bumble 
2. To make M splash in the sea. [Shetland.] 
3t. TOM-,, 1,1. -4. To start off quickly. [Prov. 
Eng. | 
bumble (bmn'bl), n. [< bumble, r. G'f. Immmli . \ 
1. A bit tern, Hotaurnt, xtt 'llni-ix. [Local, Eng. j 
2. A bumblebee. Also hi>iiilnll, Immmli. 
| Scotch.] 
bumblebee (bum'bl-be), . A large hairy so- 
cinl bee of the family Ajiiiln; subfamily SOefa- 
liini', mid genus 
/illl/tll/ix, SJM'eirs 
of which are 
found in most 
parts of the 
world. There are 
upatd of r,u specie, 
in North America 
alone. Like other 
social lire-, these 
have males, females, 
natural size. and drones, and live 
in larger or smaller 
communities in underground burrows, or )>cneath stones, 
sods, stumps, etc.; but they al.su use the nests of other 
animals, as mice or birds. See Boitibmi, anil cut under 
HtlHietwptera. Also called AnmWrV-', and dialcctallylrm/i- 
bff, bumble, humbler, tMtmbell, and biniiinle. 
bumbleberry (bum'bl-ber'i), n. [< bumble + 
/xrn/i.] The blackberry: so called, and also 
bumblekite and black-bowwower, in allusion to 
the effect of blackberries in producing wind in 
(lie stomach. [Prov. Eng.] 
bumbledom (bum'bl-dum), n. [From Mr. Bum- 
ble, the beadle, in Dickens's " Oliver Twist."] 
Fussy official pomposity : a sarcastic term ap- 
plied especially to members of petty corpora- 
tions, as vestries in England, and implying 
pretentious inefficiency. 
bumblefoot(bum'bl-fut), n. 1. A disease in the 
feet of domestic fowls, especially of the heavier 
breeds. It consists in a large, soft swelling of the ball 
of the foot, which is inclined to suppurate, and in usually 
caused by jumping from too high a perch to a hard floor. 
Hence 2. A club-foot. [In this sense, bum- 
ble-foot.'] 
She died mostly along of Mr. Malone's bumble foot, I 
fancy. Him and old Biddy were both drunk a-tlghting on 
the stairs, and she was a step l>elow he ; and he, being 
drunk and bumble-footed too, lost his balance, and down 
they come together. //. Kiiiynleit, Ravenshoe, xli. 
bumble-footed (bum'bl-fufed), n. Club-footed. 
bumblekite (bum'bl-kit), n. K bumble + kite, 
the belly.] The blackberry. See bumbleberry. 
[North. Eng. and Scotch.] 
bumblepuppist (bum'bl-pup'ist), n. [< bum- 
blepuppy + -ist.~] In whM, one who plays bum- 
blepuppy; one who imagines that he can play 
whist, and undertakes to do so. 
The bumblepuppixt only admires his own eccentricities. 
J'fmbrul</e, Whist or Bumblepuppy 1 (1883), p. 2. 
bumblepuppy (bum'bl-pup'i), n. 1. The game 
of nine-holes. [Prov. Eng.] 2. In whist, a 
manner of playing " either in utter ignorance 
of all its known principles, or in defiance of 
them, or both" (I'embridge). 
Between the worst whist and the best bumblejnippj/ it 
is almost impossible to draw the line. Other elementary 
forms, protozoa, for instance, are often so much alike that 
it is difficult to decide whether they are plants or animals. 
I'fiiibndge, Whist or Bumblepuppy ? (1883), p. 1. 
bumbler (bum 'bier), n. A bumblebee, 
bumbler-box (bum'bler-boks), n. A wooden 
toy used by boys to hold bumblebees, 
bumbles (btim'blz),H.pf. [E.dial.] 1. Rushes. 
2. A kind of blinkers. Halliipell. [Prov. Eng.] 
bumble-Staff (bum'bl-staf), n. A thick stick. 
[Xorth. Eng.] 
bumbot (bum'bo), n. A drink made of rum, 
sugar, water, and nutmeg. 
