Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

BE

  • preposition
Dictionary links
Grammar
BE, [abbreviated from big = bí, q. v.]; prep. dat. and instr.
Wright's OE grammar
§559; §570; §647;
BY, near to, to, at, in, on, upon, about, with; juxta, prope, ad, secus, in, cum
Show examples

  • Be wege

    by the way,

    • Mk. Bos. 8, 3
      • .

  • Wunode be lordane

    he dwelt by Jordan,

    • Cd. 91; Th. 116, 6
      • ;
    • Gen. 1932
      • .

  • Be grúnde wód

    went on the ground,

    • Exon. 106a; Th. 404, 29
      • ;
    • Rä. 23, 15
      • .

  • Be ýþláfe

    along the leaving of the waves,

    • Beo. Th. 1136
      • ;
    • B. 566
      • .

  • Ic be grúnde græfe

    I dig along the ground,

    • Exon. 106a; Th. 403, 3
      • ;
    • Rä. 22, 2
      • .

  • Be fullan

    in full;

    abundanter,

    • Ps. Th. 30, 27
      • .

  • Be eallum

    with all, altogether,

    • L. Ath. v. § 8, 2; Th. i. 236, 12
      • .

  • Ne mæg he be ðý wedre wesan

    he may not be in the open air,

    • Exon. 90b; Th. 340, 18
      • ;
    • Gn. Ex. 113
      • .

  • Be ðam strande

    upon the strand or shore,

    • Mt. Bos. 13, 48
      • .

  • Ne leofaþ se man be hláfe ánum, ac be ǽlcon worde, ðe of Godes múþe gǽþ

    non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo, quod procedit de ore Dei,

    • Mt. Bos. 4, 4
      • .

  • Byrgan be deádum

    to bury with the dead,

    • Exon. 82b; Th. 311, 27
      • ;
    • Seef. 98
      • .
of, from, about, touching, concerning; de, quoad
Show examples

  • Be ðam cilde

    of or concerning the child,

    • Mt. Bos. 2, 8
      • .

  • Be hlísan

    of or about fame,

    • Bt. titl. xviii. xix; Fox xiv. 1
      • .

  • Gramlíce be Gode sprǽcan

    male locuti sunt de Deo,

    • Ps. Th. 77, 20
      • .

  • Be his horse Bucefal

    about his horse Bucephal,

    • Ors. 3, 9; Bos. 67, 39
      • .

  • Ahsiaþ be ealdum dagum

    interrogate de diebus antiquis,

    • Deut. 4, 32
      • .

  • Mæg ic be me sylfum sóþ gied wrecan

    of myself I can relate a true tale,

    • Exon. 81b; Th. 306, 1
      • ;
    • Seef. 1
      • .

  • Ic ðis gid be ðé awræc

    I recited this strain of thee,

    • Beo. Th. 3451
      • ;
    • B. 1723
      • .

  • Nysse ic be ðǽre [róde] riht

    I did not know the right about the cross,

    • Elen. Kmbl. 2479
      • ;
    • El. 1241
      • .
for, because of, after, by, through, according to; pro, propter, er, secundum
Show examples

  • He sette word be worde

    he set word for word,

    • Bt. pro?m; Fox viii. 3
      • .

  • Be hyra weorcum

    for their works,

    • Exon. 26b; Th. 79, 13
      • ;
    • Cri. 1290
      • .

  • Ðú scealt sunu ágan, bearn be brýde ðínre

    thou shalt have a son, a child, by thy bride,

    • Cd. 106; Th. 140, 11
      • ;
    • Gen. 2326
      • .

  • Forlǽdd be ðam lygenum

    misled by the lies,

    • 28; Th. 37, 31
      • ;
    • Gen. 598
      • .

  • Ðæt ic meahte ongitan be ðam gealdre Godes bearn

    that I might comprehend, through that lore, God's child,

    • Exon. 83a; Th. 313, 26
      • ;
    • Mód. 6
      • .

  • Hie, be wæstmum, wíg curon

    they, according to his strength, choose each warrior,

    • Cd. 155; Th. 193, 8
      • ;
    • Exod. 243
      • .

  • Ná ðú be gewyrhtum úrum woldest us dón

    thou wouldst not do to us according to our sins

    [secundum peccata nostra],

    • Ps. Th. 102, 10
      • .
beside, out of; e, ex
Show examples

  • Ic ðé lǽde be ðam [bi, ðæm MS. Cott.] wege

    I should lead thee out of the way,

    • Bt. 40, 5; Fox 240, 23
      • .

  • Genam hine æt eowde úte be sceápum

    tulit eum de gregibus ovium,

    • Ps. Th. 77, 69
      • .
sometimes be is separated from its case:
Show examples

  • Be dæges leóhte

    at the light of day or at daylight,

    • Exon. 107b; Th. 410, 17
      • ;
    • Rä. 28, 17
      • .

  • Be fæder láre

    through the father's counsel,

    • Beo. Th. 3905
      • ;
    • B. 1950
      • .

  • Úre bán syndon toworpene be helwarena hæfte neódum

    dissipata sunt ossa nostra secus infernum,

    • Ps. Th. 140, 9
      • .

  • Mín bibod ðú brǽce be ðines bonan worde

    thou didst break my command through the word of thy destroyer [the devil],

    • Exon. 28a; Th. 85, 21
      • ;
    • Cri. 1394
      • .

  • Be ánfealdum

    single.

  • Be twífealdum

    twofold,

    • Ex. 22, 4
      • .

  • Be ðam mǽstan

    at the most.

  • Be ðam ðe as,

    • Gen. 3, 6
      • .
Etymology
[
Orm. Laym. R. Glouc. Piers P. bi
:
Chauc. Wyc. by
:
Plat. bí
:
O. Sax. bi, be
:
O. Frs. bí, be
:
Dut. by
:
Ger. bei
:
M. H. Ger. bí
:
O. H. G. bí, pí
:
Goth. bi
:
Sansk. abhi?
]
Linked entries
v.  be-strídan be-tǽcung bi big bii bí be-hlæstan.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “BE.” In An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online, edited by Thomas Northcote Toller, Christ Sean, and Ondřej Tichy. Prague: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2014. https://bosworthtoller.com/3027.

Checked: 1
Full form

Word-wheel

  • BE, prep.

Copyright

All the data provided here are free for any purpose. If you use the data for academic purposes, we ask that you kindly cite us as your source. In case you need a large portion of the dictionary data or you need it in a specific format, let us know through the contact form, we are happy to do custom database dumps for researchers.

How to cite

You can cite the entries of the online version of the dictionary, or you can cite the scanned pages of the original paper editions.

  • To cite the online version of the dictionary, click the icon right under the entry.
  • To cite the scanned paper version of the dictionary, click the "show/hide this scanned page" link under the entry, check the scan and use the citation information right above it.