Dictionary entry

Beguine

Webster's Dictionary 1913

‖Be′guine″ (�), n. [F. béguine; LL. beguina, beghina; fr. Lambert le Bègue (the Stammerer) the founder of the order. (Du Cange.)] A woman belonging to one of the religious and charitable associations or communities in the Netherlands, and elsewhere, whose members live in beguinages and are not bound by perpetual vows.