A Topical Dictionary: Search for b

Dictionary Results For "b" [?]/[OPML]

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See B

Translingual

Etymology

Image:UncialB-01.png|left|50px|Approximate form of upper case B when the loop was dropped to form lower case b Modification of capital letter by dropping its upper loop, from letter {{term|sc=Grek|Β|tr=B||Beta}}.

Letter

The second lower case letter of the classical Latin alphabet and most variations thereof, including the English alphabet.

Usage notes

The letter is used in the International Phonetic Alphabet and in several romanization systems of non-Latin scripts to represent the bilabial plosive or stop, usually voiced (IPA: /b/), including Cyrillic {{term|sc=Cyrl|б|tr=b||be}}, w:Zhuyin fuhao|Zhuyin fuhao ㄅ, and Korean jamo {{term|sc=Hang|ㅂ|tr=b||bieup}}.

English

Letter

The letter bee, the second letter of the English alphabet, usually representing the voiced bilabial plosive (IPA: /b/).

Usage notes

In Modern English, the letter is silent in several words, including , and .

Romanian

Pronunciation

IPA: /be/

Letter

The fourth letter of the Romanian alphabet representing the phoneme /b/. Preceded by â and followed by c.

Category:Romanian alphabet

an:b zh-min-nan:b de:b el:b es:b eo:b fr:b gl:b ko:b hr:b io:b id:b ia:b it:b ku:b la:b lt:b ms:b nl:b ja:b pl:b pt:b ru:b sq:b simple:b sk:b sl:b fi:b sv:b te:b vi:b tr:b ur:b

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Gastropoda \Gas*trop"o*da\, n. pl., [NL., fr. Gr. ?, ?, stomach
+ -poda.] (Zool.)
One of the classes of Mollusca, of great extent. It includes
most of the marine spiral shells, and the land and
fresh-water snails. They generally creep by means of a flat,
muscular disk, or foot, on the ventral side of the body. The
head usually bears one or two pairs of tentacles. See
Mollusca. [Written also Gasteropoda.]
[1913 Webster]

Note: The Gastropoda are divided into three subclasses; viz.:
(a) The Streptoneura or Dioecia, including the
Pectinibranchiata, Rhipidoglossa, Docoglossa, and
Heteropoda. (b) The Euthyneura, including the
Pulmonata and Opisthobranchia. (c) The Amphineura,
including the Polyplacophora and Aplacophora.
[1913 Webster]

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Infinitive \In*fin"i*tive\, n. [L. infinitivus: cf. F.
infinitif. See Infinite.]
Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined.
[1913 Webster]

Infinitive mood (Gram.), that form of the verb which merely
names the action, and performs the office of a verbal
noun. Some grammarians make two forms in English: (a)
The simple form, as, speak, go, hear, before which to is
commonly placed, as, to speak; to go; to hear. (b) The
form of the imperfect participle, called the infinitive in
-ing; as, going is as easy as standing.
[1913 Webster]

Note: With the auxiliary verbs may, can, must, might, could,
would, and should, the simple infinitive is expressed
without to; as, you may speak; they must hear, etc. The
infinitive usually omits to with the verbs let, dare,
do, bid, make, see, hear, need, etc.; as, let me go;
you dare not tell; make him work; hear him talk, etc.
[1913 Webster]

Note: In Anglo-Saxon, the simple infinitive was not preceded
by to (the sign of modern simple infinitive), but it
had a dative form (sometimes called the gerundial
infinitive) which was preceded by to, and was chiefly
employed in expressing purpose. See Gerund, 2.
[1913 Webster]

Note: The gerundial ending (-anne) not only took the same
form as the simple infinitive (-an), but it was
confounded with the present participle in -ende, or
-inde (later -inge).
[1913 Webster]

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Labial \La"bi*al\, n.
1. (Phonetics) A letter or character representing an
articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the
lips, as b, p, w.
[1913 Webster]

2. (Mus.) An organ pipe that is furnished with lips; a flue
pipe.
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3. (Zool.) One of the scales which border the mouth of a fish
or reptile.
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GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Legate \Leg"ate\ (l[e^]g"[asl]t), n. [OE. legat, L. legatus, fr.
legare to send with a commission or charge, to depute, fr.
lex, legis, law: cf. F. l['e]gat, It. legato. See Legal.]
1. An ambassador or envoy.
[1913 Webster]

