Part 29

BELL, bel, _n._ a hollow vessel of metal, which gives forth a ringing sound when struck by the tongue or clapper suspended inside--as in _church-bell_, _hand-bell_, _alarm-bell_, _night-bell_, _marriage-bell_, &c.: a corolla shaped like a bell: the body of a Corinthian or composite capital, without the surrounding foliage: anything bell-shaped, as in _diving-bell_, _bell-glass_, the _bell_ or outward-turned orifice of a trumpet, &c.: a bell rung to tell the hour: (_naut._) the bell struck on shipboard every half-hour as many times as there are half-hours of the watch elapsed--'two bells,' 'three bells,' &c., meaning that there are two or three half-hours past; the watch of four hours is eight bells.--_v.t._ to furnish with a bell, esp. in TO BELL THE CAT, to take the leading part in any hazardous movement, from the ancient fable of the mice who proposed to hang a warning bell round the cat's neck.--_ns._ BELL'COTE (_archit._), an ornamental [Illustration] structure made to contain one or two bells, and often crowned by a small spire; BELL'-CRANK, a rectangular lever in the form of a crank, used for changing the direction of bell-wires; BELL'-FOUND'ER, one who founds or casts bells; BELL'-GLASS, a bell-shaped glass for sheltering flowers; BELL'-HANG'ER, one who hangs and repairs bells; BELL'MAN, one who rings a bell, esp. on the streets, before making public announcements: a town-crier; BELL'-MET'AL, the metal of which bells are made--an alloy of copper and tin; BELL'-PUNCH, a hand-punch containing a signal-bell, used for punching a hole in a ticket in order to keep a record of the number of fares taken; BELL'-RING'ER, one whose business it is to ring a bell on stated occasions: a performer with musical hand-bells; BELL'-ROPE, the rope by which a bell is rung.--_adj._ BELL'-SHAPED.--_ns._ BELL'-TOW'ER, a tower built to contain one or more bells, a campanile; BELL'-TUR'RET, a turret containing a bell-chamber, usually crowned with a spire; BELL'-WETH'ER, the leading sheep of a flock, on whose neck a bell is hung: (_fig._) any loud, turbulent fellow, esp. the leader of a mob.--BELL, BOOK, AND CANDLE, a phrase popularly used in reference to a form of excommunication ending with the words, 'Do to [shut] the book, quench the candle, ring the bell.'--TO BEAR or CARRY OFF THE BELL, to have or to gain the first place. [A.S. _belle_; cog. with Dut. _bel_.]

BELL, bel, _n._ a bubble formed in a liquid. [Ety. dub.; cf. Dut. _bel_, a bubble in water, perh. from L. _bulla_, bubble in water.]

BELL, bel, _v.i._ to bellow, roar: to utter loudly.--_n._ the cry of a stag at rutting-time. [A.S. _bellan_, to roar; cf. Ger. _bellen_.]

BELLADONNA, bel'la-don-na, _n._ the deadly nightshade or dwale, all parts of which are narcotic and poisonous from the presence therein of the alkaloid atropia: the drug prepared from the foregoing. [It. _bella donna_, fair lady; one property of belladonna is to enlarge the pupil, and so add a brilliance to the eyes.]

BELLARMINE, bel'lar-m[=e]n, _n._ a large stoneware drinking jug with a big belly and a narrow neck, decorated with a bearded face, originally that of Cardinal _Bellarmine_, made in mockery by the Dutch Protestants.

BELLE, bel, _n._ a handsome woman: the chief beauty of a place: a fair lady generally. [Fr. _belle_--L. _bella_, _bellus_.]

BELLES-LETTRES, bel-let'r, _n.pl._ polite or elegant literature, including poetry, fiction, criticism, æsthetics, &c.--_ns._ BELLET'RIST, BELLET'TRIST.--_adj._ BELLETRIS'TIC. [Fr., lit. 'fine letters.']

