bank 
United States of banks whose circulating notes were re- 
quired to be .secured by u deposit of United States boti.ls, 
which resulted, as was intended, in providing a market 
for a very large government loan, and at the same time a 
secure currency equally acceptable in all parts of the coun- 
try. Penny-banks Act, an English statute of 1859 (22 
and 23 Viet., c. 53) authorizing the investing of the funds 
of penny savings-bank*, charitable societies, etc., in the 
money of established savings-banks. To break the 
bank, to win, as in faro, from the management a certain 
sum which has been fixed upon as the limit which the 
kink is willing to lose in a single day. To play against 
the bank, to take the risks of a game, as rouge-et-noir or 
faro, in opposition to its manager. 
bank 2 (bangk), v. [< bonk", n.} I. intrans. 
To have an account with a banker; deposit 
money in a bank ; transact business with a bank 
or as a bank ; exercise the trade or profession 
of a banker. 
I 6011* witli one of my sons' fathers-in-law, and the other 
Ixuilfs with me. Thackeray. 
II. trans. To lay up on deposit in a bank: 
as, he banked $500: 
banka (bang'ka), u. [Native.] A passenger- 
boat without outrigger, used on the river and 
harbor at Manila. It is hewn from a single log of 
wood from 16 to 23 feet long, and carries three or four 
passengers. IIH/I. Diet. 
bankable (bang'ka-bl), a. [< bank 2 , i:, + -able.} 
Receivable as cash by a bank, as bank-notes, 
checks, and other securities for money. 
bank-account (bangk'a-kount"), . A sum de- 
posited in a bank to be drawn out on the writ- 
ten order of tbe depositor. 
bank-bait (bangk'bat), n. A name of May-flies. 
A great many fall into the water a prey to fishes, and 
at that time [May], especially at Dordrecht, the roach is 
noted as being peculiarly fat and good. Hence the name 
bank-bait (in some parts of France, la nianne). 
E. P. Wright, Aniln. Life, p. 485. 
bank-bill (baugk'bil), . 1. A note or bill 
drawn by one bank on another, and payable 
either on demand or at some future specified 
date. 2. In the United States and some parts 
of England, a bank-note (which see). 
bank-book (bangk'buk), n. The pass-book in 
which an officer of a bank enters tne debits and 
credits of a customer. The initials of the teller or 
accountant of the bank affixed to the sums entered in the 
bank-book to the credit of the customer constitute a valid 
receipt. 
bank-credit (bangk'kred"it), . A credit with 
a bank, by which, on proper security given to 
the bank, a person receives liberty to draw to 
a certain extent agreed upon : in Scotland also 
called a cash-account. Such credits were long 
a distinctive feature of Scotch banking. 
banker 1 (bang'ker), n. [< bankl, n. or v., in 
various senses, + -fr 1 .] 1. A vessel employed 
in the cod-fishery on the banks of Newfound- 
land. J. Q. Adams. 2. The bench or table upon 
which bricklayers and stone-masons prepare 
and shape their material; a banket. 3. In 
sculp., a modeler's bench provided with a cir- 
cular platform turning on wheels so that the 
work can be revolved to expose any portion 
to the light. 4. A covering for a bench or 
seat, made of tapestry, rich stuff, or embroi- 
dered cloth. 5. A hanging for a church wall 
or screen; specifically, the curtains placed at 
the ends of an altar. 6. A ditcher; one en- 
gaged in embanking. 
The discovery was made by some bankers (men who 
work in the fens) from Lincolnshire. 
J. Freeman, Life of W. Kirby, p. 155. 
7. In hunting, a horse which can jump on and 
off field-banks too large to be cleared. N. E. 
D. 8. In Australia, a river full to the brim. 
A T . E. D. 
banker 2 (baug'ker), . [< bank'*, v., + -ei-l.] 
1 . One who keeps a bank ; one who traffics in 
money, receives and remits money, negotiates 
bills of exchange, etc. 2. The holder of the 
funds of a gaming establishment ; in games of 
chance, that player who deposits a certain sum 
of money against which bets are made, or that 
player who for the sake of convenience receives 
and pays out bets won and lost Banker's note, 
a promissory note given by a private banker or an onkt. 
corporated bank. 
bankeress (bang'ker-es), n. [< banker"* + -ess.} 
A female banker; a banker's wife. Thackeray. 
[Rare.] 
The late Countess of Jersey was only received on suffer- 
ance in some houses in Vienna, because she was a bank- 
eress. The American, V. 200. 
bankerless (bang'ker-les), a. [< banker* + 
-less.} Without bankers. Quarterly Rev. 
bankeroutt, ., a., and v. An obsolete form of 
bankrupt. 
banket 1 !, and r. An obsolete form of ban- 
quet. 
