Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BEL'LY-TIM-BER, n. [See Timber.]

Food; that which supports the belly. [Vulgar.] – Prior. Hudibras.

BEL'LY-WORM, n. [See Worm.]

A worm that breeds in the belly or stomach. – Johnson.

BE-LOCK', v.t. [Sax. belucan, from loc, a lock, with be.]

To lock, or fasten, as with a lock. – Shak.

BEL'O-MAN-CY, n. [Gr. βελος, an arrow, and μαντεια, divination.]

A kind of divination practiced by the ancient Scythians, Babylonians, and other nations, and by the Arabians. A number of arrows, being marked, were put into a bag or quiver, and drawn out at random; and the marks or words on the arrow drawn, determined what was to happen. See Ezek. xxi. 21. – Encyc.

BE-LONE', n. [Gr. βελονη, a needle.]

The gar, garfish, or sea-needle, a species of Esox. It grows to the length of two or three feet, with long, pointed jaws, the edges of which are armed with small teeth. – Encyc.

BE-LONG', v.i. [D. belangen, to concern, belang, concern, interest, importance, of be and lang; Ger. belangen; to attain to, or come to; anlangen, to arrive, to come to, to concern, to touch or belong; Dan. anlanger, to arrive at, to belong. In Sax. gelangian is to call or bring. The radical sense of long is to extend or draw out, and with be or an, it signifies to extend to, to reach.]

1. To be the property of; as, a field belongs to Richard Roe; Jamaica belongs to Great Britain.
2. To be the concern or proper business of; to appertain; as, it belongs to John Doe to prove his title.
3. To be appendant to. He went into a desert place belonging to Bethsaida. – Luke ix.
4. To be a part of, or connected with, though detached in place; as, a beam or rafter belongs to such a frame, or to such a place in the building.
5. To have relation to. And David said, To whom belongest thou? – 1 Sam. xxx.
6. To be the quality or attribute of. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. – Dan. ix.
7. To be suitable for. Strong meat belongeth to them of full age. – Heb. v.
8. To relate to, or be referred to. He careth for things that belong to the Lord. – 1 Cor. vii.
9. To have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town. Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers belong. – Blackstone. Hence,
10. To be the native of; to have original residence. There is no other country in the world to which the Gipsies could belong. – Grellman, Pref. 12.
11. In common language, to have a settled residence; to be domiciliated.

BE-LONG'ING, n.

A quality. [Not in use.] – Shak.

BE-LONG'ING, ppr.

Pertaining; appertaining; being the property of; being a quality of; being the concern of; being appendant to; being a native of, or having a legal or permanent settlement in.

BE-LOV'ED, pp. [be and loved, from love. Belove, as a verb, is not used.]

Loved; greatly loved; dear to the heart. – Paul.

BE-LOW', adv.

1. In a lower place, with respect to any object; as, the heavens above and the earth below.
2. On the earth, as opposed to the heavens. The fairest child of Jove below. – Prior.
3. In hell, or the regions of the dead; as, the realms below. – Dryden.
4. In a court of inferior jurisdiction; as, at the trial below. – Wheaton.

BE-LOW', prep. [be and low.]

1. Under in place; beneath; not so high; as, below the moon; below the knee.
2. Inferior in rank, excellence or dignity. – Felton.
3. Unworthy of; unbefitting. – Dryden.

BE-LOWT', v.t. [See Lowt.]

To treat with contemptuous language. [Not in use.] – Camden.

BEL'SWAG-GER, n.

A lewd man. – Dryden.

BELT, n. [Sax. belt; Sw. bält; Dan. bælte; L. balteus; Qu. Ir. balt, a welt. Class Bl.]

1. A girdle; a band, usually of leather, in which a sword or other weapon is hung.
2. A narrow passage, or strait between the isle of Zealand and that of Funen at the entrance of the Baltic, usually called the Great Belt. The Lesser Belt is the passage between the isle of Funen and the coast of Jutland.
3. A bandage or band used by surgeons for various purposes.
4. In astronomy, certain girdles or rings, which surround the planet Jupiter, are called belts.
5. A disease among sheep, cured by cutting off the tail, laying the sore bare, then casting mold on it, and applying tar and goose-grease. – Encyc.

BELT, v.t.

To encircle. – Warton.

BELT'ED, a.

Wearing a belt.

BE-LU'GA, n. [Russ. signifying white fish.]

A fish of the Cetaceous order, and genus Delphinus, from 12 to 18 feet in length. The tail is divided into two lobes, lying horizontally, and there is no dorsal fin. In swimming, this fish bends its tail under its body like a lobster, and thrusts itself along with the rapidity of an arrow. This fish is found in the arctic seas and rivers, and is caught for its oil and its skin. – Pennant.

BEL'VI-DERE, n. [L. bellus, fine, and video, to see.]

1. A plant, a species of Chenopodium, goose-foot or wild orach, called Scoparia or annual mock cypress. It is of a beautiful pyramidical form, and much esteemed in China, as a salad, and for other uses. – Encyc.
2. In Italian architecture, a pavilion on the top of an edifice; an artificial eminence in a garden. – Encyc.

BE-LYE', v.

See BELIE.

BE'MA, n. [Gr. βημα.]

1. A chancel. [Not in use.] – Beaumont.
2. In ancient Greece, a stage or kind of pulpit, on which speakers stood when addressing an assembly. – Mitford.

BE-MAD', v.t. [be and mad.]

To make mad. [Not in use.] – Shak.

BE-MAN'GLE, v.t. [be and mangle.]

To mangle; to tear asunder. [Little used.] – Beaumont.

BE-MASK', v.t. [be and mask.]

To mask; to conceal. – Shelton.

BE-MAZE', v.t.

To bewilder. [See Maze. Little used.] – Cowper.

BE-METE', v.t. [be and mete.]

To measure. [Not in use.] – Shak.