B
    n 1: aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often
         occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
         [syn: bacillus, B]
    2: originally thought to be a single vitamin but now separated
       into several B vitamins [syn: B-complex vitamin, B
       complex, vitamin B complex, vitamin B, B vitamin, B]
    3: a trivalent metalloid element; occurs both in a hard black
       crystal and in the form of a yellow or brown powder [syn:
       boron, B, atomic number 5]
    4: a logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels
       [syn: Bel, B]
    5: (physics) a unit of nuclear cross section; the effective
       circular area that one particle presents to another as a
       target for an encounter [syn: barn, b]
    6: the 2nd letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: B, b]
    7: the blood group whose red cells carry the B antigen [syn:
       B, type B, group B]

Gastropoda \Gas*trop"o*da\, n. pl., [NL., fr. Gr. ?, ?, stomach
   + -poda.] (Zool.)
   One of the classes of Mollusca, of great extent. It includes
   most of the marine spiral shells, and the land and
   fresh-water snails. They generally creep by means of a flat,
   muscular disk, or foot, on the ventral side of the body. The
   head usually bears one or two pairs of tentacles. See
   Mollusca. [Written also Gasteropoda.]
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: The Gastropoda are divided into three subclasses; viz.:
         (a) The Streptoneura or Dioecia, including the
         Pectinibranchiata, Rhipidoglossa, Docoglossa, and
         Heteropoda. (b) The Euthyneura, including the
         Pulmonata and Opisthobranchia. (c) The Amphineura,
         including the Polyplacophora and Aplacophora.
         [1913 Webster]

Infinitive \In*fin"i*tive\, n. [L. infinitivus: cf. F.
   infinitif. See Infinite.]
   Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined.
   [1913 Webster]

   Infinitive mood (Gram.), that form of the verb which merely
      names the action, and performs the office of a verbal
      noun. Some grammarians make two forms in English: (a)
      The simple form, as, speak, go, hear, before which to is
      commonly placed, as, to speak; to go; to hear. (b) The
      form of the imperfect participle, called the infinitive in
      -ing; as, going is as easy as standing.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: With the auxiliary verbs may, can, must, might, could,
         would, and should, the simple infinitive is expressed
         without to; as, you may speak; they must hear, etc. The
         infinitive usually omits to with the verbs let, dare,
         do, bid, make, see, hear, need, etc.; as, let me go;
         you dare not tell; make him work; hear him talk, etc.
         [1913 Webster]

   Note: In Anglo-Saxon, the simple infinitive was not preceded
         by to (the sign of modern simple infinitive), but it
         had a dative form (sometimes called the gerundial
         infinitive) which was preceded by to, and was chiefly
         employed in expressing purpose. See Gerund, 2.
         [1913 Webster]

   Note: The gerundial ending (-anne) not only took the same
         form as the simple infinitive (-an), but it was
         confounded with the present participle in -ende, or
         -inde (later -inge).
         [1913 Webster]

Labial \La"bi*al\, n.
   1. (Phonetics) A letter or character representing an
      articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the
      lips, as b, p, w.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Mus.) An organ pipe that is furnished with lips; a flue
      pipe.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Zool.) One of the scales which border the mouth of a fish
      or reptile.
      [1913 Webster]

Legate \Leg"ate\ (l[e^]g"[asl]t), n. [OE. legat, L. legatus, fr.
   legare to send with a commission or charge, to depute, fr.
   lex, legis, law: cf. F. l['e]gat, It. legato. See Legal.]
   1. An ambassador or envoy.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. An ecclesiastic representing the pope and invested with
      the authority of the Holy See.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Legates are of three kinds: (a) Legates a latere, now
         always cardinals. They are called ordinary or
         extraordinary legates, the former governing provinces,
         and the latter class being sent to foreign countries on
         extraordinary occasions. (b) Legati missi, who
         correspond to the ambassadors of temporal governments.
         (c) Legati nati, or legates by virtue of their
         office, as the archbishops of Salzburg and Prague.
         [1913 Webster]

