Part 23

BE, b[=e], _v.i._ to live: to exist: to have a certain state or quality:--_pr.p._ b[=e]'ing; _pa.p._ been.--_n._ BE'-ALL (_Shak._), the whole being. [A.S. _b['e]on_; Ger. _bin_; Gael. _bi_, to exist; W. _byw_, to live; Gr. _phu-ein_, L. _fui_, _fio_, Sans. _bhu_, to be, orig. meaning to grow.]

BEACH, b[=e]ch, _n._ the shore of the sea or of a lake, esp. when sandy or pebbly: the strand.--_v.t._ to haul a boat up on the beach.--_n._ BEACH'-COMB'ER, a long rolling wave: a drunken loafer about the wharfs in Pacific seaports: a settler on a Pacific island who maintains himself by pearl-fishery, and often by less reputable means.--_adjs._ BEACHED, having a beach, driven on a beach; BEACH'Y, pebbly. [Orig. a prov. Eng. word for shingle. The derivation from Ice. _bakki_, bank, is untenable.]

BEACON, b[=e]'kn, _n._ a fire on an eminence used as a sign of danger: a hill on which such could be lighted: anything that warns of danger, esp. an erection of stone, wood, or iron often bearing a light, and marking rocks or shoals in rivers or navigable channels.--_v.t._ to act as a beacon to: to light up: to mark by means of beacons.--_n._ FLOAT'ING-BEA'CON, a light-ship. [A.S. _b['e]acn_, a beacon, a sign.]

BEAD, b[=e]d, _n._ a little ball pierced for stringing, a series of which forms the _rosary_ or _paternoster_, used in counting the prayers recited: any small ball of glass, amber, &c. strung in a series to form a necklace: a bead-like drop: the small knob of metal forming the front-sight of a gun--whence the Americanism, TO DRAW A BEAD UPON = to take aim at: (_archit._) a narrow moulding with semicircular section.--_v.t._ to furnish with beads.--_v.i._ to form a bead or beads.--_adj._ BEAD'ED, furnished with beads.--_ns._ BEAD'-HOUSE, a house for poor people who were required to pray for the soul of the founder: an almshouse; BEAD'ING, a moulding in imitation of beads.--_adj._ BEAD'-PROOF, of such proof or strength as to carry beads or bubbles when shaken, as alcoholic liquors.--_ns._ BEAD'-ROLL, in pre-Reformation times, a roll or list of the dead to be prayed for, hence a list of names, a long series: a rosary; BEADS'MAN, BEDES'MAN, one employed to pray for others, or one endowed to do so: (_Scot._) a public alms-man or licensed beggar:--_fem._ BEADS'WOMAN.--_adj._ BEAD'Y, bead-like, small and bright (of eyes): covered with beads or bubbles.--TO SAY, TELL, COUNT ONE'S BEADS, to offer a prayer. [A.S. _bed_, _gebed_, a prayer, from _biddan_, to pray. See BID.]

BEADLE, b[=e]d'l, _n._ a mace-bearer (esp. of the '_bedels_' or '_bedells_,' official attendants of the Oxford and Cambridge vice-chancellors): a petty officer of a church, college, parish, &c.: a parish officer with the power of punishing petty offenders: in Scotland, used of the 'church-officer' attending on the clergyman: (_obs._) a messenger or crier of a court.--_ns._ BEAD'LEDOM, BEAD'LEHOOD, stupid officiousness; BEAD'LESHIP, BED'ELSHIP, the office of beadle or bedel. [A.S. _bydel_--_b['e]odan_, to proclaim, to bid.]

BEADMAN. Same as BEADSMAN (q.v. under BEAD).

BEAGLE, b[=e]'gl, _n._ a small hound tracking by scent, formerly much used in hunting hares, but now superseded by the harrier: a spy: a bailiff: a small kind of shark.--The beagle was often followed by men on foot, hence FOOT'-BEA'GLE. [Ety. unknown. The Fr. _bigle_ is borrowed from English. Dr Murray suggests Fr. _b['e]gueule_, from _b['e]er_, to gape, and _gueule_, throat.]

BEAK, b[=e]k, _n._ the bill of a bird: anything pointed or projecting: the nose: in the ancient galley, a pointed iron fastened to the prow for piercing the enemy's vessel: (_slang_) a magistrate.--_adj._ BEAKED (b[=e]kt). [O. Fr. _bec_--Low L. _beccus_, of Celt. (Gaulish) origin.]

