Beating noun
1. The act of striking or giving blows; punishment or chastisement by blows.

2. Pulsation; throbbing; as, the beating of the heart.

3. (Acoustics & Mus.) Pulsative sounds. See Beat , noun

4. (Nautical) The process of sailing against the wind by tacks in zigzag direction.

Beatitude noun [ Latin beatitudo : confer French béatitude . See Beatify .]
1. Felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss.

2. Any one of the nine declarations (called the Beatitudes ), made in the Sermon on the Mount ( Matt. v. 3-12 ), with regard to the blessedness of those who are distinguished by certain specified virtues.

3. (R. C. Ch.) Beatification. Milman.

Syn. -- Blessedness; felicity; happiness.

Beau (bō) noun ; plural French Beaux (E. pron. bōz), English Beaus (bōz). [ French, a fop, from beau fine, beautiful, from Latin bellus pretty, fine, for bonulus , dim. of bonus good. See Bounty , and confer Belle , Beauty .]
1. A man who takes great care to dress in the latest fashion; a dandy.

2. A man who escorts, or pays attentions to, a lady; an escort; a lover.

Beau ideal (bō" i*dē" a l; 277). [ French beau beautiful + idéal ideal.] A conception or image of consummate beauty, moral or physical, formed in the mind, free from all the deformities, defects, and blemishes seen in actual existence; an ideal or faultless standard or model.

Beau monde [ French beau fine + monde world.] The fashionable world; people of fashion and gayety. Prior.

Beaucatcher noun A small flat curl worn on the temple by women. [ Humorous]

Beaufet noun [ See Buffet .] A niche, cupboard, or sideboard for plate, china, glass, etc.; a buffet.

A beaufet . . . filled with gold and silver vessels.
Prescott.

Beaufin noun See Biffin . Wright.

Beaufort's scale (Meteor.) A scale of wind force devised by Sir French Beaufort , R. N., in 1805, in which the force is indicated by numbers from 0 to 12.

» The full scale is as follows: -- 0, calm; 1, light air; 2, light breeze; 3, gentle breeze; 4, moderate breeze; 5, fresh breeze; 6, strong breeze; 7, moderate gale; 8, fresh gale; 9, strong gale; 10, whole gale; 11, storm; 12, hurricane.

Beauish adjective Like a beau; characteristic of a beau; foppish; fine. "A beauish young spark." Byrom.

Beaumontague noun A cement used in making joints, filling cracks, etc. For iron, the principal constituents are iron borings and sal ammoniac; for wood, white lead or litharge, whiting, and linseed oil.

Beaupere noun [ French beau pére ; beau fair + pére father.]
1. A father. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

2. A companion. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Beauseant noun [ French beaucéant .] The black and white standard of the Knights Templars .

Beauship noun The state of being a beau; the personality of a beau. [ Jocular] Dryden.

Beauteous adjective Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [ Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly , adverb -- Beau"te*ous*ness , noun

Beautied p. adjective Beautiful; embellished. [ Poetic] Shak.

Beautifier noun One who, or that which, beautifies or makes beautiful.

Beautiful (bū"tĭ*ful) adjective Having the qualities which constitute beauty; pleasing to the sight or the mind.

A circle is more beautiful than a square; a square is more beautiful than a parallelogram.
Lord Kames.

Syn. -- Handsome; elegant; lovely; fair; charming; graceful; pretty; delightful. See Fine .

-- Beau"ti*ful*ly , adverb -- Beau"ti*ful*ness , noun

Beautify (bū"tĭ*fī) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Beautified (- fīd); present participle & verbal noun Beautifying .] [ Beauty + -fy .] To make or render beautiful; to add beauty to; to adorn; to deck; to grace; to embellish.

The arts that beautify and polish life.
Burke.

Syn. -- To adorn; grace; ornament; deck; decorate.

Beautify intransitive verb To become beautiful; to advance in beauty. Addison.

Beautiless adjective Destitute of beauty. Hammond.

Beauty (bū"tȳ) noun ; plural Beauties [ Middle English beaute , beute , Old French beauté , biauté , Pr. beltat , French beauté , from an assumed Late Latin bellitas , from Latin bellus pretty. See Beau .]

1. An assemblage of graces or properties pleasing to the eye, the ear, the intellect, the æsthetic faculty, or the moral sense.

Beauty consists of a certain composition of color and figure, causing delight in the beholder.
Locke.

The production of beauty by a multiplicity of symmetrical parts uniting in a consistent whole.
Wordsworth.

The old definition of beauty , in the Roman school, was, "multitude in unity;" and there is no doubt that such is the principle of beauty .
Coleridge.

2. A particular grace, feature, ornament, or excellence; anything beautiful; as, the beauties of nature.

3. A beautiful person, esp. a beautiful woman.

All the admired beauties of Verona.
Shak.

4. Prevailing style or taste; rage; fashion. [ Obsolete]

She stained her hair yellow, which was then the beauty .
Jer. Taylor.

Beauty spot , a patch or spot placed on the face with intent to heighten beauty by contrast.

Beaux noun , plural of Beau .

Beauxite noun (Min.) See Bauxite .

Beaver noun [ Middle English bever , Anglo-Saxon beofer , befer ; akin to Dutch bever , Old High German bibar , German biber , Swedish bäfver , Danish bæver , Lithuanian bebru , Russian bobr' , Gael. beabhar , Corn. befer , Latin fiber , and Sanskrit babhrus large ichneumon; also as an adj., brown , the animal being probably named from its color. √253. See Brown .]

1. (Zoology) An amphibious rodent, of the genus Castor .

