bdellatomy 
bdellatomy (de-lat'6-mi), w. [< Gr. ftiDM, a 
leech, + ropi, a cutting.] 1. The act or oper- 
ation of incising a leech while sucking, so that 
the ingested blood may escape, and the leech 
continue to suck. 2. The application of the 
bdellometer. 
Bdellia (del'i-a), n. [NL. : see Bdella.] Same 
as Bdella, 1. 
Bdellidae (del'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Bdella + 
-j'rftf?.] A family of tracheate mites, of the or- 
der Acarida, class Araclmida, having the head 
distinct from the thorax and elongated into a 
proboscis, chelate cheliceres, long thin rap- 
torial pedipalps, cursorial legs of six or more 
joints, stigmate near the rostrum, and skeleton 
composed of sclerites embedded in soft skin. 
The animals are found creeping in damp places. Besides 
Bdella, the family contains the genus Scinw. 
Bdellinse (de-li'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Bdella + 
-inn:] A subfamily of tracheate Acarina. See 
Bdellidtr. 
bdellium (del'i-um), n. [In ME. bdelyum, bidel- 
lium, < LL. bdellium, < Gr. /ItetoMv, a plant, a 
fragrant gum which exudes from it (Dipscori- 
des, Pliny) ; used (also in the form ftdMa) to 
translate Heb. b'dolakh, a precious article of 
merchandise mentioned along with gold and 
precious stones (Gen. ii. 12). The opinion of 
the rabbins, which Bochart supports, is that 
b'dolakh signifies orig. a pearl, and as a collec- 
tive noun pearls, which may be compared to 
grains of manna; hence its secondary sense of 
a gum.] A name given to two aromatic gum- 
resins, similar to myrrh, but weaker. Indian 
bdellium is believed to be the product of Balsamodendron 
Mukul, and African bdellium of B. Africanum. They are 
used for the same purposes as myrrh, but chiefly as an 
ingredient in plasters and as a perfume. An Egyptian 
resin also called bdellium is obtained from the doum-palm, 
Hypham Thebaica, of Upper Egypt. 
Bdelloida (de-loi'da), n. [NL., < Gr. RttUa, a 
leech, + -oida.~\ A'family of rotifers that swim 
and creep like a leech, with the foot retractile, 
jointed, telescopic, and forked at the end. 
bdellometer (de-lom'e-ter), n. [< Gr. pieMa, 
a leech (< /)6d?.fatv, milk, suck), + ftcrpav, a 
measure.] An instrument used as a substi- 
tute for the leech. It consists of a cupping-glass, to 
which a scariflcator and an exhausting syringe are at- 
tached. Dunglitson. 
Bdellostoma (de-los'to-ma), n. [NL., < Gr. 
{itleMa, a leech, + ar6/ia, mouth.] A genus of 
cyclostomous or marsipobranchiate fishes, or 
myzonts, referred to the family Myxinidce, or 
made the type of a family Bdellostomida : so 
called from the comparison of the suctorial 
mouth to that of a leech. There are 7 branchial 
apertures or openings of the branchial sacs. B. heptatre- 
ma, is found at the Cape of Good Hope. The genus is the 
same as Heptatrema. 
bdellostpmid (de-los'to-mid), . A myzont of 
the family Bdellostomidce. 
Bdellostomidae (del-os-tom'i-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Bdellostoma + -idte.~\ A family of hypero- 
tretous myzonts, represented by the genus 
Bdellostoma : synonymous with Heptatremida; 
(which see). 
bds. An abbreviation of boards, in use among 
bookbinders and booksellers. 
be 1 (be), n. i., substantive verb ; pres. am, art 
(sometimes beest), is, are (sometimes be) ; pret. 
was, wast, were ; subj. be, were, wert ; impv. be ; 
pp. been; ppr. being. [Under the verb lie are 
classed, as identical in sense, the surviving 
forms of three orig. independent verbs, which, 
supplementing each other's defects, serve to- 
gether to make up the substantive verb or cop- 
ula ; they are represented by the forms be, am, 
and was. 1. Be, inf., early mod. E. also bee, < 
ME. be, bee, been, ben, beon, < AS. bedn, bion; 
pres. ind. sing. 1st pers. be, early mod. E. also 
bee, < ME. be, bee, beo, < AS. bed, rarely beom, 
biom (retaining the suffix -m, which appears 
also in am) = OS. Hum = OFries. bem = OHG. 
