beam English · revision 7396

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=826|origins=gmw-pro *baum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbiːm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English beem, [[inh|ang|bēam|t=tree; piece of timber; ray]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from West Germanic *bauma, tree,^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) source also of Old Frisian bām, Dutch [[m|nl|boom]] and German [[m|de|Baum|t=tree]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) and perhaps, with unexplained sound changes, of Old Norse baðmr and Gothic bagms;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) its origin is uncertain, perhaps a substrate word according to Boutkan.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A tree: 826 in the OED, only in Old English except in compounds such as [[hornbeam]];^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) a large piece of squared timber, 978.^(OED 1989) Barnhart dates the Old English word to about 725.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Late Old English used it also of a rafter, post or ship's timber.^(Etymonline) The meaning ''ray of light'' developed in Old English, probably because Bede used beam to render Latin columna (lucis), the Biblical pillar of fire.^(Etymonline) The cross of Christ is from about 1000.^(OED 1989) One of the transverse timbers holding a ship together is early 13th-century, hence the greatest breadth of a ship;^(Etymonline) ''broad in the beam'' is by 1894 of ships and 1938 of persons.^(Etymonline) A directed flow of radiation is from 1906, and ''on the beam'', aviators' slang for following a radio beam, from 1941.^(Etymonline) The verb, to emit rays, is from about 1400, and to smile radiantly from 1804.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 826 – a tree.^(OED 1989)

+ * 978 – a timber.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 13th century – a ship's beam.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – to shine (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1804 – to smile radiantly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1906 – a beam of radiation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long, sturdy piece of squared timber or metal used in building.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A ray or shaft of light, or a directed flow of particles or radiation.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A radiant smile.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The breadth of a ship at its widest point.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The crossbar of a balance.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To transmit a radio or television signal.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To smile radiantly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To shine brightly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[beamless]]

+ * [[beamlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hornbeam]]

+ * [[whitebeam]]

+ * [[boom]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}