bedaggle 
bedaggle (be-dag'l), v. t. [</x-- 1 + dagt/le. Cf. 
bedaij.] To soil, as clothes, by trailing the 
ends in the mud, or spattering them with dirty 
water. J. Richardson, Notes on Milton. 
bed-alet (bed'iil), . Ale brewed for a confine- 
ment or a christening. 
bedaret (bo-dar'), c. t. [< be- 1 + dare*.] To 
dare; defy. 
The eagle ... is emboldened 
With ryi-s inU'iitive to Iti'iliifi- tin- HUH. 
/'<'/.', David and ik'tlisabe. 
bedarkt (bc-diirk'), '' ' [< ME. brilcrl.-ni : < 
ln-i + dark, v.] To darken. 
Whan the bliiuku winter nij;ht . . 
Bederked hath the water Btionde, 
.VI prively tliey gone to Jnndr. 
'/'.//<,-, ( '.inf. Aiiiant., i. 81. 
bedarken (be-diir'kn), p. t. [< i'- 1 + darken,] 
To cover with darkness; darken; obscure, 
bedarkened (bo-diir'knd), ;*. a. 1. Obscured. 
2. Figuratively, existing in mental or moral 
darkness; sunk in ignorance : as, " this bcdark- 
/'iii'd race," Soutlin/. 
bedash (be-dash'), t. [< 6e-l + dash.'] To wet 
l)y throwing water or other liquid upon; be- 
spatter with wateror mud: as, " trees bedash'd 
with rain," Shale., Rich. III., i. 2. 
So terribly bedash'd . . . that you would swear 
He were lighted from a horse-race. 
Midilleton., Anything for n (Juiet Life, i. 1. 
bedaub (bo-dab'), v. t. [< ftc- 1 + daub.] To 
daub over ; besmear ; soil. 
Bedaub fair designs with a foul varnish. 
Barrow, Works, III. xv. 
Bedawi (bed'a-we), n. ; pi. Bedawin (-wen). See 
liedouin, 1. 
bedazzle (be-daz'l), v. t. [< fte-1 + dazzle.] To 
dazzle by too strong a light; blind or render 
incapable of seeing clearly by excess of light. 
My mistaking eyes 
That have been so bedazzled with the sun, 
That everything I look on seemeth green. 
Shak., T. of the S., iv. 5. 
Sunrise threw a golden beam into the study and laid it 
right across the minister's bedazzled eyes. 
Hawthorn*, Scarlet Letter, xx. 
bedazzlingly (be-daz'ling-li), adi\ So as to 
bedazzle. 
bed-boardt (bed'bord), n. The head-board or 
foot-board of a bedstead. 
bed-bolt (bed'bolt), n. Naut., a horizontal bolt 
passing through both the brackets of a gun- 
carnage on which the forward end of the stool- 
bed rests. 
bedbug (bed'bug), n. The Cimex lectularius or 
Acanmia lectularia, infesting beds. See bug 2 . 
bed-chair (bed'char), n. An adjustable frame 
designed to enable invalids to sit up in bed. 
Also called chair-bed. 
bedchamber (bed'cham' / ber), n. [< ME. bed- 
chaumbre (= MHG. bettekammere) ; < bed 1 + 
chamber.] An apartment or chamber intended 
or appropriated for a bed, or for sleep and re- 
pose Lords of the bedchamber, officers of the Brit- 
ish royal household under the groom of the stole. They 
are twelve in number, and wait a week each in turn. 
The groom of the stole does not take his turn of duty, 
but attends the king on all state occasions. There are 
thirteen grooms of the bedchamber, who wait likewise 
in turn. In the case of a queen regnant these posts are 
occupied by women, called ladies of the bedchamber. In 
either case they are generally held by persons of the high- 
est nobility. 
bed-clip (bed'klip), n. In coach-building, a 
band of iron designed to secure the wooden 
bed of the vehicle to the spring or to the axle. 
bedclothes (bed'kloinz), . pi. The coverings 
used on beds ; sheets, blankets, quilts, etc., col- 
lectively. 
bed-cover (bed'kuv'er), n. A bedquilt or bed- 
spread. 
bedded (bed'ed), p. a. [Pp. of bed*, v.] 1. 
Provided with a bed. 2. Laid in a bed; em- 
bedded. 3. Existing in beds, layers, or strata; 
stratified, or included between stratified masses 
of rock. Chiefly used in combination, as thin-6edderf, 
heavy-fwrfrfed, etc. Masses of igneous rock formed by suc- 
cessive overflows of molten material are often said to be 
bedded, but not ordinarily stratified. 
4. Growing in or transplanted into beds, as 
plants. 
Dost sit and hearken 
The dreary melody of bedded reeds 
In desolate places. Keats, Endymion, i. 239. 
bedder (bed'er), n. 1. One who puts to bed. 
2. One who makes beds (mattresses); an 
upholsterer. [Local, Eng.] 3. Abed-stone; 
specifically, the nether stone of an oil-mill. 
