Be-
(Be-). [AS. be, and in accented form bi, akin to OS. be and bi, OHG. bi, pi, and pi, MHG. be
and bi, G. be and bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. 'amfi` about (cf. AS. beseón to look about). &radic203.
Cf. By, Amb- .] A prefix, originally the same word as by; joined with verbs, it serves: (a) To intensify
the meaning; as, bespatter, bestir. (b) To render an intransitive verb transitive; as, befall (to fall upon);
bespeak (c) To make the action of a verb particular or definite; as, beget (to get as offspring); beset
It is joined with certain substantives, and a few adjectives, to form verbs; as, bedew, befriend, benight,
besot; belate (to make late); belittle It also occurs in certain nouns, adverbs, and prepositions, often with
something of the force of the preposition by, or about; as, belief behalf, bequest (bequeath); because,
before, beneath, beside, between.
In some words the original force of be is obscured or lost; as, in
become, begin, behave, behoove, belong.
Beach
(Beach) n.; pl. Beaches [Cf. Sw. backe hill, Dan. bakke, Icel. bakki hill, bank. Cf. Bank.]
1. Pebbles, collectively; shingle.
2. The shore of the sea, or of a lake, which is washed by the waves; especially, a sandy or pebbly shore; the
strand.
Beach flea (Zoöl.), the common name of many species of amphipod Crustacea, of the family Orchestidæ,
living on the sea beaches, and leaping like fleas. — Beach grass (Bot.), a coarse grass (Ammophila
arundinacea), growing on the sandy shores of lakes and seas, which, by its interlaced running rootstocks,
binds the sand together, and resists the encroachment of the waves. — Beach wagon, a light open
wagon with two or more seats. — Raised beach, an accumulation of water-worn stones, gravel, sand,
and other shore deposits, above the present level of wave action, whether actually raised by elevation of
the coast, as in Norway, or left by the receding waters, as in many lake and river regions.
Beach
(Beach), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beached (becht); p. pr. & vb. n. Beaching.] To run or drive (as
a vessel or a boat) upon a beach; to strand; as, to beach a ship.
Beach comber
(Beach" comb`er) A long, curling wave rolling in from the ocean. See Comber. [Amer.]
Beached
(Beached) p. p. & a.
1. Bordered by a beach.
The beached verge of the salt flood.
Shak.
2. Driven on a beach; stranded; drawn up on a beach; as, the ship is beached.
Beachy
(Beach"y) a. Having a beach or beaches; formed by a beach or beaches; shingly.
The beachy girdle of the ocean.
Shak.
Beacon
(Bea"con) n. [OE. bekene, AS. beácen, becen; akin to OS. bokan, Fries. baken, beken,
sign, signal, D. baak, OHG. bouhhan, G. bake; of unknown origin. Cf. Beckon.]
1. A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
No flaming beacons cast their blaze afar.
Gay.
2. A signal or conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as
a guide to mariners.
3. A high hill near the shore. [Prov. Eng.]
