being

English

Etymology

Originated 1250–1300 from Middle English being; see be + -ing.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːɪŋ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbiɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːɪŋ, -ɪŋ
• Hyphenation: be‧ing

Verb

being

1. present participle of be

Noun

being ‎(plural beings)

1. A living creature.
2. The state or fact of existence, consciousness, or life, or something in such a state.
   • Shakespeare

     Claudius, thou / Wast follower of his fortunes in his being.

3. (philosophy) That which has actuality (materially or in concept).
4. (philosophy) One's basic nature, or the qualities thereof; essence or personality.
5. (obsolete) An abode; a cottage.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wright to this entry?)

   • Steele

     It was a relief to dismiss them [Sir Roger's servants] into little beings within my manor.

Derived terms

Derived terms

beingdom beingful beinghood

beingless beingness (noun) human being

Translations

a living creature

• Arabic: كَائِن (ar) m ‎(kāʾin), مَخْلُوق (ar) m ‎(maḵlūq)
• Armenian: էակ (hy) ‎(ēak)
• Aromanian: hiintsã f, yeatsã f
• Belarusian: істо́та f ‎(istóta), стварэ́нне n ‎(stvarénnje)
• Bulgarian: същество̀ (bg) n ‎(sǎštestvò), създа̀ние (bg) n ‎(sǎzdànie), твар (bg) f ‎(tvar)
• Catalan: ésser (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 生物 (zh) ‎(shēngwù)

• Czech: bytost (cs) f, tvor (cs) m
• Danish: væsen
• Dutch: wezen (nl) n
• Esperanto: estaĵo, estulo
• Estonian: olend
• Finnish: olento (fi)
• French: créature (fr) f, être (fr) m
• Georgian: არსება ‎(arseba)
• German: Wesen (de) n, Geschöpf (de) n
• Greek: πλάσμα (el) n ‎(plásma)
• Hebrew: בריה, יצור (he)
• Hungarian: lény (hu)
• Icelandic: vera (is)
• Indonesian: makhluk (id)
• Irish: neach m, dúil f
• Italian: essere (it) m, creatura (it)
• Japanese: 生き物 (ja) ‎(いきもの, ikimono), 生物 (ja) ‎(せいぶつ, seibutsu)
• Khmer: ភាវៈរស់ ‎(phea veak ros), ជន (km) ‎(cɔɔn)

• Korean: 생명체 (ko) ‎(saengmyeongche)
• Latin: creatura f, ens (la) n, animatum n, animate n, res (la) f, natura f
• Latvian: būtne, radījums (lv)
• Lithuanian: būtybė
• Macedonian: суштество n ‎(suštestvo)
• Maore Comorian: shiumbe class 7/8
• Norwegian: vesen
• Polish: stwór (pl) m, istota (pl) f
• Portuguese: ser (pt) m, criatura (pt) f
• Romanian: ființă (ro), creatură (ro), făptură (ro)
• Russian: (живо́е) существо́ n ‎((živóje) suščestvó), тварь (ru) f ‎(tvarʹ), созда́ние (ru) n ‎(sozdánije), (archaic) творе́ние (ru) n ‎(tvorénije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: биће n, створ m, створење n

  Roman: biće (sh) n, stvor (sh) m, stvorenje (sh) n

• Slovak: tvor m, stvorenie n
• Slovene: bitje (sl) n, stvor m
• Spanish: ser (es) m, criatura (es) f
• Swedish: varelse (sv) c, väsen (sv)
• Turkish: yaratık (tr)
• Ukrainian: істо́та (uk) f ‎(istóta), тварь f ‎(tvarʹ), твари́на (uk) f ‎(tvarýna), ство́ріння n ‎(stvórinnja)
• Venetian: èsare
• Vietnamese: sinh vật (vi) (生物 (vi))
• Volapük: (♂♀) jafäb (vo), (♂) hijafäb, (♀) jijafäb
• Zazaki: conawır

the state or fact of existence

• Arabic: وُجُود (ar) m ‎(wujūd)
• Armenian: գոյություն (hy) ‎(goyutʿyun)
• Bashkir: барлыҡ ‎(barlïq), йәшәйеш ‎(yäšäyeš) (philosophical)
• Belarusian: існава́нне n ‎(isnavánnje), быццё n ‎(byccjó)
• Bulgarian: съществу̀ване n ‎(sǎštestvùvane), битие (bg) n ‎(bitie)
• Catalan: ésser (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 存在 (zh) ‎(cúnzài)

• Czech: existence (cs), život (cs), bytí n
• Danish: opstå
• Dutch: bestaan (nl) n
• Esperanto: esto
• Estonian: olemasolu
• Finnish: olemassaolo
• French: existence (fr)
• German: Sein (de) n, Dasein (de) n
• Greek: ύπαρξη (el) f ‎(ýparxi)
• Hebrew: ישות (he) ‎(yeshut)
• Hungarian: lét(ezés) (hu)
• Icelandic: tilvera (is)
• Indonesian: keberadaan (id), ada (id)
• Irish: beith f
• Italian: esistenza (it)
• Japanese: 存在 (ja) ‎(そんざい, sonzai)

• Korean: 존재 (ko) ‎(jonjae) (存在 (ko))
• Latin: vita (la) f, ortus m, caput (la) n, salus (la), salus (la) f, natura f, vis (la) f, essentia f
• Latvian: eksistence, esamība (lv)
• Lithuanian: egzistavimas
• Macedonian: битие n ‎(bitie), постоење n ‎(postoenje)
• Manx: beays m
• Norwegian: tilværelse, det å være, bli til
• Persian: وجود (fa) ‎(vojud)
• Polish: istnienie (pl), bycie (pl) n
• Portuguese: existência (pt) f
• Romanian: existență (ro), naștere (ro), ființă (ro)
• Russian: существова́ние (ru) n ‎(suščestvovánije), бытие́ (ru) n ‎(bytijé) (philosophical, poetical)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: биће n

  Roman: biće (sh) n

• Slovak: vznik (sk), bytosť f, bytie n
• Slovene: bivanje n, obstajanje n, bitje (sl) n
• Spanish: existencia (es) f
• Swedish: tillvaro (sv), existens (sv)
• Tagalog: kamagingan
• Turkish: varlık (tr)
• Ukrainian: існува́ння (uk) n ‎(isnuvánnja), буття́ (uk) n ‎(buttjá)
• Volapük: dabin (vo)
• Zazaki: estek
• ǃXóõ: ǃnáã

Conjunction

being

1. (obsolete) Given that; since.
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York Review Books 2001, p.280:

     ’Tis a hard matter therefore to confine them, being they are so various and many […].

Derived terms

• being that

References

• “being” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
• “being” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• "being" in the Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), K Dictionaries limited, 2000-2006.
• "being" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

See also

• am
• are
• is
• art
• be
• been

• beest
• was
• wast
• were
• wert

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: make · def · might · #113: being · day · through · himself

Anagrams

• begin
• binge