Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages)

by Noah Webster

<— p. 138 —>

BenÏzo¶ic (?), a. [Cf. F. benzo‹que.] Pertaining to, or obtained from, benzoin.
Benzoic acid, or flowers of benzoin, a peculiar vegetable acid, C6H5.CO2H, obtained from benzoin, and some other balsams, by sublimation or decoction. It is also found in the urine of infants and herbivorous animals. It crystallizes in the form of white, satiny flakes; its odor is aromatic; its taste is pungent, and somewhat acidulous. Ð Benzoic aldehyde, oil of bitter almonds; the aldehyde, C6H5.CHO, intermediate in composition between benzoic or benzyl alcohol, and benzoic acid. It is a thin colorless liquid.
BenÏzoin¶ (?), n. [Cf. F. benjoin, Sp. benjui, Pg. beijoin; all fr. Ar. lub¾nÐj¾wÆ incense form Sumatra (named Java in Arabic), the first syllable being lost. Cf. Benjamin.] [Called also benjamin.] 1. A resinous substance, dry and brittle, obtained from the Styrax benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, Java, etc., having a fragrant odor, and slightly aromatic taste. It is used in the preparation of benzoic acid, in medicine, and as a perfume.
2. A white crystalline substance, C14H12O2, obtained from benzoic aldehyde and some other sources.
3. (Bot.) The spicebush (Lindera benzoin).
Flowers of benzoin, benzoic acid. See under Benzoic.
BenÏzoin¶aÏted (?), a. (Med.) Containing or impregnated with benzoin; as, benzoinated lard.
Ben¶zole Ben¶zol } (?), n. [Benzoin + L. oleum oil.] (Chem.) An impure benzene, used in the arts as a solvent, and for various other purposes. See Benzene.
µ It has great solvent powers, and is used by manufacturers of India rubber and gutta percha; also for cleaning soiled kid gloves, and for other purposes.
Ben¶zoÏline (?), n. (Chem.) (a) Same as Benzole. (b) Same as Amarine. [R.]
Watts.
Ben¶zoyl (?), n. [Benzoic + Gr. ? wood. See Ïyl.] (Chem.) A compound radical, C6H5.CO; the base of benzoic acid, of the oil of bitter almonds, and of an extensive series of compounds. [Formerly written also benzule.]
Ben¶zyl (?), n. [Benzoic + Ïyl.] (Chem.) A compound radical, C6H5.CH2, related to toluene and benzoic acid; Ð commonly used adjectively.
BeÏpaint¶ (?), v. t. To paint; to cover or color with, or as with, paint.
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek.
Shak.
BeÏpelt¶ (?), v. t. To pelt roundly.
BeÏpinch¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bepinched (?).] To pinch, or mark with pinches.
Chapman.
BeÏplas¶ter (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Beplastered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Beplastering.] To plaster over; to cover or smear thickly; to bedaub.
Beplastered with rouge.
Goldsmith.
BeÏplumed¶ (?), a. Decked with feathers.
BeÏpom¶mel (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bepommeled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bepommeling.] To pommel; to beat, as with a stick; figuratively, to assail or criticise in conversation, or in writing.
Thackeray.
BeÏpow¶der (?), v. t. To sprinkle or cover with powder; to powder.
BeÏpraise¶ (?), v. t. To praise greatly or extravagantly.
Goldsmith.
BeÏprose¶ (?), v. t. To reduce to prose. [R.] ½To beprose all rhyme.¸
Mallet.
BeÏpuffed¶ (?), a. Puffed; praised.
Carlyle.
BeÏpur¶ple (?), v. t. To tinge or dye with a purple color.
BeÏqueath¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bequeathed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bequeathing.] [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe?an to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. beÏ + cwe?an to say, speak. See Quoth.] 1. To give or leave by will; to give by testament; Ð said especially of personal property.
My heritage, which my dead father did bequeath to me.
Shak.
2. To hand down; to transmit.
To bequeath posterity somewhat to remember it.
Glanvill.
3. To give; to offer; to commit. [Obs.]
To whom, with all submission, on my knee
I do bequeath my faithful services
And true subjection everlastingly.
Shak.
Syn. Ð To Bequeath, Devise. Both these words denote the giving or disposing of property by will. Devise, in legal usage, is property used to denote a gift by will of real property, and he to whom it is given is called the devisee. Bequeath is properly applied to a gift by will or legacy; i. e., of personal property; the gift is called a legacy, and he who receives it is called a legatee. In popular usage the word bequeath is sometimes enlarged so as to embrace devise; and it is sometimes so construed by courts.
BeÏqueath¶aÏble (?), a. Capable of being bequeathed.
BeÏqueath¶al (?), n. The act of bequeathing; bequeathment; bequest.
Fuller.
BeÏqueath¶ment (?), n. The act of bequeathing, or the state of being bequeathed; a bequest.
BeÏquest¶ (?), n. [OE. biquest, corrupted fr. bequide; pref. beÏ + AS. cwide a saying, becwe?an to bequeath. The ending Ïest is probably due to confusion with quest. See Bequeath, Quest.] 1. The act of bequeathing or leaving by will; as, a bequest of property by A. to B.
2. That which is left by will, esp. personal property; a legacy; also, a gift.
BeÏquest¶, v. t. To bequeath, or leave as a legacy. [Obs.] ½All I have to bequest.¸
Gascoigne.
BeÏqueth¶en (?), old p. p. of Bequeath. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
BeÏquote¶ (?), v. t. To quote constantly or with great frequency.
BeÏrain (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Berained (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Beraining.] To rain upon; to wet with rain. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
BeÏrate¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Berated; p. pr. & vb. n. Berating.] To rate or chide vehemently; to scold. Holland. Motley.
BeÏrat¶tle (?), v. t. To make rattle; to scold vociferously; to cry down. [Obs.] Shak.
BeÏray¶ (?), v. t. [Pref. beÏ + ray to defile.] To make foul; to soil; to defile. [Obs.] Milton.
ØBer¶be (?), n. [Cf. Berber, Barb a Barbary horse.] (Zo”l.) An African genet (Genetta pardina). See Genet.
Ber¶ber (?), n. [See Barbary.] A member of a race somewhat resembling the Arabs, but often classed as Hamitic, who were formerly the inhabitants of the whole of North Africa from the Mediterranean southward into the Sahara, and who still occupy a large part of that region; Ð called also Kabyles. Also, the language spoken by this people.
Ber¶berÏine (?), n. (Chem.) An alkaloid obtained, as a bitter, yellow substance, from the root of the barberry, gold thread, and other plants.
Ber¶berÏry (?), n. See Barberry.
Ber¶dash (?), n. A kind of neckcloth. [Obs.]
A treatise against the cravat and berdash. Steele.
Bere (?), v. t. [Cf. OIcel. berja to strike.] To pierce. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Bere, n. See Bear, barley. [Scot.]
BeÏreave¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bereaved (?), Bereft (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bereaving.] [OE. bireven, AS. bere fian. See BeÏ, and Reave.]
1. To make destitute; to deprive; to strip; Ð with of before the person or thing taken away.
Madam, you have bereft me of all words. Shak.
Bereft of him who taught me how to sing. Tickell.
2. To take away from. [Obs.]
All your interest in those territories
Is utterly bereft you; all is lost. Shak.
3. To take away. [Obs.]
Shall move you to bereave my life. Marlowe.
µ The imp. and past pple. form bereaved is not used in reference to immaterial objects. We say bereaved or bereft by death of a relative, bereft of hope and strength.
Syn. Ð To dispossess; to divest.
BeÏreave¶ment (?), n. The state of being bereaved; deprivation; esp., the loss of a relative by death.
BeÏreav¶er (?), n. One who bereaves.
BeÏreft (?), imp. & p. p. of Bereave.
BeÏret¶ta (?), n. Same as Berretta.
Berg (?), n. [?95. See Barrow hill, and cf. Iceberg.] A large mass or hill, as of ice.
