Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages). Noah Webster

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ Back¶bite·, v.i. To censure or revile the absent.

       They are arrant knaves, and will ÿbackbite.

       Shak.

       Back¶bit·er (?), n. One who backbites; a secret calumniator or detractor.

       Back¶bit·ing (?), n. Secret slander; detraction.

       Backbiting, and bearing of false witness.

       Piers Plowman.

       Back¶board· (?), n. [2nd ÿbackÿ,n. + board.]

       1. A board which supports the back wen one is sitting;

       specifically, the board athwart the after part of a boat.

       2. A board serving as the back part of anything, as of a wagon.

       3. A thin stuff used for the backs of framed pictures, mirrors, etc.

       4. A board attached to the rim of a water wheel to prevent the water from running off the floats or paddies into the interior of the wheel.

       W.Nicholson.

       5. A board worn across the back to give erectness to the figure.

       Thackeray.

       Back¶bond· (?), n. [Back, adv. + ÿbond.] (Scots Law) An instrument which, in conjunction with another making an absolute disposition, constitutes a trust.

       Back¶bone¶, n. [2d back, n. + bone.ÿ]

       1. The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column.

       2. Anything like , or serving the purpose of, a backbone.

       The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country.

       Darwin.

       We have now come to the backbone of our subject.

       Earle.

       3. Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness.

       Shelley's thought never had any ÿbackbone.

       Shairp.

       To the backbone, through and through; thoroughly; entirely. ½Staunch to ÿthe backbone.¸

       Lord Lytton.

       Back¶boned¶ (?), a. Vertebrate.

       Back¶cast· (?), n. [ Back, adv.+ ÿcast.] Anything which brings misfortune upon one, or causes failure in an effort or enterprise; a reverse. [Scot.]

       Back¶ door¶ (?). A door in the back part of a building; hence, an indirect way.

       Atterbury.

       Back¶door¶, a. Acting from behind and in concealment; as backdoor intrigues.

       Back¶down· (?), n. A receding or giving up; a complete surrender. [Colloq.]

       Backed (?), a. Having a back; fitted with a back; as, a backed electrotype or stereotype plate. Used in composition; as, broad-ÿbacked; hump-backed.

       Back¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, backs; especially one who backs a person or thing in a contest.

       Back¶fall· (?), n. [2nd back ,n. + fall] A fall or throw on the back in wrestling.

       Back¶friend· (?), n. [Back, n. or adv. + friend] A secret enemy. [Obs.]

       South.

       Back¶gam·mon (?), n. [ Origin unknown; perhaps fr.Dan. bakke tray + E.ÿgame; or very likely the first part is from E.back, adv., and the game is so called because the men are often set back.] A game of chance and skill, played by two persons on a ½board¸ marked off into twenty-four spaces called ½points¸. Each player has fifteen pieces, or ½men¸, the movements of which from point to point are determined by throwing dice. Formerly called ÿtables.

       Backgammon board , a board for playing backgammon, often made in the form of two rectangular trays hinged together, each tray containing two ½tables¸.

       Back¶gam·mon, v.i. In the game of backgammon, to beat by ending the game before the loser is clear of his first ½table¸.

       Back¶ground· (?), n. [ÿBack, a. + ground.]

       1. Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance,

       as opposed to the foreground, or the ground in front.

       2. (Paint.) The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures.

       µ The distance in a picture is usually divided into foreground, middle distance, and background.

       Fairholt.

       3. Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background of red hangings.

       4. A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight.

       I fancy there was a background of grinding and waiting before Miss Torry could produce this highly finished … performance.

       Mrs.Alexander.

       A husband somewhere in the background.

       Thackeray.

       Back¶hand· (?), n. [Back, adv. + ÿhand.] A kind of handwriting in which the downward slope of the letters is from left to right.

       Back¶hand·, a. 1. Sloping from left to right; - said of handwriting.

       2. Backhanded; indirect; oblique. [R.]

       Back¶hand·ed, a. 1. With the hand turned backward; as, a ÿbackhanded blow.

       2. Indirect; awkward; insincere; sarcastic; as, a ÿbackhandedÿ compliment.

       3.Turned back, or inclining to the left; as, a backhanded letters.

       Back¶hand·edÏness, n. State of being backhanded; the using of backhanded or indirect methods.

       Back¶hand·er (?), n. A backhanded blow.

       Back¶house· (?), n. [ÿBack, a. + house.] A building behind the main building. Specifically: A privy; a necessary.

       Back¶ing, n. 1. The act of moving backward, or of putting or moving anything backward.

       2. That which is behind, and forms the back of, anything, usually giving strength or stability.

       3. Support or aid given to a person or cause.

       4. (Bookbinding) The preparation of the back of a book with glue, etc., before putting on the cover.

       Back¶joint· (?), n. [Backÿ, a. or adv. + joint.] (a) A rebate or chase in masonry left to receive a permanent slab or other filling.

       Back¶lash· (?), n. [ÿBackÿ, adv. + lash.] (Mech.) The distance through which one part of connected machinery, as a wheel, piston, or screw, can be moved without moving the connected parts, resulting from looseness in fitting or from wear; СКАЧАТЬ