de from various fibers and used especially
for clothing.

bedizen
Ornament or dress in a showy or gaudy manner.

belladonna (deadly nightshade)
Poisonous Eurasian perennial herb (Atropa belladonna) with solitary,
nodding, purplish-brown, bell-shaped flowers and glossy black berries.
An alkaloidal extract of this plant used in medicine.

benne (sesame)
Tropical Asian plant (Sesamum indicum) bearing small flat seeds used as
food and as a source of oil.

benzoin
Balsamic resin obtained from certain tropical Asian trees of the genus
Styrax and used in perfumery and medicine. Also called benjamin, gum
benjamin, gum benzoin. A white or yellowish crystalline compound, C14
H12 O2, derived from benzaldehyde.

berberine
Bitter-tasting yellow alkaloid, C20H19NO5, from several plants such as
goldenseal. Used medically as an antipyretic and antibacterial agent.

bergamot
Small tree (Citrus aurantium subsp. bergamia) grown in southern Italy
for its sour citrus fruits. The rinds yield an aromatic oil (bergamot
oil) used in perfume.

beri-beri
Deficiency of thiamine, endemic in eastern and southern Asia and
characterized by neurological symptoms, cardiovascular abnormalities,
and edema.

Berserker
Ancient Norse warriors legendary for working themselves into a frenzy
before a battle and fighting with reckless savagery and insane fury.

bijouterie
Collection of trinkets or jewelry; decorations.

bilious
Relating to bile. Excess secretion of bile. Gastric distress caused by a
disorder of the liver or gallbladder. Resembling bile, especially in
color: a bilious green. Peevish disposition; ill-humored.

bistort
Eurasian perennial herb (Polygonum bistorta) with cylindrical spikes of
pink flowers and a rhizome used as an astringent in folk medicine.

blue flag
Several irises with blue or blue-violet flowers, especially Iris
versicolor of eastern North America.

blue stone (blue vitriol, blue copperas, chalcanthite)
Hydrated blue crystalline form of copper sulfate.

bobbinet
Machine-woven net fabric with hexagonal meshes.

boil
Painful, circumscribed pus-filled inflammation of the skin and
subcutaneous tissue usually caused by a local staphylococcal infection.
Also called furuncle.

bolster
Long narrow pillow or cushion.

bombazine
Fine twilled fabric of silk and worsted or cotton, often dyed black for
mourning clothes.

boracic acid (