bes

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bes"

Languages (25)

Translingual • English

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Aromanian • Bavarian • Balinese • Catalan • Chipewyan • Cornish • Dutch • Jamaican Creole • Kankanaey • Kashubian • Latin • Lithuanian • Malay • Middle English • Norwegian Bokmål • Old Irish • Papiamentu • Polish • Serbo-Croatian • Spanish • Swedish • Tagalog • Western Yugur

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Besme.

Symbol

bes

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Besme.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Besme terms

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English bes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biːz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːz
• Homophone: bees

Verb

bes

1. (now chiefly dialectal) third-person singular simple present indicative of be
   • 1850, William Stevens Balch, Ireland, as I Saw it:

     She bes there these five yare, an' has sint hoome foor her broother an' sister, the mooney for their passage, an' they bes goone these thra yares.

   • 1916, The Windsor Magazine - Volume 44, page 353:

     "An' he bes free times as old as herself," he wailed, " an' ugly as a squid ! But he bes rich — rich as any marchant — an' for the bread an' the fixin's an' the gold she bes takin' 'im."

   • 2005, Brenda Dooling, The Diamond Cage, →ISBN, page 236:

     And she bes white. Now, I bes what they use to call a house nigra. I don't work in no fields. And you know, I likes my color. Sho' not real fair, and not real dark either. I bes just who I be.

2. (dialectal, nonstandard) Present tense inflected form of be: am or are.
   • 1850, William Stevens Balch, Ireland, as I Saw it:

     She bes there these five yare, an' has sint hoome foor her broother an' sister, the mooney for their passage, an' they bes goone these thra yares.

   • 2005, Brenda Dooling, The Diamond Cage, →ISBN, page 236:

     And she bes white. Now, I bes what they use to call a house nigra. I don't work in no fields. And you know, I likes my color. Sho' not real fair, and not real dark either. I bes just who I be.

Usage notes

Into the Early Modern English period, be was still sometimes inflected like regular verbs in the ordinary present indicative (i.e. "they be", in addition to "they are"), although "he bes" was uncommon (compare "he beeth"). Today, such inflected forms are limited to the alternate, dynamic / lexical conjugation of be described in its Usage notes.

Synonyms

• is

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin bes.

Noun

bes (plural besses)

1. (historical, numismatics) A bronze coin of the Roman Republic, worth two thirds of an as.

Etymology 3

Noun

bes

1. plural of be (“Cyrillic letter”)

Etymology 4

Noun

bes

1. Alternative form of beth (“Semitic letter”).

Anagrams

• BSE, EBs, ESB, EbS, SEB, SbE, Seb

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• besu

Etymology

Inherited from Latin vissiō. Compare Romanian băși.

Verb

bes (participle bishitã)

1. to fart

Synonyms

• bishinedz

Related terms

• bishiri / bishire
• bishit
• bishinã

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• bäs, bees, bääs, bejs, beas

Etymology

From Middle High German bœse, bōse, from Old High German bōsi, from Proto-West Germanic *bausī, from Proto-Germanic *bausuz (“inflated, puffed up, arrogant, bad”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bew- (“to blow, inflate, swell”). Cogate with German böse.

Pronunciation

• (Northern) IPA^(key): /ˈb̥ɛi̯s/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈb̥ɛːs/
• (Southern) IPA^(key): /ˈb̥ɛɐ̯s/

Adjective

bes

1. evil, malicious, wicked
2. bad, naughty

Balinese

Conjunction

bes (Balinese script ᬩᭂᬲ᭄)

1. too (as in too hard, too much etc.)

   bes joh ― too far (away).

Further reading

• “bes”, in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia] (in Balinese), Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbes]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Noun

bes

1. plural of be (“the letter B”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin basium, from Proto-Indo-European *bu. Compare Occitan bais, Spanish beso, Italian bacio.

Noun

bes m (plural besos)

1. kiss

   Synonyms: petó, besada

Related terms

• besar

Etymology 3

Inherited from Latin versus. Doublet of vers.

