"be-" meaning in English

See be- in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prefix

IPA: /bɪ/, /bi/, /bə/ [Australian, Canada, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation], /bɪ/ (note: South Asia, always)
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- From Middle English be-, bi-, from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). See by, by-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”), West Frisian be- (“be-”), Dutch be- (“be-”), German Low German be- (“be-”), German be- (“be-”), Danish be- (“be-”), Swedish be- (“be-”). Etymology templates: {{etymon|en|:inh|enm:bi-|tree=1}} Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- [Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from", "terms" : [ { "children" : [ { "terms" : [ { "children" : [ { "keyword_abbrev" : "der.", "keyword_label" : "Derived from", "terms" : [ { "children" : [ { "keyword_abbrev" : "der.", "keyword_label" : "Derived from", "terms" : [ { "alt" : "*h₁éps", "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "status" : "inline", "children" : [ { "keyword_abbrev" : "der.", "keyword_label" : "Derived from", "terms" : [ { "children" : [ ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "term" : "*h₁ep-", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "ine-pro" } ], "keyword" : "derived" } ], "lang" : "ine-pro" } ], "keyword" : "derived" } ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "term" : "*h₁epi", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "ine-pro" } ], "keyword" : "derived" } ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "term" : "*h₁pi", "status" : "inline", "lang" : "ine-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Germanic", "term" : "*bi", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "gem-pro" } ], "keyword" : "derived" } ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Germanic", "term" : "*bi-", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "gem-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "lang_name" : "Proto-West Germanic", "term" : "*bi-", "status" : "inline", "lang" : "gmw-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "lang_name" : "Old English", "term" : "be-", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "ang" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "lang_name" : "Middle English", "term" : "bi-", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "enm" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "be-", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" }" data-lang="en" data-title="be-">, {{inh|en|enm|be-}} Middle English be-, {{inh|en|ang|be-||be-}} Old English be- (“be-”), {{inh|en|gem-pro|*bi-||be-}} Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), {{inh|en|gem-pro|*bi||near, by}} Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), {{inh|en|ine-pro|*h₁epi||at, near}} Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”), {{cog|stq|bi-|t=be-}} Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”), {{cog|fy|be-|t=be-}} West Frisian be- (“be-”), {{cog|nl|be-||be-}} Dutch be- (“be-”), {{cog|nds-de|be-|t=be-}} German Low German be- (“be-”), {{cog|de|be-||be-}} German be- (“be-”), {{cog|da|be-||be-}} Danish be- (“be-”), {{cog|sv|be-||be-}} Swedish be- (“be-”) Head templates: {{en-prefix}} be-
  1. (rare or no longer productive) By, near, next to, around, close to. Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:near Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters
  2. (rare or no longer productive) Around; about. Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:around Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters
  3. (rare or no longer productive) About, regarding, concerning, over. Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:regarding Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters
  4. (rare or no longer productive) On, upon, at, to, in contact with something. Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:contacting Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters
  5. (rare or no longer productive) Off, away, over, across Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:away Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters
  6. (rare or no longer productive) As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly. Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:intensifying Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters, English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons, English entries with etymology trees, English entries with etymon, English entries with incorrect language header, English intensifiers, Pages using etymon with no ID, Pages with etymology trees, Pages with etymon Disambiguation of English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons: 2 0 9 0 7 32 4 26 20 Disambiguation of English entries with etymology trees: 1 0 9 0 7 44 0 22 18 Disambiguation of English entries with etymon: 1 0 10 0 8 44 0 22 15 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 3 0 8 0 5 41 4 21 19 Disambiguation of English intensifiers: 1 0 7 0 6 58 0 17 11 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 1 0 8 0 2 26 0 17 16 14 16 Disambiguation of Pages with etymology trees: 1 0 9 0 3 49 0 20 18 Disambiguation of Pages with etymon: 1 0 7 0 2 41 0 13 10 12 14
  7. (rare or no longer productive) All around; about; abundantly; all over. Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:thoroughly Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters
  8. (rare or no longer productive) Forming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of "to make, become, or cause to be". Tags: idiomatic, morpheme, rare
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:doing Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters, English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons Disambiguation of English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons: 2 0 9 0 7 32 4 26 20
  9. (archaic or informal) Used to intensify adjectives meaning "adorned with something", often those with the suffix -ed. Tags: archaic, informal, morpheme
    Sense id: en-be--en-prefix-en:adorned Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters, English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons Disambiguation of English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons: 2 0 9 0 7 32 4 26 20
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:bi-",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁epider.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁pi\nProto-Germanic *bider.\nProto-Germanic *bi-\nProto-West Germanic *bi-\nOld English be-\nMiddle English bi-\nEnglish be-\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₁éps\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁ep-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁epi\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁pi\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"be-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"bi-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"be-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"be-\">",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English be-",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "be-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bi-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bi",
        "4": "",
        "5": "near, by"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁epi",
        "4": "",
        "5": "at, near"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "bi-",
        "t": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "be-",
        "t": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "be-",