[He] returned to his messmates, who were making niet-i \ 
in the ward-room, round a table well stored with Innull,, 
and wine. x,,, ,,/;,//, Roderick Random, xxxiv. 
bumboat (bum'bot), n, [= Dan. bnmbaad, ap- 
par. < D. "hiimhiHit, a very wide boat used by 
lishers in South Holland and Flanders, also for 
Inking a pilot to a ship: Koding, Marine Diet." 
(Wedgwood), prob. < D. bun, a cauf or recep- 
tacle for keeping fish alive, OD. bon, a chest, 
box. cask (cf. MI), Iniinir. Imnne, a hatchway), 
+ boot, boat. Or perhaps orig. D. "boomboot, 
c(|iiiv. to MD. D. booniftchip ( = MLG. biimm-lii/i, 
LG. bi<ii>icJii/> = (T. bdiimsehiff), a boat made 
out of a single tree, a fisherman's boat, canoe, 
< bnom, a tree (= E. beam), + schip = E. x/n'/> : 
see Imim, boom-, and nliip.~] A boat used in 
peddling fresh vegetables, fruit, and small 
wares among the vessels lying in a harbor or 
roadstead. 
'I'll- I'aptain n^ain the letter bath read 
Which the Inii,,./ H ,,it woman brought out to Spithead. 
Barham, Ingoldsuy Legends, I. 155. 
719 
BumbOat Act, an r.lldi-h statute of I7HI (_ Ceo. III., c. 
il tli. snpp:. --i r thieving, etc., h) the propric 
t"i M l,Miiilni:it- and other craft on the Thames. It re- 
quired tlie tr-i, nation of such vessels. 
bumbolo (biiin'bo-16), n. Same as bombolo. 
bumby (lmm'bi),'n. 1. Stagnant filth. 2. A 
closet or hole for lumber, flalliirell. [Prov. 
Kng. (Norfolk and Suffolk).] 
bum-clock (bmn'klok), . [E. dial., < limn 1 + 
c/"(7,T, make a noise: see </</.', Hurl:.'] An 
insect which bums or hums, as a chafer or bee. 
The bnin-rl,H-k liumm'd with lazy drotie. 
Hunt*, Twa Dogs, 1. 231. 
Bumelia (bu-me'lift), n. [L., < Gr. f)w/ieKa, a 
large kind of ash,'< /totf, ox, in comp. imply- 
ing 'large,' + fie/Ja, ash, ash-tree.] A genus 
of plants, of the natural order Niipiitiiei'tr. They 
are trees or shrub-, with a milky juice, a spiny stem, ami 
Himdl white or greenish flowers, arc natives of the West 
Indies, anil are called there bn*t,n;l '"</ i,;-f. The fruit 
of n. liiriiriile* is said to be useful in diarrhea. 
bnmkin (bum'kin), . [< MD. biMimken (= G. 
liiin mclim), a little tree, also prob. used in the 
sense of little boom or beam; < bonm, a tree, 
bar, boom, + dim. -ken : see boom 2 and -Mn. 
Cf. bumpkin".'] Naut.: (a) Formerly, a short 
boom projecting from each side of the bow of 
a ship, to extend the weather-clew of the fore- 
sail. (&) A short beam of wood or iron pro- 
jecting from each quarter of a vessel, to which 
the main-brace and maintopsail brace-blocks 
are fastened, (c) A small outrigger over the 
stern of a boat, used to extend the clew of the 
after-sail. Also written boomkin, bumpkin. 
We drifted fairly into the Loriotte, . . . breaking off 
her starboard bumpkin, and one or two stanchions above 
the deck. /{. //. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 126. 
bummalo, bummaloti (bum'a-16, bnm-a-16'ti), 
n. [E. Ind.] A small, glutinous, transparent 
teleostean fish, of about the size of a smelt, 
found on all the coasts of southern Asia, which 
when dried is much used as a relish by both 
Europeans and Indians, and facetiously called 
Bombay duck. It is the Harpodon nehercus, of 
the family Scopelidce. 
bummaree (bum'a-re), . [Said to be a cor- 
ruption of F. bonne maree, good fresh sea-fish : 
bonne, fem. of bon, good ^see bon*) ; maree, salt- 
water fish, < marie, tide, < L. mare, F. mer, sea, 
= E. mere 1 .] A name given to a class of specu- 
lating traders at Billingsgate market, London, 
who buy large quantities of fish from the sales- 
men and sell them again to smaller dealers. 
bummel (bum'l), v. and . See bummle. 
bummer (bum'er), . [< bum 1 , r. i., 4, + -er 1 . 