pirn (him), MHG. G. bin; 2d pers. beest, be'st, 
dial, bist, < ME. beest, best, beost, bist, < AS. bist 
= OS. bist = OHG. pis, pist, MHG. G. bist; 3d 
pers. be, dial, also beeth, bes, < ME. beth, beoth, 
north, bes, < AS. bith; pi. be, archaic and dial. 
been, ben, bin, also beth, < ME. been, ben, bin, 
etc., prop, (as ind.) beeth, beth, beoth, < AS. 
bedth (in all three persons) = OHG. 1st pers. pi- 
rumes, 2dj>irtt<!(MHG. birnt, bint) (3d tin*); with 
similar forms in subj., etc. ; all from a common 
Teut. t/ *ben L. fit- in perf . fuisse, have been 
(ind. fui, I was, I have been), fut. part. /- 
turns, about to be (see future), rut. inf. fore, be 
about to be, = Gr. QveoOai, be, become, grow 
(act. ifii'eiv, produce) (> ult. E. physic, physical, 
etc.), = Skt. / bhu, become, come into being, 
484 
take place, exist, be ; the sense 'become' being 
still evident in AS., and giving the present gen- 
erally a future implication. 2. Am, etc., pres. 
ind. (without inf.): 1st pers. am (often contr. 
'TO in I'm), < MPj. am, amm, em, < ONorth. earn, 
(an, AS. eom = Icel. cm (mod. usually er) = Goth. 
im (orig. "ism) = L. sum (orig. *esum) = Gr. ei/ii, 
dial, e/iui (orig. *'ea[ii), = OBulg. yesmi = Bohem. 
jsem, etc., = Lith. esmi, etc., = Skt. asmi; 2d 
pers. art, < ME. art, ert, < AS. eart, ONorth. arth 
= Icel. crt = Goth, is = L. es = Gr. el, dial, iaai, 
= OBulg. yesi, etc.. = Skt. asi; 3d pers. is, < ME. 
is, es, < AS. is = OS. ist = OFries. ist = OHG. 
MHG. G. ist = Icel. er, earlier es, = Sw. iir = 
Dan. er (extended in Sw. Dan. also to 1st and 
2d pers. ) = Goth, ist = L. est = Gr. earl = OBulg. 
ycstl, etc., = Skt. asti; pi. are, < ME. are, aren, 
arne, ere, eren. erne, < ONorth. aron, earon (in all 
three persons) = Icel. 1st erum, 2d eruth, 3d rru, 
= Sw. 1st tiro, 2d aren, 3d ciro, = Dan. ere: a 
new formation from the stem as seen in the 
sing, art, etc., taking the place in Scand. and 
ONorth., etc., of the older form, namely, AS. 
sind, also in double pi. sindon (in all three per- 
sons), = OS. sind, sinden = OFries. send = OHG. 
MHG. 3d pi. sint, G. sind = Goth. 3d pi. sind = 
L. 1st sumus, 2d estis, 3d sunt, = Gr. 1st eapiv, 2d 
core, 3d elai, dial, caai, = Skt. 1st smas, 2d stha, 
3d santi; also in subj. (lost since early ME.), 
AS. 1st pers. si, pi. sin, = OFries. se = OS. si = 
OHG. MHG. si, G. sei = Icel. se, earlier sjd, = 
Goth, sijau, etc., = L. sim, OL. stem = Gr. eir/v = 
Skt. sydm, etc., with similar (in AS. identical) 
forms for the other persons; all from a com- 
mon root represented by Skt. / as, be, exist. 3. 
Was, pret. ind. (without inf. in mod. E. ) : sing., 
1st and 3d pers. was, < ME. was, wees, ices, < AS. 
wais = OS. was = OFries. was = D. was = OHG. 
was, MHG. G. war = Icel. rar, earlier vas, = Sw. 
