His sultry heat infects the sky; The ground below is parch'd, the heav'ns above Dryden. us fry. This said, he led them up the mountain's brow, And shew'd them all the shining fields below. Dryden. 2. On earth, in opposition to heaven. The fairest child of Jove, Below for ever sought, and bless'd above. Prior. 3. In hell; in the regions of the dead: opposed to heaven and earth. The gladsome ghosts in circling troops attend; When suff'ring saints aloft in beams shall And prosp'rous traitors gnash their teeth below. To BELO'WT. v. a. [from be, and locut, a word of contempt.] To treat with opprobrious language; to call names. Obsolete. Sieur Gaulard, when he heard a gentleman report, that at a supper they had not only good cheer, but also savoury epigrams, and fine anagrams, returning home, rated and belowted his cook, as an ignorant scullion, that never dressed him either epigrams or anagrams, Camden. BELSWAGGER. n. s. A cant word for a whoremaster. You are a charitable belswagger; my wife cried out fire, and you cried out for engines. Dryden. BELT. n. s. [belt, Sax. baltheus, Lat.] A girdle; a cincture in which a sword, or some weapon, is commonly hung. He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause Within the belt of rule. Shakspeare. Ajax slew himself with the sword given him by Hector, and Hector was dragged about the walls of Froy by the belt given him by Ajax. South. Then snatch'd the shining belt, with gold in laid; The belt Eurytion's artful hands had made. Dryd. BELWETHER. n. s. [from bell and we ther.] A sheep which leads the flock with a bell on his neck. The fox will serve my sheep to gather, The flock of sheep and belzwether thinking to break into another's pasture, and being to pass over another bridge, justled till both fell into the Horvel. ditch. To BELY'. See BELIE. TO BEMA'D. v. a. [from be and mad.] To make mad; to turn the brain. Making just report, Of how unnatural and bemadding sorrow Their journey long, their money short; Swift To BEMO'AN. v. a. [from Tomoan.] To lament; to bewail; to express sorrow for. He falls; he fills the house with heavy groans, BEMO'ANER. n. s. [from the verb.] A TO BEMOCK. v. a. [from mock.] To · Bemock the modest moon. Shakspeare, To BEMOʻIL. v. a. [be, and moil, from mouiller, Fr.] To bedraggle; to bemire; to encumber with dirt and mire. Thou shouldst have heard in how miry s place, how she was bemailed, how he left her with the horse upon her. Shakspeare. TO BEMONSTER. v. a. [from be and monster.] To make monstrous. Thou chang'd and self converted thing! for shame, Bemonster not thy feature. Shakspeare, BEMUSED. adj. [from To muse.] Overcome with musing; dreaming: a word of contempt. Pope Is there a parson much bemus'd in beer, The seats and benches shone of ivory, cause, And broke the benches with their loud applause; His muse had starv'd, had not a piece unread, And by a player bought, supply'd her bread. Dryden. 2. A seat of justice; the seat where judges sit. To pluck down justice from your awful bench; To trip the course of law. Shakspeare, Cyriac, whose grandsire on the royal bench Of British Themis, with no mean applause, Pronounc'd, and in his volumes taught ourlaws, Which others at their bar so often wrench. Milton. 3. The persons sitting on a bench; as, the whole bench voted the same way. Fools to popular praise aspire Of publick speeches, which worse fools admire; TO BENCH. v. a. [from the noun.] Dryden. 'T was bench'd with turf, and goodly to be seen, The thick young grass arose in fresher green Dryden 2. To seat upon a bench. His cupbearer, whom I from meaner form Have bench'd, and rear'd to worship. Shakspeare, BE'NCHER. n. s. [from bench.] Those gentlemen of the inns of court are called benchers, who have been readers; they being admitted to plead within the bar, are also called inner barristers. The benchers, being the seniors of the house. are intrusted with its government and direction, and out of them is a treasurer yearly chosen. Blount. Chambers. I was taking a walk in the gardens of Lincoln's Inn, a favour that is indulged me by several benchers who are grown old with me. Tatler. To BEND. v. a. pret. bended, or bent; part. pass. bended, or bent. [bendan, Saxon; bander, Fr. as Skinner thinks, from pandare, Lat.] 1. To make crooked; to crook; to inflect. The rainbow compasseth the heavens with a glorious circle, and the hands of the Most High hath bended it. Ecclus. They bend their bows, they whirl their slings around: Heaps of spent arrows fall, and strew the ground; 2. To direct to a certain point. Octavius and Mark Antony Fairfax. Men will not bend their wits to examine, whether things, wherewith they have been accustomed, be good or evil. Hooker. He is within, with two right reverend fathers, Divinely bent to meditation. Shakspeare. When he fell into the gout, he was no longer able to bend his mind or thoughts to any publick business. Temple. 