Phillips (1706). Also bedetter. 4. A bedding- 
plant (which see). 
bedding (bed'ing), n. [< ME. bedding, < AS. 
bedding (for "beddung) = G. bcttung; < 
499 
-hi<i 1 .] 1. The act of placing in a bed; a 
putting to bed, especially of a newly married 
couple. See bed, r. t., 4. 
A circumstantial description of the wrddhiL'. //../>'./.</, 
and throwing the stocking. ,sv<>". M^'-l, xxxvii. 
2. A bed and its furniture ; the materials of a 
bed, whether for man or beast. 
I'rjiy (iod he have not krpt such open house, 
That he hath sold my hant'in^. ami my '>M>>;.' 
/.'. ./"/on/,, Urlirtllist, V. I. 
3. In yeol., as used by most geologists, the 
exact equivalent of xtratitiriilinn. <>r occurrence 
in strata or beds. Sec 1ml, hfilili-il, and lamina- 
tion. 4. In building, a foundation or bottom 
layer of any kind. 5. The seat in which a 
steam-boiler rests. 
bedding-molding (bed'ing-mol'ding), n. Same 
;is Iml-iiinliHiii/. 
bedding-plant (bed'ing-plant), . An orna- 
mental flowering plant or foliage-plant suited 
by habit for growing in beds or masses, and to 
produce a desired effect, generally of color, 
by combination with other plants. 
bedding-Stone (bed'ing-ston), n. In brii-lclnii- 
ing, a straight piece of marble applied to the 
rubbed side of the brick to prove whether the 
surface is straight or not. 
beddy (bed'i), a. Bold ; forward. [Scotch.] 
But if my puppies once were ready, 
They'l lie baith clever, keen, and beililii. 
Watson's Collection, I. 70. 
bedeH, An obsolete form of bead. 
bede' 2 (bed), n. [Etym. unknown.] In English 
mining, a peculiar kind of pickax, 
bedeadt (be-ded'), v. t. [< &<?-l -I- dead.] To 
deaden. 
Others that are bedeaded and stupefied as to their 
morals. Hallywell, Melampronoji, p. 1, 
bedeafen (be-def'n), v, t. [< be- 1 + deafen.] 
To render deaf. 
bedeck (be-dek'), v. t. [< 6e-i + deck.] To 
deck out; 'adorn; grace: as, " bedecking orna- 
ments," Shak., L. L. L., ii. 1 ; " bedecked, or- 
nate, and gay," Milton, S. A., 1. 712. 
Such wonderful and priceless gifts as these, 
Fit to bedeck the limbs of goddesses ! 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 245. 
bedeen (be-den'), adv. [North. E. and Sc., < 
ME. bedene, beden, bidene, biden; of uncertain 
origin; appar. < bid-, which seems to be an un- 
explained substitute for bi, E. by, prep, (less 
prob. a corruption of mid, with, or of with), + 
ene, (. AS. cene, once, at once, < an, one : see once, 
one, and cf. anon, of somewhat similar forma- 
tion. Bedeen is often a mere expletive.] If. In 
a body; together : as, all bedeen. 2f. In order ; 
one after another. 3. Forthwith; straight- 
way. 4. Anon; by and by. 
Head on our Bibles, pray bedeen. 
JllMkumd's May., XXVIII. 738. 
bedegar, bedeguar (bed'e-gar), n. [< F. bede- 
gar, bedeguar, ult. < Ar. Pers. baddwar, a kind 
of white thorn or this- 
tle, lit. wind-brought, 
< bad, wind, + dwar, 
< dwardan, bring. 
Later, in the form bd- 
ddward, appar. taken 
as bad, wind, + Ar. 
ward, rose.] A spon- 
gy excrescence or gall, 
sometimes termed 
sweetbrier-sponge, or 
robin-redbreast's pin- 
cushion, found on va- 
rious species of roses, 
especially the sweet- 
brier, produced by sev- 
eral insects, as Kho- 
dites rosce and It. bicolor, as the result of punc- 
ture and the deposit of their eggs, and contain- 
ing their larva? : once supposed to have medici- 
nal properties. 
bedehouse, n. See beadhouse. 
bedel, bedell (be'dl, be-del'), n. [< LL. bedellus: 
see beadle.] In the medieval universities, a ser- 
vant of a "nation" or faculty (each of which 
companies elected two, an upper and a lower, 
termed the esquire bedel and the yeoman bedel, 
terms showing the classes from which they were 
chosen), whose duties were to apportion the 
" schools" or lecture-rooms and the chapters of 
the colleges and halls, to cry the days and hours 
of the lectures, to publish and carry out the de- 
crees of the company, to march before the rec- 
tor, dean, or proctor with a silver mace on occa- 
sions of ceremony, etc. See beadle Grand be- 
del, the upper bedel of the faculty of theology. 
