From BAILEY:
To BECOME [of be and cpeman, Sax. to please, of bequemen, G. to adapt or make fit, or bequem, G. fit, or of bekommen, G. to thrive or agree with] to befit, to adorn; also to be made or done.
From JOHNSON:
To BECO’ ME. v. n. pret. I became; comp. pret. I have become. [from by and come.]
1. To enter into some state or condition, by a change form some other.
The Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Genesis, ii. 7.
And unto the Jews I became a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. I Corin. ix. 20.
A smaller pear, grafted upon a stock that beareth a greater pear, will become great. Bacon.
My voice thou oft hath heard, and hath not feared,/But still rejoiced; how is it now become/ So dreadful to thee? Milton.
So the least faults, if mix’d with fairest deed,/Of future ill become the fatal deed. Prior.
2. To become of. To be the fate of; to be the end of; to be the subsequent or final condition of. It is observable, that this word is never, or very seldom, used but with what, either indefinite or interrogative.
What is then become of so huge a multitude, as would have overspread a great part of the continent. Raleigh.
Perplex’d with thoughts, what would become of me, and all mankind. Milton.
The first hints of circulation of the blood were taken from a common person’s wondering what became of all the blood that issued out of the heart. Graunt.
What will become of me then? for when he is free, he will infallibly accuse me. Dryden.
What became of this thoughtful busy creature, when removed from this world, has amazed the vulgar, and puzzled the wife. Rogers.
3. In the following passage, the phrase, where is he become? is used for, what is become of him?
I cannot joy, until I be resolv’d Where our right valiant father is become. Shakesp.
From WEBSTER:
BECOME, v. i. becum. pret. became. pp. become. [Sax. becumen, to fall out or happen; D. bekoomen; G. bekommen, to get or obtain; Sw. bekomma; Dan. bekommer, to obtain; be and come. These significations differ from the sense in English. But the sense is, to come to , to arrive, to reach, to fall or pass to. [See COME.] Hence the sense of suiting, agreeing with. In Sax. cuman, Goth. kwiman, is to come, and Sax. cweman, is to please, that is, to suit or be agreeable.]
1. To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or condition, by a change from another state or condition, or by assuming or receiving new properties or qualities, additional matter, or a new character; as a cion becomes a tree.
The Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
To the Jew, I became a Jew.
2. To become of, usually with what preceeding; to be the fate of; to be the end of; to be the final or subsequent condition; as, what will become of our commerce? what will become of us?
In the present tense, it applies to place as well as condition. What has become of my friend? that is, where is he? as well as, what is his condition? Where is he become? used by Shakespeare and Spenser, is obsolete; but this is the sense in Saxon, where has he fallen?
Full Titles:
Dictionarium Britannicum: or a more compleat universal etymological English dictionary than any extant. By Nathan Bailey. Second Edition. London, T. Cox, 1736.
A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words are Deduced from Their Originals, and Illustrated in Their Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers. To which are prefixed, A History of the Language, and An English Grammar. By Samuel Johnson, LL.D. In Two Volumes.–Vol. I. The Sixth Edition. London: Printed for J. F. and C. Rivinton, L. David, T. Payne and Son, W. Owen, T. Longman, B. Law, J. Dodsley, C. Dilly, W. Lowndes, G. G. J. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, Jo. Johnson, J. Robson, W. Richardson, J. Nichols, R. Baldwin, W. Goldsmith, J. Murray, W. Stuart, P. Elmsly, W. Fox, S. Hayes, A. Strahan, W. Bent, T. and J. Egerton, and M. Newberry. 1785.
An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. The origin, affinities and primary signification of English words, as far as they have been ascertained. II. The genuine orthography and pronunciation of words, according to general usage, or to just principles of analogy. III. Accurate and discriminating definitions, with numerous authorities and illustrations, To which are prefixed, An Introductory Dissertation of the Origin, History and Conection of the Languages of Western Asia and of Europe, and a Concise Grammar of the English Language. By Noah Webster, LL. D. In Two Volumes. Vol. I. New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe-New Haven. 1828.
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