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B

B

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | | Copyright

B, b [Called ‘bee’]. The 2nd LETTER of the modern Roman ALPHABET as used for English. It descends from the Phoenician symbol bēth (‘house’), which was adopted by the Greeks as beta, B, then by the Romans as B.

Sound values

In English, b normally represents the voiced bilabial stop, with p as its voiceless equivalent: bad/pad. Word-final b is rare, occurring mainly in monosyllables (hub, rib, scab), but occasionally in longer words (superb, disturb, cherub).

Double B

(1) The doubling of b occurs when monosyllables with a short vowel are followed by -er, -ed, and -ing: rob/robber/robbed/robbing (contrast the phonetically long vowel in daub/dauber/daubed/daubing). (2) Many disyllables contain double b after a stressed short vowel (abbey, rabbit, ribbon, rubber, rubble), but many others do not (cabin, debit, double, habit, robin).

Silent B

B is silent after syllable-final m (dumb, numb, tomb), including in some words of Germanic origin in which it was formerly pronounced (climb, comb, dumb, lamb, womb) and in French-derived words with final mb (aplomb, bomb, jamb, plumb, succumb, tomb). In a number of words, a silent b has been added by analogy: crumb, limb, numb, thumb. In some of these, it was created by backformation from words of the type crumble, thimble (formerly without b). Crum began to be written with b in the 16c, but occurs without it in Johnson's dictionary (1755) and in some 19c dictionaries. Derivatives from mb-words mostly keep the silent b, as in climber, lambing, thumbing, but b is pronounced in such non-derivative polysyllables as cucumber, encumber, Humber, slumber. There is no b in dummy, derived from dumb, or crummy, derived from crumb, and although b is not pronounced finally in bomb, medial b is pronounced in bombard.

Epenthetic B

B is epenthetic in debt, doubt, and subtle, which entered English from French as dette, doute, and soutil. As in French, these words were given a b in deference to their Latin etymons debitum, dubitum, and subtilis. However, while French shed b in dette and doute in the 18c and came to pronounce the b in subtil, English has kept a silent b in all three. EPENTHESIS also occurs after medial m in some words: for example, Latin camera and numerus became French chambre and nombre, English chamber and number. Compare German fummeln and rummeln with English fumble and rumble.
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TOM McARTHUR. "B." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "B." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-B.html

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B

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

B1 / bē/ (also b) • n. (pl. Bs or B's ) 1. the second letter of the alphabet. ∎  the second highest class of academic mark. ∎  denoting the second-highest-earning socioeconomic category for marketing purposes, including intermediate management and professional personnel. ∎  (usu. b) the second constant to appear in an algebraic equation. ∎  the human blood type (in the ABO system) containing the B antigen and lacking the A. 2. (usu. B) Mus. the seventh note of the diatonic scale of C major. ∎  a key based on a scale with B as its keynote. PHRASES: plan B an alternative strategy: it's time I put plan B into action. B2 • abbr. ∎  black (used in describing grades of pencil lead): 2HB pencils. ∎  (in personal ads) Black. ∎  bomber (in designations of U.S. aircraft types): a B52. • symb. ∎  the chemical element boron. ∎  Physics magnetic flux density.

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"B." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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b

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

b. In scientific terminology, -ite is used after the type of Gr.-L. words in -ītēs or -ītis in names of fossils and minerals. In chem., it is used in the names of certain organic compounds, and in inorganic chem. is the termination of salts of acids denominated by adjs. in -ous, e.g. nitrite/nitrous. It forms also certain names of explosives, e.g. cordite, dynamite, and of commercial products such as ebonite, vulcanite, xylonite.
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T. F. HOAD. "b." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "b." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-b.html

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B

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

B. 7th degree of natural scale of C. So B♭, B♭♭, B♮, B♯, B♯♯, B major, B minor etc. In Ger., B=B♭ and B♭=B♭♭. The Eng. note B is represented in Ger. by H (hence composers can write fantasias on the name BACH, the notes being B♭–A–C–B♮. J. S. Bach himself used these notes in the unfinished final fugue of The Art of Fugue).
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "B." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "B." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-B.html

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "B." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-B.html

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B

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

B Second letter of the Roman-based w European alphabet, almost always representing a voiced bilabial plosive consonant or stop. It is probably derived from an Egyptian hieroglyph for a house (c.3000 bc), which became part of the Semitic alphabet about 1500 years later as the letter beth. From there it was taken to Greece (c.600 bc) to become beta, the forerunner of the Roman and thus the modern B.
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"B." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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B

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

B the second letter of the modern English alphabet and of the ancient Roman one, corresponding to Greek beta, Hebrew beth, used symbolically to denote the second of two or more hypothetical persons or things.See also not know a B from a battledore.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "B." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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B

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

B second letter of the alphabet . Its Greek correspondent is named beta. It is a usual symbol for a voiced bilabial stop. In musical notation it is used to represent a note in the scale. In chemistry B is the symbol of the element boron .

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B

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Copyright

B Used in textual criticism to denote Codex Vaticanus, a 4th-cent. parchment MS of the Greek OT and most of the NT, kept in the Vatican library since 1475 CE.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "B." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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b

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

b • abbr. ∎  (b.) born (used to indicate a date of birth): George Lloyd (b. 1913). ∎  billion.

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B

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | | Copyright

B. The second letter of the modern English alphabet was represented by beithe [birch] in the ogham alphabet of early Ireland.
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "B." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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b

A Dictionary of Computing | 2004 | | Copyright

b (or B) Symbols for byte.
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JOHN DAINTITH. "b." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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B

A Dictionary of Computing | 2004 | | Copyright

B A programming language derived from BCPL, developed in 1970 as an implementation language for the PDP-11 version of the UNIX operating system. Like BCPL, B was a type-free language: it was soon superseded by C, the main difference being the addition of types.
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B

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Copyright

B See boron.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "B." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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b

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Copyright

b See bar (1).
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "b." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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B

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences | 1998 | | Copyright

B See BORON.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "B." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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B

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | | Copyright

B See BAR.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "B." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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b

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations | 1998 | | Copyright

b Physics, symbol for barn
• Physics bottom (a quark flavour)
• indicating the second vertical row of squares from the left on a chessboard
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FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "b." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "b." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-b.html

FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "b." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-b.html

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