BEHIGHT

Etymology

Verb

behight (third-person singular simple present behights, present participle behighting, simple past and past participle behighted or behight)

(obsolete, transitive) To vow, promise (someone).

(dialectal, Northern England) To be designated.

(obsolete, transitive) To give in trust; to commit; to entrust.

(obsolete) To mean, or intend.

(obsolete) To consider or esteem to be; to declare to be.

(obsolete) To call; to name; to address.

(obsolete) To command; to order.

Noun

behight (plural behights)

(obsolete) A vow; a promise.

Source: Wiktionary


Be*hight", v. t. [imp. Behight; p. p. Behight, Behoten.] Etym: [OE. bihaten, AS. behatan to vow, promise; pref. be- + hatan to call, command. See Hight, v.] [Obs. in all its senses.]

1. To promise; to vow. Behight by vow unto the chaste Minerve. Surrey.

2. To give in trust; to commit; to intrust. The keys are to thy hand behight. Spenser.

3. To adjudge; to assign by authority. The second was to Triamond behight. Spenser.

4. To mean, or intend. More than heart behighteth. Mir. for Mag.

5. To consider or esteem to be; to declare to be. All the lookers-on him dead behight. Spenser.

6. To call; to name; to address. Whom . . . he knew and thus behight. Spenser.

7. To command; to order. He behight those gates to be unbarred. Spenser.

Be*hight", n.

Definition: A vow; a promise. [Obs.] Surrey.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

13 February 2025

BREAK

(verb) cause the failure or ruin of; “His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage”; “This play will either make or break the playwright”


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Coffee Trivia

Plain brewed coffee contains almost no calories, while coffee with dairy products, sugar, and other flavorings is much higher in calories. An espresso has 20 calories. A nonfat latte has 72, while a flavored one has 134.

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