bridegroom 
2. [Perhaps in allusion to its sparkling appear- 
ance.] A local name in Banft'skire, Scotland, 
of the gemmous dragonet, Callionymun li/i'ti. 
bride-houset (brid'hous), n. A public hall for 
celebrating marriages. 
A bride-house, as when a hall or other large place is pro- 
vided to keepe the bridall in. Xmnenclator (1W5). 
bride-knott (brid'not), . A breast-knot ; a 
knot of ribbons worn by a guest at a wedding ; 
a wedding-favor. 
bride-lacet (brid'las), n. Fringed strings of 
silk, cotton, or worsted, formerly given at a wed- 
ding to the friends of the bride and groom to 
tie up the rosemary-sprigs they carried (see 
bride-branch). After the ceremony they were 
twisted into the hats or in the hair, and worn 
as streamers. 
Nosegays and bride laces in their hats. 
Heywood, Woman Killed with Kindness. 
bridelyt (brid'li), a. [< bridcl + -fyl.] Of or 
pertaining to a bride ; nuptial. 
She, hating as a heinous crime the bond of bridely bed, 
Did fold about her father's neck with fawning arms. 
Goldiivj. 
bridemaid, . See bridesmaid. 
brideman, . See bridesman. 
bridescake (bridz'kak), n. Bride-cake. See 
wedding-cake. 
bride's-laces (bridz'la"sez), n. An English 
name of the dodder. 
bridesmaid, bridemaid (bridz'-, brid'mad), n. 
A young girl or an unmarried woman who at- 
tends on a bride at her marriage during the 
ceremony. 
bridesmaiding (bridz'ma-ding), . The state 
of being a bridesmaid. [Rare.] 
I'll bide my time for bridesmaiding. Trollope. 
bridesman, brideman (bridz'-, brid'man), n. ; 
pi. bridesmen, bridemen (-men). [< bride's, poss. 
of bride 1 , or bride, + man. Cf. MLG. brfttman 
= Icel. brudhmadhr = ODan. brudemand; cf. 
OF. brumen, a fiance^] A man who attends 
upon a bridegroom and bride at their marriage. 
bride's-staket (bridz'stak), . [Also bride- 
stake, < bride 1 + stake; with reference to wed- 
ding festivities.] A stake or post set in the 
ground to dance round, especially at a wedding. 
Ji. Jonson. 
bridewell (brid'wel), . [So called from a pal- 
ace built in 1522 near St. liride's or Bridget's 
Well, in London, which in 1553 was turned 
into a penal workhouse, officially called Bride- 
well Hospital.] A house of correction for the 
confinement of vagrants and disorderly per- 
sons. The name is now generally given to a prison in 
connection with a police-station, for the temporary deten- 
tion of those who have been arrested by the police. 
bridewort (biid'wert), n. Species of Spiraa, 
S. Ulmaria and S. salicifolia, named from the 
feathery appearance of their panicles of white 
flowers. 
bridge 1 (brij), . [Early mod. E. also bredge; 
< ME. brigge, bregge, brugge (unassibilated brig, 
brugg, So. briij), < AS. brycg, bricg = OFries. 
brigge, bregge = D. brug = MLG. brugge, LG. 
brugge = OHG. brucca, MHG. brucke, ^brilckc, 
G. brucke, a bridge, = Icel. bryggja = Sw. 
bri/gga = Dan. brygge, a pier, landing-stage, 
gangway, rarely a bridge ; connected with Icel. 
bru = Sw. bro = Dan. bro, a bridge, a paved 
way. Perhaps akin to brow; cf. OBulg. brim, 
a bridge, also brow : see ftroic.] 1. Any 
structure which spans a body of water, or a 
valley, road, or the like, and affords passage 
or conveyance. Bridges are made of various mate- 
rials, principally stone, iron, and wood, and in a great 
variety of forms. In an arch- or arched bridge the pas- 
sage or roadway is carried by an arch or arches, which are 
supported by abut- 
ments or by piers. 
Such bridges are 
constructed of 
brick, stone, iron, 
steel, or wood. 
Panel-truss Bridge. Brick is Seldom 
used alone, except 
for comparatively small spans, and for unimportant work 
when stone cannot readily be obtained. In more impor- 
tant works it is often combined with stone, which is intro- 
duced to bind, to distribute pressure, to protect the more 
exposed portions, and for architectural effect. Stone, 
wherever it can be used, is the most valuable material on 
account of its mas- 
siveness, stability 
of form, and resis- 
tance to the ele- 
ments ; but it is in- 
ferior to iron in 
economy, facility of 
Common Truss Bridge. 
