BE V 



134 



BIB 



or more commonly when compounded 

 with a little lime obtained from sea-shell 

 (cfitmam), and wrapped round slices of 

 the areca nut (SCCARECA). This whole 

 compound is called betel, of which there 

 is an almost incredible consumption 

 throughout India and other parts of the 

 East as an article of luxury. It is carried 

 about in boxes, and presented, by way of 

 civility, as snuff is in Europe. It reddens 

 the saliva, gives .a bright hue to the lips, 

 and renders the teeth quite black. 



BETH'LEMITES, an order of monks intro- 

 duced into England in 1257. They were 

 habited like the Dominicans, only that 

 they wore a star of five rays, in memory 

 of that which conducted the wise men to 

 Bethlehem : hence called also star- bearers 



BET'ONICA, the beiony. A. genus of hardy 

 perennials. Didynamia Gymnospermia. 

 Name altered from bcntonic, in Celtic: 

 ben, meaning nead and ton, good or tonic: 

 Its properties are cephalic. "Whole vo- 

 lumes have been written on the virtues of 

 betony, and at the present time, you 

 have more virtues than betony, is a prover- 

 bial compliment in Italy. The wood-be- 

 tony (B. officinalis], is the only British 

 type: it is common in Scotland in woods 

 and thickets. 



BETROTH'MENT, in law, a mutual pro- 

 mise or compact between two parties, by 

 which they bind themselves to marry. The 

 word imports, giving one's troth, i. e. true 

 feith or promise. Betrothment amounts 

 to what civilians and canonists call spon- 

 salia or espousals, sometimes despontutiun, 

 or what the French call ./tan? ailles. 



BE'TULA, the birch. A. genus of hardy 

 trees of about 20 species, besides several 

 varieties. MonceciaPolyandria. Name 

 latinised from Celtic, betu, the birch, 

 which is the badge of the clan Buchanan. 



BET'I-LINE, a vegetable principle ob- 

 tained from the bark of the common birch 

 (Betula alba). It is of a white colour, very 

 light, and crystallises in the form of long 

 needles ; soluble in concentrated sulphuric 

 acid, ether, alcohol, and the fixed and 

 volatile oils, but insoluble in water and 

 alkaline solutions; fusible, volatile and 

 inflammable. 



BEV'EL, an instrument used by masons, 

 carpenters, joiners, &c. It differs from a 

 square in having a moveable tongue, so 

 that the instrument may be set to any 

 angle. 



BEVHL-ANOLE is a workman's term for 

 any other angle than one of 90 or 45. 

 The operation of cutting to a bevel-angle 

 is called bevelling. 



BEVEL-GEER, in mechanics, a species of 

 wheel- work , in which the axes of the two 

 shafts are neither parallel nor at right 

 muxles to each other. 



BBVM.MEST. in mineralogy, supposes the 



removal of two contiguous segments from 

 the edges, angles, or terminal faces of the 

 predominant form, thereby producing 

 new faces in< lined to each other at a 

 certain angle, and forming an edae. 



SEVILLE, > in heraldry, a thing broken 



BKVII.E, ) or opening like a carpenter's 

 bevel ; e. g. '' He bears argent, a chief 

 bevile, vert." 



BEY. See BEG. 



BEZANT'S, round flat pieces of pure gold 

 without any impression, supposed to have 

 been the current coin of By/antium. This 

 coin was probably introduced into coat- 

 armour by the Crusaders. The gold of- 

 fered by the Queen on the altar at the 

 feast of Epiphany and Purification, is- 

 called bezant. 



BEZEL, the upper part of the collet of a 

 ring which encompasses and fastens the 

 stone. Sw. betzla, to curb. 



BE'ZOAR, a concretion found in the 

 stomach of an animal of the goat kind 

 (capragazella) ; hence the name from Pers. 



zar, a goat. Some however derive the 

 word from Pers. pa:achcr, which meana 

 the poison-destroyer ; the substance being 

 regarded in Oriental countries as an in- 

 fallible antidote to poison ; and hence all 

 alexipharmics were called bezoardics. 

 The name kezoar has latterly been ex- 

 tended to all the concretions found in 

 animals : hence we have the bovine, and 

 the camel bezoar; the Persian bezoar is 

 however most highly valued: it is of the 

 size of a kidney-bean. The King of Persia 

 sent three as a present TO Napoleon : these 

 consisted of woody nbre. 



BE'ZOAR-MINFRAL, a deutoxide of anti- 

 mony awkwardly prepared. 



Bi, a Latin prefix for bis, double, twice ; 

 e. g. when prefixed to the name of a saline 

 compound, it indicates two equivalents of 

 acid to one of the base. 



BIARSES'IATE, a salt in which there are 

 two primes of the arsenic acid to one of 

 the base. 



BIARTIC'FLATE, Lat. bis and artiailus, 

 joint. Applied to the antenna? and the 

 abdomen of insects, consisting of but two 

 joints. 



BIAURIC'I-LATE, Lat. from bis, and auri- 

 cula, an auricle. In comparative anatomy, 

 a heart with two auricles. 



BI'BLE, /S/Af THE BOOK, by way of 

 eminence. The authorised version now 

 in use in England was made by command 

 of James I., and is commonly called King 

 James' Bible. It is the work of 47 translators. 



BIBLE SOCIETY. A society established 

 in England in 1804, with the sole object 

 of encouraging a wider circulation of the 

 Scriptures without note or comment, as 

 expressed in its regulations. 



BIBLIO'GRAPHT, from f3i$\of, a book, 

 and t{a$Y,< description. A history or 





