Wiktionary

be-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "be"
Languages (22)
English
Afrikaans • Danish • Dutch • German • Hungarian • Indonesian • Limburgish • Lithuanian • Luxembourgish • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle Low German • Navajo • Old English • Old Saxon • Swedish • Tooro • Uzbek • Volapük • Wutunhua • Zulu
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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English be-, bi-, from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). See by.

Cognate with Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”), West Frisian be- (“be-”), Dutch be- (“be-”), German Low German be- (“be-”), German be- (“be-”), Danish be- (“be-”), Swedish be- (“be-”). More at by.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  2. (rare or no longer productive) By, near, next to, around, close to.
    beleaguer, bestand, beset, besit
  4. (rare or no longer productive) Around; about.
    begather, belay, belook, bestir, belive, besmell, bewrap
  6. (rare or no longer productive) About, regarding, concerning, over.
    bewrite, betalk, betell, belie, bemoan, bemourn, bewail, beknow, besing, bespeak
  8. (rare or no longer productive) On, upon, at, to, in contact with something.
    beclothe, becall, besee, behold, befall, bedo, beshine, besmile, betone
  10. (rare or no longer productive) Off, away, over, across
    becut, bedeal, betake, bego, behead, belimb, benim, bereave, besleeve, betrunk
  12. (rare or no longer productive) As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly.
    bebreak, begladden, belabour, belove, behate, besmirch, bedazzle, besiege, befuddle
  14. (rare or no longer productive) All around; about; abundantly; all over.
    belave, belick, bescatter, bekiss
  16. (rare or no longer productive) Forming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of "to make, become, or cause to be".
    becalm, bedark, befree, befriend, bedim, beken, benight, benothing, bewet, besmooth, bestrange
  18. (archaic or informal) Used to intensify adjectives meaning "adorned with something", often those with the suffix -ed.
    besequined, befeathered, beclawed, bewebbed, betasseled, beloved
    • 2010 October 17, Hadley Freeman, “Tattoos: what makes one spiritual and another Katona-esque?”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      Similarly, one could argue that if these be-tattooed yogic folk were really so spiritual, they wouldn't feel the need to inform everyone else of this or remind themselves of it, via the medium of the tattoo.

Derived terms

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English terms prefixed with be-

References

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  • the NED and OED

Anagrams

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Afrikaans

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Etymology

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From Dutch be-, from Middle Dutch be-, from Old Dutch bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Used to indicate that a verb is acting on a direct object (making an intransitive verb into a transitive verb). Always unstressed.
  2. Used to change the direct object of a transitive verb, so that what was previously expressed as an optional prepositional object becomes the direct object and vice versa. Always unstressed.
    pyle op die diere skiet → die diere met pyle beskiet
    to shoot arrows at the animals

Usage notes

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Not separable. When forming past participles, generally not prepended with ge-.

Danish

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Etymology

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From Middle Low German be-, from Old Saxon bi-.

Prefix

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be-

  1. Forms adjectives from nouns, with the sense "having noun".
    hår ("hair") → behåret ("hairy")
    hjerte ("heart") → behjertet ("hearty, brave")
  2. Forms verbs from adjectives, with the sense "making" (adjective); -ify.
    svanger ("pregnant") → besvangre ("impregnate")
    rolig ("calm") → berolige ("calm, soothe")
  3. Prepends to verbs, having no effect save making the verb transitive
    tvivle → betvivle ("doubt")
    kæmpe → bekæmpe ("fight")

Usage notes

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Verbs formed with be- are transitive. Many such words are formed after Middle Low German words.

Derived terms

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Danish terms prefixed with be-

References

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Dutch

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch be-, bi-, from Old Dutch bi-, be-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian be- (“be-”), West Frisian be- (“be-”), English be-, German Low German be- (“be-”), German be- (“be-”), Swedish be- (“be-”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bə/
  • Audio:(file)

Prefix

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be-

  1. Used to indicate that a verb is acting on a direct object (making an intransitive verb into a transitive verb). Always unstressed.
  2. Used to change the direct object of a transitive verb, so that what was previously expressed as an optional prepositional object becomes the direct object and vice versa. Always unstressed.
    huizen op een land bouwen → een land met huizen bebouwen
    to build houses on a land

Derived terms

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Dutch terms prefixed with be-

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German be-, from Old High German bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. inseparable verbal prefix that signifies working on something or change of state
  2. inseparable verbal prefix that signifies touching the object
  3. inseparable verbal prefix that signifies discussing or mentioning the object

Usage notes

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Derived terms

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German terms prefixed with be-

Hungarian

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Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. (verbal prefix) in (it indicates actions with inward direction)
    Antonym: ki-
    ‎be- + ‎megy (“to go”) → ‎bemegy (“to go into”)

Derived terms

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Hungarian verbs prefixed with be-
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See also

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References

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Indonesian

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Alternative form of ber-

Limburgish

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch be-, bi-, from Old Dutch bi-, be-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Inseparable verbal prefix that signifies working on something or change of state.
  2. Inseparable verbal prefix that signifies touching the object.
  3. Inseparable verbal prefix that signifies discussing or mentioning the object.