        "t": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "German be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁epider.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁pi\nProto-Germanic *bider.\nProto-Germanic *bi-\nProto-West Germanic *bi-\nOld English be-\nMiddle English bi-\nEnglish be-\nFrom Middle English be-, bi-, from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). See by, by-.\nCognate with Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”), West Frisian be- (“be-”), Dutch be- (“be-”), German Low German be- (“be-”), German be- (“be-”), Danish be- (“be-”), Swedish be- (“be-”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "be-",
      "name": "en-prefix"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prefix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "beleaguer, bestand, beset, besit"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "By, near, next to, around, close to."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:near",
      "links": [
        [
          "By",
          "by"
        ],
        [
          "near",
          "near"
        ],
        [
          "next to",
          "next to"
        ],
        [
          "around",
          "around"
        ],
        [
          "close to",
          "close to"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) By, near, next to, around, close to."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:near"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "begather, belay, belook, bestir, belive, besmell, bewrap"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Around; about."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:around",
      "links": [
        [
          "Around",
          "around"
        ],
        [
          "about",
          "about"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) Around; about."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:around"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "bewrite, betalk, betell, belie, bemoan, bemourn, bewail, beknow, besing, bespeak"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "About, regarding, concerning, over."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:regarding",
      "links": [
        [
          "About",
          "about"
        ],
        [
          "regarding",
          "regarding"
        ],
        [
          "concerning",
          "concerning"
        ],
        [
          "over",
          "over"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) About, regarding, concerning, over."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:regarding"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "beclothe, becall, besee, behold, befall, bedo, beshine, besmile, betone"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "On, upon, at, to, in contact with something."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:contacting",
      "links": [
        [
          "On",
          "on"
        ],
        [
          "upon",
          "upon"
        ],
        [
          "at",
          "at"
        ],
        [
          "to",
          "to"
        ],
        [
          "contact",
          "contact"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) On, upon, at, to, in contact with something."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:contacting"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "becut, bedeal, betake, bego, behead, belimb, benim, bereave, besleeve, betrunk"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Off, away, over, across"
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:away",
      "links": [
        [
          "Off",
          "off"
        ],
        [
          "away",
          "away"
        ],
        [
          "over",
          "over"
        ],
        [
          "across",
          "across"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) Off, away, over, across"
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:away"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 0 9 0 7 32 4 26 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "1 0 9 0 7 44 0 22 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "1 0 10 0 8 44 0 22 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with etymon",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 0 8 0 5 41 4 21 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "1 0 7 0 6 58 0 17 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English intensifiers",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "1 0 8 0 2 26 0 17 16 14 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using etymon with no ID",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "1 0 9 0 3 49 0 20 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "1 0 7 0 2 41 0 13 10 12 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with etymon",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "bebreak, begladden, belabour, belove, behate, besmirch, bedazzle, besiege, befuddle"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:intensifying",
      "links": [
        [
          "intensifier",
          "intensifier"
        ],
        [
          "thoroughly",
          "thoroughly"
        ],
        [
          "excessively",
          "excessively"
        ],
        [
          "completely",
          "completely"
        ],
        [
          "utterly",
          "utterly"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:intensifying"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "belave, belick, bescatter, bekiss"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "All around; about; abundantly; all over."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:thoroughly",
      "links": [
        [
          "around",
          "around"
        ],
        [
          "about",
          "about"
        ],
        [
          "abundantly",
          "abundantly"
        ],
        [
          "all over",
          "all over"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) All around; about; abundantly; all over."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:thoroughly"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 0 9 0 7 32 4 26 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "becalm, bedark, befree, befriend, bedim, beken, benight, benothing, bewet, besmooth, bestrange"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Forming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of \"to make, become, or cause to be\"."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:doing",
      "links": [
        [
          "verb",
          "verb#English"
        ],
        [
          "nouns",
          "nouns#English"
        ],
        [
          "adjectives",
          "adjectives#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) Forming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of \"to make, become, or cause to be\"."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:doing"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with redundant target parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 0 9 0 7 32 4 26 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "besequined, befeathered, beclawed, bewebbed, betasseled, beloved"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              41,
              44
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2010 October 17, Hadley Freeman, “Tattoos: what makes one spiritual and another Katona-esque?”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Similarly, one could argue that if these be-tattooed yogic folk were really so spiritual, they wouldn't feel the need to inform everyone else of this or remind themselves of it, via the medium of the tattoo.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to intensify adjectives meaning \"adorned with something\", often those with the suffix -ed."
