Meaning of beldame | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A grandmother.
   obsolete
2. An old woman, particularly an ugly one.
   archaic

Examples

“There he was welcom'd of that honeſt ſyre, / And of his aged Beldame homely well; / Who him beſought himſelfe to diſattyre, / And reſt himſelfe, till ſupper time befell.”

“Diſeaſed nature oftentimes breakes forth, / In ſtrange eruptions, oft the teeming earth / Is with a kind of collicke pincht and vext, / By the impriſoning of vnruly wind / Within her vvombe, vvhich for enlargement ſtriuing / Shakes the old Beldame earth, and topples down / Steeples and moſſegrovvn towers.”

“Justice is an old hobbling beldame, and I can't get⟳ her to keep⟳ pace with Generosity, for the soul of me.”

“[…] have⟳ a curiosity to hear⟳ my fortune told: therefore, Sam, order⟳ the beldame forward⟳.”

“Therefore, the teacher of to-day is not the graybeard and beldame, but the man and woman most newly filled with the gathered experience⟳ of the world.”

“The tablets upon which the events of the day were recorded refer⟳ to enchantresses, and we can conclude⟳ that they were by no means restricted to ancient beldames.”

“Among the large number⟳ of characters are [...] young boys and old knowledgeable beldames familiar with every lubricity, every love⟳ charm and potion.”

“Suddenly the beldam shrieks as if she's been stuck with a dagger, long rasping insuck of breath: ‘Eeeeeeeee!’”

CEFR level