BEAKER, b[=e]k'[.e]r, _n._ a large drinking-bowl or cup, or its contents: a glass vessel marked for measuring liquids, with a beak or pointed mouth, used by chemists. [Scand. _bikarr_ (Scot. _bicker_), prob. from Low L. _bicarium_, acc. to Diez from Gr. _bikos_, a drinking-bowl.]

BEAM, b[=e]m, _n._ a large and straight piece of timber or iron forming one of the main supports against lateral pressure of a building, ship, &c.: (_fig._) from the figure of the mote and the beam--Matt. vii. 3: any of the transverse pieces of framing extending across a ship's hull, the greatest width of a ship or boat: the part of a balance from which the scales hang: the pole of a carriage: a cylinder of wood in a loom: a ray of light.--_v.t._ to send forth light: to shine.--_n._ BEAM'-EN'GINE, a steam-engine which has a beam connecting the piston-rod with the crank of the wheel-shaft, as distinguished from one that has its piston-rod directly attached to the crank.--_adv._ BEAM'ILY.--_n._ BEAM'INESS.--_adjs._ BEAM'LESS, without beams: emitting no rays of light; BEAM'Y, shining.--A BEAM SEA, one rolling against the ship's side.--BEFORE THE BEAM, the bearing of any object when seen more in advance than _on_ the beam; ABAFT THE BEAM, the reverse.--LEE or WEATHER BEAM, the side away from _or_ towards the wind.--ON HER BEAM ENDS, a phrase applied to the position of a ship when so much inclined to one side that the beams become nearly vertical.--ON THE STARBOARD BEAM, applied to any distant point out at sea, at right angles to the keel, and on the starboard or right-hand (as viewed from the stern) side of the ship; ON THE PORT BEAM similarly applies to the left hand. [A.S. _b['e]am_, a tree, stock of a tree, a ray of light; Ger. _baum_, a tree; Gr. _phyma_, a growth--_phy-ein_, to grow.]

BEAN, b[=e]n, _n._ the name of several kinds of leguminous plants and their seeds: applied also to the seeds of some other plants, from their bean-like form, as the Calabar bean, &c.--_ns._ BEAN'-FEAST, an annual dinner given by employers to their hands, perhaps from there having been served on such occasions _beans_ or a BEAN'-GOOSE, a species of goose said to be so called from its fondness for devouring new-sown beans; BEAN'-KING, the king of the festivities on Twelfth Night, chosen on his finding a bean hidden in the Twelfth Cake. [A.S. _b['e]an_; Ger. _bohne_, W. _ff[:a]en_; L. _faba_.]

BEAR, b[=a]r, _v.t._ to carry or support: to endure: to admit of: to be entitled to: to afford: to import: to manage: to behave or conduct one's self: to bring forth or produce.--_v.i._ to suffer: to be patient: to have reference to: to press (with _on_ or _upon_): to be situated:--_pr.p._ bear'ing; _pa.t._ b[=o]re; _pa.p._ b[=o]rne (but the _pa.p._ when used to mean 'brought forth' is _born_).--_adj._ BEAR'ABLE, that may be borne or endured.--_n._ BEAR'ABLENESS.--_adv._ BEAR'ABLY.--_ns._ BEAR'ER, one who or that which bears, esp. one who assists in carrying a body to the grave: a carrier or messenger; BEAR'ING, behaviour: situation of one object with regard to another: relation: that which is borne upon an escutcheon: (_mach._) the part of a shaft or axle in contact with its supports; BEAR'ING-CLOTH, the mantle or cloth in which a child was carried to the font; BEAR'ING-REIN, the fixed rein between the bit and the saddle, by which a horse's head is held up in driving and its neck made to arch.--BEAR HARD (_Shak._), to press or urge; BEAR IN HAND (_Shak._), to keep in expectation, to flatter one's hopes; TO BEAR A HAND, to give assistance; TO BEAR AWAY, to sail away; TO BEAR DOWN (with _upon_ or _towards_), to sail with the wind; TO BEAR OUT, to corroborate; TO BEAR UP, to keep up one's courage; TO BEAR UP FOR (_a place_), to sail towards; TO BEAR WITH, to make allowance for; TO BE BORNE IN (upon the) MIND, to be forcibly impressed upon it; TO BRING TO BEAR, to bring into operation (with _against_, _upon_); TO LOSE ONE'S BEARINGS, to become uncertain as to one's position. [A.S. _beran_; Goth. _bairan_, L. _ferre_, Gr. _pher-ein_, Sans. _bhri_.]

