Azure

(a'zhur.) [It. azzurro.] The blue color of the sky. -(Painting.) A. formerly signified lapis-lazuli, and the B. the second letter and first consonant in all European B, and most other alphabets, is formed by a quick emi ion of the breath, and a sudden opening of the lips; it is therefore called a labial, and its pronunciation differs but slightly from p and v. As an abbreviation, it is used for Bachelor, as B.A. Bachelor of Arts, B.D. Bachelor of Divinity; for Bath, as C. B. Companion of the Bath; for bene, as N. B. nota bene (mark well), . As a numeral among the Romans, B stood for 300, and, with a dash over it, for 3000. B, in the ecclesiastical calendar, is one of the dominical letters. B, in chemistry, is the symbol of the metal Boron. (Mus.) B is the seventh note in the gamut, corresponding to the French si. The Germans, by B standing alone, understand B flat; they call B natural H. [s. 66]