Usage notes

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  • The verb with this prefix takes very often a direct object (i.e., an object in the accusative case).
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Limburgish terms prefixed with be-

Lithuanian

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Etymology

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Prefix form of bè (“without”).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. prefix form of bè: without, -less

Luxembourgish

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Etymology

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From Middle High German and Old High German bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-, from *bi.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Inseparable verbal prefix that signifies working on something or change of state.
  2. Inseparable verbal prefix that signifies touching the object.
  3. Inseparable verbal prefix that signifies discussing or mentioning the object.

Usage notes

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Derived terms

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Luxembourgish terms prefixed with be-

Middle Dutch

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Etymology

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From Old Dutch bi-, be-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-.

Prefix

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be-

  1. A verb prefix with a variety of meanings.

Derived terms

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Middle Dutch terms prefixed with be-

Descendants

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  • Dutch: be-
  • Limburgish: be-

Middle English

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Alternative form of bi-

Middle Low German

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Etymology

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From Old Saxon bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-. Cognate to bî (“by”).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Makes an intransitive verb transitive or denotes that the action is _targeted at something or accompanying something.
    vallen (to fall) → bevallen (befall, afflict)
    singen (to sing) → besingen (to sing about something; to sing for the merit of something)
    bischop besingen – to ordain someone as bishop while chanting
  2. Denotes on top, onto, often used to create figurative meanings.
    sitten (to sit) → besitten (to sit on top of; to own; to climb onto something; to acquire)
  3. Denotes next to, very close.
    bûwen (to build) → bebûwen (to build too close to something else; to besiege)

Alternative forms

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Prefix

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be-

  1. his, her (indicates secondary or alienable possession, in opposition to bi-. See for example akʼah, beʼakʼah)

See also

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Navajo possessive pronouns
singular dual plural
1st person shi- nihi- danihi-
2nd person ni- nihi- danihi-
3rd person bi-
4th person (3o) yi-
4th person (3a) ha-, hw-
Indefinite person (3i) a-

Old English

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Etymology

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An unstressed form of bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi-.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. a productive prefix usually used to form verbs and adjectives, especially:
    verbs with the sense "around, throughout";
    transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, adjectives and nouns

Usage notes

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  • This prefix is always unstressed, in both nouns and verbs.
  • The stressed nominal counterpart is bī-.

Derived terms

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Old English terms prefixed with be-

Descendants

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Old Saxon

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Alternative form of bi-

Swedish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bɛ/, (stressed) /²beː/

Prefix

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be-

  1. same as German be-, often found in German loanwords, primarily verbs and words based on verbs

Usage notes

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In many cases the be- prefix doesn't change the meaning at all, it only makes word look more German. In the name of conciseness and readability, Swedish linguists in the late 19th century (Adolf Noreen, later also Erik Wellander) successfully promoted the idea that this prefix should be dropped from such words, for example befrämja turned into främja.

Derived terms

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Swedish terms prefixed with be-

Tooro

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Form used before a verb beginning with the letter e of ba-
    ‎be- + ‎efubika (“to cover oneself”) → ‎beefubika (“they cover themselves”)

Uzbek

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Etymology

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Inherited from Chagatai بی, from Classical Persian بی‌ـ (bē-).

Prefix

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be-

  1. -less
    Synonym: -siz

Derived terms

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Uzbek terms prefixed with be-

Volapük

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Prefix

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be-

  1. Used to make an indirect object a direct object.
  2. Strengthens the meaning of the radical.
  3. Implies causing or conferring the meaning of the radical.

Derived terms

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Volapük terms prefixed with be-

Wutunhua

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Etymology

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From Mandarin 不.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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be-

  1. not; negates the existence of an action or state conveyed by a verb or adjective, in practice chiefly used as negation in the present or future.

Derived terms

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  • bai (“to not be”)

See also

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  • bai- (derives a negative command)
  • mi- (negates the completion of an action)

References

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  • Juha Janhunen, Marja Peltomaa, Erika Sandman, Xiawu Dongzhou (2008) Wutun (LINCOM's Descriptive Grammar Series), volume 466, LINCOM Europa, →ISBN
  • Erika Sandman (2016) A Grammar of Wutun‎[2], University of Helsinki (PhD), →ISBN

Zulu

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Prefix

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be-

  1. Class 2 simple noun prefix, used with nouns whose full prefix is abe-.
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