n. [ OE. adel, AS. adela, mud. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Liquid filth; mire. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Lees; dregs. [ Prov. Eng. ] Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having lost the power of development, and become rotten, as eggs; putrid. Hence: Unfruitful or confused, as brains; muddled. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Addled p. pr. & vb. n. Addling ] To make addle; to grow addle; to muddle; as, he addled his brain. “Their eggs were addled.” Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ OE. adlen, adilen, to gain, acquire; prob. fr. Icel. öðlask to acquire property, akin to oðal property. Cf. Allodial. ] 1. To earn by labor. [ Prov. Eng. ] Forby. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To thrive or grow; to ripen. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Kill ivy, else tree will addle no more. Tusser. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. A foolish or dull-witted fellow. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Dull-witted; stupid. “The addle-brained Oberstein.” Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dull and addle-pated. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Stupidity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. adlegatio, allegatio, a sending away; fr. adlegare, allegare, to send away with a commission; ad in addition + legare to send as ambassador. Cf. Allegation. ] A right formerly claimed by the states of the German Empire of joining their own ministers with those of the emperor in public treaties and negotiations to the common interest of the empire. Encyc. Brit. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Helpless; without aid. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- + straddle. ] In a straddling position; astride; bestriding; as, to sit astraddle a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Unavoidable; inevitable. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. bandelette, dim. of bande. See Band, n., and cf. Bendlet. ] (Arch.) A small band or fillet; any little band or flat molding, compassing a column, like a ring, and usually at the top of the column; an annulet. Gwilt.
Syn. -- annulet, bandelette, bandlet, square and rabbet. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Ir. bannlamh cubit, fr. bann a measure + lamh hand, arm. ] An Irish measure of two feet in length. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The leader of a dance band. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Same as Bandelet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. bedel, bidel, budel, OF. bedel, F. bedeau, fr. OHG. butil, putil, G. büttel, fr. OHG. biotan, G. bieten, to bid, confused with AS. bydel, the same word as OHG. butil. See. Bid, v. ] 1. A messenger or crier of a court; a servitor; one who cites or bids persons to appear and answer; -- called also an apparitor or summoner. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An officer in a university, who precedes public processions of officers and students. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In this sense the archaic spellings bedel (Oxford) and bedell (Cambridge) are preserved. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An inferior parish officer in England having a variety of duties, as the preservation of order in church service, the chastisement of petty offenders, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Office or jurisdiction of a beadle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being, or the personality of, a beadle. A. Wood. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Without a beard. Hence: Not having arrived at puberty or manhood; youthful. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Destitute of an awn; as, beardless wheat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being destitute of beard. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Befuddled To becloud and confuse, as with liquor. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. dazed by alcoholic drink. the wino's poor befuddled mind
Syn. -- stupefied. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. unclear in mind or intent; filled with bewilderment.
Syn. -- at sea, bemused, bewildered, confounded, confused, mazed, mixed-up. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. confused and vague; used especially of thinking.
Syn. -- addled, befogged, muddled, muzzy, unclear, woolly, wooly, woolly-headed, wooly-minded. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. To surround as with a girdle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To muddle; to stupefy or bewilder; to confuse. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

v. t. To bestride. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little bird; a nestling. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. blōdleás. ] 1. Destitute of blood, or apparently so; as, bloodless cheeks; lifeless; dead. [ 1913 Webster ]

