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Webster 1913 Edition

Beware

Be-ware′

,
Verb.
I.
[
Be
, imperative of verb to be +
ware
. See
Ware
,
Wary
.]
1.
To be on one’s guard; to be cautious; to take care; – commonly followed by of or lest before the thing that is to be avoided.
Beware
of all, but most
beware
of man !
Pope.
Beware
the awful avalanche.
Longfellow.
2.
To have a special regard; to heed.
[Obs.]
Behold, I send an Angel before thee. . . .
Beware
of him, and obey his voice.
Ex. xxiii. 20, 21.
☞ This word is a compound from be and the Old English ware, now wary, which is an adjective. “Be ye war of false prophetis.”
Wyclif, Matt. vii. 15.
It is used commonly in the imperative and infinitive modes, and with such auxiliaries (shall, should, must, etc.) as go with the infinitive.

Be-ware′

(bē̍-wâr′)
,
Verb.
T.
To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
[Obs.]
“Priest, beware your beard.”
Shak.
To wish them
beware
the son.
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Beware

BEWA'RE

, v.i.
1.
Literally, to restrain or guard one's self from. Hence, to regard with caution; to restrain one's self from anything that may be dangerous, injurious or improper; to avoid; to take care; followed by of before the thing that is to be avoided.
Beware of all, but more beware of man.
Beware of false prophets; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees; beware of the concision.
2.
To have a special regard to.
Behold, I send an angel before thee--beware of him, and obey his voice. Ex.23.
[This is unusual and hardly legitimate.]
This word though here admitted as a verb, from the Saxon,is rarely used as a verb in fact; or if a verb, is now never used except in the imperative mode It is a compound of be and the Old Eng. ware, now wary. Be wary of danger. Hence it cannot be used with did, like a regular verb, nor with be, in any of its inflections, he is beware; for this would be to use the substantive verb twice before ware and wary, is and be. Ben Jonson however has used the word in the third person. He bewares to act. But it has no past tense or participle, and therefore, if admitted as a verb, it is defective,and used only in the imperative mode, or after an auxiliary.
We must beware of excess.

Definition 2024

beware

beware

English

Verb

beware ‎(third-person singular simple present -, present participle -, simple past and past participle -)

  1. (defective, transitive, intransitive) To use caution, pay attention to (used both with and without of).

Usage notes

The verb was traditionally used without of (e.g. "beware the ides of March", from Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2, 15–19, by Shakespeare), but it is often used with the preposition today.

The verb beware has become a defective verb and now lacks forms such as the third-person singular simple present bewares and the simple past bewared. It can only be used imperatively (Beware of the dog!) or as an infinitive (You must beware of the dog or They told me to beware of the dog).

The inflected forms bewares, bewared, and bewaring are called obsolete in Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, along with the simple indicative "I beware". The forms bewares and bewared are very rarely found in modern texts, though bewaring is slightly less rare. These inflections are more likely to be found in very old texts.

The meanings of the obsolete inflected forms can be easily understood by replacing "beware" with the more modern equivalent consisting of a conjugated form of "be" and the word "wary". For example "bewares" means the same as "is wary", "bewared" the same as "was wary", etc.

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

beware

  1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of bewaren

Etymology

be- +‎ ware

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌbiˈwɛəɹ/, IPA(key): /ˌbɪˈwɛəɹ/ IPA(key): /ˌbəˈwɛəɹ/
    Rhymes: -ɛə(r)

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