be-

/bɪ//bi/Australia, Canada, US, New Zealand, UK/bə/

prefix

By, near, next to, around, close to.

“beleaguer, bestand, beset, besit”

OriginMiddle English bi- ← Old English be- ← Proto-West Germanic *bi- →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. idiomaticrareBy, near, next to, around, close to.

    beleaguer, bestand, beset, besit

  2. idiomaticrareAround; about.

    begather, belay, belook, bestir, belive, besmell, bewrap

  3. idiomaticrareAbout, regarding, concerning, over.

    bewrite, betalk, betell, belie, bemoan, bemourn, bewail, beknow, besing, bespeak

  4. idiomaticrareOn, upon, at, to, in contact with something.

    beclothe, becall, besee, behold, befall, bedo, beshine, besmile, betone

  5. idiomaticrareOff, away, over, across

    becut, bedeal, betake, bego, behead, belimb, benim, bereave, besleeve, betrunk

  6. idiomaticrareAs an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly.

    bebreak, begladden, belabour, belove, behate, besmirch, bedazzle, besiege, befuddle

  7. idiomaticrareAll around; about; abundantly; all over.

    belave, belick, bescatter, bekiss

  8. idiomaticrareForming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of "to make, become, or cause to be".

    becalm, bedark, befree, befriend, bedim, beken, benight, benothing, bewet, besmooth, bestrange

  9. archaicinformalUsed to intensify adjectives meaning "adorned with something", often those with the suffix -ed.

    besequined, befeathered, beclawed, bewebbed, betasseled, beloved

    1 more example

    Similarly, one could argue that if these be-tattooed yogic folk were really so spiritual, they wouldn't feel the need to inform everyone else of this or remind themselves of it, via the medium of the tattoo.

    2010 October 17, Hadley Freeman, “Tattoos: what makes one spiritual and another Katona-esque?”, in The Guardian

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ep-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éps
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₁épi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁pi
  5. Proto-Germanic*bi
  6. Proto-Germanic*bi-
  7. Proto-West Germanic*bi-
  8. Old Englishbe-
  9. Middle Englishbi-
  10. Englishbe-

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-”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

be-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be-

MLA

“be-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be-. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “be-,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/be-.

Source: be- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.