Dan. var = Goth, was; 2d pers. wert, earlier 
were, < ME. were, < AS. wcere; pi. were, < ME. 
were, weren, < AS. wieron (so subj. were, < ME. 
were, < AS. wcere, etc. ; AS. impv. wes, of which 
a relic remains in E. wassail, q. v.), with similar 
forms in the other tongues; pp., AS. gewesen 
(usually be6n, E. been), etc.: prop. pret. (and 
pp.) of the strong verb, AS. inf. wesan = OS. 
wesan = OFries. wesa = D. wezen = OHG. wesan, 
MHG. wesen (G. wesen, n., being, a being) = 
Icel. vera, earlier vesa, = Sw. vara = Dan. were 
= Goth, wisan, be, = Skt. / "*> dwell, abide, 
live. To the same root are referred Gr. aarv. a 
city, dwelling-place (see asteism), L. verna (for 
*vcsna), a household slave (see vernacular). In 
mod. literary E. the form be in the ind. is only 
archaic or poetical, but it still flourishes in dial, 
use.] 1. To exist; have existence or being; 
possess reality ; be the case ; be true or real. 
To be, or not to be, that is the question. 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 1. 
Creatures which only are, and have a dull kind of being 
not yet privileged with life. 
Sir T. Brmme, Religio Medici, i. 34. 
Time was, Time if, and Time shall be no more. 
Southey. 
2. To take place ; occur ; happen ; come about : 
as, the wedding will be to-morrow : his birth- 
dav was last week; it was to be. 3. Usually, 
be is a mere copula, or sign of predication, a 
link between a subject and a predicate. As such 
it asserts, or expresses as fact, the inclusion of the subject 
among the things denoted by the predicate, or the posses- 
sion by the subject of the characters signined by the pred- 
icate ; and this it does with temporal and modal modifi- 
cations, while the whole substance of the predication, or 
all that is predicated, is expressed separately, in noun or 
adjective form, or the equivalent of such : thus, I am 
good, he was a hero, they will be there, we should have 
been beloved. Hence, every other predicating word or 
verb may be analyzed into a form of be, expressing the 
predication, and an adjective or noun expressing what 
is predicated : thus, he loves into he is loving, or he u a 
lover, and so on. Such a copula is possessed by many 
languages, being, as in English, reduced to that value by 
gradual attenuation of an originally substantial meaning ; 
as in modern French, etait, ' was,' from Latin stabat, or 
nearly as exist, literally ' stand forth.' 
4. In metaph., to subsist in a state not neces- 
sarily amounting to actual existence ; have the 
rudiments of existence. See being. 5. An 
auxiliary verb denoting subsistence in or sub- 
jection to the mode of action or being ex- 
pressed by the principal verb, (a) Joined with a 
present participle, it has the grammatical construction 
of a predicate adjective qualifying the subject, to make 
a continuous or progressive or imperfect present : thus, 
7 am loving, etc., beside / love, etc. to match which 
the language has rather recently acquired a correspond- 
ing passive, / am being loved, beside / am loved, (b) It 
is joined with a past participle (having the same con- 
struction as above), to make phrases equivalent with the 
passive verb-forms or verb-phrases of other languages : 
thus, he is loved, Latin amatur, German er imra geliebt. 
beach-birds 
Hence such phrases are ordinarily viewed as making a 
passive conjugation of the English verb. They are un- 
distinguished in form from mere combinations of be. 
with a predicate participle : thus, he is beaten is passive 
when it means 'somebody is beating him,' but not when 
it means ' he is a beaten man,' or ' somebody has beaten 
him.' (c) Formerly, as still to a very limited extent (much 
more in other related languages, as German and French), 
be was the auxiliary used in making the past tenses of in- 
transitive verbs, as have of transitives: thus, he i* come, 
they were gone (German er ist gekom men, French ilsetaient 
alien), and so on. At present, have has come to be the 
auxiliary almost universally used in this sense. 
The heathen are perished out of his land [that is, have 
perished and now no longer exist in the land]. Ps. x. 16. 
(d) An infinitive with to after be forms a sort of future, 
often with a certain implication of obligation : thus, he 
is to come, they were, to appear, she would have been to 
blame or to be blamed. [Be, with to, in perfect tenses 
(ha iv been, had been, etc.), is used in the sense of go, yet 
hardly except in colloquial style : thus, he has been to 
Paris; we had been to see her.] Been and, a common 
vulgarism introduced pleonastically into the perfect and 
pluperfect tenses of other verbs: sometimes extended to 
been and gone and. 
Sir Pitt has been and proposed for to marry Miss Sharp. 
