bework
verbUK /bɪˈwɜːk/ · US /bɪˈwɝk/
Etymology From Middle English bewurchen, from Old English bewyrċean, bewyrċan (“to work, construct, surround with, enclose, cover, work in, insert, adorn”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- + *wirkijaną (“to work”), equivalent to be- + work. Cognate with North Frisian bewerke (“to bework, edit”), Dutch bewerken (“to work, manipulate”), German bewirken (“to bring about, effect”), Danish bevirke (“to cause”). More at be-, work.
1
To work around or about; surround.
2
To work, as with thread; embroider.
3
To work over; rework; edit.
- The author, who knows the answer, beworks his brains to give it in a satisfactory and intelligible form to his audience; [...]1882, John Devenish Hoppus, Riverside papers:
- Related terms
- bywork