Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bourne, v. [see bear, v.]

bout, n. [OE byht 'bending'.] (webplay: time).

Turn; circuit; orbit; journey; rotation; circumference; revolution; course of travel; [fig.] match; contest; challenge; attempt; round of fighting; competition in successive intervals.

bow (-s), n. [OE 'bow, bend'; note that the /bau/ and /bo:/ forms come from the same etymology.]

1. /bau/; Polite gesture; salutation by bending; courteous body language; token of respect by lowering the head; motion of reverence by inclining the upper torso downward.
2. /bau/ and /bo:/; Descent; lowering; downward motion; [fig.] condescension; inclination; [sound play and sense play] arch; prism; rainbow; refraction of light; (see Genesis 9:13).
3. /bo:/; Weapon; archer's instrument; curved wooden frame for shooting arrows; (see Genesis 27:3); [fig.] charm; spell; trance; enamoring; infatuation; enchantment.
4. /bo:/; Violin rod; flexible appliance for making music sound from strings; [fig.] brain; mind; reason; sanity; will; control; volition; inclination; organ of intelligence; capacity for language.

bow (-ed, -ing), v. [see bow, n.; /bau/ pronunciation.]

1. Move; bend; [fig.] live; revive.
2. Bend; descend; tilt; curve down the horizon [fig.] set; go down.
3. Curtsy; nod; acknowledge courteously; [fig.] sway; move in the wind.
4. Introduce; welcome; invite; receive.
5. Pray; worship; give praise; do homage; (see Psalms 95:6).
6. Wave; undulate; ebb; go out.
7. Acknowledge applause; do reverence; respond to an audience's ovation.

bower, n. [OE bur, dwelling.]

1. Cottage; hut; cabin; gazebo; conservatory; summerhouse; tree house; round or square forest abode; resting place in the woods; roof of over-arching branches; covered place in a garden; shelter of bent, intertwining boughs.
2. Chamber; bedroom; quarters; sleeping room; private apartment; [fig.] spot; setting; situation; position; eminence; distinction.

bowing, verbal adj. [see bow, n. /bau/ pronunciation.]

Turning; revolving; orbiting; [fig.] changeable; fickle; shifting; mechanistic; automatically moving; politely oblivious.

bowl (-s), n. [OE bolla, swell; NW cites L. vola, 'hollow of the hand'.]

1. Basin; cirque; valley; natural trough; sloping stretch of land; plain ringed by hills; [fig.] bloodshed; carnage; death; tomb; cemetery; grave for the slain.
2. Saucer; round dish; circular container; concave vessel to hold liquids; small receptacle more wide than deep; (see Zechariah 9:15); [fig.] moment; minute; short time period.

box (-es), n. [OE < L. bux-us, box-tree.]

1. Drawer; square container; rectangular receptacle; keeper of mementos; small treasury made of wood or stone; [fig.] memory; record; heart; mental storage place; repository of affection; (see Luke 7:37).
2. Casket; coffin; long wooden chest for burial of the dead; [fig.] weight; burden of pain; load of grief.
3. Theater compartment; seat in a play-house; small room for people attending a performance; [fig.] human body; life span.

boy (-s, -'s), n. [ME 'knave,' 'young gentleman'.]

1. Youngster; minor; child; kid; nestling; playful creature; [fig.] mortal; human being.
2. Delinquent; bully; ruffian; roughneck; juvenile offender; rowdy person.
3. Son; male offspring; (see Genesis 25:27); [fig.] young soldier.
4. Fellow; guy; young man; (see Zechariah 8:5); [fig.] sunset cloud; beam of light.
5. Male persona; [fig.] disciple; follower; apprentice.
6. Phrase. “School Boy”: lad; male student; child from age 6 to 12; one below the age of puberty.

boyish, adj.

Young; fresh; youthful; puerile; adolescent; teenaged; [fig.] tender; vulnerable; inexperienced.