Bespit - Betrap

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Bespit (b�spĭt), v. t. [imp. Bespit; p. p. Bespit, Bespitten (-t'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespitting.] To daub or soil with spittle. Johnson.
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Bespoke (b�spōk), imp. & p. p. of .
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bespoken adj. 1. same as ; -- of clothing.
Syn. -- bespoke, custom, made-to-order, tailored, tailor-made.
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2. bound by an agreement to become married to someone.
Syn. -- affianced, betrothed, engaged, pledged, promised(predicate).
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Bespot (b�spŏt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bespotted (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bespotting.] To mark with spots, or as with spots.
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Bespread (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bespread; p. pr. & vb. n. Bespreading.] To spread or cover over.
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The carpet which bespread
His rich pavilion's floor. Glover.
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Besprent (�), p. p. [OE. bespreynt, p. p. of besprengen, bisprengen, to besprinkle, AS. besprengan, akin to D. & G. besprengen; pref. be- + sprengan to sprinkle. See .] Sprinkled over; strewed.
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His face besprent with liquid crystal shines. Shenstone.
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The floor with tassels of fir was besprent. Longfellow.
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Besprinkle (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Besprinkled (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Besprinkling (�).] To sprinkle over; to scatter over.
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The bed besprinkles, and bedews the ground. Dryden.
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Besprinkler (�), n. One who, or that which, besprinkles.
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Besprinkling (�), n. The act of sprinkling anything; a sprinkling over.
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Bespurt (�), v. t. To spurt on or over; to asperse. [Obs.] Milton.
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Bessemer steel (�). Steel made directly from cast iron, by burning out a portion of the carbon and other impurities that the latter contains, through the agency of a blast of air which is forced through the molten metal; -- so called from Sir Henry Bessemer, an English engineer, the inventor of the process.
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Besseya n. a genus of North American spring wildflowers.
Syn. -- genus Besseya.
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Best (bĕst), a.; superl. of Good. [AS. besta, best, contr. from betest, betst, betsta; akin to Goth. batists, OHG. pezzisto, G. best, beste, D. best, Icel. beztr, Dan. best, Sw. bäst. This word has no connection in origin with good. See .] 1. Having good qualities in the highest degree; most good, kind, desirable, suitable, etc.; most excellent; as, the best man; the best road; the best cloth; the best abilities.
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When he is best, he is a little worse than a man. Shak.
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Heaven's last, best gift, my ever new delight. Milton.
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2. Most advanced; most correct or complete; as, the best scholar; the best view of a subject.
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3. Most; largest; as, the best part of a week.
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Coloq. Best man , the only or principal groomsman at a wedding ceremony.
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Best, n. Utmost; highest endeavor or state; most nearly perfect thing, or being, or action; as, to do one's best; to the best of our ability.
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Coloq. At best , in the utmost degree or extent applicable to the case; under the most favorable circumstances; as, life is at best very short. -- Coloq. For best , finally. [Obs.] “Those constitutions . . . are now established for best, and not to be mended.” Milton. -- Coloq. To get the best of , to gain an advantage over, whether fairly or unfairly. -- Coloq. To make the best of . (a) To improve to the utmost; to use or dispose of to the greatest advantage. “Let there be freedom to carry their commodities where they can make the best of them.” Bacon. (b) To reduce to the least possible inconvenience; as, to make the best of ill fortune or a bad bargain.
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Best, adv.; superl. of . 1. In the highest degree; beyond all others. “Thou serpent! That name best befits thee.” Milton.
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He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small. Coleridge.
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2. To the most advantage; with the most success, case, profit, benefit, or propriety.
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Had we best retire? I see a storm. Milton.
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Had I not best go to her? Thackeray.
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3. Most intimately; most thoroughly or correctly; as, what is expedient is best known to himself.
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Best, v. t. To get the better of. [Colloq.]
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Bestad (�), imp. & p. p. of . Beset; put in peril. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Bestain (�), v. t. To stain.
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Bestar (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bestarred (�).] To sprinkle with, or as with, stars; to decorate with, or as with, stars; to bestud. “Bestarred with anemones.” W. Black.
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Bestead (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bestead or Bested, also (Obs.) Bestad. In sense 3 imp. also Besteaded.] [Pref. be- + stead a place.] 1. To put in a certain situation or condition; to circumstance; to place. [Only in p. p.]
