Part 991

<hw>Be*com"ing*ness</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>The quality of being becoming, appropriate, or fit; congruity; fitness.</def>

<blockquote>The <b>becomingness</b> of human nature. <i>Grew.</i></blockquote>

<h1>Becripple</h1> <Xpage=130>

<hw>Be*crip"ple</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <def>To make a cripple of; to cripple; to lame.</def> <mark>[R.]</mark>

<i>Dr. H. More.</i>

<h1>Becuna</h1> <Xpage=130>

<hw>Be*cu"na</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[Sp.]</ety> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld> <def>A fish of the Mediterranean (<spn>Sphyr\'91na spet</spn>). See <er>Barracuda</er>.</def>

<h1>Becurl</h1> <Xpage=130>

<hw>Be*curl"</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <def>To curl; to adorn with curls.</def>

<h1>Bed</h1> <Xpage=130>

<hw>Bed</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[AS. <ets>bed</ets>, <ets>bedd</ets>; akin to OS. <ets>bed</ets>, D. <ets>bed</ets>, <ets>bedde</ets>, Icel. <ets>be<?/r</ets>, Dan. <ets>bed</ets>, Sw. <ets>b\'84dd</ets>, Goth. <ets>badi</ets>, OHG. <ets>betti</ets>, G. <ets>bett</ets>, <ets>bette</ets>, bed, <ets>beet</ets> a plat of ground; all of uncertain origin.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>An article of furniture to sleep or take rest in or on; a couch. Specifically: A sack or mattress, filled with some soft material, in distinction from the bedstead on which it is placed (as, a feather <i>bed</i>), or this with the bedclothes added. In a general sense, any thing or place used for sleeping or reclining on or in, as a quantity of hay, straw, leaves, or twigs.</def>

<blockquote>And made for him [a horse] a leafy <b>bed</b>. <i>Byron.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>I wash, wring, brew, bake, . . . make the <b>beds</b>. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>In <b>bed</b> he slept not for my urging it. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>(Used as the symbol of matrimony) Marriage.</def>

<blockquote>George, the eldest son of his second <b>bed</b>. <i>Clarendon.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>A plat or level piece of ground in a garden, usually a little raised above the adjoining ground.</def> "<i>Beds</i> of hyacinth and roses."

<i>Milton.</i>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>A mass or heap of anything arranged like a bed; <as>as, a <ex>bed</ex> of ashes or coals</as>.</def>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>The bottom of a watercourse, or of any body of water; <as>as, the <ex>bed</ex> of a river</as>.</def>

<blockquote>So sinks the daystar in the ocean <b>bed</b>. <i>Milton.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>6.</b> <fld>(Geol.)</fld> <def>A layer or seam, or a horizontal stratum between layers; <as>as, a <ex>bed</ex> of coal, iron, etc.</as></def>

<p><b>7.</b> <fld>(Gun.)</fld> <def>See <er>Gun carriage</er>, and <er>Mortar bed</er>.</def>

<p><b>8.</b> <fld>(Masonry)</fld> <sd>(a)</sd> <def>The horizontal surface of a building stone; <as>as, the upper and lower <ex>beds</ex></as>.</def> <sd>(b)</sd> <def>A course of stone or brick in a wall.</def> <sd>(c)</sd> <def>The place or material in which a block or brick is laid.</def> <sd>(d)</sd> <def>The lower surface of a brick, slate, or tile.</def>

<i>Knight.</i>

<p><b>9.</b> <fld>(Mech.)</fld> <def>The foundation or the more solid and fixed part or framing of a machine; or a part on which something is laid or supported; <as>as, the <ex>bed</ex> of an engine</as>.</def>

<p><b>10.</b> <def>The superficial earthwork, or ballast, of a railroad.</def>

<p><b>11.</b> <fld>(Printing)</fld> <def>The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid.</def>