a blow; shock; collision. And heavy brunt of cannon ball." Hudibras.

It is instantly and irrecoverably scattered by our first brunt with some real affair of common life. I. Taylor.

Brush

Brush (?), n. [OE. brusche, OF. broche, broce, brosse, brushwood, F. brosse brush, LL. brustia, bruscia, fr. OHG. brusta, brust, bristle, G. borste bristle, b\'81rste brush. See Bristle, n., and cf. Browse.]

1. An instrument composed of bristles, or other like material, set in a suitable back or handle, as of wood, bone, or ivory, and used for various purposes, as in removing dust from clothes, laying on colors, etc. Brushes have different shapes and names according to their use; as, clothes brush, paint brush, tooth brush, etc.

2. The bushy tail of a fox.

3. (Zoöl.) A tuft of hair on the mandibles.

4. Branches of trees lopped off; brushwood.

5. A thicket of shrubs or small trees; the shrubs and small trees in a wood; underbrush.

6. (Elec.) A bundle of flexible wires or thin plates of metal, used to conduct an electrical current to or from the commutator of a dynamo, electric motor, or similar apparatus.

7. The act of brushing; as, to give one's clothes a brush; a rubbing or grazing with a quick motion; a light touch; as, we got a brush from the wheel as it passed.

[As leaves] have with one winter's brush Fell from their boughts. Shak.

8. A skirmish; a slight encounter; a shock or collision; as, to have a brush with an enemy.

Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, And tempt not yet the brushes of the war. Shak.

9. A short contest, or trial, of speed.

Let us enjoy a brush across the country. Cornhill Mag.

Electrical brush, a form of the electric discharge characterized by a brushlike appearance of luminous rays diverging from an electrified body.

Brush

Brush, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brushed (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Brushing.] [OE. bruschen; cf. F. brosser. See Brush, n.]

1. To apply a brush to, according to its particular use; to rub, smooth, clean, paint, etc., with a brush. A' brushes his hat o' mornings." Shak.

2. To touch in passing, or to pass lightly over, as with a brush.

Some spread their sailes, some with strong oars sweep The waters smooth, and brush the buxom wave. Fairfax.

Brushed with the kiss of rustling wings. Milton.

3. To remove or gather by brushing, or by an act like that of brushing, or by passing lightly over, as wind; -- commonly with off.

As wicked dew as e'er my mother brushed With raven's feather from unwholesome fen. Shak.

And from the boughts brush off the evil dew. Milton.

To brush aside, to remove from one's way, as with a brush. -- To brush away, to remove, as with a brush or brushing motion. -- To brush up, to paint, or make clean or bright with a brush; to cleanse or improve; to renew.

You have commissioned me to paint your shop, and I have done my best to brush you up like your neighbors. Pope.

Brush

Brush, v. i. To move nimbly in haste; to move so lightly as scarcely to be perceived; as, to brush by.

Snatching his hat, he brushed off like the wind. Goldsmith.

Brusher

Brush"er (?), n. One who, or that which, brushes.

Brushiness

Brush"i*ness (?), n. The quality of resembling a brush; brushlike condition; shagginess. Dr. H. More.

Brushing

Brush"ing, a.

1. Constructed or used to brush with; as a brushing machine.

2. Brisk; light; as, a brushing gallop.

Brushite

Brush"ite (?), n. [From George J.Brush, an American mineralogist.] (Min.) A white or gray crystalline mineral consisting of the acid phosphate of calcium.

Brush turkey

Brush" tur`key (?). (Zoöl.) A large, edible, gregarious bird of Australia (Talegalla Lathami) of the family Megapodidæ. Also applied to several allied species of New Guinea. &hand; The brush turkeys live in the brush," and construct a common nest by collecting a large heap of decaying vegetable matter, which generates heat sufficient to hatch the numerous eggs (sometimes half a bushel) deposited in it by the females of the flock.

Brush wheel

Brush" wheel` (?).

1. A wheel without teeth, used to turn a similar one by the friction of bristles or something brushlike or soft attached to the circumference.

2. A circular revolving brush used by turners, lapidaries, silversmiths, etc., for polishing.

Brushwood

Brush"wood (?), n.

1. Brush; a thicket or coppice of small trees and shrubs.

2. Small branches of trees cut off.

Brushy

Brush"y, a. Resembling a brush; shaggy; rough.

Brusk

Brusk (?), a. Same as Brusque.

Brusque

Brusque (?), a. [F. brusque, from It. brusco brusque, tart, sour, perh. fr. L. (vitis) labrusca wild (vine); or cf. OHG. bruttisc grim, fr. brutti terror.] Rough and prompt in manner; blunt; abrupt; hluff; as, a brusque man; a brusque style.

Brusqueness

Brusque"ness, n. Quality of being brusque; roughness joined with promptness; blutness. Brit. Quar.

