bete

v. t. To better; to mend. See Beete. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pg. beatilha. ] An East India muslin, formerly used for cravats, veils, etc. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. be- + an old verb teem to be fitting; cf. D. betamen to beseem, G. ziemen, Goth. gatiman, and E. tame. See Tame, a. ] 1. To give ; to bestow; to grant; to accord; to consent. [ Obs. ] Spenser. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To allow; to permit; to suffer. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pg., fr. Tamil ve&tsdot_;&tsdot_;ilei, prop. meaning, a mere leaf. ] (Bot.) A species of pepper (Piper betle), the leaves of which are chewed, with the areca or betel nut and a little shell lime, by the inhabitants of the East Indies. It is a woody climber with ovate many-nerved leaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. Bételgeuse, of Arabic origin. ] (Astron.) A bright star of the first magnitude, near one shoulder of Orion. [ Written also Betelgeux and Betelgeuse. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The nutlike seed of the areca palm, chewed in the East with betel leaves (whence its name) and shell lime. [ 1913 Webster ]