adv. [ Pref. a- in, on + bed. ] 1. In bed, or on the bed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not to be abed after midnight. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To childbed (in the phrase “brought abed, ” that is, delivered of a child). Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. 1 wholly absorbed as in thought that engrossed look -- that absorbed and rapt delight
Syn. -- engrossed, intent, rapt, wrapped [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. not allowed to pass through; -- said of radiant waves such as light the absorbed light intensity [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. taken in through the pores of a surface the absorbed water expanded the sponge [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In a manner as if wholly engrossed or engaged. [ 1913 Webster ]

A sack or mattress inflated with air, and used as a bed.
Syn. -- air mattress, air-bed [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., fr. albus white. ] Whiteness. Specifically: (Astron.) The ratio which the light reflected from an unpolished surface bears to the total light falling upon that surface. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See 4th Barb. ] Accoutered with defensive armor; -- said of a horse. See Barded (which is the proper form.) Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Furnished with a barb or barbs; as, a barbed arrow; barbed wire. [ 1913 Webster ]

Barbed wire, a wire, or a strand of twisted wires, armed with barbs or sharp points. It is used for fences. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. bed, bedd; akin to OS. bed, D. bed, bedde, Icel. be&unr_;r, Dan. bed, Sw. bädd, Goth. badi, OHG. betti, G. bett, bette, bed, beet a plat of ground; all of uncertain origin. ] 1. 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 bed), 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

And made for him [ a horse ] a leafy bed. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

I wash, wring, brew, bake, . . . make the beds. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

In bed he slept not for my urging it. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Used as the symbol of matrimony) Marriage. [ 1913 Webster ]

George, the eldest son of his second bed. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A plat or level piece of ground in a garden, usually a little raised above the adjoining ground. “Beds of hyacinth and roses.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A mass or heap of anything arranged like a bed; as, a bed of ashes or coals. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The bottom of a watercourse, or of any body of water; as, the bed of a river. [ 1913 Webster ]

So sinks the daystar in the ocean bed. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Geol.) A layer or seam, or a horizontal stratum between layers; as, a bed of coal, iron, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Gun.) See Gun carriage, and Mortar bed. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Masonry) (a) The horizontal surface of a building stone; as, the upper and lower beds. (b) A course of stone or brick in a wall. (c) The place or material in which a block or brick is laid. (d) The lower surface of a brick, slate, or tile. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Mech.) 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, the bed of an engine. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. The superficial earthwork, or ballast, of a railroad. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. (Printing) The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Bed is much used adjectively or in combination; as, bed key or bedkey; bed wrench or bedwrench; bedchamber; bedmaker, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bed of justice (French Hist.), the throne (F. lit bed) occupied by the king when sitting in one of his parliaments (judicial courts); hence, a session of a refractory parliament, at which the king was present for the purpose of causing his decrees to be registered. --
To be brought to bed, to be delivered of a child; -- often followed by of; as, to be brought to bed of a son. --
To make a bed, to prepare a bed; to arrange or put in order a bed and its bedding. --
From bed and board (Law), a phrase applied to a separation by partial divorce of man and wife, without dissolving the bonds of matrimony. If such a divorce (now commonly called a judicial separation) be granted at the instance of the wife, she may have alimony. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bedding. ] 1. To place in a bed. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make partaker of one's bed; to cohabit with. [ 1913 Webster ]

I'll to the Tuscan wars, and never bed her. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To furnish with a bed or bedding. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To plant or arrange in beds; to set, or cover, as in a bed of soft earth; as, to bed the roots of a plant in mold. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To lay or put in any hollow place, or place of rest and security, surrounded or inclosed; to embed; to furnish with or place upon a bed or foundation; as, to bed a stone; it was bedded on a rock. [ 1913 Webster ]

