Betrodden, be-trod′n, pa.t. and pa.p. of Betread′, to tread over or walk upon.
Betroth, be-troth′, v.t. to contract or promise in order to marriage: to affiance: (obs.) to pledge one's self to any cause.—ns. Betroth′al, Betroth′ment, an agreement or contract with a view to marriage. [Pfx. be-, and Troth or Truth.]
Better, bet′ėr, adj. (serves as comp. of Good) good in a greater degree: preferable: improved: more suitable: larger: kinder: stronger in health.—adv. (comp. of Well) well in a greater degree: more fully or completely: over or more than: with greater advantage: (pl.) superiors.—v.t. to make better (also reflexively, to better one's self), to improve: to benefit: also with intransitive sense, to grow better.—p.adjs. Bet′tered, improved, amended; Bet′tering, improving.—ns. Bet′tering, Bet′terment, Bet′terness.—adj. Bet′termost.—Better half, a jocose term for a wife, once applied seriously to either wife or husband, and even the soul as opposed to the body.—I had better = I should hold it better to—the original construction having been a dative pronoun.—To be better off, to be in superior circumstances; To be better than one's self, to do more than one had promised; To get the better of, to gain the advantage over. [A.S. bet (adv.), betera, better; Goth. batiza, Ger. besser. Prob. cog. with Boot.]
Betty, bet′ti, n. a man who troubles himself with the women's work in a household: a slang name for a burglar's jemmy or jenny. [Betty, Bet, familiar abbrev. of Elizabeth.]
Betumbled, be-tum′bld, adj. (Shak.) tumbled or disordered.
Betutor, be-tū′tor, v.t. to tutor or instruct.
Between, be-twēn′, Betwixt, be-twikst′, prep. in the middle of two, of space, time, or degree: in the middle or intermediate space, to defend or separate: expressing reciprocal relation from one to another: by the joint action of two or more persons.—ns. Between′-decks, the space between any two decks of a ship; Between′ity (rare), state of being between.—prep. Between′-whiles, at intervals.—Between ourselves, in confidence; Betwixt and between, in a middling position.—To go between, to act as a mediator. [A.S. betwéonum betweónan—be, and twegen, twa, two, twain.]
Bevel, bev′el, n. a slant or inclination of a surface: an instrument opening like a pair of compasses, and adjustable for measuring angles.—adj. having the form of a bevel: slanting.—v.t. to form with a bevel or slant:—pr.p. bev′elling; pa.p. bev′elled.—ns. Bev′el-gear, Bev′el-wheels (mech.), wheels working on each other in different planes, the cogs of the wheels being bevelled or at oblique angles to the shafts.—p.adj. Bev′elled, cut to an oblique angle, sloped off. [Fr. biveau, an instrument for measuring angles; orig. unknown.]
Bever, an obsolete form of Beaver.