bulletn.1
/ˈbʊlᵻt/, U.S. /ˈbʊlət/ 1. (In modern use this sense is transferred from 3.)
a. A small round ball.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > [noun] > sphericity or globularity > sphere > very small sphere or pellet
pellet1381
pillc1450
bullet1578
boulet1605
peloton1716
bolus1782
pilole-
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. viii. 15 Upon the braunches [of the burdock] there groweth small bullets or rounde balles.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. lv. 515 It [the Reed Grass] bringeth foorth his boullettes, or prickley knoppes in August.
1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity 241 If a Beast were made of little wax bullets sticking together.
1845 New Statist. Acct. Scotl. XI. 146 Small gold bullets..seem to have been the current coin.
b. A small nugget.
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1889 K. Munroe Golden Days x. 112 In the clay he was..likely to strike ‘bullets’, lumps,..or pockets of pure gold.
c. In plural (slang). Beans or peas.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > pulse > [noun]
pulse1297
pulse corn1297
codwarea1398
legumen?a1425
pedware1577
legume1597
bullet1929
1929 Papers Michigan Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. 10 282/2 Bullets, beans.
1943 J. L. Hunt & A. G. Pringle Service Slang 18 Bullets, peas.
1963 Daily Mail 26 Aug. 4/3 He [sc. a schoolboy] calls peas ‘bullets’.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or ball > cannonball
stone of iron1511
bullet1557
bombard1575
round shot1576
cannonball1606
pill1618
shot1622
bumbass1663
round1707
thunder-stone1822
bolt1871
nigger baby1872
1557 R. Record Whetstone of Witte sig. Pivv A Gonne..doeth shotte a bollet of twentiepound weighte.
1562 P. Whitehorne Certain Waies Orderyng Souldiers f. 33, in tr. N. Machiavelli Arte of Warre If the boolet of a peese of ordinaunce wayghe .xxi. pounde.
1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 1103 A Shippe before Greenewich..shotte off hir Ordinance, one peece beeing charged with a bullet of stone.
1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. D4v Raise spleens big as a cannon bullet, Within your bosomes.
1703 London Gaz. No. 3914/5 Their Forces..fired several Red-hot Bullets into the Town.
1882 J. H. Shorthouse John Inglesant (new ed.) II. 378 More than once a cannon bullet burst into the Minster.
3. figurative.1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. iii. 228 Shall quippes and sentences, and these paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the carreere of his humor? View more context for this quotation
a. A ball of lead or other metal, used in firearms of small calibre; now often conical. Formerly also collective (cf. ball n.1 5b).
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell > bullet
bullet1579
lead1598
slug1622
lead towel1812
blue pill1834
1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 20 The Souldier is sooner killed with a little bullet, then a long Swoorde.
1652 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 134 Ammunition..found in the Castle of Bradock..700 weight of Musket Bullet.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 17 June 81 The man was not hurt by the bullet.
1839 tr. A. de Lamartine Trav. in East 48/1 Beschir..precipitated himself from the top of it under a shower of bullets.
b. figurative. slang. Notice to quit, the ‘sack’.
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society > occupation and work > lack of work > [noun] > dismissal or discharge
discharginga1398
discharge1523
quietus est1530
conduction1538
cassing1550
remove1553
destitution1554
mittimus1596
dismissionc1600
quietus1635
removal1645
cashierment1656
separation1779
dismissing1799
dismissala1806
to give (a person) the sack1825
bullet1841
congee1847
decapitation1869
G.B.1880
the shove1899
spear1912
bob-tail1915
severance1941
sacking1958
termination1974
1841 W. Savage Dict. Art of Printing (at cited word) When a workman, at case or press, either for neglect, want of punctuality, or for gross misconduct, is discharged instanter, and the usual notice of ‘a fortnight’ is not given, it is said, He has got the Bullet.
1868 T. Wright Great Unwashed 254 [One] who has..got ‘the bullet’, as the formal note intimating that, ‘owing to a reduction of our establishment your services will no longer be required’, is called among working men.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 101 To shake the bullet at any one, is to threaten him with ‘the sack’, but not to give him actual notice to leave.
1887 Punch 17 Sept. 126/1 I have just got the ‘bullet’, Mate—sacked without notice.
1929 Melody Maker Jan. 9/1 You and your band are getting the bullet, Bert Ambrose is taking over the Savoy in your place.
1960 H. Pinter Caretaker i. 10 The guvnor give me the bullet. Making too much commotion, he says.
1967 Crescendo Oct. 14/1 It was only the boss's inherent good nature that saved me from the bullet.
4.
a. Formerly: the missile from a sling; also attributive.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > [noun] > missile discharged from weapon > from sling
sling-stonec1374
bullet1587
1587 G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 88v The arrowes flewe from side to side, The bullot stones did walke.
