*eau*

‖n. [ F. ] 1. A cofferdam. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) A wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides of the wall. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Bateaux [ F. bateau, LL. batellus, fr. battus, batus, boat, which agrees with AS. bāt boat: cf. W. bad boat. See Boat, n. ] A boat; esp. a flat-bottomed, clumsy boat used on the Canadian lakes and rivers. [ Written also, but less properly, batteau. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Bateau bridge, a floating bridge supported by bateaux. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. F. Beaux E. Beaus [ F., a fop, fr. beau fine, beautiful, fr. L. bellus pretty, fine, for bonulus, dim. of bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Belle, Beauty. ] 1. A man who takes great care to dress in the latest fashion; a dandy. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A man who escorts, or pays attentions to, a lady; an escort; a suitor or lover. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A small flat curl worn on the temple by women. [ Humorous ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Buffet. ] A niche, cupboard, or sideboard for plate, china, glass, etc.; a buffet. [ 1913 Webster ]

A beaufet . . . filled with gold and silver vessels. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Biffin. Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Meteor.) A scale of wind force devised by Sir F. Beaufort, R. N., in 1805, in which the force is indicated by numbers from 0 to 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The full scale is as follows: -- 0, calm; 1, light air; 2, light breeze; 3, gentle breeze; 4, moderate breeze; 5, fresh breeze; 6, strong breeze; 7, moderate gale; 8, fresh gale; 9, strong gale; 10, whole gale; 11, storm; 12, hurricane. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

[ F. beau beautiful + idéal ideal. ] A conception or image of consummate beauty, moral or physical, formed in the mind, free from all the deformities, defects, and blemishes seen in actual existence; an ideal or faultless standard or model. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Like a beau; characteristic of a beau; foppish; fine. “A beauish young spark.” Byrom. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ F. beau fine + monde world. ] The fashionable world; people of fashion and gayety. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cement used in making joints, filling cracks, etc. For iron, the principal constituents are iron borings and sal ammoniac; for wood, white lead or litharge, whiting, and linseed oil. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ F. beau pére; beau fair + pére father. ] 1. A father. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A companion. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. beaucéant. ] The black and white standard of the Knights Templars. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being a beau; the personality of a beau. [ Jocular ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From beauty. ] an outstanding example of its kind; as, when I make a mistake it's a beaut.
Syn. -- beauty. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [ Mostly poetic ] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. -- Beau"te*ous*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. a. Beautiful; embellished. [ Poetic ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the act of making something more beautiful. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One who, or that which, beautifies or makes beautiful. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the qualities which constitute beauty; pleasing to the sight or the mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

A circle is more beautiful than a square; a square is more beautiful than a parallelogram. Lord Kames. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Handsome; elegant; lovely; fair; charming; graceful; pretty; delightful. See Fine.

-- Beau"ti*ful*ly, adv. -- Beau"ti*ful*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Beautified p. pr. & vb. n. Beautifying. ] [ Beauty + -fy. ] To make or render beautiful; to add beauty to; to adorn; to deck; to grace; to embellish. [ 1913 Webster ]

The arts that beautify and polish life. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To adorn; grace; ornament; deck; decorate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become beautiful; to advance in beauty. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Destitute of beauty. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Beauties [ OE. beaute, beute, OF. beauté, biauté, Pr. beltat, F. beauté, fr. an assumed LL. bellitas, from L. bellus pretty. See Beau. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. An assemblage of graces or properties pleasing to the eye, the ear, the intellect, the æsthetic faculty, or the moral sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beauty consists of a certain composition of color and figure, causing delight in the beholder. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

The production of beauty by a multiplicity of symmetrical parts uniting in a consistent whole. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

The old definition of beauty, in the Roman school, was, “multitude in unity;” and there is no doubt that such is the principle of beauty. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A particular grace, feature, ornament, or excellence; anything beautiful; as, the beauties of nature. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A beautiful person, esp. a beautiful woman. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the admired beauties of Verona. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Prevailing style or taste; rage; fashion. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