BEAR, an obsolete form of BIER.

BEAR, b[=a]r, _n._ a heavy quadruped of the order Carnivora, with long shaggy hair and hooked claws: any rude, rough, or ill-bred fellow: one who sells stocks for delivery at a future date, anticipating a fall in price so that he may buy first at an advantage--opp. to _Bull_: the old phrase 'a bearskin jobber' suggests an origin in the common proverb, 'to sell the bearskin before one has caught the bear' (hence TO BEAR, to speculate for a fall): (_astron._) the name of two constellations, the Great and the Little Bear.--_ns._ BEAR'-BER'RY, a trailing plant of the heath family, a species of the Arbutus; BEAR'BINE, a species of convolvulus, closely allied to the bindweed; BEAR'-GAR'DEN, an enclosure where bears are kept; a rude, turbulent assembly.--_adj._ BEAR'ISH, like a bear.--_ns._ BEAR'ISHNESS; BEAR'-LEAD'ER, a person who leads about a bear for exhibition: the tutor or governor of a youth at the university or on travel; BEAR'S'-BREECH, a common name for plants of the genus Acanthus; BEAR'S'-EAR, a common English name for the auricula; BEAR'S'-FOOT, a species of hellebore; BEAR'SKIN, the skin of a bear: a shaggy woollen cloth for overcoats: the high fur cap worn by the Guards in England; BEAR'-WARD, a warden or keeper of bears. [A.S. _bera_; Ger. _b[:a]r_; cf. L. _fera_, a wild beast, akin to Gr. _th[=e]r_, Aeolian _ph[=e]r_.]

BEAR, b[=e]r, _n._ barley, applied in Scotland to the now little grown variety _Hordeum hexastichon_. [A.S. _bere_.]

BEARD, b[=e]rd, _n._ the hair that grows on the chin and adjacent parts of a grown man's face: the tuft on the lower jaw of a goat, seal, &c.: the barbel of the cod, loach, &c.; prickles on the ears of corn: the barb of an arrow: the gills of oysters, &c.--_v.t._ to take by the beard: to oppose to the face.--_adj._ BEARD'ED, having a beard: prickly: barbed.--_n._ BEARD'-GRASS, a kind of bearded grass.--_adj._ BEARD'LESS. [A.S.; W. _barf_, Ger. _bart_, Russ. _boroda_, L. _barba_.]

BEAST, b[=e]st, _n._ an irrational animal, as opposed to man: a four-footed animal: a brutal person: the Beast, Antichrist in the Revelation--dim. BEAST'IES.--_n.pl._ BEAST'-F[=A]'BLES, stories in which animals play human parts--a widely-spread primitive form of literature, often surviving in more or less developed forms in the more advanced civilisations.--_ns._ BEAST'HOOD; BEAST'LIHEAD (_Spens._), the state or nature of a beast, beastliness; BEAST'LINESS.--_adj._ BEAST'LY, like a beast in actions or behaviour: coarse: obscene: (_colloq._) vile, disagreeable. [O. Fr. _beste_ (Fr. _b[^e]te_)--L. _bestia_.]

BEASTINGS. Same as BIESTINGS.

