beg
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /bɛɡ/
Audio (General American): (file) - (Canada) IPA(key): /beɪɡ/
- Rhymes: -ɛɡ
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English beggen, of uncertain origin. Possibly from Old English *becgian, *bedcian, syncopated forms of bedecian (“to beg”), itself of obscure origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *bedukōn, a frequentative verb derived from Proto-West Germanic *bedu (“plea, petition, prayer”, whence English bead). Alternatively from Proto-West Germanic *bedagō (“petitioner, requester, beggar”), an agent noun from the same surce. Compare North Frisian bēdagi (“to pray”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍅𐌰 (bidagwa, “beggar”). All ultimately from the root of English bid, which see for more. An alternative theory considers the verb a backformation from beggar and derives the latter from Old French begart (“kind of lay brother”).
Verb
beg (third-person singular simple present begs, present participle begging, simple past and past participle begged)
- (intransitive) To request the help of someone, often in the form of money.
- He begged on the street corner from passers-by.
- (transitive) To plead with someone for help, a favor, etc.; to entreat.
- Synonym: supplicate
- I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to cause offence.
- He begged her to go to the prom with him.
- c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- you do beg your good will in this case.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:58:
- [Joseph] begged the body of Jesus.
- [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
- But that same day came Sam Tewkesbury to the Why Not? about nightfall, and begged a glass of rum, being, as he said, 'all of a shake' [...]
- (transitive) To unwillingly provoke a negative, often violent, reaction.
- The way you keep eating raw meat, you're just begging to get tapeworms.
- (transitive or intransitive) To obviously lack or be in need of something.
- A captivating novel that just begs for a movie adaptation
- 1985 April 13, Philip Brasfield, “Echoes Inside of What's Outside”, in Gay Community News, page 4:
- The colors in this cell are as dull as its architects must have been. An endless expanse of drab-green textured walls, contrasting with the gray concrete floor. It begs redecoration.
- (transitive) In the phrase beg the question: to assume.
- (transitive, proscribed) In the phrase beg the question: to raise (a question).
- Antonym: set aside
- (transitive, law, obsolete) To ask to be appointed guardian for, or to ask to have a guardian appointed for.
- a. 1612, John Harington, Epigrams:
- Else some will beg thee, in the court of wards.
Usage notes
This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Derived terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Noun
beg (plural begs)
- The act of begging; an imploring request.
- 2008, Cathy Gohlke, William Henry is a Fine Name/I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires Set:
- “Lord,” I prayed, “it's a long time since I came to You for anything besides a quick beg for help. And it seems every time I come to You I'm asking something bigger, more impossible. But I'm here again. […]
See also
Etymology 2
From Proto-Turkic *bēg.
Noun
beg (plural begs)
Translations
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Etymology 3
Noun
beg
- (knitting) Abbreviation of beginning.
- 2005, DRG Dynamic Resource, Big Book of Knit Hats & Scarves for Everyone, House of White Birches, page 34:
- Knit with MC until work measures 3 inches from beg.
Further reading
Anagrams
Albanian
Pronunciation
Noun
beg (plural begj or beglerë, definite begu)
- Alternative form of bej
References
- “beg,~u”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language][1] (in Albanian), 1980, page 121a
- Bufli, G., Rocchi, L. (2021) “bej”, in A historical-etymological dictionary of Turkisms in Albanian (1555–1954), Trieste: Edizioni Università di Trieste, page 73
- Mann, S. E. (1948) “beg”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 24b
- Meyer, G. (1891) “bek-gu”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the Albanian Language] (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, , page 31
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بك (beg).
Pronunciation
Noun
beg m (plural begs)
- (historical) Alternative form of bei.
Iban
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
beg
Malay
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
beg (Jawi spelling بيݢ)
- bag
- Beg sekolah saya berat.
- My school bag is heavy.
Manx
Etymology
From Old Irish bec, from Proto-Celtic *biggos (“small”).
Adjective
beg (plural beggey, comparative loo, superlative sloo)
Mutation
Manx mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
beg | veg | meg |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References
- Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “bec”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *běgъ.
Pronunciation
Noun
bȇg m (Cyrillic spelling бе̑г)
Declension
Derived terms
References
- “beg” in Hrvatski jezični portal
Slovene
Etymology 1
From Proto-Slavic *běgъ.
Pronunciation
Noun
bẹ̑g m inan
Inflection
Masculine inan., hard o-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | bég | ||
gen. sing. | béga | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative (imenovȃlnik) |
bég | béga | bégi |
genitive (rodȋlnik) |
béga | bégov | bégov |
dative (dajȃlnik) |
bégu | bégoma | bégom |
accusative (tožȋlnik) |
bég | béga | bége |
locative (mẹ̑stnik) |
bégu | bégih | bégih |
instrumental (orọ̑dnik) |
bégom | bégoma | bégi |
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
Noun
bẹ̑g m anim
- bey (Turkish governor)
Inflection
Masculine anim., hard o-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | bég | ||
gen. sing. | béga | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative (imenovȃlnik) |
bég | béga | bégi |
genitive (rodȋlnik) |
béga | bégov | bégov |
dative (dajȃlnik) |
bégu | bégoma | bégom |
accusative (tožȋlnik) |
béga | béga | bége |
locative (mẹ̑stnik) |
bégu | bégih | bégih |
instrumental (orọ̑dnik) |
bégom | bégoma | bégi |
Further reading
- “beg”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
Volapük
Etymology
Noun
beg (nominative plural begs)
- request, an action of begging
Declension
Zhuang
Etymology
Pronunciation
- (Standard Zhuang) IPA(key): /peːk˧/
- Tone numbers: beg8
- Hyphenation: beg
Adjective
beg (Sawndip form 白, 1957–1982 spelling beg)
- (bound) white
Adverb
beg (Sawndip form 白, 1957–1982 spelling beg)
- English 1-syllable words
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