The bloodless carcass of my Hector sold. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not attended with shedding of blood, or slaughter; as, a bloodless victory. Froude. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Without spirit or activity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou bloodless remnant of that royal blood ! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Blood"less*ly, adv. -- Blood"less*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ AS. blōdl&aemacr_;tan; blōd blood + l&aemacr_;atan to let. ] bleed; to let blood. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, lets blood; a phlebotomist. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Med.) The act or process of letting blood or bleeding, as by opening a vein or artery, or by cupping or leeches; -- esp. applied to venesection. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A small Scotch coin worth about one sixth of an English penny. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Sir Thomas Bodley, or to the celebrated library at Oxford, founded by him in the sixteenth century. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. disinclined to work or exertion.
Syn. -- do-nothing(prenominal), faineant, indolent, lazy, otiose, shiftless, slothful, workshy, work-shy. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Origin uncertain. ] 1. The whole collection or lot; caboodle. [ Low, U. S. ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Money given in payment for votes or political influence; bribe money; swag. [ Polit. slang, U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without bounds or confines; illimitable; vast; unlimited. “The boundless sky.” Bryant. “The boundless ocean.” Dryden. “Boundless rapacity.” “Boundless prospect of gain.” Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Unlimited; unconfined; immeasurable; illimitable; infinite. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Bound"less*ly, adv. -- Bound"less*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the quality of being infinite.
Syn. -- infiniteness, infinitude, unboundedness. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. the deletion of all passages considered to be indecent.
Syn. -- bowdlerization, expurgation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. same as bowdlerize.
Syn. -- bowdlerize, expurgate, shorten, cut. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. the deletion of all passages considered to be indecent.
Syn. -- bowdlerisation, expurgation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bowdlerized p. pr. & vb. n. Bowdlerizing ] [ After Dr. Thomas Bowdler, an English physician, who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare in 1818. ] To expurgate, as a book, by omitting or modifying the parts considered offensive; to remove morally objectionable parts; -- said of literary texts.
Syn. -- bowdlerise, expurgate, shorten, cut. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

It is a grave defect in the splendid tale of Tom Jones . . . that a Bowdlerized version of it would be hardly intelligible as a tale. F. Harrison. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Bowd`ler*i*za"tion n. -- Bowd"ler*ism n. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. & i. [ F. brandiller. ] To shake; to totter. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without bread; destitute of food. [ 1913 Webster ]

Plump peers and breadless bards alike are dull. P. Whitehead. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. bridel, AS. bridel; akin to OHG. britil, brittil, D. breidel, and possibly to E. braid. Cf. Bridoon. ] 1. The head gear with which a horse is governed and restrained, consisting of a headstall, a bit, and reins, with other appendages. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A restraint; a curb; a check. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gun.) The piece in the interior of a gun lock, which holds in place the tumbler, sear, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Naut.) (a) A span of rope, line, or chain made fast as both ends, so that another rope, line, or chain may be attached to its middle. (b) A mooring hawser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bowline bridle. See under Bowline. --
Branches of a bridle. See under Branch. --
Bridle cable (Naut.), a cable which is bent to a bridle. See 4, above. --
Bridle hand, the hand which holds the bridle in riding; the left hand. --
Bridle path,
Bridle way, a path or way for saddle horses and pack horses, as distinguished from a road for vehicles. --
Bridle port (Naut.), a porthole or opening in the bow through which hawsers, mooring or bridle cables, etc., are passed. --
Bridle rein, a rein attached to the bit. --
Bridle road. (a) Same as Bridle path. Lowell. (b) A road in a pleasure park reserved for horseback exercise. --
Bridle track, a bridle path. --
Scolding bridle. See Branks, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- A check; restrain. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bridled p. pr. & vb. n. Bridling ] 1. To put a bridle upon; to equip with a bridle; as, to bridle a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

He bridled her mouth with a silkweed twist. Drake. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To restrain, guide, or govern, with, or as with, a bridle; to check, curb, or control; as, to bridle the passions; to bridle a muse. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Savoy and Nice, the keys of Italy, and the citadel in her hands to bridle Switzerland, are in that consolidation. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To check; restrain; curb; govern; control; repress; master; subdue. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To hold up the head, and draw in the chin, as an expression of pride, scorn, or resentment; to assume a lofty manner; -- usually with up. “His bridling neck.” Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

By her bridling up I perceived she expected to be treated hereafter not as Jenny Distaff, but Mrs. Tranquillus. Tatler. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Arch.) A strong flat bar of iron, so bent as to support, as in a stirrup, one end of a floor timber, etc., where no sufficient bearing can be had; -- called also stirrup and hanger. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who bridles; one who restrains and governs, as with a bridle. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Brindled. ] 1. The state of being brindled. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A brindled color; also, that which is brindled. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Brindled. [ 1913 Webster ]