A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

be- --- weak form of O.E. bi "by," probably cognate with second syllable of Gk. amphi, L. ambi and originally meaning "about." This sense naturally drifted into intensive (cf. bespatter "spatter about," therefore "spatter very much"). Be- can also be privative (cf. behead), causative, or have just about any sense required. The prefix was productive 16c.-17c. in forming useful words, many of which have not survived, e.g. bethwack "to thrash soundly" (1555), betongue "to assail in speech, to scold" (1639).

beach --- c.1535, probably from O.E. bæce, bece "stream," from P.Gmc. *bakiz. The initial extension was to loose, pebbly shores (1596), and in dialect around Sussex and Kent beach still has the meaning "pebbles worn by the waves." Fr. grève shows the same evolution. The verb "to haul or run up on a beach" is first attested 1840. Beach bum first recorded 1962. Beachhead (1940) is on the model of bridgehead.

beacon --- O.E. beacen "sign, portent, lighthouse," from W.Gmc. *bauknan (cf. O.Fris. bacen, M.Du. bokin, O.H.G. bouhhan); not found outside Gmc. Perhaps borrowed from L. bucina "a crooked horn or trumpet, signal horn." But more likely from PIE *bhau-, a variant of the base *bha "to gleam, shine."

bead --- 1377, bede "prayer bead," from O.E. gebed "prayer," from P.Gmc. *beðan (cf. M.Du. bede, O.H.G. beta, Ger. bitte, Goth. bida). Shift in meaning came via beads threaded on a string to count prayers, and in phrases like to bid one's beads, to count one's beads. Ger. cognate Bitte is the usual word for conversational request "please." Also related to bid (O.E. biddan) and Goth. bidjan "to ask, pray." Sense transferred to "drop of liquid" 1596; to "small knob forming front sight of a gun" 1831 (Kentucky slang); hence draw a bead on "take aim at," 1841, U.S. colloquial.

beadle --- O.E. bydel "herald, messenger from an authority," from beodan "to proclaim" (see bid). Sense of "warrant officer, tipstaff" was in late O.E.; that of "petty parish officer," which has given the job a bad reputation, is from 1594.

beagle --- c.1475, possibly from O.Fr. becguele "noisy person," lit. "gaping throat," from bayer "open wide" (see bay (2)) + gueule "mouth."

beak --- c.1220, "bird's bill," from O.Fr. bec, from L. beccus, said by Suetonius ("De vita Caesarum" 18) to be of Gaulish origin, perhaps from Gaulish beccus, possibly related to Celt. stem bacc- "hook." Or there may be a link in O.E. becca "pickax." Jocular sense of "human nose" is from 1854.

beaker --- 1348, from O.N. bikarr or M.Du. beker "goblet," probably from M.L. bicarium, probably a dim. of Gk. bikos "earthenware jug" (perhaps a borrowing from Syrian buqa "a two-handed vase or jug"). Form assimilated to beak.

beam --- O.E. beam originally "living tree," but by 1000 also "post, ship's timber," from W.Gmc. *baumoz (cf. O.Fris. bam, Du. boom, Ger. Baum "tree"), perhaps from PIE verb root *bu- "to grow." Meaning of "ray of light" developed in O.E., probably because it was used by Bede to render L. columna lucis, Biblical "pillar of fire." Nautical sense of "one of the horizontal transverse timbers holding a ship together" is from 1627, hence "greatest breadth of a ship," and slang broad in the beam "wide-hipped" (of persons). The verb meaning "emit rays of light" is from c.1440; sense of "to smile radiantly" is from 1893; that of "to direct radio transmissions" is from 1927. To be on the beam (1941) was originally an aviator's term for "to follow the course indicated by a radio beam." Lewis Carroll may have thought he was inventing beamish in "Jabberwocky," but it is attested from 1530.

