Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BEA'VER, n. [Sax. befor, biofor; Fr. bièvre; L. fiber; Ir. beabhar; Sw. bafwer; Dan. bæver; Ger. biber; D. bever; Russ. bobr; Pers. بَبِْر babir.]

1. An amphibious quadruped, of the genus Castor. It has short ears, a blunt nose, small fore feet, large hind feet, with a flat ovate tail. It is remarkable for its ingenuity in constructing its lodges or habitations, and from this animal is obtained the castor of the shops, which is taken from cods or bags in the groin. Its fur, which is mostly of a chestnut brown, is the material of the best hats.
2. The fur of the beaver, and a hat made of the fur; also, a part of a helmet that covers the face.

BEA'VER-ED, a.

Covered with or wearing a beaver. Pope.

BE-BLEED', v.t. [be and bleed.]

To make bloody. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BE-BLOOD', or BE-BLOOD'Y, v.t. [be and blood.]

To make bloody. [Obs.] Sheldon.

BE-BLOT', v.t. [be and blot.]

To blot; to stain. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BE-BLUB'BER-ED, a. [be and blubber.]

Foul or swelled with weeping. Shelton.

BEC-A-FI'CO, n. [It. from the root of pica, peck, beck, and fico, a fig. See Beak.]

A fig-pecker; a bird like a nightingale which feeds on figs and grapes. Johnson. Prior. Bailey.

BE-CALM', v.t. [becàm; be and calm. See Calm.]

1. To still; to make quiet; to appease; to stop, or repress motion in a body; used of the elements and of the passions; as, to becalm the ocean, or the mind. But calm is generally used.
2. To intercept the current of wind, so as to prevent motion; to keep from motion for want of wind; as, high lands becalm a ship.

BE-CALM'ED, pp. [becàmed.]

1. Quieted; appeased.
2. adj. Hindered from motion or progress by a calm; as, a ship becalmed.

BE-CALM'ING, n. [becàming.]

A calm at sea. Herbert.

BE-CALM'ING, ppr. [becàming.]

Appeasing; keeping from motion or progress.

BE-CAME', pret. [of become.]

See BECOME.

BE-CAUSE', [becauz', a compound word. Sax. be; Eng. by, and cause. See By and Cause.]

By cause, or by the cause; on this account; for the cause which is explained in the next proposition; for the reason next explained. Thus, I fled, because I was afraid, is to be thus resolved; I fled, by the cause, for the cause, which is mentioned in the next affirmation, viz. I was afraid. Hence, cause being a noun, because may be regularly followed by of. The spirit is life, because of righteousness. Rom. viii. Because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Eph. v.

BEC-CA-BUN'GA, n. [Ger. bach, a brook, and bunga, a basket for catching fish.]

Brooklime, speedwell, Veronica beccabunga; a plant common in ditches and shallow streams.

BE-CHANCE', v.i. [be, by and chance.]

To befall; to happen to. Shak.

BE-CHARM', v.t. [be and charm.]

To charm; to captivate. Beaum.

BE'CHIC, n. [Gr. βηχικα, from βηξ, a cough.]

A medicine for relieving coughs, synonymous with pectoral, which is now the term mostly used. Quincy.

BECK, n. [Sax. beacn, a sign; beacnian, bycnian, to beckon. The Sw. peka, Dan. peger, signifies to point with the finger.]

A nod of the head; a significant nod, intended to be understood by some person, especially as a sign of command.

BECK, n.

A small brook. Gray. This word, Sax. becc, Ger. bach, D. beek, Dan. bæk, Sw. back, Pers. بَخْ bak, a brook or rivulet, is found in the Ir. Ar. Ch. Syr. Sam. Heb. and Eth., in the sense of flowing, as tears, weeping. Gen. xxxii. 22. It is obsolete in English, but is found in the names of towns situated near streams, as in Walbeck; but is more frequent in names on the Continent, as in Griesbach, &c.

BECK, v.i.

To nod or make a sign with the head.

BECK, v.t.

To call by a nod; to intimate a command to; to notify by a motion of the head. Shak.

BECK'ED, pp.

Called or notified by a nod.

BECK'ET, n.

A thing used in ships to confine loose ropes, tackles or spars; as, a large hook, a rope, with an eye at one end, or a wooden bracket. Mar. Dict.

BECK'ING, ppr.

Nodding significantly; directing by a nod.

BECK'ON, n.

A sign made without words. Bolingbroke.