n. [ Black + mail a piece of money. ] 1. A certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Eng. Law) Black rent, or rent paid in corn, flesh, or the lowest coin, a opposed to “white rent”, which paid in silver. [ 1913 Webster ]

To levy blackmail, to extort money by threats, as of injury to one's reputation. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Blackmailed p. pr. & vb. n. Blackmailing. ] To extort money from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation, distress of mind, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who extorts, or endeavors to extort, money, by black mailing. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or practice of extorting money by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Blackamoor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who writes and publishes books; especially, one who gathers his materials from other books; a compiler. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Horse Racing) A betting man who “makes a book.” See To make a book, under Book, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Bookmen A studious man; a scholar. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Something placed in a book to guide in finding a particular page or passage; also, a label in a book to designate the owner; a bookplate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Book + mate. ] A schoolfellow; an associate in study. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A dealer in books. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Brakeman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One whose occupation is to make bricks. -- Brick"mak*ing, n. [1913 Webster]

n. [ brink + -manship. (1956). ] the policy or practise of pushing a dangerous situation to the brink of disaster (to the limits of safety), in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome; -- used especially of diplomatic maneuvers in crisis situations, and originally applied to the policies of John Foster Dulles under President Eisenhower. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. someone who occupies the same sleeping quarters as oneself. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. échec et mat, fr. Per. shāh māt checkmate, lit., the king is dead, fr. Ar. māta he died, is dead. The king, when made prisoner, or checkmated, is assumed to be dead, and the game is finished. See Chess. ] 1. The position in the game of chess when a king is in check and cannot be released, -- which ends the game. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A complete check; utter defeat or overthrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Checkmated; p. pr. & vb. n. Checkmating. ] 1. (Chess) To check (an adversary's king) in such a manner that escape in impossible; to defeat (an adversary) by putting his king in check from which there is no escape. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To defeat completely; to terminate; to thwart. [ 1913 Webster ]

To checkmate and control my just demands. Ford. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. A turkish fabric of silk and cotton, with gold thread interwoven. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who breeds gamecocks. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cockfight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female servant or maid who dresses provisions and assists the cook. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Disembarkation. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Bad workmanship. [ Obs. ] Heywood. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. (Bot.) Duckweed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of surrounding or defending with a bank. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A structure of earth, gravel, etc., raised to prevent water from overflowing a level tract of country, to retain water in a reservoir, or to carry a roadway, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. embarquement. ] Embarkation. [ R. ] Middleton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. en- + rock. ] A mass of large stones thrown into water at random to form bases of piers, breakwaters, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ AS. flocm&unr_;lum. See Meal part. ] In a flock; in a body. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That flockmel on a day they to him went. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. folcmōt folk meeting. ] An assembly of the people; esp. (Sax. Law), a general assembly of the people to consider and order matters of the commonwealth; also, a local court. [ Hist. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To which folkmote they all with one consent
Agreed to travel. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who takes part in a folkmote, or local court. [ Obs. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Hackmen The driver of a hack or carriage for public hire. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Of American Indian origin. ] (Bot.) The American larch (Larix Americana), a coniferous tree with slender deciduous leaves; also, its heavy, close-grained timber. Called also tamarack. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of surrounding with a bank; a bank or mound raised for defense, a roadway, etc.; an embankment. See Embankment. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. im- in + pack. ] The state of being closely surrounded, crowded, or pressed, as by ice. [ R. ] Kane. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Jackmen [ 1913 Webster ]

1. One wearing a jack; a horse soldier; a retainer. See 3d Jack, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

Christie . . . the laird's chief jackman. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A cream cheese. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Elyot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Kirkmen [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A clergyman or officer in a kirk. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A member of the Church of Scotland, as distinguished from a member of another communion. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ See 1st Link. ] A boy or man that carried a link or torch to light passengers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A public executioner. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a worker in charge of a lock (on a canal).
Syn. -- lockman, lockkeeper. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A marksman. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Micmacs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A woman who milks cows or is employed in the dairy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Milkmen A man who sells milk or delivers it to customers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A dunghill. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Musk + melon. ] (Bot.) The fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant (Cucumis Melo) of the gourd family, having a peculiar aromatic flavor, and cultivated in many varieties, the principal sorts being the cantaloupe, of oval form and yellowish flesh, and the smaller nutmeg melon with greenish flesh. See Illust. of Melon. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. (Arch.) A small convex molding surrounding a column at the junction of the shaft and capital. Weale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Packmen One who bears a pack; a peddler. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ So called from its picking its food from the mire. ] (Zool.) The pewit, or black-headed gull. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A mark or pit made by smallpox. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Marked by smallpox; pitted. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. trique-madame. Cf. Tripmadam. ] (Bot.) A name given to several species of stonecrop, used as ingredients of vermifuge medicines. See Stonecrop. [ 1913 Webster ]