Cf. bum 1 , n., 3, and bummle, n., 2.] 1. An idle, 
worthless fellow, especially one who sponges on 
others for a living ; a dissolute fellow ; a loaf- 
er; a tramp; in United States political slang, a 
low politician ; a heeler; a "boy." 2. During 
the civil war in the United States, a camp-fol- 
lower or a plundering straggler. 
The alarming irruption at the front of Individuals of a 
class designated . . . as buunnertt. 
X. A. Rev., CXXIII. 458. 
bummeryt, . An obsolete form of bottomry. 
bummle (bum'l), t'. i. ; pret. and pp. bummled, 
ppr. bummling. [A dial, form of bumble.'] 1. 
To bumble. 2. To blunder. [North. Eng.] 
bummle (bum'l), n. [Sc. also (in def. 1) bum- 
met, bombell = E. bumble: see bumble, n. Cf. 
bum 1 , n., 3.] 1. A bumblebee. 2. An idle 
fellow ; a drone. 
bump 1 ! (bump), v. i. [First in early mod. E., 
appar. a var. of bum 1 , bumb, bomb 1 ; cf. the 
freq. humble. Cf. W. bump, a hollow sound, a 
boom ; hence aderyn y btrmp, the bittern (ade- 
ryn, a bird), also called bicmp y gors (cars, a 
bog, fen). Of imitative origin: see boom 1 , 
hum 1 , bomb 1 , bomb 2 , bumble, etc.] To make a 
loud, heavy, or hollow noise, as the bittern; 
boom. Dryden. 
bump't (bump), n. [< bump 1 , r.] A booming, 
hollow noise. 
The hitter with his At/in/**. 
.s'Mfou, 1'byllyp Sparowc, 1. ccj. 
bump 2 (bump), r. [First in early mod. E. ; prob. 
developed from bump 1 , which," as orig. imita- 
tive, is closely related to bum 1 , boom, alsostrike. 
Cf. ODan. bumpe, strike with the clenched lUt. 
Dan. bumpe, thump. Cf. also W. picmpio, thump, 
bang (pirmn. a round mass, a lump), = Ir. beu- 
maim, I strike, gash, cut, = Gael, beiim, strike ; 
Ir. Gael, beiim, a stroke, blow, = Corn. bum. 
l>,n, a blow. Cf. bump?, n., and bounce.'} I. 
tnnin. 1. To cause to come in violent contact ; 
bring into concussion; knock; strike; thump: 
as, to bump one's head against a wall. 
lluinp'd the ice into three several stars. 
Tenuymm, The Epic. 
bumpkin 
2. In /'niilixli liinit-riirini/, to tmirh (tin- stfrn 
of a boat ahead) with the bow of the following 
boat. S.-c I 
nuns lietng a very narrow stream, scarcely 
wider than a canal, it Is lni|ii*wil>|e for the boats to race 
siii, in ,idc. 'I he following i \pe.ln nt has therefore been 
adopted: tliM aiciliaun up in line, two length* ttetween 
each, and the content consists in eai h lnml endeavoring 
to touch with its how the stern of the one I M fore it. which 
operation Is called liumpiivi; and at the next race Uw 
bUmper tUkl-.S tile place of the I:::, :,,:.:! 
C. A. Dritteil, KhglUh I nivemltjp, p. M. 
II. in I i-ii iis. \. To come forcibly in contact 
with something; strike heavily: as, the vessel 
Iniiniifd against the wharf. 2. To ride with- 
out rising in the stirrups on a rough-trotting 
horse. Halliiei-ll. [Prov. Eng.] 3. In chem., 
to give off vapor intermit tentlv and with almost 
explosive violence, as some heated solutions. 
