beg 
certain. Various explanations have been of- 
fered: (1) < ME. bagiji; a bag (because beggars 
carry bags: see first quotation under /</<//". 
.); but this is certainly wrong. It would im- 
ply the forms *bcggcn, *beggc, as variants of 
hiigi/ni, btigijc, but no such variants are found 
or are probable, and no such sense as 'put 
into a bag,' or 'carry a bag,' which might 
connect the notion of 'bag' with that of 'beg,' 
belongs to the ME. verb bnggcn, which is 
found only in the sense of 'swell out like a 
bai:' ; the sense of 'put into a bag' is modern, 
and that of 'carry a bag' does not exist ; bag- 
ger, moreover, the supposed antecedent of beg- 
gar, is only modern. (2) < AS. bedeeiati, beg 
(connected with Goth, bidagwa, a beggar, ap- 
par. < bidjan = AS. biddan, E. bid, ask; cf. D. 
bedelen = OHG. bctalon, MHG. betelen, G. bct- 
tcln, beg, freq. of D. bidden = G. bitten = AS. 
biddan, E. bid, ask) ; but the AS. bedecian oc- 
curs but once, in the 9th century, and there 
are no intermediate forms to connect it with 
ME. beggcii. (3) < OFlem. "beggen, beg; but 
there is no such word. (4) < OF. beg-, the com- 
mon radical of begard, begart, beguard, begar 
(ML. begrtrdus, beggardus, begliardus, etc.), and 
begiiin (ML. beginus, bcgginus, begltimis, bcgui- 
nus, etc.), names given to the members of a men- 
dicant lay brotherhood (see Jieghard and Be- 
guin) ; also applied to any begging friar or other 
beggar. Such mendicants were very numerous 
at the time of the first appearance of the E. 
verb, and the derived OF. verb beguincr, be- 
gitigncr (< beguin), with AF. beggar, is actually 
i'ound in the sense of 'beg.' The E. verb may 
be a back formation from the noun beggar (ME. 
beggcr, beggere, beggar, beggare), which is, in 
this view, an adapted form (as if a noun of 
agent in -ar 1 , -erf) of the OF. begar, begard, 
etc., a Beghard. Beghard is otherwise not found 
in ME., though the precise form begger is found 
in Wyclif and later as a designation of the 
mendicant friars (Beghards), appar. without 
direct reference to their begging.] I. trans. 1. 
To ask for or supplicate in charity; ask as 
alms. 
Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed 
begging bread. Ps. xxxvii. 25. 
For all thy blessed youth 
Becomes as aged, and doth beg the alms 
Of palsied eld. Shale., M. for M., iii. 1. 
2. To ask for earnestly; crave. 
He [Joseph] . . . begged the body of Jesus. 
Mat. xxvii. 58. 
3. To ask as a favor; hence, to beseech; en- 
treat or supplicate with humility or earnest- 
ness: as, I begged him to use his influence in 
favor of my friend. 
And on our knees we beg 
(As recompense of our dear services, 
Past and to come) that you do change this purpose. 
Shah., W. T., ii. 3. 
To beg a person for a foolt, to take him for, or regard 
him as, a fool. 
In the old common law was a writ . . . under which if 
a man was legally proved an idiot, the profit of his lands 
. . . might be granted by the king to any subject. . . . 
Such a person, when this grant was asked, was said to be 
begged for a fool. fiares. 
To beg the Question, in logic, to assume or take as 
granted that which is not more certain than the proposi- 
tion to be proved, or which obviously involves the point 
in question ; assume as a premise what no one who takes 
the opposite view of the question will adittit. 
The sophism of begging the question is, then, when any 
thing is proved either by itself or something that is equal- 
ly unknown with itself. 
Burgersdicius, tr. by a Gentleman (1697). 
The attempt to infer his [Shakspere's] classical educa- 
tion from the internal evidence of his works is simply a 
begging of the question. 
G. P. Marsh, Lects. on Eng. Lang., p. 82. 
To maintain, as Sir Wyville Thomson does, that 32 is 
the temperature of the floor on which the Antarctic ice- 
sheet rests, is virtually to beg the question. 
J. Cnll, Climate and Cosmology, p. 226. 
= Syn. Ask, Reqiiext, Beg, etc. (see riskl); to pray (for), 
conjure, petition (for). 
II. intrans. 1. To ask alms or charity; prac- 
tise begging; live by asking alms. 
I cannot dig ; to beg I am ashamed. Luke xvi. 3. 