680 
arch known was built over the Allier, at Vieille-Krioude. 
France, in 1454. Its span was 183.~* feet, with a rise of BO 
feet. The bridge over the Dee at Chester has a greater 
span (200 feet), but 
less rise (42 feet). 
The first arched 
bridge built of iron 
was erected over 
the river Severn, Fink-truss Bridge. 
in England, and 
consists of 5 parallel ribs of cast-iron, with a span of 100 
and a rise of 40 feet. The Southwark bridge over the 
Thames at London, the central one of the three arches of 
which has a span of 240 with a rise of 24 feet, formerly 
ranked as the largest iron arched bridge ; but this span has 
since been more than doubled, as notably in the bridge over 
the Mississippi at 
St. Louis, and the 
Washington bridge 
over the Harlem 
river in New York 
city. In an arched- 
beam bridge arched 
beams in compres- 
sion constitute the 
bridge 
Arched-beam BrHtje. 
principal members and sustain the load. The beams are 
sometimes built of parallel layers of planks, which are 
made to break joint. In the more important constructions 
the archesare often compound. They have been employed 
in modern bridges of considerable magnitude. An arched- 
tnise bridge is a form in which the compression-member 
is an arched beam, 
as in the McCallura 
truss. In a beam- 
truas bridge the 
load is supported 
by beam-trusses or 
openwork beams. A 
rched-truss Bridge. 
construction, and ready adaptability to various situations. 
Among the finest monuments of antiquity are ranked the 
remains of Roman arched stone bridges. The largest stone 
. 
compression-chord and a tension-chord are essential, and 
the stresses are transferred from one to the other on their 
way to the points of support by means of struts and ten- 
sion-bars, which together are called web-members. See 
phrases below for other forms. 
At Trompyngton, nat fer fro Cantebrigge, 
Ther goth a brook and over that a brigge. 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 2. 
2. The upper line or ridge of the nose, formed 
by the junction of the two nasal bones. 3. In 
engraving, a board resting on end-cleats, on 
which the engraver rests his hand in working. 
In etching two bridges are used : one with low feet or 
cleats, to serve for work on the unbitten plate ; the other 
with higher feet, to raise it above the bordering-wax after 
it has been applied. 
4. A wall, generally made of fire-brick, which is 
built at both ends of a reverberatory furnace, 
to a certain height, in order to isolate the space 
in which the metallurgical operation is con- 
ducted. The wall nearest the fireplace is called the fire- 
bridge ; the other, at the opposite end, the flue-bridge. 
5. In gun., the two pieces of timber which con- 
nect the two transoms of a gun-carriage. [Eng. ] 
6. In metal., the platform or staging by 
which ore, fuel, etc., are conveyed to the mouth 
of a smelting-furnace. 7. That part of a 
stringed musical instrument over which the 
strings are stretched, and by which they are 
raised above the sounding-board. In bow-instru- 
ments, such as the violin, the bridge is arched, in order 
to allow the bow to strike any one string without touching 
the others. 
8. Naut., a raised platform extending from 
side to side of a steamship above the rail, for- 
ward of amidships, for the use and convenience 
of the officer ill charge. It affords him an uninter- 
rupted view, and is furnished with means for communi- 
cating, by automatic signals, witli the engine-room and 
the wheel-house. Many large vessels have two bridges, 
one forward of and one abaft the mainmast ; and it is 
now very common for the bridge to be made in two tiers, 
one above the other, with often an outlook-station still 
higher than the up- 
per tier. In side- 
wheel steamers the 
bridge connects the 
paddle-boxes. 
9. A metal bar 
supported at 
one or both 
eudsofawatch- 
plate, andf orm- 
ing a bearing for a part of the works. 10. The 
balance-rynd of a millstone. 1 1 . In car-build- 
ing, a timber, bar, or beam which 
is supported at each end. 12. In 
euchre, a position where one side 
has scored four points and the 
other only one. 13. In elect., an 
apparatus for measuring the re- 
sistance of a conductor, the ar- 
rangement of whose parts bears 
some resemblance to a bridge. 
