Definition of beast

The word "beast" has its roots in the Old English language, where it was spelled as "bēast" or "bes(t)". It derived from the Germanic word "*b�зан-*", which referred to any merely sensuous or animalistic aspect of human nature. In Old English, "bēast" had a broader meaning than its modern usage. It was applied to animals, both wild and domesticated, as well as to humans in their brutish or base natures. For example, the Old English tale "Beowulf" uses "bēost" to describe both ferocious beasts like the monstrous Grendel and unpleasant traits such as greed or jealousy in human characters. The Middle English period (1100-1485) saw the "b" in "beast" being pronounced as a "v" sound due to a linguistic shift known as the Great Vowel Shift. This created the variant form "beest" which was still in use in Early Modern English. In Early Modern English, the concept of a person being called a beast for their brutish or inhumane behavior became more common. By Shakespeare's time, plays like "King Lear" and "A Winter's Tale" featured characters being called beasts as insults, as well as in reference to their animalistic natures. Today, the meaning of the word "beast" has narrowed down to primarily refer to wild or fierce animals, especially ones that are not domesticated or easily tamed, in contrast with its earlier connotation of ill-natured traits in humans.