a cow after calving 
So may the first of all our fells be th 
And both the beetling of our goats al 
]>. Jon-wit, ran': 
beestings 
see becst and -ing.] 1. The first milk given by 
fells be thine, 
.ml kine. 
's Anniversary. 
2f. A disease caused by drinking beestings. 
N. E. D. 
beeswax (bez'waks), n. [< bee's, poss. of bee, 
+ wax.] The wax secreted by bees, of which 
their cells are constructed. See wax. 
beeswing (bez'wing), . [< bee's, poss. of bee, 
+ win;/; from its appearance.] A gauzy film 
in port and some other wines, indicative of age ; 
hence, sometimes, the wine itself. Also writ- 
ten beds-id it;/. 
Fetch's 
His richest beeswiiu/ from a binn reserved 
For banquets, praised the waning red, and told 
The vintage. Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
Scott, from under bushy eyebrows, winked at the ap- 
parition of a bees-winy. Thackeray. 
beeswinged (bez'wingd), a. So old as to be 
covered with beeswing: said of wine, especial- 
ly port. 
His port is not presentable, unless bees' -winged. 
F. Hall, Mod. Eng., p. 32. 
beet 1 (bet), n. [< ME. bete, < AS. bete (not 
*beta) = OFries. bete = D. beet, Met = LG. 
bete = OHG. bieza, MHG. bieze (G. beete, after 
LG. or L.) = Sw. beta = Dan. bede = F. bette 
= It. bieta, < L. beta, beet.] A plant of the 
genus lieta, natural order Chenopodiacefe. The 
various forms are generally referred to a single species, 
B. vulgaris, the slender-rooted variety of which, known 
as the sea-beet, is found wild in Europe and western Asia, 
and is occasionally used for greens. The common beet is 
extensively cultivated in many varieties for the use of its 
sweetish succulent root as a vegetable and as feed for cat- 
tle. The mangel-wurzel is a large coarse form raised ex- 
clusively for cattle. The sugar-beet is a large, white, and 
very sweet variety, from the root of which large quanti- 
ties of sugar (called beet-root sugar) are manufactured iu 
France, Germany, etc. The white or Sicilian beet and the 
chard-beet are cultivated for their leaves only. 
beet 2 (bet), v. t. [E. dial, beet, beat, Sc. beet, 
beit, < ME. beten, < AS. betan (= OS. bdtian = 
OFries. beta = T>. boeten = LG. boten = OHG. 
buozzen, MHG. biiezzen, G. btissen = Icel. bceta 
= Sw. bota = Dan. bode), mend, improve, make 
good, < bot, improvement, reparation, boot : 
see boot 1 , which is related to beet as food to 
feed, brood to breed, etc. The word was par- 
ticularly used in reference to mending, and 
hence by extension to kindling, fires: ME. beten 
fyr, < AS. betan fyr = D. boeten vtmr = LG. 
boten viler; cf. Sw. bota eld, etc. Cf. beat 3 .] 
If. To make better; improve; alleviate or re- 
lieve (hunger, thirst, grief, the needs of a per- 
son, etc.). 
All his craft ne coud his sorrow bete. 
Chaucer, T. and C., i. 66. 
2f. To mend; repair; put to rights. 
Pipen he coude, and ftshe, and nettes bete. 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, i. 7. 
Daily wearing ueids yearly belting. Scotch proverb. 
3. To make or kindle (a fire) ; hence, to fire 
or rouse. 
Two fyres on the auter gan she beete. 
ChaiKer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1434. 
It warms me, it charms me, 
To mention but her name ; 
It heats me, it beets me, 
An sets me a' on flame ! 
Burns, Ep. to Davie, i. 8. 
And stiren folk to love and beten fire 
On Venus awter. Court of Love, 1. 323. 
4. To mend or replenish (a fire) ; add fuel to. 
Picking up peats to beet his ingle. 
Allan Ramsay, To Robert Yarde of Devonshire. 
[Obsolete or dialectal in all senses.] 
beet 3 , n. Same as beat 2 . 
beet*, n. Same as beafi. 
beet-fly (bet'fli), n. A two-winged insect, An- 
tliomyia beta;, smaller than the house-fly, in- 
festing crops of mangel-wurzel and other va- 
rieties of beet, on whose leaves it deposits its 
eggs, the larvse afterward devouring the soft 
parts. 
beetle 1 (be'tl), . [= Sc. bittle, bittill, < ME. 
betel, betylle, bitel, bittill, byti/lle, < AS. bietel, 
betel, bitel, bytel (bytl-) (= LG. betel, botel = 
MHG. bozel), with formative -el, < bedtan, beat : 
see beat 1 .] 1. A heavy wooden mallet, used to 
drive wedges, consolidate earth, etc. it is made 
either for swinging, with the handle set in the middle of 
the iron-bound head, or for ramming, with the handle 
(provided in heavy beetles with projecting cross-pieces for 
the hands) set in one end of the head. In the latter form, 
as for the use of pavers, it is sometimes heavy enough to 
require two or more men to operate it. Also called a 
maid, and in the second form a rammer. 
