begging

Variant of beg

beg definition

beg (beg)

transitive verb begged, begging beg′·ging

  1. to ask for as charity or as a gift he begged a dime
  2. to ask for earnestly as a kindness or favor

Etymology: ME beggen < Anglo-Fr begger < begart < OFr begard, religious mendicant < MDu beggaert

intransitive verb

  1. to ask for alms; be a beggar
  2. to ask humbly; entreat
beg Idioms

beg off

to ask to be released from some obligation

beg the question

  1. to use an argument that assumes as proved the very thing one is trying to prove
  2. loosely to evade the issue

go begging

to be available but unwanted

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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