Glittering bergs of ice. Tennyson.
Ber¶gaÏmot (?), n. [F. bergamote, fr. It. bergamotta; prob. a corruption of Turk. beg arm?di a lord's pear.] 1. (Bot.) (a) A tree of the Orange family (Citrus bergamia), having a roundish or pearÏshaped fruit, from the rind of which an essential oil of delicious odor is extracted, much prized as a perfume. Also, the fruit. (b) A variety of mint (Mentha aquatica, var. glabrata).
2. The essence or perfume made from the fruit.
3. A variety of pear. Johnson.
4. A variety of snuff perfumed with bergamot.
The better hand … gives the nose its bergamot. Cowper.
5. A coarse tapestry, manufactured from flock of cotton or hemp, mixed with ox's or goat's hair; Ð said to have been invented at Bergamo, Italy. Encyc. Brit.
Wild bergamot (Bot.), an American herb of the Mint family (Monarda fistulosa).
Ber¶ganÏder (?), n. [Berg, for burrow + gander a male goose ? Cf. G. bergente, Dan. gravgaas.] (Zo”l.) A European duck (Anas tadorna). See Sheldrake.
Ber¶gerÏet (?), n. [OF. bergerete, F. berger a shepherd.] A pastoral song. [Obs.]
Bergh (?), n. [AS. beorg.] A hill. [Obs.]
Berg¶mas·ter (?), n. See Barmaster.
Berg¶meal (?), n. [G. berg mountain + mehl meal.] (Min.) An earthy substance, resembling fine flour. It is composed of the shells of infusoria, and in Lapland and Sweden is sometimes eaten, mixed with flour or ground birch bark, in times of scarcity. This name is also given to a white powdery variety of calcite.
Berg¶mote (?), n. See Barmote.
Ber¶goÏmask (?), n. A rustic dance, so called in ridicule of the people of Bergamo, in Italy, once noted for their clownishness.
Ber¶gylt (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zo”l.) The Norway haddock. See Rosefish.
BeÏrhyme¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Berhymed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Berhyming.] To mention in rhyme or verse; to rhyme about. [Sometimes use depreciatively.] Shak.
ØBe·riÏbe¶ri (?), n. [Singhalese beri weakness.] An acute disease occurring in India, characterized by multiple inflammatory changes in the nerves, producing great muscular debility, a painful rigidity of the limbs, and cachexy.
BeÏrime¶ (?), v. t. To berhyme. [The earlier and etymologically preferable spelling.]
BerkeÏle¶ian (?), a. Of or relating to Bishop Berkeley or his system of idealism; as, Berkeleian philosophy. Ð Berke¶leyÏism , n.
Ber¶lin (?), n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A fourÏwheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin.
2. Fine worsted for fancyÏwork; zephyr worsted; Ð called also Berlin wool.
Berlin black, a black varnish, drying with almost a dead surface; Ð used for coating the better kinds of ironware. Ure. Ð Berlin blue, Prussian blue. Ure. Ð Berlin green, a complex cyanide of iron, used as a green dye, and similar to Prussian blue. Ð Berlin iron, a very fusible variety of cast iron, from which figures and other delicate articles are manufactured. These are often stained or lacquered in imitation of bronze. Ð Berlin shop, a shop for the sale of worsted embroidery and the materials for such work. Ð Berlin work, worsted embroidery.
Berm Berme } (?), n. [F. berme, of German origin; cf. G. brame, br„me, border, akin to E. brim.] 1. (Fort.) A narrow shelf or path between the bottom of a parapet and the ditch.
2. (Engineering) A ledge at the bottom of a bank or cutting, to catch earth that may roll down the slope, or to strengthen the bank.
BerÏmu¶da grass· (?). (Bot.) A kind of grass (Cynodon Dactylon) esteemed for pasture in the Southern United States. It is a native of Southern Europe, but is now wideÏspread in warm countries; Ð called also scutch grass, and in Bermuda, devil grass.
Ber¶naÏcle (?), n. See Barnacle.
Ber¶na fly· (?). (Zo”l.) A Brazilian dipterous insect of the genus Trypeta, which lays its eggs in the nostrils or in wounds of man and beast, where the larv‘ do great injury.
Ber¶narÏdine (?), a. Of or pertaining to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, or to the Cistercian monks. Ð n. A Cistercian monk.
BerÏnese¶ (?), a. Pertaining to the city o? canton of Bern, in Switzerland, or to its inhabitants. Ð n. sing. & pl. A native or natives of Bern.
Ber¶niÏcle (?), n. [OE. bernak, bernacle; cf. OF. bernac; prob. fr. LL. bernacula for hibernicula, bernicula, fr. Hibernia; the birds coming from Hibernia o? Ireland. Cf. 1st Barnacle.] A bernicle goose. [Written also barnacle.]
Bernicle goose (Zo”l.), a goose (Branta leucopsis), of Arctic Europe and America. It was formerly believed that it hatched from the cirripeds of the sea (Lepas), which were, therefore, called barnacles, goose barnacles, or Anatifers. The name is also applied to other related species. See Anatifa and Cirripedia.
BerÏnouse¶ (?), n. Some as Burnoose.
BeÏrob¶ (?), v. t. To rob; to plunder. [Obs.]
ØBer¶oÏe (?), n. [L. Beroe, one of the Oceanid‘ Gr. ?: cf. F. bero‚.] (Zo”l.) A small, oval, transparent jellyfish, belonging to the Ctenophora.
BerÏret¶ta (?), n. [It., fr. LL. birrettum, berretum, a cap, dim. of L. birrus, birrum, a cloak to keep off rain, cf. Gr. ? tawny, red: cf. Sp. birreta, Pg. barrete, and E. Barret.] A square cap worn by ecclesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church. A cardinal's berretta is scarlet; that worn by other clerics is black, except that a bishop's is lined with green. [Also spelt beretta, biretta, etc.]
Ber¶ried (?), a. Furnished with berries; consisting of a berry; baccate; as, a berried shrub.
Ber¶ry (?), n.; pl. Berries. [OE. berie, AS. berie, berige; akin to D. bes, G. beere, OS. and OHG. beri, Icel. ber, Sw. b„r, Goth. basi, and perh. Skr. bhas to eat.]
1. Any small fleshy fruit, as the strawberry, mulberry, huckleberry, etc.
2. (Bot.) A small fruit that is pulpy or succulent throughout, having seeds loosely imbedded in the pulp, as the currant, grape, blueberry.
3. The coffee bean.
4. One of the ova or eggs of a fish.
Travis.
In berry, containing ova or spawn.
Ber¶ry, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Berried (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Berrying.] To bear or produce berries.
Ber¶ry, n. [AS. beorh. See Barrow a hill.] A mound; a hillock.
W. Browne.
Ber¶ryÏing, n. A seeking for or gathering of berries, esp. of such as grow wild.
Ber¶serk (?), Ber¶serkÏer (?), } n. [Icel. berserkr.] 1. (Scand. Myth.) One of a class of legendary heroes, who fought frenzied by intoxicating liquors, and naked, regardless of wounds.
Longfellow.
2. One who fights as if frenzied, like a Berserker.
Bers¶tle (?), n. See Bristle. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Berth (?), n. [From the root of bear to produce, like birth nativity. See Birth.] [Also written birth.]
1. (Naut.) (a) Convenient sea room. (b) A room in which a number of the officers or ship's company mess and reside. (c) The place where a ship lies when she is at anchor, or at a wharf.
2. An allotted place; an appointment; situation or employment. ½He has a good berth.¸
Totten.
3. A place in a ship to sleep in; a long box or shelf on the side of a cabin or stateroom, or of a railway car, for sleeping in.
Berth deck, the deck next below the lower gun deck. Ham. Nav. Encyc. Ð To give (the land or any object) a wide berth, to keep at a distance from it.
Berth, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Berthed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Berthing.] 1. To give an anchorage to, or a place to lie at; to place in a berth; as, she was berthed stem to stern with the Adelaide.
