B (continued 5)
Reading edition
2. The flesh of an ox, or cow, or of any adult bovine animal, when slaughtered for food.
Note: [In this sense, the word has no plural.] "Great meals of beef." Shak.
3. Applied colloquially to human flesh.
BEEF Beef, a.
Defn: Of, pertaining to, or resembling, beef. Beef tea, essence of beef, or strong beef broth.
BEEFEATER Beef"eat`er, n. Etym: [Beef + eater; prob. one who eats another's beef, as his servant. Cf. AS. hlaf servant, properly a loaf eater.]
1. One who eats beef; hence, a large, fleshy person.
2. One of the yeomen of the guard, in England.
3. (Zoöl.)
Defn: An African bird of the genus Buphaga, which feeds on the larvæ of botflies hatched under the skin of oxen, antelopes, etc. Two species are known.
BEEFSTEAK Beef"steak`, n.
Defn: A steak of beef; a slice of beef broiled or suitable for broiling.
BEEF-WITTED Beef"-wit`ted, n.
Defn: Stupid; dull. Shak.
BEEFWOOD Beef"wood`, n.
Defn: An Australian tree (Casuarina), and its red wood, used for cabinetwork; also, the trees Stenocarpus salignus of New South Wales, and Banksia compar of Queensland.
BEEFY Beef"y, a.
Defn: Having much beef; of the nature of beef; resembling beef; fleshy.
BEEHIVE Bee"hive`, n.
Defn: A hive for a swarm of bees. Also used figuratively.
Note: A common and typical form of beehive was a domeshaped inverted basket, whence certain ancient Irish and Scotch architectural remains are called beehive houses.
BEEHOUSE Bee"house`, n.
Defn: A house for bees; an apiary.
BEE LARKSPUR Bee" lark`spur.
Defn: (Bot.) See Larkspur.
BEELD Beeld, n.
Defn: Same as Beild. Fairfax.
BEE LINE Bee" line`.
Defn: The shortest line from one place to another, like that of a bee to its hive when loaded with honey; an air line. "A bee line for the brig." Kane.
BEELZEBUB Be*el"ze*bub, n.
Defn: The title of a heathen deity to whom the Jews ascribed the sovereignty of the evil spirits; hence, the Devil or a devil. See Baal.
BEEM Beem, n. Etym: [AS. b, b.]
Defn: A trumpet. [Obs.]
BEEMASTER Bee"mas`ter, n.
Defn: One who keeps bees.
BEEN Been. Etym: [OE. beon, ben, bin, p. p. of been, beon, to be. See Be.]
Defn: The past participle of Be. In old authors it is also the pr. tense plural of Be. See 1st Bee. Assembled been a senate grave and stout. Fairfax.
BEER Beer, n. Etym: [OE. beor, ber, AS. beór; akin to Fries. biar, Icel. bj, OHG. bior, D. & G. bier, and possibly E. brew. *93, See Brew.]
1. A fermented liquor made from any malted grain, but commonly from barley malt, with hops or some other substance to impart a bitter flavor.
Note: Beer has different names, as small beer, ale, porter, brown stout, lager beer, according to its strength, or other qualities. See Ale.
2. A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants, as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc. Small beer, weak beer; (fig.) insignificant matters. "To suckle fools, and chronicle small beer." Shak.
BEEREGAR Beer"e*gar, n. Etym: [Beer + eager.]
Defn: Sour beer. [Obs.]
BEERHOUSE Beer"house`, n.
Defn: A house where malt liquors are sold; an alehouse.
BEERINESS Beer"i*ness, n.
Defn: Beery condition.
BEERY Beer"y, a.
Defn: Of or resembling beer; affected by beer; maudlin.
BEESTINGS Beest"ings, n.
Defn: Same as Biestings.
BEESWAX Bees"wax`, n.
Defn: The wax secreted by bees, and of which their cells are constructed.
BEESWING Bees"wing`, n.
Defn: The second crust formed in port and some other wines after long keeping. It consists of pure, shining scales of tartar, supposed to resemble the wing of a bee.
BEET Beet, n. Etym: [AS. bete, from L. beta.]
1. (Bot.)
Defn: A biennial plant of the genus Beta, which produces an edible root the first year and seed the second year.
2. The root of plants of the genus Beta, different species and varieties of which are used for the table, for feeding stock, or in making sugar.
Note: There are many varieties of the common beet (Beta vulgaris). The Old "white beet", cultivated for its edible leafstalks, is a distinct species (Beta Cicla).
BEETE; BETE Beete, Bete, v. t. Etym: [AS. b to mend. See Better.]
1. To mend; to repair. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. To renew or enkindle (a fire). [Obs.] Chaucer.
BEETLE Bee"tle, n. Etym: [OE. betel, AS. bitl, b, mallet, hammer, fr. beátan to beat. See Beat, v. t.]
1. A heavy mallet, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, etc.
2. A machine in which fabrics are subjected to a hammering process while passing over rollers, as in cotton mills; — called also beetling machine. Knight.
BEETLE Bee"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beetled; p. pr. & vb. n. Beetling.]
1. To beat with a heavy mallet.
2. To finish by subjecting to a hammering process in a beetle or beetling machine; as, to beetle cotton goods.
BEETLE Bee"tle, n. Etym: [OE. bityl, bittle, AS. b, fr. b to bite. See Bite, v. t.]
Defn: Any insect of the order Coleoptera, having four wings, the outer pair being stiff cases for covering the others when they are folded up. See Coleoptera. Beetle mite (Zoöl.), one of many species of mites, of the family Oribatidæ, parasitic on beetles. — Black beetle, the common large black cockroach (Blatta orientalis).
BEETLE Bee"tle, v. i. Etym: [See Beetlebrowed.]
Defn: To extend over and beyond the base or support; to overhang; to jut. To the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his base into the sea. Shak. Each beetling rampart, and each tower sublime. Wordsworth.
BEETLE BROW Bee"tle brow`.
Defn: An overhanging brow.
BEETLE-BROWED Bee"tle-browed`, a. Etym: [OE. bitelbrowed; cf. OE. bitel, adj., sharp, projecting, n., a beetle. See Beetle an insect.]
Defn: Having prominent, overhanging brows; hence, lowering or sullen.
Note: The earlier meaning was, "Having bushy or overhanging eyebrows."
BEETLEHEAD Bee"tle*head`, n. Etym: [Beetle a mallet + head.]
1. A stupid fellow; a blockhead. Sir W. Scott.
2. (Zoöl.)
Defn: The black-bellied plover, or bullhead (Squatarola helvetica). See Plover.
BEETLE-HEADED Bee"tle-head`ed, a.
Defn: Dull; stupid. Shak.
BEETLESTOCK Bee"tle*stock`, n.
Defn: The handle of a beetle.
BEET RADISH Beet" rad`ish.
Defn: Same as Beetrave.
BEETRAVE Beet"rave`, n. Etym: [F. betterave; bette beet + rave radish.]
Defn: The common beet (Beta vulgaris).
BEEVE Beeve, n. Etym: [Formed from beeves, pl. of beef.]
Defn: A beef; a beef creature. They would knock down the first beeve they met with. W. Irving.
BEEVES Beeves, n.
Defn: ; plural of Beef, the animal.
BEFALL Be*fall", v. t. [imp. Befell; p. p. Befallen; p. pr. & vb. n. Befalling.] Etym: [AS. befeallan; pref. be- + feallan to fall.]
Defn: To happen to. I beseech your grace that I may know The worst that may befall me. Shak.
BEFALL Be*fall", v. i.
Defn: To come to pass; to happen. I have revealed . . . the discord which befell. Milton.
BEFIT Be*fit", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Befitting.]
Defn: To be suitable to; to suit; to become. That name best befits thee. Milton.
BEFITTING Be*fit"ting, a.
Defn: Suitable; proper; becoming; fitting.
BEFITTINGLY Be*fit"ting*ly, adv.
Defn: In a befitting manner; suitably.
BEFLATTER Be*flat"ter, v. t.
Defn: To flatter excessively.
BEFLOWER Be*flow"er, v. t.
Defn: To besprinkle or scatter over with, or as with, flowers. Hobbes.
BEFOG Be*fog", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befogged; p. pr. & vb. n. Befogging.]
1. To involve in a fog; — mostly as a participle or part. adj.
2. Hence: To confuse; to mystify.
BEFOOL Be*fool", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befooled; p. pr. & vb. n. Befooling.] Etym: [OE. befolen; pref. be- + fol fool.]
1. To fool; to delude or lead into error; to infatuate; to deceive. This story . . . contrived to befool credulous men. Fuller.
2. To cause to behave like a fool; to make foolish. "Some befooling drug." G. Eliot.
BEFORE Be*fore", prep. Etym: [OE. beforen, biforen, before, AS. beforan; pref. be- + foran, fore, before. See Be-, and Fore.]
1. In front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand before the fire; before the house. His angel, who shall go Before them in a cloud and pillar of fire. Milton.
2. Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior to the time when; — sometimes with the additional idea of purpose; in order that. Before Abraham was, I am. John viii. 58. Before this treatise can become of use, two points are necessary. Swift.
Note: Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by that. "Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee." John i. 48.
3. An advance of; farther onward, in place or time. The golden age . . . is before us. Carlyle.
4. Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather than. He that cometh after me is preferred before me. John i. 15. The eldest son is before the younger in succession. Johnson.
5. In presence or sight of; face to face with; facing. Abraham bowed down himself before the people. Gen. xxiii. 12. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord Micah vi. 6.
6. Under the cognizance or jurisdiction of. If a suit be begun before an archdeacon. Ayliffe.
7. Open for; free of access to; in the power of. The world was all before them where to choose. Milton. Before the mast (Naut.), as a common sailor, — because the sailors live in the forecastle, forward of the foremast. — Before the wind (Naut.), in the direction of the wind and by its impulse; having the wind aft.
BEFORE Be*fore", adv.
1. On the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the front; — opposed to in the rear. The battle was before and behind. 2 Chron. xiii. 14.
2. In advance. "I come before to tell you." Shak.
3. In time past; previously; already. You tell me, mother, what I knew before. Dryden.
4. Earlier; sooner than; until then. When the butt is out, we will drink water; not a drop before. Shak.
Note: Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as, before- cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid.
BEFOREHAND Be*fore"hand`, adv. Etym: [Before + hand.]
1. In a state of anticipation ore preoccupation; in advance; — often followed by with. Agricola . . . resolves to be beforehand with the danger. Milton. The last cited author has been beforehand with me. Addison.
2. By way of preparation, or preliminary; previously; aforetime. They may be taught beforehand the skill of speaking. Hooker.
BEFOREHAND Be*fore"hand`, a.
Defn: In comfortable circumstances as regards property; forehanded. Rich and much beforehand. Bacon.
BEFORETIME Be*fore"time`, adv.
Defn: Formerly; aforetime. [They] dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. 2 Kings xiii. 5.
BEFORTUNE Be*for"tune, v. t.
Defn: To befall. [Poetic] I wish all good befortune you. Shak.
BEFOUL Be*foul", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befouled; p. pr. & vb. n. Befouling.] Etym: [Cf. AS. bef; pref. be- + f to foul. See Foul, a.]
1. To make foul; to soil.
2. To entangle or run against so as to impede motion.
BEFRIEND Be*friend", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befriended; p. pr. & vb. n. Befriending.]
Defn: To act as a friend to; to favor; to aid, benefit, or countenance. By the darkness befriended. Longfellow.
BEFRIENDMENT Be*friend"ment, n.
Defn: Act of befriending. [R.]
BEFRILL Be*frill", v. t.
Defn: To furnish or deck with a frill.
BEFRINGE Be*fringe", v. t.
Defn: To furnish with a fringe; to form a fringe upon; to adorn as with fringe. Fuller.
BEFUDDLE Be*fud"dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befuddled]
Defn: To becloud and confuse, as with liquor.
BEG Beg, n. Etym: [Turk. beg, pronounced bay. Cf. Bey, Begum.]
Defn: A title of honor in Turkey and in some other parts of the East; a bey.
BEG Beg, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begged; p. pr. & vb. n. Begging.] Etym: [OE. beggen, perh. fr. AS. bedecian (akin to Goth. bedagwa beggar), biddan to ask. (Cf. Bid, v. t.); or cf. beghard, beguin.]
