beteem

English

Etymology 1

From be- + teem (to befit). Cognate with Dutch betamen (to befit, behove, beseem).

Verb

beteem (third-person singular simple present beteems, present participle beteeming, simple past and past participle beteemed)

  1. (transitive, obsolete) To permit; allow; suffer.
    • 1601, "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, act 1 scene 2 lines 139-143:
      So excellent a king, that was to this / Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother / That he might not beteem the winds of heaven / Visit her face too roughly.
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To grant, vouchsafe (something to someone); accord; give.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:
      So would I (said th'enchaunter) glad and faine / Beteeme to you this sword, you to defend [...].
  3. (transitive, dialectal) To bestow; afford; allow; deign.

Etymology 2

From be- + teem (to produce).

Verb

beteem (third-person singular simple present beteems, present participle beteeming, simple past and past participle beteemed)

  1. (transitive, obsolete) To bring forth; produce; shed.

Etymology 3

From be- + teem (to empty, pour).

Verb

beteem (third-person singular simple present beteems, present participle beteeming, simple past and past participle beteemed)

  1. (transitive, rare) To pour all about.

Anagrams

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