Bed"staff` (&?;), n.; pl. Bedstaves (&?;). "A wooden pin stuck anciently on the sides of the bedstead, to hold the clothes from slipping on either side." Johnson.
Hostess, accommodate us with a bedstaff.
B. Jonson.
Say there is no virtue in cudgels and bedstaves.
Brome.
Bed"stead (&?;), n. [Bed + stead a frame.] A framework for supporting a bed.
Bed" steps` (&?;). Steps for mounting a bed of unusual height.
Bed"stock (&?;), n. The front or the back part of the frame of a bedstead. [Obs. or Dial. Eng.]
Bed"straw` (&?;), n. 1. Straw put into a bed. Bacon.
2. (Bot.) A genus of slender herbs, usually with square stems, whorled leaves, and small white flowers.
Our Lady's bedstraw, which has yellow flowers, is Galium verum. -- White bedstraw is G. mollugo.
Bed"swerv`er (&?;), n. One who swerves from and is unfaithful to the marriage vow. [Poetic] Shak.
Bed"tick` (&?;), n. A tick or bag made of cloth, used for inclosing the materials of a bed.
Bed"time` (&?;), n. The time to go to bed. Shak.
Be*duck" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beducked (&?;).] To duck; to put the head under water; to immerse. "Deep himself beducked." Spenser.
Bed"uin (&?;), n. See Bedouin.
Be*dung" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedunged (&?;).] To cover with dung, as for manuring; to bedaub or defile, literally or figuratively. Bp. Hall.
Be*dust" (&?;), v. t. To sprinkle, soil, or cover with dust. Sherwood.
Bed"ward (&?;), adv. Towards bed.
Be*dwarf" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedwarfed (&?;).] To make a dwarf of; to stunt or hinder the growth of; to dwarf. Donne.
Be*dye" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedyed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedyeing.] To dye or stain.
Briton fields with Sarazin blood bedyed.
Spenser.
Bee (&?;), p. p. of Be; -- used for been. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bee (b), n. [AS. beó; akin to D. bij and bije, Icel. b&?;, Sw. & Dan. bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh. Ir. beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha. √97.] 1. (Zoöl.) An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apidæ (the honeybees), or family Andrenidæ (the solitary bees.) See Honeybee.
There are many genera and species. The common honeybee (Apis mellifica) lives in swarms, each of which has its own queen, its males or drones, and its very numerous workers, which are barren females. Besides the A. mellifica there are other species and varieties of honeybees, as the A. ligustica of Spain and Italy; the A. Indica of India; the A. fasciata of Egypt. The bumblebee is a species of Bombus. The tropical honeybees belong mostly to Melipoma and Trigona.
2. A neighborly gathering of people who engage in united labor for the benefit of an individual or family; as, a quilting bee; a husking bee; a raising bee. [U. S.]
The cellar . . . was dug by a bee in a single day.
S. G. Goodrich.
3. pl. [Prob. fr. AS. beáh ring, fr. b&?;gan to bend. See 1st Bow.] (Naut.) Pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks.
Bee beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in beehives. -- Bee bird (Zoöl.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the European flycatcher, and the American kingbird. -- Bee flower (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus Ophrys (O. apifera), whose flowers have some resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects. -- Bee fly (Zoöl.), a two winged fly of the family Bombyliidæ. Some species, in the larval state, are parasitic upon bees. -- Bee garden, a garden or inclosure to set beehives in ; an apiary. Mortimer. -- Bee glue, a soft, unctuous matter, with which bees cement the combs to the hives, and close up the cells; -- called also propolis. -- Bee hawk (Zoöl.), the honey buzzard. -- Bee killer (Zoöl.), a large two-winged fly of the family Asilidæ (esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon the honeybee. See Robber fly. -- Bee louse (Zoöl.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect (Braula cæca) parasitic on hive bees. -- Bee martin (Zoöl.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis) which occasionally feeds on bees. -- Bee moth (Zoöl.), a moth (Galleria cereana) whose larvæ feed on honeycomb, occasioning great damage in beehives. -- Bee wolf (Zoöl.), the larva of the bee beetle. See Illust. of Bee beetle. -- To have a bee in the head or in the bonnet. (a) To be choleric. [Obs.] (b) To be restless or uneasy. B. Jonson. (c) To be full of fancies; to be a little crazy. "She's whiles crack-brained, and has a bee in her head." Sir W. Scott.
Bee"bread` (&?;), n. A brown, bitter substance found in some of the cells of honeycomb. It is made chiefly from the pollen of flowers, which is collected by bees as food for their young.
Beech (&?;), n.; pl. Beeches (&?;). [OE. beche, AS. b&?;ce; akin to D. beuk, OHG. buocha, G. buche, Icel. beyki, Dan. bög, Sw. bok, Russ. buk, L. fagus, Gr. &?; oak, &?; to eat, Skr. bhaksh; the tree being named originally from the esculent fruit. See Book, and cf. 7th Buck, Buckwheat.] (Bot.) A tree of the genus Fagus.
It grows to a large size, having a smooth bark and thick foliage, and bears an edible triangular nut, of which swine are fond. The Fagus sylvatica is the European species, and the F. ferruginea that of America.
Beech drops (Bot.), a parasitic plant which grows on the roots of beeches (Epiphegus Americana). -- Beech marten (Zoöl.), the stone marten of Europe (Mustela foina). -- Beech mast, the nuts of the beech, esp. as they lie under the trees, in autumn. -- Beech oil, oil expressed from the mast or nuts of the beech tree. -- Cooper beech, a variety of the European beech with copper-colored, shining leaves.
Beech"en (&?;), a. [AS. b&?;cen.] Consisting, or made, of the wood or bark of the beech; belonging to the beech. "Plain beechen vessels." Dryden.
Beech"nut` (&?;), n. The nut of the beech tree.
Beech" tree` (&?;). The beech.
Beech"y (&?;), a. Of or relating to beeches.
Bee"-eat`er (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) (a) A bird of the genus Merops, that feeds on bees. The European species (M. apiaster) is remarkable for its brilliant colors. (b) An African bird of the genus Rhinopomastes.
Beef (bf), n. [OE. boef, befe, beef, OF. boef, buef, F. bœef, fr. L. bos, bovis, ox; akin to Gr. boy^s, Skr. g cow, and E. cow. See 2d Cow.] 1. An animal of the genus Bos, especially the common species, B. taurus, including the bull, cow, and ox, in their full grown state; esp., an ox or cow fattened for food. [In this, which is the original sense, the word has a plural, beeves (bvz).]
A herd of beeves, fair oxen and fair kine.
Milton.
2. The flesh of an ox, or cow, or of any adult bovine animal, when slaughtered for food. [In this sense, the word has no plural.] "Great meals of beef." Shak.