beam

n. [ AS. beám beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. bām tree, OS. bōm, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. baðmr, Goth. bagms and Gr. fy^ma a growth, fy^nai to become, to be. Cf. L. radius staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. √97. See Be; cf. Boom a spar. ] 1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended. [ 1913 Webster ]

The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The pole of a carriage. [ Poetic ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. The straight part or shank of an anchor. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. The main part 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Steam Engine) 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; -- called also working beam or walking beam. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat. [ 1913 Webster ]

How far that little candle throws his beams! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. (Fig.): A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mercy with her genial beam. Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams, and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed. --
Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of an engine vibrates. --
Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles. --
Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft. --
Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that point of the compass toward which the ship steers. --
On the beam, in a line with the beams, or at right angles with the keel. --
On the weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind. --
To be on her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her beams approach a vertical position. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To emit beams of light. [ 1913 Webster ]

He beamed, the daystar of the rising age. Trumbull. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A small European flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola), so called because it often nests on a beam in a building. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Furnished with beams, as the head of a stag. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tost his beamed frontlet to the sky. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Beamy; radiant. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a beaming manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being beamy. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Emitting beams; radiant. [ 1913 Webster ]