bean --- O.E. bean "bean, pea, legume," from P.Gmc. *bauno (cf. O.N. baun, Ger. bohne), of unknown origin. As a metaphor for "Something of small value" it is attested from 1297. Meaning "head" is U.S. baseball slang c.1905 (in bean-ball "a pitch thrown at the head"). Slang bean-counter is first recorded 1975. The notion of lucky or magic beans in Eng. folklore is from the exotic beans or large seeds that wash up occasionally in Cornwall and western Scotland, carried from the Caribbean or South America by the Gulf Stream. They were cherished, believed to ward off the evil eye and aid in childbirth. To not know beans (Amer.Eng. 1933) is perhaps from the "of little worth" sense, but may have a connection to colloquial expression recorded around Somerset, to know how many beans make five "be a clever fellow." Bean bag is 1871 as a device in children's games, 1969 as a type of chair. Beanery "cheap restaurant" is from 1887. Bean-fest "annual dinner given by employers for their workers" is from 1805; they had a reputation for rowdiness; the popular abbreviated form was beano.

bear (n.) --- O.E. bera "bear," from P.Gmc. *beron "the brown one" (cf. O.N. björn, Ger. Bär). Both Gk. arktos and L. ursus retain the PIE root word for "bear" (*rtko), but it has been ritually replaced in the northern branches because of hunters' taboo on names of wild animals (cf. the Ir. equivalent "the good calf," Welsh "honey-pig," Lith. "the licker," Rus. medved "honey-eater"). Others connect the Gmc. word with L. ferus "wild," as if it meant "the wild animal (par excellence) of the northern woods." Symbolic of Russia since 1794. Used of uncouth persons since 1579. Meaning "speculator for a fall" is 1709 shortening of bearskin jobber, from phrase sell the bearskin in proverb sell the bearskin before one has caught the bear, i.e. "one who sells stock for future delivery, expecting that meanwhile prices will fall."

bear (v.) --- O.E. beran "bear, bring, wear" (class IV strong verb; past tense bær, pp. boren), from P.Gmc. *beranan (cf. O.H.G. beran, O.N. bera, Goth. bairan "to carry"), from PIE root *bher- meaning both "give birth" (though only Eng. and Ger. strongly retain this sense, and Rus. has beremennaya "pregnant") and "carry a burden, bring" (see infer). Many senses are from notion of "move onward by pressure." O.E. past tense bær became M.E. bare; alternative bore began to appear c.1400, but bare remained the literary form till after 1600. Past participle distinction of borne for "carried" and born for "given birth" is 1775. Ball bearings "bear" the friction; bearing "way of carrying oneself" is in M.E.

beard --- O.E. beard "beard," from W.Gmc. *barthaz (cf. M.Du. baert, Ger. bart), seemingly from PIE *bhar-dha "beard" (cf. O.C.S. brada, Lith. barzda, and perhaps L. barba "beard"). The verb is from M.E. phrase rennen in berd "oppose openly," on the same notion as modern slang get in (someone's) face. Pubic hair sense is from 1600s; in the 1811 "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," the phrase beard-splitter is defined as, "A man much given to wenching" (see beaver). "The Grecian beard was curly; the Roman, trimmed; but in the Roman Empire shaving became general about 450 B.C., partly for greater safety in close combat, not to be grasped by the beard. When Pope Leo III shaved, in 795, the Roman Catholic clergy followed his practice, and still generally do." [Shipley, p.28]

bearing --- carrying of oneself, deportment, c.1250, from bear (v.). Mechanical sense of "those parts of a machine that bear the friction" is from 1791.

Béarnaise --- egg-and-butter sauce, 1877, from Fr. sauce béarnaise, from fem. of béarnais "of Béarn," region in southwest France.

beast --- c.1220, from O.Fr. beste, from L. bestia, replacing O.E. deor (see deer) as the generic word for "wild creature," only to be ousted 16c. by animal. British society slang beastly "exceedingly" dates from 1561.

beat --- O.E. beatan "inflict blows on, thrash" (class VII strong verb; past tense beot, pp. beaten), from P.Gmc. *bautan (cf. O.N. bauta, O.H.G. bozan), from PIE base *bhau- "to strike" (see batter (v.)). Of the heart, c.1200, from notion of it striking against the breast. Meaning "to overcome in a contest" is from 1611. Meaning "strike cover to rouse or drive game" (M.E.) is source of beat around the bush (1572), the metaphoric sense of which has shifted from "make preliminary motions" to "avoid, evade." Command beat it "go away" first recorded 1906 (though "action of feet upon the ground" was a sense of O.E. betan). Dead-beat (originally "tired-out") preserves the old pp. To beat (someone) up is c.1900. To beat off "masturbate" is recorded by 1960s. For beat generation, see beatnik.