2. An ecclesiastic representing the pope and invested with
the authority of the Holy See.
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Note: Legates are of three kinds: (a) Legates a latere, now
always cardinals. They are called ordinary or
extraordinary legates, the former governing provinces,
and the latter class being sent to foreign countries on
extraordinary occasions. (b) Legati missi, who
correspond to the ambassadors of temporal governments.
(c) Legati nati, or legates by virtue of their
office, as the archbishops of Salzburg and Prague.
[1913 Webster]

3. (Rom. Hist.)
(a) An official assistant given to a general or to the
governor of a province.
(b) Under the emperors, a governor sent to a province.
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GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Libration \Li*bra"tion\ (l[-i]*br[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. [L. libratio:
cf. F. libration.]
1. The act or state of librating. --Jer. Taylor.
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2. (Astron.) A real or apparent libratory motion, like that
of a balance before coming to rest.
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Libration of the moon, any one of those small periodical
changes in the position of the moon's surface relatively
to the earth, in consequence of which narrow portions at
opposite limbs become visible or invisible alternately. It
receives different names according to the manner in which
it takes place; as: (a) Libration in longitude, that
which, depending on the place of the moon in its elliptic
orbit, causes small portions near the eastern and western
borders alternately to appear and disappear each month.
(b) Libration in latitude, that which depends on the
varying position of the moon's axis in respect to the
spectator, causing the alternate appearance and
disappearance of either pole. (c) Diurnal or parallactic
libration, that which brings into view on the upper limb,
at rising and setting, some parts not in the average
visible hemisphere.
[1913 Webster]

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Monkey \Mon"key\, n.; pl. Monkeys. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It.
monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr.
fr. madonna. See Madonna.]
1. (Zool.)
(a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana,
including apes, baboons, and lemurs.
(b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs.
(c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such
as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of
apes and baboons.
[1913 Webster]

Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups: (a)
Catarrhines, or Simidae. These have an oblong head,
with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have
no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old
World. (b) Platyrhines, or Cebidae. These have a
round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the
nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail
is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not
opposable. These are natives of the New World. (c)
Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed
head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern
Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.
[1913 Webster]

2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a
mischievous child.
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This is the monkey's own giving out; she is
persuaded I will marry her. --Shak.
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3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very
heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on
the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the
falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.
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4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
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Monkey boat. (Naut.)
(a) A small boat used in docks.
(b) A half-decked boat used on the River Thames.

Monkey block (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a
swivel. --R. H. Dana, Jr.

Monkey flower (Bot.), a plant of the genus Mimulus; -- so
called from the appearance of its gaping corolla. --Gray.

Monkey gaff (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast
for the better display of signals at sea.

Monkey jacket, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by
sailors.

Monkey rail (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about
six inches above the quarter rail of a ship.

Monkey shine, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.]

Monkey trick, a mischievous prank. --Saintsbury.

Monkey wheel. See Gin block, under 5th Gin.
[1913 Webster]

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Motion \Mo"tion\, n. [F., fr. L. motio, fr. movere, motum, to
move. See Move.]
1. The act, process, or state of changing place or position;
movement; the passing of a body from one place or position
to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; -- opposed
to rest.
[1913 Webster]

Speaking or mute, all comeliness and grace
attends thee, and each word, each motion, forms.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]

2. Power of, or capacity for, motion.
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Devoid of sense and motion. --Milton.
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3. Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of
the planets is from west to east.
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In our proper motion we ascend. --Milton.
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4. Change in the relative position of the parts of anything;
action of a machine with respect to the relative movement
of its parts.
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This is the great wheel to which the clock owes its
motion. --Dr. H. More.
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5. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or
impulse to any action; internal activity.
[1913 Webster]

Let a good man obey every good motion rising in his
heart, knowing that every such motion proceeds from
God. --South.
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6. A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress;
esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly;
as, a motion to adjourn.
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Yes, I agree, and thank you for your motion. --Shak.
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7. (Law) An application made to a court or judge orally in
open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule
directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant.
--Mozley & W.
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8. (Mus.) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in
the same part or in groups of parts.
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The independent motions of different parts sounding
together constitute counterpoint. --Grove.
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Note: Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale.
Contrary motion is that when parts move in opposite
directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique
motion is that when one part is stationary while
another moves. Similar or direct motion is that when
parts move in the same direction.
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9. A puppet show or puppet. [Obs.]
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What motion's this? the model of Nineveh? --Beau. &
Fl.
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Note: Motion, in mechanics, may be simple or compound.

