beat English · revision 2638

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=ine-pro *bhau-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /biːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|beten]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) [[inh|ang|bēatan|t=to strike repeatedly, thrash]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*bautaną|alt=*bautan]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old High German bōzan “to beat” and Old Norse bauta,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*bhau-|t=to strike]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster relates it to Latin -fūtāre “to beat” and fustis “club”.^(MWU 2024) The past tense beat, from about 1500, is a shortening of Middle English beted.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun is from the verb, about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the adjective “defeated, exhausted” from the old past participle beat.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[beetle]] in the sense “heavy mallet”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English bēatan, “to strike repeatedly”, is found about 725 in ''Beowulf'';^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English beten probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of the heart, “to throb”, the verb is from about 1200, from the idea of the heart striking against the breast.^(Etymonline) “To overcome, defeat” is Middle English,^(Cresswell 2021) recorded in the sense “overcome in a contest” from the 1610s;^(Etymonline) “to be too difficult for”, as in ''beats me'', is by 1870.^(Etymonline) ''To beat about the bush'', from the 1570s, comes from beaters who struck the undergrowth to rouse game birds,^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) and its sense has shifted from “to make preliminary moves” to “to avoid the point”.^(Etymonline) In sailing, “to make way against the wind by tacking” is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) ''Beat it!'', “go away!”, is by 1906.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The noun meant a beating or the beat of a drum about 1300;^(Etymonline) the musical sense came through drumbeats by the 17th century,^(Cresswell 2021) or by 1842 from the conductor's beating time.^(Etymonline) A policeman's or watchman's regular route is from 1731,^(Etymonline) extended to journalism by 1875.^(Etymonline) The adjective “exhausted” is by 1905, American English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – to strike repeatedly.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – of the heart, to throb.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – noun, a beating; a drumbeat.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – adjective, defeated.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1500 – past tense beat.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – ''beat about the bush''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1610s – to defeat in a contest.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1731 – a regular route.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1842 – the beat in music.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1905 – adjective, exhausted.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1906 – ''beat it!''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To hit repeatedly.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To [[defeat]] or do better than.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Of the heart, to [[pulse]] or [[throb]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To stir food quickly: ''beat the eggs''.^(AHD)

+ # Of wings, to move up and down.^(AHD)

+ # To strike a drum.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To strike bushes to drive out [[game]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A stroke or blow, or its sound.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A regular [[rhythm|alt=rhythmical]] unit of time in music; the main [[accent]] or rhythm.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A pulsation of the heart.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The area regularly covered by a police officer or reporter.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(informal)'' Very tired.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[beatable]]

+ * [[beatless]]

+ * [[afterbeat]]

+ * [[bluebeat]]

+ * [[hoofbeat]]

+ * [[pulsebeat]]

+ * [[backbeat]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[beaten]]

+ * [[beater]]

+ * [[beating]]

+ * [[beatnik]]

+ * [[deadbeat]]

+ * [[beetle]]

+ * [[button]]

+ * [[butt]]

+ * [[abet]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate dialect verb ''beat'', from 1534, of unknown origin, meant to pare off the rough turf from fallow ground before burning it, and the pared turf was called ''beat'' in the south-west.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898) A ''beat'' was also a small bundle of flax or hemp.^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}