1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia iii. ix. 319 Captaine Roger Harvie, received severall bruises with stones and Iron bullets flung upon them.
1807 J. Robinson Archæol. Græca iv. iii. 349 In slinging, they whirled it twice or thrice about the head, and then cast the bullet.
1852 G. Grote Hist. Greece IX. ii. lxx. 122 The Greeks..obtained..lead for bullets to be used by the slingers.
b. The angler's plumb or sinker.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > weight > [noun]
plumbc1450
plummet1577
leada1609
sinker1785
swan-shot1856
sinkstone1857
net sinker1865
net-weight1865
sink1865
bullet1867
block-shot1883
shotting1979
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling i. 34 It is not desirous to plump..the bullet into the water.
c. A high-speed type of aeroplane, e.g. the small Bristol scout.
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1916 H. Rosher In Royal Naval Air Service 136 (plate) A Bristol Scout Biplane (or ‘Bullet’).
1918 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks pl. xvii In 1912 came..Prevost's Gordon-Bennett ‘Bullet’.
1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station x. 149 The Bristol ‘Bullet’ was a high-performance, single-seater, tractor machine.
5. plural. Scottish. The game of bowls. [Compare Old French boulete in same sense.]
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1843 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 No. 11. 58 In the eastern district of Berwickshire the game was called bowls or bullets.
6. U.S. An ace in the game of brag or poker; esp in two bullets and a bragger (see bragger n. 2): a winning hand; also figurative.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > poker > [noun] > type of hand
two bullets and a bragger1807
full1843
full hand1846
pat hand1865
blind hand1872
full house1879
blaze1880
tiger1889
kilter1895
drawing hand1910
bust1932
made hand1974
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > number card > ace > in specific game
Tiba1658
bullet1807
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > poker > [noun] > type of card > ace
bullet1878
1807 Salmagundi 31 Dec. 391 One of them..exclaimed triumphantly, ‘Two bullets and a bragger!’ and swept all the money into his pocket.
1841 Spirit of Times (N.Y.) 23 Oct. 402 Zenith, Magnate, and Jim Bell are ‘two bullets and a bragger’ that Kentucky can ‘travel on’ and ‘pay expenses’.
1878 F. H. Hart Sazerac Lying Club 151 ‘Here's four bullets,’ said Brown, as he reached for the pot.
1889 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang I. 196/1 The highest hand in the game is three white (or real) aces, the next highest is ‘two bullets and a bragger’.
Phrases
Phrases. †every bullet has its lighting place. every bullet has its billet (see billet n.1 4). †full bullet: of full size. †bullet in mouth: ready for action (cf. bouche n.1 2). to bite (on) the bullet: see bite v. Phrases 2a.
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the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > [phrase] > full-size
full bullet1575
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > in preparation [phrase] > in a state of preparation or readiness > for action or work
to be in the saddle1581
ball, bullet in (en) bouche1582
bullet in mouth1692
in wind1768
on deck1867
1575 G. Gascoigne Fruites of Warre lxvii, in Posies sig. Hviii Euery bullet hath a lighting place.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry IV cxxv, in Poems (1878) IV. 32 Some Minds are cast Full Bullett to the widest mouth of Sin.
1692 Siege Lymerick 31 The said Garrison to march out..with Arms..Bullet in Mouth, Colours flying.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xix. 192 It is an established axiom, that ‘every bullet has its billet’.
Compounds
C1. General attributive bullet-head n.
a.
bullet-bag n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > bullet-bag
bullet-bag1598
bullet-pouch1757
ball bag1778
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 34 On his right side a Bullet bagge or purse of canuas..for bullets.
1652 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 170 Behind the hangings were found 66 Muskets..and the bullet bagges filled with new cast bullets.
bullet-boy n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > production and development of arms > armourer > [noun] > one who makes artillery or firearms > one who makes bullets
bullet-maker1644
bullet-boy1876
1876 Daily News 18 Oct. 3/6 A bullet boy in the Royal Arsenal, was brought up from Maidstone gaol.
bullet-buttons n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > fastenings > button > types of
hair-button1593
frog1635
bar-button1685
frost button1686
sleeve-button1686
berry-button1702
stud1715
pearl button1717
breast button1742
bell-button1775
shell button1789
red button1797
olivet1819
bullet-buttons1823
basket-button1836
all-over1838
top1852
olive1890
pearly1890
nail head1892
1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers I. v. 70 A frock of bottle-green with bullet buttons.
