bilifuscin 
bilifuscin (bil-i-fus'in), n. [< L. Mis, bile, 4- 
J'UHCIIK. fuscous, + -i2.] A substance described 
as existing in very small quantities in gall- 
stones. It is of a dark-green color, insoluble in water, 
chloroform, and ether, soluble in alcohol and alkalis, 
and reacts with nitric acid like bilimbin. Its formula is 
CiflHaoNaOj. 
bilihumin (bil-i-hu'min), n. [< L. bilis, bile, + 
humus, ground, + -i 2 .] The insoluble black- 
ish residue left after bile or gallstones have 
been exhausted by ether, water, chloroform, 
alcohol, and dilute acids. 
bilimbi, bilimbing (bi-lim'bi, -bing), n. [Also 
bilimby, blimbing, repr. Tamil bilimbi, Malay bi- 
limbiiKj, Singhalese Win.] The native name of 
the fruit of an East Indian tree-sorrel, Aver- 
rhoa Bilimbi. It is very acid, but is much 
esteemed when made into syrup, candied, or 
pickled. See Averrhoa. 
bilimentt, . [Also billiment, belliinent, etc., by 
apheresis for habiliment.] An ornamental part 
of a woman's dress; especially, the attire of 
the head or neck. 
Then beganne alle the gentylwomen of Yngland to were 
Krenche whoodes with bellementtes of golde. 
Citron, of Qrey Friars (1558), ed. Camden Soc. 
Biliuient lace, an ornamental lace used in the sixteenth 
century for trimming. 
bilin (bil'in), n. [< L. bills, bile, + -in 2 .] The 
mixture of sodium glycocholate and taurocho- 
late isolated from the bile, constituting a gum- 
my mass of a pale-yellow color. 
bilinear (bi-lin'e-ar), a. [< 6i- 2 + linea, line, + 
-or.] Consisting of or having reference to two 
lines : as, bilinear coordinates. 
bilineate (bl-lin'e-at). a. [< L. W-, two-, + 
linea, line, + -atel.] In zool., marked with two 
lines, generally parallel. 
bilineated (bl-lin 'e-a-ted), a. Same as bilineate. 
bilingual (bi-ling'gwal), a. [< L. bilinguis, 
speaking two languages, < bi-, two-, + lingua 
= E. tongue, language.] 1. Containing or ex- 
pressed in two languages ; recorded in two ver- 
sions of different language. 
I endeavored by the help of a bilingual inscription to 
determine the values of certain of the Hittite characters. 
A. H. Sayce, Pref. to Schliemann's Troja, p. xxiii. 
2. Speaking two languages or a mixture of two. 
[Rare.] 
Large numbers of Chinese, Arabs, and Africans, who 
come to India for a short or long time, and become prac- 
tically bilingual. R. N. Oust, Mod. Langs. E. Ind., p. 16. 
bilinguar (bl-ling'gwar), a. Same as bilingual. 
bilinguist (bi-ling'gwist), n. [< L. bilinguis 
(see bilingual), after linguist.] One who speaks 
two languages. Hamilton. 
bilingUOUS (bl-ling'gwus), a. [< L. bilinguis : 
see bilingual.] Having two tongues, or speak- 
ing two languages. Johnson. 
bilious (bil'yus), a. [< L. biliosus, full of bile, < 
bills, bile: see bile 2 .] 1. Of or pertaining to, or 
partaking of the nature of, bile. 2. In pathol., 
noting, subject to, or characterized by a dis- 
ordered condition of the system, once supposed 
to depend on a derangement of the secretion of 
bile, marked by anorexia, furred tongue, a bad 
taste in the mouth, dull headache, drowsiness, 
disturbed sleep, with general malaise and de- 
pression. It is peculiarly amenable to mercurial ca- 
thartics. This state seems to depend on a subacute dys- 
pepsia, with possibly a derangement of the elaborative 
functions of the liver. 
3. Suffering from biliousness. 4. Figurative- 
ly, choleric; testy; cross. 
Controversy seems altogether to have been the very 
breath of his nostrils ; he was called, and not without rea- 
son, " bilious Bale." A. W. Ward, Eng. Dram. Lit., 1. 105. 
At constant quarrel with the angry and bilious island 
legislature. Emerson, West Indian Emancipation. 
Bargain struck, 
They straight grew bilious, wished their money back, 
Repented them, no doubt. 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. ^Ifi. 
biliousness (bil'yus-nes), n. [< bilious + -ness] 
The condition of being bilious. 
biliphsein (bil-i-fe'in), . [Also written bili- 
pliein, biliphain, < L. bilis, bile, + Gr. <txu6f, 
dusky, dun-gray, + -iifi.] A name formerly 
given to an impure bilirubin. Also cltolopluein . 
biliprasin (bil-i-pra'sin), . [< L. bilis, bile, + 
prasum, a leek (see prase, prason), + -j'n 2 .] A 
bile-pigment found in human gallstones and 
in the bile of neat cattle, and regarded by some 
authorities as identical with bihverdin. 
