beldam - 4 dictionary results
bel⋅dam
[bel-duh
m, -dam] 
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| bel·dam or bel·dame (běl'dəm, -dām) n. An old woman, especially one who is considered ugly. [Middle English, grandmother : bel, indicating respect (from Old French bel, fine, from Latin bellus; see deu-2 in Indo-European roots) + dame, lady; see dame.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Beldam
Bel"dam\ Beldame \Bel"dame\, n. [Pref. bel-, denoting relationship + dame mother: cf. F. belledame fair lady, It. belladonna. See Belle, and Dame.]1. Grandmother; -- corresponding to belsire. To show the beldam daughters of her daughter. --Shak. 2. An old woman in general; especially, an ugly old woman; a hag. Around the beldam all erect they hang. --Akenside.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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beldam
"aged woman," 1580; earlier "grandmother" (c.1440), from dame (q.v.) in the sense of "mother" + bel-, M.E. prefix expressing relationship (cf. belfader, belsire "grandfather"), from O.Fr. bel, belle "beautiful, fair, fine." This "direct relationship" sense of bel is not found in Fr., where the prefix is used to form words for in-laws.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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