Brussels

Brus"sels (?), n. A city of Belgium, giving its name to a kind of carpet, a kind of lace, etc. Brussels carpet, a kind of carpet made of worsted yarn fixed in a foundation web of strong linen thread. The worsted, which alone shows on the upper surface in drawn up in loops to form the pattern. -- Brussels ground, a name given to the handmade ground of real Brussels lace. It is very costly because of the extreme fineness of the threads. -- Brussels lace, an expensive kind of lace of several varieties, originally made in Brussels; as, Brussels point, Brussels ground, Brussels wire ground. -- Brussels net, an imitation of Brussels ground, made by machinery. -- Brussels point. See Point lace. -- Brussels sprouts (Bot.), a plant of the Cabbage family, which produces, in the axils of the upright stem, numerous small green heads, or sprouts," each a cabbage in miniature, of one or two inches in diameter; the thousand-headed cabbage. -- Brussels wire ground, a ground for lace, made of silk, with meshes partly straight and partly arched.
Brustle
Brus"tle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Brustled (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Brustling (#).] [OE. brustlien and brastlien, AS. brastlian, fr. berstan to burst, akin to G. prasseln to crackle. See Burst, v. i.]
1. To crackle; to rustle, as a silk garment. [Obs.] Gower.
2. To make a show of fireceness or defiance; to bristle. [Obs.] To brustle up, to bristle up. [Obs.] Otway.
Brustle
Brus"tle, n. A bristle. [Obs. or Prov.] Chaucer.
Brut
Brut (?), v. i. [F. brouter, OF. brouster. See Browse, n.] To browse. [Obs.] Evelyn.
Brut
Brut, n. (Zoöl.) See Birt.
Bruta
Bru"ta (?), n. [NL., neuter pl., fr. L. brutus heavy, stupid.] (Zoöl.) See Edentata.
Brutal
Bru"tal (?), a. [Cf. F. brutal. See Brute, a.]
1. Of or pertaining to a brute; as, brutal nature. Above the rest of brutal kind." Milton.
2. Like a brute; savage; cruel; inhuman; brutish; unfeeling; merciless; gross; as, brutal manners. Brutal intemperance." Macaulay.
Brutalism
Bru"tal*ism (?), n. Brutish quality; brutality.
Brutality
Bru*tal"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Brutalities (#). [Cf. F. brutalité.]
1. The quality of being brutal; inhumanity; savageness; pitilessness.
2. An inhuman act.
The . . . brutalities exercised in war. Brougham.

Brutalization
Bru`tal*i*za"tion (?), n. The act or process of making brutal; state of being brutalized.
Brutalize
Bru"tal*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brutalized (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Brutalizing.] [Cf. F. brutaliser.] To make brutal; beasty; unfeeling; or inhuman.
Brutalize
Bru"tal*ize, v. i. To become brutal, inhuman, barbarous, or coarse and beasty. [R.]
He mixed . . . with his countrymen, brutalized with them in their habits and manners. Addison.

Brutally
Bru"tal*ly, adv. In a brutal manner; cruelly.
Brute
Brute (?), a. [F. brut, nasc., brute, fem., raw, rough, rude, brutish, L. brutus stupid, irrational: cf. It. & Sp. bruto.]
1. Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition; as, the brute earth; the brute powers of nature.
2. Not possessing reason, irrational; unthinking; as, a brute beast; the brute creation.
A creature . . . not prone And brute as other creatures, but endued With sanctity of reason. Milton.

3. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, a brute beast. Hence: Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless; as, brute violence. Macaulay.
The influence of capital and mere brute labor. Playfair.

4. Having the physical powers predominating over the mental; coarse; unpolished; unintelligent.
A great brute farmer from Liddesdale. Sir W. Scott.

5. Rough; uncivilized; unfeeling. [R.]
Brute
Brute, n.
1. An animal destitute of human reason; any animal not human; esp. a quadruped; a beast.
Brutes may be considered as either aëral, terrestrial, aquatic, or amphibious. Locke.

2. A brutal person; a savage in heart or manners; as unfeeling or coarse person.
An ill-natured brute of a husband. Franklin.
Syn. -- See Beast.
Brute
Brute, v. t. [For bruit.] To report; to bruit. [Obs.]
Brutely
Brute"ly, adv. In a rude or violent manner.
Bruteness
Brute"ness, n.
1. Brutality. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. Insensibility. The bruteness of nature." Emerson.
Brutify
Bru"ti*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brutified (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Brutifying.] [Brute + -fy: cf. F. brutifier.] To make like a brute; to make senseless, stupid, or unfeeling; to brutalize.
Any man not quite brutified and void of sense. Barrow.

Brutish
Bru"tish (?), a. Pertaining to, or resembling, a brute or brutes; of a cruel, gross, and stupid nature; coarse; unfeeling; unintelligent.
O, let all provocation Take every brutish shape it can devise. Leigh Hunt.

Man may . . . render himself brutish, but it is in vain that he would seek to take the rank and density of the brute. I. Taylor.
Syn. -- Insensible; stupid; unfeeling; savage; cruel; brutal; barbarous; inhuman; ferocious; gross; carnal; sensual; bestial. -- Bru"tish*ly, adv. -- Bru"tish*ness, n.
Brutism
Bru"tism (?), n. The nature or characteristic qualities or actions of a brute; extreme stupidity, or beastly vulgarity.
Bruting
Bru"ting (?), n. Browsing. [Obs.] Evelyn.
Bryological
Bry*o*log"i*cal (?), a. Relating to bryology; as, bryological studies.
Bryologist
Bry*ol"o*gist (?), n. One versed in bryology.
Bryology
Bry*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. moss + -logy.] That part of botany which relates to mosses.
Bryonin
Bry"o*nin (?), n. (Chem.) A bitter principle obtained from the root of the bryony (Bryonia alba and B. dioica). It is a white, or slightly colored, substance, and is emetic and cathartic.