n. Absorptiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Anything which absorbs. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

The ocean, itself a bad absorbent of heat. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.; also a substance e. g., iodine which acts on the absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated parts. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. (Physiol.) The vessels by which the processes of absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals, the extremities of the roots in plants. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. absorbens, p. pr. of absorbere. ] Absorbing; swallowing; absorptive. [ 1913 Webster ]

Absorbent ground (Paint.), a ground prepared for a picture, chiefly with distemper, or water colors, by which the oil is absorbed, and a brilliancy is imparted to the colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being accumbent or reclining. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Leaning or reclining, as the ancients did at their meals. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Roman . . . accumbent posture in eating. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Lying against anything, as one part of a leaf against another leaf. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Accumbent cotyledons have their edges placed against the caulicle. Eaton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who reclines at table. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A bench in or before an alehouse. Bunyan. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. an oily poisonous liquid amine obtained from nitrobenzene and used to make dyes and plastics and medicines. Same as aniline.
Syn. -- aniline oil, phenylamine [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Azo- + benzene. ] (Chem.) A substance (C6H5.N2.C6H5) derived from nitrobenzene, forming orange red crystals which are easily fusible. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. any of the seats occupied by backbenchers in the House of Commons of Great Britain. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a member of the House of Commons of Great Britain who is not a party leader. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. an acrobatic feat in which the trunk is bent backward from a standing position until the hands touch the floor. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. & prep. [ AS. binnan; pref. be- by + innan within, in in. ] Within; in; in or into the interior; toward the inner apartment. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Ben, adv. ] The inner or principal room in a hut or house of two rooms; -- opposed to but, the outer apartment. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. An old form of the pl. indic. pr. of Be. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ } n. [ Native name. ] (Zool.) A hoglike mammal of New Guinea (Porcula papuensis). [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ p. p. Benamed, Benempt. ] To promise; to name. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Benches [ OE. bench, benk, AS. benc; akin to Sw. bänk, Dan bænk, Icel. bekkr, OS., D., & G. bank. Cf. Bank, Beach. ] 1. A long seat, differing from a stool in its greater length. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mossy benches supplied the place of chairs. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A long table at which mechanics and other work; as, a carpenter's bench. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The seat where judges sit in court. [ 1913 Webster ]

To pluck down justice from your awful bench. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The persons who sit as judges; the court; as, the opinion of the full bench. See King's Bench. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public; -- so named because the animals are usually placed on benches or raised platforms. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A conformation like a bench; a long stretch of flat ground, or a kind of natural terrace, near a lake or river. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bench mark (Leveling), one of a number of marks along a line of survey, affixed to permanent objects, to show where leveling staffs were placed. See bench mark in the vocabulary. --
Bench of bishops, the whole body of English prelates assembled in council. --
Bench plane, any plane used by carpenters and joiners for working a flat surface, as jack planes, long planes. --
Bench show, an exhibition of dogs. --
Bench table (Arch.), a projecting course at the base of a building, or round a pillar, sufficient to form a seat. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Benched p. pr. & vb. n. Benching. ] 1. To furnish with benches. [ 1913 Webster ]

'T was benched with turf. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stately theaters benched crescentwise. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To place on a bench or seat of honor. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whom I . . . have benched and reared to worship. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To sit on a seat of justice. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Eng. Law) One of the senior and governing members of an Inn of Court. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An alderman of a corporation. [ Eng. ] Ashmole. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A member of a court or council. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. One who frequents the benches of a tavern; an idler. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Surveying) 1. Any permanent mark to which other levels may be referred. such as: (a) A horizontal mark at the water's edge with reference to which the height of tides and floods may be measured. (b) a surveyer's mark on a permanent object of predetermined position and elevation used as a reference point. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5 ]

2. something serving as a standard by which related items may be judged; as, his painting sets the benchmark of quality. [ PJC + WordNet 1.5 ]

3. a test or series of tests designed to compare the qualities or performance of different devices of the same type. Certain sets of computer programs are much used as benchmarks for comparing the performance of different computers, especially by comparing the time it takes to complete a test. [ PJC ]

(Law) A process issued by a presiding judge or by a court against a person guilty of some contempt, or indicted for some crime; -- so called in distinction from a justice's warrant. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bended or Bent p. pr. & vb. n. Bending. ] [ AS. bendan to bend, fr. bend a band, bond, fr. bindan to bind. See Bind, v. t., and cf. 3d & 4th Bend. ] 1. To strain or move out of a straight line; to crook by straining; to make crooked; to curve; to make ready for use by drawing into a curve; as, to bend a bow; to bend the knee. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To turn toward some certain point; to direct; to incline. “Bend thine ear to supplication.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Towards Coventry bend we our course. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bending her eyes . . . upon her parent. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To apply closely or with interest; to direct. [ 1913 Webster ]

To bend his mind to any public business. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

