Word of the Day

[Augustine2004]

Brahmaputra



a river whose lower course is sacred to Hindus.





You can get an idea of where the river flows by first locating Bangladesh
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...jection%29.svg [oh no, svg files are not supported by TWeb. You have to to click on the link directly]purloined from Wikipedia

Then find the blue line in this map that crosses the northern border of Bangladesh
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ladesh_map.svg [oh no, svg files are not supported by TWeb. You have to to click on the link directly]purloined from Wikipedia

A satellite photo of the Ganges-Brahamaputra delta

purloined from Wikipedia

[Augustine2004]

Brahmin



Essay: It may be a variant of Brahman, or it may mean a highly cultured and socially exclusive person, especially a member of one of the old New England families.





Why are such New England people called Brahmins? According to Wikipedia, 'The Smritis conferred upon the Brahmins, the position of being the highest of the four Varnas.' So, like the top-dog caste in Brahmanic society, something like that.

[Augustine2004]

brail



noun: a line used to bring in a sail before furling it.

Transitive verb: gather in (a sail) with brails (the word is usually used with up).





When the time came to brail up the mainmast sail, the crew found that the brails for that were missing! The captain tore off his cap and dashed it to the floor. His face purpled.

[Augustine2004]

Appeal for someone to replace me.

I will continue until . . ., but I would like someone else to take over soon.

[Augustine2004]

-branch



suffix used in Zoology: Indicates gills.





One example is elasmobranch

purloined from Wikipedia

[Augustine2004]

branchia



a gill or similar breathing organ. (The plural is branchiae.)





Note that branchia can be used as a prefix, as in branchiate (having branchiae) or branchiopod (see Branchiopoda).

[Augustine2004]

Braque, Georges



artist of the 20th Century (examples of his work appear below), co-inventor of Cubism with Picasso.





A Fauvism painting 'Seine Chatou' by Maurice de Vlaminck (I could not find any Fauvism painting by Braque)

[purloined from Wikipedia]

A painting from his Cubism period 'Violin and Candlestick'

[purloined from Wikipedia]

[Augustine2004]

brash



Essay. It has two obscure meanings. One is 'brittle,' said of wood or timber. The other is 'a mass or pile of rubble or fragments.'





Teabrash puzzled over what the lumberjack meant when he said, 'The wood is brash!' Then the stonecutter came in asked, 'What should I do with the brash in the yard?' Teabrash's head spun around and he fainted from too much puzzlement

[Augustine2004]

brassard



a cloth badge worn around the armband (pictured below).
Any piece of armor worn to protect the arm.



Hastily made brassards were given to the troops to distinguish them from the mutineers.

purloined from Wikipedia.

[Augustine2004]

brava



used to express approval in applauding a woman.





The audience del Teatro alla Scala a Milano leapt to its feet and clapped their hands and cried, 'Brava!' That surprised Sarah Bernhard greatly; she felt her acting was poor.

[Augustine2004]

Bravais lattice



any of 14 lattice classifications in the study of crystal structure.





The fourteen Bravais lattices are displayed here.

[Augustine2004]

bravo



used to express approval or a shout or cry of 'bravo.'

hired assassin; killer.





Spurred by reports of a bravo operating in Rome whose MO resembled the Grey Ghost's, Duplunchy summoned Teabravura to his office in the outskirts of London.

[Augustine2004]

bravura


Music. Brilliant technique or style in performance. A piece of music requiring that.

A bold or showy manner.



Teabravura found Miss Goldplate in the waiting room of Duplunchy's office, as usual. As he began to work his bravura charms on her, she primly said, 'Have a seat, I'll inform the boss you are here.' By now she'd become familiar with his overheated wooing. Suddenly deflated, he meekly seated himself in the red leather overstuffed chair next to Goldplate's receptionist desk.

To both Goldplate's and Teabravura's surprise, the door to Duplunchy's inner sanctum opened abruptly after only a few seconds. There the boss was, urgently waving Teabravura into the office. 'Come in, come in!'

[Augustine2004]

breech



the lower rear part of the human trunk; the buttocks.
The lower part of a pulley.
The rear of a cannon's bore.





My birth was a breech one; the doctor had to assist my entrance into the world. I bear scars from that yet.


The cannon's carriage lost a wheel. A pulley was fetched to lift the cannon, but the pulley's breech was discovered to be so badly damaged as to be useless. The lieutenant nevertheless ordered the cannon's breech to be loaded.

[Augustine2004]

Brendan of Clonfert



5th-6th Century Irish abbot noted for sea voyages, most of them legendary.

Saint Brendan and the Whale

purloined from Wikipedia

I didn't see the date of his being made a saint in the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan A most shocking omission, to be sure. The article does mention that Saint Brendan of Clonfert is the patron saint of boatmen; divers; mariners; sailors; travellers; whales; diocese of Clonfert; diocese of Kerry.