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They shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: . . . and curse their king and their God. Is. viii. 21.
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Many far worse bestead than ourselves. Barrow.
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2. To put in peril; to beset. [Only in p. p.] Chaucer.
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3. To serve; to assist; to profit; to avail. Milton.
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bested adj. same as .
Syn. -- outdone.
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Bestial (�), a. [F. bestial, L. bestialis, fr. bestia beast. See .] 1. Belonging to a beast, or to the class of beasts.
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Among the bestial herds to range. Milton.
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2. Having the qualities of a beast; brutal; below the dignity of reason or humanity; irrational; carnal; beastly; sensual. Shak.
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Syn. -- Brutish; beastly; brutal; carnal; vile; low; depraved; sensual; filthy.
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Bestial, n. A domestic animal; also collectively, cattle; as, other kinds of bestial. [Scot.]
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bestialise v. same as .
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Bestiality (�), n. [F. bestialité.] 1. The state or quality of being bestial.
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2. Unnatural connection with a beast.
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Bestialize (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bestialized (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestializing.] To make bestial, or like a beast; to degrade; to brutalize.
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The process of bestializing humanity. Hare.
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Bestially, adv. In a bestial manner.
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Bestiary (?), n. [LL. bestiarium, fr. L. bestiarius pert. to beasts, fr. bestia beast: cf. F. bestiaire.] A treatise on beasts; esp., one of the moralizing or allegorical beast tales written in the Middle Ages.
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A bestiary . . . in itself one of the numerous mediæval renderings of the fantastic mystical zoölogy. Saintsbury.
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Bestick (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bestuck (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Besticking.] To stick over, as with sharp points pressed in; to mark by infixing points or spots here and there; to pierce.
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Truth shall retire
Bestuck with slanderous darts. Milton.
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Bestill (�), v. t. To make still.
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Bestir (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bestirred (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestirring.] To put into brisk or vigorous action; to move with life and vigor; -- usually with the reciprocal pronoun.
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You have so bestirred your valor. Shak.
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Rouse and bestir themselves ere well awake. Milton.
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Bestorm (�), v. i. & t. To storm. Young.
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Bestow (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bestowed (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestowing.] [OE. bestowen; pref. be- + stow a place. See .] 1. To lay up in store; to deposit for safe keeping; to stow; to place; to put. “He bestowed it in a pouch.” Sir W. Scott.
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See that the women are bestowed in safety. Byron.
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2. To use; to apply; to devote, as time or strength in some occupation.
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3. To expend, as money. [Obs.]
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4. To give or confer; to impart; -- with on or upon.
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Empire is on us bestowed. Cowper.
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Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor. 1 Cor. xiii. 3.
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5. To give in marriage.
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I could have bestowed her upon a fine gentleman. Tatler.
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6. To demean; to conduct; to behave; -- followed by a reflexive pronoun. [Obs.]
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How might we see Falstaff bestow himself to-night in his true colors, and not ourselves be seen ? Shak.
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Syn. -- To give; grant; present; confer; accord.
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Bestowal (�), n. The act of bestowing; disposal.
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Bestower (�), n. One that bestows.
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Bestowment (�), n. 1. The act of giving or bestowing; a conferring or bestowal.
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If we consider this bestowment of gifts in this view. Chauncy.
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2. That which is given or bestowed.
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They almost refuse to give due praise and credit to God's own bestowments. I. Taylor.
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Bestraddle (�), v. t. To bestride.
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Bestraught (�), a. [Pref. be- + straught; prob. here used for distraught.] Out of one's senses; distracted; mad. [Obs.] Shak.
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Bestreak (�), v. t. To streak.
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Bestrew (�), v. t. [imp. Bestrewed (�); p. p. Bestrewed, Bestrown (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bestrewing.] To strew or scatter over; to besprinkle. [Spelt also bestrow.] Milton.
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Bestride (�), v. t. [imp. Bestrode (�), (Obs. or R.) Bestrid (�); p. p. Bestridden (�), Bestrid, Bestrode; p. pr. & vb. n. Bestriding.] [AS. bestrīdan; pref. be- + strīdan to stride.] 1. To stand or sit with anything between the legs, or with the legs astride; to stand over
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That horse that thou so often hast bestrid. Shak.
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Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus. Shak.
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2. To step over; to stride over or across; as, to bestride a threshold.
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Bestrode (�), imp. & p. p. of .
