Beck Beck transitive verb To notify or call by a nod, or a motion of the head or hand; to intimate a command to. [ Archaic]

When gold and silver becks me to come on.
Shak.

Beck Beck noun A significant nod, or motion of the head or hand, esp. as a call or command.

They have troops of soldiers at their beck .
Shak.

Beck's scale Beck's scale A hydrometer scale on which the zero point corresponds to sp. gr. 1.00, and the 30°-point to sp. gr. 0.85. From these points the scale is extended both ways, all the degrees being of equal length.

Becker Beck"er noun (Zoology) A European fish ( Pagellus centrodontus ); the sea bream or braise.

Becket Beck"et noun [ Confer Dutch bek beak, and English beak .]

1. (Nautical) A small grommet, or a ring or loop of rope or metal for holding things in position, as spars, ropes, etc.; also a bracket, a pocket, or a handle made of rope.

2. A spade for digging turf. [ Prov. Eng.] Wright.

Beckon Beck"on transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Beckoned ; present participle & verbal noun Beckoning .] To make a significant sign to; hence, to summon, as by a motion of the hand.

His distant friends, he beckons near.
Dryden.

It beckons you to go away with it.
Shak.

Beckon Beck"on noun A sign made without words; a beck. "At the first beckon ." Bolingbroke.

Beclap Be·clap transitive verb [ Middle English biclappen .] To catch; to grasp; to insnare. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Beclip Be·clip" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Beclipped ] [ Anglo-Saxon beclyppan ; prefix be + clyppan to embrace.] To embrace; to surround. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

Becloud Be·cloud" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Beclouded ; present participle & verbal noun Beclouding .] To cause obscurity or dimness to; to dim; to cloud.

If thou becloud the sunshine of thine eye.
Quarles.

Become Be·come" intransitive verb [ imperfect Became ; past participle Become ; present participle & verbal noun Becoming .] [ Middle English bicumen , becumen , Anglo-Saxon becuman to come to, to happen; akin to Dutch bekomen , Old High German a piquëman , Goth. biquiman to come upon, German bekommen to get, suit. See Be- , and Come .] 1. To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or condition, by a change from another state, or by assuming or receiving new properties or qualities, additional matter, or a new character.

The Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen. ii. 7.

That error now which is become my crime.
Milton.

2. To come; to get. [ Obsolete]

But, madam, where is Warwick then become !
Shak.

To become of , to be the present state or place of; to be the fate of; to be the end of; to be the final or subsequent condition of.

What is then become of so huge a multitude?
Sir W. Raleigh.

Become Be·come" transitive verb To suit or be suitable to; to be congruous with; to befit; to accord with, in character or circumstances; to be worthy of, or proper for; to cause to appear well; -- said of persons and things.

It becomes me so to speak of so excellent a poet.
Dryden.

I have known persons so anxious to have their dress become them, as to convert it, at length, into their proper self, and thus actually to become the dress.
Coleridge.

Becomed Be·com"ed adjective Proper; decorous. [ Obsolete]

And gave him what becomed love I might.
Shak.

Becoming Be·com"ing adjective Appropriate or fit; congruous; suitable; graceful; befitting.

A low and becoming tone.
Thackeray.

Formerly sometimes followed by of .

Such discourses as are becoming of them.
Dryden.

Syn. -- Seemly; comely; decorous; decent; proper.

Becoming Be·com"ing noun That which is becoming or appropriate. [ Obsolete]

Becomingly Be·com"ing·ly adverb In a becoming manner.

Becomingness Be·com"ing·ness noun The quality of being becoming, appropriate, or fit; congruity; fitness.

The becomingness of human nature.
Grew.

Becquerel rays Becque`rel" rays" (Physics) Radiations first observed by the French physicist Henri Becquerel, in working with uranium and its compounds. They consist of a mixture of alpha, beta, and gamma rays.

Becripple Be·crip"ple transitive verb To make a cripple of; to cripple; to lame. [ R.] Dr. H. More.

