v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abetted p. pr. & vb. n. Abetting. ] [ OF. abeter; a (L. ad) + beter to bait (as a bear), fr. Icel. beita to set dogs on, to feed, originally, to cause to bite, fr. Icel. bīta to bite, hence to bait, to incite. See Bait, Bet. ] 1. To instigate or encourage by aid or countenance; -- used in a bad sense of persons and acts; as, to abet an ill-doer; to abet one in his wicked courses; to abet vice; to abet an insurrection. “The whole tribe abets the villany.” South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Would not the fool abet the stealth,
Who rashly thus exposed his wealth? Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To support, uphold, or aid; to maintain; -- in a good sense. [ Obs. ].

Our duty is urged, and our confidence abetted. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) To contribute, as an assistant or instigator, to the commission of an offense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To incite; instigate; set on; egg on; foment; advocate; countenance; encourage; second; uphold; aid; assist; support; sustain; back; connive at. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. abet, fr. abeter. ] Act of abetting; aid. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of abetting; as, an abetment of treason, crime, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Abetment. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. One who abets; an instigator of an offense or an offender. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The form abettor is the legal term and also in general use. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Abettor, Accessory, Accomplice. These words denote different degrees of complicity in some deed or crime. An abettor is one who incites or encourages to the act, without sharing in its performance. An accessory supposes a principal offender. One who is neither the chief actor in an offense, nor present at its performance, but accedes to or becomes involved in its guilt, either by some previous or subsequent act, as of instigating, encouraging, aiding, or concealing, etc., is an accessory. An accomplice is one who participates in the commission of an offense, whether as principal or accessory. Thus in treason, there are no abettors or accessories, but all are held to be principals or accomplices. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. &unr_; + &unr_;, the first two Greek letters; Heb. āleph and beth: cf. F. alphabet. ] 1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The simplest rudiments; elements. [ 1913 Webster ]

The very alphabet of our law. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Deaf and dumb alphabet. See Dactylology. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A learner of the alphabet; an abecedarian. Abp. Sancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Cf. F. alphabétique. ] 1. Pertaining to, furnished with, expressed by, or in the order of, the letters of the alphabet; as, alphabetic characters, writing, languages, arrangement. English has an alphabetical writing system. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Literal. [ Obs. ] “Alphabetical servility.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. in alphabetical order.
Syn. -- abecedarian [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In an alphabetic manner; in the customary order of the letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The science of representing spoken sounds by letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The expression of spoken sounds by an alphabet. Encyc. Brit. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To arrange alphabetically; as, to alphabetize a list of words. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To furnish with an alphabet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. barbet, fr. barbe beard, long hair of certain animals. See Barb beard. ] (Zool.) (a) A variety of small dog, having long curly hair. (b) A bird of the family Bucconidæ, allied to the Cuckoos, having a large, conical beak swollen at the base, and bearded with five bunches of stiff bristles; the puff bird. It inhabits tropical America and Africa. (c) A larva that feeds on aphids. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. Cf. Barbet. ] (Fort.) A mound of earth or a platform in a fortification, on which guns are mounted to fire over the parapet. [ 1913 Webster ]

En barbette,
In barbette, said of guns when they are elevated so as to fire over the top of a parapet, and not through embrasures. --
Barbette gun, or
Barbette battery, a single gun, or a number of guns, mounted in barbette, or partially protected by a parapet or turret. --
Barbette carriage, a gun carriage which elevates guns sufficiently to be in barbette. [ See Illust. of Casemate. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prob. from OE. abet abetting, OF. abet, fr. abeter to excite, incite. See Abet. ] That which is laid, staked, or pledged, as between two parties, upon the event of a contest or any contingent issue; the act of giving such a pledge; a wager. “Having made his bets.” Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bet, Betted p. pr. & vb. n. Betting. ] To stake or pledge upon the event of a contingent issue; to wager. [ 1913 Webster ]

John a Gaunt loved him well, and betted much money on his head. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I'll bet you two to one I'll make him do it. O. W. Holmes. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. & p. p. of Beat. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & adv. An early form of Better. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To go bet, to go fast; to hurry. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. bh^ta. ] The second letter of the Greek alphabet, B, β. See B, and cf. etymology of Alphabet. Beta (B, β) is used variously for classifying, as: (a) (Astron.) To designate some bright star, usually the second brightest, of a constellation, as, β Aurigæ. (b) (Chem.) To distinguish one of two or more isomers; also, to indicate the position of substituting atoms or groups in certain compounds; as, β-naphthol. With acids, it commonly indicates that the substituent is in union with the carbon atom next to that to which the carboxyl group is attached. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ ‖, n. Excessive or extended use of the b sound in speech, due to conversion of other sounds into it, as through inability to distinguish them from b, or because of difficulty in pronouncing them. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ From beta, generic name of the beet. ] (Chem.) A nitrogenous base, C5H11NO2, produced artificially, and also occurring naturally in beet-root molasses and its residues, from which it is extracted as a white crystalline substance; -- called also lycine and oxyneurine. It has a sweetish taste. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Betook p. p. Betaken p. pr. & vb. n. Betaking. ] [ Pref. be- + take. ] 1. To take or seize. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To have recourse to; to apply; to resort; to go; -- with a reflexive pronoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