   3. (Rom. Hist.)
      (a) An official assistant given to a general or to the
          governor of a province.
      (b) Under the emperors, a governor sent to a province.
          [1913 Webster]

Libration \Li*bra"tion\ (l[-i]*br[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. [L. libratio:
   cf. F. libration.]
   1. The act or state of librating. --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Astron.) A real or apparent libratory motion, like that
      of a balance before coming to rest.
      [1913 Webster]

   Libration of the moon, any one of those small periodical
      changes in the position of the moon's surface relatively
      to the earth, in consequence of which narrow portions at
      opposite limbs become visible or invisible alternately. It
      receives different names according to the manner in which
      it takes place; as: (a) Libration in longitude, that
      which, depending on the place of the moon in its elliptic
      orbit, causes small portions near the eastern and western
      borders alternately to appear and disappear each month.
      (b) Libration in latitude, that which depends on the
      varying position of the moon's axis in respect to the
      spectator, causing the alternate appearance and
      disappearance of either pole. (c) Diurnal or parallactic
      libration, that which brings into view on the upper limb,
      at rising and setting, some parts not in the average
      visible hemisphere.
      [1913 Webster]

Monkey \Mon"key\, n.; pl. Monkeys. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It.
   monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr.
   fr. madonna. See Madonna.]
   1. (Zool.)
      (a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana,
          including apes, baboons, and lemurs.
      (b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs.
      (c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such
          as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of
          apes and baboons.
          [1913 Webster]

   Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups: (a)
         Catarrhines, or Simidae. These have an oblong head,
         with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have
         no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old
         World. (b) Platyrhines, or Cebidae. These have a
         round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the
         nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail
         is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not
         opposable. These are natives of the New World. (c)
         Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed
         head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern
         Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a
      mischievous child.
      [1913 Webster]

            This is the monkey's own giving out; she is
            persuaded I will marry her.           --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very
      heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on
      the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the
      falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
      [1913 Webster]

   Monkey boat. (Naut.)
      (a) A small boat used in docks.
      (b) A half-decked boat used on the River Thames.

   Monkey block (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a
      swivel. --R. H. Dana, Jr.

   Monkey flower (Bot.), a plant of the genus Mimulus; -- so
      called from the appearance of its gaping corolla. --Gray.

   Monkey gaff (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast
      for the better display of signals at sea.

   Monkey jacket, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by
      sailors.

   Monkey rail (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about
      six inches above the quarter rail of a ship.

   Monkey shine, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.]

   Monkey trick, a mischievous prank. --Saintsbury.

   Monkey wheel. See Gin block, under 5th Gin.
      [1913 Webster]

Motion \Mo"tion\, n. [F., fr. L. motio, fr. movere, motum, to
   move. See Move.]
   1. The act, process, or state of changing place or position;
      movement; the passing of a body from one place or position
      to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; -- opposed
      to rest.
      [1913 Webster]

            Speaking or mute, all comeliness and grace
            attends thee, and each word, each motion, forms.
                                                  --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Power of, or capacity for, motion.
      [1913 Webster]

            Devoid of sense and motion.           --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of
      the planets is from west to east.
      [1913 Webster]

            In our proper motion we ascend.       --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Change in the relative position of the parts of anything;
      action of a machine with respect to the relative movement
      of its parts.
      [1913 Webster]

            This is the great wheel to which the clock owes its
            motion.                               --Dr. H. More.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or
      impulse to any action; internal activity.
      [1913 Webster]

            Let a good man obey every good motion rising in his
            heart, knowing that every such motion proceeds from
            God.                                  --South.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress;
      esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly;
      as, a motion to adjourn.
      [1913 Webster]

            Yes, I agree, and thank you for your motion. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. (Law) An application made to a court or judge orally in
      open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule
      directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant.
      --Mozley & W.
      [1913 Webster]

   8. (Mus.) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in
      the same part or in groups of parts.
      [1913 Webster]

            The independent motions of different parts sounding
            together constitute counterpoint.     --Grove.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale.
         Contrary motion is that when parts move in opposite
         directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique
         motion is that when one part is stationary while
         another moves. Similar or direct motion is that when
         parts move in the same direction.
         [1913 Webster]

   9. A puppet show or puppet. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            What motion's this? the model of Nineveh? --Beau. &
                                                  Fl.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Motion, in mechanics, may be simple or compound.

