bein

See also: Bein, be-in, and bein'

English

Alternative forms

• been, bene
• bien (Scotland)

Etymology

From Middle English been, beene, bene (“gracious, generous, pleasant”), of unknown origin. Perhaps from Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”), from Proto-Germanic *bainaz (“straight”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, beat”).

Cognate with Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See also bain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biːn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Homophones: bean, been

Adjective

bein (comparative more bein, superlative most bein)

1. (Now chiefly dialectal) Wealthy; well-to-do.

   a bein farmer

2. (Now chiefly dialectal) Well provided; comfortable; cosy.

Derived terms

• beinly

Adverb

bein (comparative more bein, superlative most bein)

1. (Now chiefly dialectal) Comfortably.

Verb

bein (third-person singular simple present beins, present participle beining, simple past and past participle beined)

1. (transitive, Scotland) To render or make comfortable.
2. (transitive, Scotland) To dry.

Anagrams

• Beni, Bien, bine

Bourguignon

Etymology 1

From Latin bene.

Adverb

bein (comparative meus, superlative meus)

1. well

Related terms

• bon

Etymology 2

From Latin bene.

Noun

bein m (plural beins, antonym mau)

1. good

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bain]

Noun

bein n (genitive singular beins, plural bein)

1. leg
2. bone

Declension

n3	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bein	beinið	bein	beinini
accusative	bein	beinið	bein	beinini
dative	beini	beininum	beinum	beinunum
genitive	beins	beinsins	beina	beinanna

Finnish

Noun

bein

1. instructive plural of bee

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeiːn/
• Rhymes: -eiːn

Noun

bein n (genitive singular beins, nominative plural bein)

1. bone

   Synonym: leggur

   Hundurinn borðaði bein. ― The dog ate a bone.

Declension

Declension of bein (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bein	beinið	bein	beinin
accusative	bein	beinið	bein	beinin
dative	beini	beininu	beinum	beinunum
genitive	beins	beinsins	beina	beinanna

See also

• hafa bein í nefinu
• inn við beinið
• fílabein
• viðbein
• bringubein
• mannabein
• beinhvítur
• beinharður
• bringubein
• brjóstbein

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German bein.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈbei̯n/

Noun

bein n

1. (anatomy) leg
2. (anatomy) bone

Declension

Declension of bein (strong neuter with null plural)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	daȥ	bein	diu	bein
genitive	eines	dës	beines	dër	beine
dative	eime	dëm	beine	dën	beinen
accusative	ein	daȥ	bein	diu	bein

Derived terms

• gebeine

Descendants

• Alemannic German:
  • Swabian: Boi, Boa
• Bavarian:
  • Bavarian: Boan
  • Mòcheno: poa
• Central Franconian: Been
  • Hunsrik: Been
  • Luxembourgish: Been
• East Central German:
  • Upper Saxon German: Been, Baa
• German: Bein
• Vilamovian: baan
• Yiddish: ביין (beyn)

References

• Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch (in German), 3rd edition

Norman

Alternative forms

• byin (continental)

Etymology

From Old French bien.

Adverb

bein (comparative miyeu, superlative miyeu)

1. (Jersey) well

Related terms

• bétôt

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• ben

Etymology

From Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Noun

bein n (definite singular beinet, indefinite plural bein, definite plural beina or beinene)

1. a leg

   Mennesker har to bein.

   Humans have two legs.

2. a bone

   Skelettet består av mange bein.

   The skeleton consists of many bones.

Derived terms

• bakbein
• barbeint
• beinhard
• beinløs, beinlaus
• beinmel
• forbein
• ribbein
• sjøbein
• tusenbein

References

• “bein” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛɪːn/, [bɛ̞ɪ̯ːn], [bæɪ̯ːn], [ba̝ɪ̯ːn]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą. Akin to English bone.