The vapor collects in large bubbles at the hott. ,ni. and then 
bursts through the solution to the sun 
4(. To form bumps or protuberances. 
Long Unite fastened together by couples, one right 
against another, with kernels Inimjiiiuj out neere th< 
place in which they are combined. 
Oeranif, Herbal], p. 121W, ed. ISSS. 
bump' 2 (bump), n. [< tump 2 , v. ; the sense of 
'a swelling Ms derived from that of 'a blow." 
Cf. Dan. bump, a thump, ODan. bump, a thick- 
set fellow, trumpet, thick, fat.] 1. A shock 
from a collision, such as from the jolting of a 
vehicle. 
Tin- thumps and bumjit which flesh is heir to. 
Hoot, (lllbert tturney, I. v. 
2. In English boat-racing, the striking of one 
boat by the prow of another following her. See 
bump 2 , v. t., 2. 
I can still condescend to give onr t>oat a shout when It 
makes a bump. Cambridge Slcetchet. 
3. A swelling or protuberance, especially one 
caused by a blow. 
A i:n in i> as big as a young cockrel's stone. 
Shale., R. and J., i. S. 
I had rather she should make btnnp on my head, as big 
as my two fingers, than I would offend her. 
R. Jonunn, Poetaster, 11. 1. 
Specifically 4. The popular designation of 
the natural protuberances on the surface of 
the skull or cranium, which phrenologists asso- 
ciate with distinct qualities, affections, propen- 
sities, etc., of the mind : used ironically for the 
wordry/n employed by phrenologists: as, the 
bump of veneration, acquisitiveness, etc. 5. 
The corner of the stock of a gun at the top of 
the heel-plate. 
bump 3 (bump), w. [E. dial.] 1. A material 
used for coarse sheets. [Prov. Eng. (Derby- 
shire and Yorkshire).] 2. In London, a sort 
of matting used for covering floors, y. and y., 
7th ser., III. 307. 
bumper 1 (bum'per), . [< bump 2 + -er 1 .'] 1. 
One who or that which bumps. 2. A log of 
wood placed over a ship's side to keep off ice, 
or anything similarly used; a fender. 
bumper 2 (bum'per) H. [Perhaps a corruption 
of oumbard, bombard, a drinking-vessel (see 
bombard, n.), associated with E. dial, liumpsy, 
tipsy, bum, ME. bummen, guzzle, drink: see 
liu m l . \ 1. A cup or glass filled to the brim, 
especially when drunk as a toast. 
Kill a dozen bumper* to a dozen l>eanties, and she that 
floats atop is the maid that has Switched you. 
Sherulan, School for Scandal, III. 3. 
He froth d his bumper* to the brim. 
Trnnn*iiii. Ih-ath of the Old Year. 
2. A crowded house at a theatrical benefit, or 
the like. Bumper game, game in which the scoring 
is all on one side. 
bumper 2 (bum'per), r. t. [< bumper 2 , .] To 
fill to the brim. Burns. 
bumperize (bum'per-lz), v. i.; pret. and pp. 
Iximperized, ppr. oumjteri^ng. [< bumper^ + 
-i:e.'] To drink bumpers. [Bare.] 
Pleased to see him, we kept bumptrwinq till after roll- 
calling. Gibbon, Memoirs, p. 68. 
bumper-timber (bum'per-tim'b^r), . In 
some locomotives, a timber to which the cow- 
catcher or pilot is fastened, designed to receive 
the shock or blow of a collision. 
bumping-post (bum'ping-post), n. A timber 
fender or buffer, placed at the end of a railroad- 
track to prevent the cars from leaving the rails. 
bumpkin 1 , . Same as bumkin. 
The tack of the foresail is made fast either to the stem 
or a small tnnnpkin eight inches long. 
Sporttman'* Gtaelterr, p. BO. 
bumpkin'- (bump'kin), n. [Prob. a particular 
use of bumpkin 1 = bumkin, a short boom. Cf. 
/i/oc/'l and liliiflliinil. a stupid fellow.] An awk- 
ward, clumsy rustic; a clown or country lout. 