BELLIBONE, bel'i-b[=o]n, _n._ (_Spens._) a beautiful and good woman.

BELLICOSE, bel'ik-[=o]s, _adj._ contentious, war-like.--_adv._ BEL'LICOSELY.--_n._ BELLICOS'ITY. [L. _bellicosus_.]

BELLIED, bel'lid, _p.adj._ with a belly, esp. a big belly, pot-bellied: bulging: puffed out. [See BELLY.]

BELLIGERENT, bel-ij'[.e]r-[.e]nt, _adj._ carrying on regular war.--_n._ a party or person waging such.--_n._ BELLIG'ERENCY. [L. _belligerant-em_, _belliger[=a]re_, to wage war.]

BELLONA, bel'l[=o]-na, _n._ the Roman goddess of war--hence (_fig._) a woman of great spirit and vigour.

BELLOW, bel'l[=o], _v.i._ to roar like a bull: to make any violent outcry, often with sense of contempt or ridicule: to shout aloud: to roar, as of cannon, the ocean, &c.--with objective, to give forth a loud sound.--_n._ the roar of a bull: any deep sound or cry. [M. E. _belwen_; there is an A.S. _bellan_, to roar.]

BELLOWS, bel'l[=o]z, or bel'lus, _n.pl._ an instrument for producing a current of air so as to blow up a fire, either in a kitchen, a furnace, or a forge--or for producing the current of air by which the pipes and reeds of an organ are sounded: (_fig._) that which fans the fire of hatred, jealousy, &c.: the lungs. [Same as BELLY (q.v.); now used only in _pl._, the sing. not having survived the 15th century.]

BELLY, bel'li, _n._ the part of the body between the breast and the thighs, containing the bowels: the stomach, as the receptacle of the food: the bowels proper: the womb or uterus: the interior of anything: the bulging part of anything, as a bottle, or any concave or hollow surface, as of a sail: the inner or lower surface of anything, as opposed to the _back_, as of a violin, &c.--_adj._ ventral, abdominal: (_theol._) belonging to the flesh, carnal.--_v.i._ to swell or bulge out.--_ns._ BEL'LY-BAND, a saddle-girth: a band fastened to the shafts of a vehicle, and passing under the belly of the horse drawing it; BEL'LYFUL, a sufficiency; BEL'LY-GOD, one who makes a god of his belly, a glutton.--_p.adj._ BEL'LYING.--_n._ BEL'LY-TIM'BER, provisions. [M. E. _bali_, _bely_--A.S. _bælig_, _belig_; _bælg_, _belg_, bag.]

BELOMANCY, bel'o-man-si, _n._ a kind of divination by means of arrows. [Gr. _belos_, a dart, _manteia_, divination.]

BELONG, be-long', _v.i._ to go along with: to pertain to: to be one's property: to be a part of, or appendage of, or in any way connected with: to be specially the business of: (_U.S._) to be a native of, or have a residence in.--_n.pl._ BELONG'INGS, circumstances or relations of any person: possessions: persons connected, relatives: accessories. [_Bi-_, _be-longen_, intens. of _longen_, with pfx. _be-_. See LONG.]

BELOVED, be-luvd', or be-luv'ed, _p.adj._ much loved, very dear--often compounded with _well-_; _best-_, &c.--_n._ one who is much loved.--_adj._ BELOV'ING (_Shak._) = loving.

BELOW, be-l[=o]', _prep._ beneath in place, rank, or quality: underneath: not worthy of.--_adv._ in a lower place: (_fig._) on earth, or in hell, as opposed to heaven. [Pfx. _be-_, and adj. LOW.]

