bestia

From Latin bēstia (“animal, beast”).

bestia f (plural bestias)

1. beast

• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) “bestia”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Derived from Latin bēstia.

bestia (epicene, plural besties)

1. (figurative, derogatory) brutal; coarse

bestia f (plural besties)

1. wild animal (beast)
   • 2000, Carlos Ealo López, José Luis Caramés Lage, sir gawain y el caballeru verde‎^[1], Academia Llingua Asturiana, →ISBN:

     Asina entama l’artificiu narrativu de Sir Gawain y el caballeru verde, anónimu inglés de finales del sieglu XIV qu’amuesa, cuasimente dende l’entamu, un mundu de caballeros y besties espantoses nel que l’honor de la Mesa Redonda pue quedar frayáu pa siempre.

     Thus beings the narrative creation of Sir Gawain and the Green Horse, nameless English from the end of the fourteen century that shows, almost from the start, a world of horses and frightening beasts that the Round Table’s honour can leave broken forever.

• “bestia” in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana (1ª edición). Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (2000). →ISBN.

From bes- +‎ tia.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [bəsˈti.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [besˈti.a]

bestia f (plural besties)

1. great-aunt

• besoncle

Borrowed from Latin bēstia (“beast”), of uncertain origin. First attested in 1507.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɛʃtijɒ]
• Hyphenation: bes‧tia
• Rhymes: -jɒ

bestia (plural bestiák)

1. (sometimes humorous) an animal, beast, especially a large and dangerous one

   Synonyms: állat; fenevad, vadállat

   1. an imaginary or mythical monster

      Synonyms: szörny, szörnyeteg

2. (derogatory, sometimes attributive) beast (a person who behaves in a violent, antisocial or uncivilized manner)

   Synonym: szörnyeteg

3. (derogatory) a bitch; a selfish or promiscuous woman
   1. (informal) an attractive or flirtatious woman
4. (derogatory) a mischievous or unruly child

   Synonyms: csibész, csirkefogó, rosszcsont

• bestia in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• bestia in Ferenc Pusztai, editor, Magyar értelmező kéziszótár [A Concise Explanatory Dictionary of Hungarian] (ÉKsz.²), 2nd, expanded and revised edition, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2003 (online searchable version under development).
• bestia in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Probably borrowed from Latin bēstia, but some sources^[1][2] consider it inherited. Cognate to biscia, which is definetly inherited.

• (Tuscany) IPA^(key): /ˈbes.tja/
  • Rhymes: -estja
  • Hyphenation: bé‧stia
• (central Italian, Romanesco) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛs.tja/^[3]
  • Rhymes: -ɛstja
  • Hyphenation: bè‧stia

bestia f (plural bestie)

1. beast
   • 13^th century, “ⅬⅩⅩⅩⅡ. De’ Pagoni [82. About Peacocks]”, in Trattato dell'agricoltura [Treatise On Agriculture]‎^[2], translation of Opus ruralium commodorum libri Ⅻ by Pietro De' Crescenzi, published 1605, page 474:

     Il nido si dee lor fare sotto tetto, e da terra levato, acciocchè serpente o bestia, andar non vi possa

     Their nest is to be made under a canopy, and above ground, so that no snake or [other] animal can get to it

• bestia da soma

• bestiale
• bestiaio
• bestiario
• biscia

• → Romanian: bestie
• → Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic script: бѐштија, бе̏стија

  Latin script: bèštija, bȅstija

• basite, beasti

Inherited from Old Spanish bestia (“beast”), from Latin bēstia (“beast”).

bestia f (Hebrew spelling ביסטייה)^[1]

1. animal; being; creature [16th c.]

   Synonyms: animal, animalia

   • 2006, Matilda Koén-Sarano, Por el plazer de kontar‎^[3], Nur Afakot, page 78:

     Durante la gerra, kuando estávamos en Mombaroccio, el papá refuzó siempre de komer karne de puerko i de bestias muertas.

     During the war, when we were in Mombaroccio, dad always refused to eat meat from pigs and dead animals.

The origin is unknown. A Proto-Indo-European preform *dʰwēstiā has been proposed, from the root *dʰwes- (“to breathe”) (compare 𐌳𐌹𐌿𐍃 (dius); more at deer), but this is uncertain since an initial f- would be expected in Latin; it apparently follows instead the same initial change of duellum > bellum (see w:History of Latin § Other).