442 
banket 2 (bang'ket), n. [< bank 1 , a bench, + 
dim. -et.] A piece of wood on which brick- 
layers cut their bricks to the size proper for 
the place into which they are about to lay 
them. [Eng.] 
bank-fence (bangk'fens), . A fence made of 
a bank of earth. 
bank-game (bangk'gam), . In billiards, a 
game in which only bank-shots count. 
bank-head (bangk'hed), n. In coal-mining, the 
upper level end of an inclined plane next the 
engine. [Eng.] 
bank-holiday (bangk'hol'i-da), u. In Great 
Britain, a secular day on which the law ex- 
empts the parties to negotiable paper from the 
obligation of presentment, payment, etc., and 
consequently allows banks to be closed, its 
effect on such paper differs from that of Sunday in the 
fact that the laws establishing such holidays usually, if 
not always, provide that paper falling due on such day is 
payable on the next following secular day, while paper 
entitled by commercial usage to days of grace, and falling 
due on Sunday, is payable on Saturday. By a statute of 
1871, the hank-holidays in England and Ireland are Easter 
Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August, ami 
the 26th of December (boxing-day); in Scotland, New- 
Year's day, the first Monday in May, the first Monday in 
August, and Christmas day. See holiday. 
bank-hook (bangk'huk), n. 1. A large form 
of fish-hook for catching cod, used on the banks 
of Newfoundland. 2. In coal-mining, the iron 
hook with which the banksman draws the loaded 
tubs off the cage. [Eng.] 
banking 1 (bang'king), n. [Verbal n. of bank 1 , 
I 1 .] 1. The act of raising a mound or bank, or 
of inclosing with a bank. 2. The bank or 
mound raised; anything piled up to serve as a 
bank, as a raised edging of wax on a plate that 
is to be treated with acids for etching. 3. A 
general term for fishing as practised on the 
banks of Newfoundland. 4. In coal-mining, 
the sorting or loading of coals "at bank," or at 
the mouth of the shaft. [Eng.] 
banking 2 (bang'king), n. and a. I. . [Verbal 
n. of bank 2 , r.] The business or employment of 
a banker ; the business carried on by a bank. 
The term bankinrf was then (1742] applied only to the 
issue of notes and the taking up of money on bills on de- 
mand. W. Bagehot, Lombard Street, p. 98. 
II. a. Pertaining to or conducted by a bank : 
as, banking operations. 
banking-file (bang'king-fll), n. A file with 
parallel edges and a triangular section. 
banking-pin (bang'king-pin), n. In a watch, 
one of two pins serving to confine the move- 
ments of the escapement. 
banking-wax (bang'king-waks), n. A compo- 
sition of beeswax, common pitch, Burgundy 
pitch, and sweet oil, melted in a crucible and 
poured into cold water, used in etching to form 
a border around the plate, to prevent the over- 
flow of the acid. 
bankless (bangk'les), a. [< bank 1 + -lens.'} 
Without banks or limits: as, "the bankless 
sea," Dairies. 
bank-level (bangk'lev"el), n. In coal-mining, 
the level headingfrom which the bank is worked. 
[Yorkshire, Eng.] 
bank-martin (bangk'mar'tin), n. Same as 
bank-swallow. 
bank-note (bangk'not), n. A promissory note 
payable on demand, made and issued by a 
bank authorized by law, and intended to cir- 
culate as money. In the United States fre- 
quently called bank-bill Bank-note paper, paper 
used for hank-notes and government bonds. It is made 
in such a way that it is very diflicult to imitate it, and 
such imitation is a felony. Bank-note press, a machine 
for pressing bank-notes and arranging them in packages. 
banko-ware (bang'ko-war), n. A Japanese 
unglazed stoneware made near Kuwana on 
the Tokaido. It is very light and durable, is made in 
molds of irregular shapes, and decorated with figures in 
relief. So called from Nunami Banko, the original maker. 
bank-plate (bangk'plat), n. In coal-mining, 
one of the cast-iron plates with which the sur- 
face at the mouth of the shaft or the bank is 
floored. [Eng. ] 
bank-post (bangk'post), n. [< bank 2 + post 2 , 
.] A large size of letter-paper, ranging in 
weight from 5^ to 10 pounds to the ream. 
bankroutt (bangk'rout), .,., and v. One of 
the older forms of bankrupt. 
Being bank-rout both of wealth and worth. 
Chapman, Byron's Tragedy, v. 1. 
For these modern languages will at one time or other 
play the bank-rowtes with books ; and since I have lost 
much time with this age, I would be glad, as God shall 
give me leave, to recover it with posterity. 
Bacon, Letter, in Spedding, VII. 436. 
bankrupt (bangk'rupt), n. and a. [Early mod. . 
