bucentaur 
bucentaur (bu-sen'tar), n. [= F. bucentanre 
= It. bucentorio, bucentoro, < Gr. /fot>f, ox, + 
Kfvravpof, centaur.] 1. A mythical monster, 
half man and half bull ; a centaur with the body 
of a bull in place of that of a horse. 2. leap.] 
The state barge of Venice, in which the doge 
and senate annually on Ascension day per- 
formed the ceremonial marriage of the state 
with the Adriatic, symbolic of the commercial 
power of the republic. 
The spouseless Adriatic mourns her lord, 
An annual marriage now no more renewed ; 
The Bucentaur lies rotting nnrestored, 
Neglected garment of her widowhood. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 93. 
Bucephala (bu-sef'a-la), n. [NL., fern, of bu- 
crphalus, < Gr. /SractyaAOf, ox-headed: see Bu- 
cephalus.] A genus of ducks, of the subfamily 
Fuligulinte, based by Baird in 1858 upon the 
buffle-headed duck of North America (Anas 
albeola of Linnseus, Fuligula albeola of authors 
in general, now Bucephala albeola), including 
also the garrots, called by him Bucephala ame- 
ricana and B. islandica. See buffle 1 . 
Bucephalus (bu-sef'a-lus), n. [NL., < Gr. /3ow- 
KF^a/of, ox-headed, < fiovc,, ox, + K&tx&fi, head. 
Cf. L. Bucephalus, Bucepha- 
la, also Bucephalus, < Gr. Sov- 
KeipaZaf, the name of the cele- 
brated war-horse of Alexan- 
der the Great.] 1. The cer- 
carian larval stage of certain 
flukes, or Trcmatoda, named 
under the supposition that it 
was a distinct animal. Buce- 
phalus polyitwrphus, a parasite of 
the fresh-water mussel, whose spo- 
rocysts sometimes fill all the inter- 
spaces of the viscera of the mus- 
sel, is supposed to develop into the 
trematode genus Gaxteroxtomum, a 
parasite of fresh-water fishes. 
X T i j. A ^ Bucephalus polymer- 
2. In herpet., a genus of Afn- thus, magnified. 
can snakes, of the family Den- , . suckers; c. 
drophidce, as the Bucephalus dafappend'agesf' '"' 
capensis. 3. [I. c.~\ A snake of 
this genus: as, "the Cape bucephalus," Sclater. 
Buceridae (bu-ser'i-de), n. pi. [NL., short for 
Bucerotidai.] Same as Buccrotid<e. 
Buceroides (bu-se-roi'dez), w. pi. [NL., < Bu- 
ceros + -aides. ] In Blyth's classification of birds 
(1849), a division of Syndactyli, including the 
hornbills and hoopoes, or Bucerotida; and Upu- 
pidw, respectively also called Appcndirostres 
and Arculirostres: distinguished from Halcy- 
oides (which see). 
Bucerontidae (bu-se-ron'ti-de), w. pi. Improper 
form of Bucerotidce. 
Buceros (bu'se-ros), n. [NL., < Gr. ftoiixepuf, 
flovKcpaof, horned like an ox, < [iovc, ox (see 
-Bos), + Kcpac., horn.] The typical genus of the 
family Bucerotidce. It was formerly coextensive with 
the family, but is now variously restricted. 
Bucerotidae (bu-se-rot'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Bu- 
ceros (-rot-) + -idie.'] The hornbills ; a family of 
non-passerine insessorial birds of the warmer 
parts of the old world, having a huge bill, sur- 
mounted by a boss, casque, or horn, in some 
cases as large as the bill itself. The technical 
characters are a highly pneumatic skeleton, peculiar 
pterylosis, no aftershafts, hairy eyelashes, 10 rectrices, 
tufted elajodochon, no cajca, a gall-bladder, and sympel- 
mous syndactylous feet. About 50 species are described, 
distributed in about 20 modern genera. See hornbiU. 