1. To ask earnestly for; to entreat or supplicate for; to beseech. I do beg your good will in this case. Shak. [Joseph] begged the body of Jesus. Matt. xxvii. 58.
Note: Sometimes implying deferential and respectful, rather than earnest, asking; as, I beg your pardon; I beg leave to disagree with you.
2. To ask for as a charity, esp. to ask for habitually or from house to house. Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Ps. xxxvii. 25.
3. To make petition to; to entreat; as, to beg a person to grant a favor.
4. To take for granted; to assume without proof.
5. (Old Law)
Defn: To ask to be appointed guardian for, or to ask to have a guardian appointed for. Else some will beg thee, in the court of wards. Harrington. Hence: To beg (one) for a fool, to take him for a fool. I beg to, is an elliptical expression for I beg leave to; as, I beg to inform you. — To bag the question, to assume that which was to be proved in a discussion, instead of adducing the proof or sustaining the point by argument. — To go a-begging, a figurative phrase to express the absence of demand for something which elsewhere brings a price; as, grapes are so plentiful there that they go a-begging.
Syn. — To Beg, Ask, Request. To ask (not in the sense of inquiring) is the generic term which embraces all these words. To request is only a polite mode of asking. To beg, in its original sense, was to ask with earnestness, and implied submission, or at least deference. At present, however, in polite life, beg has dropped its original meaning, and has taken the place of both ask and request, on the ground of its expressing more of deference and respect. Thus, we beg a person's acceptance of a present; we beg him to favor us with his company; a tradesman begs to announce the arrival of new goods, etc. Crabb remarks that, according to present usage, "we can never talk of asking a person's acceptance of a thing, or of asking him to do us a favor." This can be more truly said of usage in England than in America.
BEG Beg, v. i.
Defn: To ask alms or charity, especially to ask habitually by the wayside or from house to house; to live by asking alms. I can not dig; to beg I am ashamed. Luke xvi. 3.
BEGA Be"ga, n.
Defn: See Bigha.
BEGEM Be*gem", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begemmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Begemming.]
Defn: To adorn with gems, or as with gems. Begemmed with dewdrops. Sir W. Scott. Those lonely realms bright garden isles begem. Shelley.
BEGET Be*get", v. t. [imp. Begot, (Archaic) Begat (; p. p. Begot, Begotten (; p. pr. & vb. n. Begetting.] Etym: [OE. bigiten, bigeten, to get, beget, AS. begitan to get; pref. be- + gitan. See Get, v. t. ]
1. To procreate, as a father or sire; to generate; — commonly said of the father. Yet they a beauteous offspring shall beget. Milton.
2. To get (with child.) [Obs.] Shak.
3. To produce as an effect; to cause to exist. Love is begot by fancy. Granville.
BEGETTER Be*get"ter, n.
Defn: One who begets; a father.
BEGGABLE Beg"ga*ble, a.
Defn: Capable of being begged.
BEGGAR Beg"gar, n. Etym: [OE. beggere, fr. beg.]
1. One who begs; one who asks or entreats earnestly, or with humility; a petitioner.
2. One who makes it his business to ask alms.
3. One who is dependent upon others for support; — a contemptuous or sarcastic use.
4. One who assumes in argument what he does not prove. Abp. Tillotson.
BEGGAR Beg"gar, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beggared; p. pr. & vb. n. Beggaring.]
1. To reduce to beggary; to impoverish; as, he had beggared himself. Milton.
2. To cause to seem very poor and inadequate. It beggared all description. Shak.
BEGGARHOOD Beg"gar*hood, n.
Defn: The condition of being a beggar; also, the class of beggars.
BEGGARISM Beg"gar*ism, n.
Defn: Beggary. [R.]
BEGGARLINESS Beg"gar*li*ness, n.
Defn: The quality or state of being beggarly; meanness.
BEGGARLY Beg"gar*ly, a.
1. In the condition of, or like, a beggar; suitable for a beggar; extremely indigent; poverty-stricken; mean; poor; contemptible. "A bankrupt, beggarly fellow." South. "A beggarly fellowship." Swift. "Beggarly elements." Gal. iv. 9.
2. Produced or occasioned by beggary. [Obs.] Beggarly sins, that is, those sins which idleness and beggary usually betray men to; such as lying, flattery, stealing, and dissimulation. Jer. Taylor.
BEGGARLY Beg"gar*ly, adv.
Defn: In an indigent, mean, or despicable manner; in the manner of a beggar.
BEGGAR'S LICE Beg"gar's lice`. (Bot.)
Defn: The prickly fruit or seed of certain plants (as some species of Echinospermum and Cynoglossum) which cling to the clothing of those who brush by them.
BEGGAR'S TICKS Beg"gar's ticks`.
Defn: The bur marigold (Bidens) and its achenes, which are armed with barbed awns, and adhere to clothing and fleeces with unpleasant tenacity.
BEGGARY Beg"gar*y, n. Etym: [OE. beggerie. See Beggar, n.]
1. The act of begging; the state of being a beggar; mendicancy; extreme poverty.
2. Beggarly appearance. [R.] The freedom and the beggary of the old studio. Thackeray.
Syn. — Indigence; want; penury; mendicancy.
BEGGARY Beg"gar*y, a.
Defn: Beggarly. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
BEGGESTERE Beg"ge*stere, n. Etym: [Beg + -ster.]
Defn: A beggar. [Obs.] Chaucer.
BEGHARD; BEGUARD Be*ghard" Be*guard", n. Etym: [F. bégard, béguard; cf. G. beghard, LL. Beghardus, Begihardus, Begardus. Prob. from the root of beguine + -ard or -hard. See Beguine.] (Eccl. Hist.)
Defn: One of an association of religious laymen living in imitation of the Beguines. They arose in the thirteenth century, were afterward subjected to much persecution, and were suppressed by Innocent X. in 1650. Called also Beguins.
BEGILD Be*gild", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begilded or Begilt.]
Defn: To gild. B. Jonson.
BEGIN Be*gin", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Began, Begun; p. pr. & vb. n. Beginning.] Etym: [AS. beginnan (akin to OS. biginnan, D. & G. beginnen, OHG. biginnan, Goth., du-ginnan, Sw. begynna, Dan. begynde); pref. be- + an assumed ginnan. sq. root31. See Gin to begin.]
1. To have or commence an independent or first existence; to take rise; to commence. Vast chain of being! which from God began. Pope.
2. To do the first act or the first part of an action; to enter upon or commence something new, as a new form or state of being, or course of action; to take the first step; to start. "Tears began to flow." Dryden. When I begin, I will also make an end. 1 Sam. iii. 12.
BEGIN Be*gin", v. t.
1. To enter on; to commence. Ye nymphs of Solyma ! begin the song. Pope.
2. To trace or lay the foundation of; to make or place a beginning of. The apostle begins our knowledge in the creatures, which leads us to the knowledge of God. Locke.
Syn. — To commence; originate; set about; start.
BEGIN Be*gin", n.
Defn: Beginning. [Poetic & Obs.] Spenser.
BEGINNER Be*gin"ner, n.
Defn: One who begins or originates anything. Specifically: A young or inexperienced practitioner or student; a tyro. A sermon of a new beginner. Swift.
BEGINNING Be*gin"ning, n.
1. The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen. i. 1.
2. That which begins or originates something; the first cause; origin; source. I am . . . the beginning and the ending. Rev. i. 8.
3. That which is begun; a rudiment or element. Mighty things from small beginnings grow. Dryden.
4. Enterprise. "To hinder our beginnings." Shak.
Syn. — Inception; prelude; opening; threshold; origin; outset; foundation.
BEGIRD Be*gird", v. t. [imp. Begirt, Begirded; p. p. Begirt; p. pr. & vb. n. Begirding.] Etym: [AS. begyrdan (akin to Goth. bigairdan); pref. be- + gyrdan to gird.]
1. To bind with a band or girdle; to gird.
2. To surround as with a band; to encompass.
BEGIRDLE Be*gir"dle, v. t.
Defn: To surround as with a girdle.
BEGIRT Be*girt", v. t.
Defn: To encompass; to begird. Milton.
BEGLERBEG Beg"ler*beg`, n. Etym: [Turk. beglerbeg, fr. beg, pl. begler. See Beg, n.]
Defn: The governor of a province of the Ottoman empire, next in dignity to the grand vizier.
BEGNAW Be*gnaw", v. t. [p. p. Begnawed, (R.) Begnawn (.] Etym: [AS. begnagan; pref. be- + gnagan to gnaw.]
Defn: To gnaw; to eat away; to corrode. The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul. Shak.
BEGOD Be*god", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begodded.]
Defn: To exalt to the dignity of a god; to deify. [Obs.] "Begodded saints." South.
BEGOHM Beg"ohm`, n. (Elec.)
Defn: A unit of resistance equal to one billion ohms, or one thousand megohms.
BEGONE Be*gone", interj. Etym: [Be, v. i. + gone, p. p.]
Defn: Go away; depart; get you gone.
BEGONE Be*gone", p. p. Etym: [OE. begon, AS. bigan; pref. be- + gan to go.]
Defn: Surrounded; furnished; beset; environed (as in woe-begone). [Obs.] Gower. Chaucer.
BEGONIA Be*go"ni*a, n. Etym: [From Michel Begon, a promoter of botany.] (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of plants, mostly of tropical America, many species of which are grown as ornamental plants. The leaves are curiously one- sided, and often exhibit brilliant colors.
BEGORE Be*gore", v. t.
Defn: To besmear with gore.
BEGOT Be*got",
Defn: imp. & p. p. of Beget.
BEGOTTEN Be*got"ten,
Defn: p. p. of Beget.
BEGRAVE Be*grave", v. t. Etym: [Pref. be- + grave; akin to G. begraben, Goth. bigraban to dig a ditch around.]
Defn: To bury; also, to engrave. [Obs.] Gower.
BEGREASE Be*grease", v. t.
Defn: To soil or daub with grease or other oily matter.
BEGRIME Be*grime", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begrimed; p. pr. & vb. n. Begriming.]
Defn: To soil with grime or dirt deeply impressed or rubbed in. Books falling to pieces and begrimed with dust. Macaulay.
BEGRIMER Be*grim"er, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, begrimes.
BEGRUDGE Be*grudge", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begrudged; p. pr. & vb. n. Begrudging.]
Defn: To grudge; to envy the possession of.
BEGUILE Be*guile", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beguiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Beguiling.]
1. To delude by guile, artifice, or craft; to deceive or impose on, as by a false statement; to lure. The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Gen. iii. 13.
2. To elude, or evade by craft; to foil. [Obs.] When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage. Shak.
3. To cause the time of to pass without notice; to relieve the tedium or weariness of; to while away; to divert. Ballads . . . to beguile his incessant wayfaring. W. Irving.
Syn. — To delude; deceive; cheat; insnare; mislead; amuse; divert; entertain.
BEGUILEMENT Be*guile"ment, n.
Defn: The act of beguiling, or the state of being beguiled.
BEGUILER Be*guil"er, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, beguiles.
BEGUILING Be*guil"ing, a.
Defn: Alluring by guile; deluding; misleading; diverting. — Be*guil"ing*ly, adv.
BEGUIN Be`guin", n. Etym: [F.]
Defn: See Beghard.
BEGUINAGE Be`gui`nage", n. Etym: [F.]
Defn: A collection of small houses surrounded by a wall and occupied by a community of Beguines.
BEGUINE Be`guine", n. Etym: [F. béguine; LL. beguina, beghina; fr. Lambert le Bègue (the Stammerer) the founder of the order. (Du Cange.)]
Defn: A woman belonging to one of the religious and charitable associations or communities in the Netherlands, and elsewhere, whose members live in beguinages and are not bound by perpetual vows.
BEGUM Be"gum, n. Etym: [Per., fr. Turk., perh. properly queen mother, fr. Turk. beg (see Beg, n.) + Ar. umm mother.]
Defn: In the East Indies, a princess or lady of high rank. Malcom.
BEGUN Be*gun", p. p.
Defn: of Begin.
BEHALF Be*half", n. Etym: [OE. on-behalve in the name of, bihalven by the side of, fr. AS. healf half, also side, part: akin to G. halb half, halber on account of. See Be-, and Half, n.]