4. To put any thing in order for use a metaphor taken from bending the bow. I'm settled, and bend up Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Shaksp. As a fowler was bending his net, a blackbird asked him what he was doing? L'Estrange. 5. To incline. But when to mischief mortals bend their will, How soon they find fit instruments of ill! Pope. 6. To subdue; to make submissive. ; as, war and famine will bend our enemies. 7. To bend the brow. To knit the brow; to frown. Some have been seen to bite their pen, scratch their head, bend their brews, bite their lips, beat the board, and tear their paper. TO BEND. v.n. 1. To be incurvated. 2. To lean or jut over. Camden. There is a cliff, whose high and bending head Looks fearfully on the confined deep. Shaksp. 3. To resolve; to determine: in this sense the participle is commonly used. Not so, for once, indulg'd they sweep the main, While good, and anxious for his friend, A state of slavery, which they are bent upon with so much eagerness and obstinacy. Addison. He is every where bent on instruction, and avoids all manner of digressions. Addison. 4. To be submissive; to bow, Shakspeare. 2. The crooked timbers which make the 1. The person who bends. 2. The instrument with which any thing is bent. These bows, being somewhat like the long bows in use amongst us, were bent only by a man's immediate strength, without the help of any bender, or rack, that are used to others. Wilkins's Mathematical Magick. Dict. BE'NDWITH. n. s. An herb. BENEATH. prep. [beneod, Sax. beneden, 1. Under; lower in place: opposed to above. Their woolly fleeces, as the rites requir'd, He laid beneath him, and to rest retir'd. Dryd. Ages to come might Ormond's picture know; And palms for thee, beneath his laurels grow. Prier. 2. Under, as overborn or overwhelmed by Our country sinks beneath the yoke; And oft on rocks their tender wings they tear, And sink beneath the burdens which they bear. Dryden 3. Lower in rank, excellence, or dignity. We have reason to be persuaded, that there are far more species of creatures above us, than there are beneath. Locker 4. Unworthy of; unbeseeming; not equalto. He will do nothing that is beneath his high station, nor omit doing any thing which becomes it. Atterbury. BENEATH. adv. 1. In a lower place; under. I destroyed the Amorite before them: I destroyed his fruits from above, and his rootsfrom beneath. Amos. The earth which you take from beneath, will be barren and unfruitful. Mortimer. 2. Below, as opposed to heaven. Any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath. Exodus -Trembling I view the dread abyss beneath, Hell's horrid mansions, and the realms of death, Kupit Such ingenious and industrious persons are delighted in searching out natural rarities; reflecting upon the Creator of them his due praises and benedictions. Ray. 4. The form of instituting an abbot. What consecration is to a bishop, that benediction is to an abbot; but in a different way: for a bishop is not properly such, till consecration; but an abbot, being elected and confirmed, is properly such before benediction. Ayliffe. BENEFACTION. n. s. [from benefacio, Lat.] 1. The act of conferring a benefit. 2. The benefit conferred: which is the more usual sense. One part of the benefactions, was the expression of a generous and grateful mind. Atterbury. BENEFACTOR. n.s.[from benefacio, Lat.] He that confers a benefit; frequently he that contributes to some public charity : it is used with of, but oftener with to, before the person benefited. Then swell with pride, and must be titled gods, Great benefactors of mankind, deliverers, Worship'd with temple, priest, and sacrifice. Milton. From that preface he took his hint, though he had the baseness not to acknowledge his benefactor. Dryden. I cannot but look upon the writer as my benefactor, if he conveys to me an improvement of my understanding. Addison. Whoever makes ill returns to his benefactor, must needs be a common enemy to mankind. Swift. BENEFA'CTRESS. n. s. [from benefactor.] A woman who confers a benefit. BENEFICE. n. s. [from beneficium, Lat.] Advantage conferred on another. This word is generally taken for all ecclesiastical livings, be they dignities or others. Corvell. And of the priest eftsopns 'gan to enquire, How to a benefice he might aspire. Spenser. Much to himself he thought, but little spoke, And, undepriv'd, his benefice forsook. Dryd. BENEFICED. adj. [from benefice.] Possessed of a benefice, or church prefer ment. nefice. The usual rate between the beneficed man and the religious person, was one moiety of the beAyliffe. BENEFICENCE. n. s. [from beneficent.] The practice of doing good; active goodness. You could not extend your beneficence to so many persons; yet you have lost as few days as Aurelius. Dryden. Love and charity extends our beneficence to the miseries of our brethren. Rogers. BENEFICENT. adj. [from beneficus, beneficentior, Lat.] Kind; doing good. It differs from benign, as the act from the disposition; beneficence being kindness. or benignity exerted in action. Such a creature could not have his origination from any less than the most wise and beneficent being, the great God. Hale. Prior. But Phabus, thou, to man beneficent, Delight'st in building cities. BENEFICIAL. adj. [from beneficium, Lat.] Advantageous; conferring benefits; profitable; useful: with to before the person benefited. 