Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bankrupt, adj. [It. banca rotta, bench-broken, bank-broken.]

Insolvent; destitute; impoverished; unable to pay debts; [fig.] bereft; grief-struck.

bankruptcy, n. [see bankrupt, n.] (webplay: sea).

Poverty; pauperism; neediness; destitution; insolvency; financial ruin.

banner (-s), n. [OFr < L. bandum, standard < Goth. bandwa, sign, token] (webplay: king, state, train).

1. Streamer; pennant; decorative flag; [fig.] bright-colored clothing (see Song of Solomon 6:4).
2. Colors; blossom; spring flower; [botany] upper petal of a papilionaceous corol.
3. Ensign; signaling flag; principal standard of a prince or state (see Isaiah 13:2).

banquet (-s, -'s, -tings), n. [Fr. diminutive of banc, little bench.] (webplay: entertainment, feast, feed, little, regale, table).

Repast; social dinner; ceremonial meal (see Esther 7:2); [fig.] emotional fulfillment; personal satisfaction; spiritual joy.

banquet, v. [see banquet, n.] (webplay: luxurious, table).

Feast; dine; relish; savor; [fig.] cherish; adore; enjoy looking.

banquetting (-s), n. [see banquet, n.]

Dinner; meal; rich fare; opportunity to eat food (see Song of Solomon 2:4; 1 Peter 4:3).

baptize (-d, -s), v. [Fr. < L. < Gk. 'immerse, bathe, wash, drench'.] (webplay: church, face, Father, name, water).

1. Initiate; debut; launch; pronounce; declare; proclaim; [fig.] acquire a new identity as; die to a former life and be born again to a new life; (see John 3:3-5).
2. Authorize; confirm; sanction; formally accept; [fig.] chant; intone; reverberate; sound; sing; perform musically.
3. Bless; ritually cleanse; purify ceremonially; formally dedicate to God; receive as a member in a Christian church; sprinkle water on the face in the name of the Godhead; immerse in water in preparation for immersion in the spirit (see Matthew 3:11).
4. Christen; name; designate; label.

baptized, verbal adj. [see baptize, v.]

Immersed; cleansed from sin and rescued from death; washed in water to symbolize new life in Christ; [fig.] holy; purified; sanctified.

bar (-s), n. [ME < OFr < L.] (webplay: cease, coffee-house, fine, God, gold, joy, liquors, long, men, name, passes, signifies, solid, statute, right, river, run, thing, time, waters).

1. Railing; gate piece; horizontal fence post; [fig.] horizon; point between this life and the next.
2. Cube; ingot; block of precious metal.
3. Tribunal; court enclosure; place of justice; partition that surrounds court officials; [fig.] altar of judgment before God.
4. Barrier; obstacle; obstruction; restraint; metal prison grid; material that guards; long piece of thin metal or wood; [fig.] inhibition; responsibility; commitment; thing that holds back.
5. Beach; strand; bank of sand; silt that obstructs navigation through water.
6. Protection; guarding element; [fig.] branch; twig; foliage; leafage.
7. Disc; planetary ring; circular orbiting stripe.
8. Tavern; pub; club; place to buy alcoholic beverages; place where one goes to drown his sorrows; [fig.] inner privacy; mental state of an individual.

bar (barred), v. [see bar, n.] (webplay: fence, passes, river).

Fasten; shut; secure; bolt; lock; cover with protective material.