- On the beam
- Beam Beam (b[=e]m), n. [AS. be['a]m beam, post, tree, ray of
light; akin to OFries. b[=a]m tree, OS. b[=o]m, D. boom, OHG.
boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. ba[eth]mr, Goth. bagms and Gr.
fy^ma a growth, fy^nai 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. [root]97.
See {Be}; cf. {Boom} a spar.]
1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to
its thickness, and prepared for use.
[1913 Webster]
2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship. [1913 Webster]
The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks. --Totten. [1913 Webster]
3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another. [1913 Webster]
4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended. [1913 Webster]
The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches. [1913 Webster]
6. The pole of a carriage. [Poetic] --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
8. The straight part or shank of an anchor. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
10. (Steam Engine) 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}. [1913 Webster]
11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat. [1913 Webster]
How far that little candle throws his beams! --Shak. [1913 Webster]
12. (Fig.): A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort. [1913 Webster]
Mercy with her genial beam. --Keble. [1913 Webster]
13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also {beam feather}. [1913 Webster]
{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 angles 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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