BEAT, b[=e]t, _v.t._ to strike repeatedly: to break or bruise: to strike, as bushes, in order to rouse game: to thrash: to overcome: to be too difficult for: to spread flat and thin by beating with a tool, as gold by a gold-beater--also TO BEAT OUT.--_v.i._ to give strokes repeatedly: to throb: to dash, as a flood or storm:--_pr.p._ beat'ing; _pa.t._ beat; _pa.p._ beat'en.--_n._ a recurrent stroke: a stroke recurring at intervals, or its sound, as of a watch or the pulse: a round or course, as a policeman's _beat_: a place of resort.--_adj._ weary: fatigued.--_adj._ BEAT'EN, made smooth or hard by beating or treading: trite: worn by use.--_ns._ BEAT'ER, one that beats or strikes: one who rouses or beats up game: a crushing instrument; BEAT'ING, the act of striking: chastisement by blows: regular pulsation or throbbing: rousing of game: exercising the brain.--BEATEN WORK, metal shaped by being hammered on an anvil or block of the necessary shape.--DEAD BEAT, completely exhausted.--TO BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH, to approach a subject in an indirect way; TO BEAT A RETREAT, to retreat, originally to beat the drum as a signal for retreat; TO BEAT OFF, to drive back; TO BEAT OUT, to work out fully, to make gold or silver leaf out of solid metal; TO BEAT THE AIR, to fight to no purpose, or against an imaginary enemy; TO BEAT THE BOUNDS, to trace out the boundaries of a parish in a periodic survey or perambulation, certain natural objects in the line of journey being formally struck with a rod, and sometimes also the boys whipped to make them remember; TO BEAT THE BRAINS, to puzzle one's brains about something; TO BEAT THE TATTOO (_mil._), to sound the drum for evening roll-call; TO BEAT UP, to alarm by a sudden attack: to disturb: to pay an untimeous visit to any one--also in 'to beat up for recruits,' to go about a town to enlist men. [A.S. _b['e]atan_, pa.t. _b['e]ot_.]

BEATH, b[=e]th, _v.t._ (_Spens._) to bathe. [A.S. _bethian_, to foment.]

BEATIFY, b[=e]-at'i-f[=i], _v.t._ to make blessed or happy: to declare to be in the enjoyment of eternal happiness in heaven.--_adjs._ BEATIF'IC, -AL, making supremely happy.--_adv._ BEATIF'ICALLY.--_n._ BEATIFIC[=A]'TION, act of beatifying: (_R.C. Church_) a declaration by the Pope that a person is blessed in heaven, authorising a certain definite form of public reverence payable to him--the first step to canonisation.--BEATIFIC VISION, a glimpse of the glory of heaven, esp. that which first bursts upon the disembodied soul. [L. _beatus_, blessed, and _fac[)e]re_, to make.]

BEATITUDE, b[=e]-at'i-t[=u]d, _n._ heavenly happiness, or happiness of the highest kind: (_pl._) sayings of Christ in Matt. v., declaring the possessors of certain virtues to be blessed. [L. _beatitudo_--_beatus_, blessed.]

BEAU, b[=o], _n._ a man attentive to dress or fashion: a fop or dandy: a lover:--_pl._ BEAUX (b[=o]z):--_fem._ BELLE.--_n._ BEAU'-ID[=E]'AL, ideal excellence, or an imaginary standard of perfection: the person in which such is realised.--_adj._ BEAU'ISH.--_ns._ BEAU'-MONDE, the gay or fashionable world; _Beaupere'_ (_Spens._), a term of courtesy for 'father,' esp. of ecclesiastical persons: a companion. [Fr. _beau_, _bel_--L. _bellus_, fine, gay, as if for a _benulus_, dim. of _benus_ = _bonus_, good.]

BEAUJOLAIS, b[=o]-zh[=o]-l[=a], _n._ a kind of red wine produced in South-eastern France. [From _Beaujolais_, a subdivision of the old province of Lyonnais.]

BEAUNE, b[=o]n, _n._ a red wine of Burgundy. [From the town of _Beaune_.]

BEAUTY, b[=u]'ti, _n._ a pleasing combination of qualities in a person or object: a particular grace or excellence: a beautiful person, esp. a woman, also applied collectively to the beautiful women of a special place: (_pl._) beautiful passages or extracts from the poets.--_v.t._ (_Shak._) to make beautiful.--_adj._ BEAU'TEOUS, full of beauty: fair: handsome.--_adv._ BEAU'TEOUSLY.--_ns._ BEAU'TEOUSNESS; BEAU'TIFIER, one who or that which beautifies or makes beautiful.--_adj._ BEAU'TIFUL, fair: with qualities that give delight to the senses, esp. the eye and ear, or which awaken admiration in the mind.--_adv._ BEAU'TIFULLY.--_v.t._ BEAU'TIFY, to make beautiful: to grace: to adorn.--_v.i._ (_rare_) to become beautiful, or more beautiful.--_ns._ BEAU'TY-SLEEP, the sleep before midnight, considered the most refreshing; BEAU'TY-SPOT, a patch placed on the face to heighten or draw attention to a woman's beauty; a foil, or anything that emphasises beauty by contrast. [O. Fr. _biaute_ (Fr. _beaut['e]_)--Low L. _bellitat-em_--L. _bellus_.]

