beam
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: bēm
ipa: /biːm/
rhymes: -iːm
Forms: form: beams
Etymology: From Middle English beem, from Old English bēam (“tree, cross, gallows, column, pillar, wood, beam, splint, post, stock, rafter, piece of wood”), from Proto-West Germanic *baum, from Proto-Germanic *baumaz (“tree, beam, balk”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to grow, swell”).
Cognate with North Frisian Boom, buum (“tree”), Saterland Frisian Boom (“tree”), West Frisian beam (“tree”), Cimbrian pome, póom, puam (“tree”), Dutch boom (“tree”), German Low German Boom (“tree”), German Baum (“tree”), Luxembourgish Bam (“tree”), Mòcheno pa'm (“tree”), Vilamovian baojm (“tree”), Yiddish בוים (boym, “tree”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish bom (“beam”), Icelandic baðmur (“tree”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃 (bagms, “tree”), Albanian bimë (“a plant”). Doublet of boom.
The original English meaning of beam ("tree") is preserved in some compound words such as quickbeam.
The verb is from Middle English bemen, from Old English bēamian (“to shine, to cast forth rays or beams of light”), from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: And a letter vnto Asaph the keeper of the kings forrest, that he may giue me timber to make beames for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the Citie, and for the house that I shall enter into: And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God vpon me.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Nehemiah 2:8:
qualifier: structural
glosses: Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.
examples: text: The brasswork here, how rich it is in beams, / And how, besides, it makes the whole house sound.
ref: 1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume (please specify the book number), London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC:
text: Lucie opened the door: and what do you think there was inside the hill?—a nice clean kitchen with a flagged floor and wooden beams—just like any other farm kitchen.
ref: 1905, Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle:
qualifier: structural
glosses: One of the principal horizontal structural members, usually of steel, timber, or concrete, of a building.
examples: text: Capt. King, from Demarara, was invaded by the gale on the evening of the 6th, in lat. 21° 51', and his vessel was thrown on her beam ends. He was forced to cut away her main-mast. Lost a man, who was washed overboard.
. . .
Capt. Mood, on a voyage from Alexandria (Virginia), to St. Mary's (Georgia), was, on the night of the 7th, in the Gulf Stream, to the eastward of Charlston: the wind there was east-north-east, and so hard as to throw his vessel on her beam ends. She lay several hours in this situation. Several of his crew were washed overboard.
ref: 1805 Alexander Tilloch. Account of a terrible Hurricane in the West Indies 1804. Philosophical Magazine. Vol. XXI. P. 14
text: 1808 Richard Hall Gower. On the Theory and Practice of Seamanship.
It often happens that by a sudden squall of wind a vessel is thrown over upon her beam ends, without a prospect of recovering her erect while she remains upon the same tack, therefore attempts are made to veer her; but as the rudder lies along the surface of the water it becomes useless, and as the sails are either blown from the yards, or become unmanageable, recourse is had to cutting away the main-mast and mizen-mast, that the ship may veer under the fore-mast:-a most desperate expedient, particularly if the ship is far distant from port!
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: One of the transverse members of a ship's frame on which the decks are laid, and acting as part of the support for keeping the sides of the vessel in shape — supported at the sides by knees in wooden ships and by stringers in steel ones; cf. abeam, beam-ends.
examples: text: This ship has more beam than that one.
text: Being only 280 ft. long, with a beam of 66 ft, their speed is moderate, and for a long time difficulty was experienced in steering them.
ref: 1892, Sydney Marow Eardley-Wilmot, The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century, Chapter 7:
topics: nautical
transport
synonyms: breadth
glosses: The maximum width of a vessel (note that a vessel with a beam of 15 foot can also be said to be 15 foot abeam).
examples: As the vessel passes a landmark, the landmark is said to be abeam. Once the vessel has passed the landmark, it falls abaft the beam, then it gradually falls astern.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: The direction across a vessel, perpendicular to fore-and-aft.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: The straight part or shank of an anchor.
examples: text: The doubtful beam long nods from side to side.
ref: 1714, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC, canto V:
topics: engineering
mechanical
mechanical-engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: The crossbar of a mechanical balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
topics: engineering
mechanical
mechanical-engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
synonyms: working beam
walking beam
glosses: In steam engines, a heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft.
qualifier: agricultural
glosses: The central bar of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it.
examples: text: a beam of light
text: a beam of energy
text: That light we ſee is burning in my hall: / How farre that little candle throws his beames, / So ſhines a good deed in a naughty world.
