Bisque

(bisk.) [Fr. ] (Fine Arts.) Akind of unglazed white porcelain, used in the modelling of statuary.(Cookery.) A soup made of several kinds of meat stewed together. (bis-sekstil.) (From L. bis, twice, and seat us, sixth.] (Calendar.) Leap-year, a year happening overy 4th year, and every fourth hundredth year, and consisting of366 days, on account of the addition of a day in the month of Feb., which then consists of 29 days. This day is added to include the nearly six hours which the sun takes up in his course, besides the 365 days allowed for it in other years. According to the Roman method of counting the days of the months, the 24th of Feb. was called Sexto Calendas Martii (the sixth day before the calends of March); and when the calendar was corrected by Julius Cæsar, the day added every 4th year was inserted in Feb.; but to prevent interruption in the order of counting the days, the 24th of Feb. was taken twice, the inserted day being named " bis sexto Calendas Martii"(the 2d6th day before the calends of March). As the year does not consist of quite 6 hours more than 365 days, adding a whole day every 4th year would gradually cause another error, like that removed by the Greg or i an correction (see CALENDAR); and to prevent this, only the hundredth years whose numbers are divisible by 4, are leap-years. Thus 1900 is not a leap-year, since 19 is not divisible by 4; but 2000 will be a leap-year, since 20 is so divisible. Black- [s. 95]