Among all chains or clusters of mountains where large bodies of still water are bedded. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Masonry) To dress or prepare the surface of stone) so as to serve as a bed. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To lay flat; to lay in order; to place in a horizontal or recumbent position. “Bedded hair.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To go to bed; to cohabit. [ 1913 Webster ]

If he be married, and bed with his wife. Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Bedabbling ] To dabble; to sprinkle or wet. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make a daff or fool of. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. The sacred books of the Buddhists in Burmah. Malcom. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To daggle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedashed (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedashing. ] To wet by dashing or throwing water or other liquid upon; to bespatter. “Trees bedashed with rain.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedaubed (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedaubing. ] To daub over; to besmear or soil with anything thick and dirty. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bedaub foul designs with a fair varnish. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. ornamented in a vulgar or showy fashion. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. to cause to be senseless, groggy, or dizzy; cause to lose ability to respond normally; desensitize.
Syn. -- stun, daze. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedazzled (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedazzling (&unr_;). ] To dazzle or make dim by a strong light. “Bedazzled with the sun.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A wingless, bloodsucking, hemipterous insect (Cimex Lectularius), sometimes infesting houses and especially beds. See Illustration in Appendix. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A chair with adjustable back, for the sick, to support them while sitting up in bed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A chamber for a bed; an apartment form sleeping in. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lords of the bedchamber, eight officers of the royal household, all of noble families, who wait in turn a week each. [ Eng. ] --
Ladies of the bedchamber, eight ladies, all titled, holding a similar official position in the royal household, during the reign of a queen. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. Blankets, sheets, coverlets, etc., for a bed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cord or rope interwoven in a bedstead so as to support the bed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Provided with a bed; as, double-bedded room; placed or arranged in a bed or beds. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. an ornamental plant suitable for planting in a flowerbed.
Syn. -- bedding plant. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ AS. bedding, beding. See Bed. ] 1. A bed and its furniture; the materials of a bed, whether for man or beast; bedclothes; litter. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Geol.) The state or position of beds and layers. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Bid, v. t. ] To pray; also, to offer; to proffer. [ Obs. ] R. of Gloucester. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mining) A kind of pickax. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedecked (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedecking. ] To deck, ornament, or adorn; to grace. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bedecked with boughs, flowers, and garlands. Pennant. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ } n. [ F., fr. Per. bād-āward, or bād-āwardag, prop., a kind of white thorn or thistle. ] A gall produced on rosebushes, esp. on the sweetbrier or eglantine, by a puncture from the ovipositor of a gallfly (Rhodites rosæ). It was once supposed to have medicinal properties. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ OE. bede prayer + E. house. See Bead, n. ] An almshouse for poor people who pray daily for their benefactors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Beadhouse. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. Same as Beadle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Beadleship. [ Obs. ] Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. (Zool.) The Abyssinian or Arabian ibex (Capra Nubiana). It is probably the wild goat of the Bible. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Beadsman. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n.; pl. -men A poor man, supported in a beadhouse, and required to pray for the soul of its founder; an almsman. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whereby ye shall bind me to be your poor beadsman for ever unto Almighty God. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n.; pl. -women Fem. of Beadsman. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedevilled (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedeviling or Bedevilling. ] 1. To throw into utter disorder and confusion, as if by the agency of evil spirits; to bring under diabolical influence; to torment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew. Sterne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To spoil; to corrupt. Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being bedeviled; bewildering confusion; vexatious trouble. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedewed (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedewing. ] To moisten with dew, or as with dew. “Falling tears his face bedew.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, bedews. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Moist with dew; dewy. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Night with her bedewy wings. A. Brewer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who lies with another in the same bed; a person who shares one's couch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A nightgown. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. an area on which a drove of cattle or sheep can sleep for a night. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ p. p. Bedight, Bedighted. ] To bedeck; to array or equip; to adorn. [ Archaic ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedimmed p. pr. & vb. n. Bedimming. ] To make dim; to obscure or darken. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. made dim or indistinct. a sun bedimmed by clouds [ WordNet 1.5 ]