B E S 
crdered his hands and ears to be cut off, and his body to 
fee expofed on a crofs, and (hot at by the foldiers. JuJlin. 
BES'SY BELL, a mountain of Ireland, in the county 
of Tyrone : ten miles foutli of Strabane. 
BEST, adj. tiie fuperlative from good ; [bet, betera, bctjl , 
Sax. good, better, bed.] Mod good; that which has good 
qualities in the highed degree.—I think: it is a good argu¬ 
ment to fay the infinitely wife God hath made it fo, and 
therefore it is bef. Locke. 
The Best. The utmofi power; the dronged endeavour; 
the mod ; the highed perfection.—Let each man do his 
bef. Shakefpeare. 
To make the Best. To carry to its greateft perfection ; 
to improve to the utmoft. 
Best, adv. [fromaW/.] In the highed degree of good- 
nefs.—He ll-vall dwell in that place which he diall choofe, 
in one of thy gates, where it liketh him bejl. Deut. xxiii. 16. 
Best is fometimes ufed in compofition.—By this law of 
loving even our enemies, the Chridian religion difeovers 
itfelf to be the mod generous and bejl-natured inditution 
that ever was in the world. Tillotfon. 
BEST A'AD, a town of Norway v thirty-dx miles north- 
north-ead of Drontlveim. 
BESTA'GNO, a town of Italy, in. the duchy of Mont- 
ferrat, on the- Bormida : eighteen miles ead of Alba. 
BES'TAIL, f. [belail, Fr.] in ancient datutes, all 
kinds of beads or cattle, efpecially thofe purveyed for the 
king’s proviiion. 
To BESTAIN', u. a. [fromy?«w.] To mark with dains; 
to fpot. 
To BESTEAD', v. a. I bejled ; I have bejled ; [from 
Read ] To profit : 
Hence, vain deluding joys ! 
The brood of folly, without father bred ; 
How little.you bejlead, 
Or fill the fixed mind with all your toys! Milton. 
To treat; to accommodate. This fliould rather be befted. — 
They fhal 1 pafs through it hardly beftead, and hungry. If. 
BES'TIAL, adj. [from beaf.} Belonging to a bead, or 
to the clafs of beads. Having the qualities of beads ; bru¬ 
tal; below- the dignity of reafon or humanity,; carnal.— 
1 have lod the immortal part of tnyfelf, and what remains 
is befial. Shakefpeare. 
Bestial Signs, f in adrology, are figns of the zodiac, 
called Aries, Leo, Taurus, Capricornus, and Sagittarius ; be- 
caufe they are in globes reprefented by four-footed beads. 
BEST 1 A'LlTY,yi The quality of beads ; degeneracy 
from human nature; libidinous contaCt with brutes.— 
What can be a greater abfurdity, than to affirm befiality 
to be the effence of humanity, and darknefs the centre of 
light? Arbuthnot. 
BES'TIALLY, adv.. Brutally; in a manner below hu¬ 
manity. 
BESTIA'RII,y.. in Roman antiquity, fuch as fought 
againd beads, or thofe who were expofed to them by fen- 
tence of the law. There were four kinds of bediarii : the 
fird were thofe who made a trade of it, and fought for 
money ; the fecond were fuch young men as, to diew their 
ftrength and dexterity in managing their arms, fought a- 
gaind beads ; the third was, where leveral bediarii were 
let loofe at once, well armed, againd a number of beads ; 
and the fourth kind were thofe condemned to the beads, 
confiding either of enemies taken in war,.or as being daves, 
and guilty of fome enormous crime; thofe were all expof¬ 
ed naked, and without defence. 
To BESTICK', v. a. prefer. I befuck, I have bejluck ; 
[from fick.} To dick over with any thing ; to mark any 
, thing by infixing points or fpots here and there. 
To BESTIR', v. a. [from fir.'} To put into vigorous 
aClion. It is feldom ufed otherwile than with the recipro¬ 
cal pronoun : 
As when men wont to watch 
On duty, deeping found by whom they dread, 
JRauze and bejlir themfelv.es ere well awake. Milton. 
bet <? 27 
It is ufed by Shakefpeare with a common word.—I am 
fcarce in breath, my lord. No marvel you have fo befir- 
red your valour. Shakefpeare. 
