adv. Obs. exc. dial. Forms: 3–6 bidene, 4 biden, bedeine, 4–6 by-, bedene, bedeyne, 5 bydeene, beedene, beden, 6 bedyn, 8–9 bedeen. [ME. bidene, a word of constant occurrence in northern ME. verse, but of uncertain origin; its senses run partly parallel with those of ANON, but it is often used without any appreciable force, as a rhyme word, or to fill up the measure. Its latter part is almost certainly the early ME. adv. æne, ene, OE. ǽne ‘once, at once, in one, together’ (cf. the ME. phrases at ene at once, for ene for once, and see ENE): but the bid- is difficult of explanation.
Marsh and Mätzner compared Du. bijdien, MDu. bidên, bidien, LG. bidên ‘by that, thereby, beside that,’ which must be discarded; Stratmann compared LG. binêne (? for bî êne), and suggested that bidene might be for bi ene, but offered no explanation of the -d-. Prof. Zupitza (note to Guy of Warwick, 15th c. version, l. 2408) suggests a corruption of *mid ene, comparing MHG. mitein, mit eine, ‘together, unà.’ This completely suits the sense; also, the change of initial m to b, though unusual, is not unexampled; cf. esp. MHG. bitalle for mit alle ‘wholly, entirely.’ But there are historical difficulties in the non-appearance of *mid ǽne in OE., or of mid éne, bidene, in early southern ME., where alone mid was retained; in the rise and use of bidene in the north, where mid was not retained in ME.; and in the fact that the Old Northumbrian had not mid, but mið, so that the Anglian form would have been mið éne. These difficulties are only partially removed, if, for mid, we start from the more northern with. In the Old Usages of Winchester (E. E. Guilds), we see wiþ-inne, wiþ-owte, transformed into by-þinne, by-þowte, through assimilation to by; similarly *wið ene, *wiþ ene, might be changed into *bi-ðene, *by-þene; but the change of the latter into bi-dene, would still remain to be explained.]
1. In one body or company, together. All bedene: all together; altogether, completely. Cf. ANON 1.
c. 1200. Ormin, 4793. He [Job] forrlæs hiss streon Onn an daȝȝ all bidene, Tenn menn.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1553. Manes sinne … corrupt all þis world bidene.
1340. Hampole, Pr. Consc., 8044. A vesselle dypped alle bidene In water.
a. 1450. Myrc, Par. Pr., 1870. And also halowet alle by-dene.
1522. World & Child, in Hazl., Dodsl., I. 268. All this company that is gathered here bi-dene.
2. Sometimes perhaps: Straight on, continuously, right through so as to include the whole quantity or number; one after another. Cf. ANON 3.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1457. Enos son liued al biden Nine hundret yeir and fiue, i wene. Ibid., 11560. To sle the childryn alle by-dene [v.r. be-, bidene] Wyth-ynne the toun of bedlem.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, V. 144. [He] sperit tithandis of the queyn, And of his frendis all bedeyn.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, XXIX. 12092. He besit hym … Fele dayes bedene, or he þat dere fonde.
c. 1420. Pallad. on Husb., I. 184. To till a felde man must have diligence, And balk it not; but eree it up bydene.
c. 1475[?]. Sqr. Lowe Degree, 272. Take thy leve of kinge and quene, And so to all the courte bydene.
3. Straightway, at once, forthwith, immediately. Cf. ANON 4.
a. 1300. E. E. Psalter l. 4. Nou mare me wasche of min ivel bi-dene.
c. 1460. Launfal, 907, in Ritson, Met. Rom., I. 209. The kyng answerede bedene, Well come, ye maydenes schene.
1513. G. Douglas, Æneis, I. ii. 33. Warp all thair bodyis in the deip bedene.
1786. Har’st Rig, in Pop. Sc. Poems, 49. The master is set sair, And vows bedeen that he will share His staff amang them.
1791. A. Wilson, Laurel Disput., Wks. (1846), 124. A saxpence too, to let me in bedeen.
4. Sometimes perhaps: In a little while, by and by, ‘anon.’ Cf. ANON 5.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron., 149. And Richard oste bidene at Marsille left alle þo.
1470. Harding, Chron., ccxv. To Caleice so he came and home bee dene.
a. 1550. Christis Kirke Gr., xxii. Fresch men cam in and hail’d the dulis, And dang them doun in dailis Bedene.
1830. Hogg, in Blackw. Mag., XXVIII. 738. Read on our Bibles, pray bedeen.
5. As an expletive, or without appreciable force.
c. 1350. Med. MS. Archæol., XXX. 351. And stampe alle togedir bedene And wryngis thorow a cloth clene.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, XV. 108. Fra develling came schippis xv Chargit with armyt men bedeyne [v.r. bedene, bedeene].
c. 1420. Anturs Arth., liii. Bothe the king and the quene, And other duȝti bi-dene.
1810. Tannahill, Poems (1846), 139. Ye’ll baith come owre on Friday bedeen, And join us.