      ],
      "id": "en-be--en-prefix-en:adorned",
      "links": [
        [
          "adorned",
          "adorned#English"
        ],
        [
          "-ed",
          "-ed#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic or informal) Used to intensify adjectives meaning \"adorned with something\", often those with the suffix -ed."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:adorned"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "informal",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/bɪ/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bi/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bə/",
      "tags": [
        "Australian",
        "Canada",
        "General-American",
        "New-Zealand",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɪ/",
      "note": "South Asia, always"
    }
  ],
  "word": "be-"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries referencing pages with etymology sections missing etymons",
    "English entries with etymology trees",
    "English entries with etymon",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English intensifiers",
    "English lemmas",
    "English prefixes",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ep-",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages using etymon with no ID",
    "Pages with 24 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Pages with etymology trees",
    "Pages with etymon"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:bi-",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁epider.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁pi\nProto-Germanic *bider.\nProto-Germanic *bi-\nProto-West Germanic *bi-\nOld English be-\nMiddle English bi-\nEnglish be-\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₁éps\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁ep-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁epi\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁pi\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"be-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"bi-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"be-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"be-\">",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English be-",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "be-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bi-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bi",
        "4": "",
        "5": "near, by"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁epi",
        "4": "",
        "5": "at, near"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "bi-",
        "t": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "be-",
        "t": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "be-",
        "t": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "German be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "be-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "be-"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish be- (“be-”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁epider.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁pi\nProto-Germanic *bider.\nProto-Germanic *bi-\nProto-West Germanic *bi-\nOld English be-\nMiddle English bi-\nEnglish be-\nFrom Middle English be-, bi-, from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). See by, by-.\nCognate with Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”), West Frisian be- (“be-”), Dutch be- (“be-”), German Low German be- (“be-”), German be- (“be-”), Danish be- (“be-”), Swedish be- (“be-”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "be-",
      "name": "en-prefix"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prefix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "beleaguer, bestand, beset, besit"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "By, near, next to, around, close to."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "By",
          "by"
        ],
        [
          "near",
          "near"
        ],
        [
          "next to",
          "next to"
        ],
        [
          "around",
          "around"
        ],
        [
          "close to",
          "close to"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) By, near, next to, around, close to."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:near"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "begather, belay, belook, bestir, belive, besmell, bewrap"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Around; about."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Around",
          "around"
        ],
        [
          "about",
          "about"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) Around; about."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:around"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "bewrite, betalk, betell, belie, bemoan, bemourn, bewail, beknow, besing, bespeak"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "About, regarding, concerning, over."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "About",
          "about"
        ],
        [
          "regarding",
          "regarding"
        ],
        [
          "concerning",
          "concerning"
        ],
        [
          "over",
          "over"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) About, regarding, concerning, over."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:regarding"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "beclothe, becall, besee, behold, befall, bedo, beshine, besmile, betone"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "On, upon, at, to, in contact with something."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "On",
          "on"
        ],
        [
          "upon",
          "upon"
        ],
        [
          "at",
          "at"
        ],
        [
          "to",
          "to"
        ],
        [
          "contact",
          "contact"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) On, upon, at, to, in contact with something."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:contacting"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "becut, bedeal, betake, bego, behead, belimb, benim, bereave, besleeve, betrunk"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Off, away, over, across"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Off",
          "off"
        ],
        [
          "away",
          "away"
        ],
        [
          "over",
          "over"
        ],
        [
          "across",
          "across"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) Off, away, over, across"
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:away"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "bebreak, begladden, belabour, belove, behate, besmirch, bedazzle, besiege, befuddle"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "intensifier",
          "intensifier"
        ],
        [
          "thoroughly",
          "thoroughly"
        ],
        [
          "excessively",
          "excessively"
        ],
        [
          "completely",
          "completely"
        ],
        [
          "utterly",
          "utterly"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:intensifying"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "belave, belick, bescatter, bekiss"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "All around; about; abundantly; all over."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "around",
          "around"
        ],
        [
          "about",
          "about"
        ],
        [
          "abundantly",
          "abundantly"
        ],
        [
          "all over",
          "all over"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) All around; about; abundantly; all over."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:thoroughly"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "becalm, bedark, befree, befriend, bedim, beken, benight, benothing, bewet, besmooth, bestrange"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Forming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of \"to make, become, or cause to be\"."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "verb",
          "verb#English"
        ],
        [
          "nouns",
          "nouns#English"
        ],
        [
          "adjectives",
          "adjectives#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare or no longer productive) Forming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of \"to make, become, or cause to be\"."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:doing"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms",
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "besequined, befeathered, beclawed, bewebbed, betasseled, beloved"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              41,
              44
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2010 October 17, Hadley Freeman, “Tattoos: what makes one spiritual and another Katona-esque?”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Similarly, one could argue that if these be-tattooed yogic folk were really so spiritual, they wouldn't feel the need to inform everyone else of this or remind themselves of it, via the medium of the tattoo.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to intensify adjectives meaning \"adorned with something\", often those with the suffix -ed."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "adorned",
          "adorned#English"
        ],
        [
          "-ed",
          "-ed#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic or informal) Used to intensify adjectives meaning \"adorned with something\", often those with the suffix -ed."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:adorned"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "informal",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/bɪ/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bi/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bə/",
      "tags": [
        "Australian",
        "Canada",
        "General-American",
        "New-Zealand",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɪ/",
      "note": "South Asia, always"
    }
  ],
  "word": "be-"
}

Download raw JSONL data for be- meaning in English (11.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-08-02 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-07-06 using wiktextract (d9fa233 and 9e92f4b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.