A common form is called Wlicul- 
stone's bridge, from the inventor. 
resistance Archlvolt of a 
bridge. Sue arcliimlr. Asses' bridge. 
See ;i-y axiiiontin. Bottom-road 
bridge, a bridge whose roadway is suit- 
ported upon the lower chord in a truss- 
bridge, or at the bottom in a tubular 
bridge. Also called through bridge. Op- 
Bottom-road or Through BrioVe. 
(See below.) 
posed to d>'<-k-briilffe or toii-road brid'if. Box-girder 
bridge. More commonly called lubuiur In-iilt/r (which 
see). Cautaliver bridge, a bridge in which the span 
is formed by bracket-shaped beam-trusses, extending 
inward from their supports and connected at the mid- 
dle of the span either directly or by an intermediate truss 
of ordinary construction. W lien piers are used to support 
the beam-trusses, they are placed near the center of tach 
truss, and not, as in ordinary truss-bridges, at its ends. 
The strains due to a load upon the span arc carried out- 
ward toward the ends of the bridge and beyond the pit'is 
by bracket-arms similar to those forming the central span, 
the extremities of which may be secured to other piers to 
serve the twofold purpose of resisting by their weight the 
Cantaliver Bridge. Niagara Falls. New York. 
uplift caused by the load when upon the central span and 
of themselves supporting vertical pressure; or they may 
form part of other spans similar to the central one. This 
form of bridge presents the great advantage of permitting 
the construction of the main span without scalloldings be- 
neiith. A tine example is the cantaliver bridge below Ni- 
agara Falls, built for the Michigan Central and Canada 
southern railways. Check-bridge of a furnace, a fire- 
bridge: so called because it was supposed to check the 
draft. Counterpoise bridge, a bascule-bridge in which 
counter-weights help to raise the platform. Electric 
bridge, a term applied to several contrivance!' for deter- 
mining the resistance of an electric circuit, all essentially 
identical with Wheatstone's bridge (which see, under re- 
sistance). Floating bridge, (n) A boat, raft, or pontoon 
bridge, (b) A part of a bridge, supported by a ciiisson or 
pontoon, which can swing into and away from the line of 
roadway, (c) Mitit., a kind of double bridge, of which the 
upper member projects beyond the lower, and is capable 
of being moved forward by pulleys: used for carrying 
troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a 
fort. Flying bridge, a suspension-bridge, or a bridge 
built for temporary use, as a pontoon bridge. Hanging 
bridge, a suspension-bridge. The term is general]} ;ip- 
plied to the more primitive forms of suspension-bridge. 
Hoist-bridge. Same as Hfting bridge. Induction- 
bridge. See indtiction. Lattice-bridge, a bridge in 
which the web between the chords or the main compres- 
Lattice-bridge (side elevation). 
a, roadway ; t>, sleepers ; c, transverse beams ; tf, f, ft, stringers ; 
e, lattice-ribs ; f, cross-beams. 
sion- and tension-membei-s is formed by lattice-work. 
Leaf-bridge, a hinged lifting bridge. Lifting bridge, a 
drawbridge the span of which moves in a vertical plane 
instead of horizontally. Also called httixt-bridtie. Pivot- 
bridge, a swinging bridge balanced upon a pivot. It is 
Pivot- or Swing-bridge. 
often formed by two equal spans, covering a channel on 
each side of the pivot-pier. Pontoon bridge, a platform 
or roadway supported upon pontoons. Bridges of this 
kind are largely used in military operations, the pontoons 
being formed of air-tight bags or hollow metallic vessels. 
Rope bridge, a hanging bridge consisting of a platform 
supported by ropes, or simply of a rope carried across the 
stream or chasm, and supporting a basket or car which is 
drawn backward and forward. Such bridges are used in 
mountainous districts, especially in India and South Amer- 
ica, and are sometimes made of sufficient strength to afford 
passage to droves of loaded mules. The ropes are often 
made of plaited thongs of hide, or even of rushes. 
Suspension-bridge, a ruatlway suspended from ropes, 
chains, or wire cables, usually hung between massive tow- 
ers of masonry, and securely anchored at the extremities. 
The most notable of suspension-bridges is that between 
New York and Brooklyn, over the East River. The main 
span is 1,595$ feet long, the altitude at the center 135 feet 
above mean high water, the height of the towers 2763 
feet, and the total length 5,989 feet. The roadway is sus- 
pended from four cables of steel wire, each 15f inches in 
