Emily Dickinson Lexicon

Belshazzar (-'s), proper n. [Heb. 'Lord of treasure.']

Biblical king of Babylon; wicked ruler who saw the Lord's handwriting on his palace wall; ancient monarch who received a written warning from God; (see Daniel 5).

belt, n. [OE < L.]

1. Flexible strap; accessory that binds clothing on a person; flat band of leather around the waist; [fig.] restraint; control; restriction; limitation; constraint; manacle; [metaphor] vow of seclusion; covenant setting a person apart from others.
2. Channel; strait; narrow passage; [fig.] river; stream of water.
3. Sash; girdle; waistband; cummerbund; narrow strip of material.
4. Region; district; tract; zone; continuous series of objects; [fig.] Milky Way; sector of space.
5. Flat circulating strap between wheels; narrow band for communicating motion to gears; [fig.] cognition; mental process.

belt (belted), v. [see belt, n.] (webplay: laying, narrow).

1. Gird; cinch; secure; encircle; surround; encompass; [fig.] rooted; overgrown.
2. Seal with a kiss; surround with the mouth; [fig.] close; press shut; fasten down after death.

bemoan (bemoaning), v. [OE.] (webplay: loss).

Lament; mourn; bewail; grieve; cry for; weep about; (see Jeremiah 16:5).

bench, n. [OE.] (webplay: board).

Sawhorse; wooden seat; work station.

bend, n. [see bend, v.] (webplay: arm, crooked, drawn, foot, lean, river, seamanship, steps, waters).

1. Slouch; droop; hunch; weak spot.
2. Turn; orbit; circuit; revolution; trajectory.

bend (bended, bending, bent), v. [OE 'restrain with a bond, fetter, confine'.] (webplay: drawn, honorable, man, over, place, plain, sea, step, stooping, turn, waters, will).

1. Brace; bind; constrain; conform; make fast.
2. Hunch; stoop; work with total attention.
3. Submit; acquiesce; surrender; yield; [fig.] accept death.
4. Grow; extend; move with flexibility; (see Ezekiel 17:7).
5. Bow; incline; genuflect; lean over slowly to show respect; (see Isaiah 60:14).
6. Focus; center; adjust; turn the gaze of.
7. Arch; curve; span; circumnavigate.
8. Descend; condescend; [fig.] kneel.
9. Move; shift; stir; [fig.] awake; arouse; affect.
10. Hover; linger; draw near.

beneath, adv. [OE 'from below', nether, lower, farther down.'] (webplay: lower).

Underground; [fig.] down in a grave.

beneath, prep. [see beneath, adv.] (webplay: bearing, country, lower, man).

1. Under; further down in place than.
2. Below the surface of.
3. Near; close to; at the foot of; in the vicinity of.
4. Inferior to; less than; unworthy of; lower in rank than.

benediction, n. [Fr. < L. 'speak well'.]

1. Blessing; uplifting speech; solemn discourse.
2. Thanksgiving; invocation; expression of thanks; prayer of gratitude: “God bless you.”