But when to mischief mortals bend their will. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To cause to yield; to render submissive; to subdue. “Except she bend her humor.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Naut.) To fasten, as one rope to another, or as a sail to its yard or stay; or as a cable to the ring of an anchor. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

To bend the brow, to knit the brow, as in deep thought or in anger; to scowl; to frown. Camden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To lean; stoop; deflect; bow; yield. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To be moved or strained out of a straight line; to crook or be curving; to bow. [ 1913 Webster ]

The green earth's end
Where the bowed welkin slow doth bend. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To jut over; to overhang. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is a cliff, whose high and bending head
Looks fearfully in the confined deep. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be inclined; to be directed. [ 1913 Webster ]

To whom our vows and wished bend. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To bow in prayer, or in token of submission. [ 1913 Webster ]

While each to his great Father bends. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Bend, v. t., and cf. Bent, n. ] 1. A turn or deflection from a straight line or from the proper direction or normal position; a curve; a crook; as, a slight bend of the body; a bend in a road. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Turn; purpose; inclination; ends. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Farewell, poor swain; thou art not for my bend. Fletcher. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) A knot by which one rope is fastened to another or to an anchor, spar, or post. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Leather Trade) The best quality of sole leather; a butt. See Butt. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Mining) Hard, indurated clay; bind. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. pl. (Med.) same as caisson disease. Usually referred to as the bends. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bends of a ship, the thickest and strongest planks in her sides, more generally called wales. They have the beams, knees, and foothooks bolted to them. Also, the frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to the top of the sides; as, the midship bend. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. bend. See Band, and cf. the preceding noun. ] 1. A band. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ OF. bende, bande, F. bande. See Band. ] (Her.) One of the honorable ordinaries, containing a third or a fifth part of the field. It crosses the field diagonally from the dexter chief to the sinister base. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bend sinister (Her.), an honorable ordinary drawn from the sinister chief to the dexter base. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being bent. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. to reproduce by the Benday method. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, bends. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An instrument used for bending. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A drunken spree. [ Low, U. S. ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A sixpence. [ Slang, Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The marking of the clothes with stripes or horizontal bands. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Bend + -let: cf. E. bandlet. ] (Her.) A narrow bend, esp. one half the width of the bend. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. (Her.) Diagonally. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Bend a band. ] (Her.) Divided into an even number of bends; -- said of a shield or its charge. Cussans. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) See Benne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. bēn. ] A prayer; boon. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

What is good for a bootless bene ? Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Naut.) See Neaped. [ 1913 Webster ]

prep. [ OE. benethe, bineoðen, AS. beneoðan, benyðan; pref. be- + neoðan, nyðan, downward, beneath, akin to E. nether. See Nether. ] 1. Lower in place, with something directly over or on; under; underneath; hence, at the foot of. “Beneath the mount.” Ex. xxxii. 19. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Under, in relation to something that is superior, or that oppresses or burdens. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our country sinks beneath the yoke. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Lower in rank, dignity, or excellence than; as, brutes are beneath man; man is beneath angels in the scale of beings. Hence: Unworthy of; unbecoming. [ 1913 Webster ]

He will do nothing that is beneath his high station. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. In a lower place; underneath. [ 1913 Webster ]

The earth you take from beneath will be barren. Mortimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Below, as opposed to heaven, or to any superior region or position; as, in earth beneath. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., (imperative pl., ) bless ye, praise ye. ] A canticle (the Latin version of which begins with this word) which may be used in the order for morning prayer in the Church of England. It is taken from an apocryphal addition to the third chapter of Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ interj. [ See Benedicite, n. ] An exclamation corresponding to Bless you !. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ From Benedick, one of the characters in Shakespeare's play of “Much Ado about Nothing.” ] A married man, or a man newly married. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. benedictus, p. p. of benedicere to bless. See Benison, and cf. Bennet. ] Having mild and salubrious qualities. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to the monks of St. Benedict, or St. Benet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a famous order of monks, established by St. Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century. This order was introduced into the United States in 1846. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The Benedictines wear black clothing, and are sometimes called Black Monks. The name Black Fr&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;rs which belongs to the Dominicans, is also sometimes applied to the Benedictines. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. benedictio: cf. F. bénédiction. See Benison. ] 1. The act of blessing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A blessing; an expression of blessing, prayer, or kind wishes in favor of any person or thing; a solemn or affectionate invocation of happiness. [ 1913 Webster ]

So saying, he arose; whom Adam thus
Followed with benediction. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Homeward serenely she walked with God's benediction upon her. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Specifically: The short prayer which closes public worship; as, to give the benediction. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Eccl.) The form of instituting an abbot, answering to the consecration of a bishop. Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (R. C. Ch.) A solemn rite by which bells, banners, candles, etc., are blessed with holy water, and formally dedicated to God. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A book of benedictions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A collected series of benedictions. [ 1913 Webster ]

The benedictionary of Bishop Athelwold. G. Gurton's Needle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to bless. Gauden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Expressing wishes for good; as, a benedictory prayer. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]