BAA 



114 



BAC 



cepted between the meridian of the ob- 

 server and a vertical circle passing 

 through the celestial object whose azi- 

 muth is measured. Azimuth circles, are 

 great circles of the sphere, intersecting 

 each other in the zenith and nadir, and 

 cutting the horizon at right, angles. The 

 magnetic azimuth is an arc of the horizon, 

 intercepted between the vertical circle 

 passing through the centre of the celes- 

 tial body and the magnetic meridian. It 

 is found by the azimuth compass. 



AZ'IMUTH DIAL, a dial of which the 

 Style or gnomon is perpendicular to the 

 plane of the horizon. 



AZOGA SHIPS were those Spanish go- 

 vernment ships, called also quicksilver 

 thips (Sp. azogue, quicksilver) because em- 

 ployed to carry mercury to the Spanish 

 West Indies, to extract the silver from 

 the ores of the mines of Mexico and Peru. 



AZ'OTE, from &, not, and ;, life. A 

 gas otherwise called nitrogen (q.v.), 

 which when breathed alone destroys life. 



AZ'OTIZED, containing azote, said of 

 some vegetables which contain much 

 azote, and therefore in some measure par- 

 take of the nature of animal matter. 



A'ZCRE. 1. The fine blue pigment com- 

 monly called smalt. It is a glass coloured 

 with oxide of cobalt, and ground to an 



impalpable powder. 2. In heraldry, the 



blue colour in coats of all persons under 

 the rank of baron. 



AZ'TOOS. Al-wyof, an anatomical term 

 applied to muscles, veins, &c., which have 

 no corresponding muscle, vein, &c. 



A^-raiTEs (from C^V/MIS, unleavened}. 

 Christians who administer the eucharist 

 with unleavened bread lazy me'.. 



B. 



B is the first letter of all known alpha- 

 bets except the Ethiopic, in which it is 

 the ninth. As a numeral B was used by 

 the Hebrews and Greeks, as now by the 

 Arabians, for 2 : by the Romans for 300, 

 and with a dash over it, thus, B, for 3000. 

 It is often used as an abbreviation: thus, 

 B.A., stands for bachelor of arts; B.L., 

 for bachelor of laws ; B.D., for bachelor 

 of divinity ; B.F., before the decrees of 

 the old Romans, for bonum factum. In 

 music, B is the designation of the seventh 

 note in the natural diatonic scale of C ; 

 but anciently it denoted the second inter- 

 val in the scale beginning with A. B t? 

 8tsnrds for B flat, or the semitone major 

 above A. B also stands for base, andB.C., 

 for thorough base (basso continue). In 

 chronology B is one of the dominical let- 

 ters, and in the old chemical alphabet it 

 denotes mercury. 



BAAL, a name common to the male, as 

 Aahtaroth was to the female idols of the 



East. The name is common to several ot 

 the oriental languages, and signifies lord 

 or master. 



BAB'LAH, the rind or shell which sur- 

 rounds the fruit of the mimosa cineraria, 

 and which is brought from the East under 

 the name of neb-nab. It is used in dye- 

 "ng cotton for proving various shades of 

 drab. 



BABOO'S, a name common to several of 

 the larger species of the monkey tribe, 

 which have short tails, and more or less 

 approximate to the human figure. They 

 are peculiar to the eastern continent. 

 The term is Fr. babouin, from the re- 

 sembles which the animals bear to a child. 



BABTROU'SSA, the Indian hog; a species 

 of the genus sus. It is a native of Ce- 

 :bes and Bourou. 



BAC. 1. In navigation, a praam or ferry- 

 boat. 2. In brewing, a large flat ves- 

 sel in which wort is cooled before boiling, 



tience called a cooler. 3. In distilleries, 



a tub in which liquor to be fermented is 

 pumped from the cooler in order to be 

 worked with the yeast. 



^AC'CA, a berry. A fruit which con- 

 sists of a pulpy pericarp without valves, 



closing several naked seeds. 



BACCALAU'REUS, Lat., the lowest aca- 

 demical de^-ee in the English and French 

 Universities. 



BACCAULA'RIS, a fruit consisting of dis- 

 tinct carpels, seated upon a short recep- 

 tacle. 



BACCHANA'LIA, festivals at Rome in 

 honour of Bacchus, the god of wine. 

 They were ultimately suppressed for their 

 licentiousness. 



BACCHUS, the god of wine, and son of 

 Jupiter and Semele. 



BACCHI'CS, a foot in ancient poetry 

 composed of one short and two long syl- 

 lables ; e. g., ddlores, employed much in 

 hymns to Bacchus. 



BACCIP'EROCS, Lat. bacciferus, berry- 

 bearing, applied to plants which product 

 berries. 



BACcrVoRocs, berry-eating, bacca an! 

 two to eat. 



BACHE'LOR, Lat. baccalaureus, from ba- 

 culus, a shoot. 1. A person who has 

 taken the first degree in the liberal arts 

 and sciences, at a college or university. 

 The honour or degree is called the bac- 

 calaureate. 2. In the middle ages, a 



knight of the lowest order, or rather a 

 young knight, called a knight bachelor 



(bachelier). 3. A canon of the lowest 



rank. 



BACILLA'REJE, a small group of alga- 

 ceous plants, much the same as those 

 called cymbelleee. They are said to pos- 

 sess the power of spontaneous motion. 



BACK, a nautical term. 1. To back an 



anchor. See ANCHOR. 2. To back $ailt 



u to arrange them so that the ship shall 