Defn: Advantage; favor; stead; benefit; interest; profit; support; defense; vindication. In behalf of his mistress's beauty. Sir P. Sidney. Against whom he had contracted some prejudice in behalf of his nation. Clarendon. In behalf of, in the interest of. — On behalf of, on account of; on the part of.
BEHAPPEN Be*hap"pen, v. t.
Defn: To happen to. [Obs.]
BEHAVE Be*have", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Behaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Behaving.] Etym: [AS. behabban to surround, restrain, detain (akin to G. gehaben (obs.) to have, sich gehaben to behave or carry one's self); pref. be- + habban to have. See Have, v. t. ]
1. To manage or govern in point of behavior; to discipline; to handle; to restrain. [Obs.] He did behave his anger ere 't was spent. Shak.
2. To carry; to conduct; to comport; to manage; to bear; — used reflexively. Those that behaved themselves manfully. 2 Macc. ii. 21.
BEHAVE Be*have", v. i.
Defn: To act; to conduct; to bear or carry one's self; as, to behave well or ill.
Note: This verb is often used colloquially without an adverb of manner; as, if he does not behave, he will be punished. It is also often applied to inanimate objects; as, the ship behaved splendidly.
BEHAVIOR Be*hav"ior, n.
Defn: Manner of behaving, whether good or bad; mode of conducting one's self; conduct; deportment; carriage; — used also of inanimate objects; as, the behavior of a ship in a storm; the behavior of the magnetic needle. A gentleman that is very singular in his behavior. Steele. To be upon one's good behavior, To be put upon one's good behavior, to be in a state of trial, in which something important depends on propriety of conduct. — During good behavior, while (or so long as) one conducts one's self with integrity and fidelity or with propriety.
Syn. — Bearing; demeanor; manner. — Behavior, Conduct. Behavior is the mode in which we have or bear ourselves in the presence of others or toward them; conduct is the mode of our carrying ourselves forward in the concerns of life. Behavior respects our manner of acting in particular cases; conduct refers to the general tenor of our actions. We may say of soldiers, that their conduct had been praiseworthy during the whole campaign, and their behavior admirable in every instance when they met the enemy.
BEHEAD Be*head", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beheaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Beheading.] Etym: [OE. bihefden, AS. beheáfdian; pref. be- + heáfod head. See Head.]
Defn: To sever the head from; to take off the head of.
BEHEADAL Be*head"al
Defn: ,n.Beheading. [Modern]
BEHELD Be*held",
Defn: imp. & p. p. of Behold.
BEHEMOTH Be"he*moth, n. Etym: [Heb. behem, fr. Egyptian P-ehe-maut hippopotamus.]
Defn: An animal, probably the hippopotamus, described in Job xl. 15- 24.
BEHEN; BEHN Be"hen, Behn, n. Etym: [Per. & Ar. bahman, behmen, an herb, whose leaves resemble ears of corn, saffron.] (Bot.) (a) The Centaurea behen, or saw-leaved centaury. (b) The Cucubalus behen, or bladder campion, now called Silene inflata. (c) The Statice limonium, or sea lavender.
BEHEST Be*hest", n. Etym: [OE. biheste promise, command, AS. beh promise; pref. be- + h command. See Hest, Hight.]
1. That which is willed or ordered; a command; a mandate; an injunction. To do his master's high behest. Sir W. Scott.
2. A vow; a promise. [Obs.] The time is come that I should send it her, if I keep the behest that I have made. Paston.
BEHEST Be*hest", v. t.
Defn: To vow. [Obs.] Paston.
BEHETE Be*hete", v. t.
Defn: See Behight. [Obs.] Chaucer.
BEHIGHT Be*hight", v. t. [imp. Behight; p. p. Behight, Behoten.] Etym: [OE. bihaten, AS. behatan to vow, promise; pref. be- + hatan to call, command. See Hight, v.] [Obs. in all its senses.]
1. To promise; to vow. Behight by vow unto the chaste Minerve. Surrey.
2. To give in trust; to commit; to intrust. The keys are to thy hand behight. Spenser.
3. To adjudge; to assign by authority. The second was to Triamond behight. Spenser.
4. To mean, or intend. More than heart behighteth. Mir. for Mag.
5. To consider or esteem to be; to declare to be. All the lookers-on him dead behight. Spenser.
6. To call; to name; to address. Whom . . . he knew and thus behight. Spenser.
7. To command; to order. He behight those gates to be unbarred. Spenser.
BEHIGHT Be*hight", n.
Defn: A vow; a promise. [Obs.] Surrey.
BEHIND Be*hind", prep. Etym: [AS. behindan; pref. be- + hindan. See Hind, a.]
1. On the side opposite the front or nearest part; on the back side of; at the back of; on the other side of; as, behind a door; behind a hill. A tall Brabanter, behind whom I stood. Bp. Hall.
2. Left after the departure of, whether this be by removing to a distance or by death. A small part of what he left behind him. Pope.
3. Left a distance by, in progress of improvement Hence: Inferior to in dignity, rank, knowledge, or excellence, or in any achievement. I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. 2 Cor. xi. 5.
BEHIND Be*hind", adv.
1. At the back part; in the rear. "I shall not lag behind." Milton.
2. Toward the back part or rear; backward; as, to look behind.
3. Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining. We can not be sure that there is no evidence behind. Locke.
4. Backward in time or order of succession; past. Forgetting those things which are behind. Phil. ii. 13.
5. After the departure of another; as, to stay behind. Leave not a rack behind. Shak.
BEHIND Be*hind", n.
Defn: The backside; the rump. [Low]
BEHINDHAND Be*hind"hand`, adv. & a. Etym: [Behind + hand.]
1. In arrears financially; in a state where expenditures have exceeded the receipt of funds.
2. In a state of backwardness, in respect to what is seasonable or appropriate, or as to what should have been accomplished; not equally forward with some other person or thing; dilatory; backward; late; tardy; as, behindhand in studies or in work. In this also [dress] the country are very much behindhand. Addison.
BEHITHER Be*hith"er, prep.
Defn: On this side of. [Obs.] Two miles behither Clifden. Evelyn.
BEHOLD Be*hold", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beheld ( (p. p. formerly Beholden (, now used only as a p. a.); p. pr. & vb. n. Beholding.] Etym: [OE. bihalden, biholden, AS. behealdan to hold, have in sight; pref. be- + healdan to hold, keep; akin to G. behalten to hold, keep. See Hold.]
Defn: To have in sight; to see clearly; to look at; to regard with the eyes. When he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. Num. xxi. 9. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John. i. 29.
Syn. — To scan; gaze; regard; descry; view; discern.
BEHOLD Be*hold", v. i.
Defn: To direct the eyes to, or fix them upon, an object; to look; to see. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne, . . . a lamb as it had been slain. Rev. v. 6.
BEHOLDEN Be*hold"en, p. a. Etym: [Old p. p. of behold, used in the primitive sense of the simple verb hold.]
Defn: Obliged; bound in gratitude; indebted. But being so beholden to the Prince. Tennyson.
BEHOLDER Be*hold"er, n.
Defn: One who beholds; a spectator.
BEHOLDING Be*hold"ing, a.
Defn: Obliged; beholden. [Obs.] I was much bound and beholding to the right reverend father. Robynson (More's Utopia). So much hath Oxford been beholding to her nephews, or sister's children. Fuller.
BEHOLDING Be*hold"ing, n.
Defn: The act of seeing; sight; also, that which is beheld. Shak.
BEHOLDINGNESS Be*hold"ing*ness, n.
Defn: , The state of being obliged or beholden. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
BEHOOF Be*hoof", n. Etym: [OE. to bihove for the use of, AS. beh advantage, a word implied in beh necessary; akin to Sw. behof, Dan. behov, G. behuf, and E. heave, the root meaning to seize, hence the meanings "to hold, make use of." See Heave, v. t.]
Defn: Advantage; profit; benefit; interest; use. No mean recompense it brings To your behoof. Milton.
BEHOOVABLE Be*hoov"a*ble, a.
Defn: Supplying need; profitable; advantageous. [Obs.] Udall.
BEHOOVE Be*hoove", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Behooved; p. pr. & vb. n. Behooving.] Etym: [OE. bihoven, behoven, AS. beh to have need of, fr. beh. See Behoof.]
Defn: To be necessary for; to be fit for; to be meet for, with respect to necessity, duty, or convenience; — mostly used impersonally. And thus it behooved Christ to suffer. Luke xxiv. 46. [Also written behove.]
BEHOOVE Be*hoove", v. i.
Defn: To be necessary, fit, or suitable; to befit; to belong as due. Chaucer.
BEHOOVE Be*hoove", n.
Defn: Advantage; behoof. [Obs.] It shall not be to his behoove. Gower.
BEHOOVEFUL Be*hoove"ful, a.
Defn: Advantageous; useful; profitable. [Archaic] — Be*hoove"ful*ly, adv. — Be*hoove"ful*ness, n. [Archaic]
BEHOVE Be*hove", v.
Defn: , and derivatives. See Behoove, & c.
BEHOVELY Be*hove"ly, a. & adv.
Defn: Useful, or usefully. [Obs.]
BEHOWL Be*howl", v. t.
Defn: To howl at. [Obs.] The wolf behowls the moon. Shak.
BEIGE Beige, n. Etym: [F.]
Defn: Debeige.
BEILD Beild, n. Etym: [Prob. from the same root as build, v. t.]
Defn: A place of shelter; protection; refuge. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] [Also written bield and beeld.] The random beild o' clod or stane. Burns.
BEING Be"ing, p. pr. from Be.
Defn: Existing.
Note: Being was formerly used where we now use having. "Being to go to a ball in a few days." Miss Edgeworth.
Note: In modern usage, is, are, was or were being, with a past participle following (as built, made, etc.) indicates the process toward the completed result expressed by the participle. The form is or was building, in this passive signification, is idiomatic, and, if free from ambiguity, is commonly preferable to the modern is or was being built. The last form of speech is, however, sufficiently authorized by approved writers. The older expression was is, or was, a-building or in building. A man who is being strangled. Lamb. While the article on Burns was being written. Froude. Fresh experience is always being gained. Jowett (Thucyd. )
BEING Be"ing, n.
1. Existence, as opposed to nonexistence; state or sphere of existence. In Him we live, and move, and have our being. Acts xvii. 28.
2. That which exists in any form, whether it be material or spiritual, actual or ideal; living existence, as distinguished from a thing without life; as, a human being; spiritual beings. What a sweet being is an honest mind ! Beau. & Fl. A Being of infinite benevolence and power. Wordsworth.
3. Lifetime; mortal existence. [Obs.] Claudius, thou Wast follower of his fortunes in his being. Webster (1654).
4. An abode; a cottage. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. It was a relief to dismiss them [Sir Roger's servants] into little beings within my manor. Steele.
BEING Be"ing, adv.
Defn: Since; inasmuch as. [Obs. or Colloq.] And being you have Declined his means, you have increased his malice. Beau. & Fl.
BEJADE Be*jade", v. t.
Defn: To jade or tire. [Obs.] Milton.
BEJAPE Be*jape", v. t.
Defn: To jape; to laugh at; to deceive. [Obs.] Chaucer.
BEJAUNDICE Be*jaun"dice, v. t.
Defn: To infect with jaundice.
BEJEWEL Be*jew"el, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bejeweled or Bejewelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Bejeweling or Bejewelling.]
Defn: To ornament with a jewel or with jewels; to spangle. "Bejeweled hands." Thackeray.
BEJUCO Be*ju"co, n. [Sp., a reed or woody vine.]
Defn: Any climbing woody vine of the tropics with the habit of a liane; in the Philippines, esp. any of various species of Calamus, the cane or rattan palm.
BEJUMBLE Be*jum"ble, v. t.
Defn: To jumble together.
BEKAH Be"kah, n. Etym: [Heb.]
Defn: Half a shekel.
BEKNAVE Be*knave", v. t.
Defn: To call knave. [Obs.] Pope.
BEKNOW Be*know", v. t.
Defn: To confess; to acknowledge. [Obs.] Chaucer.
BEL Bel, n.
