beastings

[bee-stingz]

noun (used with a singular verb)

beestings.

beestings

or beast·ings, biest·ings

[bee-stingz]

noun (used with a singular verb)

the first milk or colostrum of a mammal, especially a cow, after giving birth.

Origin of beestings

before 1000; late Middle English bestynge, Old English bȳsting, equivalent to bēost beestings (cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German biost, German Biest) + -ing -ing¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for beastings

Historical Examples of beastings

He said to Taircheal, "Whence have you come from, you eater of beastings?"
Legends of Saints & Sinners
Douglas Hyde

British Dictionary definitions for beastings

beastings

noun

a US spelling of beestings

beestings

biestings or US beastings

noun

(functioning as singular) the first milk secreted by the mammary glands of a cow or similar animal immediately after giving birth; colostrum

Word Origin for beestings

Old English bӯsting, from bēost beestings; related to Middle Dutch biest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for beastings

beestings

"colostrum," Old English bysting, from beost, a general West Germanic word (cf. Old High German biost, German Biest, Middle Dutch and Dutch biest, of unknown origin.