BRA 



the doftrititJ, worftiip, cliani6\er, ciinoms, tec. of the 

 Jiraniins, we nuy rcitr to the La Porte Oiivorte of M. Ro- 

 ger, ch:iplain to the Dutch farton- at I'oohcat on the coall 

 of Coroina iJel ; ttie travels of IV-rnier and Soniurat ; the 

 Diffi nations of Ormc, Dow, fir WiUinm Jones, fie. &c. ; 

 the Code of Gcntoo Lawn; tlie Afialx Rerfearchts ; Ro- 

 bcrlfoii's Difniiifition conciriiing India, ice. Sec alio the 

 articles ahove referred to, and aUo UhKARts, Hindoos, 

 HiNDosTAN, 5tc. in thi> dictionary. 



Robert de Nobih, an hahan Jtfuit, and one of the Indian 

 minionaries, in the btginnnig of the fcvcnteeiith ceiitmy, in 

 order to fecure fuocel;. to his niiffibn, aiTiimcd the title and 

 appearance of a Braclimaii, and at lciii»th perfuadid the cre- 

 dulous people, that he was, in reality, a member of that ve- 

 iierahlt order. He forged a deed in the ancient Indian 

 charaeters, (hewing that the IJrachmans of Runic were olJer 

 than thofe of India, and that the Jcfuits of Rome d<fccidtd 

 in a dircd line from the god Brahma. He farther declared 

 on oath, that he derived his. origin from this Indian deity. 

 ^5y this impollure he profclvted twelve tmintnc Brachmaiis, 

 whole influence pruned very favourable to his miffion. After 

 his death, the rortnguefo Jefuits carried on the impolhire 

 with very conlidcrable fuccefs. Thefe millions, hov.evtr, 

 were fufpended and abandoimd, in coniequciice of a papal 

 inandate, iflued out in the year 1744, by Bcnedid XIV. 

 \v!io declared his difapproUation of the artifices that had 

 been ufed in the coiiverfion of the Indians. Moflieim's 

 Ecclcf. Hill. vol. iv, p. 211, &c. Bvo.edit. 



BRACHMANUS, in indent Geography, a river of In- 

 dia, on the other tide of the Ganges, between this river and 

 Catabeda. 



BRACHME, Canje-Varam, a town of India, in the 

 peninfula on this fide of the Ganges, according to Ptolemy. 

 It wai fituated in the int;erior of the country, at an equal 

 ditlance from the eallcrn coall of the peninfula and the town 

 called Arcatis, and occupied by the people denominated by- 

 Ptolemy " Brachniani Magi." 



BllACHODLS, the name of a promontory in the Me- 

 diterranean, on the coall of Africa. Ptolemy. Straho calls 

 it " Ammonis promontorium," and Procopius " Caput- 

 Vada." 



BRACHSEN, in lehthyoksy. See Brama Ctpri- 



MUS. 



BRACHVOGEL, in Ornithology, the name given by 

 Frifch to the/rolop^x arquata, or common cutlew. 



BRACHURI, in Zoology, a term applied by Dr. Hill 

 to a genus of animalcules of a roundilh figure, with tails 

 Ihorter than the body. The vermes of this defcription have 

 undergone of late years much accurate invelligation, efpe- 

 cially by Miilleri, the refult of which is, that the genus of 

 hrachuri is exploded by modern writers on the ammalcuia in- 

 fuforia. 



BRACHYACANTHUS, in Entomology, an infcA of 

 the Ichneumon genus found in Europe. The colour is 

 black ; fpots on the head and thorax ; fmall line ou the fcu- 

 tel, and tip of tlie abdomen white ; lling very fliort ; (hanks 

 fufcous, whitilh at the bafe. Linn. £:c. 



Brachvacanthvs, a fpecies of Ichneumon, the colour 

 of which is black ; antennae fufcous ; abdomen and legs 

 yellow; fting very (hort, Linn. Inhabits Europe. 



BRACHYCOLON, from /Jp^'^-T^'or/, and xo/.o , mem- 

 her, is when one member of a period is Ihorter than ano- 

 ther. 



In which fenfe, the word Hands eontradiftinguifhed from 

 ijocnlon, where tlie members are equal, or confill of the fame 

 pumber of fylhiblts. 



JJiL'iCHYGLOTTIS, in BAany, (from ^^r^yy^u f.'ort, 



BRA 



and -^XvTTst, n tongue.) Forfter Nov. gen. JnfTieu 181. 

 l,a Marck pi. 677. Clafs, fyvgencfm folygamia fuperfua. 

