From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Box \Box\, n.; pl. {Boxes} [As. box a small case or vessel with
a cover; akin to OHG. buhsa box, G. b["u]chse; fr. L. buxus
boxwood, anything made of boxwood. See {Pyx}, and cf. {Box} a
tree, {Bushel}.]
1. A receptacle or case of any firm material and of various
shapes.
[1913 Webster]
2. The quantity that a box contain.
[1913 Webster]
3. A space with a few seats partitioned off in a theater, or
other place of public amusement.
[1913 Webster]
Laughed at by the pit, box, galleries, nay, stage.
--Dorset.
[1913 Webster]
The boxes and the pit are sovereign judges.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
4. A chest or any receptacle for the deposit of money; as, a
poor box; a contribution box.
[1913 Webster]
Yet since his neighbors give, the churl unlocks,
Damning the poor, his tripple-bolted box. --J.
Warton.
[1913 Webster]
5. A small country house. "A shooting box." --Wilson.
[1913 Webster]
Tight boxes neatly sashed. --Cowper.
[1913 Webster]
6. A boxlike shed for shelter; as, a sentry box.
[1913 Webster]
7. (Mach)
(a) An axle box, journal box, journal bearing, or bushing.
(b) A chamber or section of tube in which a valve works;
the bucket of a lifting pump.
[1913 Webster]
8. The driver's seat on a carriage or coach.
[1913 Webster]
9. A present in a box; a present; esp. a Christmas box or
gift. "A Christmas box." --Dickens.
[1913 Webster]
10. (Baseball) The square in which the pitcher stands.
[1913 Webster]
11. (Zool.) A Mediterranean food fish; the bogue.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Box is much used adjectively or in composition; as box
lid, box maker, box circle, etc.; also with modifying
substantives; as money box, letter box, bandbox, hatbox
or hat box, snuff box or snuffbox.
[1913 Webster]
{Box beam} (Arch.), a beam made of metal plates so as to have
the form of a long box.
{Box car} (Railroads), a freight car covered with a roof and
inclosed on the sides to protect its contents.
{Box chronometer}, a ship's chronometer, mounted in gimbals,
to preserve its proper position.
{Box coat}, a thick overcoat for driving; sometimes with a
heavy cape to carry off the rain.
{Box coupling}, a metal collar uniting the ends of shafts or
other parts in machinery.
{Box crab} (Zool.), a crab of the genus {Calappa}, which,
when at rest with the legs retracted, resembles a box.
{Box drain} (Arch.), a drain constructed with upright sides,
and with flat top and bottom.
{Box girder} (Arch.), a box beam.
{Box groove} (Metal Working), a closed groove between two
rolls, formed by a collar on one roll fitting between
collars on another. --R. W. Raymond.
{Box metal}, an alloy of copper and tin, or of zinc, lead,
and antimony, for the bearings of journals, etc.
{Box plait}, a plait that doubles both to the right and the
left.
{Box turtle} or
{Box tortoise} (Zool.), a land tortoise or turtle of the
genera {Cistudo} and {Emys}; -- so named because it can
withdraw entirely within its shell, which can be closed by
hinged joints in the lower shell. Also, humorously, an
exceedingly reticent person. --Emerson.
{In a box}, in a perplexity or an embarrassing position; in
difficulty. (Colloq.)
{In the wrong box}, out of one's place; out of one's element;
awkwardly situated. (Colloq.) --Ridley (1554)
[1913 Webster]
|