Becuiba Be·cui"ba noun , Be*cui"ba nut` [ Native name.] (Botany) The nut of the Brazilian tree Myristica Bicuhyba , which yields a medicinal balsam used for rheumatism.

Becuna Be·cu"na noun [ Spanish ] (Zoology) A fish of the Mediterranean ( Sphyræna spet ). See Barracuda .

Becurl Be·curl" transitive verb To curl; to adorn with curls.

Bed Bed noun [ Anglo-Saxon bed , bedd ; akin to Old Saxon bed , Dutch bed , bedde , Icelandic be...r , Danish bed , Swedish bädd , Goth. badi , Old High German betti , German bett , bette , bed, beet a plat of ground; all of uncertain origin.] 1. An article of furniture to sleep or take rest in or on; a couch. Specifically: A sack or mattress, filled with some soft material, in distinction from the bedstead on which it is placed (as, a feather bed ), or this with the bedclothes added. In a general sense, any thing or place used for sleeping or reclining on or in, as a quantity of hay, straw, leaves, or twigs.

And made for him [ a horse] a leafy bed .
Byron.

I wash, wring, brew, bake, . . . make the beds .
Shak.

In bed he slept not for my urging it.
Shak.

2. (Used as the symbol of matrimony) Marriage.

George, the eldest son of his second bed .
Clarendon.

3. A plat or level piece of ground in a garden, usually a little raised above the adjoining ground. " Beds of hyacinth and roses." Milton.

4. A mass or heap of anything arranged like a bed; as, a bed of ashes or coals.

5. The bottom of a watercourse, or of any body of water; as, the bed of a river.

So sinks the daystar in the ocean bed .
Milton.

6. (Geol.) A layer or seam, or a horizontal stratum between layers; as, a bed of coal, iron, etc.

7. (Gun.) See Gun carriage , and Mortar bed .

8. (Masonry) (a) The horizontal surface of a building stone; as, the upper and lower beds . (b) A course of stone or brick in a wall. (c) The place or material in which a block or brick is laid. (d) The lower surface of a brick, slate, or tile. Knight.

9. (Mech.) The foundation or the more solid and fixed part or framing of a machine; or a part on which something is laid or supported; as, the bed of an engine.

10. The superficial earthwork, or ballast, of a railroad.

11. (Printing) The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid.

» Bed is much used adjectively or in combination; as, bed key or bedkey; bed wrench or bed wrench; bed chamber; bed maker, etc.

Bed of justice (French Hist.) , the throne (F. lit bed) occupied by the king when sitting in one of his parliaments (judicial courts); hence, a session of a refractory parliament, at which the king was present for the purpose of causing his decrees to be registered. -- To be brought to bed , to be delivered of a child; -- often followed by of ; as, to be brought to bed of a son. -- To make a bed , to prepare a bed; to arrange or put in order a bed and its bedding. -- From bed and board (Law) , a phrase applied to a separation by partial divorce of man and wife, without dissolving the bonds of matrimony. If such a divorce (now commonly called a judicial separation ) be granted at the instance of the wife, she may have alimony.

Bed Bed transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bedded ; present participle & verbal noun Bedding .] 1. To place in a bed. [ Obsolete] Bacon.

2. To make partaker of one's bed; to cohabit with.

I'll to the Tuscan wars, and never bed her.
Shak.

3. To furnish with a bed or bedding.

4. To plant or arrange in beds; to set, or cover, as in a bed of soft earth; as, to bed the roots of a plant in mold.

5. To lay or put in any hollow place, or place of rest and security, surrounded or inclosed; to embed; to furnish with or place upon a bed or foundation; as, to bed a stone; it was bedded on a rock.

Among all chains or clusters of mountains where large bodies of still water are bedded .
Wordsworth.

6. (Masonry) To dress or prepare the surface of stone) so as to serve as a bed.