Noun

bes m (plural bessos)

1. (nautical) strip of cloth used as part of a sail or a flag

Further reading

• “bes”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “bes”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Chipewyan

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *weˑš

Noun

bes

1. knife

Cornish

Alternative forms

• bys

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *bɨd, from Proto-Celtic *bitus.

Pronunciation

• (Revived Late Cornish) IPA^(key): [beːz]

Noun

bes m (plural besow)

1. (Revived Late Cornish) world

Mutation

Mutation of bes

radical	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
bes	ves	unchanged	pes	fes, ves*

* after 'th
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bes
• Rhymes: -ɛs

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch bes, bese, from Old Dutch besi, from Proto-West Germanic *basi, from Proto-Germanic *basją. Compare English berry, Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌱𐌰𐍃𐌹 (weinabasi, “grape”).

Noun

bes f (plural bessen, diminutive besje n or (dialectal) bessie n)

1. berry

   Synonyms: (dated or regional) bei, (dated or regional) bees, (dated or regional) bezie

Derived terms

• aalbes
• appelbes
• bessenjenever
• bessensap
• bessenstruik
• blauwe bes
• bosbes
• braambes
• goudbes
• jakhalsbes
• jeneverbes
• kruisbes
• lijsterbes
• loganbes
• rijsbes
• rode bes
• veenbes
• vogelbes
• waterbes
• witte bes
• zuurbes
• zwarte bes

Descendants

• Afrikaans: bessie (from the diminutive)
• → Papiamentu: bèshi (from the diminutive)
• → Jersey Dutch: bääśe (from the diminutive)

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bes f (plural bessen, diminutive besje n)

1. (music) B-flat

Descendants

• → Indonesian: Bes

Etymology 3

Backformation from besje, from older bestje, from bestemoer or bestemoeder (“grandma, old woman”).

Alternative forms

• best

Noun

bes f (plural bessen, diminutive besje n)

1. (chiefly diminutive) an old woman
   • a. 1525, anonymous author, “Lied van de twee koningskinderen”, in Haerlems Oudt Liedt-boeck, 27th edition, published 1716:

     Met een quam daer een besje,
     Een oude fenynde bes,

     But then there came an old woman,
     An old mean hag,

Jamaican Creole

Adjective

bes

1. superlative degree of gud: best
   • 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 2 Timoti 4:9:

     Du yu bes an mikies kom si mi.

     Do your best and make haste to come see me

Kankanaey

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbəs/ [ˈbɨs]
  • Rhymes: -əs
• (parts of Bauko, Sabangan and Tadian) IPA^(key): /ˈbəh/ [ˈbɨh]
  • Rhymes: -əh
• Syllabification: bes

Noun

bës

1. act of looking the clothes of a dead person

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms & variants of bes

Southern / Central
Mt. Province	Tadian	bes, (Lubon) beh, (Banaao, Cadad-anan, Cagubatan, Dacudac, Lenga, Pandayan) boh
	Bauko	bes, (Banao, Bila, Otucan) beh
	Sabangan	bes, (Tambingan, Supang, Data, Lagan, Losad, Poblacion) bes, (Bun-ayan, Pingad, Bao-angan, Camatagan, Napua, Gayang, Capinitan, Busa, Namatec) beh
Northern / Applai
Mt. Province	Sagada	bes, (Tanulong) ghes

Derived terms

• manbes

References

• Morice Vanoverbergh (1933), “bes”, in A Dictionary of Lepanto Igorot or Kankanay. As it is spoken at Bauco (Linguistische Anthropos-Bibliothek; XII)‎^[1], Mödling bei Wien, St. Gabriel, Österreich: Verlag der Internationalen Zeitschrift „Anthropos“, →OCLC, page 83

Kashubian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bъzъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛs/
• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Syllabification: bes

Noun

bes m inan

1. elder (Sambucus)

Further reading

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “bez”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[2]
• “bes”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Latin

Etymology

From a derivative of *duō (“two”) (compare bis) + as.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs]

Noun

(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?) (particularly: Gaffiot, Félix (1934) say it is bēs with long vowel.)

bes m (genitive bessis); third declension

1. two-thirds, or a two-thirds part of any unit
2. bes, a coin worth two-thirds of an as

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	bes	bessēs
genitive	bessis	bessium
dative	bessī	bessibus
accusative	bessem	bessēs bessīs
ablative	besse	bessibus
vocative	bes	bessēs

Derived terms

• bessālis

References

• “bes”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʲɛs/

Verb

bès

1. third-person singular/plural future of besti

Malay

Etymology

From English base.

