be-
/bə/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.79 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
2
Letters
2
Syllables
2
Unique Chars
Meaning
prefix
Around; about.
prefix
About, regarding, concerning, over.
prefix
As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly.
prefix
All around; about; abundantly; all over.
Example Sentences
- "beleaguer, bestand, beset, besit"
- "begather, belay, belook, bestir, belive, besmell, bewrap"
- "bewrite, betalk, betell, belie, bemoan, bemourn, bewail, beknow, besing, bespeak"
- "beclothe, becall, besee, behold, befall, bedo, beshine, besmile, betone"
- "becut, bedeal, betake, bego, behead, belimb, benim, bereave, besleeve, betrunk"
- "bebreak, begladden, belabour, belove, behate, besmirch, bedazzle, besiege, befuddle"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- From Middle English be-, bi-, from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). See by, by-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”), West Frisian be- (“be-”), Dutch be- (“be-”), German Low German be- (“be-”), German be- (“be-”), Danish be- (“be-”), Swedish be- (“be-”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bə/
- British English: /bə/