#151 bivouac

bivouac- a temporary encampment with few facilities, as used by soldiers, mountaineers

-C18 from French bivuac, from Swiss German beiwacht- by+watch

The company was attacked yesterday while they were in bivouac.

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#150 bisque

bisque- a thick rich soup made from shellfish; a pink to yellowish tan colour

- C17 French; modern, shortened from biscuit

The bisque tablecloth complemented the floral serving ware.

Nothing against the curried corn chowder at Dishes, but the corn and pumpkin bisque is BY FAR the best soup.

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#149 bise

bise- a cold dry northerly wind in Switzerland and the neighbouring parts of France and Italy, usually in the spring

- C14 from Old French, of Germanic origin; compare Old Swedish bisa- whirlwind

A wind called the bise had been blowing for the last twenty-four hours, and when we left Vevey the gale was so strong, that the steam-boat had great difficulty in getting ahead.

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#148 birkie

birkie- a spirited or lively person; a foolish posturer

- Scottish from C18 related to Old English beorcan to bark; or Old Norse berkia

A birkie is a conceited, forward fellow.

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#147 bio/bi

bio/bi- combining form- indicating life or living organisms; indicating a human life or career- biography, biopic

- from Greek bios- life

Many, many words begin with bio or bi - an important prefix with many applications to ecology etc.

For example, bioluminescence- the production of light by living organisms...

-biomass- the total number of living organisms in a given area...

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#146 billow

billow- a large sea wave, a swelling or surging mass, as of smoke or sound; also verb- to rise up, swell out

- interesting etymology- C16 from Old Norse bylgja, Swedish bolja, Danish bolg, Middle German bulge

As the billow is at its height, before it combs over, the fisherman sees the sunlight gleaming through it -- an ecstasy of perfect lucid green, with the glimmer of yellow sand behind.

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#145 billabong

billabong- a stagnant pool in the bed of an intermittent stream; a branch of a river running to a dead end

- C19 from native Australian, from billa- river+bong- dead

We saw birds, and Molly claimed to have caught a glimpse of a crocodile sunk in an inky billabong.

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