BEAUXITE. See BAUXITE.

BEAVER, b[=e]v'[.e]r, _n._ an amphibious rodent quadruped valuable for its fur: the fur of the beaver: a hat made of the beaver's fur: a hat: a glove of beaver fur.--_adj._ BEAV'ERISH (_Carlyle_), like a beaver, merely instinctive.--_n._ BEAV'ERY, a place where beavers are kept. [A.S. _befer_, _beofor_; Dut. _bever_, Ger. _biber_, Gael, _beabhar_, L. _fiber_.]

BEAVER, b[=e]v'[.e]r, _n._ in medieval armour, the covering for the lower part of the face, the visor being that for the upper part--later the movable beaver was confounded with the visor.--_adj._ BEAV'ERED. [So called from a fancied likeness to a child's bib. O. Fr. _bavi[`e]re_, from _bave_, slaver.]

BEBEERU, b[=e]-b[=e]'r[=oo], _n._ the native name of the green-heart tree of Guiana.--_n._ BEBEERINE (b[=e]-b[=e]'rin), an alkaloid yielded by it, and used as a substitute for quinine.

BEBLUBBERED, be-blub'[.e]rd, _p.adj._ disfigured by weeping [Pfx. _be-_, and BLUBBER.]

BECALL, be-kawl', _v.t._ to call names, miscall.

BECALM, be-k[:a]m', _v.t._ to make calm, still, or quiet.--_p.adj._ BECALMED', motionless from want of wind. [Pfx. _be-_, and CALM.]

BECAME, be-k[=a]m', _pa.t._ of BECOME.

BECAUSE, be-kawz', _adv._ and _conj._ because of: for the reason that: on account of: for (followed by _of_). [Prep. _by_, and CAUSE.]

BECCAFICO, bek-a-f[=e]'ko, _n._ a small bird of the family of Sylviadae or Warblers, considered a delicacy by the Italians:--_pl._ BECCAFI'COES. [It., from _beccare_ to peck, and _fico_, a fig.]

BECHANCE, be-chans', _v.t._ to happen by chance: to befall--_adv._ by chance: accidentally. [A.S. _be-_, by, and CHANCE.]

BECHARM, be-ch[:a]rm', _v.t._ to charm: to enchant.

B[^E]CHE-DE-MER, b[=a]sh'-d[.e]-m[=a]r, _n._ the trepang or sea-slug, a species of Holothuria, much esteemed in China as a food delicacy. [Fr.]

BECK, bek, _n._ (_Spens._). Same as BEAK.

BECK, bek, _n._ a brook. [Ice. _bekkr_; Ger. _bach_.]

BECK, bek, _n._ a sign with the finger or head: a nod: (_Scot._) a gesture of salutation.--_v.i._ to make such a sign.--_v.t._ to call by a nod.--AT ONE'S BECK, subject to one's will. [A contr. of BECKON.]

BECKET, bek'et, _n._ (_naut._) a loop of rope having a knot at one end and an eye at the other: a large hook, or a wooden bracket used to keep loose tackle or spars in a convenient place. [Prob. Dut. _bogt_, _bocht_, a 'bend' of rope.]

BECKON, bek'n, _v.t._ to nod or make a sign to. [A.S. _b['i]ecnan_--_b['e]acn_, a sign. See BEACON.]

BECLOUD, be-klowd', _v.t._ to obscure by clouds: to dim.

BECOME, be-kum', _v.i._ to pass from one state to another: to come to be: to be the fate or end of (followed by _of_).--_v.t._ to suit or befit, to grace or adorn fittingly (with _dat._ object):--_pa.t._ bec[=a]me'; _pa.p._ become'.--_adj._ BECOM'ING, suitable to: graceful.--_adv._ BECOM'INGLY.--_n._ BECOM'INGNESS. [A.S. _becuman_. See COME.]

BECURL, be-kurl', _v.t._ to curl.

