BEAM

Beam. Beam
Occurs in the Authorized Version as the rendering of various Hebrew words. In 1 Sam. 17:7, it means a weaver’s frame or principal beam; in Hab. 2:11, a crossbeam or girder; 2 Kings 6:2, 5, a cross-piece or rafter of a house; 1 Kings 7:6, an architectural ornament as a projecting step or moulding; Ezek. 41:25, a thick plank. In the New Testament the word occurs only in Matt. 7:3, 4, 5, and Luke 6:41, 42, where it means (Gr. dokos) a large piece of wood used for building purposes, as contrasted with “mote” (Gr. karphos), a small piece or mere splinter. “Mote” and “beam” became proverbial for little and great faults.

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BEAM. → Weaver's 1Sa 17:7; 2Sa 21:19 → FIGURATIVE

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beam. Beam, n. a main timber, balance of scales, ray of the sun, &c. yoke of a chariot, horn of a stag

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Beam (bēm), n. [[AS. beám beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. bām tree, OS. bōm, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. baðmr, Goth. bagms and Gr. φυ̑μα a growth, φυ̑ναι to become, to be. Cf. L. radius staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. √97. See Be; cf. Boom a spar.]] 1. 1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.
2. 2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship.
The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks. Totten. 3. 3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another.
4. 4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. Pope. 5. 5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches.
6. 6. The pole of a carriage. Dryden.
7. 7. A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam.
8. 8. The straight part or shank of an anchor.
9. 9. The main part of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it.
10. 10. (Steam Engine) A heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft; — called also working beam or walking beam.
11. 11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat.
How far that little candle throws his beams! Shak. 12. 12. Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort.
Mercy with her genial beam. Keble. 13. 13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; — called also beam feather.
Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams, and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed. — Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of an engine vibrates. — Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; — used for drawing or describing large circles. — Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft. — Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that point of the compass toward which the ship steers. — On the beam, in a line with the beams, or at right angles with the keel. — On the weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind. — To be on her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her beams approach a vertical position.