' 
bedight 
bedelvet, >' t. [ME. ludilrni, < AS. bedtljan, 
< lir-, about, + tie/fan, dig: see 6e-l and delve.] 
1. To dig round or about. 2. To bury in the 
earth. 
\ man dalf the crthn . . . and fond tlu'tv a golu-t of 
^iM.- l,,ulnh'< -//. Chtliifrr, Kofthiils, v. pro.sc 1. 
bedeman, . See beailiunaii. 
beden (bc'ilen), w. [< Ar. litiiti-n.] Akindof ibex. 
bedenet, '''' See b<-drrn. 
bederollt, S 
bedesmant, See 
bedettert, . Same :ts linlili r, :!, of which it ap- 
l>ers to be a corruption. 
bedevil (lie-dev'l), c. l.\ pret. and ]>p. lnili'r',1,,1 
or lir/lrrill'i-'l. ]>)>!. lirili-rilhiii or but* ri/lini/. [< 
lic-i + i/ii-il.] 1. To treat with diabolical vio- 
lence or abuse. 
Bedevilled and used worse than St. Bartholomew. 
Xtrriir, Si-ntinu-ntal .loilrni'y, I. 34. 
2. To possess with or as with a devil. 
One age, he is hagridden, bewitched ; tin- m-\t, priest- 
ridden, befooled ; in iill :i^rs, !i"l'-i-;il<-<! . 
Carli/lr. Sartor Resartus, ill. 3. 
3. To "play the devil with" ; transform or con- 
fuse as if by the aid or agency of evil spirits; 
confound; muddle; corrupt; spoil. 
So bedevil a bottle of Geisenheim . . . you wouldn't 
know it from the greenest Tokay. 
Dixraeli, Vivian Grey, vf. 
4. To bewilder with worry ; torment; bother; 
confuse. 5. To make a devil or devils of; 
bring into the condition of a devil : as, to be- 
devil mankind. 
bedevilment (be-dev'1-ment), n. [< bedevil + 
-mcnt.] The act of bedeviling, or the state of 
being bedeviled; especially, a state of bewil- 
dering or vexatious disorder or confusion. 
The lawyers have twisted it into such a state of bedevil- 
went that the original merits of the case have long disap- 
peared. Vifkens, Bleak House, viii. 
bedew (be-du'), v. t. [< ME. bedewen, bedea- 
icen (= M&G. betouwen, G. bethauen) ; < be-1 + 
dew. ] To moisten with or as with dew ; moisten 
in a gentle manner with any liquid. 
The most precious tears are those with which heaven 
bedews the unburied head of a soldier. 
Goldsmith, Vicar, xxi. 
bedewer (be-du' er), n. One who or that which 
bedews. 
bedewyt (be-du'i), a. [Erroneously formed 
from bedew,' v. ; prop, dewy, < dew, n.] Moist 
with dew. 
Dark night from her bedewy wings 
Drops sleepy silence to the eyes of all. 
A. Brewer (?), Lingua, v. 16. 
bedfast (bed'fast), a. [< ftcrfl + fast.] Con- 
fined to bed ; bedridden. 
My old woman is bedfast. 
Mrs. Oankett, Sylvia's Lovers, ii. 
bedfellow (bed'fel"6), n. [< ME. bedfelow, 
-fetaire; < bed 1 + fellow.] One who shares a 
bed with another. 
Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. 
Shak., Tempest, ii. 2. 
bedferet (bed'fer), . [Early mod. E. also, 
erroneously, bedphere, < ME. bedfere, bedifere, 
< bed + fere, companion : see ferel. ] A bed- 
fellow. 
Her that I mean to choose for my bed-phere. 
B. Jonson, Epiccene, ii. 3. 
bed-frame (bed'fram), n. The frame of a bed ; 
a bedstead. 
bed-gown (bed'goun), n. 1. A night-gown or 
a, a, Bedegars. 
by women of the working-class, generally 
gether with a drugget or colored flannel petti- 
coat. Also called short-gown. 
She had wooden shoes, a short red petticoat, a printed 
cotton bed-yawn; her face was broad, her physiognomy 
eminently stupid. Charlotte Bronte, The Professor, vil. 
bed-hangings (bed'hang'ingz), n. pi. The val- 
ance and curtains of a bed. 
bediamonded (be-di'a-mon-ded), a. [< be- 1 + 
diamond + -ed 2 .] Covered or ornamented with 
diamonds. 
Astarte's bediamonded crescent. 
Poe, Ulalume, ii. 21. 
bedight (be-d!t')) r. t. ; generally or always in 
pret. and pp. bedight or bedighted. [ME., only 
in pp. bediht, bydyght ; < 6c-i + dight.] To ar- 
ray; equip; dress; trick out; bedeck; invest. 
[Archaic and poetical.] 
A troope of men the most in armes bedight. 
Mir. for Mags., p. 270. 
His head and beard with sout were ill bediyht. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. vii. 3. 