Defn: The Babylonian name of the god known among the Hebrews as Baal. See Baal. Baruch vi. 41.
BELABOR Be*la"bor, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belabored; p. pr. & vb. n. Belaboring.]
1. To ply diligently; to work carefully upon. "If the earth is belabored with culture, it yieldeth corn." Barrow.
2. To beat soundly; to cudgel. Ajax belabors there a harmless ox. Dryden.
BEL-ACCOYLE Bel`-ac*coyle", n. Etym: [F. bel beautiful + accueil reception.]
Defn: A kind or favorable reception or salutation. [Obs.]
BELACE Be*lace", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belaced.]
1. To fasten, as with a lace or cord. [Obs.]
2. To cover or adorn with lace. [Obs.] Beaumont.
3. To beat with a strap. See Lace. [Obs.] Wright.
BELAM Be*lam", v. t. Etym: [See Lam.]
Defn: To beat or bang. [Prov. & Low, Eng.] Todd.
BELAMOUR Bel"a*mour, n. Etym: [F. bel amour fair love.]
1. A lover. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. A flower, but of what kind is unknown. [Obs.] Her snowy brows, like budded belamours. Spenser.
BELAMY Bel"a*my, n. Etym: [F. bel ami fair friend.]
Defn: Good friend; dear friend. [Obs.] Chaucer.
BELATE Be*late", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belated; p. pr. & vb. n. Belating.]
Defn: To retard or make too late. Davenant.
BELATED Be*lat"ed, a.
Defn: Delayed beyond the usual time; too late; overtaken by night; benighted. "Some belated peasant." Milton. — Be*lat"ed*ness, n. Milton.
BELAUD Be*laud", v. t.
Defn: To laud or praise greatly.
BELAY Be*lay", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belaid, Belayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Belaying.] Etym: [For senses 1 & 2, D. beleggen to cover, belay; akin to E. pref. be-, and lay to place: for sense 3, OE. beleggen, AS. belecgan. See pref. Be-, and Lay to place.]
1. To lay on or cover; to adorn. [Obs.] Jacket . . . belayed with silver lace. Spenser.
2. (Naut.)
Defn: To make fast, as a rope, by taking several turns with it round a pin, cleat, or kevel. Totten.
3. To lie in wait for with a view to assault. Hence: to block up or obstruct. [Obs.] Dryden. Belay thee! Stop.
BELAYING PIN Be*lay"ing pin`. (Naut.)
Defn: A strong pin in the side of a vessel, or by the mast, round which ropes are wound when they are fastened or belayed.
BELCH Belch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belched; p. pr. & vb. n. Belching.] Etym: [OE. belken, AS. bealcan, akin to E. bellow. See Bellow, v. i.]
1. To eject or throw up from the stomach with violence; to eruct. I belched a hurricane of wind. Swift.
2. To eject violently from within; to cast forth; to emit; to give vent to; to vent. Within the gates that now Stood open wide, belching outrageous flame. Milton.
BELCH Belch, v. i.
1. To eject wind from the stomach through the mouth; to eructate.
2. To issue with spasmodic force or noise. Dryden.
BELCH Belch, n.
1. The act of belching; also, that which is belched; an eructation.
2. Malt liquor; — vulgarly so called as causing eructation. [Obs.] Dennis.
BELCHER Belch"er, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, belches.
BELDAM; BELDAME Bel"dam Bel"dame, n. Etym: [Pref. bel-, denoting relationship + dame mother: cf. F. belledame fair lady, It. belladonna. See Belle, and Dame.]
1. Grandmother; — corresponding to belsire. To show the beldam daughters of her daughter. Shak.
2. An old woman in general; especially, an ugly old woman; a hag. Around the beldam all erect they hang. Akenside.
BELEAGUER Be*lea"guer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beleaguered; p. pr. & vb. n. Beleaguering.] Etym: [D. belegeren (akin to G. belagern, Sw. belägra, Dan. beleire); pref. be- = E. be- + leger bed, camp, army, akin to E. lair. See Lair.]
Defn: To surround with an army so as to preclude escape; to besiege; to blockade. The wail of famine in beleaguered towns. Longfellow.
Syn. — To block up; environ; invest; encompass.
BELEAGUERER Be*lea"guer*er, n.
Defn: One who beleaguers.
BELEAVE Be*leave", v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Beleft.]
Defn: To leave or to be left. [Obs.] May.
BELECTURE Be*lec"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belectured; p. pr. & vb. n. Belecturing.]
Defn: To vex with lectures; to lecture frequently.
BELEE Be*lee", v. t.
Defn: To place under the lee, or unfavorably to the wind. Shak.
BELEMNITE Be*lem"nite, n. Etym: [Gr. dart, fr. dart, fr. to throw: cf. F. bélemnite.] (Paleon.)
Defn: A conical calcareous fossil, tapering to a point at the lower extremity, with a conical cavity at the other end, where it is ordinarily broken; but when perfect it contains a small chambered cone, called the phragmocone, prolonged, on one side, into a delicate concave blade; the thunderstone. It is the internal shell of a cephalopod related to the sepia, and belonging to an extinct family. The belemnites are found in rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous ages. — Bel*em*nit"ic, a.
BELEPER Be*lep"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belepered.]
Defn: To infect with leprosy. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
BEL-ESPRIT Bel"-es*prit", n.; pl. Beaux-esprits. Etym: [F., fine wit.]
Defn: A fine genius, or man of wit. "A man of letters and a bel esprit." W. Irving.
BELFRY Bel"fry, n. Etym: [OE. berfray movable tower used in sieges, OF. berfreit, berfroit, F. beffroi, fr. MHG. bervrit, bercvrit, G. bergfriede, fr. MHG. bergen to protect (G. bergen to conceal) + vride peace, protection, G. friede peace; in compounds often taken in the sense of security, or place of security; orig. therefore a place affording security. G. friede is akin to E. free. See Burg, and Free.]
1. (Mil. Antiq.)
Defn: A movable tower erected by besiegers for purposes of attack and defense.
2. A bell tower, usually attached to a church or other building, but sometimes separate; a campanile.
3. A room in a tower in which a bell is or may be hung; or a cupola or turret for the same purpose.
4. (Naut.)
Defn: The framing on which a bell is suspended.
BELGARD Bel*gard", n. Etym: [It. bel guardo.]
Defn: A sweet or loving look. [Obs.] Spenser.
BELGIAN Bel"gi*an, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to Belgium. — n.
Defn: A native or inhabitant of Belgium.
BELGIAN BLOCK Belgian block.
Defn: A nearly cubical block of some tough stone, esp. granite, used as a material for street pavements. Its usual diameter is 5 to 7 inches.
BELGIC Bel"gic, a. Etym: [L. Belgicus, fr. Belgae the Belgians.]
1. Of or pertaining to the Belgæ, a German tribe who anciently possessed the country between the Rhine, the Seine, and the ocean. How unlike their Belgic sires of old. Goldsmith.
2. Of or pertaining to the Netherlands or to Belgium.
BELGRAVIAN Bel*gra"vi*an, a.
Defn: Belonging to Belgravia (a fashionable quarter of London, around Pimlico), or to fashionable life; aristocratic.
BELIAL Be"li*al, n. Etym: [Heb. beli ya'al; beli without + ya'al profit.]
Defn: An evil spirit; a wicked and unprincipled person; the personification of evil. What concord hath Christ with Belia 2 Cor. vi. 15. A son (or man) of Belial, a worthless, wicked, or thoroughly depraved person. 1 Sam. ii. 12.
BELIBEL Be*li"bel, v. t. Etym: [See Libel, v. t. ]
Defn: To libel or traduce; to calumniate. Fuller.
BELIE Be*lie", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belied; p. pr. & vb. n. Belying.] Etym: [OE. bilien, bili, AS. beleógan; pref. be- + leógan to lie. See Lie, n.]
1. To show to be false; to convict of, or charge with, falsehood. Their trembling hearts belie their boastful tongues. Dryden.
2. To give a false representation or account of. Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts. Shak.
3. To tell lie about; to calumniate; to slander. Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie him. Shak.
4. To mimic; to counterfeit. [Obs.] Dryden.
5. To fill with lies. [Obs.] "The breath of slander doth belie all corners of the world." Shak.
BELIEF Be*lief", n. Etym: [OE. bileafe, bileve; cf. AS. geleáfa. See Believe.]
1. Assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance of a fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without immediate personal knowledge; reliance upon word or testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our senses. Belief admits of all degrees, from the slightest suspicion to the fullest assurance. Reid.
2. (Theol.)
Defn: A persuasion of the truths of religion; faith. No man can attain [to] belief by the bare contemplation of heaven and earth. Hooker.
3. The thing believed; the object of belief. Superstitious prophecies are not only the belief of fools, but the talk sometimes of wise men. Bacon.
4. A tenet, or the body of tenets, held by the advocates of any class of views; doctrine; creed. In the heat of persecution to which Christian belief was subject upon its first promulgation. Hooker. Ultimate belief, a first principle incapable of proof; an intuitive truth; an intuition. Sir W. Hamilton.
Syn. — Credence; trust; reliance; assurance; opinion.
BELIEFFUL Be*lief"ful, a.
Defn: Having belief or faith.
BELIEVABLE Be*liev"a*ble, a.
Defn: Capable of being believed; credible. — Be*liev"a*ble*ness, n. — Be*liev`a*bil"i*ty (, n.
BELIEVE Be*lieve", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Believed; p. pr. & vb. n. Believing.] Etym: [OE. bileven (with pref. be- for AS. ge-), fr. AS. gel, gel; akin to D. gelooven, OHG. gilouban, G. glauben, OS. gil, Goth. galaubjan, and Goth. liubs dear. See Lief, a., Leave, n.]
Defn: To exercise belief in; to credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of, upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by circumstances other than personal knowledge; to regard or accept as true; to place confidence in; to think; to consider; as, to believe a person, a statement, or a doctrine. Our conqueror (whom I now Of force believe almighty). Milton. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets Acts xxvi. Often followed by a dependent clause. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Acts viii. 37.
Syn. — See Expect.
BELIEVE Be*lieve", v. i.
1. To have a firm persuasion, esp. of the truths of religion; to have a persuasion approaching to certainty; to exercise belief or faith. Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark ix. 24. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Rom. x. 10.
2. To think; to suppose. I will not believe so meanly of you. Fielding. To believe in. (a) To believe that the subject of the thought (if a person or thing) exists, or (if an event) that it has occurred, or will occur; — as, to believe in the resurrection of the dead. "She does not believe in Jupiter." J. H. Newman. (b) To believe that the character, abilities, and purposes of a person are worthy of entire confidence; — especially that his promises are wholly trustworthy. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." John xiv. 1. (c) To believe that the qualities or effects of an action or state are beneficial: as, to believe in sea bathing, or in abstinence from alcoholic beverages. — To believe on, to accept implicitly as an object of religious trust or obedience; to have faith in.
BELIEVER Be*liev"er, n.
1. One who believes; one who is persuaded of the truth or reality of some doctrine, person, or thing.
2. (Theol.)
Defn: One who gives credit to the truth of the Scriptures, as a revelation from God; a Christian; — in a more restricted sense, one who receives Christ as his Savior, and accepts the way of salvation unfolded in the gospel. Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Book of Com. Prayer.
3. (Eccl. Hist.)
Defn: One who was admitted to all the rights of divine worship and instructed in all the mysteries of the Christian religion, in distinction from a catechumen, or one yet under instruction.
BELIEVING Be*liev"ing, a.
Defn: That believes; having belief. — Be*liev"ing*ly, adv.
BELIGHT Be*light", v. t.
Defn: To illuminate. [Obs.] Cowley.
BELIKE Be*like", adv. Etym: [Pref. be- (for by) + like.]
Defn: It is likely or probably; perhaps. [Obs. or Archaic] — Be*like"ly, adv. Belike, boy, then you are in love. Shak.
BELIME Be*lime", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belimed.]
Defn: To besmear or insnare with birdlime.
BELITTLE Be*lit"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belittled; p. pr. & vb. n. Belittling.]
Defn: To make little or less in a moral sense; to speak of in a depreciatory or contemptuous way. T. Jefferson.
BELIVE Be*live", adv. Etym: [Cf. Live, a.]