bullet-gun n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > other small arms
long gun1530
currier1558
crabut1626
long arm1675
bullet-guna1701
hand cannon1752
wall-gun1812
walking-stick gun1823
shoulder gun1824
safety gun1825
gas gun1856
self-cocker1857
bolt action1871
snap action gun1875
saddle gun1886
multibarrel1899
dane gun1900
clip-loader1901
pump-action1923
sleeve gun1944
laser gun1961
phaser1966
magnum1970
a1701 H. Maundrell Acct. Journey from Aleppo in Journey to Jerusalem (1721) 3 A long bullet-gun could not shoot a ball over it.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
bullet-hole n.
bullet-maker n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > production and development of arms > armourer > [noun] > one who makes artillery or firearms > one who makes bullets
bullet-maker1644
bullet-boy1876
1644 W. Prynne & C. Walker True Relation Prosecution N. Fiennes 17 The said Governour..had..A Match-make[r], a Bullet-maker.
bullet-mark n.
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1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table v. 115 A bullet-mark on his right cheek.
bullet-mould n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > production and development of arms > [noun] > manufacture of firearms and ammunition > instruments > for making bullets or shot
bullet-bore1678
bullet-mould1678
well1835
colander1875
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iii. 48 The making of Bullet Molds.
bullet-pouch n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > bullet-bag
bullet-bag1598
bullet-pouch1757
ball bag1778
1757 Earl of Loudoun & P. Lyman Gen. Orders of 1757 (1899) 65 The Deficiency of Powder Horns & Bullet Pouches.
1849 F. Parkman Calif. & Oregon Trail 20 His bullet-pouch and powder-horn hung at his side.
b.
bullet-less adj.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [adjective] > types of bullet or shot > furnished with bullets or shot > not
shotless1798
unshotted1802
bullet-less1878
1878 E. W. Clark Life & Adventure Japan 185 Throwing volley after volley of bulletless smoke into the stubborn ranks of the enemy.
bullet-like adj.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > bullet-shaped
bulleted1582
bullety1846
bullet-like1874
1874 J. Lubbock Orig. & Metamorphoses Insects i. 10 The species making the bullet-like galls.
bullet-proof adj.
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society > armed hostility > defence > [adjective] > proof against weapons
cannon-proof1588
pistol-proof1590
sword-proofa1593
musket-proof1603
arrow-proof1612
shot-free1616
bomb-proof1702
splinter-proof1834
bullet-proof1856
metal proof1906
hard1958
the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or invulnerable > specific
pistol-proof1590
sword-proofa1593
fireproof1610
plot proofa1616
shot-free1616
stick-free1632
armour-proof1635
water-free1642
sting-free1644
iron-free1670
bomb-proof1702
ball-proof1759
bear-proof1840
bullet-proof1856
dingo-proof1873
aseismic1884
tamperproof1886
radioresistant1922
tamper-resistant1978
1856 J. Grant Black Dragoon xxxvi Others..believed in bulletproof men, and put in a silver coin with their bullets.
bullet-riddled adj.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [adjective] > shot by bullets
riddled1785
shot1837
bullet-swept1897
bullet-riddled1905
1905 Daily Chron. 10 Jan. 4/5 The head of the drum was so bullet-riddled that it resembled a sieve.
bullet-swept adj.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [adjective] > shot by bullets
riddled1785
shot1837
bullet-swept1897
bullet-riddled1905
1897 Westm. Gaz. 3 June 2/2 The bullet-swept square.
1901 ‘Linesman’ Words by Eyewitness (1902) 33 The bullet-swept hills above Ladysmith.
C2. † bullet-bore n. Obsolete a tool for finishing the interior of a bullet-mould.† bullet-iron n. Obsolete (see quot.).
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > production and development of arms > [noun] > manufacture of firearms and ammunition > instruments > for making bullets or shot
bullet-bore1678
bullet-mould1678
well1835
colander1875
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iii. 53 The Bullet-bore is a Shank of Steel, having a steel Globe or Bullet at one end, just of your intended Bullets size.
bullet-bush n. (see quot.).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > trees or plants bearing stone fruit > plum-tree > types of
damson treea1398
bullace-treec1440
bullester1500
bullace1616
lote-tree1640
Catherine plum1691
white plum1696
bullet-bush1732
lotus1760
wild plum1838
wild-goose plum1909
apricot plum1957
1732 C. Mortimer in Philos. Trans. 1731–2 (Royal Soc.) 37 177 Prunus Buxi folio cordato, fructu nigro rotundo. The Bullet-Bush.