   Simple motions are: (a) straight translation, which, if
      of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. (b)
      Simple rotation, which may be either continuous or
      reciprocating, and when reciprocating is called
      oscillating. (c) Helical, which, if of indefinite
      duration, must be reciprocating.

   Compound motion consists of combinations of any of the
      simple motions.
      [1913 Webster]

   Center of motion, Harmonic motion, etc. See under
      Center, Harmonic, etc.

   Motion block (Steam Engine), a crosshead.

   Perpetual motion (Mech.), an incessant motion conceived to
      be attainable by a machine supplying its own motive forces
      independently of any action from without. According to the
      law of conservation of energy, such perpetual motion is
      impossible, and no device has yet been built that is
      capable of perpetual motion.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

   Syn: See Movement.
        [1913 Webster]

Respiration \Res`pi*ra"tion\ (r?s`p?*r?"sh?n), n. [L.
   respiratio: cf. F. respiration. See Respire.]
   1. The act of respiring or breathing again, or catching one's
      breath.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Relief from toil or suffering: rest. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Till the day
            Appear of respiration to the just
            And vengeance to the wicked.          --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Interval; intermission. [Obs.] --Bp. Hall.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. (Physiol.) The act of resping or breathing; the act of
      taking in and giving out air; the aggregate of those
      processes bu which oxygen is introduced into the system,
      and carbon dioxide, or carbonic acid, removed.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Respiration in the higher animals is divided into:
         (a) Internal respiration, or the interchange of
         oxygen and carbonic acid between the cells of the body
         and the bathing them, which in one sense is a process
         of nutrition. (b) External respiration, or the
         gaseous interchange taking place in the special
         respiratory organs, the lungs. This constitutes
         respiration proper. --Gamgee.
         [1913 Webster] In the respiration of plants oxygen is
         likewise absorbed and carbonic acid exhaled, but in the
         light this process is obscured by another process which
         goes on with more vigor, in which the plant inhales and
         absorbs carbonic acid and exhales free oxygen.
         [1913 Webster]

Mute \Mute\, n.
   1. One who does not speak, whether from physical inability,
      unwillingness, or other cause. Specifically:
      (a) One who, from deafness, either congenital or from
          early life, is unable to use articulate language; a
          deaf-mute.
      (b) A person employed by undertakers at a funeral.
      (c) A person whose part in a play does not require him to
          speak.
      (d) Among the Turks, an officer or attendant who is
          selected for his place because he can not speak.
          [1913 Webster]

   2. (Phon.) A letter which represents no sound; a silent
      letter; also, a close articulation; an element of speech
      formed by a position of the mouth organs which stops the
      passage of the breath; as, p, b, d, k, t.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Mus.) A little utensil made of brass, ivory, or other
      material, so formed that it can be fixed in an erect
      position on the bridge of a violin, or similar instrument,
      in order to deaden or soften the tone.
      [1913 Webster]

B \B\ (b[=e])
   is the second letter of the English alphabet. (See Guide to
   Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 196, 220.) It is etymologically
   related to p, v, f, w, and m, letters representing sounds
   having a close organic affinity to its own sound; as in Eng.
   bursar and purser; Eng. bear and Lat. ferre; Eng. silver and
   Ger. silber; Lat. cubitum and It. gomito; Eng. seven,
   Anglo-Saxon seofon, Ger. sieben, Lat. septem, Gr."epta`,
   Sanskrit saptan. The form of letter B is Roman, from the
   Greek B (Beta), of Semitic origin. The small b was formed by
   gradual change from the capital B.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: In (Music), B is the nominal of the seventh tone in the
         model major scale (the scale of C major), or of the
         second tone in it's relative minor scale (that of A
         minor). B[flat] stands for B flat, the tone a half
         step, or semitone, lower than B. In German, B stands
         for our B[flat], while our B natural is called H
         (pronounced h[aum]).
         [1913 Webster]

