| briar | 1. A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. 2. Anything sharp or unpleasant to the feelings. "The thorns and briers of reproof." (Cowper) Brier root, the root of the southern Smilax laurifolia and S. Walleri; used for tobacco pipes. Cat brier, Green brier, several species of Smilax (S. Rotundifolia, etc) Sweet brier (Rosa rubiginosa). See Sweetbrier. Yellow brier, the Rosa Eglantina. Origin: OE. Brere, brer, AS. Brer, braer; cf. Ir. Briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. Preas bush, brier, W. Prys, prysg. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| brick | 1. A block or clay tempered with water, sand, etc, molded into a regular form, usually rectangular, and sun-dried, or burnt in a kiln, or in a heap or stack called a clamp. "The Assyrians appear to have made much less use of bricks baked in the furnace than the Babylonians." (Layard) 2. Bricks, collectively, as designating that kind of material; as, a load of brick; a thousand of brick. "Some of Palladio's finest examples are of brick." (Weale) 3. Any oblong rectangular mass; as, a brick of maple sugar; a penny brick (of bread). 4. A good fellow; a merry person; as, you 're a brick. "He 's a dear little brick." To have a brick in one's hat, to be drunk. Brick is used adjectively or in combination; as, brick wall; brick clay; brick colour; brick red. Brick clay, clay suitable for, or used in making, bricks. Brick dust, dust of pounded or broken bricks. Brick earth, clay or earth suitable for, or used in making, bricks. Brick loaf, a loaf of bread somewhat resembling a brick in shape. <medicine> Brick nogging, a brick arch under a hearth, usually within the thickness of a wooden floor, to guard against accidents by fire. Brick trowel. See Trowel. Brick works, a place where bricks are made. Bath brick. See Bath, a city. Pressed brick, bricks which, before burning, have been subjected to pressure, to free them from the imperfections of shape and texture which are common in molded bricks. Origin: OE. Brik, F. Brique; of Ger. Origin; cf. AS. Brice a breaking, fragment, Prov. E. Brique piece, brique de pain, equiv. To AS. Hlafes brice, fr. The root of E. Break. See Break. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| brickdust deposit | A sediment of urates in the urine. Synonym: sedimentum lateritium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bricker operation | An operation utilizing an isolated segment of ileum to collect urine from the ureters and conduct it to the skin surface. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bricker, Eugene | <person> U.S. Urologist, *1908. See: Bricker operation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brickkiln | A kiln, or furnace, in which bricks are baked or burnt; or a pile of green bricks, laid loose, with arches underneath to receive the wood or fuel for burning them. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| brickmaker's anaemia | Anaemia associated with hookworm disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bride | 1. A woman newly married, or about to be married. "Has by his own experience tried How much the wife is dearer than the bride." (Lyttleton) "I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." (Rev. Xxi. 9) 2. An object ardently loved. Bride of the sea, the city of Venice. Origin: OE. Bride, brid, brude, brud, burd, AS. Brd; akin to OFries. Breid, OSax. Brd, D. Bruid, OHG. Prt, brt, G. Braut, Icel. Brr, Sw. & Dan. Brud, Goth. Br33s; cf. Armor. Pried spouse, W. Priawd a married person. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| bridegroom | A man newly married, or just about to be married. Origin: OE. Bridegome, brudgume, AS. Brdguma (akin to OS. Brdigumo, D. Bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. Prtigomo, MHG. Briutegome, G. Brautigam); AS. Brd bride + guma man, akin to Goth. Guma, Icel. Gumi, OHG. Gomo, L. Homo; the insertion of r being caused by confusion with groom. See Bride, and cf. Groom, Homage. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| bridesmaid | A female friend who attends on a bride at her wedding. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| bridesman | A male friend who attends upon a bridegroom and bride at their marriage; the "best man." Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| bridge | 1. To build a bridge or bridges on or over; as, to bridge a river. "Their simple engineering bridged with felled trees the streams which could not be forded." (Palfrey) 2. To open or make a passage, as by a bridge. "Xerxes . . . Over Hellespont Bridging his way, Europe with Asia joined." (Milton) 3. To find a way of getting over, as a difficulty; generally with over. Origin: Bridged; Bridging. 1. A structure, usually of wood, stone, brick, or iron, erected over a river or other water course, or over a chasm, railroad, etc, to make a passageway from one bank to the other. 2. Anything supported at the ends, which serves to keep some other thing from resting upon the object spanned, as in engraving, watchmaking, etc, or which forms a platform or staging over which something passes or is conveyed. 3. The small arch or bar at right angles to the strings of a violin, guitar, etc, serving of raise them and transmit their vibrations to the body of the instrument. 4. <physics> A device to measure the resistance of a wire or other conductor forming part of an electric circuit. 5. A low wall or vertical partition in the fire chamber of a furnace, for deflecting flame, etc.; usually called a bridge wall. Aqueduct bridge. See Aqueduct. Asses' bridge, Bascule bridge, Bateau bridge. See Ass, Bascule, Bateau. Bridge of a steamer, a narrow platform across the deck, above the rail, for the convenience of the officer in charge of the ship; in paddlewheel vessels it connects the paddle boxes. Bridge of the nose, the upper, bony part of the nose. Cantalever bridge. See Cantalever. Draw bridge. See Drawbridge. Flying bridge, a temporary bridge suspended or floating, as for the passage of armies; also, a floating structure connected by a cable with an anchor or pier up stream, and made to pass from bank to bank by the action of the current or other means. Girder bridge or Truss bridge, a bridge formed by girders, or by trusses resting upon abutments or piers. Lattice bridge, a bridge formed by lattice girders. Pontoon bridge, Ponton bridge. See Pontoon. Skew bridge, a bridge built obliquely from bank to bank, as sometimes required in railway engineering. Suspension bridge. See Suspension. Trestle bridge, a bridge formed of a series of short, simple girders resting on trestles. Tubular bridge, a bridge in the form of a hollow trunk or rectangular tube, with cellular walls made of iron plates riveted together, as the Britannia bridge over the Menai Strait, and the Victoria bridge at Montreal. <physics> Wheatstone's bridge, a device for the measurement of resistances, so called because the balance between the resistances to be measured is indicated by the absence of a current in a certain wire forming a bridge or connection between two points of the apparatus; invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone. Origin: OE. Brig, brigge, brug, brugge, AS. Brycg, bricg; akin to Fries. Bregge, D. Brug, OHG. Bruccu, G. Brucke, Icel. Bryggja pier, bridge, Sw. Brygga, Dan. Brygge, and prob. Icel. Br bridge, Sw. & Dan. Bro bridge, pavement, and possibly to E. Brow. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| bridge corpuscle | <cell biology> Specialised cell junction characteristic of epithelia into which intermediate filaments (tonofilaments of cytokeratin) are inserted. The gap between plasma membranes is of the order of 25-30nm and the intercellular space has a medial band of electron dense material. Desmosomes are particularly conspicuous in tissues such as skin that have to withstand mechanical stress. Origin: Gr. Soma = body (18 Nov 1997) |
| bridgeboard | 1. A notched board to which the treads and risers of the steps of wooden stairs are fastened. 2. A board or plank used as a bridge. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| bridged compounds | Cyclic hydrocarbons that contain multiple rings and share one or more atoms. (12 Dec 1998) |