besta

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• Rhymes: -aː

besta

1. inflection of bestaan:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative
   4. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive

• baste, batse

From Old Galician-Portuguese besta, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbesta/ [ˈbes̺.t̪ɐ]
• Rhymes: -esta
• Hyphenation: bes‧ta

besta f (plural bestas)

1. beast (quadruped animal)
2. horse or any other equine
   • 1326, Antonio López Ferreiro, editor, Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática, Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page 295:

     pelas bestas de caualgar et carrega

     for the animals [used] for riding or for carrying load

   • 1813, anonymous author, Conversa no adro da igrexa:

     Dixêronme que asta á besta que trouxêra á balixâ con tan boa notisea, chegara mais sedo do que habia doito leda coma un cuco.

     They told me that even the horse that brought the postbag with such good news arrived earlier than usual, happy as a lark.

3. mount
   • 1775, María Francisca Isla y Losada, Romance:

     Virés acò meu Dieguiño
     cando ò tempo milloràr,
     porqe si escorrega á Besta
     è esbarroufàs, alabay.

     You'll come here my little Diego
     when the weather improves
     because if the mount slips
     and you sprawl, here goes nothing!

4. mare

   Synonym: egua

5. (figuratively) brute

   Synonym: bruto

• besta brava (“wild horse”)

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛsta̝/

besta f (plural bestas)

1. misspelling of bésta

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “besta”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “besta”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “besta”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “besta”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “besta”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

besta f (definite singular besta, indefinite plural bester or bestor, definite plural bestene or bestone)

1. (pre-2012) alternative form of beste f
2. definite singular of beste f

besta (present tense bestar or bester, past tense besta or beste, supine and past participle besta or best, present participle bestande, imperative best)

1. alternative spelling of beste

besta

1. (dialectal or obsolete) neuter definite singular of best

• bestia
• bescha

Probably borrowed from Latin bēstia (“beast”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbes̺.ta/

besta f (plural bestas)

1. beast (a non-human animal, especially large vertebrate quadrupeds)
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 124 (facsimile):

     aue nen beſta dele non comiu per ren.

     Neither bird nor beast would eat him for anything.

2. beast of burden, donkey
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 147 (facsimile):

     a beſtia de balaam

     Balaam's donkey

• (beast): animalia, animalla

• Galician: besta
• Portuguese: besta

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese besta, probably borrowed from Latin bēstia (“beast”). Doublet of bicha.

• bêsta (pre-reform spelling)

• Rhymes: -estɐ
• Hyphenation: bes‧ta

besta f (plural bestas)

1. beast (any large animal)

   Synonyms: bicho, animal, fera

2. beast of burden (animal used to transport cargo)

   Synonym: besta de carga

3. ass (any of several species of horse-like animals)

   Hyponyms: asno, burro, jumento

4. (euphemistic, with definite article) the Beast; Satan

   Synonyms: demónio / demônio, Satã, Satanás, Diabo

5. (by extension) a monster

besta m or f by sense (plural bestas)

1. (derogatory) fool; idiot (stupid person)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:idiota

besta m or f (plural bestas)

1. (derogatory) idiotic, stupid
2. astonished, speechless (extremely surprised)

   Synonyms: estupefato, pasmo

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese baesta (“crossbow”), from Latin bālista, from Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα (ballístra). Doublet of balista.

• Rhymes: -ɛstɐ, (Brazil, proscribed) -estɐ
• Hyphenation: bes‧ta

besta f (plural bestas)

1. crossbow (weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• Rhymes: -ɛstɐ
• Hyphenation: bes‧ta

besta

1. inflection of bestar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “besta”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “besta”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026