BR 



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BRA 



BOW'-ORACE, in nautical language, a 

 frame or composition of junk laid out a 

 the sides, stems, or bows of ships, to se 

 cure them from injury by ice. 



BOW'LINE, in nautical language, a rope 

 fastened near the middle of the leech or 

 perpendicular edge of the square-sails, by 

 subordinate parts called bridles, and used 

 to keep the weather edge of the sail tight 

 forward when the ship is close-hauled 

 The term may be Armoric bouline, " a 

 slanting sail to receive a side wind;" or 

 Fr. bouline, a lack, from bouliner. 



BOW'LINE-BRIDLES, the ropes by which 

 the bowline is fastened to the leech of the 

 sail. 



BOW'-NET, a machine for catching lob- 

 sters and crawfish, called also a bow-wheel. 

 It consists of two round wicker baskets, 

 pointed at the end, one of which is thrust 

 into the other, and at the mouth is a 

 little rim bent inwards. 



BOW'SPRIT (bow and sprit, q. V.), D. boeg- 

 fpriet, Dan. boug-sprid. A large spar 

 which projects over the stem of a ship 

 to carry forward. It rests obliquely on 

 the head of the main-stem, and has its 

 lower end fastened to the partners of the 

 foremast. 



BOX'-DRAIN, an underground drain built 

 of brick and stone, and possessing a rect- 

 angular section. 



BOX'-H AUL, to veer a ship in a particular 

 manner when it is impossible to tack. 



BOXINO-OFT, throwing the head sails 

 aback, to force the ship's head rapidly off 

 the wind. 



BOXING THE COMPASS, repeating all the 

 points in their regular order. 



BOX-TREE, the Buxussempervirens, which 

 grows wild in several parts of Britain. 

 The wood is yellow, close-grained, very 

 hard, and heavy ; it cuts better than any 

 other wood, and is susceptible of a very 

 fine polish. Wood-cuts are engraved on 

 it. It is mostly imported at a duty of 61. 

 per ton. 



Box- WOOD, properly the wood of the 

 box-tree (q. v.), but applied popularly as a 

 name for all the species of the genus 

 Buna. There is properly only one species 

 native of Britain, but there are at least 

 six varieties of that species. See Buxtjs. 

 BOTAU', in fortification, a ditch covered 

 with a parapet, serving as a communica- 

 tion between two trenches. The term is 

 Tr.,boyau, a gut. 



BOT C'N A , a large but harmless American 

 serpent. It is black and slender, and has 

 an intolerable smell. 

 BP., an abbreviation of the word bishop. 

 B QUADRO, a figure In written music 

 called in French B quarrt, from its figure 

 Jj, and in English B natural or iharp, in 

 distinction from B mot, or flat. 

 B. K., an abbreviation of the words 



Eancus Xegina, the Court of Queen's 

 Bench. 



BRAC'CATS (bracca. breeches), when the 

 feet of birds are concealed by long feathers 

 descending from the tibiae. 



BRACE, from Cel. braic, brae, the arm. 

 1. In architecture, a piece of wood framed 

 in with bevel joints, serving to keep the 

 building from swerving either way. It 

 extends like an arm from the post or main 



timber. 2. In mustc, a double curve at 



the beginning of a stave. 3. A thick 



strap which supports a carriage on wheels. 



4. A. crooked line in printing, \ 



connecting two or more lines or > 

 words. It is used to connect triplets / 



in poetry. 5. In nautical language, to 



brace about is to turn the yards round for 

 the contrary tack ; to brace sharp is to 

 cause the yards to have the smallest pos- 

 sible angle with the keel ; to brace to is to 

 check or ease off the lee braces, and round 

 in the weather ones, to assist in tacking. 



BRACES, plural of brace (q. y.). 1. Nar- 

 row fillets or bands of leather, or textile 

 fabric, which pass over the shoulders, and 



support the pantaloons. 2. In nautical 



language, ropes belonging to all the yards 

 of a ship, except the mizzen, two to each 

 yard, reeved through blocks which are 

 fastened to pendants, seized to the yard- 

 arms, to square or traverse the yards. 

 The name is also given to pieces of iron 

 which are used as supports, such as of the 



poop-lanterns, &c. 3. The braces of a 



drum are the cords on the sides of it, for 

 tightening the heads and snares. 



BRACHELY'TRA, a family of pentamerous 

 coleoptera, having only a single palpus on 

 each maxilla, or four in all, including the 

 labial pair. The name is composed of 

 P?*%vs> short, and tXurfov, a sheath. 



BRACH'IATE, Lat. brachiatus, four-ranked, 

 applied to stems, &c. of plants when 

 they divide and spread in four directions, 

 crossing each other alternately in pairs. 



~:RA'CHIO is used in compounding the 

 names of muscles, &c. of the arm (bra- 

 chium). 



BRA'CHIOLTJM, a member of an instru- 

 ment used upon astrolabes, &c., some- 

 times called the creeping index. It is 

 isuallymade of brass, with several joints, 

 that the end or point may be set to any 

 degree of the astrolabe. 



BRACHIOPO'UA, a class of mollusca pro- 

 vided with two fleshy arms instead of 

 feet; hence the na.me,'j3ooc.%iut, an arm, 

 and rout, a foot. The brachiopoda aro 

 11 bivalves, and, like the acephala, have 

 an open bilobe mantle. 



BRA'CHMANS, a sect of ancient Indian 

 philosophers. The brachmans were a 

 Branch of the gymnosophists. The word 

 s also written Brachmins and Brahmint. 

 They took their title from Abraham, whom 