• bēstia: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbeːs.ti.a]
• bēstia: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbɛs.t̪i.a]

bēstia f (genitive bēstiae); first declension

1. a beast
   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Proverbs.30.30:

     Leō fortissimus bēstiārum ad nūllīus pavēbit occursum.

     A lion, the strongest of beasts, who hath no fear of any thing he meeteth (Douay-Rheims trans., Challoner rev.)

First-declension noun.

• bēlua

Through the derived Vulgar Latin bīstia:

Romance borrowings:

External borrowings:

• “bestia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “bestia”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "bestia", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• bestia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “bestia”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “bestia”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 71
• Ernout, Alfred, Meillet, Antoine (1985) “bestia”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine: histoire des mots (in French), 4th edition, with additions and corrections of Jacques André, Paris: Klincksieck, published 2001, page 69b
• Walde, Alois, Hofmann, Johann Baptist (1938) “bestia”, in Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), 3rd edition, volume I, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, page 102
• Pokorny, Julius (1959) “269”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 269

• IPA^(key): /ˈbes̺.tja/

bestia f (plural bestias)

1. alternative form of besta

• vestia

Derived from Latin bēstia. Cognate with Old French beste and Old Galician-Portuguese besta.

bestia f (plural bestias)

1. animal; being; creature (deer; wight)

   Synonyms: animal, animalia

   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 63v:

     […] en ſemblança delas beſtias ſuujſta cuemo braſas de fuego encendidas e ſemblanca de lampades

     The appearance of the creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches

   1. wild animal (beast)
      • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 5v:

        Andat ⁊ matemoſle. Echemoſle en aq̃l pozo. E ueremos que prol aura so suenno. e pues diremos q̃ beſtia mala lo mato ⁊ lo comẏo. Oẏo lo ruben ⁊ peſol eq̃ſol enparar

        “Go and let us kill him. Let us throw him into that pit, and we shall see of what use his dream is to him! And then we will say that a fierce beast killed and ate him.” Reuben heard this and was grieved by it, and decided to protect him.

      • c. 1250, Alfonso X, Lapidario, f. 105v:

        […] preſtal contra contra toda ferida de culuebra o de alacran. o de otra beſtia emponzonada.

        It serves against any injury made by a snake or a scorpion, or of any other venomous beast.

• Ladino: bestia, ביסטייה
• Spanish: bestia
  • Papiamentu: bestia

• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946) “bestia”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume I, Chapel Hill, page 75

Inherited from Portuguese besta and Spanish bestia.

bestia

1. beast
2. animal

• berdyjá, bestyjá (Podegrodzie)

Learned borrowing from Latin bēstia.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛs.tja/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛstja
• Syllabification: bes‧tia

bestia f (diminutive bestyjka)

1. beast (non-human animal)

   Synonym: zwierz

2. (figurative) beast (person who behaves in a violent, antisocial, or uncivilized manner)

   Synonym: zwyrodnialec

• bestia in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bestia in Polish dictionaries at PWN

bestia

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of bestie

• bes-cha (Puter, Vallader), bestga (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan), biestg (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Sursilvan)

Derived from Latin bēstia.

bestia f (plural bestias)

1. (Sursilvan) animal

   Synonyms: (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Vallader) animal, (Sursilvan) tier

Inherited from Old Spanish bestia (“beast”), from Latin bēstia (“beast”). Compare English beast.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbestja/ [ˈbes.t̪ja]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -estja
• Syllabification: bes‧tia

bestia f (plural bestias, diminutive bestezuela)

1. beast

   Synonym: bicho

   • 1909, “Génesis I”, in Casiodoro de Reina, transl., edited by Cipriano de Valera, Biblia Reina-Valera‎^[4], Madrid: Depósito Central de la Sociedad Bíblica, page 2:

     Y á toda bestia de la tierra, y á todas las aves de los cielos, y á todo lo que se mueve sobre la tierra, en que hay vida, toda hierba verde les será para comer: y fué así.

     ‘And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, I have given every green herb for food.’ And it was so.

2. animal

   Synonym: animal

   Hyponym: bestia de carga

bestia m or f by sense (plural bestias)

1. (figurative, derogatory) brute (person who acts stupidly)

   Synonym: bruto

bestia m or f (masculine and feminine plural bestias)

1. (figurative, derogatory) brutal; coarse

   Él es demasiado bestia.

   He is too coarse.

• Papiamentu: bestia

• “bestia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “bestia”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

Borrowed from Latin bestia. Doublet of bìsa.

bestia f (plural bestie)

1. animal
2. beast
3. insect