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A sign made without words; a beck. "At the first beckon." Bolingbroke.

reliminary; previously; aforetime. They may be taught beforehand the skill of speaking. Hooker.

To consider or esteem to be; to declare to be. All the lookers-on him dead behight. Spenser.

at the lower extremity, with a conical cavity at the other end, where it is ordinarily broken; but when perfect it contains a small chambered cone, called the phragmocone, prolonged, on one side, into a delicate concave blade; the thunderstone. It is the internal shell of a cephalopod related to the sepia, and belongi…

on; faith. No man can attain [to] belief by the bare contemplation of heaven and earth. Hooker.

A token or badge of knightly rank.

To strain or move out of a straight line; to crook by straining; to make crooked; to curve; to make ready for use by drawing into a curve; as, to bend a bow; to bend the knee.

something that is superior, or that oppresses or burdens. Our country sinks beneath the yoke. Shak.

The language spoken in Bengal.

Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight; crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever.

ho still occupy a large part of that region; -- called also Kabyles. Also, the language spoken by this people.

To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate. [They] bespoke dangers . . . in order to scare the allies. Swift.

, social standing, etc.; -- usually in the plural. Their betters would hardly be found. Hooker. For the better, in the way of improvement; so as to produce improvement. "If I have altered him anywhere for the better." Dryden.

A chief broken or opening like a carpenter's bevel. Encyc. Brit.

e from the dried leaves and seed capsules of wild hemp (Cannabis Indica), and chewed or smoked in the East as a means of intoxication. See Hasheesh.

Having two legs. Hooker.

son of consequence; as, the bigwigs of society. [Jocose] In our youth we have heard him spoken of by the bigwigs with extreme condescension. Dickens.

A thick, heavy knife with a hooked point, used in pruning hedges, etc. When it has a short handle, it is sometimes called a hand bill; when the handle is long, a hedge bill or scimiter.

One who uses, or is armed with, a bill or hooked ax. "A billman of the guard." Savile.

somewhat harder than lead, and rather brittle; masses show broad cleavage surfaces when broken across. It melts at 507º Fahr., being easily fused in the flame of a candle. It is found in a native state, and as a constituent of some minerals. Specific gravity 9.8. Atomic weight 207.5. Symbol Bi.