%bel%

prop. n. 1. 1 A genus of tropical coarse herbs having large lobed leaves and often yellow flowers.
Syn. -- genus Abelmoschus [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ NL. abelmoschus, fr. Ar. abu-l-misk father of musk, i. e., producing musk. See Musk. (or Ar. &hsdot_;abb-al-mosk, musk seed RHUD 1.3 ] (Bot.) An evergreen shrub (Abelmoschus moschatus -- formerly Hibiscus moschatus), of the East and West Indies and Northern Africa, whose musky seeds are used in perfumery and to flavor coffee; -- sometimes called musk mallow. The seeds produce ambrette-seed oil. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

{ } n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect in Africa (4th century), mentioned by St. Augustine, who states that they married, but lived in continence, after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. belonging to a period before a war, especially the American Civil War. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Heb. Bābel, the name of the capital of Babylonia; in Genesis associated with the idea of “confusion.” ] 1. The city and tower in the land of Shinar, where the confusion of languages took place. [ 1913 Webster ]

Therefore is the name of it called Babel. Gen. xi. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: A place or scene of noise and confusion; a confused mixture of sounds, as of voices or languages. [ 1913 Webster ]

That babel of strange heathen languages. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

The grinding babel of the street. R. L. Stevenson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.[ OF. barbel, F. barbeau, dim. of L. barbus barbel, fr. barba beard. See 1st Barb. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Zool.) A slender tactile organ on the lips of certain fishes. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A large fresh-water fish (Barbus vulgaris) found in many European rivers. Its upper jaw is furnished with four barbels. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. Barbs or paps under the tongues of horses and cattle. See 1st Barb, 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A bar to which heavy discs are attached at each end; -- it is used for weightlifting exercises. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ See 1st Barb. ] (Bot.) Having short, stiff hairs, often barbed at the point. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Barbellate with diminutive hairs or barbs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a protruding potbelly caused by excessive drinking of beer.
Syn. -- beer gut. [ PJC ]

In one of the less surprising revelations of the year, researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and colleagues have confirmed that excessive consumption of beer can lead to the condition commonly known as beer belly. At the same time, however, they discovered that, beyond aesthetic concerns, the condition may point to health hazards of a more serious nature. In a comparison of beer drinkers and wine drinkers, the scientists found that beer tends to build a central paunch, or “potbelly”, while wine drinkers tend to have narrower waists, even when the same amount of alcohol and calories is consumed by both. The Scientist -- December 11, 1995.

n. The Babylonian name of the god known among the Hebrews as Baal. See Baal. Baruch vi. 41. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Hind., fr. Skr. bilva. ] A thorny rutaceous tree (Ægle marmelos) of India, and its aromatic, orange-like fruit; -- called also Bengal quince, golden apple, wood apple. The fruit is used medicinally, and the rind yields a perfume and a yellow dye. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ from Alexander Graham Bell. ] a unit of sound intensity equal to ten decibels. [ PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belabored p. pr. & vb. n. Belaboring. ] 1. To ply diligently; to work carefully upon. “If the earth is belabored with culture, it yieldeth corn.” Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To beat soundly; to cudgel. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ajax belabors there a harmless ox. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. bel beautiful + accueil reception. ] A kind or favorable reception or salutation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belaced ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To fasten, as with a lace or cord. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cover or adorn with lace. [ Obs. ] Beaumont. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To beat with a strap. See Lace. [ Obs. ] Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Lam. ] To beat or bang. [ Prov. & Low, Eng. ] Todd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. bel amour fair love. ] 1. A lover. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A flower, but of what kind is unknown. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Her snowy brows, like budded belamours. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. bel ami fair friend. ] Good friend; dear friend. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belated; p. pr. & vb. n. Belating. ] To retard or make too late. Davenant. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Delayed beyond the usual time; too late; overtaken by night; benighted. “Some belated peasant.” Milton. -- Be*lat"ed*ness, n. Milton. [1913 Webster]

v. t. To laud or praise greatly. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belaid, Belayed p. pr. & vb. n. Belaying. ] [ For senses 1 & 2, D. beleggen to cover, belay; akin to E. pref. be-, and lay to place: for sense 3, OE. beleggen, AS. belecgan. See pref. Be-, and Lay to place. ] 1. To lay on or cover; to adorn. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Jacket . . . belayed with silver lace. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) To make fast, as a rope, by taking several turns with it round a pin, cleat, or kevel. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To lie in wait for with a view to assault. Hence: to block up or obstruct. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Belay thee! Stop. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Naut.) A strong pin in the side of a vessel, or by the mast, round which ropes are wound when they are fastened or belayed. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ It., beautiful singing. ] (Music) a cantabile style of operatic singing characterized by purity and evenness of tone, and a precise but brilliant vocal technique displaying ease and agility. [ PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belched p. pr. & vb. n. Belching. ] [ OE. belken, AS. bealcan, akin to E. bellow. See Bellow, v. i. ] 1. To eject or throw up from the stomach with violence; to eruct. [ 1913 Webster ]