bullet-drawer n. an instrument for extracting bullets from wounds.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > instruments for extracting foreign bodies
ground-drawer1598
upheaver1598
crow-bill1611
probang1657
stork's bill1671
goose-bill1676
alphonsine1688
protracter1726
protractor1728
bullet-drawer1752
parasol probang1882
coin-catcher1895
1752 Philos. Trans. 1749–50 (Royal Soc.) 46 85 The Extraction of it..by the Bullet-drawers.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [noun] > type of iron > other types of iron
landiron1428
wood-iron1536
bullate1591
bullet-iron1686
tough-iron1686
Russia iron1751
Russian iron1758
sable1785
Russia1805
stub-iron1820
bushel-iron1831
Russia sheet-iron1835
stub-nail iron1839
stub Damascus1845
Berlin iron1854
charcoal-iron1858
Bessemer iron1864
tank-iron1864
ship-plate1873
ingot iron1877
tank-plate1892
structural1895
Armco1914
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. ix. 374 Spanish or Swedish barrs, here called bullet-Iron.
bullet-money n. (see quot.).
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society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > other mediums of exchange > [noun] > metal in specific shape
larin1588
ring-money1759
wheel-money1861
bullet-money1879
spade-coin1892
spade-money1892
knife-money1901
1879 H. Phillips Addit. Notes upon Coins 13 The ‘bullet-money’ of Siam is formed by bringing together the ends of oval pieces of silver.
bullet-shell n. a shell used with small arms.
Draft additions 1993
bullet train n. a passenger train which travels at very high speeds; esp. the Japanese Shinkansen.
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society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > train > passenger train > high-speed
bullet train1966
advanced passenger train1967
APT1967
Shinkansen1968
Metroliner1969
TGV1980
sprinter1984
1966 Economist 14 May 698/2 Before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the Japanese slapped the finishing touches on the world's longest monorail system and the world's fastest ‘bullet train’.
1988 Nature 11 Feb. 474/3 The train offers a smooth bump-free ride and can climb steeper inclines than a conventional bullet train.
Draft additions March 2006
Typography. A symbol (originally and esp. a round dot) used to mark or emphasize a paragraph, an item in a list, etc.
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1950 N.Y. News Type Bk. 109/1 (heading) Accessories... Boxes... Bullets... Solid Diamonds.
1960 K. B. Butler & G. C. Likeness Pract. Handbk. Borders, Ornamentation & Boxes iii. 28/2 Small ornaments..are primarily useful as type-breakers, story-starters, and story-enders, in which instances they are usually referred to as dingbats, bullets, or spots.
1971 F. K. Baskette & J. Z. Sissors Art of Editing xiv. 317 Some editors have tried using various-sized dots or bullets at the beginning of a paragraph as a means of breaking up large gray masses of type.
1982 A. Shaw Dict. Amer. Pop/Rock 61 Billboard currently uses the bullet on singles charts to designate a disk that has sold one million units or more.
1993 Compute Jan. s8/3 Think about how interesting it would be to use your company logo as a bullet in a bulleted list.
Draft additions March 2006
bullet point n. a concise statement or summary marked with a typographical bullet, esp. one of several in a list (also in extended use); (also) a typographical bullet.
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1983 Datamation Sept. 221/1 Each chapter concludes with a bullet-point list of ‘things to think about’ or ‘things to remember’, which is particularly helpful if it's been a few days between chapters.
1989 Which Computer? (Nexis) Apr. 73 The typefaces include..a Symbol typeface providing simple graphics such as stars, bullet points, stylised telephones, etc.
1999 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 7 Nov. x. 1/1 He told the senior citizens in Monroe that he was about to give them the ‘bullet points’ of his program.
2004 New Statesman 6 Sept. 26/2 Taking Action is studded with bullet points saying what the British government is going to do next.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
† bulletn.2
Obsolete. rare.
1. = billet n.1 4.
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society > armed hostility > military organization > logistics > quartering > [noun] > order to provide lodging for soldier
bullet1612
billet1640
1612 Mr. King tr. Benvenuto Passenger i. iv. 279 There is a bullet for the warrant of your lodging.
2. A slip of paper on which the voter wrote the name of the candidate he supported. Cf. bulletin n.
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the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > expression of choice by some approved method > [noun] > means of signifying choice > voting-paper
bullet1615
billet1627
proxy1660
policy1670
ballot1710
scrutiny1728
voting paper1815
ballot paper1818
onion skin1879
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 230 Elected by the Great Master and his Knights, who giue their voices by bullets, as do the Venetians.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
bulletv.
/ˈbʊlᵻt/, U.S. /ˈbʊlət/ transitive. To shoot with a bullet.Apparently an isolated use.
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1884 Gilbart-Smith Log o' the ‘Norseman’ 135 A veritable stuffed pig, born, bred, and bulleted in Albania.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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