BED, bed, _n._ a couch or place to sleep on: a plot in a garden: a place in which anything rests, in carpentry, architecture, &c.: conjugal union, the marriage-bed, matrimonial rights and duties: the channel of a river: (_geol._) a layer or stratum.--_v.t._ to place in bed, as a couple after a wedding: to provide a bed, or to make a bed, for: to sow or plant: to lay in layers.--_v.i._ to cohabit or use the same bed with another:--_pr.p._ bed'ding; _pa.p._ bed'ded.--_ns._ BED'CHAMBER (see BED'ROOM); BED'DING, a collective name for the mattress, bed-clothes, &c., also litter for cattle.--_adj._ BED'FAST, confined to bed.--_ns._ BED'FELLOW, a sharer of the same bed; BED'MAKER, the name at Cambridge and elsewhere for those who make the beds and sweep the rooms in college; BED'-OF-HON'OUR, the grave of a soldier who has fallen in battle; BED'-OF-JUS'TICE (Fr. _lit. de justice_), the king's throne in the Parlement of Paris, also a sitting at which the king was present, chiefly for the registration of his own decrees; BED'PLATE (_mech._), the foundation plate of an engine, lathe, &c.; BED'POST, a post forming an angle of a bedstead, often in former days high enough to support a canopy; BED'PRESSER (_Shak._), a heavy, lazy fellow.--_adjs._ BED'RID, BED'RIDDEN, confined to bed by age or sickness: worn out.--_ns._ BED'RIGHT (_Shak._), the privilege of the marriage-bed; BED'ROCK, the solid rock underneath superficial formations; BED'ROOM, a room in which there is a bed: a sleeping apartment--_Bedchamber_ was the earlier form.--_n.pl._ BED'-SORES, painful ulcers that often arise in a long confinement to bed, esp. over the bony prominences of the body--the lower parts of the spine, the haunch bones, the heel, and the elbow.--_ns._ BED'-STAFF, a staff or stick formerly used about a bed, in old times a handy weapon, whence perhaps the phrase, 'in the twinkling of a bed-staff;' BED'STEAD, a frame for supporting a bed; BED'STRAW, the name applied to a genus of the Rubiaceae, of which eleven species are found in England, the most familiar our Lady's Bedstraw, or Yellow Bedstraw (_Galium verum_), sometimes called Cheese Rennet from its property of curdling milk; BED'SWERVER (_Shak._), one who is false to his marriage vow; BED'TICK, the case in which feathers, hair, chaff, &c. are put for bedding.--_adv._ BED'WARD, in the direction of bed: towards bedtime.--_n._ BED'WORK (_Shak._), work easily performed, as if done in bed.--BED AND BOARD, food and lodging: full connubial relations; BED OF DOWN, or ROSES, any easy or comfortable place.--LORDS OF THE BEDCHAMBER, twelve officers in the British royal household who wait in turn upon the sovereign's person; in the reign of a queen the office is performed by ladies.--TO BE BROUGHT TO BED, to be confined in child-birth (with _of_); TO KEEP ONE'S BED, to remain in bed; TO LIE IN THE BED ONE HAS MADE, to have to accept the consequences of one's own conduct; TO MAKE A BED, to put a bed in order after it has been used. [A.S. _bed_; Ger. _bett_, Ice. _bedr_.]

BEDABBLE, be-dab'l, _v.t._ to dabble or wet. [Pfx. _be-_, and DABBLE.]

BEDAD, be-dad', _interj._ an Irish minced oath, from _begad_ = by God.

BEDAGGLE, be-dag'l, _v.t._ to soil by dragging along the wet ground.

BEDARKEN, be-dark'n, _v.t._ to cover with darkness.

BEDASH, be-dash', _v.t._ to bespatter with water.

BEDAUB, be-dawb', _v.t._ to daub over or smear with any dirty matter.

BEDAZZLE, be-daz'l, _v.t._ to dazzle or overpower by any strong light.--_pa.p._ BEDAZ'ZLED, BEDAZED', stupefied, besotted.--_n._ BEDAZ'ZLEMENT.

BEDE. Same as BEAD, a prayer.

BEDEAFEN, be-def'n, _v.t._ to make deaf: to stun.

BEDECK, be-dek', _v.t._ to deck or ornament.

BEDEGUAR, bed'e-gar, _n._ a soft spongy gall found on the branches of some species of roses, esp. the sweet-brier, called also the sweet-brier sponge. [Through Fr. from Pers. and Ar. _b[=a]d[=a]-war_, lit. 'wind-brought.']

BEDEL, b[=e]'dl, BEDELL, be-del', archaic forms of BEADLE (q.v.), still used at Oxford and Cambridge.

