Part 625

2. To have recourse to; to apply; to resort; to go; -- with a reflexive pronoun.

They betook themselves to treaty and submission. Burke.

The rest, in imitation, to like arms Betook them. Milton.

Whither shall I betake me, where subsist? Milton.

3. To commend or intrust to; to commit to. [Obs.]

Be*taught" (&?;), a. [p. p. of OE. bitechen, AS. bet&?;can, to assign, deliver. See Teach.] Delivered; committed in trust. [Obs.]

Bete (&?;), v. t. To better; to mend. See Beete. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Be*tee"la (&?;), n. [Pg. beatilha.] An East India muslin, formerly used for cravats, veils, etc. [Obs.]

Be*teem" (&?;), v. t. [Pref. be- + an old verb teem to be fitting; cf. D. betamen to beseem, G. ziemen, Goth. gatiman, and E. tame. See Tame, a.] 1. To give ; to bestow; to grant; to accord; to consent. [Obs.] Spenser. Milton.

2. To allow; to permit; to suffer. [Obs.]

So loving to my mother, That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Shak.

Be"tel (b"t'l), n. [Pg., fr. Tamil veilei, prop. meaning, a mere leaf.] (Bot.) A species of pepper (Piper betle), the leaves of which are chewed, with the areca or betel nut and a little shell lime, by the inhabitants of the East Indies. It is a woody climber with ovate many- nerved leaves.

Bet"el*guese (bt"l*jz), n. [F. Bételgeuse, of Arabic origin.] (Astron.) A bright star of the first magnitude, near one shoulder of Orion. [Written also Betelgeux and Betelgeuse.]

Be"tel nut` (&?;). The nutlike seed of the areca palm, chewed in the East with betel leaves (whence its name) and shell lime.

||Bête" noire" (&?;). [Fr., lit. black beast.] Something especially hated or dreaded; a bugbear.

Beth*ab"a*ra wood` (&?;). (Bot.) A highly elastic wood, used for fishing rods, etc. The tree is unknown, but it is thought to be East Indian.

Beth"el (&?;), n. [Heb. b&?;th-el house of God.] 1. A place of worship; a hallowed spot. S. F. Adams.

2. A chapel for dissenters. [Eng.]

3. A house of worship for seamen.

Be*think" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bethought (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bethinking.] [AS. beþencan; pref. be- + þencan to think. See Think.] To call to mind; to recall or bring to recollection, reflection, or consideration; to think; to consider; -- generally followed by a reflexive pronoun, often with of or that before the subject of thought.

I have bethought me of another fault. Shak.

The rest . . . may . . . bethink themselves, and recover. Milton.

We bethink a means to break it off. Shak.

Syn. -- To recollect; remember; reflect.

Be*think", v. i. To think; to recollect; to consider. "Bethink ere thou dismiss us." Byron.

Beth"le*hem (&?;), n. [Heb. bth- lekhem house of food; bth house + lekhem food, lkham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. Cf. Bedlam.] 1. A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam.

2. (Arch.) In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached to a church edifice, in which the bread for the eucharist is made. Audsley.

{ Beth"le*hem*ite (&?;), Beth"lem*ite (&?;), } n. 1. An inhabitant of Bethlehem in Judea.