BELT, belt, _n._ a girdle, zone, or band: such a piece, as of leather, worn by way of ornament, or given as a prize or badge of victory in wrestling or the like: a broad strip of anything, different in colour or material: that which confines or restrains: (_geog._) a strait.--_v.t._ to surround with a belt, or to invest formally with such, as in knighting a man: to encircle: to thrash with a belt.--_p.adj._ BELT'ED, wearing a belt, of a knight: marked with a belt, as the 'belted kingfisher.'--_n._ BELT'ING, flexible belts for the transmission of motion in machinery, made of leather, indiarubber, &c.--as in _chainbelt_, _crossed belt_, _endless belt_, &c.; a thrashing.--TO HOLD THE BELT, to hold the championship in wrestling, boxing, or the like. [A.S. _belt_; Ice. _belti_, Gael. _balt_, L. _balteus_.]

BELTANE, bel't[=a]n, _n._ an ancient Celtic heathen festival, held in the beginning of May, when bonfires were lighted on the hills: the first day of May (O.S.)--one of the four old quarter-days of Scotland, the others being Lammas, Hallowmas, and Candlemas.--_adj._ in _Beltane_ games, &c. [Gael. _bealltainn_, _beilteine_; usually explained as 'Beal's fire,' _Beal_ being a supposed Celtic deity who has been courageously identified with the Baal or Bel of the Phoenicians and other Semitic peoples, and Gael. _teine_, fire. But even this last is doubtful.]

BELUGA, be-l[=oo]'ga, _n._ the white whale, one of the dolphin family, closely allied to the narwhal, 12 to 16 feet long, of creamy-white colour, found in droves round Greenland and all over the Arctic seas: applied also to a great Russian sturgeon--the _Acipenser Huso_. [Russ.]

BELVEDERE, bel've-d[=e]r, _n._ a pavilion or raised turret or lantern on the top of a house, open for the view, or to admit the cool evening breeze: a summer-house on an eminence in a park or garden. [It. _belvedere_; _bel_, beautiful, _vedere_, a view.]

BEMA, b[=e]'ma, _n._ the tribune or rostrum from which Athenian orators made their speeches--hence the apse or chancel of a basilica. [Gr. _b[=e]ma_, a step.]

BEMAD, be-mad', _v.t._ to madden.

BEMAUL, be-mawl', _v.t._ to maul thoroughly.

BEMAZED, be-m[=a]zd', _p.adj._ stupefied, bewildered.

BEMBEX, bem'beks, _n._ a genus of solitary sand-wasps, with broad heads and very large eyes, noted for their making a loud buzz during their rapid flight. [Gr. _bembix_.]

BEMEAN, be-m[=e]n', _v.t._ to make mean, to lower or debase: (_obs._) to signify.

BEMIRE, be-m[=i]r', _v.t._ to soil with mire.--_p.adj._ BEMIRED'.

BEMOAN, be-m[=o]n', _v.t._ to lament: bewail: to pity.--_v.i._ to grieve.--_ns._ BEMOAN'ER; BEMOAN'ING.

BEMOCK, be-mok', _v.t._ to mock at, to deride.

BEMOIL, be-moil', _v.t._ (_Shak._) to bemire, to bedraggle.

BEMONSTER, be-mon'ster, _v.t._ to make monstrous: to regard or treat as a monster.

BEMOUTH, be-mowth', _v.i._ to declaim, to overpraise.

BEMUD, be-mud', _v.t._ to bespatter with mud: to confuse.

BEMUDDLE, be-mud'l, _v.t._ to confuse or muddle completely.

BEMUFFLE, be-muf'l, _v.t._ to wrap or muffle up completely.

BEMUSE, be-m[=u]z', _v.t._ to put in confusion: stupefy.

BEN, ben, _n._ a mountain peak. [Gael. _beann_.]

BEN, ben, _prep._ and _adv._ in toward the inner apartment of a house.--_n._ the inner apartment of a house, as opposed to the _But_ or kitchen through which one must generally pass first.--TO BE FAR BEN WITH ONE, to be on terms of great intimacy or friendship with; TO LIVE BUT AND BEN, to live respectively in these rooms, in close neighbourhood with any one. [M. E. _binne_--A.S. _binnan_, within.]

