Term
Balk (v.)
[bawk]
[Origin: before 900; Middle English; Old English balca covering, beam, ridge; cognate with Old Norse bǫlkr bar, partition, Dutch balk, Old Saxon balko, German Balken, Old Norse bjalki beam, Old English bolca plank; perhaps akin to Latin sufflāmen, Slovene blazína, Lithuanian balžíenas beam.] |
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Definition
To stop, block abruptly (Edna's boss balked at her request for another raise.)
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Term
Banal (adj.)
[buh-nal, -nahl, beyn-l]
[Origin:"trite, commonplace," 1840, from Fr. banal, adj., "belonging to a manor, common, hackneyed, commonplace," from O.Fr. banel "communal" (13c.), from ban "decree; legal control; announcement; authorization; payment for use of a communal oven, mill, etc." (see ban (v.)).] |
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Definition
Dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal
because they found our presentation banal and unimpressive.) |
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Term
Bane (n.)
[beyn]
[Origin: before 1000; Middle English; Old English bana slayer; cognate with Old Norse bani death, murderer, Old Frisian bona murder, Old Saxon bano murderer, Old High German bano slayer, bana death; akin to Old English benn, Gothic banja wound ] |
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Definition
A burden (Advanced physics is the bane of many students'
academic lives.) |
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Term
Bard (n.)
[bahrd]
[Origin:1400–50; late Middle English < Celtic; compare Irish, Scots Gaelic bard, Welsh bardd, Breton barz < Indo-European *g w rs-do-s singer, akin to Albanian grisha (I) invited (to a wedding) ] |
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Definition
A poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often
considered the greatest bard in the history of the English language.) |
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Term
Bashful (adj.)
[bash-fuhl]
[Origin:1540s, from baishen "abash" (mid-14c.), from O.Fr. baissier "bring down, humiliate" (see abash).] |
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Definition
Shy, excessively timid (Frankie's mother told him
not to be bashful when he refused to attend the birthday party.) |
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Term
Beguile (v.)
[bih-gahyl]
[Origin:early 13c., from be- + guile (v.). Pp. adj. beguiling is recorded from c.1400.] |
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Definition
To trick, decieve (The thief beguiled his partners
into surrendering all of their money to him.) |
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Term
Behemoth (n.)
[bih-hee-muhth, bee-uh-]
[Origin:1350–1400; < Hebrew bəhēmōth, an augmentative plural of bəhēmāh beast; replacing Middle English bemoth ] |
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Definition
Something of tremendous power or size (The new
aircraft carrier is among several behemoths that the Air Force has
added to its fleet.) |
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Term
Benevolent (adj.)
[buh-nev-uh-luhnt]
[Origin:1425–75; late Middle English < Latin benevolent- (stem of benevolēns ) kindhearted ( bene- bene- + vol- wish (akin to will1 ) + -ent- -ent) ] |
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Definition
Marked by goodness or doing good (Police officers
should be commended for their benevolent service to the community) |
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Term
Benign (adj.)
[bih-nahyn]
[Origin:1275–1325; Middle English benigne < Anglo-French, Old French benigne (feminine), benin (masculine) < Latin benignus kind, generous, equivalent to beni-, combining form of bonus good ( see bene-) + -gnus, derivative of the base of gignere to beget ( see genitor, genus), hence, perhaps, “good by nature”; compare malign ] |
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Definition
Favorable, not threatening, mild (We were all
relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be
benign.) |
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Term
Bequeath (v.)
[bih-kweeth, -kweeth]
[Origin:before 1000; Middle English bequethen, Old English becwethan ( be- be- + cwethan to say ( see quoth), cognate with Old High German quedan, Gothic qithan )] |
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Definition
To pass on, give (Jon's father bequeathed his entire
estate to his mother.) |
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Term
Berate (v.)
[bih-reyt]
[Origin:1540–50; be- + rate2 ] |
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Definition
To scold vehemently (The angry boss berated his
employees for failing to meet their deadline.) |
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Term
Bereft (adj.)
[bih-reft]
[Origin:O.E. bereafian "to deprive of, take away, seize, rob," from be + reafian "rob, plunder," from P.Gmc. *raubojanan, from PIE *reup-, *reub- "to snatch." A common Germanic formation (cf. Du. berooven, Ger. berauben, Goth. biraubon).] |
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Definition
Devoid of, without (His family was bereft of food
and shelter following the tornado.) |
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Term
Beseech (v.)
[bih-seech]
[Origin:before 1100; Middle English bisechen, Old English besēcan. See be-, seek] |
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Definition
To beg, plead, implore (The servant beseeched the
king for food to feed his starving family.) |
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Term
Bias (n.)
[bahy-uhs]
[Origin:1520–30; < Middle French biais oblique < Old Provençal, probably < Vulgar Latin *( e ) bigassius < Greek epikársios oblique, equivalent to epi- epi- + -karsios oblique ] |
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Definition
A tendency, inclination, prejudice (The judge's hidden
bias against smokers led him to make an unfair decision.) |
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Term
Bilk (v.)
[bilk]
[Origin:1650s, from the noun (1630s), first used as a cribbage term. Origin obscure, it was believed in 17c. to be "a word signifying nothing," perhaps of Arabic origin; but it is rather perhaps a thinned form of balk. Meaning "to defraud" is first recorded 1670s.] |
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Definition
Cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had
bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars.) |
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