bies

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bies"

Cornish

Verb

bies

1. inflection of bos (“to be”):
   1. second-person singular pluperfect indicative
   2. impersonal pluperfect indicative
   • Gwiw vies dhe gavos krog, my a'n te, re'n jydh hedhyw.

     I swear it to you by this day you'd be fit for a hanging.

Mutation

Mutation of bies

radical	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
bies	vies	unchanged	pies	fies, vies*

* after 'th
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch biese, from Old Dutch *biesa, from Proto-West Germanic *beusu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bis/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bies
• Rhymes: -is

Noun

bies f (plural biezen, diminutive biesje n)

1. a bulrush, club-rush; any of various plants from the genera Scirpus, Schoenoplectus or Bolboschoenus, particularly Schoenoplectus
2. piping (on a seam)

Derived terms

• biesachtig
• biesband
• biesbos
• bieskorf
• bieslint
• bieslook
• biestarwe
• biezen
• bosbies
• mattenbies
• oeverbies
• ruwe bies
• zeebies
• zijn biezen pakken

Descendants

• → Indonesian: bis

East Central German

Etymology

Compare German böse.

Adjective

bies

1. (Erzgebirgisch) evil, malicious
2. (Erzgebirgisch) bad, naughty
3. (Erzgebirgisch) angry

   Bisste bies?

   Are you angry?

Further reading

• Hendrik Heidler (11 June 2020), Hendrik Heidler's 400 Seiten: Echtes Erzgebirgisch: Wuu de Hasen Hoosn haaßn un de Hosen Huusn do sei mir drhamm: Das Original Wörterbuch: Ratgeber und Fundgrube der erzgebirgischen Mund- und Lebensart: Erzgebirgisch – Deutsch / Deutsch – Erzgebirgisch‎^[1] (in German), 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 23

Limburgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bis/

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch beeste, from beste, from Old French beste, from Latin bēstia.

Noun

bies f or n (plural bieste, diminutive bieske)

1. animal, beast
2. cattle
3. pet
4. miser, penny pincher

Usage notes

• Usage in the neuter gender is by conflation with etymology 2, and may be proscribed.

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch biese, from Old Dutch *biesa, from Proto-West Germanic *beusu.

Noun

bies n (plural bieze, diminutive bieske)

1. common reed (Phragmites australis)
2. sedge (Cyperaceae)

References

• “bies”, in D'n Dictionair‎^[2] (overall work in English, Dutch, and Limburgish), Limburgish Academy, 2007-present

Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɪːs/
• Rhymes: -ɪːs

Etymology 1

Root
b-w-s
5 terms

Inherited from Arabic بَاسَ (bāsa).

Verb

bies (imperfect jbus, past participle mibjus, verbal noun bews)

1. to kiss

Conjugation

Conjugation of bies (Form I, hollow, ie ~ u)

positive forms
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
perfect	m	bist	bist	bies	bisna	bistu	biesu
	f			bieset
imperfect	m	nbus	tbus	jbus	nbusu	tbusu	jbusu
	f			tbus
imperative			bus			busu
negative forms
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
perfect	m	bistx	bistx	biesx	bisniex	bistux	besux
	f			besitx
imperfect	m	nbusx	tbusx	jbusx	nbusux	tbusux	jbusux
	f			tbusx
imperative			tbusx			tbusux

Etymology 2

Inherited from Arabic بَاز (bāz).

Noun

bies m (plural bisien or bjies or ibies or ibsa)

1. peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)

   Synonym: bies prim

2. Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo)

   Synonyms: bies sekond, falkett

3. flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans)

   Synonyms: falkun, rondinella, garnaw, ħamiema, pixxi seqer

Derived terms

• bies prim
• bies sekond
• bies tad-deżert (bies rari, bies rasu qastnija)
• bies tal-ħamiem
• bies tal-Lvant
• bies tar-reġina
• bies ta’ Barbarija (bies tal-barr)

Old Irish

Verb

bies

1. alternative form of bias

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish bies, from Old Ruthenian бѣсъ (běs), from Proto-Slavic *bě̑sъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *baiˀsás (“someone frightening”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoyh₂-dʰh₁-so-s, from the root *bʰeyh₂- (“to fear”). Compare Lithuanian bai̇̃sas.

Expected native form *bias is attested in toponym Biasowice.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbjɛs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Syllabification: bies

Noun

bies m animal (augmentative biesisko)

1. devil, demon, evil spirit

   Synonyms: czart, czort, diabeł, kaduk, licho

   Co za bies rozrabia na strychu? ― What devil is causing trouble in the attic?

Declension

Declension of bies

	singular	plural
nominative	bies	biesy
genitive	biesa	biesów
dative	biesowi	biesom
accusative	biesa	biesy
instrumental	biesem	biesami
locative	biesie	biesach
vocative	biesie	biesy

Related terms

adjective

• biesowski

verb

• biesić

Further reading

• “bies”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “bies”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)
• Wanda Decyk-Zięba, editor (2018-2022), “bies”, in Dydaktyczny Słownik Etymologiczno-historyczny Języka Polskiego [A Didactic, Historical, Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), →ISBN

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

bies n (Cyrillic spelling биес)

1. obsolete spelling of bijes

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French biais.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbjes/ [ˈbjes]
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: bies

Noun

bies m (plural bieses)

1. (textiles) bias

Derived terms

• al bies

Further reading

• “bies”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026