15,000 words and phrases from more than 50 languages and their

37 battre
bar mitzvah [Heb], in Judaism, a ceremony marking the religious
coming of age for a male.
barra [Sp], shoal; sand bar: southwestern U.S.
barrage [Fr; now naturalized], lit., a bar or dam; a protective curtain of
bursting shells: mil.
barranco or barranca [Sp], a deep ravine, with steep wall-like banks;
gorge: common in Texas and New Mexico.
barrette [Fr], a bar, as of a watch chain; crossbar of a foil; a barlike
clasp for holding hairs in place.
barrio [Sp], a political ward or municipal district; also, a village or
district outside a city or town but under its administration.
bas [Hind; pr. bus], enough; that'll do.
bas bleu [Fr], a bluestocking; literary woman.
bashi-bazook [Turk], Turkish irregular soldier, noted for brutality and
lawlessness.
basis virtutum constantia [L], constancy is the foundation of the virtues.
bas (or bat) mitzvah [Heb], in Judaism, a ceremony marking the religious
coming of age for a female.
bas-relief [Fr], low relief: sculp.
basso [It; pi bassi], bass. —basso buffo, a bass singer of comic parts.
—basso continuo, thorough bass. —basso ostinato, lit., obstinate bass;
ground bass. —basso profondo, a deep bass: all music.
basso-rilievo [It], bas-relief, low relief: sculp.
basta! [It], enough! hold! stop! never mind!
basta d'un pazzo per casa [It], one fool in the house is enough.
baste! [Fr], nonsense! pooh! —baste pour cela, well and good; let that
pass; so be it.
basti or bustee [Hind basti], abode; village; collection of dwellings; in
southern India, a Jain temple: India.
bát [Anglo-Ind], word; speech; talk; hence, slang, "to sling the bát" to
talk, or be able to talk, in Hindustani.
bataille rangée [Fr], pitched battle.
batardeau [Fr], cofferdam.
bateau [Fr; pi. bateaux], a long, tapering, flat-bottomed river boat.
bâtir des châteaux en Espagne [Fr], to build castles in the air (lit., in
Spain).
bâton [Fr], stick; staff; baton. —tour du bâton, perquisites; pickings;
illicit profits.
batterie de cuisine [Fr], a set of kitchen utensils.
battre [Fr], to beat; strike. —battre la campagne, to scour the country;
hence, to beat about the bush; ramble; rave. —battre la générale, to
beat to arms; sound a general assembly: mil. —battre la semelle, lit.,
to strike the sole; tramp; trudge about. —battre l'eau avec un bâton,
to beat water with a stick; make vain efforts. —battre le fer pendant
qu'il est chaud, to strike while the iron is hot. —battre le fusil, to