being

English

Alternative forms

• beeing (archaic)
• beïng (rare)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

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

Verb

being

1. present participle of be

Noun

being (countable and uncountable, plural beings)

1. A living creature.
   • 1887, H. Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, page 126:

     Minute grew into minute, and still there was no sign of life, nor did the curtain move; but I felt the gaze of the unknown being sinking through and through me, and filling me with a nameless terror, till the perspiration stood in beads upon my brow.

2. The state or fact of existence, consciousness, or life, or something in such a state.
   • 1608-1634, John Webster (and perhaps Thomas Heywood), Appius and Virginia

     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?)

   • 1712 December 5, Richard Steele, “MONDAY, November 24, 1712 [Julian calendar]”, in The Spectator, number 544; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume VI, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, OCLC 191120697:

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

Synonyms

• (a living creature): See also Thesaurus:creature
• (the state or fact of existence): See also Thesaurus:existence

Derived terms

Derived terms

• beinghood

• beingless
• beingness
• come into being
• (noun) human being

Translations

a living creature

• Afrikaans: wese (af)
• Arabic: كَائِن‎ (ar) m (kāʾin), مَخْلُوق‎ (ar) m (maḵlūq)
• Armenian: էակ (hy) (ēak)
• Aromanian: hiintsã f, yeatsã f
• Azerbaijani: məxluq (az)
• Belarusian: істо́та f (istóta), стварэ́нне n (stvarénnje)
• Bulgarian: същество́ (bg) n (sǎštestvó), създа́ние (bg) n (sǎzdánie), твар (bg) f (tvar)
• Catalan: ésser (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 生物 (zh) (shēngwù)

• Czech: bytost (cs) f, tvor (cs) m, stvoření n
• Danish: væsen
• Dutch: wezen (nl) n
• Esperanto: estaĵo, estulo
• Estonian: olend
• Finnish: olento (fi)
• French: être (fr) m, créature (fr) f
• Georgian: არსება (arseba)
• German: Wesen (de) n, Geschöpf (de) n
• Greek: πλάσμα (el) n (plásma)
• Hebrew: בריה‎ (he), יצור‎ (he)
• Hungarian: lény (hu)
• Icelandic: vera (is)
• Indonesian: makhluk (id)
• Interlingue: ente, creatura
• 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 (la) f, ens (la) n, animatum n, animate n, res (la) f, natura f
• Latvian: būtne, radījums
• Lithuanian: būtybė
• Livonian: lejā
• Macedonian: суштество n (suštestvo)
• Maore Comorian: shiumbe 7 or 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, bytosť
• 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), створі́ння n (stvorínnja), су́тність f (sútnistʹ), твари́на (uk) f (tvarýna), тварь f (tvarʹ)
• Venetian: èsare
• Vietnamese: sinh vật (vi) (生物 (vi))
• Volapük: (♂♀) jafäb (vo), (♂) hijafäb, (♀) jijafäb
• Zazaki: conawır

the state or fact of existence

• Arabic: كَيْنُونَة‎ f (kaynūna), كَوْن‎ (kawn)
• Armenian: գոյություն (hy) (goyutʿyun)
• Azerbaijani: varlıq (az)
• Bashkir: барлыҡ (barlïq), йәшәйеш (yäšäyeš) (philosophical)
• Belarusian: існава́нне n (isnavánnje), быццё n (byccjó)
• Bulgarian: съществу́ване (bg) n (sǎštestvúvane), битие (bg) n (bitie)
• Catalan: ésser (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 存在 (zh) (cúnzài)

• Czech: existence (cs), život (cs), bytí (cs) n
• Danish: opstå
• Dutch: bestaan (nl) n
• Esperanto: esto (eo)
• Estonian: olemasolu
• Finnish: olemassaolo (fi)
• French: existence (fr)
• German: Sein (de) n, Dasein (de) n
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 f (wists)
• Greek: ύπαρξη (el) f (ýparxi)
• Hebrew: ישות‎ (he) (yeshut)
• Hungarian: lét(ezés) (hu)
• Icelandic: tilvera (is)
• Indonesian: keberadaan (id), ada (id)
• Interlingue: existentie, essentie, esser (ie)
• 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 (no), det å være, bli til
• Persian: وجود‎ (fa) (vojud), بوش‎ (fa) (boweš), هستی‎ (fa) (hasti)
• 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 (sk) 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.
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 54573970:

     , New York Review Books 2001, p.280:

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

Synonyms

• as, because, seeing that; see also Thesaurus:because

Derived terms

• being that

Translations

Translations

• Bulgarian: би́дейки (bídejki),
• Macedonian: бидејќи (bidejḱi)

References

• “being” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “being” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "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

Anagrams

• Bengi, begin, binge

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Scottish Gaelic

Noun

being f (genitive singular beinge, plural beingean)

1. bench, form