being

English Online Dictionary. What means being‎? What does being mean?

English

Alternative forms

• beeing (archaic)
• beïng (rare)

Etymology

Originated 1250–1300 from Middle English being; see be + -ing.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːɪŋ/, /ˈbiːŋ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbiɪŋ/, /ˈbiŋ/
• Rhymes: -iːɪŋ, -ɪŋ
• Hyphenation: be‧ing

Verb

being

1. present participle and gerund of be

Noun

being (countable and uncountable, plural beings)

1. A living creature.
2. The state or fact of existence, consciousness, or life, or something in such a state.
   • 1608-1634, John Webster (and perhaps Thomas Heywood), Appius and Virginia

     Claudius, thou / Wast follower of his fortunes in his being.
3. (philosophy) That which has actuality (materially or in concept).
4. (philosophy) One's basic nature, or the qualities thereof; essence or personality.
5. (obsolete) An abode; a cottage.

Synonyms

• (a living creature): See also Thesaurus:creature
• (the state or fact of existence): See also Thesaurus:existence

Derived terms

Translations

Conjunction

being

1. Given that; since.
   • , New York Review Books 2001, p.280:

     ’Tis a hard matter therefore to confine them, being they are so various and many […].

Synonyms

• as, because, seeing that; see also Thesaurus:because

Derived terms

• being that

Translations

References

• “being”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “being”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "being" in the Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), K Dictionaries limited, 2000-2006.
• "being" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

See also

Anagrams

• Bengi, begin, binge

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peiŋʲkʲ/

Noun

being f (dative singular being or beingidh, genitive singular beinge, plural beingean)

1. bench, form

Declension

• Alternative dative singular: beingidh (Uist, Barra)
• Alternative genitive singular: beingeadh (Uist, Barra)