beeste

Afrikaans

Noun

beeste

1. plural of bees

Middle English

Alternative forms

• beste, beest, best, beast, beaste

Etymology

From Old French beste, from Latin bestia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛːst(ə)/, /ˈbɛst(ə)/

Noun

beeste (plural beestes)

1. An animal or creature (life in the kingdom Animalia, sometimes including mankind):
   1. A (landborne and mammalian) quadruped.
   2. A creature used as livestock; a domesticated animal.
      • c. 1335-1361, William of Palerne (MS. King's College 13), folio 6, recto, lines 198-199; republished as W. W. Skeat, editor, The Romance of William of Palerne‎^[1], London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1867, →OCLC, page 12:

        Hit tidde after on a time · as tellus our bokes / as þis bold barn his beſtes · blybeliche keped […]

        Afterwards, as our books record, it happened one day that / while this brave child was peacefully looking after his animals […]

2. An evil being; a demon or monster.
3. A beast; a powerful fantastic or mythological creature.
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[2], published c. 1410, Apocalips 4:7, page 118v, column 2; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     ⁊ þe firſte beeſte .· liyk a lioun / ⁊ þe ſecounde beeſte .· lijk a calf / ⁊ þe þꝛidde beeſte .· hauynge a face as of a man / ⁊ þe fourþe beeſte .· liyk an egle fleynge

     And the first beast [was] like a lion; and the second beast [was] like a calf; and the third beast had a face like a human; and the fourth beast [was] like an eagle flying.

4. A person who is merciless or unforgiving.
5. A simpleton; an ignorant individual.

Related terms

• beestly
• bestaile
• bestial

Descendants

• English: beast
• Scots: beast
• Yola: beast

References

• “bēst(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-17.