Nearby Words
verb (used with object)
1.
to ask for as a gift, as charity, or as a favor: to beg alms; to beg forgiveness.
2.
to ask (someone) to give or do something; implore: He begged me for mercy. Sit down, I beg you.
3.
to take for granted without basis or justification: a statement that begs the very point we're disputing.
4.
to fail or refuse to come to grips with; avoid; evade: a report that consistently begs the whole problem.
verb (used without object)
5.
to ask alms or charity; live by asking alms.
6.
to ask humbly or earnestly: begging for help; begging to differ.
7.
(of a dog) to sit up, as trained, in a posture of entreaty.
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Begging
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
8.
Idiomsbeg off, to request or obtain release from an obligation, promise, etc.: He had promised to drive us to the recital but begged off at the last minute.
9.
beg the question, to assume the truth of the very point raised in a question.
10.
go begging, to remain open or available, as a position that is unfilled or an unsold item: The job went begging for lack of qualified applicants.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English beggen, by assimilation from Old English *bedican, syncopated variant of bedecian to beg; compare Gothic bidagwa beggar. See bead
before 900; Middle English beggen, by assimilation from Old English *bedican, syncopated variant of bedecian to beg; compare Gothic bidagwa beggar. See bead
Related forms
half-beg·ging, adjective
un·begged, adjective
Synonyms
2. entreat, pray, beseech, petition. Beg and request are used in certain conventional formulas, in the sense of ask. Beg, once a part of many formal expressions used in letter writing, debate, etc., is now used chiefly in such courteous formulas as I beg your pardon; The Committee begs to report, etc. Request, more impersonal and now more formal, is used in giving courteous orders (You are requested to report) and in commercial formulas like to request payment.
2. entreat, pray, beseech, petition. Beg and request are used in certain conventional formulas, in the sense of ask. Beg, once a part of many formal expressions used in letter writing, debate, etc., is now used chiefly in such courteous formulas as I beg your pardon; The Committee begs to report, etc. Request, more impersonal and now more formal, is used in giving courteous orders (You are requested to report) and in commercial formulas like to request payment.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To begging
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
beg
early 13c., perhaps from O.E. bedecian "to beg," from P.Gmc. *beth-; or possibly from Anglo-Fr. begger, from O.Fr. begart (see beggar). The O.E. word for "beg" was wædlian, from wædl "poverty." Of trained dogs, 1816. As a courteous mode of asking (beg pardon,
EXPAND etc.), first attested c.1600. To beg the question translates L. petitio principii, and means "to assume something that hasn't been proven as a basis of one's argument," thus "asking" one's opponent to give something unearned, though more of the nature of taking it for granted without warrant.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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