/bɪˈlaɪ/, /bəˈlaɪ/, /bɪˈlaɪ/
OriginFrom Middle English belyen, beliggen, from Old English beliċġan, biliċġan (“to lie around, surround, hedge in, encompass”), from Proto-West Germanic *biliggjan, from Proto-Germanic *biligjaną (“to lie around”). Equivalent to be- (“around, by”) + lie (“to be positioned”).
- obsolete, transitiveTo lie around; encompass.
- obsolete, transitiveTo surround; beleaguer.
- archaic, transitiveTo tell lies about.
“Thou do’ſt bely him Percy, thou doſt bely him; / He never did encounter with Glendower:”
- transitiveTo give a false representation of.
“Her smooth complexion and dark hair belie her actual age.”
“Should I do ſo I ſhould bely my thoughts, / Comfort's in heauen, and we are on the earth[…]”
“Pand. Lady, you vtter madneſſe, and not ſorrow.
Con. Thou art [not] holy to belye me ſo,
I am not mad: This haire I teare is mine”
- transitiveTo contradict, to show (something) to be false.
“Her obvious nervousness belied what she said.”
“Their trembling Hearts bely their boaſting Tongues.”
“Early Chinese Buddhist travellers like O'Kong (AD 759-763) mention the use of kesar in Buddhist Viharas for various rituals, and also in making paint for Buddhist scrolls and thankas. This fact belies”
- rare, transitiveTo call a liar; to accuse of falsehood.
“They haue belyed the Lord, and ſaid; It is not he, neither ſhall euill come vpon vs, neither ſhal we ſee ſwoꝛd noꝛ famine.”
- rare, transitiveTo fill with lies; to lie to.
“No, ’tis Slander, / Whoſe edge is ſharper then the Sword, whoſe tongue / Out-venomes all the Wormes of Nyle, whoſe breath / Rides on the poſting windes, / and doth belye All corners of the World.”
“Three belied you, three betrayed you! One you betrayed was three times true! Lord Voryn Dagoth, Dagoth Ur, steadfast liegeman, faithful friend, bids you come and climb Red Mountain!”
- transitiveTo conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).
“His calm demeanor belied his inner sense of guilt.”
“The rosy outlook belies a struggle to achieve statewide eradication that has persisted since the insect first crossed the border from Mexico around 1892.”
“At NIE the virtually monolingual linguistic landscape basically belies a quite different multilingual reality.”
- transitiveTo show, evince or demonstrate (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.
“A host of evidence is adduced by the accused, evidence whose sometimes self-contradictory nature belies a certain desperation”
“[…] a low, flat, boring building that belies its past as an IRS facility […]”
- obsoleteTo mimic; to counterfeit.
“Which durſt with horſes hoofs that beat the ground / And Martial brass bely the thunders ſound.”
“The Shape of Man, and imitated beſt; / The Walk, the Words, the Gesture cou'd ſupply, / The Habit mimick, and the Mien bely[…]”
Formsbelies(present, singular, third-person) · belying(participle, present) · belay(past) · belain(participle, past) · bely(alternative) · belied(participle, past) · belied(past)