2. To allot or furnish berths to, on shipboard; as, to berth a ship's company.
Totten.
Ber¶tha (?), n. [F. berthe, fr. Berthe, a woman's name.] A kind of collar or cape worn by ladies.
Berth¶age (?), n. A place for mooring vessels in a dock or harbor.
Ber¶thiÏerÏite (?), n. [From Berthier, a French naturalist.] (Min.) A double sulphide of antimony and iron, of a dark steelÏgray color.
Berth¶ing (?), n. (Naut.) The planking outside of a vessel, above the sheer strake.
Smyth.
Ber¶tram (?), n. [Corrupted fr. L. pyrethrum, Gr. ? a hot spicy plant, fr. ? fire.] (Bot.) Pellitory of Spain (Anacyclus pyrethrum).

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Ber¶yÏcoid (?), a. [NL. beryx, the name of the typical genus + Ïoid.] (Zo”l.) Of or pertaining to the Berycid‘, a family of marine fishes.
Ber¶yl (?), n. [ F. b‚ryl, OF. beril, L. beryllus, Gr. ?, prob. fr. Skr. vaid?rya. Cf. Brilliant.] (Min.) A mineral of great hardness, and, when transparent, of much beauty. It occurs in hexagonal prisms, commonly of a green or bluish green color, but also yellow, pink, and white. It is a silicate of aluminium and glucinum (beryllium). The aquamarine is a transparent, seaÏgreen variety used as a gem. The emerald is another variety highly prized in jewelry, and distinguished by its deep color, which is probably due to the presence of a little oxide of chromium.
Ber¶ylÏline (?), a. Like a beryl; of a light or bluish green color.
BeÏryl¶liÏum (?), n. [NL.] (Chem.) A metallic element found in the beryl. See Glucinum.
Ber¶ylÏloid (?), n. [Beryl + Ïoid.] (Crystallog.) A solid consisting of a double twelveÏsided pyramid; Ð so called because the planes of this form occur on crystals of beryl.
BeÏsaiel¶, BeÏsaile¶, BeÏsayle¶ (?), n. [OF. beseel, F. bisa‹eul, fr. L. bis twice + LL. avolus, dim. of L. avus grandfather.] 1. A greatÐgrandfather. [Obs.]
2. (Law) A kind of writ which formerly lay where a greatÏgrandfather died seized of lands in fee simple, and on the day of his death a stranger abated or entered and kept the heir out. This is now abolished.
Blackstone.
BeÏsaint¶ (?), v. t. To make a saint of.
BeÏsant¶ (?), n. See Bezant.
BesÐant¶ler (?), n. Same as BezÐantler.
BeÏscat¶ter (?), v. t. 1. To scatter over.
2. To cover sparsely by scattering (something); to strew. ½With flowers bescattered.¸
Spenser.
BeÏscorn¶ (?), v. t. To treat with scorn. ½Then was he bescorned.¸
Chaucer.
BeÏscratch¶ (?), v. t. To tear with the nails; to cover with scratches.
BeÏscrawl¶ (?), v. t. To cover with scrawls; to scribble over.
Milton.
BeÏscreen¶ (?), v. t. To cover with a screen, or as with a screen; to shelter; to conceal.
Shak.
BeÏscrib¶ble (?), v. t. To scribble over. ½Bescribbled with impertinences.¸
Milton.
BeÏscum¶ber (?), BeÏscum¶mer (?), } v. t. [Pref. beÏ + scumber, scummer.] To discharge ordure or dung upon. [Obs.]
B. Jonson.
BeÏsee¶ (?), v. t. & i. [AS. bese¢n; pref. beÏ + ?e¢n to see.] To see; to look; to mind. [Obs.]
Wyclif.
BeÏseech¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besought (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Beseeching.] [OE. bisechen, biseken (akin to G. besuchen to visit); pref. beÏ + sechen, seken, to seek. See Seek.] 1. To ask or entreat with urgency; to supplicate; to implore.
I beseech you, punish me not with your hard thoughts.
Shak.
But Eve … besought his peace.
Milton.
Syn. Ð To beg; to crave. Ð To Beseech, Entreat, Solicit, Implore, Supplicate. These words agree in marking that sense of want which leads men to beg some favor. To solicit is to make a request, with some degree of earnestness and repetition, of one whom we address as a superior. To entreat implies greater urgency, usually enforced by adducing reasons or arguments. To beseech is still stronger, and belongs rather to the language of poetry and imagination. To implore denotes increased fervor of entreaty, as addressed either to equals or superiors. To supplicate expresses the extreme of entreaty, and usually implies a state of deep humiliation. Thus, a captive supplicates a conqueror to spare his life. Men solicit by virtue of their interest with another; they entreat in the use of reasoning and strong representations; they beseech with importunate earnestness; they implore from a sense of overwhelming distress; they supplicate with a feeling of the most absolute inferiority and dependence.
BeÏseech¶, n. Solicitation; supplication. [Obs. or Poetic]
Shak.
BeÏseech¶er (?), n. One who beseeches.
BeÏseech¶ing, a. Entreating urgently; imploring; as, a beseeching look. Ð BeÏseech¶ingÏly, adv. Ð BeÏseech¶ingÏness, n.
BeÏseech¶ment (?), n. The act of beseeching or entreating earnestly. [R.]
Goodwin.
BeÏseek¶ (?), v. t. To beseech. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
BeÏseem¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Beseemed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Beseeming.] [Pref. beÏ + seem.] Literally: To appear or seem (well, ill, best, etc.) for (one) to do or to have. Hence: To be fit, suitable, or proper for, or worthy of; to become; to befit.
A duty well beseeming the preachers.
Clarendon.
What form of speech or behavior beseemeth us, in our prayers to God ?
Hocker.
BeÏseem¶, v. i. To seem; to appear; to be fitting. [Obs.] ½As beseemed best.¸
Spenser.
BeÏseem¶ing, n. 1. Appearance; look; garb. [Obs.]
I … did company these three in poor beseeming.
Shak.
2. Comeliness.
Baret.
BeÏseem¶ing, a. Becoming; suitable. [Archaic] Ð BeÏseem¶ingÏly, adv. Ð BeÏseem¶ingÏness, n.
BeÏseem¶ly, a. Fit; suitable; becoming. [Archaic]
In beseemly order sitten there.
Shenstone.
BeÏseen¶ (?), a. [Properly the p. p. of besee.]
1. Seen; appearing. [Obs. or Archaic]
2. Decked or adorned; clad. [Archaic]
Chaucer.
3. Accomplished; versed. [Archaic]
Spenser.
BeÏset¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Beset; p. pr. & vb. n. Besetting.] [AS. besettan (akin to OHG. bisazjan, G. besetzen, D. bezetten); pref. beÏ + settan to set. See Set.] 1. To set or stud (anything) with ornaments or prominent objects.
A robe of azure beset with drops of gold.
Spectator.
The garden is so beset with all manner of sweet shrubs that it perfumes the air.
Evelyn.
2. To hem in; to waylay; to surround; to besiege; to blockade. ½Beset with foes.¸
Milton.
Let thy troops beset our gates.
Addison.
3. To set upon on all sides; to perplex; to harass; Ð said of dangers, obstacles, etc. ½Adam, sore beset, replied.¸ Milton. ½Beset with ills.¸ Addison. ½Incommodities which beset old age.¸ Burke.
4. To occupy; to employ; to use up. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Syn. Ð To surround; inclose; environ; hem in; besiege; encircle; encompass; embarrass; urge; press.
BeÏset¶ment (?), n. The act of besetting, or the state of being beset; also, that which besets one, as a sin. ½Fearing a besetment.¸
Kane.
BeÏset¶ter (?), n. One who, or that which, besets.
BeÏset¶ting, a. Habitually attacking, harassing, or pressing upon or about; as, a besetting sin.
BeÏshine¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Beshone; p. pr. & vb. n. Beshining.] To shine upon; to ullumine.
