Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
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- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
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.Bĕck, n. p. 119A significant nod, or motion of the head or hand, as a call or command.Bĕck, v. i. p. 119To nod, or make a sign with the head or hand. Drayt. m.Bēck, v. t. p. 119To notify or call by a nod, or a motion of the head or hand; to intimate a command to.Bĕck'et, n. p. 119(Naut.) A contrivance to confine loose ropes, tackles, or spars, as a large hook, a rope with an eye at one end, &c. Totten. 2. A spade for digging turf. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.Bĕck-hār'man, n. p. 119A constable. [Obs. and low.] B. Jonson.Bĕck'on, v. i. p. 119To make a sign to another, by nodding, or a motion of the hand or finger, &c., intended as a hint or intimation. Stood and beckoned at the doorway. Longfellow.Bĕck'on, v. t. p. 119To make a significant sign to; hence, to summon. His distant friends he beckons near. Dryden.Bĕck'on, n. p. 119A sign made without words; a beck. [Rare.] “At the first beckon.” Bolingbroke.Be-clĭp', v. t. p. 119To embrace; to surround. [Obs.] Wickliffe.Be-cloud', v. t. p. 119To cause obscurity or dimness to; to overshadow. “If thou becloud the sunshine of thine eye.” Quarles.Be-cŏme' (-kŭm'), v. i. p. 119To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or condition, by a change from another state or condition, or by assuming or receiving new properties or qualities, additional matter, or a…Be-cōme', v. t. p. 119To suit or be suitable to; to be congruous with; to befit; to accord with, in character or circumstances; to be worthy of, or proper for; — usually said of things, but sometimes of persons. If I…Be-côm'ing, a. p. 119Appropriate or fit; congruous; suitable; graceful; befitting. “A low and becoming tone.” Thackeray. Formerly sometimes followed by of. Such discourses as are becoming of them. Dryden.Be-côm'ing, n. p. 119Something worn as an ornament. [Obs.] Shak.Be-côm'ing-ly, adv. p. 119After a becoming or proper manner.