Word Study
be
CIDE DICTIONARY
be, v. i. [OE. been, beon, AS. beón to be, beóm I am; akin to OHG. bim, pim, G. bin, I am, Gael. & Ir. bu was, W. bod to be, Lith. bu-ti, O. Slav. by-ti, to be, L. fu-i I have been, fu-turus about to be, fo-re to be about to be, and perh. to fieri to become, Gr. fy^nai to be born, to be, Skr. bh to be. This verb is defective, and the parts lacking are supplied by verbs from other roots, is, was, which have no radical connection with be. The various forms, am, are, is, was, were, etc., are considered grammatically as parts of the verb “to be”, which, with its conjugational forms, is often called the substantive verb. Future, Physic.].
- To exist actually, or in the world of fact; to have existence. [1913 Webster]"To be contents his natural desire." [1913 Webster]"To be, or not to be: that is the question." [1913 Webster]
- To exist in a certain manner or relation, -- whether as a reality or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, -- a word or words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity; three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence; that is the man. [1913 Webster]
- To take place; to happen; as, the meeting was on Thursday. [1913 Webster]
- To signify; to represent or symbolize; to answer to. [1913 Webster]" The verb to be (including the forms is, was, etc.) is used in forming the passive voice of other verbs; as, John has
been struck by James. It is also used with the past participle of many intransitive verbs to express a state of the subject. But have is now more commonly used as the auxiliary, though expressing a different sense; as, “Ye have come too late -- but ye are come. ” “The minstrel boy to the war is gone.” The present and imperfect tenses form, with the infinitive, a particular future tense, which expresses necessity, duty, or purpose; as, government is to be supported; we are to pay our just debts; the deedis to be signed to-morrow." [1913 Webster]"Have or had been, followed by to, implies movement. “I have been to Paris.”Sydney Smith. “Have you been to Franchard ?”R. L. Stevenson. " [1913 Webster]" Been, or ben, was anciently the plural of the indicative present. “Ye ben light of the world.”Wyclif, Matt. v. 14. Afterwards be was used, as in our Bible: “They that be with us are more than they thatbe with them.”2 Kings vi. 16. Ben was also the old infinitive: “To ben of such power.”R. of Gloucester. Be is used as a form of the present subjunctive: “But if it be a question of words and names.”Acts xviii. 15. But the indicative forms,is andare , withif , are more commonly used." [1913 Webster]"The field is the world." [1913 Webster]"The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
be, abbr.
1 Bachelor of Education.
2 Bachelor of Engineering.
3 bill of exchange.
1 Bachelor of Education.
2 Bachelor of Engineering.
3 bill of exchange.
be, symb. Chem. the element beryllium.
be, v. & v.aux. (sing. present am; are; is; pl. present are; 1st and 3rd sing. past was; 2nd sing. past and pl. past were; present subj. be; past subj. were; pres. part. being; past part. been)
--v.intr.
1 (often prec. by there) exist, live (I think, therefore I am; there is a house on the corner; there is no God).
2 a occur; take place (dinner is at eight). b occupy a position in space (he is in the garden; she is from abroad; have you been to Paris?).
3 remain, continue (let it be).
4 linking subject and predicate, expressing: a identity (she is the person; today is Thursday). b condition (he is ill today). c state or quality (he is very kind; they are my friends). d opinion (I am against hanging). e total (two and two are four). f cost or significance (it is {pound}5 to enter; it is nothing to me).
--v.aux.
1 with a past participle to form the passive mood (it was done; it is said; we shall be helped).
2 with a present participle to form continuous tenses (we are coming; it is being cleaned).
3 with an infinitive to express duty or commitment, intention, possibility, destiny, or hypothesis (I am to tell you; we are to wait here; he is to come at four; it was not to be found; they were never to meet again; if I were to die).
4 archaic with the past participle of intransitive verbs to form perfect tenses (the sun is set; Babylon is fallen).