ØBeÏshow¶ (?), n. [Native name.] (Zo”l.) A large food fish (Anoplopoma fimbria) of the north Pacific coast; Ð called also candlefish.
BeÏshrew¶ (?), v. t. To curse; to execrate.
Beshrew me, but I love her heartily.
Shak.
µ Often a very mild form of imprecation; sometimes so far from implying a curse, as to be uttered coaxingly, nay even with some tenderness.
Schmidt.
BeÏshroud¶ (?), v. t. To cover with, or as with, a shroud; to screen.
BeÏshut¶ (?), v. t. To shut up or out. [Obs.]
BeÏside¶ (?), prep. [OE. biside, bisiden, bisides, prep. and adv., beside, besides; pref. beÏ by + side. Cf. Besides, and see Side, n.] 1. At the side of; on one side of. ½Beside him hung his bow.¸
Milton.
2. Aside from; out of the regular course or order of; in a state of deviation from; out of.
[You] have done enough
To put him quite beside his patience.
Shak.
3. Over and above; distinct from; in addition to. [In this use besides is now commoner.]
Wise and learned men beside those whose names are in the Christian records.
Addison.
To be beside one's self, to be out ob one's wits or senses.
Paul, thou art beside thyself.
Acts xxvi. 24.
Syn. Ð Beside, Besides. These words, whether used as prepositions or adverbs, have been considered strictly synonymous, from an early period of our literature, and have been freely interchanged by our best writers. There is, however, a tendency, in present usage, to make the following distinction between them: 1. That beside be used only and always as a preposition, with the original meaning ½by the side of; ¸ as, to sit beside a fountain; or with the closely allied meaning ½aside from¸, ½apart from¸, or ½out of¸; as, this is beside our present purpose; to be beside one's self with joy. The adverbial sense to be wholly transferred to the cognate word. 2. That besides, as a preposition, take the remaining sense ½in addition to¸, as, besides all this; besides the considerations here offered. ½There was a famine in the land besides the first famine.¸ Gen. xxvi. 1. And that it also take the adverbial sense of ½moreover¸, ½beyond¸, etc., which had been divided between the words; as, besides, there are other considerations which belong to this case. The following passages may serve to illustrate this use of the words: Ð
Lovely Thais sits beside thee.
Dryden.
Only be patient till we have appeased
The multitude, beside themselves with fear.
Shak.
It is beside my present business to enlarge on this speculation.
Locke.
Besides this, there are persons in certain situations who are expected to be charitable.
Bp. Porteus.
And, besides, the Moor
May unfold me to him; there stand I in much peril.
Shak.
That man that does not know those things which are of necessity for him to know is but an ignorant man, whatever he may know besides.
Tillotson.
See Moreover.
BeÏsides¶ (?), BeÏside¶ (?), } adv. [OE. Same as beside, prep.; the ending Ïs is an adverbial one, prop. a genitive sign.] 1. On one side. [Obs.]
Chaucer. Shak.
2. More than that; over and above; not included in the number, or in what has been mentioned; moreover; in addition.
The men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides ?
Gen. xix. 12.
To all beside, as much an empty shade,
An Eugene living, as a C‘sar dead.
Pope.
µ These sentences may be considered as elliptical.
BeÏsides (?), prep. Over and above; separate or distinct from; in addition to; other than; else than. See Beside, prep., 3, and Syn. under Beside.
Besides your cheer, you shall have sport.
Shak.
BeÏsiege¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besieged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Besieging.] [OE. bisegen; pref. beÏ + segen to siege. See Siege.] To beset or surround with armed forces, for the purpose of compelling to surrender; to lay s?ege to; to beleaguer; to beset.
Till Paris was besieged, famished, and lost.
Shak.
Syn. Ð To environ; hem in; invest; encompass.
BeÏsiege¶ment (?), n. The act of besieging, or the state of being besieged.
Golding.
BeÏsie¶ger (?), n. One who besieges; Ð opposed to the besieged.
BeÏsie¶ging (?), a. That besieges; laying siege to. Ð BeÏsie¶gingÏly, adv.
BeÏsit¶ (?), v. t. [Pref. beÏ + sit.] To suit; to fit; to become. [Obs.]
BeÏslab¶ber (?), v. t. To beslobber.
BeÏslave¶ (?), v. t. To enslave. [Obs.]
Bp. Hall.
BeÏslav¶er (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Beslavered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Beslavering.] To defile with slaver; to beslobber.
BeÏslime¶ (?), v. t. To daub with slime; to soil. [Obs.]
B. Jonson.
BeÏslob¶ber (?), v. t. To slobber on; to smear with spittle running from the mouth. Also Fig.: as, to beslobber with praise.
BeÏslub¶ber (?), v. t. To beslobber.
BeÏsmear¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besmeared (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Besmearing.] To smear with any viscous, glutinous matter; to bedaub; to soil.
Besmeared with precious balm.
Spenser.
BeÏsmear¶er (?), n. One that besmears.
BeÏsmirch¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besmirched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Besmirching.] To smirch or soil; to disoolor; to obscure. Hence: To dishonor; to sully.
Shak.
BeÏsmoke¶ (?), v. t. 1. To foul with smoke.
2. To harden or dry in smoke.
Johnson.
BeÏsmut¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besmutted; p. pr. & vb. n. Besmutting.] [Pref. beÏ + smut: cf. AS. besmÆtan, and also OE. besmotren.] To blacken with smut; to foul with soot.
BeÏsnow¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besnowed (?).] [OE. bisnewen, AS. besnÆwan; pref. beÏ + snÆwan to snow.] 1. To scatter ? snow; to cover thick, as with snow flakes. [R.]
Gower.
2. To cover with snow; to whiten with snow, or as with snow.
BeÏsnuff¶ (?), v. t. To befoul with snuff.
Young.
BeÏsogne¶ (?), n. [F. bisogne.] A worthless fellow; a bezonian. [Obs.]
Be¶som (?), n. [OE. besme, besum, AS. besma; akin to D. bezem, OHG pesamo, G. besen; of uncertain origin.] A brush of twigs for sweeping; a broom; anything which sweeps away or destroys. [Archaic or Fig.]
I will sweep it with the besom of destruction.
Isa. xiv. 23.
The housemaid with her besom.
W. Irving.
Be¶som, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besomed (?).] To sweep, as with a besom. [Archaic or Poetic]
Cowper.
Rolls back all Greece, and besoms wide the plain.
Barlow.
Be¶somÏer (?), n. One who uses a besom. [Archaic]
BeÏsort¶ (?), v. t. To assort or be congruous with; to fit, or become. [Obs.]
Such men as may besort your age.
Shak.
BeÏsort¶, n. Befitting associates or attendants. [Obs.]
With such accommodation and besort
As levels with her breeding.
Shak.
BeÏsot¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besotted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Besotting.] To make sottish; to make dull or stupid; to stupefy; to infatuate.
Fools besotted with their crimes.
Hudibras.
BeÏsot¶ted, a. Made sottish, senseless, or infatuated; characterized by drunken stupidity, or by infatuation; stupefied. ½Besotted devotion.¸ Sir W. Scott. Ð BeÏsot¶tedÏly, adv. Ð BeÏsot¶tedÏness, n.
Milton.
BeÏsot¶tingÏly, adv. In a besotting manner.
BeÏsought¶ (?), p. p. of Beseech.
BeÏspan¶gle (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bespangled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespangling (?).] To adorn with spangles; to dot or sprinkle with something brilliant or glittering.
The grass … is all bespangled with dewdrops.
Cowper.
BeÏspat¶ter (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bespattered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespattering.] 1. To soil by spattering; to sprinkle, esp. with dirty water, mud, or anything which will leave foul spots or stains.
2. To asperse with calumny or reproach.
Whom never faction could bespatter.
Swift.
BeÏspawl¶ (?), v. t. To daub, soil, or make foul with spawl or spittle. [Obs.]
Milton.
