beth

See also: Beth and beð

English

Alternative forms

• bet, beyt, beis

Etymology

From Middle Bronze Age picture of a house by acrophony, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *bayt- (“house”). Doublet of beta.

Pronunciation

• enPR: bĕth, IPA^(key): /bɛθ/
• IPA^(key): /bɛt/
• Rhymes: -ɛθ
• Rhymes: -ɛt

Noun

beth (plural beths)

1. The second letter of the Aramaic alphabet, 𐡁
2. The second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ב
3. The second letter of the Syriac alphabet, ܒ

Derived terms

• aleph-beth
• beth midrash

 

Translations

Aramaic and Hebrew letter

• Aramaic: בית m (beθ)
• Catalan: bet (ca) f
• Finnish: bet (fi)
• French: bèt (fr) m, bet (fr) m, beth (fr) m
• Hebrew: בֵּית (he) f (bet)
• Italian: bet (it) m or f
• Yiddish: בית m (beys)

Phoenician letter

• Catalan: bet (ca) f
• Finnish: bet (fi)
• Italian: bet (it) m or f

Syriac letter

• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܒܝܬ m (beθ)

• Catalan: bet (ca) f
• Finnish: bet (fi)

See also

• beth din
• beth hamidrash

 

See also

• Appendix:Hebrew alphabet

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English bēoþ, present plural of bēon (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *biunþi, third-person present plural of *beuną (“to be, become”).

Alternative forms

• beþ

Verb

beth

1. plural present indicative of been

Usage notes

The usual plural form of been is aren in the North, been in the Midlands, and beth in the South; sind also existed, especially early on, but was not the predominant form in any area.

Etymology 2

From Old English biþ, with the vowel of the infinitive leveled in.

Alternative forms

• biþ, bith

Verb

beth

1. Alternative form of bith

Etymology 3

From Old English bēoþ, plural imperative form of bēon, from Proto-Germanic *beuþ, second-person plural imperative form of *beuną.

Alternative forms

• beþ

Verb

beth

1. plural imperative of been

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• ·bed

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʲeθ/

Verb

·beth

1. third-person singular past subjunctive of at·tá

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
beth	beth pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/	mbeth
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Welsh

Etymology 1

Originally pa beth (“which thing”) with the soft mutation of peth (“thing”) after pa (“which”), from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis.

Alternative forms

• be’ (colloquial)
• pa beth (literary)

Pronunciation

• (standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /beːθ/
  • (colloquial) IPA^(key): /beː/, /bɛ/
• Rhymes: -eːθ, -eː

Pronoun

beth

1. what?

Derived terms

• beth bynnag (“whatever; anyway”)
• ta beth (“whatever; anyway”)

Related terms

• dim, dim byd (“nothing”)
• pob dim, popeth (“everything”)
• rhywbeth (“something”)
• unrhyw beth (“anything”)

Etymology 2

See peth (“thing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beːθ/

Noun

beth

1. Soft mutation of peth.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
peth	beth	mheth	pheth
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.