v. Obs. exc. dial. Forms: 1 beði-an, 1–5 bethe, 6– beath. [OE. bęðian to foment:—OTeut. *baþian; a parallel form to OE. baðian (:—*baþôn) to BATHE, preserving the original notion of heat: see BATH.]
1. To foment, bathe with warm liquid.
c. 1000. Sax. Leechd., I. 72. Beða ðá éaʓan.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 2447. First .ix, niȝt ðe liches beðen, And smeren.
2. To heat unseasoned wood for the purpose of straightening it.
1496. Bk. St. Albans, Fysshynge, 8. Ye shall kytte … a fayr staffe … and bethe hym in a hote ouyn.
1580. Tusser, Husb. (1878), 62. Yokes, forks, and such other, let bailie spie out … And after at leasure let this be his hier, to beath them.
1653. W. Lauson, Secr. Angling, in Arb., Garner, I. 192. Beath them a little … all in a furnace. (Still in dialectal use. Also, ‘Meat improperly roasted is said in the Midland Counties to be beathed.’ Hal.)