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Bestrown (�), p. p. of .
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Bestuck (�), imp. & p. p. .
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Bestud (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bestudded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bestudding.] To set or adorn, as with studs or bosses; to set thickly; to stud; as, to bestud with stars. Milton.
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Beswike, v. t. [AS. beswīcan; be- + swīcan to deceive, entice; akin to OS. swīkan, OHG. swīhhan, Icel. svīkja.] To lure; to cheat. [Obs.] Gower.
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Bet (�), n. [Prob. from OE. abet abetting, OF. abet, fr. abeter to excite, incite. See .] That which is laid, staked, or pledged, as between two parties, upon the event of a contest or any contingent issue; the act of giving such a pledge; a wager. “Having made his bets.” Goldsmith.
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Bet, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bet, Betted (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Betting.] To stake or pledge upon the event of a contingent issue; to wager.
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John a Gaunt loved him well, and betted much money on his head. Shak.
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I'll bet you two to one I'll make him do it. O. W. Holmes.
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Bet, imp. & p. p. of . [Obs.]
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Bet, a. & adv. An early form of . [Obs.]
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Coloq. To go bet , to go fast; to hurry. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Beta (?), n. [Gr. bh^ta.] The second letter of the Greek alphabet, B, β. See , and cf. etymology of . Beta (B, β) is used variously for classifying, as: (a) (Astron.) To designate some bright star, usually the second brightest, of a constellation, as, β Aurigæ. (b) (Chem.) To distinguish one of two or more isomers; also, to indicate the position of substituting atoms or groups in certain compounds; as, β-naphthol. With acids, it commonly indicates that the substituent is in union with the carbon atom next to that to which the carboxyl group is attached.
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{ Betacism (?), Betacismus (?) }, n. Excessive or extended use of the b sound in speech, due to conversion of other sounds into it, as through inability to distinguish them from b, or because of difficulty in pronouncing them.
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Betaine (�), n. [From beta, generic name of the beet.] (Chem.) A nitrogenous base, C5H11NO2, produced artificially, and also occurring naturally in beet-root molasses and its residues, from which it is extracted as a white crystalline substance; -- called also lycine and oxyneurine. It has a sweetish taste.
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Betake (�), v. t. [imp. Betook (�); p. p. Betaken (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Betaking.] [Pref. be- + take.] 1. To take or seize. [Obs.] Spenser.
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2. To have recourse to; to apply; to resort; to go; -- with a reflexive pronoun.
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They betook themselves to treaty and submission. Burke.
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The rest, in imitation, to like arms
Betook them. Milton.
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Whither shall I betake me, where subsist? Milton.
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3. To commend or intrust to; to commit to. [Obs.]
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Beta rays (?). (Physics) a form of ionizing radiation emitted by radioactive substances (such as radium), more penetrating than alpha rays, and consisting of negatively charged electrons. The electrons are the same kind of particle as those of cathode rays, but have much higher velocities (about 35,000 to 180,000 miles per second). They are readily deflected by a magnetic or electric field.
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betatron n. a type of particle accelerator which accelerates a continuous beam of electrons to high speeds by means of the electric field produced by changing magnetic flux.
Syn. -- induction accelerator.
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Betaught (b�t�t),a. [p. p. of OE. bitechen, AS. betǣcan, to assign, deliver. See .] Delivered; committed in trust. [Obs.]
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Bete (bēt), v. t. To better; to mend. See . [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Beteela (�), n. [Pg. beatilha.] An East India muslin, formerly used for cravats, veils, etc. [Obs.]
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Beteem (�), v. t. [Pref. be- + an old verb teem to be fitting; cf. D. betamen to beseem, G. ziemen, Goth. gatiman, and E. tame. See , a.] 1. To give ; to bestow; to grant; to accord; to consent. [Obs.] Spenser. Milton.
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2. To allow; to permit; to suffer. [Obs.]
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So loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Shak.
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Betel (bēt'l), n. [Pg., fr. Tamil veṭṭilei, prop. meaning, a mere leaf.] (Bot.) A species of pepper (Piper betle), the leaves of which are chewed, with the areca or betel nut and a little shell lime, by the inhabitants of the East Indies. It is a woody climber with ovate many-nerved leaves.
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Betelguese (bĕtĕljēz), n. [F. Bételgeuse, of Arabic origin.] (Astron.) A bright star of the first magnitude, near one shoulder of Orion. [Written also Betelgeux and Betelgeuse.]
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Betel nut (�). The nutlike seed of the areca palm, chewed in the East with betel leaves (whence its name) and shell lime.
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Bête noire (�). [Fr., lit. black beast.] Something especially hated or dreaded; a bugbear.
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beth n. the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
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Bethabara wood (�). (Bot.) A highly elastic wood, used for fishing rods, etc. The tree is unknown, but it is thought to be East Indian.
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Bethel (bĕthĕl), n. [Heb. bēth-el house of God.]
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1. A place of worship; a hallowed spot. S. F. Adams.
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2. A chapel for dissenters. [Eng.]
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3. A house of worship for seamen.
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Bethink (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bethought (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Bethinking.] [AS. beþencan; pref. be- + þencan to think. See .] To call to mind; to recall or bring to recollection, reflection, or consideration; to think; to consider; -- generally followed by a reflexive pronoun, often with of or that before the subject of thought.
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I have bethought me of another fault. Shak.
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The rest . . . may . . . bethink themselves, and recover. Milton.
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We bethink a means to break it off. Shak.
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Syn. -- To recollect; remember; reflect.
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Bethink, v. i. To think; to recollect; to consider. “Bethink ere thou dismiss us.” Byron.
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Bethlehem (�), n. [Heb. bēth-lekhem house of food; bēth house + lekhem food, lākham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. Cf. .] 1. A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam.
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2. (Arch.) In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached to a church edifice, in which the bread for the eucharist is made. Audsley.
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{ Bethlehemite (�), Bethlemite (�), } n. 1. An inhabitant of Bethlehem in Judea.
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2. An insane person; a madman; a bedlamite.
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3. One of an extinct English order of monks.
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Bethought (�), imp. & p. p. of .
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Bethrall (�), v. t. To reduce to thralldom; to inthrall. [Obs.] Spenser.
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Bethumb (�), v. t. To handle; to wear or soil by handling; as books. Poe.
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Bethump (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bethumped (�), or Bethumpt; p. pr. & vb. n. Bethumping.] To beat or thump soundly. Shak.
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Betide (b�tīd), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Betided (�), Obs. Betid (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Betiding.] [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tīdan, to happen, fr. tīd time. See .] To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer.
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What will betide the few ? Milton.
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Betide, v. i. To come to pass; to happen; to occur.
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A salve for any sore that may betide. Shak.
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☞ Shakespeare has used it with of. “What would betide of me ?”
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{ Betime (�), Betimes (�), } adv. [Pref. be- (for by) + time; that is, by the proper time. The -s is an adverbial ending.] 1. In good season or time; before it is late; seasonably; early.
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To measure life learn thou betimes. Milton.
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To rise betimes is often harder than to do all the day's work. Barrow.
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2. In a short time; soon; speedily; forth with.
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He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes. Shak.
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Betitle (�), v. t. To furnish with a title or titles; to entitle. [Obs.] Carlyle.
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Betoken (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Betokened (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Betokening.] 1. To signify by some visible object; to show by signs or tokens.
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A dewy cloud, and in the cloud a bow . . .
Betokening peace from God, and covenant new. Milton.
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2. To foreshow by present signs; to indicate something future by that which is seen or known; as, a dark cloud often betokens a storm.
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Syn. -- To presage; portend; indicate; mark; note.
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Béton (�), n. [F. béton, fr. L. bitumen bitumen.] (Masonry) The French name for concrete; hence, concrete made after the French fashion.
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Betongue (�), v. t. To attack with the tongue; to abuse; to insult.
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Betony (�), n.; pl. Betonies (�). [OE. betony, betany, F. betoine, fr. L. betonica, vettonica.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Betonica (Linn.).
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☞ The purple or wood betony (Betonica officinalis, Linn.) is common in Europe, being formerly used in medicine, and (according to Loudon) in dyeing wool a yellow color.
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Betook (�), imp. of .
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Betorn (�), a. Torn in pieces; tattered.
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Betoss (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Betossed (�).] To put in violent motion; to agitate; to disturb; to toss. “My betossed soul.” Shak.
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Betrap (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Betrapped (�).] 1. To draw into, or catch in, a trap; to insnare; to circumvent. Gower.
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2. To put trappings on; to clothe; to deck.
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After them followed two other chariots covered with red satin, and the horses betrapped with the same. Stow.
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