beeld, beild

[BEILD, BIELD.] bēele, s. A kind of pickaxe used by miners. Bě-ěl-zě-bub, s. [In Gr. Βεελζεβούβ (Beel zebub ); Heb. בְּעַל זְבוּב ) Baalzebub ) from בָּעַל ב-ord of, and זְבוּב = a fly. 1. The fly-god, a god worshipped in the Philistine town of Ekron. (2 Kings i. 3.) 2. An evil spirit. [BEELZEBUL.] 3. Fig .: Any person of fiendish cruelty, who is so nicknamed by his adversaries, or in contempt of moral sentiment, appropriates the appellation to himself and cherishes it as if it were an honourable title. "His [Viscount Dundee's] old troopers, the Satans and Beelzebubs who had shared his crimes, and who now shared his perils, were ready to be the companions of his flight."-Macaulay: Hist. Eng . , ch. xiii."