» It has palmated hind feet, and a broad, flat tail. It is remarkable for its ingenuity in constructing its lodges or "houses,\' and dams across streams. It is valued for its fur, and for the material called castor , obtained from two small bags in the groin of the animal. The European species is Castor fiber , and the American is generally considered a variety of this, although sometimes called Castor Canadensis .

2. The fur of the beaver.

3. A hat, formerly made of the fur of the beaver, but now usually of silk.

A brown beaver slouched over his eyes.
Prescott.

4. Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woolen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats.

Beaver rat (Zoology) , an aquatic ratlike quadruped of Tasmania ( Hydromys chrysogaster ). -- Beaver skin , the furry skin of the beaver. -- Bank beaver . See under 1st Bank .

Beaver noun [ Middle English baviere , bauier , beavoir , bever ; from French bavière , from bave slaver, drivel, foam, Old French , prattle, drivel, perhaps orig. an imitative word. Bavière , according to Cotgrave, is the bib put before a (slavering) child.] That piece of armor which protected the lower part of the face, whether forming a part of the helmet or fixed to the breastplate. It was so constructed (with joints or otherwise) that the wearer could raise or lower it to eat and drink.

Beaver State Oregon; -- a nickname.

Beavered adjective Covered with, or wearing, a beaver or hat. "His beavered brow." Pope.

Beaverteen noun A kind of fustian made of coarse twilled cotton, shorn after dyeing. Simmonds.

Bebeerine or Be*bi"rine (be*bē"rĭn or -rēn) noun (Chemistry) An alkaloid got from the bark of the bebeeru , or green heart of Guiana ( Nectandra Rodiœi ). It is a tonic, antiperiodic, and febrifuge, and is used in medicine as a substitute for quinine. [ Written also bibirine .]

Bebeeru noun [ Written also bibiru .] [ Native name.] (Botany) A tropical South American tree ( Nectandra Rodiœi ), the bark of which yields the alkaloid bebeerine, and the wood of which is known as green heart.

Bebleed transitive verb To make bloody; to stain with blood. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Beblood, Bebloody transitive verb To make bloody; to stain with blood. [ Obsolete] Sheldon.

Beblot transitive verb To blot; to stain. Chaucer.

Beblubber transitive verb To make swollen and disfigured or sullied by weeping; as, her eyes or cheeks were beblubbered .

Bebung noun [ G., lit., a trembling.] (Music) A tremolo effect, such as that produced on the piano by vibratory repetition of a note with sustained use of the pedal.

Becalm transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Becalmed ; present participle & vb . noun Becalming .]
1. To render calm or quiet; to calm; to still; to appease.

Soft whispering airs . . . becalm the mind.
Philips.

2. To keep from motion, or stop the progress of, by the stilling of the wind; as, the fleet was becalmed .

Became imperfect of Become .

Becard noun (Zoology) A South American bird of the flycatcher family. ( Tityra inquisetor ).

Because conj. [ Middle English bycause ; by + cause .]
1. By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that. Milton.

2. In order that; that. [ Obsolete]

And the multitude rebuked them because they should hold their peace.
Matt. xx. 31.

Because of , by reason of, on account of. [ Prep. phrase.]

Because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Eph. v. 6.

Syn. -- Because , For , Since , As , Inasmuch As . These particles are used, in certain connections, to assign the reason of a thing, or that "on account of" which it is or takes place. Because (by cause) is the strongest and most emphatic; as, I hid myself because I was afraid. For is not quite so strong; as, in Shakespeare, "I hate him, for he is a Christian." Since is less formal and more incidental than because ; as, I will do it since you request me. It more commonly begins a sentence; as, Since your decision is made, I will say no more. As is still more incidental than since , and points to some existing fact by way of assigning a reason. Thus we say, as I knew him to be out of town, I did not call. Inasmuch as seems to carry with it a kind of qualification which does not belong to the rest. Thus, if we say, I am ready to accept your proposal, inasmuch as I believe it is the best you can offer, we mean, it is only with this understanding that we can accept it.

Beccabunga noun [ New Latin (cf. Italian beccabunga , German bachbunge ), from German bach brook + bunge , Old High German bungo , bulb. See Beck a brook.] See Brooklime .

Beccafico noun ; plural Beccaficos [ Italian , from beccare to peck + fico fig.] (Zoology) A small bird. ( Silvia hortensis ), which is highly prized by the Italians for the delicacy of its flesh in the autumn, when it has fed on figs, grapes, etc.

Becchi's test [ After English Becchi , Italian chemist.] (Chemistry) A qualitative test for cottonseed oil, based on the fact this oil imparts a maroon color to an alcoholic solution of silver nitrate.

Bechamel noun [ French béchamel , named from its inventor, Louis de Béchamel .] (Cookery) A rich, white sauce, prepared with butter and cream.

Bechance adverb [ Prefix be- for by + chance .] By chance; by accident. [ Obsolete] Grafton.

Bechance transitive verb & i. To befall; to chance; to happen to.

God knows what hath bechanced them.
Shak.

Becharm transitive verb To charm; to captivate.

Bêche de mer [ French, lit., a sea spade.] (Zoology) The trepang.

Bechic adjective [ Latin bechicus , adj., for a cough, Greek ... , from ... cough: confer French béchique .] (Medicine) Pertaining to, or relieving, a cough. Thomas. -- noun A medicine for relieving coughs. Quincy.

Bechuanas noun plural A division of the Bantus, dwelling between the Orange and Zambezi rivers, supposed to be the most ancient Bantu population of South Africa. They are divided into totemic clans; they are intelligent and progressive.