adv. In an absurd manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. Reluctantly; slowly; aversely. [ Obs. ] Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Perversely; ill. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And does he think so backwardly of me? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An inferior bard. J. Cunningham. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Bastardlike; baseborn; spurious; corrupt. [ Obs. ] -- adv. In the manner of a bastard; spuriously. [ Obs. ] Shak. Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Blind; stupid. [ Obs. ] “A formal and bayardly round of duties.” Goodman. [ 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. To surround as with a girdle. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

a. Resembling a bird. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Bird + lime viscous substance. ] An extremely adhesive viscid substance, usually made of the middle bark of the holly, by boiling, fermenting, and cleansing it. When a twig is smeared with this substance it will hold small birds which may light upon it. Hence: Anything which insnares. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not birdlime or Idean pitch produce
A more tenacious mass of clammy juice. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Birdlime is also made from mistletoe, elder, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To smear with birdlime; to catch with birdlime; to insnare. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the heart is thus birdlimed, then it cleaves to everything it meets with. Coodwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

adv. & a. In the manner of or resembling a blackguard; abusive; scurrilous; ruffianly. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. causing sudden intense fear due to an apprehension of imminent bodily harm, to oneself or others. Awakened by a bloodcurdling scream from right outside her window
Syn. -- hair-raising, nightmarish. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Bordar (or perh. bord a board) + land. ] (O. Eng. Law) Either land held by a bordar, or the land which a lord kept for the maintenance of his board, or table. Spelman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Bordar (or perh. bord a board) + lode leading. ] (O. Eng. Law) The service formerly required of a tenant, to carry timber from the woods to the lord's house. Bailey. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. strong and heavily built; -- of people. [ Scottish ]
Syn. -- beefy, burly, husky, strapping, strong, vigorous. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. operating without a wire connection to the companion communicating unit; -- of telephones and other devices using e.g. radio or infrared signals to allow communication between devices without a direct wire link; as, cordless telephones have a very restricted range compared with cellular phones. [ PJC ]

2. using a battery as a source of power; -- of tools which usually use line current for power; as, cordless electric drills are very convenient for use outdoors; cordless razors make shaving while travelling easy. [ PJC ]

n. Cowardice. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Wanting courage; basely or weakly timid or fearful; pusillanimous; spiritless. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cowardly rascals that ran from the battle. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Proceeding from fear of danger or other consequences; befitting a coward; dastardly; base; as, cowardly malignity. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cowardly rashness of those who dare not look danger in the face. Burke.

Syn. -- Timid; fearful; timorous; dastardly; pusillanimous; recreant; craven; faint-hearted; chicken-hearted; white-livered. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In the manner of a coward. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ From Curd. ] [ Sometimes written crudle and cruddle. ] 1. To change into curd; to coagulate; as, rennet causes milk to curdle. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To thicken; to congeal. [ 1913 Webster ]

Then Mary could feel her heart's blood curdle cold. Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Curdled p. pr. & vb. n. Curdling ] 1. To change into curd; to cause to coagulate. “To curdle whites of eggs” Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To congeal or thicken. [ 1913 Webster ]

My chill blood is curdled in my veins. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Destitute of curd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being dastardly; cowardice; base fear. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Meanly timid; cowardly; base; as, a dastardly outrage. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Foolish; weak. Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

a. Without a ford. [ 1913 Webster ]

A deep and fordless river. Mallock. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Eagerly; hastily; obtrusively. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Fardel, and cf. Furl. ] To draw up into a bundle; to roll up. [ Ods. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A griddle. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. gurdel, girdel, AS. gyrdel, fr. gyrdan; akin to D. gordel, G. gürtel, Icel. gyr&unr_;ill. See Gird, v. t., to encircle, and cf. Girth, n. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. That which girds, encircles, or incloses; a circumference; a belt; esp., a belt, sash, or article of dress encircling the body usually at the waist; a cestus. [ 1913 Webster ]

Within the girdle of these walls. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their breasts girded with golden girdles. Rev. xv. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The zodiac; also, the equator. [ Poetic ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

From the world's girdle to the frozen pole. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