7. To lay flat; to lay in order; to place in a horizontal or recumbent position. " Bedded hair." Shak.

Bed Bed intransitive verb To go to bed; to cohabit.

If he be married, and bed with his wife.
Wiseman.

Bed rock Bed" rock" (Mining) The solid rock underlying superficial formations. Also Fig.

Bed screw Bed" screw` 1. (Nautical) A form of jack screw for lifting large bodies, and assisting in launching.

2. A long screw formerly used to fasten a bedpost to one of the adjacent side pieces.

Bed steps Bed" steps` Steps for mounting a bed of unusual height.

Bed-molding, Bed-moulding Bed"-mold`ing, Bed"-mould`ing (bĕd"mōld`ĭng) noun (Architecture) The molding of a cornice immediately below the corona. Oxf. Gloss.

Bedabble Be·dab·ble transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bedabbled ; present participle & verbal noun Bedabbling ] To dabble; to sprinkle or wet. Shak.

Bedaff Be·daff" transitive verb To make a daff or fool of. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Bedagat Bed"a·gat noun The sacred books of the Buddhists in Burmah. Malcom.

Bedaggle Be·dag"gle transitive verb To daggle.

Bedash Be·dash" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bedashed ; present participle & verbal noun Bedashing .] To wet by dashing or throwing water or other liquid upon; to bespatter. "Trees bedashed with rain." Shak.

Bedaub Be·daub" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bedaubed ; present participle & verbal noun Bedaubing .] To daub over; to besmear or soil with anything thick and dirty.

Bedaub foul designs with a fair varnish.
Barrow.

Bedazzle Be·daz"zle transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bedazzled ; present participle & verbal noun Bedazzling ] To dazzle or make dim by a strong light. " Bedazzled with the sun." Shak.

Bedbug Bed"bug` noun (Zoology) A wingless, bloodsucking, hemipterous insect ( Cimex Lectularius ), sometimes infesting houses and especially beds. See Illustration in Appendix.

Bedchair Bed"chair` noun A chair with adjustable back, for the sick, to support them while sitting up in bed.

Bedchamber Bed"cham`ber noun A chamber for a bed; an apartment form sleeping in. Shak.

Lords of the bedchamber , eight officers of the royal household, all of noble families, who wait in turn a week each. [ Eng.] -- Ladies of the bedchamber , eight ladies, all titled, holding a similar official position in the royal household, during the reign of a queen. [ Eng.]

Bedclothes Bed"clothes` noun plural Blankets, sheets, coverlets, etc., for a bed. Shak.

Bedcord Bed"cord` noun A cord or rope interwoven in a bedstead so as to support the bed.

Bedded Bed"ded adjective Provided with a bed; as, double- bedded room; placed or arranged in a bed or beds.

Bedding Bed"ding noun [ Anglo-Saxon bedding , beding . See Bed .] 1. A bed and its furniture; the materials of a bed, whether for man or beast; bedclothes; litter.

2. (Geol.) The state or position of beds and layers.

Bede Bede transitive verb [ See Bid , transitive verb ] To pray; also, to offer; to proffer. [ Obsolete] R. of Gloucester. Chaucer.

Bede Bede noun (Mining) A kind of pickax.

Bedeck Be·deck" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bedecked ; present participle & verbal noun Bedecking .] To deck, ornament, or adorn; to grace.

Bedecked with boughs, flowers, and garlands.
Pennant.

Bedeguar, Bedegar Bed"e·guar, Bed"e·gar noun [ French, from Persian bād-āward , or bād-āwardag , prop., a kind of white thorn or thistle.] A gall produced on rosebushes, esp. on the sweetbrier or eglantine, by a puncture from the ovipositor of a gallfly ( Rhodites rosæ ). It was once supposed to have medicinal properties.

Bedehouse Bede"house` noun Same as Beadhouse .

Bedel, Bedell Be"del, Be"dell noun Same as Beadle .

Bedelry Be"del·ry noun Beadleship. [ Obsolete] Blount.

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