BENCH, bensh, _n._ a long seat or form with or without a back: a seat in a boat: a mechanic's work-table: a judge's seat: the body or assembly of judges: a tribunal: the dignity of holding an official seat, as the 'bench of bishops,' the 'civic bench.'--_v.t._ to place on or furnish with benches.--_ns._ BENCH'ER, a senior member of an inn of court; BENCH'ERSHIP; BENCH'-MARK, a surveyor's mark cut on a rock, gatepost, wall, or the like, into which a crooked iron is set so as to form a bench or temporary support for the levelling instrument; BENCH'-WAR'RANT, one issued by a judge rather than a justice or magistrate. [A.S. _benc_; cog. with Ger. and Dut. _bank_.]

BEND, bend, _v.t._ to curve or bow: to make crooked: to turn or incline--mostly in passive, to be inclined _to_, _towards_, to be given _to_: to subdue: to direct to a certain point: to apply closely, to strain, to nerve one's self to: (_naut._) to tie, fasten, make fast.--_v.i._ to be crooked or curved: to incline in any direction: to stoop: to lean: to bow in submission (with _to_, _before_, _towards_):--_pa.p._ bend'ed or bent.--_n._ a curve or crook: the bent part of anything; (_her._) one of the nine ordinaries, consisting of the space contained between two parallel lines crossing the shield diagonally from dexter chief to sinister base. It is said to occupy a fifth part of the shield unless charged, when it occupies a third part--its diminutives are the _Bendlet_, _Cotise_, and _Ribbon_.--BEND SINISTER, an occasionally occurring variety of the bend, drawn from sinister chief to dexter base. [Old Eng. _bendan_.]

BEND, bend, _n._ in leather, half a butt cut lengthwise.

BENEATH, be-n[=e]th', _prep._ under, or lower in place: inside of, behind: unworthy the dignity of, unbecoming. [A.S. _bi-nathan_.]

BENEDICITE, ben-[=e]-dis'i-te, _n._ the canticle beginning _'Benedicite_ omnia opera Domini' ('O all ye works of the Lord'), from the Apocryphal _Song of the Three Holy Children_--in the Anglican morning service an alternate to the _Te Deum_: the blessing before a repast.

BENEDICT, ben'e-dikt, _n._ a common name for a newly married man, esp. a bachelor who has long held out against marriage, but at last succumbed--from _Benedick_ in Shakespeare's _Much Ado about Nothing_.--_adj._ blessed: benign.

BENEDICTINE, ben-e-dik'tin, _adj._ pertaining to St Benedict or his monastic rule.--_n._ a Black Friar or monk of the order founded at Monte Cassino by St _Benedict_ of Nursia (480-543), which became famous for its learning: a cordial or liqueur resembling Chartreuse, distilled at Fécamp in Normandy--once distilled by Benedictine monks.

BENEDICTION, ben-e-dik'shun, _n._ a solemn invocation of the divine blessing on men or things--a priestly benediction is defined by Romanists as a formula of imperative prayer which transmits a certain grace or virtue to the object over which it is pronounced: a brief and popular service in the Romish Church, consisting of certain canticles and antiphons sung in presence of the host, and concluding with the priest making the sign of the cross over the people with the monstrance, and giving in silence the benediction of the most holy sacrament.--_adj._ BENEDICT'ORY.--_n._ BENEDICT'US, the canticle of Zacharias (Luke, i. 68-79), used in the Roman service of matin-lauds, and occurring after the second lesson in Anglican matins.--_p.adj._ BENEDIGHT' (_Longfellow_), blessed.--APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION, that given in 2 Cor. xiii. 14.

BENEFACTION, ben-e-fak'shun, _n._ the act of doing good: a good deed done or benefit conferred: a grant or endowment.--_n._ BENEFAC'TOR, one who gives a benefit to another, esp. one who leaves a legacy to some charitable or religious institution, a patron:--_fem._ BENEFAC'TRESS.--_adj._ BENEFAC'TORY. [L. _benefaction-em_.]

