Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BE-GUILE'MENT, n.

Act of beguiling or deceiving.

BE-GUIL'ER, n.

He or that which beguiles or deceives.

BE-GUIL'ING, ppr.

Deluding; deceiving by craft; eluding by artifice; amusing.

BE-GUIL'ING-LY, adv.

In a manner to deceive.

BE-GUIL'TY, v.t.

To render guilty. [A barbarous word.] – Sanderson.

BE'GUIN, n.

The Beguins are a congregation of nuns in Flanders, so called from their founder, or from their head-dress. Beguin, in French, is a linen cap. From this order sprung the Beguinages in Flanders. – Encyc. Mason.

BE'GUM, or BE'GAUM, n.

In the East Indies, a princess or lady of high rank. – Malcom.

BE-GUN', pp. [of begin.]

Commenced; originated.

BE-HALF', n. [behàf; This word is probably a corruption. If composed of be and half, it is a word of modern origin; but I take it to be the Sax. behefe, profit, need, or convenience; G. behuf; D. behoef; necessaries, business; behoeve, behalf; Sw. behof; Dan. behov, need, necessity, sufficiency, or what is required, sustenance or support; from the verb behoove, behofwa, behöver, to need. The spelling is therefore corrupt; it should be behof or behoof. See Behoof.]

1. Favor; advantage; convenience; profit; support; defense; vindication: as, the advocate pleads in behalf of the prisoner; the patriot suffers in behalf of his country.
2. Part; side; noting substitution, or the act of taking the part of another; as, the agent appeared in behalf of his constituents, and entered a claim.

BE-HAP'PEN, v.i. [be and happen.]

To happen to. – Spenser.

BE-HAVE', v.i.

To act; to conduct; generally applied to manners, or to conduct in any particular business; and in a good or bad sense. He behaves well or ill.

BE-HAVE', v.t. [G. gehaben; Sax. gehabban, and behabban; be and have.]

1. To restrain; to govern; to subdue. [The Saxon sense of the word.] He did behave his anger ere 'twas spent. – Shak. This sense is obsolete. Yet it often seems to be implied; for to behave one's self, is really to govern one's self; to have in command.
2. To carry; to conduct; used with the reciprocal pronoun; as, he behaves himself manfully. But the tendency of modern usage is to omit the pronoun; as, he behaves well.

BE-HAV'ED, pp.

Conducted.

BE-HAV'ING, ppr.

Carrying; conducting.

BE-HAV'IOR, n. [beha'vyur; See Behave.]

Manner of behaving, whether good or bad; conduct; manners; carriage of one's self, with respect to propriety, or morals; deportment. It expresses external appearance or action; sometimes in a particular character; more generally in the common duties of life; as, our future destiny depends on our behavior in this life. It may express correct or good manners, but I doubt whether it ever expresses the idea of elegance of manners, without another word to qualify it. To be upon one's behavior, is to be in a state of trial, in which something important depends on propriety of conduct. The modern phrase is to be or to be put, upon one's good behavior. Judges hold their office during good behavior; that is, during the integrity and fidelity of their official conduct.

BE-HEAD', v.t. [behed'; be and head.]

To cut off the head; to sever the head from the body, with a cutting instrument; appropriately used of the execution of men for crimes.

BE-HEAD'ED, pp. [behed'ed.]

Having the head cut off.

BE-HEAD'ING, n. [behed'ing.]

The act of separating the head from the body by a cutting instrument; decollation.

BE-HEAD'ING, ppr. [behed'ing.]

Severing the head from the body.

BE-HELD', pret.

and pp. of Behold, which see.

BE'HE-MOTH, n. [Heb. בהטות, from בהטה, a beast or brute; from an Arabic verb, which signifies, to shut, to lie hid, to be dumb. In Eth. dumb.]

Authors are divided in opinion as to the animal intended in Scripture by this name; some supposing it to be an ox, others, an elephant; and Bochart labors to prove it the hippopotamus, or river horse. The latter opinion is most probable. [See Hippopotamus.] The original word in Arabic signifies a brute or beast in general, especially a quadruped.

BE'HEN, or BEN, n. [or BEK'EN.]

A plant. The white behen is a species of Cucubalus, called Swedish Lychnis, or guns sepungar. The empalement of its flower resembles net-work, and its leaves have somewhat of the flavor of peas. – Family of Plants. Encyc. The behen of the shops, or white behen, is spatling poppy. Red behen is sea lavender. – Lee. Bailey. Coxe.

BE-HEST', n. [be and Sax. hæse, a command; Ger. geheiss, command, from heissen, to call, tell, or command. See Heat.]

Command; precept; mandate.

BE-HIGHT', v.t. [behite; pret. behot. Sax. behetan, to promise.]

To promise; to intrust; to call, or name; to command; to adjudge; to address; to inform; to mean; to reckon. The orthography is corrupt; it should be behite. [Obs.] – Spenser. Chaucer.

BE-HIND', adv. [be and hind.]

1. Out of sight; not produced, or exhibited to view; remaining; as, we know not what evidence is behind.
2. Backward; on the back-part; as, to look behind.
3. Past in the progress of time. Forgetting those things which are behind. – Phil. iii.
4. Future, or remaining to be endured. And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh. – Col. i.
5. Remaining after a payment; unpaid; as, there is a large sum behind.
6. Remaining after the departure of; as, he departed and left us behind.