 Nat. Ord. Compnfile radiate. Corymhifert. Juflieu. Gen. 

 Char. Cilyx common, oblong, cylindnc, fimple ; fcales 

 linear, equal, cottony. Cor. compound, radiate. CorroUuLs 

 of the di/l, hermaphrodite, fuimtl-fhaped, a little longer 

 than the calyx, with a five-cleft upright, border ; of the niy, 

 ligulate, few, very fhort. Seeds oblong; down ftfiile, 

 piuniofe. Reap, naked. 



Elf. Char. Flowers radiate. Corrolhdes of the ray few, 

 fliort, recurved, three-toothed. Ciilyx polyphyllous, con- 

 nivtnt, cylindric, equal. Down plumofe. 



Species, i. V>. rcpanda. Leaves ovate, repando-finuate. 

 2. 15. rolundifolia. Leaves nearly round, very entire. 

 I' order. 



Brachvci.ottis. See Cineraria. 

 BRACHYGRAPHY, (from ^.y-yj.;, f.ori, and -,,^ais 

 fcnbo, I write.,) denotes the art of (hort-hand writing, called 

 alfo TACHYGRAPHY. See Short-hand. 



BRACHVLOGY,frani (Sfv.>.v;._/Zio;7,and ^o-/o,■, exprcffon, 

 in y^/ic/w/V, brevity, the exprelTing anything in the moll con- 

 cile manner. This, lo far as confident with ptrfpicuity, is 

 a virtue and beautv of ilyle ; but if oblcurity be the coiile- 

 quencc, which is often the cafe, it becomes a blemifh and 

 inexcufable defed. Q^iintilian gives us an iuftance C)f bia- 

 chylogy from Sallull : ^lilbridates, corpore ingenti perinde 

 armatiis : Mithridates, as it were armed with the hugencfs 

 of his (lature. Inll. Or. lib. viii. cap. iii. 



BRACHYOTOS, in Ornithology, a fpecies of Strix, or 

 Owl, of the horned kind. It is fpecitically diftinguiflied 

 by having the horn-feather or tuft very fhort ; the body is 

 fufcous above ; feathers edged with yellow ; beneath pale 

 yellow, longitudinally ftreaked. Forll. Penn. — Donov. 

 Brit. Birds. &c. — Buffon calls this kind of owl ehouette, or 

 grande chevkhe. It is the fliort-eared owl of Englilh orni- 

 thologills. The length is fourteen inches. Found in 

 America as well as Europe. 



BRACHYPNOiA, in Medicine, a term exprefling (liort 

 breathing, a fymptom which occurs in various affections of 

 the lungs, both acute and chronic, from pp-x^:, Jhort, and 

 nnu:, I breathe. See Dyspncka. 



BRACHYPOT^, a term applied to perfons labouring 

 under acute difeafes, who drink but little, and with diffi- 

 culty ; from ^p.;^tj,-, Jloort, and xf/ln;, a drinker. This term 

 has been applied by fome modern phyficians to perfons labour- 

 ing under hydrophobia. 



BRACHYPTERA, in Entomology, z fpecies of Mantis, 

 found by Pallas in Ruffia. Thecolour is cinereous ; thorax 

 dentated ; wings half the length of the abdomen. Haunts 

 fandy delcrts. 



Brachyptera, in Ornithologv, the name of a genus of 

 birds of the rapacious kind, in Willughby's Syflem. The 

 birds c» this genus he diftinguifhes by the fliortnels of the 

 wings, the word being derived from 'pfy.-xy:,J}3ort, and -ttt.-i.-m, 

 a wing ; thefe, when folded, not reaching fo far down as 

 the extremity of the tail. Of this genus were the gnj}.mwk, 

 fparrow hawk, and three kinds of butcher-bird. Neither the 

 gencrical term, nor the difcriminating charafter laid down 

 for it are recognized bv modern ornithologills. 



BRACHYPTERUS, mEntomology, a fpecies of Cimet, 

 defcribed by Linnxus, the colour of which is pale ; body 

 linear ; wing-cafes a third part the length of the abdomen. 

 Inhabits Europe. 



Brach YpTERus, a fpecies of Gryllus, {Tettigonia, Fab. 

 Locujia, Gmel.) Inhabits the north of Europe. This 

 kind feeds upon the grafs ; it is of a greyiih fufcous colour, 

 and is dillinguifhed further by having the wingj, and wing- 



cales 



