Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bounty, n. [OFr < L. bonitāt-em, goodness.] (webplay: good, service).

1. Blessing; boon; fulfillment.
2. Alm; donation; contribution; generous gift; [fig.] meal; bite to eat; (see 2 Corinthians 9:5).
3. Abundance; plenty; profusion; prosperity; affluence; surplus; wealth; providence; [fig.] friendship; companionship; (see 1 Kings 10:13).
4. Harvest; nourishment; feast; sustenance; cornucopia.

bouquet (boquet), n. [Fr. 'little wood', 'bush'.]

1. Bunch of flowers; floral arrangement; display of blooms; [fig.] experience; destiny; chronology; range of events.
2. Garden party; nature scene; field of blossoms; [fig.] rainbow; sunset; panorama.
3. Nosegay; posy; corsage; [fig.] reverence; veneration; compliment; courtly offering; [metaphor] fascicle; chapbook; packet of poetry.
4. Revelation; inspiration; poetry; anthology; collection of insights; [sound play /bo:ke:/] booklet; little book.

Bourbon, n. [Fr. Bourbon l'Archambault, town in central France.]

Aristocrat; monarch; ruler; royal person; member of a noble family.

bourne (borne), 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. /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.
2. /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.
3. /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).
4. /bo:/; Weapon; archer's instrument; curved wooden frame for shooting arrows; (see Genesis 27:3); [fig.] charm; spell; trance; enamoring; infatuation; enchantment.

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; respond to an audience's ovation; do reverence, as in ballet.

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.