Word origins

• ballonetAny of several small balloons, inside a dirigible, that can be inflated or deflated to control buoyancy during flight.
• ballonnementThe ballooning or distending of a part of the body for operative or diagnostic purposes.
• ballotageIn France, a second ballot taken after an indecisive first ballot to decide between two or several candidates; a runoff election.
• ballottementA method of diagnosing pregnancy, in which the uterus is pushed with a finger to feel whether a foetus moves away and returns again.
• bal musetteA French dance hall with an accordion player.
• bambocheA Haitian dance party.
• BankassA town in Mopti, Mali.
• banlieusardsuburban
• banneretA small banner.
• bannetonA type of basket used to provide structure for breads during proofing.
• baragouinA pidgin.
• barbastelleA relatively rare European bat, Barbastella barbastellus.
• barbetteA mound of earth or a platform in a fortification, on which guns are mounted to fire over the parapet.
• barbotineA soft clay used for moulding or decorating pottery
• barcaroleA Venetian folk song traditionally sung by gondoliers, often in ⁶⁄₈ or ¹²⁄₈ time with alternating strong and weak beats imitating a rowing motion.
• bardashA homosexual kept boy or young man; a catamite.
• barègeA type of gauzy fabric used for making dresses, originally made in Barèges.
• barègesA village and commune of Hautes-Pyrénées department, Occitania, France, known for its spa
• baregineA grey, gelatinous deposit in the sulphurous waters of the Barèges spa.
• BareillesA commune in Hautes-Pyrénées department, Occitania, France.
• BargeronA surname from French.
• BaribaultA surname from French.
• BaribeauA surname from French.
• bariolageA rapid alternation of two notes on two strings of a violin etc
• barre chordA guitar chord played by pressing down multiple strings on the fretboard with the same finger.
• BarrelierA surname from French
• BarrèsA surname from French, usually applying to Maurice Barrès.
• barricadoA barricade.
• BarrilleauxA surname from French.
• bascophoneSpeaking the Basque language.
• basocheA guild of legal clerks in pre-revolutionary France.
• bas-reliefA low or mostly-flat sculpture which is carved into a wall, or is in the form of a tile mounted flat to a wall, rather than a fully three-dimensional, free-standing figure.
• Bas-RhinA department of Alsace, Grand Est, France. Capital: Strasbourg (INSEE code 67).
• Bas-Saint-LaurentAn administrative region on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada.
• Basses-AlpesFormer name of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
• basse-tailleA bas-relief enamelling technique used on metal
• BassetteA surname from French.
• batardeauA cofferdam.
• BatavismA word or idiom of the Dutch language (that has been borrowed by another language).
• bathyscapheA self-propelled deep-sea diving submersible for exploring the ocean depths, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere suspended below a float filled with a buoyant liquid such as petrol.
• batonnetA piece of vegetable cut into the shape of a small stick.
• battementA ballet move involving a beating action with an extended leg
• batterie de cuisineThe range of tools and utensils used in a professional kitchen.
• battuPerformed with a striking together of the legs.
• battueA form of hunting in which game is forced into the open by the beating of sticks on bushes, etc.
• battureA sea bed or a river bed that has been raised or elevated.
• BaudritA surname from French
• BauméA type of densimeter, developed by French pharmacist A. Baumé (1724-1804)
• BaupA surname from French.
• bavardagechatter, banter
• bavaroisA pudding similar to pastry cream but thickened with gelatin or isinglass instead of flour or cornstarch, and flavoured with liqueur.
• bavaroiseA drink of sweetened milk, eggs and tea, often with some sort of spirit.
• bavaroyA kind of cloak or surtout.
• bavettebeef flank steak
• bayadèreA Hindu dancing-girl.
• BéarnA geographic area and former province in the current Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, Occitania, France.
• BéarnaisAn inhabitant or descendant of the population of the Béarn region in the French Pyrenees
• BeaudreauA surname from French.
• beau gesteA gracious gesture that is noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance.
• beau idéalIdeal excellence, or an imaginary standard of perfection.
• beau joueurA gambler, especially if skilled.
• Beaumes-de-VeniseA village in Vaucluse department, France.
• beau mondeThe fashionable part of society.
• beau sabreurA gallant warrior; a handsome or dashing adventurer.
• BeauvalBeauval (a town in Somme department, Hauts-de-France, France).
• beaux-artsThe fine arts, especially in reference to the widely imitated conventional type of art and architecture advocated at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
• becardA South American flycatcher of the genus Pachyramphus.
• bêche-de-merSynonym of sea cucumber.
• BecquartA surname from French.
• bedanA kind of woodturning tool consisting of a bar with a single bevel.
• bedeguarA gall produced on rosebushes, especially on the sweetbrier or eglantine, by a puncture from the ovipositor of a gallfly (Diplolepis rosae). It was once supposed to have medicinal properties.
• bedlamerA young harp seal after its second moult.
• beef oliveThinly sliced beef wrapped around a savoury filling.
• BefortA surname from French.
• BeghardOne of an association of religious laymen living in semimonastic communities in imitation of the Beguines, and influenced by Albigensian teachings and by the Brethren of the Free Spirit.
• béguinAn infatuation or fancy.
• beguinageA walled community of small houses occupied by the Beguines.
• BejaiaA city and commune, the capital of Bejaia Province, Algeria.
• BelainskyA surname from French.; Synonym of Belansky.
• belandreA small flat-bottomed craft, used principally on the rivers, canals, and roadsteads of France.
• bel espritA very witty or clever person.
• BelinographA photograph transmitted by wire.
• belle dame sans merciA beautiful woman who seduces a man and then consigns him to an unpleasant fate.
• belle époqueA period of European history, extending over several decades until the start of the First World War, characterized by artistic and cultural refinement.
• belle sabreuseA gallant swordswoman; a dashing female adventurer.
• belles-lettresThe humanities.
• bellicwarlike; bellicose
• BellotteA surname from French.
• BelœilA municipality of Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium.
• bengalineA fabric made from silk and worsted; poplin.
• BengueA surname from French
• BeninoisBeninese
• benitierThe vase or vessel for holy water in Roman Catholic churches.
• BenoisA surname from French.
• BenredouaneA surname from Arabic
• Berchem-Sainte-AgatheA municipality of Brussels, Brussels Capital Region, Belgium
• BercierA surname from French.
• bergeretteA form of early rustic French song.
• berlingotA hard candy made from caramel, usually in pyramidal form.
• BerthiervilleA town, the seat of D'Autray Regional County Municipality, Lanaudière, Quebec, Canada.