Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Bēast'li-ness, n. p. 118The state or quality of being beastly; brutality; coarseness; vulgarity; filthiness. Spenser.Beast'ly, a. p. 118Pertaining to, or having the form and nature of, a beast. “Beastly divinities.” Prior. 2. Like a beast; brutal; coarse; filthy; contrary to the nature and dignity of man. The beastly vice of drinking…Bēat p. 118v. t. [imp. BEAT; p. p. BEAT, BEATEN; p. pr. & vb. n. BEATING.] [A-S. beatan, O. Sw. beta, Lat. battuere, Serb. batati, Russ. biti, Pol. bic; Fr. battre, Pr. batre, It. battere, Sp. batir, Pg.…Bēat, v. i. p. 118To strike repeatedly; to knock. The men of the city . . . beat at the door. Judges xix. 22. 2. To move with pulsation or throbbing. A thousand hearts beat happily. Byron. 3. To come or act with…Bēat, n. p. 118A stroke, or the manner of giving one; a blow. He, with a careless beat, Struck out the mute creation at a heat. Dryden. 2. A recurring stroke; a pulsation; as, the beat of the pulse. 3. (Mus.) (a.)…Bēat, a. p. 118Weary; tired; fatigued. [Modern and low.] Quite beat, and very much vexed and disappointed. Dickens.Beat or Bēat'en, p. a. p. 118Made smooth by beating or treading; worn by use. “A broad and beaten way.” Milton. “Beaten gold.” Shak. 2. Become common or trite by frequent use; as, a beaten question. 3. Tried; practiced. [Obs.]…Bēat'er, n. p. 118One who beats, or strikes. 2. An instrument for pounding.Bēath, v. t. p. 118To dry by exposure to fire. [Obs.]Bē-a-tif'ic, a. p. 118Bē/a-tif'ie-al p. 118See BEATIFY.] Imparting or completing blissful enjoyment. The greatness and strangeness of the beatific vision. South.Bē'a-tĭf'ie-al-ly, adv. p. 118In a beatific manner.Bē-a-tif'i-cāte, v. t. p. 118To beatify. [Obs.] Fuller.Be-ăt'i-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 118The act of beatifying, or of pronouncing or rendering happy; blessedness. “The beatification of his spirit.” Bp. Taylor. 2. (Rom. Cath. Church.) An act of the pope by which he declares a person…Be-ăt'i-fy, v. t. p. 118To pronounce or regard as happy, or as conferring happiness. The common conceits and phrases that beatify wealth. Barrow. 2. To make happy; to bless with the completion of celestial enjoyment.…Bēat'ing, n. p. 118The act of striking or giving blows; punishment or chastisement by blows. 2. A regular pulsation or throbbing; as, the beating of the heart. 3. (Mus.) The regular pulsative swellings of sound…Be-ăt'i-tūde, n. p. 118Felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss. 2. The declaration of blessedness made by our Savior to particular virtues. Udal. 3. (Rom. Cath. Church.) Beatification. Milman. Syn.— Blessedness…Beau, n. p. 118A man of dress; a fine, gay man; one whose great care is to deck his person; a lady’s attendant or suitor. “Even the beaux and coquettes of that age.” M’caulay.Beau'fet p. 118m. [See BUFFET.] A niche, cupboard, or sideboard for plate, china, glass, &c.; a buffet. “A spacious beaufet . . . filled with gold and silver vessels.” Prescott.Beau'fin, n. p. 118A variety of apple. [Eng.] [Written also bĭfin.] Wright.Beau i-dē'al, n. p. 118A conception or image of consummate beauty, formed in the mind, free from all the deformities, defects, and blemishes which nature exhibits.Beau'ish, a. p. 118Like a beau; foppish; fine. [Rare.] “A beauish young spark.” Byron.Beau Monde p. 118The fashionable world; people of fashion and gayety. Prior.Beau'père or Beau'phère, n. p. 118A fair companion. [Obs.] Spenser.Beau'ship, n. p. 118The state or character of being a