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Showing 1-20 of 235 results in 235 entries
1. ablution, n. View full entry c1405
...Chem. Originally: the purification of oils and other substances by a process of emulsification with hot water, the water being drained off after the two immiscible liquids have been allowed to...
2. adelantado, n. View full entry 1588
...The governor of a Spanish province, acting as the chief civil and judicial authority, and as military commander-in-chief in time of war; (also) a military leader with the authority to explore, colonize,...
3. alpha, n. and adj. View full entry ?c1200
...(The name of) the first letter (Α, α) of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to English a....
4. asset, n. View full entry c1523
...Law. In pl., originally as mass noun, subsequently with pl. concord....
5. attack, n. View full entry 1667
...The act of falling upon with force or arms, of commencing battle; an offensive operation; an onset, an assault. The common military term; opposed to defence....
6. bad, adj., n.2, and adv. View full entry 1203
...Of poor quality or little worth....
7. ball, n.1 View full entry 1166
...A rounded hill, a knoll. Now Eng. regional (south-west.)....
8. bang, v.1 View full entry ?c1550
...trans. To strike violently with a resounding blow; to thump, thrash....
9. bear, n.1 View full entry c1000
...A heavily-built, thick-furred plantigrade quadruped, of the genus Ursus; belonging to the Carnivora, but having teeth partly adapted to a vegetable diet. ...
10. beating, n. View full entry ?c1225
...The infliction of repeated blows; spec. the action of inflicting blows in punishment; the dashing of waves against the shore; the whipping up of a fluid; the flapping of wings;...
11. bellow, v. View full entry c1000
...prop. To roar as a bull, or as a cow when excited. (Ordinarily, a cow lows.)...
12. bird, n. View full entry a800
...orig. The general name for the young of the feathered tribes; a young bird; a chicken, eaglet, etc.; a nestling. The only sense in Old English; found in literature down to...
13. black, adj. and n. View full entry eOE
...Designating the darkest colour possible, that of soot, coal, the sky on a moonless night in open country, and a small hole in a hollow object; of or having this colour; (also)...
14. blood, n. (and int.) View full entry eOE
...The red fluid flowing in the arteries, capillaries, and veins of humans and other vertebrates, carrying oxygen and nutrients to, and carbon dioxide and waste metabolites away from, the organs and tissues...
15. bone, n. View full entry a700
...The general name for each of the distinct parts which unitedly make up the skeleton or hard framework of the body of vertebrate animals....
16. boot, n.3 View full entry c1325
...A covering for the foot and lower part of the leg, usually of leather. (Distinguished from a shoe by extending above the ankle. In earlier times used only by riders:...
17. boy, n.1 and int. View full entry c1300
...A male servant, slave, assistant, junior employee, etc....
18. brain, n. View full entry eOE
...The organ contained in the skull of humans and other vertebrates, consisting of soft grey or white tissue with (esp. in mammals) a conspicuously convoluted surface. Also (as a mass noun): the...
19. branch, n. View full entry 1297
...A portion or limb of a tree or other plant growing out of the stem or trunk, or out of one of the boughs; in a more specific sense, a branch...
20. break, v. View full entry 851
...trans. generally....
