before death. ante-mortem.
before the flood. antediluvian, antediluvial.
before the war. ante-bellum.
befuddle, v. [confuse], [mystify], [bewilder].
beg, v. [beseech], supplicate, [implore]; ask [alms].
beget, v. procreate, engender, [generate], [get].
begetter, n. procreator, generator, [father].
beggar, n. [mendicant], starveling, fakir, [vagrant], eleemosynary, prog, [tramp], bezonian, mumper, schnorrer ([Jewish]).
beggar, v. impoverish, [ruin]; [exhaust], [surpass], [go beyond].
beggarly, a. indigent, [destitute]; [despicable], [pitiable], paltry.