Beast (bēst), n. [OE. best,
beste, OF. beste, F.
bête, fr. L.
bestia.]
1. Any living creature; an animal; -- including man, insects, etc. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Any four-footed animal, that may be used for
labor, food, or sport; as,
a beast of burden.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his
beast.
Prov. xii.
10.
3. As
opposed to man: Any irrational animal.
4. Fig.: A coarse, brutal, filthy, or degraded fellow.
5. A game
at cards similar to loo. [Obs.] Wright.
6. A penalty at
beast, omber, etc. Hence: To be
beasted, to be beaten at beast, omber, etc.
Beast royal, the lion. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Syn. -- Beast, Brute. When we use these words in a
figurative sense, as applicable to human beings, we think of
beasts as mere animals
governed by animal appetite; and of brutes as being destitute of reason or
moral feeling, and governed by unrestrained passion. Hence we speak of
beastly appetites; beastly indulgences, etc.; and of brutal manners; brutal inhumanity;
brutal ferocity.
So, also, we
say of a drunkard, that he first made
himself a beast, and then treated his family like a
brute.
Hear it pronounced