BENEFICE, ben'e-fis, _n._ any kind of church promotion or dignity, esp. with cure of souls, such as rectories, vicarages, and other parochial cures, as distinguished from bishoprics, deaneries, cathedral preferments, &c.: an ecclesiastical living.--_adj._ BEN'EFICED, possessed of a benefice. [Through Fr. from L. _beneficium_.]

BENEFICENCE, be-nef'i-sens, _n._ active goodness: kindness: charity: a beneficent gift.--_n._ BENEFIC'ENCY (_obs._).--_adjs._ BENEF'ICENT; BENEFICEN'TIAL.--_adv._ BENEF'ICENTLY. [L. _beneficentia_.]

BENEFICIAL, ben-e-fish'al, _adj._ useful; advantageous: (_law_) enjoying the usufruct of property.--_adj._ BENEF'IC, of good influence astrologically: beneficent, kindly.--_adv._ BENEFIC'IALLY.--_ns._ BENEFIC'IALNESS; BENEFIC'IARY, a legal term to denote a person who enjoys, or has the prospect of enjoying, any interest or estate held in trust by others. [L. _beneficium_.]

BENEFIT, ben'e-fit, _n._ a kindness: a favour: any advantage, natural or other: a performance at a theatre, the proceeds of which go to one of the company.--_v.t._ to do good to.--_v.i._ to gain advantage (with _from_),--_ns._ BEN'EFIT-OF-CLER'GY, in old English law, the exemption of the persons of ecclesiastics from criminal process before a secular judge, they being responsible only to their ordinary. This privilege, at first limited to those in actual orders, was in 1350 extended to all manner of clerks, and in later practice to all who could read, whether of clergy or laity; BEN'EFIT-OF-IN'VENTORY (_Scots law_), a legal privilege whereby an heir secured himself against unlimited liability for his ancestor, by giving up within the _annus deliberandi_ an inventory of his heritage or real estate, to the extent of which alone was the heir liable.--BENEFIT SOCIETIES, associations for mutual benefit chiefly among the labouring classes, better known as _Friendly societies_. [M. E. _benfet_, through Fr. from L. _benefactum_.]

BENET, be-net', _v.t._ to catch in a net, to ensnare.

BENET, ben'et, _n._ an exorcist, the third of the four lesser orders in the Roman Church. [Through Fr. from L. _benedict-us_, blessed.]

BENEVOLENCE, ben-ev'ol-ens, _n._ disposition to do good: an act of kindness: generosity: a gift of money, esp. for support of the poor: (_Eng. hist._) a kind of forced loan or contribution, levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV. in 1473.--_adj._ BENEV'OLENT, charitable, generous, well disposed to.--_adv._ BENEV'OLENTLY. [Through Fr. from L. _benevolentia_.]

BENGALI, ben-gaw'l[=e], _adj._ of or belonging to _Bengal_.--_n._ a native of Bengal: the language of Bengal.--_n._ BENGAL'-LIGHT, a brilliant signal-light used at sea in a case of shipwreck, and in ordinary pyrotechny for illuminating a district of country--prepared from nitre, sulphur, and the black sulphide of antimony.

BENIGHTED, be-n[=i]t'ed, _adj._ overtaken by night: involved in darkness, intellectual or moral: ignorant.--_v.t._ BENIGHT', to involve in such darkness: to cloud with disappointment.--_ns._ BENIGHT'ENING; BENIGHT'ER; BENIGHT'ING; BENIGHT'MENT. [Pfx. _be-_ and NIGHT.]