Ferment \Fer"ment\, n. [L. fermentum ferment (in senses 1 & 2),
   perh. for fervimentum, fr. fervere to be boiling hot, boil,
   ferment: cf. F. ferment. Cf. 1st Barm, Fervent.]
   1. That which causes fermentation, as yeast, barm, or
      fermenting beer.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Ferments are of two kinds: (a) Formed or organized
         ferments. (b) Unorganized or structureless ferments.
         The latter are now called enzymes and were formerly
         called soluble ferments or chemical ferments.
         Ferments of the first class are as a rule simple
         microscopic vegetable organisms, and the fermentations
         which they engender are due to their growth and
         development; as, the acetic ferment, the butyric
         ferment, etc. See Fermentation. Ferments of the
         second class, on the other hand, are chemical
         substances; as a rule they are proteins soluble in
         glycerin and precipitated by alcohol. In action they
         are catalytic and, mainly, hydrolytic. Good examples
         are pepsin of the dastric juice, ptyalin of the salvia,
         and disease of malt. Before 1960 the term "ferment" to
         mean "enzyme" fell out of use. Enzymes are now known to
         be globular proteins, capable of catalyzing a wide
         variety of chemical reactions, not merely hydrolytic.
         The full set of enzymes causing production of ethyl
         alcohol from sugar has been identified and individually
         purified and studied. See enzyme.
         [1913 Webster +PJC]

   2. Intestine motion; heat; tumult; agitation.
      [1913 Webster]

            Subdue and cool the ferment of desire. --Rogers.
      [1913 Webster]

            the nation is in a ferment.           --Walpole.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a
      fluid; fermentation. [R.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Down to the lowest lees the ferment ran. --Thomson.
      [1913 Webster]

   ferment oils, volatile oils produced by the fermentation of
      plants, and not originally contained in them. These were
      the quintessences of the alchemists. --Ure.
      [1913 Webster]

B

   1. byte.

   2.  A systems language written by Ken Thompson in
   1970 mostly for his own use under Unix on the PDP-11.  B
   was later improved by Kerninghan(?) and Ritchie to produce
   C.  B was used as the systems language on Honeywell's
   GCOS-3.

   B was, according to Ken, greatly influenced by BCPL, but the
   name B had nothing to do with BCPL.  B was in fact a revision
   of an earlier language, bon, named after Ken Thompson's
   wife, Bonnie.

   ["The Programming Language B", S.C. Johnson & B.W. Kernighan,
   CS TR 8, Bell Labs (Jan 1973)].

   [Features?  Differences from C?]

   (1997-02-02)

   3.  A simple interactive programming language
   designed by Lambert Meertens and Steven Pemberton.  B was
   the predecessor of ABC.  B was the first published (and
   implemented) language to use indentation for block structure.

   <ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/languages/B.tar.Z>.

   ["Draft Proposal for the B Language", Lambert Meertens, CWI,
   Amsterdam, 1981].

   
[<http://python-history.blogspot.com/2011/07/karin-dewar-indentation-and-colon.html>].

   4.  A specification language by
   Jean-Raymond Abrial of B Core UK, Magdalen Centre, Oxford
   Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GA.  B is related to Z and
   supports development of C code from specifications.  B has
   been used in major safety-critical system specifications in
   Europe, and is currently attracting increasing interest in
   industry.  It has robust, commercially available tool support
   for specification, design, proof and code generation.

   E-mail: .

   (1995-04-24)

b

    bit or maybe byte (B).

   (1996-11-03)