Also called Bucerktte, Bucerontidtie. 
Buchanite (buk'an-It), . [< Buchan (see def.) 
+ -ite' 2 .] One of a sect which arose in 1783, in 
the Belief Congregation at Irvine, Scotland, 
under the leadership of a Mrs. (more commonly 
known as Lucky) Buchan. She declared herself to 
be the woman of Kev. xii., and Mr. White, the pastor 
of the congregation to which she belonged, her "man- 
child " ; and she taught her followers that they would be 
translated to heaven without tasting of death. The sect 
was always small, and is now extinct. 
bucholzite (b8'kolt-sit), n. [Named after the 
chemist Buchholz (1770-1818).] A variety of 
fibrolite. 
buchu (bu'ku), n. [A native name; also spell- 
ed buckit.] The leaves of several species of 
Barosma, shrubby plants at the Cape of Good 
Hope, having an aromatic taste and penetrat- 
ing odor, and extensively used in medicine for 
various disorders of the stomach and urinary 
organs. See Barosma. 
bucfcl (buk), re. [< ME. buk, bucke, bukke, a 
male deer; also, as orig., a he-goat ; < AS. bucca, 
a he-goat (AS. gat, > E. goat, is a she-goat; cf. 
gdt-bucca, a he-goat; cf. AS. hwfer = L. caper, a 
he-goat; Gr. Kairpoc,, a boar) ; buc (rare), a male 
deer, = OS. buk, a he-goat, = Fries, bok = D. bok 
= OHG. boch, MHG. boc, G. bock = Icel. bukkr, 
704 
also bokkr and bokki, = Sw. bock = Dan. buk, he- 
goat, ram, buck (deer). Cf. Skt. bukka (Hind. 
bok, boka), Zend biiza, a goat. Hence (from 
Teut.) F. bouc, OF. boc (whence ult. E. butcher, 
q. v.) = Pr. boc = Cat. boc = Sp. dial, boqui; 
OSp. buco = It. becco (ML. buccus) = W. bwch 
= Gael, boc = Ir. boc, poc = Corn, byk = Bret. 
buch, bouch, a he-goat.] 1. A he-goat. 
Asofaticchen [kid] . . . kumeth a stinkinde got [goat], 
other [or] a bucke. Ancren Stale, p. 100. 
Wher [whether] I sal etc bules flesche 
Or drinke the Mode of buckes nesche? 
Ps. xlix. (1.) 13 (Mid. Eng. version). 
2. The male of the deer, the antelope, the rab- 
bit, or the hare: often used specifically of the 
male of the fallow-deer; a roebuck. 3. A gay 
or fashionable man ; a fop; a blood; a dandy. 
He had brilliant underwaistcoats, any one of which 
would have set up a moderate buck. Thackeray. 
A whole class of young bucks of the lower order *'Ar- 
Ss" is the British term get themselves up in the closest 
lowable imitation of bull-fighters. 
Lathrop, Spanish Vistas, p. 26. 
4. A male Indian. [U.S.] 5. A male negro. 
[U. S.] 6f. The mark of a cuckold. 
Buck? I would I could wash myself of the buck! 
Shak., M. W. of W., iii. 3. 
Great buck, a roebuck in its sixth year or older. To 
blow the buck's hornt, to lose one's trouble ; go whistle. 
She loveth so this heende Nicholas 
That Absolon may bloiee the bukkeit horn. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 201. 
buck 1 (buk), t: i. [<&<*!,. Ct.~M.HG. bocken, 
butt like a goat, also as G. bocken, smell like a 
goat, also buck. Cf . buck 2 and buck*. ] 1 . To 
copulate, as bucks and does. 2. To butt: a 
sense referred also to buck* (which see). 
buck 2 (buk), r. [Prob. of dial, origin, not be- 
ing recorded in literature until recently ; prob. , 
like the related buckle 1 , of LG. origin : cf . MD. 
bucken, bocken, bend, D. bukken, bow, stoop, 
submit, yield, = MLG. bucken, LG. bukken = 
MHG. bucken, bucken, G. bucken, bend (cf. 
