Part 586

A sermon of a new beginner. Swift.

Be*gin"ning (&?;), n. 1. The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen. i. 1.

2. That which begins or originates something; the first cause; origin; source.

I am . . . the beginning and the ending. Rev. i. 8.

3. That which is begun; a rudiment or element.

Mighty things from small beginnings grow. Dryden.

4. Enterprise. "To hinder our beginnings." Shak.

Syn. -- Inception; prelude; opening; threshold; origin; outset; foundation.

Be*gird" (&?;), v. t. [imp. Begirt (&?;), Begirded; p. p. Begirt; p. pr. & vb. n. Begirding.] [AS. begyrdan (akin to Goth. bigairdan); pref. be- + gyrdan to gird.] 1. To bind with a band or girdle; to gird.

2. To surround as with a band; to encompass.

Be*gir"dle (&?;), v. t. To surround as with a girdle.

Be*girt" (&?;), v. t. To encompass; to begird. Milton.

||Beg"ler*beg` (&?;), n. [Turk. beglerbeg, fr. beg, pl. begler. See Beg, n.] The governor of a province of the Ottoman empire, next in dignity to the grand vizier.

Be*gnaw" (&?;), v. t. [p. p. Begnawed (&?;), (R.) Begnawn (&?;).] [AS. begnagan; pref. be- + gnagan to gnaw.] To gnaw; to eat away; to corrode.

The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul. Shak.

Be*god" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begodded.] To exalt to the dignity of a god; to deify. [Obs.] "Begodded saints." South.

Be*gone" (&?;), interj. [Be, v. i. + gone, p. p.] Go away; depart; get you gone.

Be*gone", p. p. [OE. begon, AS. bign; pref. be- + gn to go.] Surrounded; furnished; beset; environed (as in woe- begone). [Obs.] Gower. Chaucer.

Be*go"ni*a (b*g"n*), n. [From Michel Begon, a promoter of botany.] (Bot.) A genus of plants, mostly of tropical America, many species of which are grown as ornamental plants. The leaves are curiously one-sided, and often exhibit brilliant colors.

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Be*gore" (b*gr"), v. t. To besmear with gore.

Be*got" (b*gt"), imp. & p. p. of Beget.

Be*got"ten (&?;), p. p. of Beget.

Be*grave" (&?;), v. t. [Pref. be- + grave; akin to G. begraben, Goth. bigraban to dig a ditch around.] To bury; also, to engrave. [Obs.] Gower.

Be*grease" (&?;), v. t. To soil or daub with grease or other oily matter.

Be*grime" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Begrimed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Begriming.] To soil with grime or dirt deeply impressed or rubbed in.

Books falling to pieces and begrimed with dust. Macaulay.