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Brazil Tea – Breech Loader

Brazil Tea

a tree the mate (ilex paraguayensis), the leaves of which are used in South America as a substitute for Chinese or India tea.

Brazing

the act of soldering together the surfaces of iron, copper, brass, etc., with an alloy composed of brass and zinc, sometimes with the addition of a little tin or silver.

Breach

the aperture or passage made in the wall of any fortified place by the ordnance of the besiegers for the purpose of entering the fortress.

Breaching batteries, are batteries of heavy guns intended to make a breach.

Breadalbane

a Highland district in the W. part of Perthshire, in the center of the Grampians. It gives its title to the Marquis of Breadalbane, head of a branch of the Campbell family, who is the chief proprietor here.

Bread Nut

the English name of brosimum, a genus of plants doubtfully placed at the end of the urticacex (nettleworts). The fruit of the B. alicastrum, or Jamaica bread nut, tastes like chestnut, and has been used to sustain negroes and others during times of scarcity.

Bread Rasp

a rasp used by bakers in removing the burnt crust of loaves and rolls, especially of French rolls.

Bread Room

a room or portion of the hold of a ship separated from the rest, and designed to furnish a place for the bread and biscuit on board.

Bread Root

the English name of the psoralea esculenta, a papilionaceous plant with quinate leaves and dense axillary spikes of flowers. It is found in the Rocky Mountain regions. Its roots are sweet and nutritious, and are eaten like potatoes.

Breech

in firearms and ordnance, the rear portion of a gun; the portion behind the chamber; in shipbuilding, the outer angle of a knee timber; the inner angle is the throat.

Breeches

a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs, and reaching to the knees. (Pantaloons, or trousers, are sometimes erroneously given this name.)

Breeches Bible

a name given to a Bible printed in 1579; and so called from the reading of Gen. iii: 7: "They sowed figge tree leaves together and made themselves breeches." Wyclif's version contains the same words.

Breech Loader

a firearm in which the charge is introduced at the rear instead of at the muzzle. The use of breach loaders goes back to the 16th century; indeed, it is probable that that form of arm is about as old as the muzzle loader.