GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Found 5 definitions
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{ Butt, But } , n. [F. but butt, aim (cf. butte knoll), or bout, OF. bot, end, extremity, fr. boter, buter, to push, butt, strike, F. bouter; of German origin; cf. OHG. bōzan, akin to E. beat. See Beat, v. t.]
- A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.1913 Webster
Here is my journey's end, here my butt
And very sea mark of my utmost sail.Shak.1913 Webster☞ As applied to land, the word is nearly synonymous with mete, and signifies properly the end line or boundary; the abuttal.
1913 Webster - The larger or thicker end of anything; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp end; as, the butt of a rifle. Formerly also spelled but. See 2nd but, n. sense 2.1913 Webster+PJC
- A mark to be shot at; a target.Sir W. Scott.1913 Webster
The groom his fellow groom at butts defies,
And bends his bow, and levels with his eyes.Dryden.1913 Webster - A person at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is directed; as, the butt of the company.1913 Webster
I played a sentence or two at my butt, which I thought very smart.
Addison.1913 Webster - A push, thrust, or sudden blow, given by the head of an animal; as, the butt of a ram.1913 Webster
- A thrust in fencing.1913 Webster
To prove who gave the fairer butt,
John shows the chalk on Robert's coat.Prior.1913 Webster - A piece of land left unplowed at the end of a field.1913 Webster
The hay was growing upon headlands and butts in cornfields.
Burrill.1913 Webster - (Mech.) (a) A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely together without scarfing or chamfering; -- also called butt joint. (b) The end of a connecting rod or other like piece, to which the boxing is attached by the strap, cotter, and gib. (c) The portion of a half-coupling fastened to the end of a hose.1913 Webster
- (Shipbuilding) The joint where two planks in a strake meet.1913 Webster
- (Carp.) A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, etc.; -- so named because fastened on the edge of the door, which butts against the casing, instead of on its face, like the strap hinge; also called butt hinge.1913 Webster
- (Leather Trade) The thickest and stoutest part of tanned oxhides, used for soles of boots, harness, trunks.1913 Webster
- The hut or shelter of the person who attends to the targets in rifle practice.1913 Webster
- The buttocks; as, get up off your butt and get to work; -- used as a euphemism, less objectionable than ass. [slang]
Syn. -- ass, rear end, derriere, behind, rump, heinie.PJCButt chain (Saddlery), a short chain attached to the end of a tug. -- Butt end. The thicker end of anything. See But end, under 2d But.
1913 WebsterAmen; and make me die a good old man!
That's the butt end of a mother's blessing.Shak.1913 WebsterA butt's length, the ordinary distance from the place of shooting to the butt, or mark. -- Butts and bounds (Conveyancing), abuttals and boundaries. In lands of the ordinary rectangular shape, butts are the lines at the ends (F. bouts), and bounds are those on the sides, or sidings, as they were formerly termed. Burrill. -- Bead and butt. See under Bead. -- Butt and butt, joining end to end without overlapping, as planks. -- Butt weld (Mech.), a butt joint, made by welding together the flat ends, or edges, of a piece of iron or steel, or of separate pieces, without having them overlap. See Weld. -- Full butt, headfirst with full force. [Colloq.] “The corporal . . . ran full butt at the lieutenant.” Marryat.
1913 Webster
- A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.
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Butt, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Butted; p. pr. & vb. n. Butting.] [OE. butten, OF. boter to push, F. bouter. See Butt an end, and cf. Boutade.]
- To join at the butt, end, or outward extremity; to terminate; to be bounded; to abut. [Written also but.]1913 Webster
And Barnsdale there doth butt on Don's well-watered ground.
Drayton.1913 Webster - To thrust the head forward; to strike by thrusting the head forward, as an ox or a ram. [See Butt, n.]1913 Webster
A snow-white steer before thine altar led,
Butts with his threatening brows.Dryden.1913 Webster
- To join at the butt, end, or outward extremity; to terminate; to be bounded; to abut. [Written also but.]
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Butt, v. t. To strike by thrusting the head against; to strike with the head.1913 Webster
Two harmless lambs are butting one the other.
Sir H. Wotton.1913 Webster -
Butt, n. [F. botte, boute, LL. butta. Cf. Bottle a hollow vessel.] A large cask or vessel for wine or beer. It contains two hogsheads.1913 Webster
☞ A wine butt contains 126 wine gallons (= 105 imperial gallons, nearly); a beer butt 108 ale gallons (= about 110 imperial gallons).
1913 Webster -
Butt, n. (Zool.) The common English flounder.1913 Webster