1. Not any thing is made to be beneficial to him, but all things for him, to shew beneficence and grace in them. Hooker. K This supposition grants the opinion to conduce to order in the world, consequently to be very beneficial to mankind. Tillotson, The war, which would have been most bene ficial to us, and destructive to the enemy, was neglected. Swift. Are the present revolutions in circular orbs, more beneficial than the other would be? Bentley. 2. Helpful; medicinal. In the first access of such a disease, any deob struent, without much acrimony, is beneficial. Arbuthnot. BENEFICIAL. n. s. An old word for a bencfice. For that the groundwork is, and end of all, How to obtain a beneficial. Spenser. BENEFICIALLY, adv. [from beneficial.] Advantageously.; profitably; helpfully. BENEFICIALNESS. n. s. [from beneficial.] Usefulness; profit; helpfulness. Though the knowledge of these objects be commendable for their contentation and curiosity, yet they do not commend their knowledge to us, upon the account of their usefulness and benefi cialness. Hale. BENEFICIARY adj. [from benefice.] Holding something in subordination to another; having a dependent and secondary possession, without sovereign power. The duke of Parma was tempted by no less promise, than to be made a feudatory or beneficiary king of England, under the seignory in chief of the pope. Bacon. BENEFICIARY. n. s. He that is in possession of a benefice. A benefice is either said to be a benefice with the cure of souls, or otherwise. In the first case, if it be annexed to another benefice, the bene ficiary is obliged to serve the parish church in his own proper person. Ayliffe. BENEFIT. n. s. [beneficium, Lat.] 1. A kindness; a favour conferred; an act of love. When noble benefits shall prove Not well dispos'd, the mind grown once corrupt, They turn to vicious forms. Shakspeare. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalms Offer'd life Neglect not, and the benefit embrace By faith, not void of works. 2. Advantage; profit; use. Milton. The creature abateth his strength for the benefit of such as put their trust in thee. Wisdom, 3. In law. Benefit of clergy is an ancient liberty of the church: when a priest, or one within orders, is arraigned of felony before a secular judge, he may pray his clergy; that is, pray to be de livered to his ordinary, to purge himself of the offence objected to him: and this might be done in case of murder. The ancient law, in this point of dergy, is much altered; for clerks are no more delivered to their ordinaries to be purged, but now every man, though not within orders, is put to read at the bar, being found guilty, and convicted of such felony as this beneit is granted for; and so burnt in the hand, and set free for the first time, if the ordinary's com missioner, or deputy, standing by, do say, Legit ut clericus; or, otherwise, suffereth death for his transgression. Corvell. TO BENEFIT. v, a. [from the noun.] To do good to; to advantage. What course I mean to hold, Shall nothing benefit your knowledge. Shaksp. He was so far from benefiting trade, that he did it a great injury, and brought Rome in danger of a famine. Arbuthnot. TO BENEFIT. v. n. To gain advantage; to make improvement. To tell you therefore what I have benefited herein, among old renowned authors, I shall spare. Milton. BENE'MPT. adj. [See NEMPT.] Named; marked out. Obsolete. L Much greater gifts for guerdon thou shalt gain, Than kid or cosset, which I thee benempt; Then up, I say." Spenser. To BENE'T. v. a. [from net.] To ensnare; to surround as with toils. T Being thus benetted round with villains; Ere I could mark the prologue, to my bane They had begun the play. Shakspeare. BENEVOLENCE. n. s. [benevolentia, Lat.] 1. Disposition to do good; kindness; charity; good-will. Grasp the whole worlds of reason, life, and ~ sense, In one close system of benevolence. 2. The good done; the charity given. 3. A kind of tax. Pope. This tax, called a benevolence, was devised by Edward iv. for which he sustained much envy. It was abolished by Richard 111. Bacon. BENEVOLENT. adj. [benevolens, benevolentia, Lat.] Kind; having good-will, or kind inclinations. Thou good old man, benevolent as wise. Pope. Is blooming and benevolent like thee. Thomson. BENEVOLENTNESS. n. s. Benevolence. BENGAL. n. s. [from Bengal in the East Indies.] A sort of thin slight stuff, made of silk and hair, for women's apparel. BENJAMIN. n. s. A plant BENJAMIN. n. s. A gun. See BENZOIN. To BENIGHT. v. a. [from night.] 1. To involve in darkness; to darken; to shrowd with the shades of night. 