Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BOLT, v.t. [Russ. boltayu, to shake, agitate, babble; Norm. bulter, a bolting sieve.]

1. To sift or separate bran from flour, by passing the fine part of meal through a cloth.
2. Among sportsmen, to start or dislodge, used of coneys.
3. To examine by sifting; to open or separate the parts of a subject, to find the truth; generally followed by out. “Time and nature will bolt out the truth of things.” [Inelegant.] – L'Estrange.
4. To purify; to purge. [Unusual.] – Shak.
5. To discuss or argue; as at Gray's Inn, where cases are privately discussed by students and barristers. – Encyc.