BeÏspeak¶ (?), v. t. [imp. Bespoke (?), Bespake (Archaic); p. p. Bespoke, Bespoken (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespeaking.] [OE. bispeken, AS. besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. beÏ + sprecan to speak. See Speak.] 1. To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a favor.
Concluding, naturally, that to gratify his avarice was to bespeak his favor.
Sir W. Scott.
2. To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate.
[They] bespoke dangers … in order to scare the allies.
Swift.
3. To betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or appearances.
When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so little the figure of a man that it bespoke him rather a monster.
Locke.
4. To speak to; to address. [Poetic]
He thus the queen bespoke.
Dryden.
BeÏspeak¶, v. i. To speak. [Obs.]
Milton.
BeÏspeak¶, n. A bespeaking. Among actors, a benefit (when a particular play is bespoken.) ½The night of her bespeak.¸
Dickens.
BeÏspeak¶er (?), n. One who bespeaks.
BeÏspec¶kle (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bespeckled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespeckling.] To mark with speckles or spots.
Milton.
BeÏspew¶ (?), v. t. To soil or daub with spew; to vomit on.
BeÏspice¶ (?), v. t. To season with spice, or with some spicy drug.
Shak.
BeÏspirt¶ (?), v. t. Same as Bespurt.

<— p. 140 —>

<— p. 140 —>

BeÏspit (?), v. t. [imp. Bespit; p. p. Bespit, Bespitten (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespitting.] To daub or soil with spittle.
Johnson.
BeÏspoke¶ (?), imp. & p.p. of Bespeak.
BeÏspot¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bespotted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespotting.] To mark with spots, or as with spots.
BeÏspread¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bespread; p. pr. & vb. n. Bespreading.] To spread or cover over.
The carpet which bespread
His rich pavilion's floor.
Glover.
BeÏsprent¶ (?), p. p. [OE. bespreynt, p. p. of besprengen, bisprengen, to besprinkle, AS. besprengan, akin to D. & G. besprengen; pref. beÏ + sprengan to sprinkle. See Sprinkle.] Sprinkled over; strewed.
His face besprent with liquid crystal shines.
Shenstone.
The floor with tassels of fir was besprent.
Longfellow.
BeÏsprin¶kle (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Besprinkled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Besprinkling (?).] To sprinkle over; to scatter over.
The bed besprinkles, and bedews the ground.
Dryden.
BeÏsprin¶kler (?), n. One who, or that which, besprinkles.
BeÏsprin¶kling (?), n. The act of sprinkling anything; a sprinkling over.
BeÏspurt¶ (?), v. t. To spurt on or over; to asperse. [Obs.]
Milton.
Bes¶seÏmer steel· (?). Steel made directly from cast iron, by burning out a portion of the carbon and other impurities that the latter contains, through the agency of a blast of air which is forced through the molten metal; Ð so called from Sir Henry Bessemer, an English engineer, the inventor of the process.
Best (?), a.; superl. of Good. [AS. besta, best, contr. from betest, betst, betsta; akin to Goth. batists, OHG. pezzisto, G. best, beste, D. best, Icel. beztr, Dan. best, Sw. b„st. This word has no connection in origin with good. See Better.] 1. Having good qualities in the highest degree; most good, kind, desirable, suitable, etc.; most excellent; as, the best man; the best road; the best cloth; the best abilities.
When he is best, he is a little worse than a man.
Shak.
Heaven's last, best gift, my ever new delight.
Milton.
2. Most advanced; most correct or complete; as, the best scholar; the best view of a subject.
3. Most; largest; as, the best part of a week.
Best man, the only or principal groomsman at a wedding ceremony.
Best, n. Utmost; highest endeavor or state; most nearly perfect thing, or being, or action; as, to do one's best; to the best of our ability.
At best, in the utmost degree or extent applicable to the case; under the most favorable circumstances; as, life is at best very short. Ð For best, finally. [Obs.] ½Those constitutions … are now established for best, and not to be mended.¸ Milton. Ð To get the best of, to gain an advantage over, whether fairly or unfairly. Ð To make the best of. (a) To improve to the utmost; to use or dispose of to the greatest advantage. ½Let there be freedom to carry their commodities where they can make the best of them.¸ Bacon. (b) To reduce to the least possible inconvenience; as, to make the best of ill fortune or a bad bargain.
Best, adv.; superl. of Well. 1. In the highest degree; beyond all others. ½Thou serpent ! That name best befits thee.¸
Milton.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small.
Coleridge.
2. To the most advantage; with the most success, case, profit, benefit, or propriety.
Had we best retire? I see a storm.
Milton.
Had I not best go to her?
Thackeray.
3. Most intimately; most thoroughly or correctly; as, what is expedient is best known to himself.
Best, v. t. To get the better of. [Colloq.]
BeÏstad¶ (?), imp. & p. p. of Bestead. Beset; put in peril. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
BeÏstain¶ (?), v. t. To stain.
BeÏstar¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bestarred (?).] To sprinkle with, or as with, stars; to decorate with, or as with, stars; to bestud. ½Bestarred with anemones.¸
W. Black.
BeÏstead¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bestead or Bested, also (Obs.) Bestad. In sense 3 imp. also Besteaded.] [Pref. beÏ + stead a place.] 1. To put in a certain situation or condition; to circumstance; to place. [Only in p. p.]
They shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: … and curse their king and their God.
Is. viii. 21.
Many far worse bestead than ourselves.
Barrow.
2. To put in peril; to beset. [Only in p. p.]
Chaucer.
3. To serve; to assist; to profit; to avail.
Milton.
Bes¶tial (?), a. [F. bestial, L. bestialis, fr. bestia beast. See Beast.] 1. Belonging to a beast, or to the class of beasts.
Among the bestial herds to range.
Milton.
2. Having the qualities of a beast; brutal; below the dignity of reason or humanity; irrational; carnal; beastly; sensual.
Shak.
Syn. Ð Brutish; beastly; brutal; carnal; vile; low; depraved; sensual; filthy.
Bes¶tial, n. A domestic animal; also collectively, cattle; as, other kinds of bestial. [Scot.]
BesÏtial¶iÏty (?), n. [F. bestialit‚.] 1. The state or quality of being bestial.
2. Unnatural connection with a beast.
Bes¶tialÏize (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bestialized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestializing.] To make bestial, or like a beast; to degrade; to brutalize.
The process of bestializing humanity.
Hare.
Bes¶tialÏly, adv. In a bestial manner.
BeÏstick¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bestuck (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Besticking.] To stick over, as with sharp points pressed in; to mark by infixing points or spots here and there; to pierce.
Truth shall retire
Bestuck with slanderous darts.
Milton.
BeÏstill¶ (?), v. t. To make still.
BeÏstir¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bestirred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestirring.] To put into brisk or vigorous action; to move with life and vigor; Ð usually with the reciprocal pronoun.
You have so bestirred your valor.
Shak.
Rouse and bestir themselves ere well awake.
Milton.
BeÏstorm¶ (?), v. i. & t. To storm.
Young.
BeÏstow¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bestowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestowing.] [OE. bestowen; pref. beÏ + stow a place. See Stow.] 1. To lay up in store; to deposit for safe keeping; to stow; to place; to put. ½He bestowed it in a pouch.¸
Sir W. Scott.
See that the women are bestowed in safety.
Byron.
2. To use; to apply; to devote, as time or strength in some occupation.
3. To expend, as money. [Obs.]
4. To give or confer; to impart; Ð with on or upon.
Empire is on us bestowed.
Cowper.
Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor.
1 Cor. xiii. 3.
5. To give in marriage.
I could have bestowed her upon a fine gentleman.
Tatler.
6. To demean; to conduct; to behave; Ð followed by a reflexive pronoun. [Obs.]
How might we see Falstaff bestow himself toÏnight in his true colors, and not ourselves be seen ?
Shak.
Syn. Ð To give; grant; present; confer; accord.
BeÏstow¶al (?), n. The act of bestowing; disposal.
