Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bead (-s), n. [ME < OE biddan, pray.] (webplay: charge, bead-maker, pearl, strung, worn).

1. Water droplet; drop of liquid; [fig.] sweat; perspiration; [metaphor] orb; eyeball; organ of sight with its tiny pupil opening.
2. Rosary gem; little globule; small perforated ball; decorative unit of a necklace; sphere strung with thread, made of glass, plastic, pearl; [fig.] seed; pod; bud; flower.

beak, n. [Fr. < late L. < Celtic bacc, hook.] (webplay: bird, toe).

1. Point; spike; chisel; tool ending in a point; [fig.] flash; thunderbolt; electric charge.
2. Bill; nib; horny substance around a bird's jaw; [fig.] mouth; singing voice.

beam, n. [OE 'tree, plank'.] (webplay: bears, day, head, steel, straight, together, wind).

1. Rafter; joist; timber; weight-bearing wooden support piece in a building; (see 1 Kings 6:9).
2. Bar; rail; fence crosspiece; horizontal wooden shaft.
3. Log; tree trunk; thick piece of timber; (see Matthew 7:4-5).
4. Ray; beacon of light from the sun; [fig.] illumination; guidance.

beam, v. [OE; see beam, n.] (webplay: building, lies, part, stock).

Shine; glow; radiate; emit light.

bear (bearest, bearing, -s, bore, borne, bourne), v. [OE 'carry a burden', 'bring forth fruit'.]

1. Carry; deliver; transport; convey in the arms.
2. Include; entail; consist of.
3. Serve; give; administer; dispense.
4. Ponder; contemplate; regard; figure out.
5. Take; seize; grab; snatch; usurp; confiscate.
6. Suffer; withstand; [fig.] have within as a sign of valor.
7. Fulfill; complete; answer to; be accountable; have as a duty.
8. Disclose; reveal; tell; relate; pronounce; speak; communicate; declare; express; testify; (see John 10:25).
9. Contain; hold; suppress; conceal.
10. Float; buoy; conduct; support in the flow; carry along on the surface.
11. Uphold; hold high; keep upright; maintain with dignity and order.
12. Perform; intone; vocalize; sing; play for.
13. Honor; esteem; respect; revere; remember; retain; identify with; (see Exodus 28:12; Acts 9:15).
14. Present; display; exhibit; manifest; provide; demonstrate; show forth.
15. Lift; raise; elevate; [fig.] exalt.
16. Look; stare; gaze; inspect; scrutinize; press.
17. Appear; seem; have; possess.
18. Be known by; take upon as identity; commit in marriage to.
19. Endure; undergo; agree to; dutifully tolerate.
20. Wear; cover self with; be clothed in.
21. Bolster; brace; secure; fortify; reinforce; sustain; undergird; hold up.
22. Remove; revoke; withdraw; take away.
23. Mother; engender; breed; generate; give birth to.

beard (-'s), n. [OE.] (webplay: gray, small).

1. Awn; spines; prickles; barbs; bristles; stiff hair-like tufts; sharp pointed filaments sprouting from a plant.
2. Phrase. “Blue Beard's”: [see Blue Beard (-'s), proper n.]

bearded, verbal adj. [see beard, n.] (webplay: man's).

Barbed; with whiskers on the chin and around the mouth; having parallel facial hairs; growing bristly tufts of hair on the face; [fig.] virile; powerful; stalwart; sturdy; robust; masculine.

bearer, n. [see bear, v.]

1. Conveyor; one possessing; one who carries a corpse to the grave; [fig.] cause of death; death personified.
2. Servant; attendant; valet; supporter; [fig.] stalk; thin reed that holds up the flower of a plant; [in heraldry] supporting figure on the side of a shield.

beast, n. [OFr < L. 'animal'.] (webplay: four-footed, man).

Domesticated animal; four-footed creature; (see Exodus 13:2; 1 Kings 18:5).

beat (beating), v. [Germanic.] (webplay: brains, break, drum, felt, find, heart, just, lay, lower, roll, sea, seamanship, storm, time, tread, walk, wind).

1. Hit; swat; smack; clobber; repeatedly strike; lay on continuous physical blows; [fig.] abuse; mistreat; (see Proverbs 23:14).
2. Resound; reverberate; emit a steady staccato sound; produce percussive music in a monotonous pattern.
3. Pulse; throb; rhythmic pounding; regular pulsating of blood in the circulatory system.