Be

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To exist or have life ; to occupy a place or take place ; to have a certain identity, quality or condition ; used with another verb to form progressive or passive constructions
2. Having existence or life ; located somewhere or happening ; describing what something or someone is or how it stands ; helping form continuous tenses or passive voice
3. Existing or living ; situated in a location or occurring ; equal to or characterized by a specific nature or state ; serving as an auxiliary for ongoing or passive actions

Etymology: English's most common verb is a patchwork of several unrelated verbs that merged over centuries. The b- forms, such as "being" and "been", descend from Old English "bēon", which goes back to an ancient root meaning roughly "to grow" or "to become." The past participle "been" came through Middle English "ybeen", from Old English "gebēon". The w- forms, including "was" and "were", come from a different Old English verb, "wesan". Its past tense was shared with the w- forms, which is why "was" and "were" look so unlike the rest of the paradigm. Forms such as "am", "is" and "are" arrived from yet other sources, so the verb's conjugation was assembled from fragments that once had no connection to one another.

Synonyms: exist, live, remain

Antonyms: cease