BEDESMAN. Same as BEADSMAN (q.v. under BEAD).

BEDEVIL, be-dev'il, _v.t._ to throw into confusion: to 'play the devil' with: to torment: to treat with devilish malignity.--_pass._ to be possessed of a devil, to be devil-rid.--_n._ BEDEV'ILMENT.

BEDEW, be-d[=u]', _v.t._ to moisten gently, as with dew.

BEDIGHT, be-d[=i]t', _adj._ (_poet._) adorned. [Pfx. _be-_, and DIGHT.]

BEDIM, be-dim', _v.t._ to make dim or dark.--_pa.p._ BEDIMMED'.

BEDIZEN, be-d[=i]z'n, _v.t._ to dress gaudily.--_adj._ BEDIZ'ENED.--_n._ BEDIZ'ENMENT.

BEDLAM, bed'lam, _n._ an asylum for lunatics: a madhouse: a place of uproar.--_adj._ fit for a madhouse.--_ns._ BED'LAMISM, anything characteristic of madness; BED'LAMITE, a madman. [Corrupted from _Bethlehem_ (St Mary of Bethlehem), the name of a priory in London, afterwards converted into a madhouse.]

BEDOUIN, bed'[=oo]-in, _n._ the name given to those Arabs who live in tents and lead a nomadic life. [Fr.--Ar. _b[=a]d[=a]win_, dwellers in the desert.]

BEDRAGGLE, be-drag'l, _v.t._ to soil by dragging in the wet or dirt--most common, the _p.adj._ BEDRAG'GLED. [See DRAGGLE.]

BEDRAL, bed'ral, _n._ a beadle.--Also BED'ERAL. [A Scand. form of BEADLE.]

BEDRENCH, be-drensh', _v.t._ to drench or wet thoroughly.

BEDROP, be-drop', _v.t._ to drop upon.--_pa.p._ BEDROPT', sprinkled as with drops: strewn.

BEDUCK, be-duk', _v.t._ to duck or plunge under water.

BEDUIN, a form of BEDOUIN.

BEDUNG, be-dung', _v.t._ to manure: to befoul with dung.

BEDUST, be-dust', _v.t._ to cover with dust.

BEDWARF, be-dwawrf', _v.t._ to make dwarfish.

BEDYE, be-d[=i]', _v.t._ (_Spens._) to dye or stain.

BEE, b[=e], _n._ a four-winged insect that makes honey: (_U.S._) a gathering of persons to unite their labour for the benefit of one individual or family, or for some joint amusement or exercise, as 'a quilting bee,' 'a husking bee,' 'a spelling bee' (from the bee's habit of combined labour).--Compound words are BEE'-FLOW'ER, BEE'-GAR'DEN, BEE'-HOUSE, BEE'-MAS'TER.--_ns._ BEE'-BREAD, the pollen of flowers collected by bees as food for their young; BEE'-EAT'ER, a brightly-plumaged family of birds nearly allied to the kingfisher, which feeds on bees; BEE'-GLUE, the soft glutinous matter by which bees fix their combs to the hive; BEE'HIVE, a case or box in which bees are kept, of straw-work, wood, &c.--Scotch _Bee-skep_.--_adj._ shaped like a beehive, dome-shaped.--_ns._ BEE'-LINE, the most direct road from one point to another, like the honey-laden bee's way home to the hive; BEE'-MOTH, a species of moth whose larvae are very destructive to young bees; BEES'WAX, the wax secreted by bees, and used by them in constructing their cells.--_v.t._ to polish with beeswax.--_n._ BEES'WING, a filmy crust of tartar formed in port and some other wines after long keeping.--_adj._ BEES'WINGED, so old as to show beeswing.--A BEE IN ONE'S BONNET, a whimsical or crazy fancy on some point. [A. S. _b['e]o_; Ger. _biene_.]

BEECH, b[=e]ch, _n._ a common forest tree with smooth silvery-looking bark and small edible nuts.--_adj._ BEECH'EN.--_ns._ BEECH'-MAST, the mast or nuts of the beech-tree, which yield a valuable oil; BEECH'-OIL, oil expressed from the nuts of the beech-tree. [A.S. _b['o]ece_, _b['e]ce_; Ger. _buche_, L. _fagus_, Gr. _ph[=e]gos_--from root of _phag-ein_, to eat.]