Simple motions are: (a) straight translation, which, if
of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. (b)
Simple rotation, which may be either continuous or
reciprocating, and when reciprocating is called
oscillating. (c) Helical, which, if of indefinite
duration, must be reciprocating.

Compound motion consists of combinations of any of the
simple motions.
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Center of motion, Harmonic motion, etc. See under
Center, Harmonic, etc.

Motion block (Steam Engine), a crosshead.

Perpetual motion (Mech.), an incessant motion conceived to
be attainable by a machine supplying its own motive forces
independently of any action from without. According to the
law of conservation of energy, such perpetual motion is
impossible, and no device has yet been built that is
capable of perpetual motion.
[1913 Webster +PJC]

Syn: See Movement.
[1913 Webster]

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Respiration \Res`pi*ra"tion\ (r?s`p?*r?"sh?n), n. [L.
respiratio: cf. F. respiration. See Respire.]
1. The act of respiring or breathing again, or catching one's
breath.
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2. Relief from toil or suffering: rest. [Obs.]
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Till the day
Appear of respiration to the just
And vengeance to the wicked. --Milton.
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3. Interval; intermission. [Obs.] --Bp. Hall.
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4. (Physiol.) The act of resping or breathing; the act of
taking in and giving out air; the aggregate of those
processes bu which oxygen is introduced into the system,
and carbon dioxide, or carbonic acid, removed.
[1913 Webster]

Note: Respiration in the higher animals is divided into:
(a) Internal respiration, or the interchange of
oxygen and carbonic acid between the cells of the body
and the bathing them, which in one sense is a process
of nutrition. (b) External respiration, or the
gaseous interchange taking place in the special
respiratory organs, the lungs. This constitutes
respiration proper. --Gamgee.
[1913 Webster] In the respiration of plants oxygen is
likewise absorbed and carbonic acid exhaled, but in the
light this process is obscured by another process which
goes on with more vigor, in which the plant inhales and
absorbs carbonic acid and exhales free oxygen.
[1913 Webster]

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Mute \Mute\, n.
1. One who does not speak, whether from physical inability,
unwillingness, or other cause. Specifically:
(a) One who, from deafness, either congenital or from
early life, is unable to use articulate language; a
deaf-mute.
(b) A person employed by undertakers at a funeral.
(c) A person whose part in a play does not require him to
speak.
(d) Among the Turks, an officer or attendant who is
selected for his place because he can not speak.
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2. (Phon.) A letter which represents no sound; a silent
letter; also, a close articulation; an element of speech
formed by a position of the mouth organs which stops the
passage of the breath; as, p, b, d, k, t.
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3. (Mus.) A little utensil made of brass, ivory, or other
material, so formed that it can be fixed in an erect
position on the bridge of a violin, or similar instrument,
in order to deaden or soften the tone.
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GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English B \B\ (b[=e])
is the second letter of the English alphabet. (See Guide to
Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 196, 220.) It is etymologically
related to p, v, f, w, and m, letters representing sounds
having a close organic affinity to its own sound; as in Eng.
bursar and purser; Eng. bear and Lat. ferre; Eng. silver and
Ger. silber; Lat. cubitum and It. gomito; Eng. seven,
Anglo-Saxon seofon, Ger. sieben, Lat. septem, Gr."epta`,
Sanskrit saptan. The form of letter B is Roman, from the
Greek B (Beta), of Semitic origin. The small b was formed by
gradual change from the capital B.
[1913 Webster]

