be-

Meanings

1. By, near, next to, around, close to.
2. Around; about.
3. About, regarding, concerning, over.
4. On, upon, at, to, in contact with something.
5. Off, away, over, across
6. As an intensifier; i.e. thoroughly, excessively; completely; utterly.
7. All around; about; abundantly; all over.
8. Forming verbs derived from nouns or adjectives, usually with the sense of "to make, become, or cause to be".
9. Used to intensify adjectives meaning "adorned with something", often those with the suffix -ed.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- 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-”).