/ bɪ-/ prefix
1.
(in verbs) to make or treat sb/sth as :
Don't belittle his achievements (= say they are not important) .
An older girl befriended me.
2.
(in adjectives ending in -ed ) wearing or covered with :
heavily bejewelled fingers
bespattered with mud
3.
(in verbs and adjectives ending in -ed ) to cause sth to be :
The ship was becalmed.
The rebels besieged the fort.
4.
used to turn intransitive verbs (= without an object) into transitive verbs (= with an object) :
She is always bemoaning her lot.
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English , weak form of bī by .