b 1 or B  (b ē)
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n. pl. b's or B's also bs or Bs 1. The second letter of the modern English alphabet. 2. Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter b. 3. The second in a series. 4. Something shaped like the letter B. 5. B The second best or second highest in quality or rank: a mark of B on an English theme. 6. Music a. The seventh tone in the scale of C major or the second tone in the relative minor scale. b. A key or scale in which B is the tonic. c. A written or printed note representing this tone. d. A string, key, or pipe tuned to the pitch of this tone. 7. B One of the four major blood groups in the ABO system. Individuals with this blood group have the B antigen on the surface of their red blood cells, and the anti-A antibody in their blood serum.  (click for a larger image) illuminated letter, The Book of WondersThis 14th-century French manuscript chronicles the travels of Marco Polo. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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