BeÏstow¶er (?), n. One that bestows.
BeÏstow¶ment (?), n. 1. The act of giving or bestowing; a conferring or bestowal.
If we consider this bestowment of gifts in this view.
Chauncy.
2. That which is given or bestowed.
They almost refuse to give due praise and credit to God's own bestowments.
I. Taylor.
BeÏstrad¶dle (?), v. t. To bestride.
BeÏstraught¶ (?), a. [Pref. beÏ + straught; prob. here used for distraught.] Out of one's senses; distracted; mad. [Obs.]
Shak.
BeÏstreak¶ (?), v. t. To streak.
BeÏstrew¶ (?), v. t. [imp. Bestrewed (?); p. p. Bestrewed, Bestrown (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestrewing.] To strew or scatter over; to besprinkle. [Spelt also bestrow.]
Milton.
BeÏstride¶ (?), v. t. [imp. Bestrode (?), (Obs. or R.) Bestrid (?); p. p. Bestridden (?), Bestrid, Bestrode; p. pr. & vb. n. Bestriding.] [AS. bestrÆdan; pref. beÏ + strÆdan to stride.] 1. To stand or sit with anything between the legs, or with the legs astride; to stand over
That horse that thou so often hast bestrid.
Shak.
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus.
Shak.
2. To step over; to stride over or across; as, to bestride a threshold.
BeÏstrode¶ (?), imp. & p. p. of Bestride.
BeÏstrown¶ (?), p. p. of Bestrew.
BeÏstuck¶ (?), imp. & p. p. Bestick.
BeÏstud¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bestudded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bestudding.] To set or adorn, as with studs or bosses; to set thickly; to stud; as, to bestud with stars.
Milton.
BeÏswike¶ , v. t. [AS. beswÆcan; beÏ + swÆcan to deceive, entice; akin to OS. swÆkan, OHG. swÆhhan, Icel. svÆkja.] To lure; to cheat. [Obs.]
Gower.
Bet (?), n. [Prob. from OE. abet abetting, OF. abet, fr. abeter to excite, incite. See Abet.] That which is laid, staked, or pledged, as between two parties, upon the event of a contest or any contingent issue; the act of giving such a pledge; a wager. ½Having made his bets.¸
Goldsmith.
Bet, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bet, Betted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Betting.] To stake or pledge upon the event of a contingent issue; to wager.
John a Gaunt loved him well, and betted much money on his head.
Shak.
I'll bet you two to one I'll make him do it.
O. W. Holmes.
Bet, imp. & p. p. of Beat. [Obs.]
Bet, a. & adv. An early form of Better. [Obs.]
To go bet, to go fast; to hurry. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Be¶taÏine (?), n. [From beta, generic name of the beet.] (Chem.) A nitrogenous base, C5H11NO2, produced artificially, and also occurring naturally in beetroot molasses and its residues, from which it is extracted as a white crystalline substance; Ð called also lycine and oxyneurine. It has a sweetish taste.
BeÏtake¶ (?), v. t. [imp. Betook (?); p. p. Betaken (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Betaking.] [Pref. beÏ + take.] 1. To take or seize. [Obs.]
Spenser.
2. To have recourse to; to apply; to resort; to go; Ð with a reflexive pronoun.
They betook themselves to treaty and submission.
Burke.
The rest, in imitation, to like arms
Betook them.
Milton.
Whither shall I betake me, where subsist ?
Milton.
3. To commend or intrust to; to commit to. [Obs.]
BeÏtaught¶ (?), a. [ P. p. of OE. bitechen, AS. bet?can, to assign, deliver. See Teach.] Delivered; committed in trust. [Obs.]
Bete (?), v. t. To better; to mend. See Beete. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
BeÏtee¶la (?), n. [Pg. beatilha.] An East India muslin, formerly used for cravats, veils, etc. [Obs.]
BeÏteem¶ (?), v. t. [Pref. beÏ + an old verb teem to be fitting; cf. D. betamen to beseem, G. ziemen, Goth. gatiman, and E. tame. See Tame, a.] 1. To give ; to bestow; to grant; to accord; to consent. [Obs.]
Spenser. Milton.
2. To allow; to permit; to suffer. [Obs.]
So loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly.
Shak.
Be¶tel (?), n. [Pg., fr. Tamil vettilei, prop. meaning, a mere leaf.] (Bot.) A species of pepper (Piper betle), the leaves of which are chewed, with the areca or betel nut and a little shell lime, by the inhabitants of the East Indies. I is a woody climber with ovate manynerved leaves.
Bet¶elÏguese (?), n. [F. B‚telgeuse, of Arabic origin.] (Astron.) A bright star of the first magnitude, near one shoulder of Orion. [Written also Betelgeux and Betelgeuse.]
Be¶tel nut· (?). The nutlike seed of the areca palm, chewed in the East with betel leaves (whence its name) and shell lime.
ØBˆte¶ noire¶ (?). [Fr., lit. black beast.] Something especially hated or dreaded; a bugbear.
BethÏab¶aÏra wood· (?). (Bot.) A highly elastic wood, used for fishing rods, etc. The tree is unknown, but it is thought to be East Indian.
Beth¶el (?), n. [Heb. b?thÏel house of God.]
1. A place of worship; a hallowed spot.
S. F. Adams.
2. A chapel for dissenters. [Eng.]
3. A house of worship for seamen.
BeÏthink¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bethought (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bethinking.] [AS. be?encan; pref. beÏ + ?encan to think. See Think.] To call to mind; to recall or bring to recollection, reflection, or consideration; to think; to consider; Ð generally followed by a reflexive pronoun, often with of or that before the subject of thought.
I have bethought me of another fault.
Shak.
The rest … may … bethink themselves, and recover.
Milton.
We bethink a means to break it off.
Shak.
Syn. Ð To recollect; remember; reflect.
BeÏthink¶, v. i. To think; to recollect; to consider. ½Bethink ere thou dismiss us.¸
Byron.
Beth¶leÏhem (?), n. [Heb. b?thÏlekhem house of food; b?th house + lekhem food, l¾kham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. Cf. Bedlam.] 1. A hospital for lunatics; Ð corrupted into bedlam.
2. (Arch.) In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached to a church edifice, in which the bread for the eucharist is made.
Audsley.
Beth¶leÏhemÏite (?), Beth¶lemÏite (?), } n. 1. An inhabitant of Bethlehem in Judea.
2. An insane person; a madman; a bedlamite.
3. One of an extinct English order of monks.
BeÏthought¶ (?), imp. & p. p. of Bethink.
BeÏthrall¶ (?), v. t. To reduce to thralldom; to inthrall. [Obs.]
Spenser.
BeÏthumb¶ (?), v. t. To handle; to wear or soil by handling; as books.
Poe.
BeÏthump¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bethumped (?), or Bethumpt; p. pr. & vb. n. Bethumping.] To beat or thump soundly.
Shak.
BeÏtide¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betided (?), Obs. Betid (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Betiding.] [OE. bitiden; pref. biÏ, beÏ + tiden, fr. AS. tÆdan, to happen, fr. tÆd time. See Tide.] To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer.
What will betide the few ?
Milton.
BeÏtide¶, v. i. To come to pass; to happen; to occur.
A salve for any sore that may betide.
Shak.
µ Shakespeare has used it with of. ½What would betide of me ?¸
BeÏtime¶ (?), BeÏtimes¶ (?), } adv. [ Pref. beÏ (for by) + time; that is, by the proper time. The Ïs is an adverbial ending.] 1. In good season or time; before it is late; seasonably; early.
To measure life learn thou betimes.
Milton.
To rise betimes is often harder than to do all the day's work.
Barrow.
2. In a short time; soon; speedily; forth with.
He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes.
Shak.
BeÏti¶tle (?), v. t. To furnish with a title or titles; to entitle. [Obs.]
Carlyle.
BeÏto¶ken (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betokened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Betokening.] 1. To signify by some visible object; to show by signs or tokens.
