beg

See also: bég, bèg, beg., and bēg

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛɡ/

• Audio (GA):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛɡ

Etymology 1

From Middle English beggen, assimilation from Old English *becgan, *bedcan, *bedican, syncopated variants of bedecian (“to beg”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *bedagô (“petitioner; requestor; beggar”), from *bedą, *bedō (“prayer; request”). Related to North Frisian bēdagi (“to pray”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍅𐌰 (bidagwa, “beggar”), Old English biddan (“to ask”). More at bid, bead.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To request the help of someone, often in the form of money.

   He begged on the street corner from passers-by.

2. (transitive) To plead with someone for help, a favor, etc.; to entreat.

   Synonym: supplicate

   I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to cause offence.

   He begged her to go to the prom with him.

   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     I do beg your good will in this case.

   • Bible, Matthew 27:58

     [Joseph] begged the body of Jesus.

   • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 5

     But that same day came Sam Tewkesbury to the Why Not? about nightfall, and begged a glass of rum, being, as he said, 'all of a shake' [...]

3. (transitive) In the phrase beg the question: to assume.
4. (transitive, proscribed) In the phrase beg the question: to raise (a question).

   Antonym: set aside

5. (transitive, law, obsolete) To ask to be appointed guardian for, or to ask to have a guardian appointed for.
   • (Can we date this quote by Harrington and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Else some will beg thee, in the court of wards.

Usage notes

This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

• beg the question
• beg to differ
• go begging

Translations

to request the help of someone, often in the form of money

• Afrikaans: bedel
• Arabic: اِسْتَجْدَى (istajdā), سَأَلَ (saʔala)

  Gulf Arabic: طر (ṭar)

• Armenian: մուրալ (hy) (mural)
• Bulgarian: прося (bg) (prosja), изпросвам (bg) (izprosvam)
• Catalan: pidolar (ca), mendicar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 央求 (zh) (yāngqiú), 求 (zh) (qiú), (for food or money) 乞討／乞讨 (zh) (qǐtǎo), 乞讨 (zh) (qǐtǎo)

• Crimean Tatar: yalvarmaq
• Czech: žebrat (cs)
• Danish: tigge
• Dutch: bedelen (nl)
• Esperanto: almozpeti
• Ewe: ɖekuku
• Faroese: bidda
• Finnish: kerjätä (fi), pyytää (fi), anella (fi), anoa (fi), kärttää
• French: mendier (fr), quêter (fr), quémander (fr)
• Friulian: cirî
• Galician: pedichar, galloufar, mendicar, aquestar, perdouxer
• Georgian: ხვეწნა (xvec̣na), მუდარა (mudara)
• German: betteln (de)
• Greek: ζητιανεύω (el) (zitianévo), επαιτώ (el) (epaitó)
• Hebrew: ביקש (bikésh), קיבץ נדבות (kibéts n'davót)
• Hungarian: koldul (hu), kéreget (hu)
• Icelandic: betla
• Indonesian: mengemis (id), minta-minta (id)
• Interlingua: mendicar
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingue: ,
• Italian: mendicare (it), elemosinare (it)
• Japanese: 物乞い (ものごい, monogoi)
• Khmer: សុំទាន (som tien)
• Latin: mendīcor
• Maori: minene, pīnono, pikoni, mīnono
• North Frisian: beđeri (Sylt)
• Northern Sami: ánuhit, átnut, gearjidit
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tigge (no)

  Nynorsk: tigga

• Polish: żebrać (pl)
• Portuguese: mendigar (pt)
• Romanian: cerși (ro)
• Russian: проси́ть (ru) (prosítʹ), попроси́ть (ru) (poprosítʹ), попрошайничать (ru) (poprošajničatʹ) of a beggar, побираться (ru) (pobiratʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian: prositi (sh)
• Slovak: žobrať impf
• Spanish: mendigar (es), pordiosear (es)
• Swedish: tigga (sv)
• Tagalog: magpalimos
• Tajik: болишти (tg) (bolišt-i)
• Telugu: యాచించు (te) (yāciñcu)
• Thai: ขอทาน (th) (kɔ̌ɔ-taan)
• Turkish: yalvarmak (tr)
• Vietnamese: ăn xin
• Volapük: lubegön (vo)
• ǃXóõ: ǁgàã

to plead with someone for help

• Arabic: تَسَوَّلَ (tasawwala)
• Armenian: աղաչել (hy) (aġačʻel)
• Bulgarian: моля (bg) (molja), умолявам (bg) (umoljavam)
• Catalan: suplicar (ca), pregar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 央求 (zh) (yāngqiú), 求 (zh) (qiú)

