BEHOLDEN

beholden

(adjective) under a moral obligation to someone

BEHOLD

behold, lay eyes on

(verb) see with attention; “behold Christ!”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

beholden (not comparable)

Obligated to provide, display, or do something for another; indebted, obliged.

Bound by external expectations, such as fashion or morality.

Source: Wiktionary

Be*hold"en, p. a. Etym: [Old p. p. of behold, used in the primitive sense of the simple verb hold.]

Definition: Obliged; bound in gratitude; indebted. But being so beholden to the Prince. Tennyson.

BEHOLD

Be*hold", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beheld ( (p. p. formerly Beholden (, now used only as a p. a.); p. pr. & vb. n. Beholding.] Etym: [OE. bihalden, biholden, AS. behealdan to hold, have in sight; pref. be- + healdan to hold, keep; akin to G. behalten to hold, keep. See Hold.]

Definition: To have in sight; to see clearly; to look at; to regard with the eyes. When he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. Num. xxi. 9. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John. i. 29.

Syn.

– To scan; gaze; regard; descry; view; discern.

Be*hold", v. i.

Definition: To direct the eyes to, or fix them upon, an object; to look; to see. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne, . . . a lamb as it had been slain. Rev. v. 6.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition