Etymologically
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beam

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbiːm/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English beem, inherited from Old English bēam (“tree; piece of timber; ray”),[2][3][4] from West Germanic *bauma, tree,[5][3] source also of Old Frisian bām, Dutch boom and German Baum (“tree”),[3][2][6] and perhaps, with unexplained sound changes, of Old Norse baðmr and Gothic bagms;[3][5] its origin is uncertain, perhaps a substrate word according to Boutkan.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A tree: 826 in the OED, only in Old English except in compounds such as hornbeam;[7][8] a large piece of squared timber, 978.[7] Barnhart dates the Old English word to about 725.[2]

Semantic evolution

Late Old English used it also of a rafter, post or ship's timber.[3] The meaning ray of light developed in Old English, probably because Bede used beam to render Latin columna (lucis), the Biblical pillar of fire.[3] The cross of Christ is from about 1000.[7] One of the transverse timbers holding a ship together is early 13th-century, hence the greatest breadth of a ship;[3] broad in the beam is by 1894 of ships and 1938 of persons.[3] A directed flow of radiation is from 1906, and on the beam, aviators' slang for following a radio beam, from 1941.[3] The verb, to emit rays, is from about 1400, and to smile radiantly from 1804.[3]

Timeline

  • 826 – a tree.[7]
  • 978 – a timber.[7]
  • early 13th century – a ship's beam.[3]
  • c. 1400 – to shine (verb).[3]
  • 1804 – to smile radiantly.[3]
  • 1906 – a beam of radiation.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A long, sturdy piece of squared timber or metal used in building.
  2. A ray or shaft of light, or a directed flow of particles or radiation.
  3. A radiant smile.
  4. The breadth of a ship at its widest point.
  5. The crossbar of a balance.

Verb

  1. To transmit a radio or television signal.
  2. To smile radiantly.
  3. To shine brightly.

Word family

  • beamless
  • beamlike
  • hornbeam
  • whitebeam
  • boom

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press