Beast \Beast\, n. [OE. best, beste, OF. beste, F. b[^e]te, fr. L. bestia.]

1. Any living creature; an animal; -- including man, insects, etc. [Obs.]

--Chaucer.

2. Any four-footed animal, that may be used for labor, food, or sport; as, a beast of burden.

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. --Prov. xii. 10.

3. As opposed to man: Any irrational animal.

4. Fig.: A coarse, brutal, filthy, or degraded fellow.

5. A game at cards similar to loo. [Obs.]

--Wright.

6. A penalty at beast, omber, etc. Hence: To be beasted, to be beaten at beast, omber, etc.

Beast royal, the lion. [Obs.]

--Chaucer.

Syn: Beast, Brute.

Usage: When we use these words in a figurative sense, as applicable to human beings, we think of beasts as mere animals governed by animal appetite; and of brutes as being destitute of reason or moral feeling, and governed by unrestrained passion. Hence we speak of beastly appetites; beastly indulgences, etc.; and of brutal manners; brutal inhumanity; brutal ferocity. So, also, we say of a drunkard, that he first made himself a beast, and then treated his family like a brute.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)