beatify --- 1535, "to make very happy," from L. beatificare "make happy, make blessed," from L. beatus "supremely happy, blessed" + ficus "making, producing." The Roman Catholic Church sense of "to pronounce as being in heavenly bliss" (1629) is the first step toward canonization.

beatitude --- 1491, "supreme happiness," from L. beatitudo "state of blessedness," from beatus "happy, blessed," pp. of beare "make happy." As "a declaration of blessedness" (especially in ref. to the Sermon on the Mount) it is attested from 1526.

Beatlemania --- first attested 1963, from (The) Beatle(s) + -mania. "The social phenomenon of Beatlemania, which finds expression in handbags, balloons and other articles bearing the likeness of the loved ones, or in the hysterical screaming of young girls whenever the Beatle Quartet performs in public." ["London Times," Dec. 27, 1963]

beatnik --- usually faintly pejorative, coined 1958 by San Francisco newspaper columnist Herb Caen during the heyday of -nik suffixes in the wake of Sputnik. From Beat generation (1952), associated with beat in its meanings "rhythm (especially in jazz)" as well as "worn out, exhausted," but originator Jack Kerouac (1922-69) in 1958 connected it with beatitude. "The origins of the word beat are obscure, but the meaning is only too clear to most Americans. More than the feeling of weariness, it implies the feeling of having been used, of being raw. It involves a sort of nakedness of the mind." ["New York Times Magazine," Oct. 2, 1952] " 'Beat' is old carny slang. According to Beat Movement legend (and it is a movement with a deep inventory of legend), Ginsberg and Kerouac picked it up from a character named Herbert Huncke, a gay street hustler and drug addict from Chicago who began hanging around Times Square in 1939 (and who introduced William Burroughs to heroin, an important cultural moment). The term has nothing to do with music; it names the condition of being beaten down, poor, exhausted, at the bottom of the world." [Louis Menand, "New Yorker," Oct. 1, 2007]

Beatrice --- fem. proper name, from Fr., from L. beatrix, fem. of beatricem "who makes happy," from beatus "happy."

beau --- attendant suitor of a lady, 1720, from Fr. beau "the beautiful," n. use of adj., from O.Fr. bel, from L. bellus "handsome, fine," dim. of bonus "good." Meaning "man who attends excessively to dress, etiquette, etc.; a fop; a dandy" is 1687, short for Fr. beau garçon "pretty boy" (c.1665). Beaumonde "the fashionable world" is from 1714. Beau-ideal (1801) is from Fr. beau idéal "the ideal beauty, beautifulness as an abstract ideal," in which beau is the subject, but as Eng. usually puts the adj. first, the sense has shifted in Eng. toward "perfect type or model." Beaux arts "the fine arts" is 1821, from Fr.; also in reference to Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and the widely imitated conventional type of art and architecture advocated there.

Beaufort scale --- to measure wind velocity, developed 1806 by Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857), surveyor and hydrologist.

Beaujolais --- type of Burgundy, 1863, from name of a district in the department of Lyonnais, France.

beauty --- c.1275, from Anglo-Norm. beute, from O.Fr. bealte, earlier beltet, from V.L. bellitatem "state of being handsome," from L. bellus "fine, beautiful," in classical L. used especially of women and children, or ironically or insultingly of men. Famously defined by Stendhal as la promesse de bonheur "the promise of happiness." Replaced O.E. wlite. Concrete meaning "a beautiful woman" is first recorded 1483. Abbreviated form beaut "a beautiful thing or person" is from 1866. Beauteous, now limited to poetry, is attested earlier (1440) than beautiful (1526). Beautician first recorded 1924, Amer.Eng. (the Cleveland, Ohio, telephone directory, to be precise); beauty salon is from 1922, a classier substitution for earlier beauty shop (1901). Beauty sleep "sleep before midnight" is attested by 1850. Beautiful people "the fashionable set" first attested 1964.