2. He that has light within his own clear breast, May sit i' th' center, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul, and foul thoughts, Benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself is his own dungeon. Milton. Those bright stars that did adorn our hemisphere, as those dark shades that did benight it, vanish. Boyle. A storm begins, the raging waves run high, The clouds look heavy, and benight the sky. Garth. The miscrable race of men, that live Benighted half the year, benumm'd with frosts, Under the polar Bear, Philips. To surprise with the coming on of night. Being benighted, the sight of a candle, I saw a good way off, directed me to a young shepherd's house. Sidney Here some benighted angel, in his way, Might ease his wings; and, seeing heav'n appear In its best work of mercy, think it there. Dryd 3. To debar from intellectual light; to cloud with ignorance. But what so long in vain, and yet unknown By poor mankind's benighted wit, is sought, Shall in this age to Britain first be shown. Dryd BENIGN. adj. [benignus, Lat. It is pronounced without the g, as if written benine; but the g is preserved in benignity.] 1. Kind; generous; liberal; actually good, See BENEFICENT. This turn hath made amends! Thou hast ful- Thy words, Creator bounteous and benign! Milton To good malignant, to bad men benign. Milton. We owe more to Heav'n, than to the sword, The wish'd return of so benign a lord. Waller. What Heav'n bestows upon the earth, in kind influences and benign aspects' is paid it back in sacrifice and adoration. South They who delight in the suffering of inferiour creatures, will not be very compassionate or benign. Locke. Diff'rent are thy names, As thy kind hand has founded many cities, Or dealt benign thy various gifts to men. Prior, 2. Wholesome; not malignant. These salts are of a benign mild nature, in healthy persons; but, in others, retain their original qualities, which they discover in cachexies. Arbuthnot, BENIGN Disease, is when all the usual symptoms appear in the small-pox, or any acute disease, favourably, and without any irregularities, or unexpected changes. Quincy. BENIGNITY. n. s. [from benign.] 1. Graciousness; goodness. It is true, that his mercy will forgive offenders, or his benignity co-operate to their con version. Brotun. Although he enjoys the good that is done him, he is unconcerned to value the benignity of him that does it. South. 2. Actual kindness. He which useth the benefit of any special enignity, may enjoy it with good conscience. Hookers The king was desirous to establish peace ra Hayward. ther by benignity than blood. 3. Salubrity; wholesome quality,; friendliness to vital nature. Bones receive a quicker agglutination in san- 'Tis amazement, more than love, Waller. Oh, truly good, and truly great! We have no such daughter; nor shall ever see Unmuffle, ye fair stars, and thou fair moon, That wont'st to love the traveller'sbenison. Milt. BE'NNET. n. s. An herb; the same with A mountain stood, Threat'ning from high, and overlook'd the wood; Then let thy love be younger than thyself, And here give up ourselves, in the full bent, To lay our service freely at your feet. Shakspeare. 5. Application of the mind; strain of the mental powers. The understanding should be brought to the knotty parts of knowledge, that try the strength of thought, and a full bent of the mind, by inLocke. sensible degrees. 6. Inclination; disposition toward something. O who does know the bent of women's fantasy! Spenser. To your own bents dispose you; you'll be found, Be you beneath the sky. He knew the strong bent of the country towards the house of York, Bacon. Soon inclin'd t' admit delight, The bent of nature. "Tis odds but the scale turns at last on nature's side, and the evidence of one or two senses gives way to the united bent and tendency of al. Atterbury. the five. 7. Determination; fixed purpose. Their unbelief we may not impute into inmufficiency in the mean which is used, but to the wilful bent of their obstinate hearts against Hooker. it. Temple. 8. Turn of the temper, or disposition; shape, or fashion, superinduced by art. Not a courtier, Although they wear their faces to the bent Shakspeare. 9. Tendency; flexion; particular direc- The exercising the understanding in the several ways of reasoning, teacheth the mind suppleness, to apply itself more dexterously to bents and turns of the matter, in all its researches. Locke. 10. A stalk of grass, called bent-grass. His spear, a bent both stiff and strong, And well near of two inches long; The pile was of a horse-fly's tongue, Whose sharpness nought reversed. Then the flowers of the vines; it is a little dust, like the dust of a bent, which grows upon the cluster, in the first coming forth. Bacon. Drayton. June is drawn in a mantle of dark grass-green; upon his head a garland of bents, kingcups, and maidenhair. Peacham BE'NTING Time. [from bent.] The time when pigeons feed on bents before peas are ripe. Bare benting times, and moulting months, may |