Category:Beam

Beam, n. Etym: [AS. beám beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. bam tree, OS. b, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. ba, Goth. bahms and Gr. a growth, 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. Be; cf. Boom a spar.]

1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship. The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks. Totten.

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

4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended. The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. Pope.

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

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

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.

8. The straight part or shank of an anchor.

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.

10. (Steam Engine)

Defn: 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.

11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat. How far that little candle throws his beams ! Shak.

12. Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort. Mercy with her genial beam. Keble.

13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather. 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 angled 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.

Beam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beamed (p. pr. & vb. n. Beaming.]

Defn: To send forth; to emit; -- followed ordinarily by forth; as, to beam forth light.

Beam, v. i.

Defn: To emit beams of light. He beamed, the daystar of the rising age. Trumbull.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Beam - Occurs in the Authorized Version as the rendering of various Hebrew words. In 1 Samuel 17:7, it means a weaver's frame or principal beam; in Habakkuk 2:11, a crossbeam or girder; 2 Kings 6:2, 2 Kings 6:5, a cross-piece or rafter of a house; 1 Kings 7:6, an architectural ornament as a projecting step or moulding; Ezekiel 41:25, a thick plank. In the New Testament the word occurs only in Matthew 7:3, Matthew 7:4, Matthew 7:5, and Luke 6:41 - 6:42, where it means (Gr. dokos ) a large piece of wood used for building purposes, as contrasted with "mote" (Gr. karphos ), a small piece or mere splinter. "Mote" and "beam" became proverbial for little and great faults.