bealing n Also sp beeling [Scots, nIr, nEngl dial (EDD beal v.3 1.(2), SND beal, beel v., n.1 4)] formerly more widespread, now chiefly Appalachians, OH See Map Cf beal n, v, bealed ppl adj, gather v B5, rising n 1
A boil or abscess.
1800 in 2006 Montgomery From Ulster 18 csNC, I am near hardly able for to walk with a Bealing in my Left Leg. 1809 Reporter (Washington PA) 19 June [3]/4, He is a little lame, occasioned by a bealing on the right ankle. 1824 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 259 swNC, Your negro woman Easther has been verry bad with a bealing on her brest. 1886 Amer. Philol. Assoc. Trans. 17.37 Sth, Bealing, a ‘boil or sore.’ Very common in East Tennessee, and known also in the West. 1902 DN 2.229 sIL, Beelin. 1908 Eve. Independent (Massillon OH) 23 Nov 2/4, Miss Golda Graybill, who is confined to the house with a bealing in her ear, is a little better at this writing. 1912 DN 3.571 wIN,Bealing. 1914 DN 4.103 KS,Bealing. 1927 AmSp 2.348 WV, He has a bad bealing on his hand. 1933 Daily News (Huntingdon PA) 2 Oct 7/4, Mrs. James Gill is suffering with a beeling on her hand. 1939 AmSp 14.155 WV, Beal. . . To suppurate. Bealing. . . A swelling, a boil. . . Both words are currently used by the natives of Huntington and vicinity. 1943 Titusville Herald (PA) 23 Jan 7/4, Mrs. Wanda Welsh of Titusville is spending some time with her parents. . . She is suffering from a bealing on her finger. 1959 Hench Coll. VA Mts, A Ch[arlottes]ville V[irgini]a doctor said that “a bealing [is] an infection of the ear.” 1965–70 DARE (Qu. BB37, When yellowish stuff comes out of a person’s ear, he has a _____) 15 Infs, chiefly Appalachians, Bealin’; VA1, Bealin’ in his head; OH66, PA142, Bealing [15 of 18 Infs old]; (Qu. BB30, . . A hard, painful swelling . . under the skin) Infs OH50, PA74, Bealing; (Qu. BB33a, . . A swelling under the skin, bigger than a pimple, that comes to a head) Infs TN12, WV13, Bealing. 1990 Cavender Folk Med. Lexicon 18 csAppalachians, Beal—to become infected, to fester. . . Also used as a noun: “There’s a bealing on my back.”