Thackeray, Vanity Fair, I. xv. 
Let be, to omit or leave untouched ; let alone ; cease. 
Let be, said he, my prey. Dryden. 
Let be thy wail and help thy fellow-men. 
7V 'n,nixon, Ancient Sage. 
There IS, etc. See there. 
be 2 (be), n. [< ME. be, < AS. be = D. G. Dan. 
Sw., etc., be = F. 6<<=Sp. Pg. It. be, < L. be, 
shortened from beta (< Gr. (if/ra: see beta), or 
formed from b + e, the usual assistant vowel 
in the names of the letters.] The name of the 
second letter of the alphabet, usually written 
simply b or B. See B. 
be 3 t, prep. Obsolete form of by. Chaucer. 
Be. In chem., the symbol for beryllium (the same 
as glucinum). 
be- 1 . [ME. be-, in early ME. commonly bi-, < 
AS. be-, bi-, = OS. bi- = OFries. be-, bi-, = D. 
be-, MLG. bi-, be-, LG. be- = OHG. bi-, be-, 
MHG. G. be- = Goth, bi- (lengthened under 
stress, as in comp. with a noun, AS. M-, big-, 
D. bij-, OHG. MHG. bi-, Or. bei-), an insepa- 
rable prefix, orig. the same as the prep., AS. 
be, bi, E. by, meaning primarily 'about,' being 
prob. = L. -bi, Gr. -<t>i, in L. ambi-, Gr. an&i, 
about (see ambi-, amphi-): see by 1 and 6e-2.] 
An inseparable prefix of verbs, and of nouns 
thence derived. It means primarily 'about,' 'around,' 
as in beset, begird, whence the more general sense 
'around,' 'all over,' leading to a merely intensive use, 
as in besmear, bespatter, besprinkle, etc. It is also used 
to form transitive verbs from nouns, as begem, bedew, be- 
fog, bemire, etc., or from intransitive verbs, as belie, be- 
howl, besing, etc., verbs of either class often conveying 
slight contempt, as bepraite, beplaster, bepowder, etc., and 
are hence often made for the nonce. In a few verbs, all 
obsolete except behead, be- assumed a privative force; 
while in many verbs this prefix, through loss of the simple 
verb, or a deflection of its sense, or by mere dilution, has 
now no assignable force, as in begin, bequeath, become, be- 
hold, etc. 
be- 2 . [ME. and AS. be-, bi-, or separately be, 
bi, being the prep, with following adv. or noun : 
see 6c-f.] An inseparable prefix of adverbs, 
which may also be used as prepositions or 
conjunctions. It is properly the preposition by, Mid- 
dle English be, bi, (a) used adverbially, as in before, behind, 
between, betwixt, below, etc., contracted in above, about ; 
or (6) merged with the governed noun, as in because, be- 
side, that is, 'by cause,' 'by side': BO also in behalf, origi- 
nally a prepositional phrase, now taken as a noun. See 
the words cited. 
beach (bech), n. [Formerly also beech, beaten, 
batch, baiche, bache ; first in early mod. E., ap- 
par. dial., with the meaning first given. Origin 
unknown.] 1. The loose pebbles of the sea- 
shore; shingle. [Eng.] 2. That part of the 
shore of the sea or of a lake which is washed 
by the tide and waves ; the strand, it may be 
sometimes used for the shore of large rivers. It usually 
means the tract between high- and low-water mark. 
Only the long waves as they broke 
In ripples on the pebbly beach. 
Longfellow, Building of the Ship. 
Raised beach, in geol,, a shelf or terrace of shingle, 
gravel, and sand, elevated above the sea-level, and indi- 
cating a pause in the upheaval of the land, or a depression 
and subsequent iipheaval ; the margin of an ancient sea, 
now inland. 
beach (bech), v. [< beach, .] I. trans. To 
run or haul up (a ship or boat) on the beach. 
We rowed ashsre, dressed in our uniform, beached the 
boat, and went up to the fandango. 
R. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 281. 
II. intrans. To land upon a beach. 
All that afternoon we drifted between sea and shore, 
and beached at sunset in a new land. 
C. W. Stoddard, South-Sea Idyls, p. 344. 
beach-birds (bech'berdz), n. pi. A collective 
name of sundry sandpipers or other small wad- 
ing birds found in flocks on beaches. 