bilipurpin (bil-i-per'pin), n. [< L. bilis, bile, 
+ purp(ura), purple color, + -in 2 .] A purple 
compound obtained from biliverdin. See bilc- 
pigment. 
bilirubin (bil-i-ro'bin), . [< L. Mis, bile, + 
rub(er), red, + -in 2 .] A red bile-pigment, the 
552 
chief coloring matter of human bile and that 
of carnivorous animals, to which the formula 
C 1 gH 18 N 2 O 3 has been given, when isolated it 
forms an orange-red powder or red rhombic prisms. It is 
insoluble in water, little soluble in alcohol and ether, but 
readily soluble iu chloroform or alkalis. 
biliteral (bl-lit'e-ral), a. and n. [< L. bi-, two-, 
+ litera, Kffer,"letter : see literal.] I. a. Con- 
sisting of two letters: as, a biliteral root in 
language. Sir W. Jones. 
Although we may call all these verbal bases roots, they 
stand to the first class in about the same relation as the 
triliteral Semitic roots to the more primitive biliteral. 
Max Miitter, Sci. of Lang., p. 263. 
II. n. A word, root, or syllable formed of 
two letters. 
-bility. [F. -bilite = Sp. -bilidad = Pg. -bilidaclc 
= It. -bilita, also in older form F. -blete, OF. 
-blete (> ME. -blete), etc., < L. -Ulita(t-)s (ace. 
-bilitatem), < -bili-s (E. -ble) + -ta(t-)s (E. -ty), 
being the termination of nouns from adjectives 
in -bilis : see -ble] A termination of English 
nouns from adjectives in -ble, as in nobility, 
capability, credibility, etc., from noble, capable, 
credible, etc. See -able. 
biliveM, bilive 2 t. See belice*-, belice*. 
biliverdin (bil-i-ver'din), n. [< Ij. bilia, bile,+ 
F. verd (see vert), green, + -i 2 .] The green 
pigment found in the bile of herbivorous ani- 
mals, to which the formula 01^20^05 has 
been given. It is produced artificially by the 
oxidation of bilirubin. See biliprasin. 
bilk (bilk), v. t. [Origin obscure; appar. slang; 
by some supposed to be a minced form of balk*. 
Cf. the senses of bilk, n] 1. In cribbage, to 
balk or spoil any one's score in his crib. 2. 
To frustrate or disappoint. 3. To deceive or 
defraud; leave in the lurch; cheat: often with 
of: as, to bilk one of his due ; to bilk a credi- 
tor; "don't you bilk me," Spectator. 4. To 
evade or escape from ; dodge ; elude. 
I don't intend to bilk my lodgings. Fielding. 
He cannot drink five bottles, bilk the score, 
Then kill a constable, and drink five more. 
Cowper, Progress of Error, 1. 193. 
bilk (bilk), w. [See the verb.] 1. In cribbage, 
the spoiling of one's score in the crib. 2f. 
Nothing; vain words. 
Tub. He will have the last word, though he talk bilk 
fort. 
Hugh. Bilk! what's that? 
Tub. Why, nothing ; a word signifying nothing, and 
borrowed here to express nothing. 
B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, i. 1. 
Bilk is said to be an Arabick word, and signifies no- 
thing ; cribbidge players understand it best. 
Blount, Olossographia (ed. 1681), p. 85. 
[To call a word "Arabic" or "Hebrew" was and still i.s 
a way of dignifying slang or jargon.] 
3. A trick; a fraud. [Bare.] 4. A cheat; a 
swindler. 
bilkt (bilk), a. [See the verb.] Fallacious; un- 
reliable. 
To that [Oates's plot] and the author's bilk account of it 
I am approaching. Roger North, Examen, p. 129. 
bill 1 (bil), n. [< ME. bill, bil, bille, bile, < AS. 
bile, beak, also used of an elephant's proboscis ; 
not found in other 
Teut. languages ; prob. 
connected with bilft. 
The Ir. Gael, bil, beak, 
n mouth, is appar. of E. 
" origin.] 1. The beak or 
neb of a bird, it consists 
:,> of the upper and lower man- 
dibles, so far as these are 
sheathed in horn. The ap- 
posed edges of the mandibles 
are the tomia; the line of 
apposition, the commissure; 
the highest middle length- 
wise line of the upper mandi- 
ble, the culmen or ridge ; and 
the corresponding line of the 
Diagram of Bill. 
a, upper mandible ; , culmen ; lower mandible, the gonvs or 
c , nasal fossa ; d, nostril ; e, com- fr --; rj-t.. ., - , f % 
missural point; /, upper tomi- JJJ t ln .f "f /"S? , 1S a 
urn ; f, rictus ; *, forehead ; i, P't, usually close to the base 
ramus : j. lower tomium ; *, of the upper mandible, in 
gonys; /, lower mandible, which the nostrils open; a 
sheath at the base of the 
bill is the cere. The leading shapes of the bill among 
birds are technically expressed by derivatives and com- 
pounds of runtrutn (which see), as conirostral, dentiros- 
tral, tenuirostral, flssirostral, curvirostral, pressirostral. 
longirostral, cultrirostral, lamellirostral, etc. ; and many 
other descriptive terms are equally technical in this ap- 
plication. 
The bill is hand and mouth in one; the instrument of 
prehension. As hand, it takes, holds, and carries food or 
other substances, and in many instances feels ; as mouth, it 
tears, cuts, or crushes, according to the nature of the sub- 
stances taken; assuming the functions of both lips and 
teeth, neither of which do any recent birds possess. 
Coues, Key to N. A. Birds, p. 100. 
a, conirostral ; b, dentirostral ; c , tenuirostral ; d, fissirostral ; e, longi- 
rostral ; /, pressirostral ; f, cultrirostral ; h, lamellirostral. 
2. The beak, snout, rostrum, or jaws of sundry 
other animals, as turtles, cephalopods, many 
bill 1 (bil), V. i. [< ME. Ullen, peck as birds, < 
bil, bile, beak: see bill 1 , n] 1. To join bills or 
beaks, as doves ; caress in fondness. 
Doves, they say, will bill, 
After their pecking and their murmuring. 
B. Jonmn, Catiline, ii. 1. 
2f. To rub the bill. [Bare.] 
Thanne geth he [the eagle] to a ston, 
And he biUeth ther on, 
Billeth til his bee biforn 
Haveth the wrengthe [crookedness] forloren. 
Bestiary, in Old Eng. Misc. (ed. Morris), p. 82. 
Bill and COO, to kiss and caress and talk nonsense, as 
lovers : a phrase derived from the habits of doves. 
Come, we must interrupt your billing and cooing awhile. 
Sheridan, The Rivals, iv. 2. 
bill 2 (bil), n. [< ME. bill, bille, bil, a pick or 
mattock, poet, a sword, < AS. bil, bill (only 
poet.) = OS. bil, a sword, = MD. bille = OHG. 
bill, fern., MHG. bil, neut., G. bille, a pick to 
sharpen millstones, = Sw. bill, a 
plowshare; prob. connected with 
bilfi, a beak, and perhaps ult. with 
Skt. y bhid, split, cleave. Associ- 
ated in sense with these words and 
somewhat confused with them, but 
etymol. distinct, are OHG. bilial, bi- 
f, bil, MHG. biliel, bil, G. beil = 
_ MD. bijl, an ax, hatchet, = Dan. bil 
= Sw. bila ; prob. = Icel. bildr, bilda, 
an ax ; cf . Ir. Gael, biail, ax, hatchet. 
In sense 5. bill 2 may be an applica- 
tion of bill 1 .] If. In the earliest 
use, a kind of broadsword. 2. An 
obsolete military weapon, consist- 
ing of a broad hook-shaped blade, 
old English having a short pike at the back 
Bin. time of and another at the summit, fixed 
to a long handle. It was used until the 
fifteenth century by the English infantry, especially in 
defending themselves against cavalry, and to the end of 
the seventeenth century by civic guards or watchmen, etc. 
They were formerly sometimes called brown-bills or black- 
bills, probably because not brightened, but colored like 
the modern rifle-barrel. 
I cannot see how sleeping should offend, only have a 
care that your bills be not stolen. Shak., Much Ado, iii. 3. 
Make us a round ring with your bills, my Hectors, 
And let us see what this trim man dares do. 
Beau, and Ft., Philaster, v. 4. 
3. A cutting instrument with a blade hook- 
shaped toward tho point, or having a concave 
cutting edge, used by plumbers, basket-mak- 
ers, gardeners, and others. Such instruments, when 
used by gardeners for pruning hedges, trees, etc., are called 
hedge-bills or bill-hooks. See bill-hook. 
The shomaker must not goe aboue his latchet, nor the 
hedger meddle with any thing but his bil. 
Ltily, Eupluies, Anat. of Wit, p. 203. 
4. A pickax; a mattock. 5. 2faut.: (a) The 
point or extremity of the fluke of an anchor. 
(b) The end of compass- or knee-timber Bows 
and bills. See botf-. 
bill 3 (bil), w. [< ME. bille, a letter, writing, 
< AF. bille, < ML. (Anglo-L.) billa, a writing, 
also a seal, another form of bulla, a writing, an 
edict, prop, a sealed writing, a particular use 
of bulla, a seal, stamp, same as L. bulla, a boss, 
knob, stud, bubble ; hence bull 2 , of which bilfi 
is a doublet.] It. A writing of any kind, as a 
will, a medical prescription, etc. ; a billet. 
His bill 
Iii which that he iwriten had his will. 
Chaucer, Merchant's Talc, 1. 693. 
The Patient sendeth for a Physician, who feeleth his 
Pulse and . . . then prescribeth a Receipt in a Bill. 
Comenius, Visible World, p. 183. 
2f. A written petition ; a prayer. 
And thanne come Pees into parlcment and put forth a bille, 
How Wronge a^eines his wille had his wyf taken. 
1'ifri Plowman (B), iv. 47. 
