Meanings
bemean1
present singular third person bemeans · participle present bemeaning · participle past bemeant · past bemeant · alternative bemene
bemean2
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo make mean or base, demean.
Origin
bemean · verb
- Middle Englishbemenen
- Englishbemean
From Middle English bemenen, equivalent to be- + mean (“to signify”). Compare Middle High German bemeinen (“to mean”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →bemean · verb
- Old Englishġemǣne“mean, common, average”
- Middle Englishimene“average, lowly, mean”
- Middle Englishmene
- Englishbemean
From be- + mean (“base, lowly”), from Middle English mene, aphetic variation of Middle English imene (“average, lowly, mean”), from Old English ġemǣne (“mean, common, average”). More at mean.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with bemean
Anagrams
Cite this entry
bemean. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bemean
“bemean.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bemean. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bemean,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bemean.
Source: bemean on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.