BESTOROZIN', or Beszermeny, a town of Hun¬ 
gary ; eight miles north-north-wed of Debreczin. 
lo BESTOW', v. a. [ bifeden, Dutch.] To give; to 
confer upon : commonly with upon.—All the dedicated 
things- of the houfe of the Lord did they bejlow upon Baa¬ 
lim. 2 Chronicles, xxiv. 7.—Sometimes with to. —Sir Julius 
Caefar had, in his office, the difpolition of the fix clerks 
places; which lie had bef owed to fuch perfons as he thought 
fit. Clarendon. —To give, as charity or bounty.—Our Sa¬ 
viour doth plainly witnefs, that there fiiould not be as 
much as a cup of cold water be/lowed for his fake, without 
reward. Hooker. —To give in marriage. — I could have be¬ 
fouled her upon a fine gentleman, who extremely admired 
her. Taller. —To give as a prelent : 
Pure oil and incenfe on the fire they throw, 
And fat of victims which his friends befow. Drydm. 
To apply.—The fea was not the duke of Marlborough’s 
element; otherwile the whole force of the war would in¬ 
fallibly have been bejlowed there. Swift .— To lay out upon. 
— And thou (halt bejlow that money for whatfoever thy 
foul ludeth after, for oxen, Iheep, or for wine. Deut. xiv.. 
26 —To lay up ; to (low ; to place.—And when lie came 
to the Tower, he took them from their hand, and bjlowed 
them in the houfe. 2 Kings, v. 24. 
BESTOW'ER,yi Giver; he that confers anything;; 
difpofer. 
BESTR AU'GHT, particip. [Of this participle. we have- 
not found the verb ; by analogy we may derive it from be - 
fraTt-, perhaps it is corrupted from difraught.} DiftraCf- 
ed ; mad ; out of one’s fenfes ; out of one’s wits.— -\lk 
Marian, the fat alewife, if fhe knew me not. What! I- 
am not befraught. ShakeJ'peare. 
To BESTREW', v. a. particip. pad’, befrewed, or be- 
frown , [from frew. J To fprinkle over : 
So thick befrown , 
AbjeCt and lod lay thefe, covering tbe flood, Milton , 
To BESTRIDE', v. a. 1 befrid ; I have befrid-, or be - 
f ridden, [from ftride. ] Todride over any thing ; to havo 
any thing between one’s legs. To dep over. 
That I fee thee here, 
Thou noble thing ! more dances my rapt heart. 
Than when I fird my wedded midrefs faw 
Bejl ride my threlhold. Shakefpeare. 
It is often ufed, in the confequential fenfe, for to ride on. 
The bounding deed you pompoufly bef ride 
Shares with his lord the pleafure and the pride. Pope. 
It is ufed fometimes of a man danding over fomethjng 
which he defends: the prefent mode of war has put this 
fenfe out of ufe : 
He befrid 
An o’erprefs’d Roman, and i’ th’ conful’s view 
Slew three oppofers; Tarquin’s felf he met, 
And druck him on his knees. Shakefpeare . 
To BESTUD', v. a. [from fud.} To adorn with Jtuds.,. 
or fnining prominences. 
BET, f. \_weddian, to wager; wed, a wager, Sax. from 
which the etymologids derive bet 1 . Johnfon rather ima¬ 
gines it to come from the word betan, to mend, increase, 
or better, as a bet increafes the original wager.] A wager; 
fomething laid to be won upon certain conditions ; 
The hoary fool, who many days 
Has draggled with continu’d forrow, 
Renews his hope, and blindly lays 
The defp’rate to upon to-morrpw. Prior. 
To Bet, v. a. [from the noun.] To wager ; to flake at 
a wager.—He drew a good bow : and dead ? John of 
Gaunt loved him well, and betted much upon his head, 
Shakefpeare. 
Bet., 