A dewy cloud, and in the cloud a bow …
Betokening peace from God, and covenant new.
Milton.
2. To foreshow by present signs; to indicate something future by that which is seen or known; as, a dark cloud often betokens a storm.
Syn. Ð To presage; portend; indicate; mark; note.
ØB‚·ton¶ (?), n. [F. b‚ton, fr. L. bitumen bitumen.] (Masonry) The French name for concrete; hence, concrete made after the French fashion.
BeÏtongue¶ (?), v. t. To attack with the tongue; to abuse; to insult.
Bet¶oÏny (?), n.; pl. Betonies (?). [OE. betony, betany, F. betoine, fr. L. betonica, vettonica.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Betonica (Linn.).
µ The purple or wood betony (B. officinalis, Linn.) is common in Europe, being formerly used in medicine, and (according to Loudon) in dyeing wool a yellow color.
BeÏtook¶ (?), imp. of Betake.
BeÏtorn¶ (?), a. Torn in pieces; tattered.
BeÏtoss (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betossed (?).] To put in violent motion; to agitate; to disturb; to toss. ½My betossed soul.¸
Shak.
BeÏtrap¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betrapped (?).] 1. To draw into, or catch in, a trap; to in? snare; to circumvent.
Gower.
2. To put trappings on; to clothe; to deck.
After them followed two other chariots covered with red satin, and the horses betrapped with the same.
Stow.

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BeÏtray¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betrayed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Betraying.] [OE. betraien, bitraien; pref. beÏ + OF. tra‹r to bertray, F. trahir, fr. L. tradere. See Traitor.] 1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly; as, an officer betrayed the city.
Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men.
Matt. xvii. 22.
2. To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive; as, to betray a person or a cause.
But when I rise, I shall find my legs betraying me.
Johnson.
3. To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
Willing to serve or betray any government for hire.
Macaulay.
4. To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
Be swift to hear, but cautious of your tongue, lest you betray your ignorance.
T. Watts.
5. To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin.
Genius … often betrays itself into great errors.
T. Watts.
6. To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.
7. To show or to indicate; Ð said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed.
All the names in the country betray great antiquity.
Bryant.
BeÏtray¶al (?) n. The act or the result of betraying.
BeÏtray¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, betrays.
BeÏtray¶ment (?), n. Betrayal. [R.]
Udall.
BeÏtrim¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betrimmed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Betrimming.] To set in order; to adorn; to deck, to embellish; to trim.
Shak.
BeÏtroth¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betrothed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Betrothing.] [Pref. beÏ + troth, i. e., truth. See Truth.] 1. To contract to any one for a marriage; to engage or promise in order to marriage; to affiance; Ð used esp. of a woman.
He, in the first flower of my freshest age,
Betrothed me unto the only heir.
Spenser.
Ay, and we are betrothed.
Shak.
2. To promise to take (as a future spouse); to plight one's troth to.
What man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her?
Deut. xx. 7.
3. To nominate to a bishopric, in order to consecration.
Ayliffe.
BeÏtroth¶al (?), n. The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed; a mutual promise, engagement, or contract for a future marriage between the persons betrothed; betrothment; affiance. ½The feast of betrothal.¸
Longfellow.
BeÏtroth¶ment (?), n. The act of betrothing, or the state of being betrothed; betrothal.
BeÏtrust¶ (?), v. t. To trust or intrust. [Obs.]
BeÏtrust¶ment (?), n. The act of intrusting, or the thing intrusted. [Obs.]
Chipman.
ØBet¶so (?), n. [It. bezzo.] A small brass Venetian coin. [Obs.]
Bet¶ter (?), a.; compar. of Good. [OE. betere, bettre, and as adv. bet, AS. betera, adj., and bet, adv.; akin to Icel. betri, adj., betr, adv., Goth. batiza, adj., OHG. bezziro, adj., baz, adv., G. besser, adj. and adv., bass, adv., E. boot, and prob. to Skr. bhadra excellent. See Boot advantage, and cf. Best, Batful.] 1. Having good qualities in a greater degree than another; as, a better man; a better physician; a better house; a better air.
Could make the worse appear
The better reason.
Milton.
2. Preferable in regard to rank, value, use, fitness, acceptableness, safety, or in any other respect.
To obey is better than sacrifice.
1 Sam. xv. 22.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
Ps. cxviii. 9.
3. Greater in amount; larger; more.
4. Improved in health; less affected with disease; as, the patient is better.
5. More advanced; more perfect; as, upon better acquaintance; a better knowledge of the subject.
All the better. See under All, adv. Ð Better half, an expression used to designate one's wife.
My dear, my better half (said he),
I find I must now leave thee.
Sir P. Sidney.
Ð To better off, to be in a better condition. Ð Had better. (See under Had) The phrase had better, followed by an infinitive without to, is idiomatic. The earliest form of construction was ½were better¸ with a dative; as, ½Him were better go beside.¸ (Gower.) i. e., It would be better for him, etc. At length the nominative (I, he, they, etc.) supplanted the dative and had took the place of were. Thus we have the construction now used.
By all that's holy, he had better starve
Than but once think this place becomes thee not.
Shak.
Bet¶ter, n. 1. Advantage, superiority, or victory; Ð usually with of; as, to get the better of an enemy.
2. One who has a claim to precedence; a superior, as in merit, social standing, etc.; Ð usually in the plural.
Their betters would hardly be found.
Hooker.
For the better, in the way of improvement; so as to produce improvement. ½If I have altered him anywhere for the better.¸
Dryden.
Bet¶ter, adv.; compar. of Well. 1. In a superior or more excellent manner; with more skill and wisdom, courage, virtue, advantage, or success; as, Henry writes better than John; veterans fight better than recruits.
I could have better spared a better man.
Shak.
2. More correctly or thoroughly.
The better to understand the extent of our knowledge.
Locke.
3. In a higher or greater degree; more; as, to love one better than another.
Never was monarch better feared, and loved.
Shak.
4. More, in reference to value, distance, time, etc.; as, ten miles and better. [Colloq.]
To think better of (any one), to have a more favorable opinion of any one. Ð To think better of (an opinion, resolution, etc.), to reconsider and alter one's decision.
Bet¶ter (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bettered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bettering.] [AS. beterian, betrian, fr. betera better. See Better, a.] 1. To improve or ameliorate; to increase the good qualities of.
Love betters what is best.
Wordsworth.
He thought to better his circumstances.
Thackeray.
2. To improve the condition of, morally, physically, financially, socially, or otherwise.
The constant effort of every man to better himself.
Macaulay.
3. To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered.
Hooker.
4. To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of. [Obs.]
Weapons more violent, when next we meet,
May serve to better us and worse our foes.
Milton.
Syn. Ð To improve; meliorate; ameliorate; mend; amend; correct; emend; reform; advance; promote.
Bet¶ter, v. i. To become better; to improve.
Carlyle.
Bet¶ter, n. One who bets or lays a wager.
Bet¶terÏment (?), n. 1. A making better; amendment; improvement.
W. Montagu.
2. (Law) An improvement of an estate which renders it better than mere repairing would do; Ð generally used in the plural. [U. S.]
Bouvier.
Bet¶terÏmost· (?), a. Best. [R.] ½The bettermost classes.¸
Brougham.
Bet¶terÏness, n. 1. The quality of being better or superior; superiority. [R.]
Sir P. Sidney.
2. The difference by which fine gold or silver exceeds in fineness the standard.
ØBet¶tong (?), n. [Native name.] (Zo”l.) A small, leaping Australian marsupial of the genus Bettongia; the jerboa kangaroo.
Bet¶tor (?), n. One who bets; a better.
Addison.
Bet¶ty (?), n. 1. [Supposed to be a cant word, from Betty, for Elizabeth, as such an instrument is also called Bess (i. e., Elizabeth) in the Canting Dictionary of 1725, and Jenny (i. e., Jane).] A short bar used by thieves to wrench doors open. [Written also bettee.]