E. bankrout, bankerout, banqueroute, etc., later 
bankruptcy 
banqucroupt, and finally bankrupt (in imitation 
of L. niptus), < F. bauqueroutte, now banque- 
route (> banquerouttier, a bankrupt), orig. in E. 
bnnkc rota (def. 1), < It. banca rotta (ML. as if 
"banca rupta), bankruptcy, lit. broken bank or 
bench: banco, < ML. banco, < MH6. bane, a 
bank (see bankl, bank 2 ); rotta, fern, of rotto, 
broken, wrecked, < L. ruptus, broken (in ML. 
also as a noun, a bankrupt). It is said to have 
been the custom in Italy to break the bench or 
counter of a money-changer upon his failure ; 
but the allusion is prob. figurative, like break, 
craahl, smash, similarly used in English. See 
bankl, bank 2 , rupture, rout 2 .} I. n. If. The 
breaking up of a trader's business due to his 
inability to meet his obligations ; bankruptcy. 
2. An insolvent person whose property is 
administered for, and distributed among, his 
creditors in accordance with the provisions of 
a system of laws called bankrupt, bankruptcy, or 
insolvent laics. See bankruptcy. In particular (nt) 
In old law, a trailer who secretes himself, or does certain 
other acts tending to defraud his creditors. Blackulone. 
(hi) A fugitive from his creditors ; one who by extrava- 
gance and reckless expenditure had brought himself into 
a state of insolvency and had absconded, or retired into 
a place of sanctuary, (c) In mod. law, any person who 
upon his own petition or that of his creditors is adjudged 
insolvent by a bankruptcy court. His estate may be ad- 
ministered by an assignee or trustee, under the direction 
of the court, for the benefit of the creditors. 
3. In popular language, a hopelessly insolvent 
person ; one who is notoriously unable to pay 
his debts ; hence, one who is unable to satisfy 
just claims of any kind made upon him. 
What a bauJcntpt I am made 
Of a full stock of blessings. Ford. 
Cessionary bankrupt. See sessionary. 
II. a. 1 . In the state of one who has committed 
an act of bankruptcy, or is insolvent; subject 
to or under legal process because of insolvency. 
2. Unable to pay just debts, or to meet one's 
obligations ; insolvent. 
Willo. The king's grown bankrupt, like a broken man. . . . 
ROM. He hath not money for these Irish wars, 
Hisburthenous taxations notwithstanding. 
Shak., Rich. II., ii. 1. 
The beggared, the bankrupt society, not only proved 
able to meet all its obligations, but . . . grew richer and 
richer. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xix. 
3. Figuratively, at the end of one's resources : 
as, to be bankrupt in thanks. 
Do you see ? he has tears 
To lend to him whom prodigal expence 
Of sorrow has made bankrupt of such treasure. 
Beau, and Ft., Thierry and Theodoret, iv. 2. 
Bankrupt laws. Same as bankruptcy laws (which see, 
under bankruptcy). 
bankrupt (bangk'rupt), j). [< bankrupt, n.~\ I. 
trans. I . To make insolvent ; render unable to 
meet just claims. 
We cast off the care of all future thrift because we are 
already bankrupted. Haminoiul. 
Iron-dads, more than anything else, bankrupted Turkey. 
Jf. A. Rev., CXLIII. 214. 
2f. To reduce to beggary; exhaust the re- 
sources of. 
Fat paunches have lean pates ; and dainty bits 
Make rich the ribs, but bankerout the wits. 
Shak., L. L. L., i. 1. 
Il.t intrans. To become bankrupt; fail or 
become insolvent. 
bankruptcy (bangk'rupt-si), n. [< bankrupt + 
-cy.} 1. The state of being bankrupt or in- 
solvent; inability to pay all debts; failure in 
trade. In taw, specifically, the status of a person or cor- 
poration that by reason of insolvency has been adjudi- 
cated a bankrupt. 
2. Figuratively, utter wreck; ruin. Act of 
bankruptcy, in law, an act the commission of which by 
a debtor renders him liable to be adjudged a bankrupt. 
Among acts of bankruptcy are the assignment of his prop- 
erty by a debtor to a trustee for the benefit of his cred- 
itors ; the making of a transfer of any of his property in 
fraud of his creditors, or the concealment or removal of 
it to evade legal process ; departing from the country, or 
remaining out of it, in order to defeat or delay creditors ; 
the filing in court of a declaration of inability to pay debts ; 
non-payment of debts under certain other circumstances 
denned by the law as indicating insolvency. Assignee 
In bankruptcy. See assignee. Bankruptcy commis- 
sioner, i>r register In bankruptcy, a judicial officer 
empowered, subject to the supervision of the court, to in- 
vestigate and adjudicate upon the affairs of bankrupts. 
Bankruptcy laws, the statutory regulations under which 
the property of an insolvent may be distributed among 
his creditors, with the double object of enforcing a com- 
plete discovery and an equitable distribution of the prop- 
erty, and of discharging the debtor from his obligations 
and from future molestation by his creditors. Formerly, 
only a trader could be made a bankrupt under the bank- 
ruptcy laws, other persons who were unable to meet their 
obligations being insolvents. The distinction was abolished 
ill the United States in 1841 and in Great Britain in 1869. 
In the United States, Congress has the power of enacting 
bankruptcy laws which shall be uniform throughout the 
country. These laws are administered by the federal 