• Czech: prosit (cs)
• Danish: bede (da), bønfalde
• Dutch: smeken (nl)
• Ewe: ɖekuku
• Finnish: kerjätä (fi), pyytää (fi), anella (fi), anoa (fi), kärttää
• French: implorer (fr), supplier (fr)
• Galician: pregar, ladar, deprecar, questar, pianchar, medear
• German: anflehen (de), bitten (de)
• Greek: ικετεύω (el) (iketévo)

  Ancient:

• Hebrew: התחנן (hitkhanén)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: könyörög (hu)
• Indonesian: minta (id), mohon (id)
• Interlingua: implorar
• Interlingue:
• Italian: implorare (it), pregare (it)
• Japanese: 頼む (ja) (たのむ, tanomu)
• Latin: rogare
• Polish: prosić (pl), błagać (pl)
• Portuguese: suplicar (pt)
• Romanian: ruga (ro)
• Russian: умоля́ть (ru) (umoljátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: moliti (sh), zamoliti (sh)
• Spanish: suplicar (es), rogar (es)
• Swedish: be (sv), bönfalla
• Thai: ขอร้อง (th) (kɔ̌ɔ-rɔ́ɔng)
• Vietnamese: khẩn cầu (vi)
• Volapük: begön (vo)
• ǃXóõ: ǁgàã

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Afrikaans: ^{(please verify)} smeek
• (deprecated template usage) Bulgarian: към моля (kǎm molja)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} peti, ^{(please verify)} petegi
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• (deprecated template usage) Korean: 구걸하다 (ko) (gugeolhada)
• (deprecated template usage) Swahili: -ng'ang'ania, -omba
• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} cardota (cy)

See also

• beggar

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish بك (beg).

Noun

beg (plural begs)

1. A provincial governor under the Ottoman Empire; a bey.

Translations

provincial governor under the Ottoman Empire — see also bey

• Bulgarian: бег (bg) (beg)
• Finnish: beg (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: bég (hu)
• Kazakh: бек (bek)

Etymology 3

Noun

beg

1. (knitting) Abbreviation of beginning.
   • 2005, DRG Dynamic Resource, House of White Birches, Big Book of Knit Hats & Scarves for Everyone (page 34)

     Knit with MC until work measures 3 inches from beg.

Further reading

• beg on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• GBE, GEB, Gbe, Geb, bge

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بك (beg).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛx/
• Hyphenation: beg

Noun

beg m (plural begs)

1. (historical) Alternative form of bei.

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Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from English bag.

Noun

beg (Jawi spelling بيݢ)

1. bag

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Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish bec, from Proto-Celtic *bikkos (“small”).

Adjective

beg (plural beggey, comparative loo, superlative sloo)

1. small

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
beg	veg	meg
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “bec”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بك (“ruler”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bêɡ/

Noun

bȅg m (Cyrillic spelling бе̏г)

1. (regional) master, lord

Declension

Declension of beg

	singular	plural
nominative	beg	begovi
genitive	bega	begova
dative	begu	begovima
accusative	bega	begove
vocative	beže	begovi
locative	begu	begovima
instrumental	begom	begovima

Derived terms

• bekstvo
• bežanje
• prebeg

References

• “beg” in Hrvatski jezični portal

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Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *běgъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /béːk/

Noun

bẹ̑g m inan

1. run
2. getaway
3. escape
4. withdrawal
5. (phrase) flight

   Planiti v beg ― To take flight

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	bég
gen. sing.	béga
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	bég	béga	bégi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	béga	bégov	bégov
dative (dajȃlnik)	bégu	bégoma	bégom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	bég	béga	bége
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	bégu	bégih	bégih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	bégom	bégoma	bégi

Etymology 2

From Turkish bey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /béːk/

Noun

bẹ̑g m anim

1. bey (Turkish governor)

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine anim., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	bég
gen. sing.	béga
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	bég	béga	bégi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	béga	bégov	bégov
dative (dajȃlnik)	bégu	bégoma	bégom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	béga	béga	bége
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	bégu	bégih	bégih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	bégom	bégoma	bégi

Further reading

• “beg”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

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Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from English beg.

Noun

beg (nominative plural begs)

1. request, an action of begging

Declension

declension of beg

	singular	plural
nominative	beg	begs
genitive	bega	begas
dative	bege	beges
accusative	begi	begis
vocative 1	o beg!	o begs!
predicative 2	begu	begus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in later, non-classical Volapük only

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Zhuang

Etymology

From Chinese 白 (MC baek).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /peːk˧/
• Tone numbers: beg⁸
• Hyphenation: beg

Adjective

beg (1957–1982 spelling beg)

1. (bound) white

Adverb

beg (1957–1982 spelling beg)

1. in vain; for nothing
2. for free; free of charge