504 
If I do fillip me with a three-man beetle. 
SAai.,2Hen. IV., i. 2. 
2. A wooden pestle-shaped utensil used for 
mashing potatoes, for beating linen, etc. 
Aroint ye, ye limmer, out of an honest house, or shame 
fa' me, but I'll take the bittle to you. Scott, Pirate. 
3. Same as beetling-machine Between the beetle 
and the block, in an awkward or dangerous position. 
beetle 1 (be'tl), r. t.; pret. and pp. beetled, ppr. 
beetling. [< beetle, 11.] 1. To use a beetle on ; 
beat with a heavy wooden mallet, as linen or 
cotton cloth, as a substitute for mangling. 2. 
To finish cloth by means of a beetling-machine. 
beetle 2 (be'tl), n. [The form seems to have been 
influenced by that of beetle! jt would reg. be as 
in mod. dial, bittle, early mod. E. also betel, bittle, 
bittil, etc.,< ME. bitle, bityl, betylle, bytylle, < AS. 
bitcla, bitula (also "betel, once in pi. bctlas), a 
beetle, appar.< "bitul, *bitol,*bitel, ME. bitel, bit- 
ing (cf. etui, ctol, eating: with suffix -ol, forming 
adjectives from verbs), < bttan (pp. biten), bite: 
seeWte. Cf. bitter and beetle-browed.'] Any insect 
belonging to the order Coleoptera (which see). 
Sometimes, however, the term is used in a more restricted 
sense, as equivalent in the plural to Scarabtmidae, a tribe of 
this order embracing more than 3,000 species, characterized 
by clavated antennce, fissile longitudinally, legs frequent- 
ly dentated, and wings which have hard cases or sheaths 
called elytra. Beetles vary in size from that of a pin's head 
to nearly that of a man's fist, the largest being the elephant- 
beetle of South America, 4 inches long. The "black beetles" 
of kitchens and cellars are cockroaches, and belong to the 
order Orthoptera. Bloodv-nose beetle, a large species 
of beetle of the genus Timarcha, T. Ifemgata: so named 
because when disturbed it emits a red fluid from the joints. 
Colorado beetle, a coleopterous insect, Doryphora, 
Cttrysomela, or Polygratnma iteccitiUwata, family Chry- 
Colorado Beetle ( Doryphora decemlincata. Say). 
a, eggs ; *, larva, advanced stage ; c, pupa ; rf, beetle ; e, wing-cover, 
enlarged ; /, leg, enlarged. 
somelidcv, belonging to the tetramerous section of the or- 
der. In size it is somewhat larger than a pea, nearly oval, 
convex, of a yellowish or ocher-yellow color, marked with 
black spots and blotches, and on the elytra with ten black 
longitudinal stripes. The wings, which are folded under 
the elytra, are of a blood-red color. This insect works 
great havoc upon the leaves and flowers of the potato, 
and is also destructive to the tomato and the egg-plant. 
It was first observed in the Rocky Mountain region about 
1859, and has since spread from Colorado over the whole 
of the United States and Canada. Also called potato-bug. 
Harlequin beetle. See harlequin. Horned beetle, 
a lamellicorn beetle of the genus Megalosoma and some 
related genera, belonging to the cetonian group of Scara- 
bceidce. 
beetle 3 (be'tl), a. [Separate use of beetle- in 
beetle-browed."] Shaggy; prominent: used in 
beetle broic (also written beetle-brow). 
Here are the beetle brows shall blush for me. 
Shak., R. and J., i. 4. 
Bent hollow beetle browes, sharpe staring eyes, 
That mad or foolish seeind. Spenser, F. Q., II. ix. 52. 
beetle 3 (be'tl), v. i.; pret. and pp. beetled, ppr. 
beetling. [< beetle 3 , a. First used by Shak- 
spere.] To be prominent; extend out; over- 
hang; jut. 
What, if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, 
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff, 
That beetles o'er his base into the sea? 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 4. 
Each beetling rampart and each tower sublime. 
Wordsworth. 
beetle-brow (be'tl-brou), n. See beetle^, a. 
beetle-browed (be'tl-broud), a. [< ME. bitel- 
browed, bytelbrowed, etc. (used in "Piers Plow- 
man" with variants bittur browed and bytter 
browiil), as if lit. ' having biting eyebrows,' 
that is, projecting eyebrows, < ME. bitel, adj., 
sharp, biting, < AS. *bitel (see beetle 2 ) ; but 
more prob. 'with eyebrows like a beetle's,' that 
is, projecting like the tufted antennee of some 
beetles. See beetle 2 and broio.] 1. Having 
befall 
shaggy, bushy, prominent, or overhanging eye- 
brows; hence, often, sullen; scowling. 