beaver --- O.E. beofor (earlier bebr), from P.Gmc. *bebruz (cf. Low Ger. bever, O.H.G. bibar), from PIE *bhebhrus, reduplication of base *bhru- "brown" (cf. Lith. bebrus, Czech bobr, Welsh befer, see bear (n.) for reason for this). Gynecological sense ("female genitals, especially with a display of pubic hair") is 1927 British slang, transferred from earlier meaning "a bearded man" (1910), from the appearance of split beaver pelts.

bebop --- 1944, from bebop, rebop, bop, nonsense words in jazz lyrics, attested from at least 1928. The style is associated with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

becalm --- 1559, from be- + calm (q.v.).

because --- c.1305, bi cause "by cause," modeled on Fr. par cause. Originally a phrase, often followed by a subordinate clause introduced by that or why.

beck --- 1382, "mute signal," from bekken (v.), var. of becnan "to beckon" (see beckon). Transferred sense of "slightest indication of will" is from 1470.

beckon --- O.E. gebecnian "to make a mute sign," derivative of beacen "a sign, beacon," from P.Gmc. *bauknjan (cf. O.H.G. bouhnen).

become --- O.E. becuman "happen, come about," from P.Gmc. *bikweman "become" (cf. Ger. bekommen, Goth. biquiman); it drove out O.E. weorðan. First record of becoming "looking well" is from 1565, from sense of "be fitting" found c.1230.

bed --- O.E. bed "bed," from P.Gmc. *badjam "sleeping place dug in the ground" (cf. M.Du. bedde, O.H.G. betti, Ger. bett, Goth. badi), from PIE base *bhedh- "to dig, pierce," cf. Hittite beda- "to pierce, prick," Gk. bothyros "pit," L. fossa "ditch," Lith. bedre "to dig," Bret. bez "grave." Both "sleeping" and "gardening" senses are in O.E. Meaning "bottom of a lake, sea, watercourse" is from 1586. The verb meaning "to sleep with" is c.1315. Bedridden is O.E. bedreda, from rida "rider," with -en due to analogy of pp. adjectives. Bedstead (1440) is strictly "the place occupied by a bed." Bedroom (1616) replaced M.E. bedchamber. First record of slang bedroom eyes is 1940s. Bed-bug is from 1809.

bedevil --- 1768, "to treat diabolically, abuse," from be- + devil (q.v.). Meaning "to drive frantic" is from 1823.

bedlam --- scene of mad confusion, 1667, from colloquial pronunciation of "Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem" in London, founded 1247 as a priory, mentioned as a hospital 1330 and as a lunatic hospital 1402; converted to a state lunatic asylum on dissolution of the monasteries in 1547.

Bedouin --- c.1400, from Fr. bedouin, from Arabic badawin "desert-dwellers," pl. of badawi, from badw "desert, camp." A word from the Crusades, it probably was lost and then reborrowed from Fr. in 17c.

bedraggle --- 1727, from be- + draggle, frequentative of drag.

bee --- O.E. beo, from P.Gmc. *bion (cf. O.H.G. bia, M.Du. bie), possibly from PIE base *bhi- "quiver." Used metaphorically for "busy worker" since 1535. Sense of "meeting of neighbors to unite their labor for the benefit of one of their number," 1769, Amer.Eng., is from comparison to the social activity of the insect; this was extended to other senses (e.g. spelling bee, first attested 1809). Beehive is first attested c.1325; as a kind of hairstyle, 1960.

beech --- O.E. bece, from P.Gmc. *bokjon (cf. O.N. bok, Ger. buche, M.Du. boeke "beech"), from PIE base *bhagos (cf. Gk. phegos "oak," L. fagus "beech," Rus. buzina "elder"), perhaps with a ground sense of "edible" (and connected with the root of Gk. phagein "to eat;" see -phagous). Beech mast was an ancient food source for agricultural animals across a wide stretch of Europe. See book.

beef --- c.1300, from O.Fr. boef, from L. bos (gen. bovis, acc. bovem) "ox, cow." Original plural was beeves. The verb meaning "to complain" is slang first recorded 1888. Beefy "brawny" is from 1743. Beefeater "warder of the Tower of London" (1671) is a contemptuous reference to well-fed servants of the royal household; the notion is of "eating another's beef" (cf. O.E. hlaf-æta "servant," lit. "loaf-eater"). To beef up "add strength" is from 1890.

