BEFALL, be-fawl', _v.t._ to fall or happen to: to occur to.--_v.i._ to
happen or come to pass: (_Spens._) to fall in one's way:--_pr.p._
befall'ing; _pa.t._ befell'; _pa.p._ befall'en. [A.S. _befeallan_. See
FALL.]
BEFANA, BEFFANA, be-fä'na, _n._ an Epiphany present or gift--a corruption
of _Epiphania_, which name in Italy has become personified for children as
a toy-bringing witch or fairy called _La Befana_.
BEFIT, be-fit', _v.t._ to fit, or be suitable to: to be proper to, or right
for:--_pr.p._ befit'ting; _pa.p._ befit'ted.--_adj._ BEFIT'TING.--_adv._
BEFIT'TINGLY. [Pfx. _be-_, and FIT.]
BEFLOWER, be-flow'[.e]r, _v.t._ to cover or besprinkle with flowers.
BEFOAM, be-f[=o]m', _v.t._ to bespatter or cover with foam.
BEFOGGED, be-fogd', _adj._ enveloped in fog: confused.
BEFOOL, be-f[=oo]l', _v.t._ to make a fool of, or deceive: to treat as a
fool.
BEFORE, be-f[=o]r', _prep._ in front of (_time_ or _place_): in presence or
sight of (_Before_ God): under the cognisance of, as in before the court,
the magistrate, or the house: previous to: in preference to: superior
to.--_adv._ in front: sooner than hitherto.--_conj._ previous to the time
when (often with _that_).--_advs._ BEFORE'HAND, before the time: by way of
preparation; BEFORE'TIME, in former time.--TO BE BEFOREHAND WITH, to
forestall in any action. [A.S. _beforan_. See FORE.]
BEFORTUNE, be-for't[=u]n, _v.t._ (_Shak._) to happen to, to befall.
BEFOUL, be-fowl', _v.t._ to make foul: to soil.
BEFRIEND, be-frend', _v.t._ to act as a friend to: to favour.
BEFRINGE, be-frinj', _v.t._ to adorn with fringes.
BEG. Same as BEY.
BEG, beg, _v.i._ to ask alms or charity, esp. habitually (with _of_,
_from_; _for_, of the thing asked).--_v.t._ to ask earnestly: to beseech:
to pray: to take for granted what ought to have been proved, esp. in the
phrase in logic, 'to beg the question'--the fallacy of the _Petitio
Principii_:--_pr.p._ beg'ging; _pa.p._ begged.--_n._ BEG'GAR, one who begs:
one who lives by begging: a mean fellow, a poor fellow--often used with a
playful and even affectionate sense.--_v.t._ to reduce to beggary: to
exhaust or impoverish: (_fig._) to go beyond the resources of, as of
description.--_ns._ BEG'GARDOM, the fraternity of beggars;
BEG'GARLINESS.--_adj._ BEGGARLY, poor: mean: worthless.--_adv._
meanly.--_ns._ BEG'GAR-MY-NEIGH'BOUR, a game at cards which goes on till
one of the players has gained all the other's cards; BEG'GARY, extreme
poverty.--_adv._ BEG'GINGLY.--TO BEG OFF, to obtain another's release
through entreaty, to seek that one's self may be relieved of some penalty
or liability.--TO GO A-BEGGING, to be in want of a purchaser, or of a
person to fill it (of a situation, &c.). [The ety. is very obscure; the
words _beg_ and _beggar_ first appear in the 13th century, and Dr Murray
thinks the most likely derivation is from the O. Fr. _begart_, _begard_,
and _begar_ (L. _beghardus_ = _beghard_), or its synonym _beguine_ and
derivative verb _beguigner_, _beguiner_, to act the beguin. The _Beghards_
or _Beguines_ were a lay mendicant order, and in the 13th century
mendicants calling themselves by these names swarmed over Western Europe.]