Wiktionary

beg

See also: Beg, bég, bèg, beg., and bēg

EnglishEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

Inherited from Middle English beggen, of uncertain origin, possibly from Old English *becgian, *bedcian, syncopated variants of bedecian (“to beg”), itself of obscure origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *bedukōn, a fequentative verb derived from Proto-West Germanic *bedu (“petition, plea”). Alternatively from Proto-West Germanic *bedagō, from Proto-Germanic *bedagô (“petitioner; requestor; beggar”), from *bedą, *bedō (“prayer; request”). Compare North Frisian bēdagi (“to pray”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍅𐌰 (bidagwa, “beggar”), Old English biddan (“to ask”). More at bid, bead. See also Norwegian Bokmål be (“to beg, ask”).

VerbEdit

beg (third-person singular simple present begs, present participle begging, simple past and past participle begged)

  1. (intransitive) To request the help of someone, often in the form of money.
    He begged on the street corner from passers-by.
  2. (transitive) To plead with someone for help, a favor, etc.; to entreat.
    Synonym: supplicate
    I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to cause offence.
    He begged her to go to the prom with him.
  3. (transitive) In the phrase beg the question: to assume.
  4. (transitive, proscribed) In the phrase beg the question: to raise (a question).
    Antonym: set aside
  5. (transitive, law, obsolete) To ask to be appointed guardian for, or to ask to have a guardian appointed for.
    • a. 1612, John Harington, Epigrams
      Else some will beg thee, in the court of wards.
Usage notesEdit

This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

NounEdit

beg (plural begs)

  1. The act of begging; an imploring request.
    • 2008, Cathy Gohlke, William Henry is a Fine Name/I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires Set:
      “Lord,” I prayed, “it's a long time since I came to You for anything besides a quick beg for help. And it seems every time I come to You I'm asking something bigger, more impossible. But I'm here again. […]

See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Ottoman Turkish بك‎ (beg).

NounEdit

beg (plural begs)

  2. A provincial governor under the Ottoman Empire; a bey.
TranslationsEdit
provincial governor under the Ottoman Empire — See also translations at bey

Etymology 3Edit

NounEdit

beg

  1. (knitting) Abbreviation of beginning.
    • 2005, DRG Dynamic Resource, House of White Birches, Big Book of Knit Hats & Scarves for Everyone (page 34)
      Knit with MC until work measures 3 inches from beg.

Further readingEdit

AnagramsEdit

DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بك‎ (beg).

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

beg m (plural begs)

  1. (historical) Alternative form of bei.

MalayEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from English bag.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

beg (Jawi spelling بيݢ)

  1. bag

ManxEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Irish bec, from Proto-Celtic *biggos (“small”).

AdjectiveEdit

beg (plural beggey, comparative loo, superlative sloo)

  1. small

MutationEdit

Manx mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
beg veg meg
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

ReferencesEdit

Serbo-CroatianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Slavic *běgъ.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

bȇg m (Cyrillic spelling бе̑г)

  1. escape

DeclensionEdit

Declension of beg
singular plural
nominative beg begovi
genitive bega begova
dative begu begovima
accusative bega begove
vocative beže begovi
locative begu begovima
instrumental begom begovima

Derived termsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • “beg” in Hrvatski jezični portal

SloveneEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Proto-Slavic *běgъ.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

bẹ̑g m inan

  1. run
  2. getaway
  3. escape
  4. withdrawal
  5. (phrase) flight
    Planiti v beg ― To take flight
InflectionEdit
Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing. bég
gen. sing. béga
singular dual plural
nominative
(imenovȃlnik) 		bég béga bégi
genitive
(rodȋlnik) 		béga bégov bégov
dative
(dajȃlnik) 		bégu bégoma bégom
accusative
(tožȋlnik) 		bég béga bége
locative
(mẹ̑stnik) 		bégu bégih bégih
instrumental
(orọ̑dnik) 		bégom bégoma bégi

Etymology 2Edit

From Turkish bey.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

bẹ̑g m anim

  1. bey (Turkish governor)
InflectionEdit
Masculine anim., hard o-stem
nom. sing. bég
gen. sing. béga
singular dual plural
nominative
(imenovȃlnik) 		bég béga bégi
genitive
(rodȋlnik) 		béga bégov bégov
dative
(dajȃlnik) 		bégu bégoma bégom
accusative
(tožȋlnik) 		béga béga bége
locative
(mẹ̑stnik) 		bégu bégih bégih
instrumental
(orọ̑dnik) 		bégom bégoma bégi

Further readingEdit

  • “beg”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

VolapükEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from English beg.

NounEdit

beg (nominative plural begs)

  1. request, an action of begging

DeclensionEdit

declension of beg
singular plural
nominative beg begs
genitive bega begas
dative bege beges
accusative begi begis
vocative 1 o beg! o begs!
predicative 2 begu begus
  • 1 status as a case is disputed
  • 2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

ZhuangEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Chinese 白 (MC bˠæk̚).

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

beg (Sawndip form 白, 1957–1982 spelling beg)

  1. (bound) white

AdverbEdit

beg (Sawndip form 白, 1957–1982 spelling beg)

  1. in vain; for nothing
  2. for free; free of charge
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