beechen

English

Etymology

From Middle English bechen, from Old English bēċen (“made of beechwood, beechen”), Proto-West Germanic *bōkīn, equivalent to beech +‎ -en. Cognate with Dutch beuken (“beechen”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbiːt͡ʃən/

• Audio (US):

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Adjective

beechen (not comparable)

1. Consisting or made of the wood or bark of the beech tree.
   • 1881, Oscar Wilde, “Charmides”, in Poems, London: David Bogue, […], →OCLC, page 105:

     [T]o the altar each man brought some goodly offering, // A beechen cup brimming with milky foam, […]

   • 1988, J.R.R. Tolkien, Song of Beren and Lúthien:

     Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves,
     And one by one with sighing sound
     Whispering fell the beechen leaves
     In the wintry woodland wavering.

Translations

consisting, or made, of wood or bark of the beech

Dutch: beuken (nl) Finnish: pyökkinen, pyökkipuinen German: buchen (de) Turkish: kayın (tr)

References

• “beechen”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Middle English

Adjective

beechen

1. alternative form of bechen