Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BE-WAIL', v.t. [be and wail.]

To bemoan; to lament; to express sorrow for. It expresses deep sorrow; as, to bewail the loss of a child. The true penitent bewails his ingratitude to God. – Anon.

BE-WAIL'A-BLE, a.

That may be lamented. – Sherwood.

BE-WAIL'ED, pp.

Lamented; bemoaned.

BE-WAIL'ER, n.

One who laments.

BE-WAIL'ING, n.

Lamentation. – Raleigh.

BE-WAIL'ING, ppr.

Lamenting; bemoaning; expressing grief for.

BE-WAIL'ING-LY, adv.

In a mournful manner.

BE-WAIL'MENT, n.

The act of bewailing.

BE-WAKE', v.t. [be and wake.]

To keep awake. [Not used.] – Gower.

BE-WARE', v.i. [Sax. bewerian, bewarian, gewarian, to guard, defend, restrain, prohibit, fortify, be cautious; Sw. bevara; D. bewaaren; Ger. gewahr, bewahren; Dan. bevarer, to keep guard, preserve. See Ware, Wary.]

1. Literally, to restrain or guard one's self from. Hence, to regard with caution; restrain one's self from any thing that may be dangerous, injurious, or improper; to avoid, to take care; followed by of before the thing that is to be avoided. Beware of all, but most beware of man. – Pope. Beware of false prophets; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees; beware of the concision. – Scripture.
2. To have a special regard to. Behold, I send an angel before thee … beware of him, and obey his voice. – Ex. xxiii. [This is unusual, and hardly legitimate.] This word, though here admitted as a verb, from the Saxon, is rarely used as a verb in fact; or if a verb, is now never used except in the imperative mode. It is a compound of be and the Old Eng. ware, now wary. Be wary of danger. Hence it can not be used with did, like a regular verb, nor with be, in any of its inflections, – he is beware; for this would be to use the substantive verb twice before ware and wary, is and be. Ben Jonson, however, has used the word in the third person. He bewares to act. But it has no past tense or participle, and therefore, if admitted as a verb, it is defective, and used only in the imperative mode, or after an auxiliary.

BE-WEEP', v.i.

To make lamentation. [Little used.] – Shak.

BE-WEEP', v.t. [be and weep.]

To weep over; to bedew with tears. [Little used.] – Shak.

BE-WEPT', pp.

Wept over; bedewed with tears. [Little used.]

BE-WET', v.t. [be and wet.]

To wet; to moisten. [Not used.]

BE-WIL'DER, v.t. [Dan. forvilder, vilder; D. verwilderen; G. verwildern; from wild.]

To lead into perplexity or confusion; to lose in pathless places; to confound for want of a plain road; to perplex with mazes; or in general, to perplex. Lost and bewildered in the fruitless search. – Addison.

BE-WIL'DER-ED, pp.

Lost in mazes; perplexed with disorder, confusion, or intricacy.

BE-WIL'DER-ED-NESS, n.

State of being bewildered.

BE-WIL'DER-ING, ppr.

Losing in a pathless place; perplexing with confusion or intricacy.

BE-WIL'DER-ING-LY, adv.

So as to bewilder.

BE-WIL'DER-MENT, n.

State of being bewildered.

BE-WIN'TER, v.t.

To make like winter. [Not used.] – Cowley.

BE-WITCH', v.t. [be and witch.]

1. To fascinate; to gain an ascendancy over by charms or incantation; an operation which was formerly supposed to injure the person bewitched, so that he lost his flesh, or behaved in a strange unaccountable manner, – ignorant people being inclined to ascribe to evil spirits what they could not account for. Look, how I am bewitched; behold, mine arm Is like a blasted sapling withered up. – Shak.
2. To charm; to fascinate; to please to such a degree as to take away the power of resistance. The charms of poetry our souls bewitch. – Dryden.
3. To deceive and mislead by juggling tricks or imposture. – Acts viii. 9.

BE-WITCH'ED, pp.

Fascinated; charmed.

BE-WITCH'ED-NESS, n.

State of being bewitched. – Gauden.

BE-WITCH'ER, n.

One that bewitches or fascinates. – Stafford.