Random Image

You are here: Random Image > Words beginning with b > Random Image for bassa

Possible definitions for bassa

balsa
Tree (Ochroma pyramidale, or O. lagopus) of the bombax family (Bombacaceae), native to tropical S. America and noted for its extremely light wood, which resembles clear white pine or basswood. Because of its buoyancy (about twice that of cork), balsa is well adapted for making floats for lifelines and life preservers. Its resiliency makes it an excellent shock-absorbing packing material. Its insulating properties make it a good lining material for incubators, refrigerators, and cold-storage rooms. Because it combines lightness and high insulating power, it is a valuable construction material for transportation containers for solidified carbon dioxide. It is also used in the construction of airplane passenger compartments and in model airplanes and boats.


balsam
Aromatic resinous substance that flows from a plant, either spontaneously or from an incision, and is used chiefly in medicinal preparations. Some of the more aromatic varieties are used in incense. Balsam of Peru, a fragrant, thick, deep brown or black fluid used in perfumes, is a true balsam, from a lofty leguminous tree, Myroxylon pereirae, native to and introduced into Sri Lanka. Balsam of Tolu (Colombia) is used in perfumes and in cough syrups and lozenges; it hardens with age. Canada balsam and Mecca balsam are not true balsams.


Bashan
Ancient country, E Palestine. Frequently cited in the Old Testament and later important in the Roman empire, it was located in what is now Syria. In New Testament times, Bashan ranked as one of the great granaries of the Roman empire. One of its towns, Bozrah (Roman Bostra), was important to both Nabataea and Rome. Augustus made Herod the Great ruler of Bashan, and in AD 106 Trajan brought the whole Nabataean kingdom under the empire in creating the province of Arabia, with Bostra as its capital. The country went into decline in the 7th cent. as Muslims took over the area.


Basra
City (pop., 1987 est.: 407,000), SE Iraq. It lies at the head of the Shatt al Arab, about 75 mi (120 km) from the Persian Gulf. Founded in AD 638, it became famous under the Abbasid dynasty; in TheThousand and One Nights it was the city from which Sinbad set out. In the 17th-18th cent. it became a trading center. Occupied by the British in World War I, the town and port underwent many improvements and grew in importance. After World War II, the growth of Iraq's petroleum industry turned Basra into a major refining center. It suffered heavy damage in the Iran-Iraq and Persian Gulf wars.


bass
Lowest musical voice or register. In vocal music, its range is approximately from the second E below middle C to middle C itself. A basso profundo emphasizes a lower register, a basso cantante a somewhat higher one. Outside of Russia, the solo bass voice has generally been relegated to certain standard operatic character roles. The lowest-pitched member of most instrumental families is ...

Top words beginning with B: bravi, butoxy, battalia, bias, butung, beset, benzoperoxide, beguine, barinaga, blackbush, bifurcate, baizas, bivinyls, blithehearted, besodden, bogled, boland, backbenchers, bacterid, braziery

More words beginning with B.

Browse the alphabet: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z