beeste
Afrikaans
Noun
beeste
- plural of bees
Middle English
Alternative forms
- beste, beest, best, beast
Etymology
From Old French beste, from Latin bestia.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɛːst(ə)/
Noun
beeste (plural beestes)
- An animal or creature (life in the kingdom Animalia, sometimes including mankind):
- A (landborne and mammalian) quadruped.
- 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, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1867, OCLC 150454844, 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 […]
-
- An evil being; a demon or monster.
- 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.), 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.
-
- A person who is merciless or unforgiving.
- 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.