BETRAYING

Etymology

Verb

betraying

present participle of betray

Noun

betraying (plural betrayings)

betrayal

Oh, by what plots, by what forswearings, betrayings, oppressions, imprisonments, tortures, poisonings, and under what reasons of state and politic subtilty, have these forenamed kings […] pulled the vengeance of God upon themselves […]

Source: Wiktionary


BETRAY

Be*tray", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Betrayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Betraying.] Etym: [OE. betraien, bitraien; pref. be- + OF. traĂŻr to bertray, F. trahir, fr. L. tradere. See Traitor.]

1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly; as, an officer betrayed the city. Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. Matt. xvii. 22.

2. To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive; as, to betray a person or a cause. But when I rise, I shall find my legs betraying me. Johnson.

3. To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known. Willing to serve or betray any government for hire. Macaulay.

4. To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally. Be swift to hear, but cautious of your tongue, lest you betray your ignorance. T. Watts.

5. To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin. Genius . . . often betrays itself into great errors. T. Watts.

6. To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.

7. To show or to indicate; -- said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed. All the names in the country betray great antiquity. Bryant.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 May 2025

EARTHSHAKING

(adjective) sufficiently significant to affect the whole world; “earthshaking proposals”; “the contest was no world-shaking affair”; “the conversation...could hardly be called world-shattering”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee starts as a yellow berry, changes into a red berry, and then is picked by hand to harvest. The red berry is de-shelled through a water soaking process and what’s left inside is the green coffee bean. This bean then dries in the sun for 3-5 days, where it is then packed and ready for sale.

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