Defn: Forthwith; speedily; quickly. [Obs.] Chaucer.
BELK Belk, v. t. Etym: [See Belch.]
Defn: To vomit. [Obs.]
BELL Bell, n. Etym: [AS. belle, fr. bellan to bellow. See Bellow.]
1. A hollow metallic vessel, usually shaped somewhat like a cup with a flaring mouth, containing a clapper or tongue, and giving forth a ringing sound on being struck.
Note: Bells have been made of various metals, but the best have always been, as now, of an alloy of copper and tin. The Liberty Bell, the famous bell of the Philadelphia State House, which rang when the Continental Congress declared the Independence of the United States, in 1776. It had been cast in 1753, and upon it were the words "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof."
2. A hollow perforated sphere of metal containing a loose ball which causes it to sound when moved.
3. Anything in the form of a bell, as the cup or corol of a flower. "In a cowslip's bell I lie." Shak.
4. (Arch.)
Defn: That part of the capital of a column included between the abacus and neck molding; also used for the naked core of nearly cylindrical shape, assumed to exist within the leafage of a capital.
5. pl. (Naut.)
Defn: The strikes of the bell which mark the time; or the time so designated.
Note: On shipboard, time is marked by a bell, which is struck eight times at 4, 8, and 12 o'clock. Half an hour after it has struck "eight bells" it is struck once, and at every succeeding half hour the number of strokes is increased by one, till at the end of the four hours, which constitute a watch, it is struck eight times. To bear away the bell, to win the prize at a race where the prize was a bell; hence, to be superior in something. Fuller. — To bear the bell, to be the first or leader; — in allusion to the bellwether or a flock, or the leading animal of a team or drove, when wearing a bell. — To curse by bell, book, and candle, a solemn form of excommunication used in the Roman Catholic church, the bell being tolled, the book of offices for the purpose being used, and three candles being extinguished with certain ceremonies. Nares. — To lose the bell, to be worsted in a contest. "In single fight he lost the bell." Fairfax. — To shake the bells, to move, give notice, or alarm. Shak.
Note: Bell is much used adjectively or in combinations; as, bell clapper; bell foundry; bell hanger; bell-mouthed; bell tower, etc., which, for the most part, are self-explaining. Bell arch (Arch.), an arch of unusual form, following the curve of an ogee. — Bell cage, or Bell carriage (Arch.), a timber frame constructed to carry one or more large bells. — Bell cot (Arch.), a small or subsidiary construction, frequently corbeled out from the walls of a structure, and used to contain and support one or more bells. — Bell deck (Arch.), the floor of a belfry made to serve as a roof to the rooms below. — Bell founder, one whose occupation it is to found or cast bells. — Bell foundry, or Bell foundery, a place where bells are founded or cast. — Bell gable (Arch.), a small gable-shaped construction, pierced with one or more openings, and used to contain bells. — Bell glass. See Bell jar. — Bell hanger, a man who hangs or puts up bells. — Bell pull, a cord, handle, or knob, connecting with a bell or bell wire, and which will ring the bell when pulled. Aytoun. — Bell punch, a kind of conductor's punch which rings a bell when used. — Bell ringer, one who rings a bell or bells, esp. one whose business it is to ring a church bell or chime, or a set of musical bells for public entertainment. — Bell roof (Arch.), a roof shaped according to the general lines of a bell. — Bell rope, a rope by which a church or other bell is rung. — Bell tent, a circular conical-topped tent. — Bell trap, a kind of bell shaped stench trap.
BELL Bell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belled; p. pr. & vb. n. Belling.]
Defn: To put a bell upon; as, to bell the cat.
2. To make bell-mouthed; as, to bell a tube.
BELL Bell, v. i.
Defn: To develop bells or corollas; to take the form of a bell; to blossom; as, hops bell.
BELL Bell, v. t. Etym: [AS. bellan. See Bellow.]
Defn: To utter by bellowing. [Obs.]
BELL Bell, v. i.
Defn: To call or bellow, as the deer in rutting time; to make a bellowing sound; to roar. As loud as belleth wind in hell. Chaucer. The wild buck bells from ferny brake. Sir W. Scott.
BELLADONNA Bel`la*don"na, n. Etym: [It., literally fine lady; bella beautiful + donna lady.] (Bot.) (a) An herbaceous European plant (Atropa belladonna) with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries. The whole plant and its fruit are very poisonous, and the root and leaves are used as powerful medicinal agents. Its properties are largely due to the alkaloid atropine which it contains. Called also deadly nightshade. (b) A species of Amaryllis (A. belladonna); the belladonna lily.
BELL ANIMALCULE Bell" an`i*mal"cule. (Zoöl.)
Defn: An infusorian of the family Vorticellidæ, common in fresh-water ponds.
BELLARMINE Bel"lar*mine, n.
Defn: A stoneware jug of a pattern originated in the neighborhood of Cologne, Germany, in the 16th century. It has a bearded face or mask supposed to represent Cardinal Bellarmine, a leader in the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation, following the Reformation; — called also graybeard, longbeard.
BELL BEARER Bell" bear`er. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A Brazilian leaf hopper (Bocydium tintinnabuliferum), remarkable for the four bell-shaped appendages of its thorax.
BELLBIRD Bell"bird`, n. Etym: [So called from their notes.] (Zoöl.) (a) A South American bird of the genus Casmarhincos, and family Cotingidæ, of several species; the campanero. (b) The Myzantha melanophrys of Australia.
BELL CRANK Bell" crank`.
Defn: A lever whose two arms form a right angle, or nearly a right angle, having its fulcrum at the apex of the angle. It is used in bell pulls and in changing the direction of bell wires at angles of rooms, etc., and also in machinery.
BELLE Belle, n. Etym: [F. belle, fem. of bel, beau, beautiful, fine. See Beau.]
Defn: A young lady of superior beauty and attractions; a handsome lady, or one who attracts notice in society; a fair lady.
BELLED Belled, a.
Defn: Hung with a bell or bells.
BELLEEK WARE Bel*leek" ware.
Defn: A porcelainlike kind of decorative pottery with a high gloss, which is sometimes iridescent. A very fine kind is made at Belleek in Ireland.
BELLE-LETTRIST Belle-let"trist, n.
Defn: One versed in belleslettres.
BELLEROPHON Bel*ler"o*phon, n. (Paleon.)
Defn: A genus of fossil univalve shells, believed to belong to the Heteropoda, peculiar to the Paleozoic age.
BELLES-LETTRES Belles-let"tres, n. pl. Etym: [F.]
Defn: Polite or elegant literature; the humanities; — used somewhat vaguely for literary works in which imagination and taste are predominant.
BELLETRISTIC; BELLETRISTICAL Bel`le*tris"tic, Bel`le*tris"tic*al, a.
Defn: Occupied with, or pertaining to, belles-lettres. "An unlearned, belletristic trifler." M. Arnold.
BELL-FACED Bell"-faced`, a.
Defn: Having the striking surface convex; — said of hammers.
BELLFLOWER Bell"flow`er, n. (Bot.)
Defn: A plant of the genus Campanula; — so named from its bell- shaped flowers.
BELLFLOWER Bell"flow`er, n. Etym: [F. bellefleur, lit., beautiful flower.]
Defn: A kind of apple. The yellow bellflower is a large, yellow winter apple. [Written also bellefleur.]
BELLIBONE Bel"li*bone, n. Etym: [F. belle et bonne, beautiful and good.]
Defn: A woman excelling both in beauty and goodness; a fair maid. [Obs.] Spenser.
BELLIC; BELLICAL Bel"lic, Bel"li*cal, a. Etym: [L. bellicus. See Bellicose.]
Defn: Of or pertaining to war; warlike; martial. [Obs.] "Bellic Cæsar." Feltham.
BELLICOSE Bel"li*cose`, a. Etym: [L. bellicosus, fr. bellicus of war, fr. bellum war. See Duel.]
Defn: Inclined to war or contention; warlike; pugnacious. Arnold was, in fact, in a bellicose vein. W. Irving.
BELLICOSELY Bel"li*cose`ly, adv.
Defn: In a bellicose manner.
BELLICOUS Bel"li*cous, a.
Defn: Bellicose. [Obs.]
BELLIED Bel"lied
Defn: , a. Having (such) a belly; puffed out; — used in composition; as, pot-bellied; shad-bellied.
BELLIGERENCE; BELLIGERENCY Bel*lig"er*ence, Bel*lig"er*en*cy, n.
Defn: The quality of being belligerent; act or state of making war; warfare.
BELLIGERENT Bel*lig"er*ent, a. Etym: [L. bellum war + gerens, -entis, waging, p. pr. of gerere to wage: cf. F. belligérant. See Bellicose, Jest.]
1. Waging war; carrying on war. "Belligerent powers." E. Everett.
2. Pertaining, or tending, to war; of or relating to belligerents; as, a belligerent tone; belligerent rights.
BELLIGERENT Bel*lig"er*ent, n.
Defn: A nation or state recognized as carrying on war; a person engaged in warfare.
BELLIGERENTLY Bel*lig"er*ent*ly, adv.
Defn: In a belligerent manner; hostilely.
BELLING Bell"ing, n. Etym: [From Bell to bellow.]
Defn: A bellowing, as of a deer in rutting time. Johnson.
BELLIPOTENT Bel*lip"o*tent, a. Etym: [L. bellipotens; bellum war + potens powerful, p. pr. of posse to be able.]
Defn: Mighty in war; armipotent. [R.] Blount.
BELL JAR Bell" jar`. (Phys.)
Defn: A glass vessel, varying in size, open at the bottom and closed at the top like a bell, and having a knob or handle at the top for lifting it. It is used for a great variety of purposes; as, with the air pump, and for holding gases, also for keeping the dust from articles exposed to view.
BELLMAN Bell"man, n.
Defn: A man who rings a bell, especially to give notice of anything in the streets. Formerly, also, a night watchman who called the hours. Milton.
BELL METAL Bell" met`al.
Defn: A hard alloy or bronze, consisting usually of about three parts of copper to one of tin; — used for making bells. Bell metal ore, a sulphide of tin, copper, and iron; the mineral stannite.
BELL-MOUTHED Bell"-mouthed`, a.
Defn: Expanding at the mouth; as, a bell-mouthed gun. Byron.
BELLON Bel"lon, n.
Defn: Lead colic.
BELLONA Bel*lo"na, n. Etym: [L., from bellum war.] (Rom. Myth.)
Defn: The goddess of war.
BELLOW Bel"low, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bellowed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Bellowing.] Etym: [OE. belwen, belowen, AS. bylgean, fr. bellan; akin to G. bellen, and perh. to L. flere to weep, OSlav. bleja to bleat, Lith. balsas voice. Cf. Bell, n. & v., Bawl, Bull.]
1. To make a hollow, loud noise, as an enraged bull.
2. To bowl; to vociferate; to clamor. Dryden.
3. To roar; as the sea in a tempest, or as the wind when violent; to make a loud, hollow, continued sound. The bellowing voice of boiling seas. Dryden.
BELLOW Bel"low, v. t.
Defn: To emit with a loud voice; to shout; — used with out. "Would bellow out a laugh." Dryden.
BELLOW Bel"low, n.
Defn: A loud resounding outcry or noise, as of an enraged bull; a roar.
BELLOWER Bel"low*er, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, bellows.
BELLOWS Bel"lows, n. sing. & pl. Etym: [OE. bely, below, belly, bellows, AS. bælg, bælig, bag, bellows, belly. Bellows is prop. a pl. and the orig. sense is bag. See Belly.]
Defn: An instrument, utensil, or machine, which, by alternate expansion and contraction, or by rise and fall of the top, draws in air through a valve and expels it through a tube for various purposes, as blowing fires, ventilating mines, or filling the pipes of an organ with wind. Bellows camera, in photography, a form of camera, which can be drawn out like an accordion or bellows. — Hydrostatic bellows. See Hydrostatic. — A pair of bellows, the ordinary household instrument for blowing fires, consisting of two nearly heart-shaped boards with handles, connected by leather, and having a valve and tube.
BELLOWS FISH Bel"lows fish`. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A European fish (Centriscus scolopax), distinguished by a long tubular snout, like the pipe of a bellows; — called also trumpet fish, and snipe fish.