Noun

bes (Jawi spelling بيس, plural bes-bes or bes²)

1. (chemistry) base, any of a class of generally water-soluble compounds, having bitter taste, that turn red litmus blue, and react with acids to form salts.

Alternative forms

• basa (Indonesian)

Further reading

• "bes" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Middle English

Etymology

A version of bith with the third-person singular ending replaced with -es as in other verbs (in some dialects) and the vowel of the infinitive been leveled in.

Verb

bes

1. alternative form of bith

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

bes

1. passive form of be

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• bas

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʲes/

Verb

bes

1. third-person singular present subjunctive relative of is

Mutation

Mutation of bes

radical	lenition	nasalization
bes	bes pronounced with /βʲ-/	mbes

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

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese vez and Spanish vez and Kabuverdianu vés.

Noun

bes

1. times as in "three times is too much"
2. occasion, instance

Polish

Pronunciation

• (Greater Poland):
  • (Kuyavia) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs]
  • (Southern Greater Poland) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs]
• (Masovia):
  • (Far Masovian) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs]
• (Lesser Poland):
  • (Western Kraków) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs]
  • (Goral):
    • (Żywiec) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs]

Noun

bes m inan

1. (Kuyavia, Southern Greater Poland, Miejska Górka, Far Masovian, Ciechanów, Western Kraków, Kraków, Bochnia, Wadowice, Żywiec) alternative form of bez

Declension

The genitive singular in the Kuyavia dialect, Southern Greater Poland dialect, Far Masovian dialect, and Western Kraków dialect is besu.

Further reading

• Jan Karłowicz (1900), “bez”, in Słownik gwar polskich [Dictionary of Polish dialects] (in Polish), volume 1: A do E, Kraków: Akademia Umiejętności, page 67

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• bijȇs (Ijekavian)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *běsъ (“evil spirit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bêːs/

Noun

bȇs m inan (Cyrillic spelling бе̑с) (Ekavian)

1. rage
2. fury
3. madness
4. mania
5. tantrum
6. wildness
7. ferocity
8. rampage

Declension

Declension of bes

	singular	plural
nominative	bȇs	bȅsovi
genitive	besa	besova
dative	besu	besovima
accusative	bes	besove
vocative	bese	besovi
locative	besu	besovima
instrumental	besom	besovima

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbes/ [ˈbes]
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: bes
• Homophones: ves, (Latin America) vez

Noun

bes m (plural beses)

1. bes (two-thirds of an as (Roman measurement), around 219.3 grams)

Noun

bes f pl

1. plural of be

Further reading

• “bes”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Verb

bes

1. passive infinitive of be
2. present passive of be

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈbes/ [ˈbɛs]
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: bes

Etymology 1

Clipping from English best friend.

Noun

bes (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜒᜐ᜔) (colloquial, women's speech, gay slang)

1. endearing term of address for one's friend, especially a close friend or bestfriend: friend; best friend

Usage notes

• The word is typically used by women, and may sound effeminate when used by men.

Related terms

• besh
• beshie
• bestprend

See also

• prend

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish vez, from Latin vicis (“change, alternation”). Doublet of beses.

Noun

bes (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜒᜐ᜔) (dialectal, Cavite)

1. time; instance; repetition

   Synonyms: ulit, beses

Western Yugur

Western Yugur cardinal numbers

<  4	5	6  >
Cardinal : bes     Ordinal : besənc̨ə

Cyrillic		бес

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *bẹ̄ĺ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bes/, /bis/, /peʂ/

Numeral

bes

1. five

References

• Roos, Marti (2000), The Western Yugur (Yellow Uyghur) Language. Grammar, Texts, Vocabulary, Leiden: University of Leiden, pages 335-336