different between beam vs belt

English

Etymology

From Middle English beem, from Old English b?am (“tree, cross, gallows, column, pillar, wood, beam, splint, post, stock, rafter, piece of wood”), from Proto-Germanic *baumaz (“tree, beam, balk”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?ew- (“to grow, swell”). Cognate with West Frisian beam (“tree”), Saterland Frisian Boom (“tree”), Dutch boom (“tree”), German Low German Boom (“tree”), German Baum (“tree”), Luxembourgish Bam (“tree”), Albanian bimë (“a plant”). Doublet of boom.

The verb is from Middle English bemen, from Old English b?amian (“to shine, to cast forth rays or beams of light”), from the noun.

Pronunciation

• enPR: b?m, IPA^(key): /bi?m/
• Rhymes: -i?m

Noun

beam (plural beams)

1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

   • 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.

2. One of the principal horizontal structural members, usually of timber or concrete, of a building; one of the transverse members of a ship's frame on which the decks are laid — supported at the sides by knees in wooden ships and by stringers in steel ones.
   • 1905, Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle

     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.

3. (nautical) 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)

   Synonym: breadth

   • 1892, Sydney Marow Eardley-Wilmot, The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century Chapter 7

     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.

4. The crossbar of a mechanical balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
5. The principal stem of the antler of a deer.
6. (literary) The pole of a carriage or chariot.
8. (textiles) 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.
9. The straight part or shank of an anchor.
10. 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.
11. 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.

    Synonyms: working beam, walking beam

12. A ray or collection of approximately parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body.

    a beam of light

    a beam of energy
13. (figuratively) A ray; a gleam.

    a beam of hope, or of comfort
14. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk.

    Synonym: beam feather

15. (music) A horizontal bar which connects the stems of two or more notes to group them and to indicate metric value.
16. (railway) An elevated rectangular dirt pile used to cheaply build an elevated portion of a railway.

Hyponyms

• (textiles): fore beam, back beam

See also

• Thesaurus:stick

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

beam (third-person singular simple present beams, present participle beaming, simple past and past participle beamed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To emit beams of light; shine; radiate.

   to beam forth light

2. (intransitive, figuratively) To smile broadly or especially cheerfully.
3. (transitive) To furnish or supply with beams
4. (transitive) To give the appearance of beams to.
5. (transitive, science fiction) To transmit matter or information via a high-tech wireless mechanism.

   Beam me up, Scotty; there's no intelligent life down here.

   The injured crewmembers were immediately beamed to sickbay.

6. (transitive, currying) To stretch something (for example an animal hide) on a beam.
7. (transitive, weaving) To put (something) on a beam
8. (transitive, music) To connect (musical notes) with a beam, or thick line, in music notation.

Translations

Anagrams

• BAME, Bame, Mabe, ambe, bema, mabe

German

Verb

beam

1. singular imperative of beamen

Old English

Alternative forms

• beom

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *baum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bæ???m/

Noun

b?am m (nominative plural b?amas)

1. tree

   Synonyms: tr?ow, wudu

2. beam of wood

   Synonym: bord

   1. gallows, gibbet (hanging device with a crossbeam)

      Synonym: ?ealga

   2. (by extension) the Cross
      • Codex Vercillensis

Declension

Derived terms

• si?eb?am

Descendants

• Middle English: beem
  • Scots: beme
  • English: beam
    • ? German: beamen
    • ? Japanese: ???

