A personal lexicon of unusual, archaic, scientific, and otherwise interesting words encountered in reading. Browse other letters from the Dictionary catalog.
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| bacchanal | a drunken or riotous celebration; a reveler |
| Bach | 1685-1750 German composer and organist of the late baroque period. Among the greatest composers. |
| badger | tr.v. to harry or pester persistently |
| bailiwick | a person’s specific area of interest, skill or authority. |
| baklava | a dessert made of paper-thin layers of pastry, chopped nuts, and honey |
| balderdash | n. nonsense |
| baleful | adj. Portending evil; ominous; harmful or malignant in intent or effect; evil; mental suffering, anguish |
| balked | frustrate, baffle, foil, thwart, block. |
| banyan | fig tree with many aerial roots as trunks. |
| Barbary ape | tailless monkey of Gibraltar and northern Africa |
| baritone | a male singer or voice with a range higher than a bass and lower than a tenor |
| barque | vessel with aftermost mast fore-and-aft rigged and remaining (usu. two) masts square-rigged |
| basalt | a hard, dense, dark volcanic rock composed chiefly of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine, and often having a glassy appearance; hard, unglazed pottery. |
| bass | the lowest tones in the register of an instrument; a male voice with a low tone |
| batten | to fatten; to improve at someone else’s expense; strip of wood used to fasten down hatches |
| bauble | trinket. |
| beau | a woman’s or girl’s boyfriend; a dandy, a fop |
| bedraggle | tr.v. to make wet and limp |
| bedraggled | adj. Wet, limp; soiled by or as if by having been dragged through mud; being in a condition of deterioration; dilapidated |
| befuddle | confuse, perplex; stupefy with or as if with alcoholic drink |
| beguile | to deceive by guile; delude; to take away from by or as if by guile; cheat; to distract the attention of; divert; to pass (time) pleasantly; to amuse or charm; delight |
| behoove | to be necessary or proper (for) |
| belfry | bell tower |
| bellyflop | a dive in which the belly hits the surface of the water |
| benefice | n. a landed estate granted in feudal tenure; v. bequeath; to hand down. |
| bequeath | to hand down. |
| bequeathed | leave by will; pass down to posterity. |
| bequest | n. the act of giving, leaving by will, or passing on to another. Something that is bequeathed; a legacy |
| Bernstein, Leonard | 1918-1990. American conductor and composer |
| beset | to attack from all sides; to trouble persistently; harass; to hem in, surround. |
| besot | to muddle or stupefy, as with alcoholic liquor or infatuation |
| bete noire | one that is particularly disliked or that is to be avoided. |
| bilge | n. the rounded portion of a ship’s hull, forming a transition between the bottom and the sides; the lowest inner part of a ship’s hull; stupid talk or writing; nonsense; the bulging part of a barrel or cask. Intr.v. to spring a leak in the bilge; to bulge or swell. tr. to break open the bilge of |
| bilious | adj. Having a peevish disposition; ill-humored |
| biont | |
| biota | the combined flora and fauna of a region. |
| bird of paradise | bird with brilliant plumage and long tail feathers in the male. |
| Bittern | wading bird having mottled, brownish plumage and a deep, booming cry in the male. |
| Bladder | (botany) hollow or inflated saclike organ or structure, such as floats of certain seaweeds. |
| blandish | tr.v. to coax by flattery or wheedling; cajole |
| blasé | uninterested because of frequent exposure or indulgence |
| bluff | outspoken, frank. |
| bluster | empty threats; tr.v. to force or bully with swaggering threats; n. turbulence or noisy confusion |
| Bobwhite | a small quail having brown plumage with white markings |
| boffin | a scientist, esp. one engaged in research. |
| bollix | to throw into confusion; botch or bungle. |
| bolt | a large roll of cloth of a definite length, esp. as it comes from the loom |
| bon juste | |
| bon mot | clever saying; witticism. |
| bon vivant | a person with refined taste, esp. one who enjoys superb food and drink |
| boner | a blunder or an error |
| boodle | money; bribe; stolen goods; caboodle |
| boom | a long spar extending from a mast to hold or extend the foot of a sail |
| boon1 | n. a benefit bestowed, esp. one bestowed in response to a request; a timely blessing or benefit |
| boon2 | adj. convivial; jolly. |
| boorish | resembling or characteristic of a boor; rude and clumsy in behavior |
| bootleg | to make, sell, distribute, transport illegally |
| borzoi | tall, slender dogs having a narrow, pointed head and a silky, predominantly white coat. |
| botch | tr. v. to ruin through clumsiness; to make or perform clumsily; bungle; to repair or mend clumsily; n. a ruined or defective piece of work; a hodgepodge |
| botrytis | fungus |
| bourse | a stock exchange esp. one in a continental European city |
| boustrophedon | ancient method of writing in which the lines are inscribed alternately from right to left and from left to right. |
| bow | front section of a ship or boat |
| bower | a shaded, leafy recess, an arbor |
| bowsprit | a spar, extending forward from the stem of a ship, to which the stays of the foremast are fastened |
| brachiate | intr.v. to move by swinging with the arms from one hold to another |
| bracken | often weedy fern having large, triangular pinnately compound fronds and often forming dense thickets |
| bracken | often weedy fern having large, triangular pinnately compound fronds and often forming dense thickets |
| bract | a leaflike or scalelike plant part, usually small, sometimes showy or brightly colored, and located just below a flower, a flower stalk, or an inflorescence |
| braise | to cook by browning in fat, then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container |
| bravura | (music) a brilliant technique or style in performance; a piece or passage that emphasizes a performer’s virtuosity; a showy manner or display |
| Breton | of Brittany |
| brindled | tawny or grayish with streaks or spots of a darker color |
| Briton | native or inhabitant of Great Britain |
| broach | to introduce as a topic of conversation. |
| brooch/broach | a relatively large decorative pin or clasp |
| brownie point | credit considered as earned, especially by favorably impressing a superior. |
| Brussels sprouts | vegetable in mustard family having long, stout cabbagelike buds. |
| bulwark | fortification; defense |
| bumpkin | an awkward, unsophisticated person, a yokel |
| bunkum | nonsense; ostentatious talking. |
| burgher | a citizen of a town or borough; a comfortable or complacent member of the middle class |
| bush baby | small, nocturnal African primate |
| buskins | a thick-soled laced half boot |
| buttonhole | to accost and detain in conversation by or as if by grasping the persons outer garments |
| buzzard | American vulture; an avaricious or otherwise unpleasant person |
| by the seat of (one’s) pants (slang) | in a manner based on intuition and experience rather than method; without the use of instruments. |
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