Noun

bein n (definite singular beinet, indefinite plural bein, definite plural beina)

1. a leg
2. a bone

Derived terms

• bakbein
• beingrind
• beinhard
• beinlaus
• forbein
• glattebein
• gråbein
• langbein
• ribbein
• sjøbein
• tusenbein

Etymology 2

From Old Norse beinn. Attested in Christen Jensøn’s Norwegian dictionary (1646). Also used in Danish texts by Petter Dass.

Adjective

bein (neuter beint, definite singular and plural beine, comparative beinare, indefinite superlative beinast, definite superlative beinaste)

1. straight

   Synonyms: rak, rett

   • 1646, Christen Jenssøn, Den Norske Dictionarium Eller Glosebog, Vdi huilcken indeholdis mange Norske Gloser, oc Daglige Tale, atskillige Redskaber, Fuglis oc Fiskes, saa oc Diurs Naffne, som i Norge findis oc kaldis., page 93:

     Raake er at ramme, & Raake beint, i.e. skiude vist.

     «Råke» is to hit, & Hit straight, i.e. to shoot certain.

   • 1646, Christen Jenssøn, Den Norske Dictionarium Eller Glosebog, Vdi huilcken indeholdis mange Norske Gloser, oc Daglige Tale, atskillige Redskaber, Fuglis oc Fiskes, saa oc Diurs Naffne, som i Norge findis oc kaldis., page 19:

     Beint i. e. Ret. Saasom It beint Træ. Item Beint Fram / i. e. retfrem.

     «Beint» means straight, like «a straight tree». Also, «Beint fram» means straight forward.

References

• “bein” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old High German

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bain.

Noun

bein n

1. (anatomy) leg
2. (anatomy) bone

Declension

Declension of bein (neuter a-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	bein	bein
accusative	bein	bein
genitive	beines	beino
dative	beine	beinum
instrumental	beinu	—

Descendants

• Middle High German: bein
  • Alemannic German:
    • Swabian: Boi, Boa
  • Bavarian:
    • Bavarian: Boan
    • Mòcheno: poa
  • Central Franconian: Been
    • Hunsrik: Been
    • Luxembourgish: Been
  • East Central German:
    • Upper Saxon German: Been, Baa
  • German: Bein
  • Vilamovian: baan
  • Yiddish: ביין (beyn)

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʲenʲ/

Noun

bein

1. accusative singular of ben

Mutation

Mutation of bein

radical	lenition	nasalization
bein	bein pronounced with /βʲ-/	mbein

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *bainą. Compare Old English bān, Old Saxon bēn, Old High German bein.

Noun

bein n (genitive beins, plural bein)

1. leg
2. bone

Declension

Declension of bein (strong a-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bein	beinit	bein	beinin
accusative	bein	beinit	bein	beinin
dative	beini	beininu	beinum	beinunum
genitive	beins	beinsins	beina	beinanna

Descendants

• Icelandic: bein
• Faroese: bein
• Norn: ben
• Norwegian Nynorsk: bein
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: bein
• Old Swedish: bēn
  • Swedish: ben
• Old Danish: ben
  • Danish: ben
    • Norwegian Bokmål: ben
• Elfdalian: bien
• Old Gutnish: bain
  • Gutnish: bain

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “bein”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Romansh

Etymology 1

From Latin bene.

Adverb

bein

1. (Sursilvan) well
2. (Sursilvan) beautifully
3. (Sursilvan) yes (used to disagree with a negative statement)

Alternative forms

• bain (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader)
• bagn (Sutsilvan, Surmiran)

Etymology 2

Noun

bein m (plural beins)

1. (Sursilvan) farm

Alternative forms

• bain (Puter, Vallader)

Synonyms

• (Rumantsch Grischun) bain puril, (Sursilvan) bein puril
• (Rumantsch Grischun) puraria, (Sutsilvan, Surmiran) purareia, (Vallader) pauraria
• (Sutsilvan) manaschi da purs
• (Surmiran) curt purila

Scots

Verb

bein

1. present participle of be