The powerful betty, or the artful picklock.
Arbuthnot.
2. [Betty, nickname for Elizabeth.] A name of contempt given to a man who interferes with the duties of women in a household, or who occupies himself with womanish matters.
3. A pearÏshaped bottle covered round with straw, in which olive oil is sometimes brought from Italy; Ð called by chemists a Florence flask. [U. S.]
Bartlett.
Bet¶uÏlin (?), n. [L. betula birch tree.] (Chem.) A substance of a resinous nature, obtained from the outer bark of the common European birch (Betula alba), or from the tar prepared therefrom; Ð called also birch camphor.
Watts.
BeÏtum¶ble (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betumbled (?).] To throw into disorder; to tumble. [R.]
From her betumbled couch she starteth.
Shak.
BeÏtu¶tor (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Betutored (?).] To tutor; to instruct.
Coleridge.
BeÏtween¶ (?), prep. [OE. bytwene, bitweonen, AS. betwe¢nan, betwe¢num; prefix beÏ by + a form fr. AS. tw¾ two, akin to Goth. tweihnai two apiece. See Twain, and cf. Atween, Betwixt.] 1. In the space which separates; betwixt; as, New York is between Boston and Philadelphia.
2. Used in expressing motion from one body or place to another; from one to another of two.
If things should go so between them.
Bacon.
3. Belonging in common to two; shared by both.
Castor and Pollux with only one soul between them.
Locke.
4. Belonging to, or participated in by, two, and involving reciprocal action or affecting their mutual relation; as, opposition between science and religion.
An intestine struggle, open or secret, between authority and liberty.
Hume.
5. With relation to two, as involved in an act or attribute of which another is the agent or subject; as, to judge between or to choose between courses; to distinguish between you and me; to mediate between nations.
6. In intermediate relation to, in respect to time, quantity, or degree; as, between nine and ten o'clock.
Between decks, the space, or in the space, between the decks of a vessel. Ð Between ourselves, Between you and me, Between themselves, in confidence; with the understanding that the matter is not to be communicated to others.
Syn. Ð Between, Among. Between etymologically indicates only two; as, a quarrel between two men or two nations; to be between two fires, etc. It is however extended to more than two in expressing a certain relation.
I … hope that between public business, improving studies, and domestic pleasures, neither melancholy nor caprice will find any place for entrance.
Johnson.
Among implies a mass or collection of things or persons, and always supposes more than two; as, the prize money was equally divided among the ship's crew.
BeÏtween¶, n. Intermediate time or space; interval. [Poetic & R.]
Shak.
BeÏtwixt¶ (?), prep. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwÆh; pref. beÏ by + a form fr. AS. tw¾ two. See Between.]
1. In the space which separates; between.
From betwixt two aged oaks.
Milton.
2. From one to another of; mutually affecting.
There was some speech of marriage
Betwixt myself and her.
Shak.
Betwixt and between, in a midway position; soÏso; neither one thing nor the other. [Colloq.]
ØBeurÏr‚¶ (?), n. [F., fr. beurre butter.] (Bot.) A beurr‚ (or buttery) pear, one with the me?? soft and melting; Ð used with a distinguishing word; as, Beurr‚ d'Anjou; Beurr‚ Clairgeau.
Bev¶el (?), n. [C. F. biveau, earlier buveau, Sp. baivel; of unknown origin. Cf. Bevile.] 1. Any angle other than a right angle; the angle which one surface makes with another when they are not at right angles; the slant or inclination of such surface; as, to give a bevel to the edge of a table or a stone slab; the bevel of a piece of timber.
2. An instrument consisting of two rules or arms, jointed together at one end, and opening to any angle, for adjusting the surfaces of work to the same or a given inclination; Ð called also a bevel square.
Gwilt.
Bev¶el, a. 1. Having the slant of a bevel; slanting.
2. Hence: Morally distorted; not upright. [Poetic]
I may be straight, though they themselves be bevel.
Shak.
A bevel angle, any angle other than one of 90?. Ð Bevel wheel, a cogwheel whose working face is oblique to the axis.
Knight.
Bev¶el, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Beveled (?) or Bevelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Beveling or Bevelling.] To cut to a bevel angle; to slope the edge or surface of.
Bev¶el, v. i. To deviate or incline from an angle of 90?, as a surface; to slant.
Their houses are very ill built, the walls bevel.
Swift.
Bev¶eled, Bev¶elled (?), a. 1. Formed to a bevel angle; sloping; as, the beveled edge of a table.
2. (Min.) Replaced by two planes inclining equally upon the adjacent planes, as an edge; having its edges replaces by sloping planes, as a cube or other solid.
Bev¶el gear· (?). (Mech.) A kind of gear in which the two wheels working together lie in different planes, and have their teeth cut at right angles to the surfaces of two cones whose apices coincide with the point where the axes of the wheels would meet.
Bev¶elÏment (?), n. (Min.) The replacement of an edge by two similar planes, equally inclined to the including faces or adjacent planes.
Be¶ver (?), n. [OE. bever a drink, drinking time, OF. beivre, boivre, to drink, fr. L. bibere.] A light repast between meals; a lunch. [Obs.]
Beau. & Fl.
Be¶ver, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Bevered (?).] To take a light repast between meals. [Obs.]
Bev¶erÏage (?), n. [OF. bevrage, F. breuvage, fr. beivre to drink, fr. L. bibere. Cf. Bib, v. t., Poison, Potable.] 1. Liquid for drinking; drink; Ð usually applied to drink artificially prepared and of an agreeable flavor; as, an intoxicating beverage.
He knew no beverage but the flowing stream.
Thomson.
2. Specifically, a name applied to various kinds of drink.
3. A treat, or drink money. [Slang]
Bev¶ile (?), n. [See Bevel.] (Her.) A chief broken or opening like a carpenter's bevel.
Encyc. Brit.
Bev¶iled, Bev¶illed (?), a. (Her.) Notched with an angle like that inclosed by a carpenter's bevel; Ð said of a partition line of a shield.
Bev¶y (?), n.; pl. Bevies (?). [Perhaps orig. a drinking company, fr. OF. bev‚e (cf. It. beva) a drink, beverage; then, perh., a company in general, esp. of ladies; and last applied by sportsmen to larks, quails, etc. See Beverage.] 1. A company; an assembly or collection of persons, especially of ladies.
What a bevy of beaten slaves have we here !
Beau. & Fl.
2. A flock of birds, especially quails or larks; also, a herd of roes.
BeÏwail¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bewailed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bewailing.] To express deep sorrow for, as by wailing; to lament; to wail over.
Hath widowed and unchilded many a one,
Which to this hour bewail the injury.
Shak.
Syn. Ð To bemoan; grieve. Ð See Deplore.
BeÏwail¶, v. i. To express grief; to lament.
Shak.
BeÏwail¶aÏble (?), a. Such as may, or ought to, be bewailed; lamentable.
BeÏwail¶er (?), n. One who bewails or laments.
BeÏwail¶ing, a. Wailing over; lamenting. Ð BeÏwail¶ingÏly, adv.
BeÏwail¶ment (?), n. The act of bewailing.
BeÏwake¶ (?), v. t. & i. To keep watch over; to keep awake. [Obs.]
Gower.
BeÏware¶ (?), v. i. [Be, imperative of verb to be + ware. See Ware, Wary.] 1. To be on one's guard; to be cautious; to take care; Ð commonly followed by of or lest before the thing that is to be avoided.
Beware of all, but most beware of man !
Pope.
Beware the awful avalanche.
Longfellow.
2. To have a special regard; to heed. [Obs.]
Behold, I send an Angel before thee. … Beware of him, and obey his voice.
Ex. xxiii. 20, 21.
µ This word is a compound from be and the Old English ware, now wary, which is an adjective. ½Be ye? war of false prophetis.¸ Wyclif, Matt. vii. 15. It is used commonly in the imperative and infinitive modes, and with such auxiliaries (shall, should, must, etc.) as go with the infinitive.

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