Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bird (-s, -'s), n. [ME byrd.] (webplay: bear, break, catch, flying, forth, name, small).

1. Mortal being; transitory creature; [fig.] angel; spirit; essence of a dead loved one.
2. Fowl; winged creature; warm-blooded vertebrate with feathers; member of the class Aves.
3. Quick-moving creature; [fig.] feeling; emotion; sentiment; affection.
4. Nestling; hatchling; chick; baby fowl; [fig.] child; offspring.
5. Whistler; [fig.] informer; reporter; gossiper; messenger; secret-bearer; tattle-tale.
6. Nesting creature; [metonymy] melody; song; tune; [fig.] happiness; hope; joy; good tidings.
7. Far-flying creature; [fig.] explorer; navigator; sailor; mariner.
8. Creature used in sacrifices and offerings; [fig.] Savior; Christ; (see Leviticus 12:8).
9. Communicative creature; [fig.] thought; idea; intelligence.
10. Singing creature; [metaphor] poet; minstrel; author of lyric verse.
11. Phrase. “Patriarch's bird”: Noah's dove; the dove that Noah sent forth from the Ark to look for land after the flood (see Genesis 8:8-12).
12. Phrase. “Blue Bird”: [see bluebird, n.]
13. Phrase. “Humming Bird”: [see hummingbird, n.]

birdling, n. [see bird, n.]

Hatchling; nestling; young bird; [fig] spirit of deceased person; departed loved one.

Birmingham, proper n. [OE < Beornmund, warrior of the world + ham, home.]

Second largest city in England; center for the manufacture of silver cutlery; [metonymy] polished silverware; fine dinner utensils; elegant tools for eating; [fig.] elegance; refinement; gentility.

birth, n. [ME byrd > ber-an, to bear; see bear, v.]

Nascence; nativity; beginning of life; commencement of existence; moment at which one enters the world (see Luke 1:14).

birthday, n. [see birth, n. + day, n.] (webplay: anniversary, month, year).

1. Annual celebration; date of birth; marker of a year of passed time (see Genesis 40:20).
2. Beginning; commencement; date of birth; moment of genesis.

Biscayan, proper adj. [Sp. province Vizcaya, land of the Basques < Basque 'forest' or 'mountaineer'.]

Pertaining to the Bay of Biscay; dangerous body of water west of France and north of Spain where numerous shipwrecks occurred; [fig.] tragic; heroic; epic.

bisect (-ed), v. ['two' + 'cut'.] (webplay: divide).

1. Slice; part; separate; force apart; divide in half; cut through; split into two parts by forward motion.
2. Divide; fraction; break; cut into pieces.

bisected, verbal adj. [see bisect, v.]

Dual; binary; tandem; two-part; having two separate functions; [fig.] providing a hearse for the body and a chariot for the spirit.

bisecting, verbal adj. [see bisect, v.]

Dualistic; twofold; dividing; separating the body and the spirit in death; [kenning “Bisecting Messenger”] angel of Death; harbinger of passing from mortality to immortality.

bit, n. [OE bita.] (webplay: small).

Modicum; whit; iota; fragment; little piece; small amount.