I belched a hurricane of wind. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To eject violently from within; to cast forth; to emit; to give vent to; to vent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Within the gates that now
Stood open wide, belching outrageous flame. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To eject wind from the stomach through the mouth; to eructate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To issue with spasmodic force or noise. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of belching; also, that which is belched; an eructation. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Malt liquor; -- vulgarly so called as causing eructation. [ Obs. ] Dennis. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, belches. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ Pref. bel-, denoting relationship + dame mother: cf. F. belledame fair lady, It. belladonna. See Belle, and Dame. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Grandmother; -- corresponding to belsire. [ 1913 Webster ]

To show the beldam daughters of her daughter. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An old woman in general; especially, an ugly old woman; a hag.
Syn. -- hag, beldam, witch, crone. [ 1913 Webster ]

Around the beldam all erect they hang. Akenside. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Beleaguered p. pr. & vb. n. Beleaguering. ] [ D. belegeren (akin to G. belagern, Sw. belägra, Dan. beleire); pref. be- = E. be- + leger bed, camp, army, akin to E. lair. See Lair. ] To surround with an army so as to preclude escape; to besiege; to blockade. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wail of famine in beleaguered towns. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To block up; environ; invest; encompass. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who beleaguers. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Beleft ] To leave or to be left. [ Obs. ] May. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belectured p. pr. & vb. n. Belecturing. ] To vex with lectures; to lecture frequently. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To place under the lee, or unfavorably to the wind. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; dart, fr. &unr_; dart, fr. &unr_; to throw: cf. F. bélemnite. ] (Paleon.) A conical calcareous fossil, tapering to a point at the lower extremity, with a conical cavity at the other end, where it is ordinarily broken; but when perfect it contains a small chambered cone, called the phragmocone, prolonged, on one side, into a delicate concave blade; the thunderstone. It is the internal shell of a cephalopod related to the sepia, and belonging to an extinct family. The belemnites are found in rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous ages. -- Bel*em*nit"ic, a. [1913 Webster]

n. an order of extinct dibranchiate cephalopods related to the surviving spirulas.
Syn. -- order Belemnoidea. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belepered ] To infect with leprosy. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Beaux-esprits [ F., fine wit. ] A fine genius, or man of wit. “A man of letters and a bel esprit.” W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the capital of Northern Ireland; -- the center of Irish Protestantism. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ OE. berfray movable tower used in sieges, OF. berfreit, berfroit, F. beffroi, fr. MHG. bervrit, bercvrit, G. bergfriede, fr. MHG. bergen to protect (G. bergen to conceal) + vride peace, protection, G. friede peace; in compounds often taken in the sense of security, or place of security; orig. therefore a place affording security. G. friede is akin to E. free. See Burg, and Free. ] 1. (Mil. Antiq.) A movable tower erected by besiegers for purposes of attack and defense. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bell tower, usually attached to a church or other building, but sometimes separate; a campanile. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A room in a tower in which a bell is or may be hung; or a cupola or turret for the same purpose. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Naut.) The framing on which a bell is suspended. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ It. bel guardo. ] A sweet or loving look. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Belgium. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Belgium. [ 1913 Webster ]

. An oblong, often nearly cubical, block of some tough stone, esp. granite, used as a material for street pavements. Its usual diameter is 5 to 7 inches. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. Belgicus, fr. Belgae the Belgians. ] 1. Of or pertaining to the Belgæ, a German tribe who anciently possessed the country between the Rhine, the Seine, and the ocean. [ 1913 Webster ]

How unlike their Belgic sires of old. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of or pertaining to the Netherlands or to Belgium. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. (Geography) The capital city of Yugoslavia. Population (2000) = 1, 168, 454. [ PJC ]

a. Belonging to Belgravia (a fashionable quarter of London, around Pimlico), or to fashionable life; aristocratic. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Heb. beli ya'al; beli without + ya'al profit. ] An evil spirit; a wicked and unprincipled person; the personification of evil. [ 1913 Webster ]

What concord hath Christ with Belia ? 2 Cor. vi. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

A son (or man)
of Belial, a worthless, wicked, or thoroughly depraved person. 1 Sam. ii. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]