They betook themselves to treaty and submission. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rest, in imitation, to like arms
Betook them. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whither shall I betake me, where subsist? Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To commend or intrust to; to commit to. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

(Physics) a form of ionizing radiation emitted by radioactive substances (such as radium), more penetrating than alpha rays, and consisting of negatively charged electrons. The electrons are the same kind of particle as those of cathode rays, but have much higher velocities (about 35, 000 to 180, 000 miles per second). They are readily deflected by a magnetic or electric field. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a type of particle accelerator which accelerates a continuous beam of electrons to high speeds by means of the electric field produced by changing magnetic flux.
Syn. -- induction accelerator. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

pos>a. [ p. p. of OE. bitechen, AS. bet&aemacr_;can, to assign, deliver. See Teach. ] Delivered; committed in trust. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } v. t. [ AS. bētan to mend. See Better. ] 1. To mend; to repair. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To renew or enkindle (a fire). [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To better; to mend. See Beete. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pg. beatilha. ] An East India muslin, formerly used for cravats, veils, etc. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. be- + an old verb teem to be fitting; cf. D. betamen to beseem, G. ziemen, Goth. gatiman, and E. tame. See Tame, a. ] 1. To give ; to bestow; to grant; to accord; to consent. [ Obs. ] Spenser. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To allow; to permit; to suffer. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pg., fr. Tamil ve&tsdot_;&tsdot_;ilei, prop. meaning, a mere leaf. ] (Bot.) A species of pepper (Piper betle), the leaves of which are chewed, with the areca or betel nut and a little shell lime, by the inhabitants of the East Indies. It is a woody climber with ovate many-nerved leaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. Bételgeuse, of Arabic origin. ] (Astron.) A bright star of the first magnitude, near one shoulder of Orion. [ Written also Betelgeux and Betelgeuse. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The nutlike seed of the areca palm, chewed in the East with betel leaves (whence its name) and shell lime. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ Fr., lit. black beast. ] Something especially hated or dreaded; a bugbear. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

(Bot.) A highly elastic wood, used for fishing rods, etc. The tree is unknown, but it is thought to be East Indian. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Heb. bēth-el house of God. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A place of worship; a hallowed spot. S. F. Adams. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A chapel for dissenters. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A house of worship for seamen. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bethought p. pr. & vb. n. Bethinking. ] [ AS. beþencan; pref. be- + þencan to think. See Think. ] To call to mind; to recall or bring to recollection, reflection, or consideration; to think; to consider; -- generally followed by a reflexive pronoun, often with of or that before the subject of thought. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have bethought me of another fault. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rest . . . may . . . bethink themselves, and recover. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

We bethink a means to break it off. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To recollect; remember; reflect. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To think; to recollect; to consider. “Bethink ere thou dismiss us.” Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Heb. bēth-lekhem house of food; bēth house + lekhem food, lākham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. Cf. Bedlam. ] 1. A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Arch.) In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached to a church edifice, in which the bread for the eucharist is made. Audsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. 1. An inhabitant of Bethlehem in Judea. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An insane person; a madman; a bedlamite. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One of an extinct English order of monks. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. & p. p. of Bethink. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To reduce to thralldom; to inthrall. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To handle; to wear or soil by handling; as books. Poe. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bethumped or Bethumpt; p. pr. & vb. n. Bethumping. ] To beat or thump soundly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Betided Obs. Betid p. pr. & vb. n. Betiding. ] [ OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tīdan, to happen, fr. tīd time. See Tide. ] To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [ 1913 Webster ]

What will betide the few ? Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To come to pass; to happen; to occur. [ 1913 Webster ]

A salve for any sore that may betide. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Shakespeare has used it with of. “What would betide of me ?” [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } adv. [ Pref. be- (for by) + time; that is, by the proper time. The -s is an adverbial ending. ] 1. In good season or time; before it is late; seasonably; early. [ 1913 Webster ]

To measure life learn thou betimes. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

To rise betimes is often harder than to do all the day's work. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In a short time; soon; speedily; forth with. [ 1913 Webster ]

He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To furnish with a title or titles; to entitle. [ Obs. ] Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Betokened p. pr. & vb. n. Betokening. ] 1. To signify by some visible object; to show by signs or tokens. [ 1913 Webster ]

A dewy cloud, and in the cloud a bow . . .
Betokening peace from God, and covenant new. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To foreshow by present signs; to indicate something future by that which is seen or known; as, a dark cloud often betokens a storm. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To presage; portend; indicate; mark; note. [ 1913 Webster ]