Chapter Bipartition to Birth of B by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

Bird's-eye
(Bird's"-eye`), n. (Bot.) A plant with a small bright flower, as the Adonis or pheasant's eye, the mealy primrose and species of Veronica, Geranium, etc.

Bird's-eye maple
(Bird's"-eye` ma"ple) See under Maple.

Bird's-foot
(Bird's"-foot`) n. (Bot.) A papilionaceous plant, the Ornithopus, having a curved, cylindrical pod tipped with a short, clawlike point.

Bird's-foot trefoil. (Bot.) (a) A genus of plants (Lotus) with clawlike pods. L. corniculatas, with yellow flowers, is very common in Great Britain. (b) the related plant, Trigonella ornithopodioides, is also European.

Bird's-mouth
(Bird's-mouth`) n. (Arch.) An interior angle or notch cut across a piece of timber, for the reception of the edge of another, as that in a rafter to be laid on a plate; — commonly called crow's-foot in the United States.

Bird's nest
(Bird's" nest`, or Bird's-nest) n.

1. The nest in which a bird lays eggs and hatches her young.

2. (Cookery) The nest of a small swallow of China and the neighboring countries, which is mixed with soups.

The nests are found in caverns and fissures of cliffs on rocky coasts, and are composed in part of algæ. They are of the size of a goose egg, and in substance resemble isinglass. See Illust. under Edible.

3. (Bot.) An orchideous plant with matted roots, of the genus Neottia (N. nidus-avis.)

Bird's-nest pudding, a pudding containing apples whose cores have been replaced by sugar. — Yellow bird's nest, a plant, the Monotropa hypopitys.

Bird's-nesting
(Bird's-nest`ing) n. Hunting for, or taking, birds' nests or their contents.

Bird's-tongue
(Bird's"-tongue`) n. (Bot.) The knotgrass

Bird-witted
(Bird"-wit`ted) a. Flighty; passing rapidly from one subject to another; not having the faculty of attention. Bacon.

Birectangular
(Bi`rec*tan"gu*lar) a. [Pref. bi- + rectangular.] Containing or having two right angles; as, a birectangular spherical triangle.

Bireme
(Bi"reme) n. [L. biremis; bis twice + remus oar: cf. F. birème.] An ancient galley or vessel with two banks or tiers of oars.

Biretta
(Bi*ret"ta) n. Same as Berretta.

Birgander
(Bir"gan*der) n. See Bergander.

Birk
(Birk) n. [See Birch, n.] A birch tree. [Prov. Eng.] "The silver birk." Tennyson.

Birk
(Birk), n. (Zoöl.) A small European minnow

Birken
(Birk"en) v. t. [From 1st Birk.] To whip with a birch or rod. [Obs.]

Birken
(Birk"en), a. Birchen; as, birken groves. Burns.

Birkie
(Bir"kie) n. A lively or mettlesome fellow. [Jocular, Scot.] Burns.