To beat, strike, or thrash; to lamb into someone (archaic). [Rare]
From 'be-' + 'lam' (to beat or strike, possibly from Old Norse lemja). The 'be-' prefix intensifies 'lam' to mean beating thoroughly or repeatedly.
This violent little word is a perfect example of how the 'be-' prefix once intensified almost any verb—'belam' means to really let someone have it, like the more intense cousin of 'lambast'!
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