Emily Dickinson Lexicon

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

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

Split; separate; cut into two parts; force apart.

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

Divided; split; fractioned; broken apart; cut into pieces.

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

Cutting; splitting; dividing; disrupting.

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

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

bite (bit), v. [OE bitan.] (webplay: eating, frost).

1. Cut; slice; chew; masticate; chop with the teeth.
2. Sting; pinch; cause a sharp pain; hurt with intense cold.

bitter (-er, -est), adj. [OE biter > bitan, bite.] (webplay: cold, cruel, day, keenness, sharp).

1. Unpleasant; grievous; painful; unpalatable to the mind; hard to accept; difficult to bear (see Exodus 1:14).
2. Strong; severe; extreme; sharp; cutting; polar; bitingly frigid; intensely cold.