Acts xviii

14. If the matter be meane, and meanly handled, I pray you Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 22. To bring to bear. See bring . bear2 (bar), n. [ bere , bera D. beer = LG. baar = OHG. bero , MHG. ber , G. bär , m., = Icel. bera , f., a bear. Cf. Icel. Sw. Dan. björn , a bear (appar. = AS. beorn , a man, a warrior, orig. a bear?- see bern2 ), an extended form Grizzly Bear (Ursus horribilis). of the same word. Perhaps ult. = L. fer us , wild, fer a , a wild beast: see fierce .] 1. A large plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammal, of the family Ursidæ , especially of the genus Ursus . The teeth of the true bears are 42, and none of the molars are sectorial. The animals are le truly carnivorous than most of the order to which they belong, feeding largely upon roots, fruits, etc., as well as honey and insects. The tail is rudimentary, and the muzzle is prominent, with mobile lips and a slender, sometimes very extensile, tongue. The best-known species is the brown or black bear of Europe and Asia, Ursus arctos, found chiefly in northerly regions, of which several varie ties are described, differing much in size and color, and to some extent in shape; it is ordinarily about 4 feet long and 2 feet high; its flesh is eaten, its pelt is used for robes, and its fat is in great demand as an unguent known as bear's grease. The grizzly bear of North America, U. horribilis , is as regards specific cla ification hardly separable from the last, and like it runs into several varieties, as the cinnamon bear, etc. It is ordinarily larger than the European, and is noted for its ferocity and tenacity of life. It inhabits the mountainous portions of western North America. The common black bear of North America is a smaller and distinct species, U. american us , usually black with a tawny snout, but it also runs into a cinnamon variety. See cut under Ursus . The polar bear or white bear, Ursus or Thala arctos maritimus , is very distinct, bearbine 6. A popular name for certain common caterpillars of the family Arctiid a , which are densely covered with long hair resembling the fur of a bear. They undergo their transformation under old boards or other sheltered places, forming a slight cocoon composed chiefly of their own hair. Spilosoma Virginica (Fabric i us) is a common example; the moth is white with a black spots, the abdomen orange-colored, banded with white, and ornamented with three rows of black dots. See cut in preceding column. 7. In metal ., one of the names given to the metallic ma , consisting of more or le malleable iron, sometimes found in the bottom of an iron furnace after it has gone out of blast.8. Naut., a square block of wood weighted with iron, or a rough mat filled with sand, dragged to and fro on a ship's decks instead of a holystone (which see).-9. In metal working , a portable punching-machine for iron plates. E. H. Knight. -Bear's grease, the fat of bears, extensively used to promote the growth of hair. The unguents sold under this name, however, are in a great measure made of hog's lard or veal-fat, or a mixture of both, Punching-Bear. scented and slightly colored. - Order of The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: Dictionary IMG:content-1799.png:[ocr errors] IMG:content-1800.png:[graphic] the Bear, an order of knights instituted by the emperor Frederick II. of Germany, and centered at the abbey of St. Gall, in what is now Switzerland. It perished when the cantons became independent of the house of Austria. -Woolly bear. See woolly. bear2 (bar), v. t. [