beau. 2. A beau. [Burlesque.] “What his beauship says.” Dryden.Beau'te-oüs, a. p. 118Very fair; elegant in form; pleasing to the sight; beautiful; very handsome.Beau'te-oüs-ly, adv. p. 118In a manner pleasing to the sight; beautifully.Beau'te-ous-ness, n. p. 118The state or quality of being beauteous; beauty.Beau'ti-fi'er, n. p. 118One who, or that which, beautifies or makes beautiful.Beau'ti-ful, a. p. 118Having the qualities which constitute beauty; pleasing to the sight or to any of the other senses, or to the mind. A circle is more beautiful than a square; a square is more beautiful than a…Beau'ti-ful-ly, adv. p. 118In a beautiful manner.Beau'ti-ful-ness, n. p. 118The quality of being beautiful; beauty.Beau'ti-fy, v. t. p. 118To make or render beautiful; to adorn; to deck; to grace; to add beauty to; to embellish. The arts that beautify and polish life. Burke. Syn.—To adorn; grace; ornament; embellish; deck; decorate.Beau'ti-fy, v. i. p. 118To become beautiful; to advance in beauty. Addison.Beau'ti-less, a. p. 118Destitute of beauty. Hammond.Beau'ty, n. p. 118An assemblage of graces or of properties which pleases the sight or any of the other senses, or the mind; the qualities of an object which delight the esthetic faculty. Beauty consists of a certain…Beau'ty, v. t. p. 118To adorn; to beautify or embellish. [Obs.] Shak.Beau'ty-spot, n. p. 118A patch or spot placed on the face to heighten beauty.Bea'ver, n. p. 118(Zool.) An amphibious, rodent quadruped, of the genus Castor. See MAMMALS. It differs from other rodents especially by its palmated hind feet, and broad, flat, trowel-like tail, both characteristics…Bea'ver, n. p. 118Part of a helmet in front, so constructed with joints or otherwise that the wearer could raise or lower it to eat and drink.Bea'vered, a. p. 118Covered with or wearing a beaver or hat. “His beavered brow.” Pope.Bēa'ver-rāt, n. p. 118The musk-rat. Ogilvie.Bea'ver-teen, n. p. 118A kind of fustian made of coarse twilled cotton, shorn after dyeing. Simmonds.Be-bleed', v. t. p. 118To make bloody. [Obs.] Chaucer.Be-blöod′, v. t. p. 118To make bloody.Be-blōod'y p. 118Sheldon.Be-blŏt', v. t. p. 118To blot; to stain. [Obs.] Chaucer.Be-blŭb'bered, a. p. 118Foul or swelled with weeping. North.Bĕc'a-fī'co, n. p. 118(Ornith.) A small bird (Silvia hortensis) which is highly prized by the Italians for the delicacy of its flesh in the autumn, when it has fed on figs, grapes, &c.Be-cālm’, v. t. p. 118To render calm or quiet; to appease; to still. “Soft whispering airs . . . becalm the mind.” Philips. 2. To keep from motion, as a ship by want of wind.Be-cāme', imp. p. 119of become. See BECOME.Be-cause', conj. p. 119By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that. Freely we serve, because we freely love. Milton. Because of, by reason of, on account of. [prep.] The spirit is life, because of…Bē'ca-būn'gā, n. p. 119See BROOKLIME.Bĕch'a-mel, n. p. 119(Cookery.) A kind of fine, white broth or sauce, thickened with cream. Cooley.Be-chănçe', v. t. p. 119To befall; to happen to. What hath bechanced them? Shak.Be-chānçe', adv. p. 119By chance; by accident. Grafton.Be-chārm', v. t. p. 119To charm; to captivate. Beau. & Fl.Beche de Mer, n. p. 119(Zoöl.) The sea-slug or trepang, a species of Holothuria, much esteemed as a culinary delicacy among the Chinese. Baird.Bē'chĭc, n. p. 119A medicine for relieving coughs. [Obs.] Quincy.Bĕck, n. p. 119A small brook. “The brooks, the becks, the rills.” Drayton. [I have] watched The beck roll glittering to the noon-tide sun. Southey.