Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BE'ING, n.

1. Existence; as, God is the author of our being. In God we live, and move, and have our being. – Acts xvii.
2. A particular state or condition. [This is hardly a different sense.]
3. A person existing; applied to the human race.
4. An immaterial, intelligent existence, or spirit. Superior beings, when of late they saw / A mortal man unfold all nature's law. – Pope.
5. An animal; any living creature; as, animals are such beings, as are endowed with sensation and spontaneous motion.