A beetle-browed sullen face. Ilowell, Letters, ii. 2a. 
Its IwrtU'-brmi'i'd and gloomy front. 
Hawthorne, Scarlet Letter, i. 
2. Figuratively, having an overhanging or pro- 
jecting top. 
beetle-head (be'tl-hed), n. 1. The monkey or 
weight of a pile-driver. 2. A beetle-headed 
or stupid fellow. 3. A name of the Swiss or 
black-bellied plover, Squatarola lielcetica. [Lo- 
cal, U. S.] 
beetle-headed (be'tl-hed"ed), . [Cf. beetle- 
head.'] Having a head like a beetle or mallet; 
dull; stupid. 
Beetle-headed, flap-ear'd knave. Shalt. , T. of the S. , iv. 1. 
beetle-mite (be'tl-mit), n. [< beetle? + wife 1 .] 
A mite of the family Gamasidte (which see). 
beetle-Stock (be'tl-stok), n. [< beetle 1 + 
stock.] The handle of a beetle. 
beetle-Stone (be'tl-ston), n. [< beetle 2 + stone.] 
A nodule of coprolitic ironstone, so named from 
the resemblance of the inclosed coprolite to 
the body and limbs of a beetle. 
beetling (bet'ling), . [Verbal n. of beetle*, v.] 
A beating with a beetle. 
When the desired shade Is obtained, nothing remains 
but to wash the silk, and give it two beetlings at the 
river, in order to free it from the redundant arnatto. 
Ure, Diet., I. 209. 
beetling-machine (bet'ling-ma-shen"), n. A 
machine for finishing linen or cotton cloth by 
hammering it: for this purpose stamps are 
used, which are raised in succession and per- 
mitted to fall by their own weight. Also called 
beetle. 
beet-master (bet'mas"ter), n. An erroneous 
form of beet-mister. 
beet-mister (befmis^tfer), n. [Sc., < beet, beit, 
mend, supply, + mister, want; beet a mister, 
supply a want: see beet 2 and mister 2 . Cf. E. 
dial. (North.) beet-need, assistance in the hour 
of distress.] Whatever supplies a want; 
hence, a substitute. [Scotch.] 
Next she enlarged on the advantage of saving old 
clothes to be what she called beet-masters to the new. 
Scott. 
beet-press (bet'pres), . A hydraulic or steam- 
power machine for expressing the juice from 
beet-roots in the process of making beet-root 
sugar. 
beet-radish (bet'rad'ish), . A name some- 
times given to red beets (Beta vulgaris) when 
raised or used for salad. See beet 1 . 
beet-rave (bet'rav), n. [< beet 1 + rave, after 
F. bette-rave, beet-root, < bette, beet (see beet 1 ), 
+ rave, < L. rapa, a turnip.] Same as beet- 
radish. In Scotland also beetraw and beetrie. 
bee-tree (be'tre), . 1. A name of the bass- 
wood or American linden, Tilia Americana, 
from the richness of its flowers in honey. 2. 
A hollow tree occupied by wild bees. 
beet-root (bet'rot), n. The root of the beet- 
plant. See beet 1 Beet-root sugar, sugar made 
from beet-roots. The roots are rasped to a pulp, and the 
juice is separated by pressure, maceration, or other means, 
and is then filtered and concentrated by evaporation in a 
vacuum-pan. See been. Beet-root vinegar, vinegar 
prepared from the juice of the sugar-beet. 
beeve (bev), n. [A rare singular, erroneously 
formed from beeves, pi. of beef.] An animal of 
the bovine genus, as a cow, bull, or ox. 
They would knock down the nrst beeix they met with. 
Irving. 
Each stately beeve bespeaks the hand 
That fed him unrepining. 
Whittier, The Drovers. 
beeves, n. Plural of beef. 
beevort, n. An obsolete form of beaver 2 . 
bee-wolf (be'wulf), n. 1. An African bee- 
eater, Mellitotheres nubicus, one of the Mero- 
pid<e. 2. A parasite of the bee, Trichodes api- 
arius. 
bee-worm (be'wenn), n. An old name for the 
larva of the bee. Kay. 
befall, befal (be-fal'), v.i pret. befell, pp. be- 
fallen, ppr. befalling. [< ME. befallen, fall, 
happen, belong, < AS. befeallan, fall (= OS. bi- 
ftillan = OFries. bifalla = D. bevallen, please, = 
OHG. bifallan, MHG. G. befallen, please), < be* 
+ fcallan, fall: see be- 1 and fall] I. trans. 
To fall or happen to ; occur to. 
But I beseech your grace that I may know 
The worst that may befall me. 
Shale., M. N. D., i. 1. 
The worst that can befall thee, measured right, 
Is a sound slumber, and a long good night. 
Dryden, tr. of Lucretius, ill. 95. 