ref: c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
text: What tho’ the moon—the white moon
Shed all the splendour of her noon,
Her smile is chilly—and her beam,
In that time of dreariness, will seem
(So like you gather in your breath)
A portrait taken after death.
ref: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:
text: A total of 15,000 beams of neutrinos were fired over a period of 3 years from CERN towards Gran Sassoin Italy, 730km (500 miles) away, where they were picked up by giant detectors.
ref: 2011 September 22, Nick Collins, “Speed of light 'broken' by scientists”, in Daily Telegraph:
topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: A ray or collection of approximately parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body.
qualifier: anatomical
glosses: The principal stem of the antler of a deer.
synonyms: beam feather
qualifier: anatomical
glosses: One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk.
examples: text: Soon after this be subdued the Pisidians who made head against him, and conquered the Phrygians, at whose chief city Gordium (which is said to have been the seat of the ancient Midas) he saw the famous chariot fastened with cords made of the bark of the Cornel-Tree, and was informed that the inhabitants had a constant tradition, that the empire of the world was reserved for him who should untie the knot. Most are of opinion, that Alexander finding that he could not untie it, because the ends of it were secretly folded up within it, cut it asunder with his sword, so that several ends appeared. But Aristobulus tells us that he very easily undid it, by only pulling the pin out of the beam which fastened the yoke to it, and afterwards drawing out the yoke itself.
ref: a''' 1700, André Dacier, John Dryden, “Life of Alexander”, in Plutarch's Lives, translation of original by Plutarch:
glosses: The pole of a carriage or chariot.
topics: business
manufacturing
textiles
glosses: A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving and the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven.
examples: text: a beam of hope, or of comfort
text: Worthless and lost our offerings seem, / Drops in the ocean of his praise; / But Mercy with her genial beam / Is ripening them to pearly blaze, / To sparkle in His crown above, / Who welcomes here a child's as there an angel's love.
ref: 1827, [John Keble], “Third Sunday after Epiphany”, in The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year, volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [B]y W. Baxter, for J. Parker; and C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 68:
glosses: A ray; a gleam.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A horizontal bar which connects the stems of two or more notes to group them and to indicate metric value.
qualifier: railway
glosses: An elevated rectangular dirt pile used to cheaply build an elevated portion of a railway.
topics: gymnastics
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Ellipsis of balance beam.
examples: text: He could barely remove the beam from his face when he said: "Arsenal is a massive club and you feel the pressure but I try to put in performances.
ref: 2023 September 3, Phil McNulty, “Declan Rice: The game-changing midfielder Arsenal need for title challenge”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: A broad smile.
Hyponyms: H-beam
I-beam
T-beam
fore beam
back beam
Derived terms: abeam
airbeam
Airy beam
balance beam
beamage
beam and scales
beambird
beambreak
Beam Bridge
beam compass
beam-ends
beam engine
beamer
beamform
beamformed
beamformer
beamforming
beamful
beam hole
beamish
beamless
beamlet
beamlike
beamline
beam-on
beampattern
beampipe
beam reach
beam sea
beamshelf
beamsome
beamspace
beam splitter
beam steering
beam-steering
beamster
beamstop
beamstrahlung
beamtime
beam tracing
beamtrain
beam tree
beamwalk
beamwalking
beamwidth
beamy
Bessel beam
beta-beam
bond beam
breastbeam
broad across the beam
broad in the beam
buffer beam
bufferbeam
camber beam
carbeam
chemical beam epitaxy
collar beam
counter beam
country beam
crossbeam
daybeam
dragon beam
e-beam
electron beam
embeam
equalising beam
exposed beam
eyebeam
fender beam
fish beam
forebeam
fork beam
full-beam
Gaussian beam
glee-beam
hammer beam
hardbeam
high-beam
hornbeam
hyperbeam
interbeam
kick the beam
ladder beam
laser beam
low-beam
microbeam
minibeam
molecular beam epitaxy
moonbeam
multibeam
nanobeam
needle beam
offbeam
off-beam
off the beam
on-beam
onbeam
on one's beam ends
outbeam
particle beam
photobeam
pilot beam
ploughbeam
presser beam
pressor beam
repulsor beam
ridge beam
rocking beam
rood beam
roofbeam
sandwich beam
scalebeam
sealed beam
section beam
sharebeam
shoebeam
shoe beam
slaught-beam
spot beam
spring beam
starbeam
straining beam
summerbeam
sunbeam
superbeam
tail-beam
tie beam
tiebeam
tightbeam
tiller-beam
tractor beam
traffic beam
truck beam
turning-beam
waybeam
weighbeam
whitebeam
yarn-beam
Related terms: stick