Bemean

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɪˈmiːn/Rhymes: -iːn

From Middle English bemenen, equivalent to - + mean("to signify"). Compare Middle High German bemeinen ("to mean").

Alternative forms

• bemene

Full definition of bemean

Verb

1. (transitive, obsolete) To mean; signify; inform.

From - + mean("base, lowly"), from Middle English mene, aphetic variation of Middle English imene ("average, lowly, mean"), from Old English ġemǣne ("mean, common, average"). More at mean.

Verb

1. To make mean or base, demean.
• 1973 , Alfred Bertram Guthrie , Wild Pitch Chapter , I fished carefully, used wet flies and dry, all that I had in my book, and even bemeaned myself by baiting a plain hook with a grasshopper.

Usage notes

Wontedly used reflexively, as in "to bemean oneself"

Synonyms

• demean

Anagrams

• bename