Note: In (Music), B is the nominal of the seventh tone in the
model major scale (the scale of C major), or of the
second tone in it's relative minor scale (that of A
minor). B[flat] stands for B flat, the tone a half
step, or semitone, lower than B. In German, B stands
for our B[flat], while our B natural is called H
(pronounced h[aum]).
[1913 Webster]

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Ferment \Fer"ment\, n. [L. fermentum ferment (in senses 1 & 2),
perh. for fervimentum, fr. fervere to be boiling hot, boil,
ferment: cf. F. ferment. Cf. 1st Barm, Fervent.]
1. That which causes fermentation, as yeast, barm, or
fermenting beer.
[1913 Webster]

Note: Ferments are of two kinds: (a) Formed or organized
ferments. (b) Unorganized or structureless ferments.
The latter are now called enzymes and were formerly
called soluble ferments or chemical ferments.
Ferments of the first class are as a rule simple
microscopic vegetable organisms, and the fermentations
which they engender are due to their growth and
development; as, the acetic ferment, the {butyric
ferment}, etc. See Fermentation. Ferments of the
second class, on the other hand, are chemical
substances; as a rule they are proteins soluble in
glycerin and precipitated by alcohol. In action they
are catalytic and, mainly, hydrolytic. Good examples
are pepsin of the dastric juice, ptyalin of the salvia,
and disease of malt. Before 1960 the term "ferment" to
mean "enzyme" fell out of use. Enzymes are now known to
be globular proteins, capable of catalyzing a wide
variety of chemical reactions, not merely hydrolytic.
The full set of enzymes causing production of ethyl
alcohol from sugar has been identified and individually
purified and studied. See enzyme.
[1913 Webster +PJC]

2. Intestine motion; heat; tumult; agitation.
[1913 Webster]

Subdue and cool the ferment of desire. --Rogers.
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the nation is in a ferment. --Walpole.
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3. A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a
fluid; fermentation. [R.]
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Down to the lowest lees the ferment ran. --Thomson.
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ferment oils, volatile oils produced by the fermentation of
plants, and not originally contained in them. These were
the quintessences of the alchemists. --Ure.
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WordNet b
n 1: the blood group whose red cells carry the B antigen [syn: {type
B}, group B]
2: aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often
occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
[syn: Bacillus, Bacilli]
3: originally thought to be a single vitamin but now separated
into several B vitamins [syn: B-complex vitamin, {B
complex}, vitamin B complex, vitamin B, B vitamin]
4: a trivalent metalloid element; occurs both in a hard black
crystal and in the form of a yellow or brown powder [syn:
boron, atomic number 5]
5: a logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels
[syn: bel]
6: (physics) a unit of nuclear cross section; the effective
circular area that one particle presents to another as a
target for an encounter [syn: barn]
7: the 2nd letter of the Roman alphabet

FOLDOC B

1. byte.

2. A systems language written by Ken Thompson in
1970 mostly for his own use under Unix on the PDP-11. B
was later improved by Kerninghan(?) and Ritchie to produce
C. B was used as the systems language on Honeywell's
GCOS-3.

B was, according to Ken, greatly influenced by BCPL, but the
name B had nothing to do with BCPL. B was in fact a revision
of an earlier language, bon, named after Ken Thompson's
wife, Bonnie.

["The Programming Language B", S.C. Johnson & B.W. Kernighan,
CS TR 8, Bell Labs (Jan 1973)].

[Features? Differences from C?]

(1997-02-02)

3. A simple interactive programming language by
Lambert Meertens and Steven Pemberton. B was the predecessor
of ABC.

(ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/languages/B.tar.Z).

["Draft Proposal for the B Language", Lambert Meertens, CWI,
Amsterdam, 1981].

4. A specification language by
Jean-Raymond Abrial of B Core UK, Magdalen Centre, Oxford
Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GA. B is related to Z and
supports development of C code from specifications. B has
been used in major safety-critical system specifications in
Europe, and is currently attracting increasing interest in
industry. It has robust, commercially available tool support
for specification, design, proof and code generation.

E-mail: .

(1995-04-24)

FOLDOC b

bit or maybe byte (B).

(1996-11-03)

Translingual

Etymology

Letter

Usage notes

See also

English

Letter

Usage notes

See also

Romanian

Pronunciation

Letter