BELL PEPPER Bell" pep`per. (Bot.)
Defn: A species of Capsicum, or Guinea pepper (C. annuum). It is the red pepper of the gardens.
BELL PROCESS Bell process. (Iron Metal.)
Defn: The process of washing molten pig iron by adding iron oxide, proposed by I. Lowthian Bell of England about 1875.
BELL-SHAPED Bell"-shaped`, a.
Defn: Having the shape of a widemouthed bell; campanulate.
BELL'S PALSY Bell's palsy.
Defn: Paralysis of the facial nerve, producing distortion of one side of the face.
BELL SYSTEM OF CONTROL Bell system of control. (Aëronautics)
Defn: See Cloche.
BELLUINE Bel"lu*ine, a. Etym: [L. belluinus, fr. bellua beast.]
Defn: Pertaining to, or like, a beast; brutal. [R.] Animal and belluine life. Atterbury.
BELLWETHER Bell"weth`er, n.
1. A wether, or sheep, which leads the flock, with a bell on his neck.
2. Hence: A leader. [Contemptuous] Swift.
BELLWORT Bell"wort", n. (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of plants (Uvularia) with yellowish bell-shaped flowers.
BELLY Bel"ly, n.; pl. Bellies. Etym: [OE. bali, bely, AS. belg, bælg, bælig, bag, bellows, belly; akin to Icel. belgr bag, bellows, Sw. bälg, Dan. bælg, D. & G. balg, cf. W. bol the paunch or belly, dim. boly, Ir. bolg. Cf. Bellows, Follicle, Fool, Bilge.]
1. That part of the human body which extends downward from the breast to the thighs, and contains the bowels, or intestines; the abdomen.
Note: Formerly all the splanchnic or visceral cavities were called bellies; — the lower belly being the abdomen; the middle belly, the thorax; and the upper belly, the head. Dunglison.
2. The under part of the body of animals, corresponding to the human belly. Underneath the belly of their steeds. Shak.
3. The womb. [Obs.] Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. Jer. i. 5.
4. The part of anything which resembles the human belly in protuberance or in cavity; the innermost part; as, the belly of a flask, muscle, sail, ship. Out of the belly of hell cried I. Jonah ii. 2.
5. (Arch.)
Defn: The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part of which is the back. Belly doublet, a doublet of the 16th century, hanging down so as to cover the belly. Shak. — Belly fretting, the chafing of a horse's belly with a girth. Johnson. — Belly timber, food. [Ludicrous] Prior. — Belly worm, a worm that breeds or lives in the belly (stomach or intestines). Johnson.
BELLY Bel"ly, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bellied; p. pr. & vb. n. Bellying.]
Defn: To cause to swell out; to fill. [R.] Your breath of full consent bellied his sails. Shak.
BELLY Bel"ly, v. i.
Defn: To swell and become protuberant, like the belly; to bulge. The bellying canvas strutted with the gale. Dryden.
BELLYACHE Bel"ly*ache`, n.
Defn: Pain in the bowels; colic.
BELLYBAND Bel"ly*band`, n.
1. A band that passes under the belly of a horse and holds the saddle or harness in place; a girth.
2. A band of flannel or other cloth about the belly.
3. (Naut.)
Defn: A band of canvas, to strengthen a sail.
BELLYBOUND Bel"ly*bound` (, a.
Defn: Costive; constipated.
BELLYCHEAT Bel"ly*cheat`, n.
Defn: An apron or covering for the front of the person. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
BELLYCHEER Bel"ly*cheer`, n. Etym: [Perh. from F. belle chère.]
Defn: Good cheer; viands. [Obs.] "Bellycheer and banquets." Rowlands. "Loaves and bellycheer." Milton.
BELLYCHEER Bel"ly*cheer`, v. i.
Defn: To revel; to feast. [Obs.] A pack of clergymen [assembled] by themselves to bellycheer in their presumptuous Sion. Milton.
BELLYFUL Bel"ly*ful, n.
Defn: As much as satisfies the appetite. Hence: A great abundance; more than enough. Lloyd. King James told his son that he would have his bellyful of parliamentary impeachments. Johnson.
BELLY-GOD Bel"ly-god`, n.
Defn: One whose great pleasure it is to gratify his appetite; a glutton; an epicure.
BELLY-PINCHED Bel"ly-pinched`, a.
Defn: Pinched with hunger; starved. "The belly-pinched wolf." Shak.
BELOCK Be*lock", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belocked.] Etym: [Pref. be- + lock: cf. AS. bel.]
Defn: To lock, or fasten as with a lock. [Obs.] Shak.
BELOMANCY Bel"o*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. ; arrow + a diviner: cf. F. bélomancie.]
Defn: A kind of divination anciently practiced by means of marked arrows drawn at random from a bag or quiver, the marks on the arrows drawn being supposed to foreshow the future. Encyc. Brit.
BELONG Be*long", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Belonged; p. pr. & vb. n. Belonging.] Etym: [OE. belongen (akin to D. belangen to concern, G. belangen to attain to, to concern); pref. be- + longen to desire. See Long, v. i.]
Note: [Usually construed with to.]
1. To be the property of; as, Jamaica belongs to Great Britain.
2. To be a part of, or connected with; to be appendant or related; to owe allegiance or service. A desert place belonging to . . . Bethsaids. Luke ix. 10. The mighty men which belonged to David. 1 Kings i. 8.
3. To be the concern or proper business or function of; to appertain to. "Do not interpretations belong to God " Gen. xl. 8.
4. To be suitable for; to be due to. Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age. Heb. v. 14. No blame belongs to thee. Shak.
5. To be native to, or an inhabitant of; esp. to have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town. Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers belong. Blackstone.
BELONG Be*long", v. t.
Defn: To be deserved by. [Obs.] More evils belong us than happen to us. B. Jonson.
BELONGING Be*long"ing, n. Etym: [Commonly in the pl.]
1. That which belongs to one; that which pertains to one; hence, goods or effects. "Thyself and thy belongings." Shak.
2. That which is connected with a principal or greater thing; an appendage; an appurtenance.
3. Family; relations; household. [Colloq.] Few persons of her ladyship's belongings stopped, before they did her bidding, to ask her reasons. Thackeray.
BELONITE Bel"o*nite, n. Etym: [Gr. a needle.] (Min.)
Defn: Minute acicular or dendritic crystalline forms sometimes observed in glassy volcanic rocks.
BELOOCHE; BELOOCHEE Bel*oo"che Bel*oo"chee, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to Beloochistan, or to its inhabitants. — n.
Defn: A native or an inhabitant of Beloochistan.
BELORD Be*lord", v. t.
1. To act the lord over.
2. To address by the title of "lord".
BELOVE Be*love", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beloved.] Etym: [OE. bilufien. See pref. Be-, and Love, v. t.]
Defn: To love. [Obs.] Wodroephe.
BELOVED Be*loved", p. p. & a.
Defn: Greatly loved; dear to the heart. Antony, so well beloved of Cæsar. Shak. This is my beloved Son. Matt. iii. 17.
BELOVED Be*lov"ed, n.
Defn: One greatly loved. My beloved is mine, and I am his. Cant. ii. 16.
BELOW Be*low", prep. Etym: [Pref. be- by + low.]
1. Under, or lower in place; beneath not so high; as, below the moon; below the knee. Shak.
2. Inferior to in rank, excellence, dignity, value, amount, price, etc.; lower in quality. "One degree below kings." Addison.
3. Unworthy of; unbefitting; beneath. They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain, . . . how below all history the persons and their actions were. Milton. Who thinks no fact below his regard. Hallam.
Syn. — Underneath; under; beneath.
BELOW Be*low", adv.
1. In a lower place, with respect to any object; in a lower room; beneath. Lord Marmion waits below. Sir W. Scott.
2. On the earth, as opposed to the heavens. The fairest child of Jove below. Prior.
3. In hell, or the regions of the dead. What businesss brought him to the realms below. Dryden.
4. In court or tribunal of inferior jurisdiction; as, at the trial below. Wheaton.
5. In some part or page following.
BELOWT Be*lowt", v. t.
Defn: To treat as a lout; to talk abusively to. [Obs.] Camden.
BELSIRE Bel"sire`, n. Etym: [Pref. bel- + sire. Cf. Beldam.]
Defn: A grandfather, or ancestor. "His great belsire Brute." [Obs.] Drayton.
BELSWAGGER Bel"swag`ger, n. Etym: [Contr. from bellyswagger.]
Defn: A lewd man; also, a bully. [Obs.] Dryden.
BELT Belt, n. Etym: [AS. belt; akin to Icel. belti, Sw. bälte, Dan. bælte, OHG. balz, L. balteus, Ir. & Gael. balt bo
1. That which engirdles a person or thing; a band or girdle; as, a lady's belt; a sword belt. The shining belt with gold inlaid. Dryden.
2. That which restrains or confines as a girdle. He cannot buckle his distempered cause Within the belt of rule. Shak.
3. Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe; as, a belt of trees; a belt of sand.
4. (Arch.)
Defn: Same as Band, n., 2. A very broad band is more properly termed a belt.
5. (Astron.)
Defn: One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.
6. (Geog.)
Defn: A narrow passage or strait; as, the Great Belt and the Lesser Belt, leading to the Baltic Sea.
7. (Her.)
Defn: A token or badge of knightly rank.
8. (Mech.)
Defn: A band of leather, or other flexible substance, passing around two wheels, and communicating motion from one to the other.
Note: [See Illust. of Pulley.]
9. (Nat. Hist.)
Defn: A band or stripe, as of color, round any organ; or any circular ridge or series of ridges. Belt lacing, thongs used for lacing together the ends of machine belting.
BELT Belt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belted; p. pr. & vb. n. Belting.]
Defn: To encircle with, or as with, a belt; to encompass; to surround. A coarse black robe belted round the waist. C. Reade. They belt him round with hearts undaunted. Wordsworth.
2. To shear, as the buttocks and tails of sheep. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
BELTANE Bel"tane, n. Etym: [Gael. bealltainn, bealltuinn.]
1. The first day of May (Old Style). The quarter-days anciently in Scotland were Hallowmas, Candlemas, Beltane, and Lammas. New English Dict.
2. A festival of the heathen Celts on the first day of May, in the observance of which great bonfires were kindled. It still exists in a modified form in some parts of Scotland and Ireland.
BELTED Belt"ed, a.
1. Encircled by, or secured with, a belt; as, a belted plaid; girt with a belt, as an honorary distinction; as, a belted knight; a belted earl.
2. Marked with a band or circle; as, a belted stalk.
3. Worn in, or suspended from, the belt. Three men with belted brands. Sir W. Scott. Belted cattle, cattle originally from Dutch stock, having a broad band of white round the middle, while the rest of the body is black; — called also blanketed cattle.
BELTEIN; BELTIN Bel"tein, Bel"tin, n.
Defn: See Beltane.
BELTING Belt"ing, n.
Defn: The material of which belts for machinery are made; also, belts, taken collectively.
BELUGA Be*lu"ga, n. Etym: [Russ. bieluga a sort of large sturgeon, prop. white fish, fr. bieluii white.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A cetacean allied to the dolphins.
Note: The northern beluga (Delphinapterus catodon) is the white whale and white fish of the whalers. It grows to be from twelve to eighteen feet long.
BELUTE Be*lute", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beluted; p. pr. & vb. n. Beluting.] Etym: [Pref. be- + L. lutum mud.]
Defn: To bespatter, as with mud. [R.] Sterne.
BELVEDERE Bel`ve*dere", n. Etym: [It., fr. bello, bel, beautiful + vedere to see.] (Arch.)
Defn: A small building, or a part of a building, more or less open, constructed in a place commanding a fine prospect.
BELZEBUTH Bel"ze*buth, n. Etym: [From Beelzebub.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A spider monkey (Ateles belzebuth) of Brazil.
BEMA Be"ma, n. Etym: [Gr. step, platform.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.)
Defn: A platform from which speakers addressed an assembly. Mitford.
2. (Arch.) (a) That part of an early Christian church which was reserved for the higher clergy; the inner or eastern part of the chancel. (b) Erroneously: A pulpit.
BEMAD Be*mad", v. t.
Defn: To make mad. [Obs.] Fuller.
