Bitch

[Fr. biche; A. S. bicca, bicce, bice; Ger. betze, probably from Slav. bitzn, to run, to be in heat.] The female of the canine kind, as the dog, the wolf, the fox, . (Sometimes called slut.) "And at his feet a bitch wolf suck did yield To two young babes." - Spenser. -A name of reproach for a woman. "John had not run a madding so long, had it not been for an extravagant bitch of a wife." - Arbuthnot . is put in a horse's mouth. Biton'to, a town of S. Italy, prov. Terra di Bari, 10 m. W.S.W. of Bari. This is a fine town, and its environs produce an excellent wine called sagarillo , in which an extensive trade is carried on. Pop . 26,643. Bitt, or BIT, ( bit . ) [Fr. bittes .] ( Naut . ) One of the strong but short pieces of timber projecting vertically from the deck of a ve el, in the fore-part, close to either side, and strongly secured to the beams on which the deck planks are laid. They are placed in pairs, and are principally used for fastening the cable when the ship is at anchor or moored alongside a quay. There are many kinds of bitts used for different purposes in shipbuilding, and distinguished by various names. -v. a. ( Naut.) To put round the bits, as a cable; to bit. Bit'ten, part. from BITE, q. v. Bit'ter, a . [A. S. biter , from bit an , to bite; Ger. bitter , from beitzen ; L. Sax. biten .] Acrid, or sharp and biting to the tongue or taste; having a hot, pungent, acrid taste, like wormwood; as, bitter as aloes. "The food that now to him is as luscious as locusts, shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida." Shaks . -Piercing; painful; inclement; as, bitter cold weather. "The fowl the borders fly, And shun the bitter blast, and wheel about the sky."-Dryden. -Calamitous; poignant; susceptible of inflicting pain or distre ; as, a bitter remembrance. first precipitate has been thrown down. Salt-water hav. ing been boiled, and the salt in it precipitated, the res idue is the article known as B. From this liquor, which is a solution of an impure sulphate of magnesia, epsom salts and bromine are procured. Bit'terne , n . Quality of being bitter. - A bitter taste; as, an unpleasant sourne and bitterne . - Malice: hatred; implacability; sharpne of temper; sorrow, vexation; affliction. Bitter Root River, in Montana Territory, rising in the Rocky Mountains, and after a N. course, entering Clark's River.