BENIGN, ben-[=i]n', _adj._ favourable, esp. in astrology, as opposed to _malign_: gracious: kindly: (_med._) of a mild type, as opposed to malignant: salubrious.--_n._ BENIG'NANCY, benignant quality.--_adj._ BENIG'NANT, kind: gracious: beneficial.--_adv._ BENIG'NANTLY.--_n._ BENIG'NITY, goodness of disposition: kindness: graciousness: favourable circumstances--of climate, weather, disease, planets.--_adv._ BENIGN'LY. [O. Fr. _benigne_--L. _benignus_, for _benigenus_; _bene_, well, _genus_, born.]

BENISON, ben'izn, _n._ benediction, blessing, esp. blessing of God. [O. Fr. _beneiçun_--L. _benediction-em_.]

BENITIER, b[=a]-n[=e]'ti[=a], _n._ the vase or vessel for holy water in R.C. churches, known in England as the holy-water font, vat, pot, stone, stock, or stoup. [Fr.--Low L. _benedictarium_--L. _benedictus_.]

BENJAMIN, ben'jä-min, _n._ a kind of overcoat formerly worn by men. [Suggested possibly by 'Joseph's coat.' The Gipsy _béngari_, 'waistcoat,' has been proposed as an etymon.]

BENJAMIN, ben'jä-min, _n._ gum benjamin, an essence made from benzoin.--_n._ BEN'JAMIN-TREE, a North American aromatic shrub, with stimulant tonic bark and berries: the tree which yields benzoin--_Styrax Benzoin_. [A corr. of BENZOIN.]

BENNET, ben'et, _n._ the herb Bennet or common avens (_Geum urbanum_), a yellow-flowered wayside plant throughout Europe. [Through Fr. from L. 'herba _benedicta_,' the flower being a protective against the devil.]

BENNET, ben'et, _n._ the same as BENT, indeed an earlier form.

BENT, bent, _pa.t._ and _pa.p._ of BEND.

BENT, bent, _n._ leaning or bias: tendency: intention: natural inclination of the mind towards anything: the condition of being bent, curved form: (_rare_) slope or declivity: (_Shak._) a cast, as of the eye: the extent to which a bow may be bent--degree of tension, capacity of endurance, as in the phrase 'to the top of one's bent' = to the full measure of one's inclination. [See BEND.]

BENT, bent, _n._ any stiff or wiry grass: the old dried stalks of grasses: a special genus (_Agrostis_) containing about sixty species of grasses, all slender and delicate in appearance, and some useful as pasture-grasses and for hay: a place covered with such, a heath: a hillside.--Often BENT'-GRASS.--BEN'NET is a variant, a name applied to the wild barley-grass.--_adj._ BENT'Y.--TO TAKE TO THE BENT (_Scot._), to fly to the moors, to escape from some danger by flight. [A.S. _beonet_, found in place-names, as _Beonetléah_, Bentley; the history is obscure, but the word is doubtless Teut.; cf. Ger. _binse_.]

BENTHAMISM, ben'tham-izm, _n._ a name applied to the social and political doctrines of Jeremy _Bentham_ (1748-1832), whose leading principle is the doctrine of utility, that happiness is identical with pleasure, summed up in Priestley's famous phrase, 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number.'

BENUMB, be-num', _v.t._ to make insensible or powerless: to stupefy (now chiefly of _cold_): to deaden the feelings: to paralyse generally.--_p.adj._ BENUMBED'.--_ns._ BENUMBED'NESS, BENUMB'MENT. [Pfx. _be-_ and NUMB.]

BENZENE, ben'z[=e]n, _n._ a compound of carbon and hydrogen, discovered by Faraday in 1825, in a tarry liquid resulting from the distillation of oil. It is found amongst the products of the destructive distillation of a great many organic bodies, but the most abundant source is coal-tar. It must not be confounded with _benzine_ or _benzoyl_, which names have at different times been used for benzene.--BEN'ZINE is the name given to a distillate from American petroleum, which is much used as a substitute for turpentine, and for dissolving oils and fats; BEN'ZOYL is the commercial name applied to a mixture of substances, including benzene and its homologues.--BEN'ZOL is synonymous with benzene, while BEN'ZOLINE is a name applied to benzine and impure benzene indiscriminately.