BEMANGLE Be*man"gle, v. t.
Defn: To mangle; to tear asunder. [R.] Beaumont.
BEMASK Be*mask", v. t.
Defn: To mask; to conceal.
BEMASTER Be*mas"ter, v. t.
Defn: To master thoroughly.
BEMAUL Be*maul", v. t.
Defn: To maul or beat severely; to bruise. "In order to bemaul Yorick." Sterne.
BEMAZE Be*maze, v. t. Etym: [OE. bimasen; pref. be- + masen to maze.]
Defn: To bewilder. Intellects bemazed in endless doubt. Cowper.
BEMEAN Be*mean", v. t.
Defn: To make mean; to lower. C. Reade.
BEMEET Be*meet", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bemet; p. pr. & vb. n. Bemeeting.]
Defn: To meet. [Obs.] Our very loving sister, well bemet. Shak.
BEMETE Be*mete", v. t.
Defn: To mete. [Obs.] Shak.
BEMINGLE Be*min"gle, v. t.
Defn: To mingle; to mix.
BEMIRE Be*mire", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bemired; p. pr. & vb. n. Bemiring.]
Defn: To drag through, encumber with, or fix in, the mire; to soil by passing through mud or dirt. Bemired and benighted in the dog. Burke.
BEMIST Be*mist", v. t.
Defn: To envelop in mist. [Obs.]
BEMOAN Be*moan", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bemoaned; p. pr. & vb. n. Bemoaning.] Etym: [OE. bimenen, AS. bem; pref. be- + m to moan. See Moan.]
Defn: To express deep grief for by moaning; to express sorrow for; to lament; to bewail; to pity or sympathize with. Implores their pity, and his pain bemoans. Dryden.
Syn. — See Deplore.
BEMOANER Be*moan"er, n.
Defn: One who bemoans.
BEMOCK Be*mock", v. t.
Defn: To mock; to ridicule. Bemock the modest moon. Shak.
BEMOIL Be*moil", v. t. Etym: [Pref. be- + moil, fr. F. mouiller to wet; but cf. also OE. bimolen to soil, fr. AS. mal spot: cf. E. mole.]
Defn: To soil or encumber with mire and dirt. [Obs.] Shak.
BEMOL Be"mol, n. Etym: [F. bémol, fr. bé soft.] (Mus.)
Defn: The sign [Obs.]
BEMONSTER Be*mon"ster, v. t.
Defn: To make monstrous or like a monster. [Obs.] Shak.
BEMOURN Be*mourn", v. t.
Defn: To mourn over. Wyclif.
BEMUDDLE Be*mud"dle, v. t.
Defn: To muddle; to stupefy or bewilder; to confuse.
BEMUFFLE Be*muf"fle, v. t.
Defn: To cover as with a muffler; to wrap up. Bemuffled with the externals of religion. Sterne.
BEMUSE Be*muse", v. t.
Defn: To muddle, daze, or partially stupefy, as with liquor. A parson much bemused in beer. Pope.
BEN; BEN NUT Ben, Ben" nut`. Etym: [Ar. ban, name of the tree.] (Bot.)
Defn: The seed of one or more species of moringa; as, oil of ben. See Moringa.
BEN Ben, adv. & prep. Etym: [AS. binnan; pref. be- by + innan within, in in.]
Defn: Within; in; in or into the interior; toward the inner apartment. [Scot.]
BEN Ben, n. Etym: [See Ben, adv.]
Defn: The inner or principal room in a hut or house of two rooms; — opposed to but, the outer apartment. [Scot.]
BEN Ben.
Defn: An old form of the pl. indic. pr. of Be. [Obs.]
BENAME Be*name", v. t. [p. p. Benamed, Benempt.]
Defn: To promise; to name. [Obs.]
BENCH Bench, n.; pl. Benches. Etym: [OE. bench, benk, AS. benc; akin to Sw. bänk, Dan bænk, Icel. bekkr, OS., D., & G. bank. Cf. Bank, Beach.]
1. A long seat, differing from a stool in its greater length. Mossy benches supplied the place of chairs. Sir W. Scott.
2. A long table at which mechanics and other work; as, a carpenter's bench.
3. The seat where judges sit in court. To pluck down justice from your awful bench. Shak.
4. The persons who sit as judges; the court; as, the opinion of the full bench. See King's Bench.
5. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public; — so named because the animals are usually placed on benches or raised platforms.
6. A conformation like a bench; a long stretch of flat ground, or a kind of natural terrace, near a lake or river. Bench mark (Leveling), one of a number of marks along a line of survey, affixed to permanent objects, to show where leveling staffs were placed. — Bench of bishops, the whole body of English prelates assembled in council. — Bench plane, any plane used by carpenters and joiners for working a flat surface, as jack planes, long planes. — Bench show, an exhibition of dogs. — Bench table (Arch.), a projecting course at the base of a building, or round a pillar, sufficient to form a seat.
BENCH Bench, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benched; p. pr. & vb. n. Benching.]
1. To furnish with benches. 'T was benched with turf. Dryden. Stately theaters benched crescentwise. Tennyson.
2. To place on a bench or seat of honor. Whom I . . . have benched and reared to worship. Shak.
BENCH Bench, v. i.
Defn: To sit on a seat of justice. [R.] Shak.
BENCHER Bench"er, n.
1. (Eng. Law)
Defn: One of the senior and governing members of an Inn of Court.
2. An alderman of a corporation. [Eng.] Ashmole.
3. A member of a court or council. [Obs.] Shak.
4. One who frequents the benches of a tavern; an idler. [Obs.]
BENCH MARK Bench mark. (Leveling)
Defn: Any permanent mark to which other levels may be referred. Specif. : A horizontal mark at the water's edge with reference to which the height of tides and floods may be measured.
BENCH WARRANT Bench" war`rant. (Law)
Defn: A process issued by a presiding judge or by a court against a person guilty of some contempt, or indicted for some crime; — so called in distinction from a justice's warrant.
BEND Bend, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bended or Bent; p. pr. & vb. n. Bending.] Etym: [AS. bendan to bend, fr. bend a band, bond, fr. bindan to bind. See Bind, v. t., and cf. 3d & 4th Bend.]
1. To strain or move out of a straight line; to crook by straining; to make crooked; to curve; to make ready for use by drawing into a curve; as, to bend a bow; to bend the knee.
2. To turn toward some certain point; to direct; to incline. "Bend thine ear to supplication." Milton. Towards Coventry bend we our course. Shak. Bending her eyes . . . upon her parent. Sir W. Scott.
3. To apply closely or with interest; to direct. To bend his mind to any public business. Temple. But when to mischief mortals bend their will. Pope.
4. To cause to yield; to render submissive; to subdue. "Except she bend her humor." Shak.
5. (Naut.)
Defn: To fasten, as one rope to another, or as a sail to its yard or stay; or as a cable to the ring of an anchor. Totten. To bend the brow, to knit the brow, as in deep thought or in anger; to scowl; to frown. Camden.
Syn. — To lean; stoop; deflect; bow; yield.
BEND Bend, v. i.
1. To be moved or strained out of a straight line; to crook or be curving; to bow. The green earth's end Where the bowed welkin slow doth bend. Milton.
2. To jut over; to overhang. There is a cliff, whose high and bending head Looks fearfully in the confined deep. Shak.
3. To be inclined; to be directed. To whom our vows and wished bend. Milton.
4. To bow in prayer, or in token of submission. While each to his great Father bends. Coleridge.
BEND Bend, n. Etym: [See Bend, v. t., and cf. Bent, n.]
1. A turn or deflection from a straight line or from the proper direction or normal position; a curve; a crook; as, a slight bend of the body; a bend in a road.
2. Turn; purpose; inclination; ends. [Obs.] Farewell, poor swain; thou art not for my bend. Fletcher.
3. (Naut.)
Defn: A knot by which one rope is fastened to another or to an anchor, spar, or post. Totten.
4. (Leather Trade)
Defn: The best quality of sole leather; a butt. See Butt.
5. (Mining)
Defn: Hard, indurated clay; bind. Bends of a ship, the thickest and strongest planks in her sides, more generally called wales. They have the beams, knees, and foothooks bolted to them. Also, the frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to the top of the sides; as, the midship bend.
BEND Bend, n. Etym: [AS. bend. See Band, and cf. the preceding noun.]
1. A band. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. Etym: [OF. bende, bande, F. bande. See Band.] (Her.)
Defn: One of the honorable ordinaries, containing a third or a fifth part of the field. It crosses the field diagonally from the dexter chief to the sinister base. Bend sinister (Her.), an honorable ordinary drawn from the sinister chief to the dexter base.
BENDABLE Bend"a*ble, a.
Defn: Capable of being bent.
BENDER Bend"er, n.
1. One who, or that which, bends.
2. An instrument used for bending.
3. A drunken spree. [Low, U. S.] Bartlett.
4. A sixpence. [Slang, Eng.]
BENDING Bend"ing, n.
Defn: The marking of the clothes with stripes or horizontal bands. [Obs.] Chaucer.
BENDLET Bend"let, n. Etym: [Bend + -let: cf. E. bandlet.] (Her.)
Defn: A narrow bend, esp. one half the width of the bend.
BENDWISE Bend"wise, adv. (Her.)
Defn: Diagonally.
BENDY Ben"dy, a. Etym: [From Bend a band.] (Her.)
Defn: Divided into an even number of bends; — said of a shield or its charge. Cussans.
BENE Ben"e, n. (Bot.)
Defn: See Benne.
BENE Be"ne, n. Etym: [AS. b.]
Defn: A prayer; boon. [Archaic] What is good for a bootless bene Wordsworth.
BENE; BEN Bene, Ben, n. Etym: [Native name.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A hoglike mammal of New Guinea (Porcula papuensis).
BENEAPED Be*neaped", a. (Naut.)
Defn: See Neaped.
BENEATH Be*neath", prep. Etym: [OE. benethe, bineo, AS. beneo, beny; pref. be- + neo, ny, downward, beneath, akin to E. nether. See Nether.]
1. Lower in place, with something directly over or on; under; underneath; hence, at the foot of. "Beneath the mount." Ex. xxxii. 19. Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies. Pope.
2. Under, in relation to something that is superior, or that oppresses or burdens. Our country sinks beneath the yoke. Shak.
3. Lower in rank, dignity, or excellence than; as, brutes are beneath man; man is beneath angels in the scale of beings. Hence: Unworthy of; unbecoming. He will do nothing that is beneath his high station. Atterbury.
BENEATH Be*neath", adv.
1. In a lower place; underneath. The earth you take from beneath will be barren. Mortimer.
2. Below, as opposed to heaven, or to any superior region or position; as, in earth beneath.
BENEDICITE Ben`e*dic"i*te, n. Etym: [L., (imperative pl.,) bless ye, praise ye.]
Defn: A canticle (the Latin version of which begins with this word) which may be used in the order for morning prayer in the Church of England. It is taken from an apocryphal addition to the third chapter of Daniel.
BENEDICITE Ben`e*dic"i*te, interj. Etym: [See Benedicite, n.]
Defn: An exclamation corresponding to Bless you !.
BENEDICT; BENEDICK Ben"e*dict, Ben"e*dick, n. Etym: [From Benedick, one of the characters in Shakespeare's play of "Much Ado about Nothing."]
Defn: A married man, or a man newly married.
BENEDICT Ben"e*dict, a. Etym: [L. benedictus, p. p. of benedicere to bless. See Benison, and cf. Bennet.]
Defn: Having mild and salubrious qualities. [Obs.] Bacon.
BENEDICTINE Ben`e*dic"tine, a.
Defn: Pertaining to the monks of St. Benedict, or St. Benet.
BENEDICTINE Ben`e*dic"tine, n. (Eccl. Hist.)
Defn: One of a famous order of monks, established by St. Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century. This order was introduced into the United States in 1846.
Note: The Benedictines wear black clothing, and are sometimes called Black Monks. The name Black Fr which belongs to the Dominicans, is also sometimes applied to the Benedictines.
BENEDICTION Ben`e*dic"tion, n. Etym: [L. benedictio: cf. F. bénédiction. See Benison.]
