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The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen. i. 1.

Anything in the form of a bell, as the cup or corol of a flower. "In a cowslip's bell I lie." Shak.

A man who rings a bell, especially to give notice of anything in the streets. Formerly, also, a night watchman who called the hours. Milton.

The part of anything which resembles the human belly in protuberance or in cavity; the innermost part; as, the belly of a flask, muscle, sail, ship. Out of the belly of hell cried I. Jonah ii. 2.

Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe; as, a belt of trees; a belt of sand.

One who receives anything as a gift; one who receives a benefit or advantage; esp. one who receives help or income from an educational fund or a trust estate. The rich men will be offering sacrifice to their Deity whose beneficiaries they are. Jer. Taylor.

To set or stud (anything) with ornaments or prominent objects. A robe of azure beset with drops of gold. Spectator. The garden is so beset with all manner of sweet shrubs that it perfumes the air. Evelyn.

A brush of twigs for sweeping; a broom; anything which sweeps away or destroys. [Archaic or Fig.] I will sweep it with the besom of destruction. Isa. xiv. 23. The housemaid with her besom. W. Irving.

To soil by spattering; to sprinkle, esp. with dirty water, mud, or anything which will leave foul spots or stains.

The act of sprinkling anything; a sprinkling over.

To stand or sit with anything between the legs, or with the legs astride; to stand over That horse that thou so often hast bestrid. Shak. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus. Shak.

nd sea. (Law) See under Sea. -- To go beyond, to exceed in ingenuity, in research, or in anything else; hence, in a bed sense, to deceive or circumvent. That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter. 1 Thess. iv. 6.

A trinket; a jewel; -- a word applied to anything small and of elegant workmanship.

To work upon ( as to dig, hoe, hack, or chop anything) with a bill.

A great wave or flood of anything. Milton.

Anything that binds, as a fillet, cord, rope, or band; a bandage; -- esp. the principal piece of timber intended to bind together any building.

Anything that binds; a bandage; the cover of a book, or the cover with the sewing, etc.; something that secures the edge of cloth from raveling.

A short blunt arrow for killing birds without piercing them. Hence: Anything which smites without penetrating. Shak.

g is smeared with this substance it will hold small birds which may light upon it. Hence: Anything which insnares. Not birdlime or Idean pitch produce A more tenacious mass of clammy juice. Dryden.

Anything added to raise the sides of a ship. Bailey.