Beelzebub --- O.E. Belzebub, Philistine god worshipped at Ekron (2 Kings i.2), from L., used in Vulgate for N.T. Gk. beelzeboub, from Heb. ba'al-z'bub "lord of the flies," from ba'al "lord" + z'bhubh "fly." By later Christian writers, often taken generically for "Satan," though Milton made him one of the fallen angels.

beep --- 1929, imitative of automobile horns. Beeper "device that emits beeps" is from 1946.

beer --- O.E. beor of much-disputed and ambiguous origin, but prob. a 6c. W.Ger. monastic borrowing of V.L. biber "a drink, beverage" (from L. infinitive bibere "to drink;" see imbibe). Another suggestion is that it comes from P.Gmc. *beuwoz-, from *beuwo- "barley." The native Gmc. word for the beverage was cognate with ale (q.v.). Small beer was originally "weak beer," used figuratively of small things. "Beer was a common drink among most of the European peoples, as well as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, but was known to the Greeks and Romans only as an exotic product." [Buck] Gk. brytos, used in reference to Thracian or Phrygian brews, was related to O.E. breowan "brew;" L. zythum is from Gk. zythos, first used of Egyptian beer and treated as an Egyptian word but perhaps truly Gk. and related to zyme "leaven." Sp. cerveza is from L. cervesia, perhaps related to L. cremor "thick broth." O.C.S. pivo, source of the general Slavic word for "beer," is originally "a drink" (cf. O.C.S. piti "drink").

bee's knees --- 1923, a survivor of a fad around this year for slang terms denoting "excellence" and based on animal anatomy. Also existed in the more ribald version bee's nuts. Other versions that lasted through the century are cat's whiskers (1923), cat's pajamas, cat's meow. More obscure examples are canary's tusks, cat's nuts and flea's eyebrows. The linguistic custom was still alive in Britain at the end of the century, as attested by the appearance of dog's bollocks in 1989. Bee's knee was used from 1797 for "something insignificant."

beet --- O.E. bete "beet, beetroot," from L. beta, said to be of Celtic origin. Common in O.E., then lost till c.1400. Still usually spoken of in plural in U.S.

beetle (n.) --- insect, O.E. bitela, from bitel "biting," related to bitan (see bite). As a nickname for the original Volkswagen car, 1946, translating Ger. Käfer.

beetle (v.) --- project, overhang, originally in bitelbrouwed (1362), from bitel "sharp-edged, sharp;" probably from O.E. (see beetle (n.)) + brow, which in M.E. meant "eyebrow," not "forehead." It referred to shaggy eyebrows, perhaps because they suggested insect antennae. Meaning "to overhang dangerously" (of cliffs, etc.), 1602, probably from the eyebrow sense.

befall --- O.E. befeallan "to fall," from be- "by, about" + feallan (see fall).

before --- O.E. beforan, from P.Gmc. *bi- "by" + *forana "from the front," adv. derivative of *fora (see for). Beforehand is M.E., originally two words, specifically a reference to payment in advance. Contrasting before and after in illustrations is from Hogarth (1768).

befriend --- 1559, from be- + friend (q.v.).

beg --- c.1225, perhaps from O.E. bedecian "to beg," from P.Gmc. *beth-; or possibly from Anglo-Fr. begger, from O.Fr. begart (see beg). The O.E. word for "beggar" was wædla. Of trained dogs, 1816. As a courteous mode of asking (beg pardon, etc.), first attested 1600. To beg the question translates L. petitio principii, and means "to assume something that hasn't been proven as a basis of one's argument," thus "asking" one's opponent to give something unearned, though more of the nature of taking it for granted without warrant.

beget --- O.E. begietan "to get by effort, find, acquire, attain, seize," from be- + get (q.v.). Sense of "to procreate" is from 1205.