1. The act of blessing.
2. A blessing; an expression of blessing, prayer, or kind wishes in favor of any person or thing; a solemn or affectionate invocation of happiness. So saying, he arose; whom Adam thus Followed with benediction. Milton. Homeward serenely she walked with God's benediction upon her. Longfellow. Specifically:
Defn: The short prayer which closes public worship; as, to give the benediction.
3. (Eccl.)
Defn: The form of instituting an abbot, answering to the consecration of a bishop. Ayliffe.
4. (R. C. Ch.)
Defn: A solemn rite by which bells, banners, candles, etc., are blessed with holy water, and formally dedicated to God.
BENEDICTIONAL Ben`e*dic"tion*al, n.
Defn: A book of benedictions.
BENEDICTIONARY Ben`e*dic"tion*a*ry, n.
Defn: A collected series of benedictions. The benedictionary of Bishop Athelwold. G. Gurton's Needle.
BENEDICTIVE Ben`e*dic"tive, a.
Defn: Tending to bless. Gauden.
BENEDICTORY Ben`e*dic"to*ry, a.
Defn: Expressing wishes for good; as, a benedictory prayer. Thackeray.
BENEDICTUS Ben`e*dic"tus, n. Etym: [L., blessed. See Benedict, a.]
Defn: The song of Zacharias at the birth of John the Baptist (Luke i. 68); — so named from the first word of the Latin version.
BENEDIGHT Ben"e*dight, a.
Defn: Blessed. [R.] Longfellow.
BENEFACTION Ben`e*fac"tion, n. Etym: [L. benefactio, fr. benefacere to do good to one; bene well + facere to do. See Benefit.]
1. The act of conferring a benefit. Johnson.
2. A benefit conferred; esp. a charitable donation.
Syn. — Gift; present; gratuity; boon; alms.
BENEFACTOR Ben`e*fac"tor,n. Etym: [L.]
Defn: One who confers a benefit or benefits. Bacon.
BENEFACTRESS Ben`e*fac"tress, n.
Defn: A woman who confers a benefit. His benefactress blushes at the deed. Cowper.
BENEFIC Be*nef"ic, a. Etym: [L. beneficus. See Benefice.]
Defn: Favorable; beneficent. Milton.
BENEFICE Ben"e*fice, n. Etym: [F. bénéfice, L. beneficium, a kindness , in LL. a grant of an estate, fr. L. beneficus beneficent; bene well + facere to do. See Benefit.]
1. A favor or benefit. [Obs.] Baxter.
2. (Feudal Law)
Defn: An estate in lands; a fief.
Note: Such an estate was granted at first for life only, and held on the mere good pleasure of the donor; but afterward, becoming hereditary, it received the appellation of fief, and the term benefice became appropriated to church livings.
3. An ecclesiastical living and church preferment, as in the Church of England; a church endowed with a revenue for the maintenance of divine service. See Advowson.
Note: All church preferments are called benefices, except bishoprics, which are called dignities. But, ordinarily, the term dignity is applied to bishoprics, deaneries, archdeaconries, and prebendaryships; benefice to parsonages, vicarages, and donatives.
BENEFICE Ben"e*fice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beneficed.]
Defn: To endow with a benefice.
Note: [Commonly in the past participle.]
BENEFICED Ben"e*ficed, a.
Defn: Possessed of a benefice o "Beneficed clergymen." Burke.
BENEFICELESS Ben"e*fice*less, a.
Defn: Having no benefice. "Beneficeless precisians." Sheldon.
BENEFICENCE Be*nef"i*cence, n. Etym: [L. beneficentia, fr. beneficus: cf. F. bénéficence. See Benefice.]
Defn: The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity; bounty springing from purity and goodness. And whose beneficence no charge exhausts. Cowper.
Syn. — See Benevolence.
BENEFICENT Be*nef`i*cent
Defn: , a. Doing or producing good; performing acts of kindness and charity; characterized by beneficence. The beneficent fruits of Christianity. Prescott.
Syn. — See Benevolent.
BENEFICENTIAL Be*nef`i*cen"tial, a.
Defn: Relating to beneficence.
BENEFICENTLY Be*nef"i*cent*ly, adv.
Defn: In a beneficent manner; with beneficence.
BENEFICIAL Ben`e*fi"cial, a. Etym: [Cf. F. bénéficial, LL. beneficialis.]
1. Conferring benefits; useful; profito. The war which would have been most beneficial to us. Swift.
2. (Law)
Defn: Receiving, or entitled to have or receive, advantage, use, or benefit; as, the beneficial owner of an estate. Kent.
3. King. [Obs.] "A beneficial foe." B. Jonson.
Syn. — See Advantage.
BENEFICIALLY Ben`e*fi"cial*ly, adv.
Defn: In a beneficial or advantageous manner; profitably; helpfully.
BENEFICIALNESS Ben`e*fi"cial*ness, n.
Defn: The quality of being beneficial; profitableness.
BENEFICIARY Ben`e*fi"ci*a*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. bénéficiaire, LL. beneficiarius.]
1. Holding some office or valuable possession, in subordination to another; holding under a feudal or other superior; having a dependent and secondary possession. A feudatory or beneficiary king of England. Bacon.
2. Bestowed as a gratuity; as, beneficiary gifts.
BENEFICIARY Ben`e*fi"ci*a*ry, n.; pl. Beneficiaries (.
1. A feudatory or vassal; hence, one who holds a benefice and uses its proceeds. Ayliffe.
2. One who receives anything as a gift; one who receives a benefit or advantage; esp. one who receives help or income from an educational fund or a trust estate. The rich men will be offering sacrifice to their Deity whose beneficiaries they are. Jer. Taylor.
BENEFICIATE Ben`e*fi"ci*ate, v. t. Etym: [Sp. beneficiar to benefit, to work mines.] (Mining)
Defn: To reduce (ores). — Ben`e*fi`ci*a"tion (n.
BENEFICIENT Ben`e*fi"cient, a.
Defn: Beneficent. [Obs.]
BENEFIT Ben"e*fit, n. Etym: [OE. benefet, benfeet, bienfet, F. bienfait, fr. L. benefactum; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + factum, p. p. of facere to do. See Bounty, and Fact.]
1. An act of kindness; a favor conferred. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps. ciii. 2.
2. Whatever promotes prosperity and personal happiness, or adds value to property; advantage; profit. Men have no right to what is not for their benefit. Burke.
3. A theatrical performance, a concert, or the like, the proceeds of which do not go to the lessee of the theater or to the company, but to some individual actor, or to some charitable use.
4. Beneficence; liberality. [Obs.] Webster (1623).
5. pl.
Defn: Natural advantaged; endowments; accomplishments. [R.] "The benefits of your own country." Shak. Benefit of clergy. (Law) See under Clergy.
Syn. — Profit; service; use; avail. See Advantage.
BENEFIT Ben"e*fit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benefited; p. pr. & vb. n. Benefitting.]
Defn: To be beneficial to; to do good to; to advantage; to advance in health or prosperity; to be useful to; to profit. I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Jer. xviii. 10.
BENEFIT Ben"e*fit, v. i.
Defn: To gain advantage; to make improvement; to profit; as, he will benefit by the change.
BENEFITER Ben"e*fit`er, n.
Defn: One who confers a benefit; — also, one who receives a benefit.
BENEFIT SOCIETY Benefit society.
Defn: A society or association formed for mutual insurance, as among tradesmen or in labor unions, to provide for relief in sickness, old age, and for the expenses of burial. Usually called friendly society in Great Britain.
BENEME Be*neme", v. t. Etym: [AS. ben. Cf. Benim.]
Defn: To deprive (of), or take away (from). [Obs.]
BENEMPT Be*nempt", p. p.
Defn: of Bename.
1. Promised; vowed. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. Named; styled. [Archaic] Sir W. Scott.
BENE PLACITO Be`ne plac"i*to. Etym: [It. beneplacito pleasure, fr. L. bene well + placitus pleasing.]
1. At or during pleasure. For our English judges there never was . . . any bene placito as their tenure. F. Harrison.
2. (Mus.)
Defn: At pleasure; ad libitum.
BENET Be*net", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benetted.]
Defn: To catch in a net; to insnare. Shak.
BENEVOLENCE Be*nev"o*lence, n. Etym: [OF. benevolence, L. benevolentia. See Benevolent.]
1. The disposition to do good; good will; charitableness; love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. The wakeful benevolence of the gospel. Chalmers.
2. An act of kindness; good done; charity given.
3. A species of compulsory contribution or tax, which has sometimes been illegally exacted by arbitrary kings of England, and falsely represented as a gratuity.
Syn. — Benevolence, Beneficence, Munificence. Benevolence marks a disposition made up of a choice and desire for the happiness of others. Beneficence marks the working of this disposition in dispensing good on a somewhat broad scale. Munificence shows the same disposition, but acting on a still broader scale, in conferring gifts and favors. These are not necessarily confined to objects of immediate utility. One may show his munificence in presents of pictures or jewelry, but this would not be beneficence. Benevolence of heart; beneficence of life; munificence in the encouragement of letters.
BENEVOLENT Be*nev"o*lent, a. Etym: [L. benevolens, -entis; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + volens, p. pr. of volo I will, I wish. See Bounty, and Voluntary.]
Defn: Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable. — Be*nev"o*lent*ly, adv.
Syn. — Benevolent, Beneficent. Etymologically considered, benevolent implies wishing well to others, and beneficent, doing well. But by degrees the word benevolent has been widened to include not only feelings, but actions; thus, we speak of benevolent operations, benevolent labors for the public good, benevolent societies. In like manner, beneficent is now often applied to feelings; thus, we speak of the beneficent intentions of a donor. This extension of the terms enables us to mark nicer shades of meaning. Thus, the phrase "benevolent labors" turns attention to the source of these labors, viz., benevolent feeling; while beneficent would simply mark them as productive of good. So, "beneficent intentions" point to the feelings of the donor as bent upon some specific good act; while "benevolent intentions" would only denote a general wish and design to do good.
BENEVOLOUS Be*nev"o*lous, a. Etym: [L. benevolus.]
Defn: Kind; benevolent. [Obs.] T. Puller.
BENGAL Ben*gal", n.
1. A province in India, giving its name to various stuffs, animals, etc.
2. A thin stuff, made of silk and hair, originally brought from Bengal.
3. Striped gingham, originally brought from Bengal; Bengal stripes. Bengal light, a firework containing niter, sulphur, and antimony, and producing a sustained and vivid colored light, used in making signals and in pyrotechnics; — called also blue light. — Bengal stripes, a kind of cotton cloth woven with colored stripes. See Bengal, 3. — Bengal tiger. (Zoöl.). See Tiger.
BENGALEE; BENGALI Ben*gal"ee, Ben*gal"i, n.
Defn: The language spoken in Bengal.
BENGALESE Ben`gal*ese", a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to Bengal. — n. sing. & pl. A native or natives of Bengal.
BENGOLA Ben*go"la, n.
Defn: A Bengal light.
BENIGHT Be*night", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Benighting.]
1. To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of night; to obscure. [Archaic] The clouds benight the sky. Garth.
2. To overtake with night or darkness, especially before the end of a day's journey or task. Some virgin, sure, . . . benighted in these woods. Milton.
3. To involve in moral darkness, or ignorance; to debar from intellectual light. Shall we to men benighted The lamp of life deny Heber.
BENIGHTMENT Be*night"ment, n.
Defn: The condition of being benighted.
BENIGN Be*nign", a. Etym: [OE. benigne, bening, OF. benigne, F. bénin, fem. bénigne, fr. L. benignus, contr. from benigenus; bonus good + root of genus kind. See Bounty, and Genus.]
1. Of a kind or gentle disposition; gracious; generous; favorable; benignant. Creator bounteous and benign. Milton.
2. Exhibiting or manifesting kindness, gentleness, favor, etc.; mild; kindly; salutary; wholesome. Kind influences and benign aspects. South.
3. Of a mild type or character; as, a benign disease.
Syn. — Kind; propitious; bland; genial; salubrious; favorable salutary; gracious; liberal.
BENIGNANCY Be*nig"nan*cy, n.
Defn: Benignant quality; kindliness.
BENIGNANT Be*nig"nant, a. Etym: [LL. benignans, p. pr. of benignare, from L. benignus. See Benign.]