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Been
Definitions
- 1 plural of bee UK, dialectal, form-of, plural
- 1 past participle of be. form-of, participle, past
"All the fries have been eaten."
- 2 Synonym of be (infinitival sense). rare
"It useta been five foot long."
- 3 plural simple present of be. form-of, obsolete, plural, present
"My love is fair, my love is gay, / As fresh as been the flowers in May;"
- 4 remote past form of be.
"He been had that job."
Etymology
From Middle English been (past participle), from Old English (ġe)bēon. By surface analysis, be + -en.
Either from Middle English been (“to be”, infinitive) (from Old English bēon, equivalent to be + -en (infinitive ending)), or from a dialectal use of the preceding past tense form as an infinitive form (compare dialectal use of (I)'s, (I) is in the first person, (he) am in the third person, etc).
From Middle English been (plural indicative form); equivalent to be + -en (plural present ending).
From Middle English been, bene, ben, beon, from Old English bēon (“bees”), equivalent to bee + -en (plural ending).
See also for "been"
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Unscramble this word: been