beggar --- c.1225, from O.Fr. begart, originally a member of the Beghards, lay brothers of mendicants in the Low Countries, from M.Du. beggaert "mendicant," with pejorative suffix. The order said to take its name from Lambert le Bègue "Lambert the Stammerer," a Liege priest (d.1177). The order quickly drew imposters and fell from repute. The verb meaning "to reduce to poverty" is from 1528.

begin --- O.E. beginnan, also onginnan (class III strong verb; past tense ongann, pp. ongunnen), from bi- "be" + W.Gmc. *ginnan, of obscure meaning, found only in compounds, perhaps "to open, open up" (cf. O.H.G. in-ginnan "to cut open, open up," also "begin, undertake"). Meaning "beginner, novice" is from 1470.

begone --- c.1372, contracted from be + gone.

Begonia --- 1751, from Fr. (1706), named for Michel Bégon (1638-1710), Fr. governor of Haiti and patron of botany.

begorra --- 1839, antiquated Anglo-Irish form of expletive By God.

begrudge --- 1362, from be- + M.E. grucchen "to murmur" (see grudge).

beguile --- c.1225, from be- + guile (v.).

Beguine --- 1483, from Fr. béguine (13c.), M.L. beguina, from surname of Lambert Bègue (see beggar), supposed founder of the sisterhood, which was founded in the Low Countries in 12c. They preserved their reputation, unlike the male Beghards who imitated them. Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine" (1935) refers to a kind of popular dance, from Fr. colloquial béguin "an infatuation."

behalf --- 1303, from O.E. (him) be healfe "by (his) side," and on (his) healfe "on (his) side," from healfe "side" (see half).

behave --- c.1410, from be- intensive prefix + have in the sense of "to have or bear oneself in a particular way, comport." O.E. behabban meant "to contain." Behavior is 1490, from havour, altered (by influence of have) from aver, from O.Fr. aveir "to have." Behaviorism coined 1913 by U.S. psychologist John B. Watson (1878-1958).

behead --- O.E. beheafdian, from be-, with privative force, + heafod (see head).

behemoth --- 1382, huge biblical beast (Job xl.15), from L. behemoth, from Heb. b'hemoth, usually taken as plural of intensity of b'hemah "beast." But the Heb. word is most likely a folk etymology of Egyptian pehemau, lit. "water-ox," the name for the hippopotamus.

behest --- O.E. behæs "a vow," perhaps from behatan "to promise," confused with obs. hest "command," which may account for the parasitic -t as well as the M.E. shift in meaning to "command, injunction" (c.1175).

behind --- O.E. behindan, from bi "by" + hindan "from behind" (see hind). Euphemistic meaning "backside of a person" is from 1786. Phrase behind the times is from 1905.

behold --- O.E. bihaldan (W.Saxon behealdan) "give regard to, hold in view," from bi- "by" + haldan, healdan (see hold). Beholden, in the sense of "indebted" first recorded c.1390.

behoove --- O.E. behofian "to have need of," from *bihof "advantage, utility," from hof, past tense of hebban "to raise" (see heave).

beige --- 1858, "fine woolen fabric," from Fr. dialectal "yellowish-grey," from O.Fr. bege "the natural color of wool and cotton," origin obscure. As a shade of color, it is attested from 1879.

being (n.) --- existence, c.1325, from be (q.v.) + -ing. Sense in human being is from 1751.

Bel --- heaven-and-earth god of Babylonian religion, from Akkad. Belu, lit. "lord, owner, master," cognate with Heb. ba'al.

bel canto --- 1894, from It., lit. "fine song."

bel paese --- type of mild, creamy cheese, 1935, It. proprietary name, lit. "beautiful country or region."

belabor --- 1604, "to exert one's strength upon," from be- + labor. But fig. sense of "assail with words" is attested somewhat earlier (1596).

belated --- 1618, "overtaken by night," from be- + late (q.v.). Sense of "coming past due" is from 1670.

belay --- O.E. bilecgan "to lay a thing about" (with other objects), from be- + lecgan "to lay" (see lay). The only surviving sense is the nautical one of "coil a running rope round a cleat or pin to secure it" (also transferred to mountain-climbing), first attested 1549; but this is possibly a cognate word, from Du. beleggen.