She stained her hair yellow, which was then the beauty. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beauty spot, a patch or spot placed on the face with intent to heighten beauty by contrast. [ 1913 Webster ]

n., pl. of Beau. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } pos>n. [ F., fr. Baux or Beaux, near Arles. ] (Min.) A ferruginous hydrate of alumina. It is the most commonly used ore for the preparation of aluminum and alumina. It is also used for the lining of furnaces which are exposed to intense heat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Min.) See Bauxite. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. bigarreau, fr. bigarré variegated. ] (Bot.) The large white-heart cherry. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to Bordeaux in the south of France. -- n. A claret wine from Bordeaux. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Hort.) A fungicidal mixture composed of blue vitriol, lime, and water. The formula in common use is: blue vitriol, 6 lbs.; lime, 4 lbs.; water, 35 -- 50 gallons. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n.; pl. Bordereaux /plu>. [ F. ] A note or memorandum, esp. one containing an enumeration of documents. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n.; pl. E. Bureaus F. Bureaux [ F. bureau a writing table, desk, office, OF., drugget, with which a writing table was often covered, equiv. to F. bure, and fr. OF. buire dark brown, the stuff being named from its color, fr. L. burrus red, fr. Gr. &unr_; flame-colored, prob. fr. &unr_; fire. See Fire, n., and cf. Borel, n. ] 1. Originally, a desk or writing table with drawers for papers. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The place where such a bureau is used; an office where business requiring writing is transacted. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence: A department of public business requiring a force of clerks; the body of officials in a department who labor under the direction of a chief. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ On the continent of Europe, the highest departments, in most countries, have the name of bureaux; as, the Bureau of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In England and America, the term is confined to inferior and subordinate departments; as, the “Pension Bureau, ” a subdepartment of the Department of the Interior. [ Obs. ] In Spanish, bureo denotes a court of justice for the trial of persons belonging to the king's household. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A chest of drawers for clothes, especially when made as an ornamental piece of furniture. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Bureau system. See Bureaucracy. --
Bureau Veritas, an institution, in the interest of maritime underwriters, for the survey and rating of vessels all over the world. It was founded in Belgium in 1828, removed to Paris in 1830, and reëstablished in Brussels in 1870. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Bureau + Gr. &unr_; to be strong, to govern, &unr_; strength: cf. F. bureaucratie. ] 1. A system of carrying on the business of government by means of departments or bureaus, each under the control of a chief, in contradiction to a system in which the officers of government have an associated authority and responsibility; also, government conducted on this system. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Government officials, collectively; -- used especially of nonelected government officials. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. An official of a bureau; esp. an official confirmed in a narrow and arbitrary routine. C. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the formal and often obscure style of writing characteristic of some government officials; officialese; -- it is characterized by euphemisms, circumlocutions, vague abstractions, and circumlocutions. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

{ } a. [ Cf. F. bureaucratique. ] Of, relating to, or resembling, a bureaucracy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. nonelective government officials; same as bureaucracy. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. An advocate for, or supporter of, bureaucracy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Chapeux [ F., fr. OF. chapel hat. See Chaplet. ] 1. A hat or covering for the head. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Her.) A cap of maintenance. See Maintenance. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖Chapeau bras ety>[ F. chapeau hat + bras arm ], a hat so made that it can be compressed and carried under the arm without injury. Such hats were particularly worn on dress occasions by gentlemen in the 18th century. A chapeau bras is now worn in the United States army by general and staff officers. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Chateux [ F. château a castle. See Castle. ] 1. A castle or a fortress in France. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A manor house or residence of the lord of the manor; a gentleman's country seat; also, particularly, a royal residence; as, the chateau of the Louvre; the chateau of the Luxembourg. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The distinctive, French term for a fortified castle of the middle ages is château-fort. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a double-thick center cut of beef tenderloin, broiled and served with a sauce and potatoes. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

‖Chateau en Espagne ety>[ F. ], a castle in Spain, that is, a castle in the air, Spain being the region of romance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a World War I battle in northwestern France where the Allies defeated the Germans in 1918.
Syn. -- battle of the Marne, Belleau Wood, Marne River. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n.; pl. Coteaux /plu>. [ F., a hill. ] [ Canada & U. S. ] 1. A hilly upland including the divide between two valleys; a divide. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. The side of a valley. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ F. ] A knife; a dagger. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. deauratus, p. p. of deaurare to gild; de- + aurum gold. ] Gilded. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To gild. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Act of gilding. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ F. eau water (L. aqua) + de of + Cologne. ] Same as Cologne. [ 1913 Webster ]