Word origins

• basse courtAn inner courtyard of a castle or other large building.
• basset houndA shortlegged breed of dog of the hound family.
• bastillionA fortress or fortified position.
• bastinadeA blow with a stick or cudgel.
• bathorseA horse which carries an officer's baggage during a campaign
• Baton RougeThe capital city of the state of Louisiana in the United States and the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish.
• batoonA baton.
• battailantPrepared for battle; combatant; warlike.
• battalia pieA large game or fish pie made with small pieces of offal.
• BaulineA town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
• bay antlerThe second tine of a stag's antler.
• Bay L'ArgentA town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
• bdellometerA cupping glass to which a scarificator and an exhausting syringe are attached.
• beatifyTo make blissful.
• beauseantThe black and white standard (battle flag) of the Knights Templar.
• bechicRelating to, or relieving, a cough.
• beetravecommon beet (Beta vulgaris).
• béléA genre of music and group dance from the Creole cultures of Dominica and other Caribbean islands, in modern times mostly performed to celebrate holidays and special occasions.
• Belle ChasseA census-designated place in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States.
• Belle FourcheA city, the county seat of Butte County, South Dakota, United States.
• BelleoramA town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
• belletrismThe writing of belles-lettres.
• Belle VueA suburb of Carlisle, Cumbria (OS grid ref NY3755).
• BelongiaA surname from French.
• bemoilTo soil or dirty
• BerdineA surname from French.
• Betti numberAny of a sequence of numbers, denoted bₙ, which characterise a given topological space K by giving, for each dimension, the number of holes in K of said dimension; (formally) the rank of the nth homology group, Hₙ, of K.
• bezantlerBez (second branch of a deer's antler).
• bibliotaphOne who "buries" books, typically by hoarding them unread, hiding them, locking them away, or otherwise shutting them up and keeping them from use
• bigaroonThe Royal Ann cherry.
• big finalThe final that determines the winner of a competition, where the event also has a small final (consolation final).
• binarchySynonym of biarchy.
• binocleA kind of double-barrelled field glass or opera glass.
• blancardA kind of linen cloth formerly made in Normandy, the thread of which was partly blanched before it was woven.
• bleu, blanc et rougeThe Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club.
• bleymeAn inflammation in the foot of a horse, between the sole and the bone.
• BloquisteA member of the Bloc Québécois.
• blue murderA loud protest or angry outburst.
• Bois BruleA township in Perry County, Missouri, United States. Associated names are Bois Brule Bottom and Bois Brule Creek (Cinque Hommes Creek tributary)
• bombousHaving a rounded or domed surface; convex.
• bongraceA brim or shade projecting from a bonnet.
• Bon Homme CountyOne of 66 counties in South Dakota, United States. County seat: Tyndall.
• BonnardianOf or relating to Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947), French painter and artist, known for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color.
• bontodgerExcellent; wonderful.
• BordeleseA person from Bordeaux.
• BoshearsA surname from French.
• botonyHaving a bud-like projection or a kind of trefoil at the end; (in particular, of a cross) having a trefoil of buds at the end of each arm.
• boulangère potatoesSliced layered potatoes cooked with herbs, onions, etc. and meat or vegetable stock.
• BoulangismThe spirit or principles of a French political movement identified with Georges Boulanger (1837–1891), who promoted an aggressive nationalism which opposed Germany and called for the defeat of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) to be avenged.
• bourasqueA tempest.
• BourbakismA 20th-century French movement aiming to found all of mathematics on set theory.
• bouts-rimésA game in which someone is given rhyming words as the ends of verses of a poem, which need to be filled out.
• BowdryA surname from French.
• brachygraphyA system of writing using abbreviations or special characters; shorthand.
• braiesBraccae, breeches; an undergarment worn in medieval Europe.
• BrancheauA surname from French.
• brandadeA puree of salted cod, olive oil, and milk.
• brandleTo shake; to (cause to) totter.
• brankursineOne of two species of acanthus, Acanthus spinosus or Acanthus mollis; bear's breech.
• branleA dance of French origin dating from the 16th century, performed by couples in a circle or a line; the music for this dance.
• brasqueA mixture of charcoal, clay, etc. used in smelting.
• brayetteAn item of armor (mail or plate) protecting the groin.
• BrayonA resident of Madawaska, in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada.
• bridoonA type of snaffle bit, with small rings, usually used on a double bridle in conjunction with a curb bit.
• brigandageThe lifestyle of a brigand.
• brisanceThe shattering effect of the energy released in an explosion.
• BrissettA surname from French.
• brubruAlso more fully as brubru shrike: a bird in the bushshrike family found in sub-Saharan Africa (Nilaus afer).
• brumousFoggy or misty; wintry.
• brute de forgeA forging technique to shape metal to its final form by working it through forging only, and leaving that as the finished surface, with only sanding or grinding what is necessary for function.
• bucket seatA form-fitting seat for one passenger in automobiles, aircraft, and other such modes of transport.
• bufotenineAn alkaloid, found in the skins of some toads, related to serotonin.
• bully beefPickled or canned beef.
• bureauticbureaucratic
• butterisA cutting instrument, with a long bent shank set in a handle which rests against the farrier's shoulder, used in paring the hoofs of horses.
• cabassouThe southern naked-tailed armadillo, a type of large armadillo native to South America, with five toes and enormous claws (Cabassous unicinctus).
• CabochienRelating to Simon Caboche or to the revolt of 1413 in which he was a leader.
• caboshedShown face-on, showing the full face, but cut off immediately behind the ears and hence showing nothing of the neck.
• cachetteA hidden nook; a hiding place.
• cacholongAn opaque or milk-white chalcedony, a variety of quartz or opal.
• cadransAn instrument by which a gem is adjusted while being cut.
• caducityDotage or senility.
• cafestolA diterpene molecule present in coffee.
• Caille IslandAn island of Grenada.
• cajoleryThe act or practice of cajoling; cajolement.
• calashA silk and whalebone hood worn by ladies to shade the face.
• calcifyTo make or become hard and stony by impregnating with calcium salts.
• calipashThe edible greenish material found underneath the upper half of a turtle's carapace (shell).
• calletA trull or prostitute.
• calmativeCalming.
• cambistA banker; a money changer or broker; one who deals in bills of exchange, or who is skilled in the science of exchange.
• cameralisticsThe science of finance, public administration, and economic policy.
• CanboulayA former harvest festival of Trinidad and Tobago, a precursor to the modern Carnival.
• Canet-PlageA neighbourhood and seaside resort in Canet-en-Roussillon commune, Pyrénées-Orientales department, Occitania, France.
• cangueA heavy wooden collar or yoke borne on the shoulders and enclosing the neck and arms, formerly used in East Asia to punish thieves and other criminals.
• CannoisA native or inhabitant of the city of Cannes on the French Riviera, Alpes-Maritimes department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
• canon bitThe part of a bit which is put in a horse's mouth.
• Cap Blanc-NezA headland in Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France, France.
• Cap BonA peninsula in northeastern Tunisia.
• capelletA swelling, like a wen, on the point of the elbow (or the heel of the hock) of a horse.