That gems the starry girdle of the year. Campbell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Jewelry) The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of Brilliant. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mining) A thin bed or stratum of stone. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Zool.) The clitellus of an earthworm. [ 1913 Webster ]

Girdle bone (Anat.), the sphenethmoid. See under Sphenethmoid. --
Girdle wheel, a spinning wheel. --
Sea girdle (Zool.), a ctenophore. See Venus's girdle, under Venus. --
Shoulder,
Pectoral, and
Pelvic,
girdle. (Anat.) See under Pectoral, and Pelvic. --
To have under the girdle, to have bound to one, that is, in subjection. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Girdled p. pr. & vb. n. Girdling ] 1. To bind with a belt or sash; to gird. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To inclose; to environ; to shut in. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those sleeping stones,
That as a waist doth girdle you about. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make a cut or gnaw a groove around (a tree, etc.) through the bark and alburnum, thus killing it. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who girdles. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A maker of girdles. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) An American longicorn beetle (Oncideres cingulatus) which lays its eggs in the twigs of the hickory, and then girdles each branch by gnawing a groove around it, thus killing it to provide suitable food for the larvæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Girdle + stead place. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. That part of the body where the girdle is worn. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Sheathed, beneath his girdlestead. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The lap. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There fell a flower into her girdlestead. Swinburne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without a guard or defense; unguarded. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a haggard manner. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ AS. heardlice. See Hard. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. In a hard or difficult manner; with difficulty. [ 1913 Webster ]

Recovering hardly what he lost before. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Unwillingly; grudgingly. [ 1913 Webster ]

The House of Peers gave so hardly their consent. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Scarcely; barely; not quite; not wholly. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hardly shall you find any one so bad, but he desires the credit of being thought good. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Severely; harshly; roughly. [ 1913 Webster ]

He has in many things been hardly used. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Confidently; hardily. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Certainly; surely; indeed. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Seldom; rarely; almost never. [ PJC ]

n. [ OE. hurdel, hirdel, AS. hyrdel; akin to D. horde, OHG. hurt, G. hürde a hurdle, fold, pen, Icel. hur&unr_; door, Goth. haúrds, L. cratis wickerwork, hurdle, Gr. &unr_;, Skr. k&unr_;t to spin, c&unr_;t to bind, connect. √16. Cf. Crate, Grate, n. ] 1. A movable frame of wattled twigs, osiers, or withes and stakes, or sometimes of iron, used for inclosing land, for folding sheep and cattle, for gates, etc.; also, in fortification, used as revetments, and for other purposes. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In England, a sled or crate on which criminals were formerly drawn to the place of execution. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which men or horses leap in a race. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hurdle race, a race in which artificial barriers in the form of hurdles, fences, etc., must be leaped. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Hurdleed p. pr. & vb. n. Hurdleing ] To hedge, cover, make, or inclose with hurdles. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Work after manner of a hurdle. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ AS. inweardlice. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. In the inner parts; internally. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let Benedick, like covered fire,
Consume away in sighs, waste inwardly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Toward the center; inward; as, to curve inwardly. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. In the heart or mind; mentally; privately; secretly; as, he inwardly repines. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Intimately; thoroughly. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I shall desire to know him more inwardly. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having no lord or master; as, the “ronin” of Japan were lordless samurai.
Syn. -- masterless, ungoverned. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

a. [ 2d lord + like. Cf. Lordly. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Befitting or like a lord; lordly. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Haughty; proud; insolent; arrogant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Lordly. ] The state or quality of being lordly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Lord + -ling. ] A little or insignificant lord. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Lordlier superl. Lordliest. ] [ Lord + -ly. Cf. Lordlike. ] 1. Suitable for a lord; of or pertaining to a lord; resembling a lord; hence, grand; noble; dignified; honorable. [ 1913 Webster ]

She brought forth butter in a lordly dish. Judges v. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lordly sins require lordly estates to support them. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

The maidens gathered strength and grace
And presence, lordlier than before. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Proud; haughty; imperious; insolent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lords are lordliest in their wine. Milton.

Syn. -- Imperious; haughty; overbearing; tyrannical; despotic; domineering; arrogant. See Imperious. [ 1913 Webster ]