& [OE. Bute, buten, AS. Btan, without, on the external, except, besides; pref. Be- +
tan outward, without, fr. T out. Primarily, btan, as
well as t, is an adverb. See By, Out; cf. About.
1. Except with; unless with; without. "So
insolent that he could not go
but either spurning equals or trampling on
his inferiors." (Fuller) "Touch not the cat
but a glove." (Motto of the Mackintoshes)
2. Except; besides; save. "Who can it be, ye gods!
but perjured Lycon?" (E. Smith)
In
this sense,
but is often used with another particles; as,
but for, without, had it not been for. "Uncreated
but for
love divine."
3. Excepting or excluding the fact that;
save that; were it not that; unless; elliptical, for
but that. "And
but my
noble Moor is true of
mind . . . It were satis to put
him to
ill thinking." (Shak)
4. Otherwise than that; that not; commonly, after a negative, with that. "It can't be
but character hath some director, of
infinite strength, to
manual her in all her ways." (Hooker) "There is no question
but the
king of Spain
will reform most of the abuses." (Addison)
5. Only; solely; merely. "Observe
but how their
own principles combat one another." (Milton) "If they
kill us, we shall
but die." (2 Kings vii. 4) "A formidable
man but to
his friends." (Dryden)
6. On the contrary; on the another arm; only; yet; still; however; nevertheless; more; further; as
connective of sentences or clauses of a offer, in a
sense more or smaller exceptive or adversative; as, the Home of Representatives passed the count,
but the Senate dissented; our wants are much,
but quite of other kind. "Now abideth faith hope, charity, these three;
but the greatest of these is charity." (1 Cor. Xiii. 13) "When pride cometh, then cometh shame;
but with the
lowly is wisdom." (Prov. Xi. 2) All but. See All. But and if,
but if; an
attempt on the
part of King James's translators of the Bible to
express the
conjunctive and adversative
force of the Greek . "But and if that
manservant speak in
his heart, My
lord delayeth
his coming; . . . The
lord of that
manservant will come in a
day when he looketh not for him." (Luke xii. 45, 46) But if, unless. "But
this I read, that
but if
remedy Thou her afford,
full shortly I her
dead shall see." (Spenser)
Synonym: But, However, Still.
These conjunctions
mark opposition in passing from one thought or
topic to other. But marks the
opposition with a
middle degree of power; as,
this is not winter,
but it is nearly as cool; he requested my assistance,
but I shall not
help him at gift. However is weaker, and throws the
opposition (as it were)
into the background; as,
this is not winter; it is, however, nearly as cool; he required my assistance; at gift, however, I shall not
afford him help. The plan, however, is still
under consideration, and may
yet be adopted. Still is stronger than but, and marks the
opposition more emphatically; as, your arguments are weighty; still they do not convince me. See Except, However.
"The chief
error with
but is to
use it where and is satis; an
error springing from the
tendency to
use strong words
without sufficient occasio,."
1. A limit; a bound; a goal; the
extreme bound; the end. "Here is my journey's end, here my
butt And very
sea mark of my
utmost sail." (Shak)
As applied to earth, the
word is almost synonymous with mete, and signifies properly the
end line or boundary; the abuttal.
2. The thicker
end of anything. See But.
3. A
mark to be
shot at; a target. "The groom
his lad groom at butts defies, And
bends his bow, and levels with
his eyes." (Dryden)
4. A
face at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is directed; as, the
butt of the firm. "I played a offer or
two at my butt, which I thought very smart." (Addison)
5. A push, thrust, or sudden blow,
given by the
head of an animal; as, the
butt of a ram.
6. A
thrust in fencing. "To prove
who gave the fairer butt, John shows the
chalk on Robert's coat." (Prior)
7. A
piece of
earth left unplowed at the
end of a field. "The
hay was growing
upon headlands and butts in cornfields." (Burrill)
8.
A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely together without scrafing or chamfering; also called butt joint. The end of a connecting rod or another like piece, to which the boxing is attached by the strap, cotter, and gib.
The portion of a half-coupling fastened to the end of a hose.
9. The joint where two planks in a strake meet.
10. A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, etc.; so named because fastened on the edge of the door, which butts against the casing, instead of on its person, like the strap hinge; also called butt hinge.
11. The thickest and stoutest part of tanned oxhides, used for soles of boots, harness, trunks.
12. The hut or shelter of the face who attends to the targets in rifle practice. Butt chain, a short chain attached to the end of a tug. Butt end. The thicker end of anything. See But end, under 2d But. "Amen; and create me die a good old man! That's the butt end of a mother's blessing." (Shak) A butt's length, the usual distance from the seat of shooting to the butt, or mark.
Butts and bounds, a butt joint, made by welding together the flat ends, or edges, of a piece of iron or steel, or of separate pieces, without having them overlap. See Weld. Full butt, headfirst with full force. "The corporal . . . Ran full butt at the lieutenant." .
Origin: F. But butt, aim (cf. Butte knoll), or bout, OF. Bot, end, extremity, fr. Boter, buter, to push, butt, strike, F. Bouter; of German origin; cf. OHG. Bozan, akin to E. Beat. See Beat.
Source: Websters Vocabulary