MHG. bocken, sink down, tr. lay down), = Sw. 
bucka = Norw. bukka = Dan. bukke, bow; a 
secondary verb from D. buigen, G. bitgen, etc., 
= AS. biigan, E. bow 1 , bend. Buck 2 is thus for- 
mally a secondary form of bore 1 , dial. bitg 3 , bend 
(cf . buxom = bucksome, of the same origin), hav- 
ing as its freq. form buckle 1 . In the 2d and 
3d senses the verb might be referred to buck 1 , 
a goat, as caper 1 to L. caper, a goat. Cf. G. 
bocken, naut., heave up and down, pitch; of a 
horse, bend down the neck and fling out be- 
hind, usually referred to bock, a goat.] I. 
intrans. 1. To bend; buckle. [U.S.] 
To buck, meaning to bend, is a common word in the 
South. The American, VI. 237. 
2. To spring lightly. Hallitcell. [Prov. Eng.] 
3. To make a violent effort to throw oft a 
rider or pack, by means of rapid plunging 
jumps performed by springing into the air, arch- 
ing the back, and coming down with the fore 
legs perfectly stiff, the head being commonly 
held as low as pos- 
sible : said of a 
horse or a mule. 
4. To "kick"; 
make obstinate re- 
sistance or objec- 
tion: as, to buck 
at improvements. 
[Colloq., U. S.] 
II. trans. 1. To 
punish by tying 
the wrists toge- 
ther, passing the 
arms over the bent 
knees, and put- 
ting a stick across 
the arms and in 
the angle formed 
by the knees. [U. 
S.] 2. To throw, or attempt to throw (a rider), 
by bucking: as, the bronco bucked him off. 
[U. S.] 
buck 2 (buk), . [< buck 2 , r.] A violent effort 
of a horse or mule to rid itself of its rider or 
burden ; the act of bucking. 
buck 3 (buk), i\ t. [= Sc. bank, < ME. bouken, 
wash or steep in lye (not in AS.), = MD. bui- 
ken =MLG. buken, LG. buken = MHG. bucln n, 
beiichen, G. bauchen = Sw. byka = Dan. bygc ; 
cf. Bret, buga = OF. bucr = Sp. *bugar = It. 
bucare (Florio), wash in lye (> F. bttee, Sp. bu- 
gada, It. bucata (obs.), bucato, washing in lye), 
< ML. "bucare, prob. borrowed from Teut. Cf. 
Gael. Ir. buac, dung used in bleaching, the liquor 
Bucking Bronco. 
bucked 
in which cloth is washed, bleached linen cloth, 
linen in an early stage of bleaching (cf. Ir. bu- 
acar, cow-dung), < Gael. Ir. bo = W. buw. a cow, 
= E. cow 1 , q. v. But the connection of these 
Celtic forms with the Teut. is doubtful.] To 
soak or steep (clothes) in lye, as in bleaching; 
wash in lye or suds ; clean by washing and 
beating with a bat. 
buck 3 (buk), n. [= Sc. bouk: see buck**, c.] 1. 
Lye in which clothes are soaked in the opera- 
tion of bleaching; the liquor in which clothes 
are washed. 2f. The cloth or clothes soaked 
or washed in lye or suds ; a wash. 
Of late, not able to travel with her furred pack, she 
washes bucks here at home. Shak., 2 Hen. VI., iv. 2. 
Well, I will in and cry too ; never leave 
Crying until our maids may drive a buck 
With my salt tears at the next washing-day. 
B. Jonnon, Tale of a Tub, iii. 5. 
If I were to beat a buck, I can strike no harder. 
