be- Hear it!

be- definition

be- (bē, bi, bə)

  1. : added to other verbs
    1. around besprinkle, beset
    2. completely, thoroughly, excessively: used as an intensifier bedeck, besmear
    3. away: used as a privative bereave, betake
    4. about: used as a transitive prefix bethink, bemoan
  2. : added to nouns and, sometimes, adjectives
    1. make besot, bedim
    2. furnish with, cover with, affect by, treat as befriend, bedizen, becloud
  3. covered with, furnished with, furnished with to excess: added to past participles in -ed bemedaled, bewhiskered

Etymology: ME bi-, be- < OE (akin to Goth bi-, Ger be-), at, near < Gmc base of by

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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