| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| beast |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  b st |
| NOUN: | 1a. An animal other than a human, especially a large four-footed mammal. b. New England & Southern U.S. A large domestic animal, especially a horse or bull. 2. Animal nature as opposed to intellect or spirit: “So far the beast in us has insisted upon having its full say” (William Dean Howells). 3. A brutal, contemptible person. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English beste, from Old French, from Latin bstia.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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