Maxsinrier, Virgin-Martyr, iv. 2. 
buck 4 (buk), v. t. [E. dial., not found in ME. ; 
= MD. boken, booken = MLG. boken (LG. freq. 
bokern) = MHG. bochen, michen, G. pochen = 
Sw. boka = Norw. buTca = Dan. dial, boge, Dan. 
pukke, beat, knock, strike, stamp, as ore, etc. ; 
cf. D. poken, poke, = ME. pokfn, pukken, E. 
poke : see poke 1 . The 3d and 4th senses touch 
upon those of buck 1 and buck 2 .] 1. To beat. 
Halllwell. [Prov. Eng.] 2. In mining and ore- 
dressing, to break into small pieces for jigging. 
The tool with which this is done is called a buckiny-iron, 
and the support on which the ore is placed to be thus 
treated a burkinu-plate. 
3. To push; thrust. Jamieson. [Scotch.] 4. 
To strike with the head ; butt. [U. S.] 
buck 5 (buk), n. [E. dial., prob. a var. of bouk, 
< ME. bouk, the trunk, body, belly, < AS. buc, 
the belly : see bouk 1 .] 1. The breast. 2. The 
body of a wagon. Halliircll. 
buck 6 (buk), n. [Perhaps a particular use of 
buck 1 ; cf. similar uses of E. horse, F. cheval, 
and D. e;el, an ass, an easel, > E. easel.'] A 
frame. Specifically (a) A frame composed of two X- 
shaped ends joined at the middle by a bar, on which to 
saw wood for fuel. Also called gawbuck and gaicfwrge. 
{U. S.] (6) A frame or table on which leather is laid 
while being glazed. 
buck 7 (buk), n. [Sc., < ME. buk (in comp.), *bok, 
< AS. boc, beech, commonly in deriv. bece, E. 
beech : see beech 1 and book.] The beech : a dia- 
lectal word used in literary English only in the 
compounds buck-mast and buckwJteat; also in 
dialectal buck-log. 
buck 8 (buk), n. [An abbr. of buckpot, q. v.] 
An earthenware pot made of clay found in some 
parts of British Guiana. Also called bnckpot. 
buck 9 (buk), v. i. [Appar. imitative ; but cf. 
bock, boke 2 , belch.~\ To make a noise in swal- 
lowing; gulp. [Shetland.] 
buck 9 (buk), n. [< fciioA-9, ?.] A hollow sound 
which a stone makes when thrown into the 
water from a height. [Shetland.] 
buck 10 (buk), n. [Cf. Corn, buchar, sour milk.] 
1. A kind of minute fungus (as supposed) in- 
festing ill-kept dairies. [Cornwall.] 2. The 
spittle-fly. [Cornwall.] 
buck-ague (buk'a"gu), . Same as buck-fever. 
buck-and-ball (buk'and-bal'), n. A cartridge 
for smooth-bore firearms containing a spherical 
bullet and three buck-shot : now little used. 
buckayro (bu-ka'ro), n. Same as bucker s . 
[Western U. S.] 
buck-basket (buk'bas'ket), . A basket in 
which clothes are earned to the wash. 
They conveyed me into a buck-basket ; . . . rammed me 
in with foul shirts and smocks, socks, foul stockings, 
greasy napkins. Shak., M. W. of W., iii. 5. 
buck-bean (buk'ben), n. Same as bog-bean. 
buckboard (buk ' bord), . [< buck (appar. as 
in buck-wagon, q. v. ) + board ; but commonly 
understood as 
< buck 2 , bend, 
bounce, + 
board.] A four- 
wheeled car- 
riage in which 
a long elastic 
board or frame 
is used in place 
of body, springs, and gear. It has one or more 
seats. The board is fastened directly to the rear axle at 
one end and to the bolster of the fore axle at the other 
end, or is used in connection with a side-bar gear. Also 
called Imck-tni'iiut. 
bucked (bukt or buk'ed), a. [E. dial., also 
buckard; explained by Grose as "soured by 
keeping too long in the milk bucket, or by a 
foul bucket " ; but appar. < buck 10 + -ed. ] Sour ; 
turned sour, as milk ; rancid. [Prov. Eng.] 
