Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

BUCK

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 720 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

BUCK . (r) (From the O. Eng. buc, a he-See also:

goat, and bucca, a male See also:deer), the male of several animals, of goats, See also:hares and rabbits, and particularly of the See also:fallow-deer. During the 18th See also:century the word was used of a spirited, reckless See also:young See also:man of See also:fashion, and later, with particular reference to extravagance in See also:dress, of a See also:dandy. (2) (From a See also:root See also:common to See also:Teutonic and See also:Romance See also:languages, cf. the Ger. Bauch, Fr. buee, and Ital. bucata), the See also:bleaching of clothes in See also:lye, also the lye itself, and the clothes to be bleached, so a " buck-See also:basket " means a basket of clothes ready for the See also:wash. (3) Either from an obsolete word meaning " See also:body," or from the sense of bouncing or See also:jumping, derived from (1), a word now only found in See also:compound words, as " buck-See also:board," a See also:light four-wheeled vehicle, the See also:primitive See also:form of which has one or more seats on a springy board, joining the front and See also:rear axles and serving both as springs and body; a " buck-See also:wagon " (Dutch, bok-wagen) is a See also:South See also:African See also:cart with a See also:frame projecting over the wheels, used for the transport of heavy loads. (4) (Either from " buck " a he-goat, or from a common Teutonic root, to See also:bend, as seen in the Ger. bi cken, and Eng. " See also:bow "), a verb meaning " to leap "; seen especially in the compound " buck-jumper," a See also:horse which leaps clear off the ground, with feet tucked together and arched back, descending with fore-feet rigid and See also:head down and See also:drawn inwards. BUCK-See also:BEAN, or See also:BOG-BEAN (Menyanthes trifoliate, a member of the See also:Gentian See also:family), a bog-plant with a creeping See also:stem, alternately arranged large leaves each with three leaflets, and spikes of See also:white or See also:pink See also:flowers. The stout stem is See also:bitter and has tonic and febrifuge properties. The plant is widely distributed through the See also:north temperate See also:zone.

End of Article: BUCK

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
BUCHU, or BUKA LEAVES 		[next]
BUCK, CARL DARLING (1866– )

Site © 2006 - Net Industries