2. In the game of all-fours, to ask of the dealer 
a concession of one point to be added to one's 
count. The dealer must either concede the point or deal 
out three additional cards to each player. Should the 
suit originally turned as trump appear after this new deal, 
three, or fewer if so agreed, must be dealt to each until 
a different trump appears. To beg Off, to obtain release 
from a penalty, obligation, etc., by entreaty or excuses. 
beg 2 (beg), . Same as bey'i. 
bega, biggah (be'gii, big'a), n. [Also written 
beega, beegah, beegha, etc., repr. Hind, bighd, 
506 
Marathi bigliti.] A Hindu land-measure, locally 
varying in extent, but usually regarded as equal 
to from one third to two thirds of an English 
acre. The bega of Calcutta is 1,600 square 
yards, or about a third of an acre, 
begad (be-gad'), inter j. [A minced oath, a cor- 
ruption of by God! Cf. egad, bedad.] A sort 
of exclamatory oath, employed to give weight 
to a statement. 
TJcyrtf/, madam, . . . 'tis the very same I met. 
Fi'.liliti'j, Joseph Andrews. 
begall (be-gal'), f. t. [< 6e-l + galP.] To gall ; 
fret ; chafe ; rub sore. Bp. Hall. 
began (be-gan'). Preterit of begin. 
begat (be-gaf). Old preterit of beget, still 
sometimes used poetically. 
begaudt (be-gad'), ? * [Also written be- 
gawd; < be- 1 + gaud: see gaud 1 ."] To bedeck 
with gaudy tilings. Xurlli. 
begauin, . See begum 2 . 
begeckt (be-gek'), v. t. [Sc., also bcgeek (= D. 
begekkcn);\ 6e-l + geek. Cf. begunk.~\ To be- 
fool; gull; jilt. N. E. D. 
begem (be-jem'), v. t.; pret. and pp. begemmed, 
ppr. begemming. [< fre- 1 + gem.'] To adorn 
with gems, or as with gems ; stud with gems, 
or anything suggesting them. 
The lawn 
Begemmed with dew-drops. 
Scott, L. of the L., iii. 2. 
beget (be-gef), v. t.; pret. begot, formerly be- 
gat, pp. begotten, begot, ppr. begetting. [< ME. 
begeten, beqiten, bigiten, etc., < AS. begitan, 
bigitan (= OS. bigitan = OHG. bigezan), get, ac- 
quire, < be- + gitan, getan, get : see fte- 1 and 
get 1 .'] 1. To procreate ; generate: chiefly used 
of the father alone, but sometimes of both 
parents. 
Abraham begat Isaac ; and Isaac begat Jacob ; and Jacob 
begat Judas and his brethren. Mat. i. 2. 
Yet they a beauteous offspring shall beget. 
Milton, P. L., xi. 613. 
Become stout Marses, and beget young Cupids. 
B. Jonson, Alchemist, ii. 1. 
2. To produce as an effect ; cause to exist ; 
generate ; occasion : as, luxury begets vice ; 
"love is begot by fancy," Glanville. 
Intellectual science has been observed to beget invaria- 
bly a doubt of the existence of matter. Emerson, Nature. 
Thought is essentially independent of language, and 
speech could never have begotten reason. 
ilivart, Nature and Thought, p. 167. 
= Syn. To breed, engender. 
begetter (be-get'er), n. One who begets or pro- 
creates ; a father. 
begetting (be-get'ing), n. 1. The act of pro- 
creating or producing. 2. That which is be- 
gotten: progeny. 
beggable (beg'a-bl), a. [< beg* + -able.] Ca- 
pable of being begged. 
Things disposed of or not beggable. Butler, Characters. 
beggar (beg'ar), n. [Early mod. E. more com- 
monly begger, < ME. beggcr, beggere, also beg- 
\ar, beggare, a beggar: for the etym., see beg 1 . 
n he reg. mod. spelling is begger ; the ME. vari- 
ant spelling beggar, beggare, has not neces- 
sarily a bearing upon the conjectured deri i vation 
from OF. begard, the suffix -er being in ME. 
often variable to -ar; cf. mod. E. liar.] 1. 
One who begs or asks alms; especially, one 
who lives by asking alms or makes it his busi- 
ness to beg. 
Bidderes and beggeres fast about yede, 
With hire belies and here bagges of brede full ycrammed. 
Piers Plowman. 
2. One who is in indigent circumstances; one 
who has been beggared. 3t. One who asks a 
favor ; one who entreats ; a petitioner. 
Count. Wilt thou needs be a beggar ? 
Clo. I do beg your good-will in this case. 
Shak., All's Well, 1. 3. 
What subjects will precarious kings regard? 
A beggar speaks too softly to be heard. Dryden. 
4. One who assumes in argument what he 
does not prove. 
These shameful beggars of principles. Tillotson. 
5. A fellow; a rogue: used (a) in contempt 
for a low fellow; (6) as a term of playful 
familiarity : as, he is a good-hearted little beg- 
gar Masterful beggar. See masterful. To go or 
go home by beggar s bush, to go to ruin. Brewer. 
beggar (beg'ar), v. t. [Early mod. E. also beg- 
ger ; < beggar, .] 1. To make a beggar of; 
reduce to beggary ; impoverish. 
Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave, 
And beggar'd yours for ever. Shak., Macbeth, iii. 1. 
beggary 
];>'^'nn-'f! by fn'ils. win. HI still he found too late ; 
He had his jest, and they had his estate. 
Dryden, Abs. and Achit., i. 561. 
A rapacious government, and a beggared exchequer. 
Buckle, Civilization, I. 653. 
2. To exhaust the resources of; exceed the 
means or capacity of; outdo. 
When the two heroes met, then began a scene of wai-- 
like parade that beggars all descriptioTi. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 328. 
Shakespeare carries us to such a lofty strain of intel- 
ligent activity as to suggest a wealth which beggara his 
own. A';;'*VON. Essays. 1st ser., p. 262. 
beggardom (beg'ar-dum), n. The state of beg- 
gary; the body or fraternity of beggars. 
beggarhood (beg 'sir- hud), n. [< beggar + 
-hood.] The character or state of being a beg- 
gar; beggars collectively. 
beggarism (beg'ar-izm), n. [< beggar + -ixi.] 
The state or condition of beggary. 
beggarliness (beg'iir-li-nes), . [< beggarly 
+ -ness.] The state of being beggarly; ex- 
treme poverty ; meanness. 
beggarly (beg':ir-li), . [Early mod. E. also 
beggerly ; < beggar + -?#!.] 1. In the condition 
of or becoming a beggar ; extremely indigent; 
poor ; mean ; contemptible : used of persons 
and things. 
A beggarly account of empty boxes. 
Shak., R. and J., v. 1. 
Beggarly sins, that is, those sins which idleness and 
beggary usually betray men to, such as lying, flattery, 
stealing, and dissimulation. Jer. Taylor. 
He was an idle, beggarly fellow, and of no use to the 
public. Addison, Trial of Punctilios. 
2. Of or for beggars. [Bare.] 
But moralists, sociologists, political economists, and taxes 
have slowly convinced me that my beggarly sympathies 
were a sin against society. Lowell, Study Windows, p. 59. 
Meanly ; indigent- 
qa 
Tl: 
beggarlyt (beg'ar-li), adv. 
ly; despicably. 
It is his delight to dwell beggarly. 
Hooker, Eccles. Pol., v. 15. 
beggar-my-neighbor (beg'ar-mi-na'bor), n. 
[In allusion to the continued loss of cards.] A 
children's game at cards. In one variety of it the 
players hold the cards with the backs upward, and alter- 
nately lay one down till an honor is turned up, which 
has to be paid for at the rate of four cards for an ace, 
three for a king, etc. ; and the game goes on thus till one 
has gained all the other's cards. 
beggar's-basket (beg'arz-bas"ket), . The 
European lungwort, 1'idmonnria offieinnlix. 
beggar's-lice (beg'arz-lis), n. 1. An English 
name of Galium Aparine, or goose-grass, given 
to it because its burs stick to the clothes, and 
somewhat resemble lice. 2. The name given 
in the United States to species of Bidcns and to 
Echinospermum Virginicmm, the seeds of which 
have barbed awns which cling persistently to 
clothing. Also called beggar's-ticks. 
beggar's-needle (beg'arz-ne"dl), n. An Eng- 
lish popular name for the Scandix Pecten, from 
its long-beaked fronds. 
beggar'g-ticks (beg'arz-tiks), n. Same as beg- 
gars-lice, 2. Also written beggarticte. 
It [the garden] was over-run with Roman wormwood 
and btggarticks, which last stuck to my clothes. 
Thoreau, Walden, p. 282. 
beggar-weed (beg'ar-wed), n. [Cf. beggary'*, 
2.] A name sometimes given in England to 
the common door-weed, Polygonitm urieulare, 
to Cuscuta Trifulii, and to some other plants. 
beggary 1 (beg'ar-i). . [Early mod. E. also 
beggary, < ME. oaggerie, < beggere, beggar.] 1. 
The state of a beggar; a condition of extreme 
indigence. 
'Tis the narrowness of human nature, 
Our poverty and beggary of spirit, 
To take exception at these things. 
B. Jonson, The New Inn, iv. 3. 
His vessel with an inestimable cargo has just gone 
down, and he is reduced in a moment from opulence to 
beggary. Macaulay, Lord Bacon. 
2f. The act or practice of begging ; the occu- 
pation of a beggar ; begging. 
We mnst be careful that our charity do not minister to 
idleness and the love of beggary. 
Jer. Taylor, Great Exemplar. 
3. Beggars collectively; beggardom; beggar- 
hood. 
The Piazza is invaded by the legions of beggary, and 
held in overpowering numbers against all comers. 
Homlls, Venetian Life, xviii. 
4. A state of bareness or deficiency. 
The freedom and the beggary of the old studio. 
Thackeray. 
beggary' 2 (beg'ar-i), a. [< beggar + -yl.] 1. 
Beggarly; poor; mean. [Rare.] 2. Full of 
weeds. [Local, Eng.] 
