| beg | 1. To ask earnestly for; to entreat or supplicate for; to beseech. "I do beg your good will in this case." (Shak) "[Joseph] begged the body of Jesus." (Matt. Xxvii. 58) Sometimes implying deferential and respectful, rather than earnest, asking; as, I beg your pardon; I beg leave to disagree with you. 2. To ask for as a charity, especially. To ask for habitually or from house to house. "Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (Ps. Xxxvii. 25) 3. To make petition to; to entreat; as, to beg a person to grant a favor. 4. To take for granted; to assume without proof. 5. To ask to be appointed guardian for, or to ask to have a guardian appointed for. "Else some will beg thee, in the court of wards." (Harrington) Hence: To beg (one) for a fool, to take him for a fool. I beg to, is an elliptical expression for I beg leave to; as, I beg to inform you. To bag the question, to assume that which was to be proved in a discussion, instead of adducing the proof or sustaining the point by argument. To go a-begging, a figurative phrase to express the absence of demand for something which elsewhere brings a price; as, grapes are so plentiful there that they go a-begging. Synonym: To Beg, Ask, Request. To ask (not in the sense of inquiring) is the generic term which embraces all these words. To request is only a polite mode of asking. To beg, in its original sense, was to ask with earnestness, and implied submission, or at least deference. At present, however, in polite life, beg has dropped its original meaning, and has taken the place of both ask and request, on the ground of its expressing more of deference and respect. Thus, we beg a person's acceptance of a present; we beg him to favor us with his company; a tradesman begs to announce the arrival of new goods, etc. Crabb remarks that, according to present usage, "we can never talk of asking a person's acceptance of a thing, or of asking him to do us a favor." This can be more truly said of usage in England than in America. Origin: OE. Beggen, perh. Fr. AS. Bedecian (akin to Goth. Bedagwa beggar), biddan to ask. (Cf. Bid,); or cf. Beghard, beguin. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| Begbie's disease | Localised chorea. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Begbie, James | <person> Scottish physician, 1798-1869. See: Begbie's disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Begg light wire differential force technique | An orthodontic appliance utilizing small gauge labial wires with expansion and contraction loops formed into it and attached to bands fitted to individual teeth; sometimes called Begg light wire differential force technique. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Begg, P Raymond | <person> Australian orthodontist, *1898. See: Begg light wire differential force technique. (05 Mar 2000) |
| beggar's lice | <botany> The prickly fruit or seed of certain plants (as some species of Echinospermum and Cynoglossum) which cling to the clothing of those who brush by them. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| beggiatoaceae | A family of gram-negative, gliding bacteria usually found in marine or freshwater environments. (12 Dec 1998) |
| beggiatoales | An order of gliding bacteria consisting of cells of widely varying sizes that occur mostly as filaments. (12 Dec 1998) |
| beglerbeg | The governor of a province of the Ottoman empire, next in dignity to the grand vizier. Origin: Turk. Beglerbeg, fr. Beg, pl. Begler. See Beg. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| begonia | <botany> A genus of plants, mostly of tropical America, many species of which are grown as ornamental plants. The leaves are curiously one-sided, and often exhibit brilliant colours. Origin: From Michel Begon, a promoter of botany. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Beguez Cesar disease | Chediak-Higashi syndrome |
| Beguez Cesar, Antonio | <person> Cuban paediatrician. See: Beguez Cesar disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| beguine | A woman belonging to one of the religious and charitable associations or communities in the Netherlands, and elsewhere, whose members live in beguinages and are not bound by perpetual vows. Origin: F. Beguine; LL. Beguina, beghina; fr. Lambert le Begue (the Stammerer) the founder of the order. (Du Cange). Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |