But, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
Butted; p. pr. & vb. n. Butting.] See
Butt, v., and Abut,
v.
But, n. [See 1st But.]
1. A limit; a boundary.
2. The end; esp. the larger or thicker end, or the
blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end. See 1st Butt.
But end, the larger or thicker end; as, the but
end of a log; the but end of a musket. See Butt,
n.
But (?), n. [Cf. But, prep.,
adv. & conj.] The outer apartment or kitchen of a two-roomed
house; -- opposed to ben, the inner room. [Scot.]
But (bŭt), prep., adv. &
conj. [OE. bute, buten, AS. būtan,
without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be- +
ūtan outward, without, fr. ūt out. Primarily,
būtan, as well as ūt, is an adverb. √198.
See By, Out; cf. About.] 1.
Except with; unless with; without. [Obs.]
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 other particles; as,
but for, without, had it not been for. "Uncreated but for
love divine." Young.
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
enough to put him to ill thinking.
Shak.
4. Otherwise than that; that not; -- commonly,
after a negative, with that.
It cannot be but nature hath some director, of
infinite power, to guide 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 other hand; only; yet;
still; however; nevertheless; more; further; -- as connective of sentences
or clauses of a sentence, in a sense more or less exceptive or adversative;
as, the House of Representatives passed the bill, but the Senate
dissented; our wants are many, but quite of another 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 under 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 servant say in his heart, My lord
delayeth his coming; . . . the lord of that servant will come in a day when
he looketh not for him.
Luke xii. 45, 46.
But if, unless. [Obs.] Chaucer.
But this I read, that but if remedy
Thou her afford, full shortly I her dead shall see.
Spenser.
Syn. -- But, However, Still. These
conjunctions mark opposition in passing from one thought or topic to
another. But marks the opposition with a medium degree of strength;
as, this is not winter, but it is almost as cold; he requested my
assistance, but I shall not aid him at present. However is
weaker, and throws the opposition (as it were) into the background; as,
this is not winter; it is, however, almost as cold; he required my
assistance; at present, however, I shall not afford him aid. 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
enough; an error springing from the tendency to use strong words without
sufficient occasion." Bain.
{ Butt, But } (?), n. [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. bōzan,
akin to E. beat. See Beat, v. t.]
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 land, the word is nearly 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. Sir W.
Scott.
The groom his fellow groom at butts defies,
And bends his bow, and levels with his eyes.
Dryden.
4. A person at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is
directed; as, the butt of the company.
I played a sentence 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 land left unplowed at the end of a
field.
The hay was growing upon headlands and butts in
cornfields.
Burrill.
8. (Mech.) (a) A joint where
the ends of two objects come squarely together without scarfing or
chamfering; -- also called butt joint. (b)
The end of a connecting rod or other like piece, to which the boxing
is attached by the strap, cotter, and gib. (c)
The portion of a half-coupling fastened to the end of a
hose.
9. (Shipbuilding) The joint where two planks
in a strake meet.
10. (Carp.) 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 face, like the strap
hinge; also called butt hinge.
11. (Leather Trade) The thickest and
stoutest part of tanned oxhides, used for soles of boots, harness,
trunks.
12. The hut or shelter of the person who attends to
the targets in rifle practice.
Butt chain (Saddlery), 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 make me die a good old man!
That's the butt end of a mother's blessing.
Shak.
A butt's length, the ordinary distance from the
place of shooting to the butt, or mark. -- Butts and
bounds (Conveyancing), abuttals and boundaries. In
lands of the ordinary rectangular shape, butts are the lines at the
ends (F. bouts), and bounds are those on the
sides, or sidings, as they were formerly termed.
Burrill. -- Bead and butt. See under
Bead. -- Butt and butt, joining end to
end without overlapping, as planks. -- Butt weld
(Mech.), 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. [Colloq.] "The corporal . . . ran
full butt at the lieutenant." Marryat.