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. traïr 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