Part 593

1. Grandmother; -- corresponding to belsire.

To show the beldam daughters of her daughter. Shak.

2. An old woman in general; especially, an ugly old woman; a hag.

Around the beldam all erect they hang. Akenside.

Be*lea"guer (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beleaguered (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Beleaguering.] [D. belegeren (akin to G. belagern, Sw. belägra, Dan. beleire); pref. be- = E. be- + leger bed, camp, army, akin to E. lair. See Lair.] To surround with an army so as to preclude escape; to besiege; to blockade.

The wail of famine in beleaguered towns. Longfellow.

Syn. -- To block up; environ; invest; encompass.

Be*lea"guer*er (&?;), n. One who beleaguers.

Be*leave" (&?;), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Beleft (&?;).] To leave or to be left. [Obs.] May.

Be*lec"ture (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belectured (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Belecturing.] To vex with lectures; to lecture frequently.

Be*lee" (&?;), v. t. To place under the lee, or unfavorably to the wind. Shak.

Be*lem"nite (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; dart, fr. &?; dart, fr. &?; to throw: cf. F. bélemnite.] (Paleon.) A conical calcareous fossil, tapering to a point at the lower extremity, with a conical cavity at the other end, where it is ordinarily broken; but when perfect it contains a small chambered cone, called the phragmocone, prolonged, on one side, into a delicate concave blade; the thunderstone. It is the internal shell of a cephalopod related to the sepia, and belonging to an extinct family. The belemnites are found in rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous ages. -- Bel*em*nit"ic, a.

Be*lep"er (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belepered (&?;).] To infect with leprosy. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

||Bel"-es*prit" (&?;), n.; pl. Beaux-esprits (&?;). [F., fine wit.] A fine genius, or man of wit. "A man of letters and a bel esprit." W. Irving.

Bel"fry (&?;), n. [OE. berfray movable tower used in sieges, OF. berfreit, berfroit, F. beffroi, fr. MHG. bervrit, bercvrit, G. bergfriede, fr. MHG. bergen to protect (G. bergen to conceal) + vride peace, protection, G. friede peace; in compounds often taken in the sense of security, or place of security; orig. therefore a place affording security. G. friede is akin to E. free. See Burg, and Free.] 1. (Mil. Antiq.) A movable tower erected by besiegers for purposes of attack and defense.

2. A bell tower, usually attached to a church or other building, but sometimes separate; a campanile.

3. A room in a tower in which a bell is or may be hung; or a cupola or turret for the same purpose.

4. (Naut.) The framing on which a bell is suspended.

Bel*gard" (&?;), n. [It. bel guardo.] A sweet or loving look. [Obs.] Spenser.

Bel"gi*an (&?;), a. Of or pertaining to Belgium. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Belgium.

Bel"gic (&?;), a. [L. Belgicus, fr. Belgae the Belgians.] 1. Of or pertaining to the Belgæ, a German tribe who anciently possessed the country between the Rhine, the Seine, and the ocean.

How unlike their Belgic sires of old. Goldsmith.

2. Of or pertaining to the Netherlands or to Belgium.

Bel*gra"vi*an (&?;), a. Belonging to Belgravia (a fashionable quarter of London, around Pimlico), or to fashionable life; aristocratic.

Be"li*al (&?;), n. [Heb. beli ya'al; beli without + ya'al profit.] An evil spirit; a wicked and unprincipled person; the personification of evil.

What concord hath Christ with Belia ? 2 Cor. vi. 15.

A son (or man) of Belial, a worthless, wicked, or thoroughly depraved person. 1 Sam. ii. 12.

Be*li"bel (&?;), v. t. [See Libel, v. t. ] To libel or traduce; to calumniate. Fuller.