BENZOIN, ben'z[=o]-in, or -zoin, _n._ gum benjamin, the aromatic and resinous juice of the _Styrax Benzoin_ of Java and Sumatra. It is used in perfumery, in pastilles, and for incense, and its compound tincture yields Friar's Balsam or Jesuit's Drops, and is used in making court-plaster. [In the 16th century, BENJOIN. Most prob. through It. from Ar. _lub[=a]n j[=a]w[=i]_, frankincense of Java, Sumatra, &c.]

BEPAINT, be-p[=a]nt', _v.t._ to paint over: to colour.

BEPAT, be-pat', _v.t._ to pat frequently, to beat.

BEPATCHED, be-patcht', _p.adj._ mended with patches: wearing patches on the face by way of adornment.

BEPEARL, be-p[.e]rl', _v.t._ to cover over with pearls.

BEPELT, be-p[.e]lt', _v.t._ to pelt vigorously.

BEPEPPER, be-pep'[.e]r, _v.t._ to pelt with a rain of shot or of blows.

BEPESTER, be-pest'[.e]r, _v.t._ to vex or pester greatly.

BEPITY, be-pit'i, _v.t._ to pity greatly.

BEPLUMED, be-pl[=oo]md', _p.adj._ adorned with feathers.

BEPOMMEL, be-pom'el, _v.t._ to pommel soundly.

BEPOWDER, be-pow'd[.e]r, _v.t._ to powder over.

BEPRAISE, be-pr[=a]z', _v.t._ to praise extravagantly.

BEPROSE, be-pr[=o]z', _v.t._ to reduce to prose: to discuss in prose, and tediously.

BEPUFF, be-puf', _v.t._ to puff out: to praise beyond measure.

BEQUEATH, be-kw[=e]th', _v.t._ to leave personal property by will to another: to transmit to posterity, to leave behind: to commit or entrust to any one.--_adj._ BEQUEATH'ABLE.--_ns._ BEQUEATH'AL, BEQUEATH'MENT. [A.S. _becweðan_; pfx. _be-_,and _cweðan_, to say. See QUOTH.]

BEQUEST, be-kwest', _n._ act of bequeathing: that which is bequeathed, a legacy. [M. E. _bi-queste_--A.S. _bi'-cwiss_; _bi'-_, a form of pfx. _be-_, _qithan_, to say. See QUOTH.]

BERATE, be-r[=a]t', _v.t._ (_U.S._) to scold or chide vigorously.

BERBER, b[.e]r'b[.e]r, _n._ and _adj._ a member of one of the Hamitic tribes inhabiting the mountainous regions of Barbary and the northern portions of the Great Desert, originally occupying the whole southern coast of the Mediterranean: the language spoken by the Berbers. [Derived by Barth either from the name of their supposed ancestor, _Ber_, which we recognise in the L. A_-fer_, an African; or from the Gr. and L. term _Barbari_.]

BERE, another spelling of BEAR, barley (q.v.).

BEREAN, b[=e]-r[=e]'an, _n._ one of an extinct Scottish sect of the 18th century, named from the people of _Berea_ (Acts, xvii. 11, who derived all knowledge of God from the Bible, but differed little from ordinary Calvinists.

BEREAVE, be-r[=e]v', _v.t._ to rob a person of anything valued: to leave destitute:--_pa.t._ and _pa.p._ bereaved'--the latter also BEREFT'.--_adj._ BEREAVED', robbed by death of some dear relative or friend.--_n._ BEREAVE'MENT, the fact or state of being so bereaved. [A.S. _beréafian_, to plunder. See REAVE.]

BERET, BERRET, b[.e]r'et, _n._ a flat woollen cap worn by the Basques. [Fr.]