--v.intr.
1 (often prec. by there) exist, live (I think, therefore I am; there is a house on the corner; there is no God).
2 a occur; take place (dinner is at eight). b occupy a position in space (he is in the garden; she is from abroad; have you been to Paris?).
3 remain, continue (let it be).
4 linking subject and predicate, expressing: a identity (she is the person; today is Thursday). b condition (he is ill today). c state or quality (he is very kind; they are my friends). d opinion (I am against hanging). e total (two and two are four). f cost or significance (it is {pound}5 to enter; it is nothing to me).
--v.aux.
1 with a past participle to form the passive mood (it was done; it is said; we shall be helped).
2 with a present participle to form continuous tenses (we are coming; it is being cleaned).
3 with an infinitive to express duty or commitment, intention, possibility, destiny, or hypothesis (I am to tell you; we are to wait here; he is to come at four; it was not to be found; they were never to meet again; if I were to die).
4 archaic with the past participle of intransitive verbs to form perfect tenses (the sun is set; Babylon is fallen).
Idiom
be about occupy oneself with (is about his business). be-all and end-all colloq. (often foll. by of) the whole being or essence. be at occupy oneself with (what is he at?; mice have been at the food). been (or been and gone) and sl. an expression of protest or surprise (he's been and taken my car!). be off colloq. go away; leave. be that as it may see MAY. -to-be of the future (in comb. : bride-to-be).
Etymology
OE beo(m), (e)am, is, (e)aron; past f. OE w{aelig}s f. wesan to be; there are numerous Gmc cognates
THESAURUS
be
abide, be extant, be found, be in existence, be met with, be present, be the case, be there, breathe, come, continue, endure, exist, go on, happen to be, have being, have place, hold, live, move, obtain, occur, persist, prevail, remain, stand, subsistROGET THESAURUS
be
Existence
VB exist, be, have being, subsist, live, breathe, stand, obtain, be the case, occur, have place, prevail, find oneself, pass the time, vegetate, consist in, lie in, be comprised in, be contained in, be constituted by, come into existence, arise, come forth, become, bring into existence, abide, continue, endure, last, remain, stay.Belief
VB believe, credit, give faith to, give credit to, credence to, see, realize, assume, receive, set down for, take for, have it, take it, consider, esteem, presume, count upon, depend upon, calculate upon, pin one's faith upon, reckon upon, lean upon, build upon, rely upon, rest upon, lay one's account for, make sure of, make oneself easy about, on that score, take on trust, take on credit, take for granted, take for gospel, allow some weight to, attach some weight to, know, know for certain, have know, make no doubt, doubt not, be, rest assured, persuade oneself, assure oneself, satisfy oneself, make up one's mind, give one credit for, confide in, believe in, put one's trust in, place in, repose in, implicit confidence in, take one's word for, at one's word, place reliance on, rely upon, swear by, regard to, think, hold, take, take it, opine, be of opinion, conceive, trow, ween, fancy, apprehend, have it, hold a belief, possess, entertain a belief, adopt a belief, imbibe a belief, embrace a belief, get hold of a belief, hazard, foster, nurture a belief, cherish a belief, have an opinion, hold an opinion, possess, entertain an opinion, adopt an opinion, imbibe an opinion, embrace an opinion, get hold of an opinion, hazard an opinion, foster an opinion, nurture an opinion, cherish an opinion, view as, consider as, take as, hold as, conceive as, regard as, esteem as, deem as, look upon as, account as, set down as, surmise, get it into one's head, take it into one's head, come round to an opinion, swallow, cause to be believed, satisfy, persuade, have the ear of, gain the confidence of, assure, convince, convict, convert, wean, bring round, bring over, win over, indoctrinate, cram down the throat, produce conviction, carry conviction, bring home to, drive home to, go down, find credence, pass current, be received, be current, possess, take hold of, take possession of the mind.For further exploring for "be" in Webster Dictionary Online