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [be?am]

Verb

beam

1. first-person singular imperfect indicative of bea
2. first-person plural imperfect indicative of bea

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian b?m, from Proto-West Germanic *baum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b???m/

Noun

beam c (plural beammen, diminutive beamke)

1. tree

Derived terms

• hefbeam

Further reading

• “beam”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

English

Etymology

From Middle English belt, from Old English belt (“belt, girdle”), from Proto-Germanic *baltijaz (“girdle, belt”), from Latin balteus (“belt, sword-belt”), of Etruscan origin. Cognate with Scots belt (“belt”), Dutch belt, German Balz (“belt”), Danish bælte (“belt”), Swedish bälte (“belt, cincture, girdle, zone”) and Icelandic belti (“belt”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?lt/
• Rhymes: -?lt

Noun

belt (plural belts)

1. A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.

2. A band used as a restraint for safety purposes, such as a seat belt.

3. A band that is used in a machine to help transfer motion or power.

4. Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe.

5. A trophy in the shape of a belt, generally awarded for martial arts.

6. (astronomy) A collection of rocky-constituted bodies (such as asteroids) which orbit a star.
7. (astronomy) One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.
8. A powerful blow, often made with a fist or heavy object.

9. A quick drink of liquor.

10. (usually capitalized) A geographical region known for a particular product, feature or demographic (Corn Belt, Bible Belt, Black Belt, Green Belt).
11. (baseball) The part of the strike zone at the height of the batter's waist.

12. (weaponry) A device that holds and feeds cartridges into a belt-fed weapon
13. (music) Vocal tone produced by singing with chest voice above the break (or passaggio), in a range typically sung in head voice.

Synonyms

• (band worn around waist): girdle, waistband, sash, strap
• (band used as safety restraint): restraint, safety belt, seat belt
• (powerful blow): blow, punch, sock, wallop
• (quick drink of liquor): dram, nip

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Afrikaans: belt
• ? Assamese: ????? (belto)
• ? Bengali: ????? (bel?)
• ? Dutch: belt
• ? Hindi: ????? (bel?)
• ? Irish: beilt
• ? Japanese: ??? (beruto)
• ? Oriya: ?????? (bel?)
• ? Urdu: ????? (bel?)
• ? Welsh: belt

Translations

Verb

belt (third-person singular simple present belts, present participle belting, simple past and past participle belted)

1. (transitive) To encircle.

2. (transitive) To fasten a belt on.

3. (transitive) To invest (a person) with a belt as part of a formal ceremony such as knighthood.
4. (transitive) To hit with a belt.

5. (transitive, normally belt out) To scream or sing in a loud manner.

6. (transitive) To drink quickly, often in gulps.

7. (transitive, slang) To hit someone or something.
8. (transitive, baseball) To hit a pitched ball a long distance, usually for a home run.

9. (intransitive) To move very fast.

Synonyms

• (to encircle): circle, girdle, surround
• (to fasten a belt): buckle, fasten, strap
• (to hit with a belt): strap, whip
• (to drink quickly): gulp, pound, slurp
• (to hit someone or something): bash, clobber, smack, wallop
• (to move quickly): book, speed, whiz, zoom

Derived terms

• belted l
• belt out
• belt up
• beltloop

Translations

Anagrams

• blet

Afrikaans

Etymology

Borrowed from English belt.

Noun

belt (plural belde)

1. A belt (garment).

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?lt/
• Hyphenation: belt
• Rhymes: -?lt

Etymology 1

A variant of bult.

Noun

belt m or f (plural belten, diminutive beltje n)

1. (archaic) A heap, hill
2. A dumpsite, notably for waste products.

Derived terms

• asbelt
• afvalbelt
• beltmolen
• gifbelt
• vuilnisbelt
• zandbelt

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English belt.

Noun

belt m (plural belten, diminutive beltje n)

1. (Suriname) (clothing) A belt.

Synonyms

• riem, broeksriem, gordel

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

belt

1. second- and third-person singular present indicative of bellen
2. (archaic) plural imperative of bellen

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic ?????? (balad).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?lt/

Noun

belt f (plural bliet)

1. A city, town.

Related terms

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *baltijaz. Cognate with Old High German balz, Old Norse belti.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /belt/, [be?t]

Noun

belt m (nominative plural beltas)

1. A belt.

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: belt
  • English: belt (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: belt