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beheld

[bih-held]
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verb
  1. simple past tense and past participle of behold.
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Related formsun·be·held, adjective

behold

[bih-hohld]
verb (used with object), be·held, be·hold·ing.
  1. to observe; look at; see.
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interjection
  1. look; see: And, behold, three sentries of the King did appear.
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Origin of behold

before 900; Middle English beholden, Old English behaldan to keep. See be-, hold1
Related formsbe·hold·a·ble, adjectivebe·hold·er, nounun·be·hold·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms

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1. regard, gaze upon, view; watch; discern.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for be-held

Historical Examples

  • The proph-et's keen vi-sion, trans-pierc-ing the a-ges, Be-held us to 5.

    Birth of a Reformation

    Andrew Byers

  • He turn-ed his eyes a-round, and be-held, much to his dis-may, a fierce wolf pre-par-ing to spring up-on him.

    The Giant Hands

    Alfred Crowquill

British Dictionary definitions for be-held

beheld

verb
  1. the past tense and past participle of behold
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behold

verb -holds, -holding or -held (often used in the imperative to draw attention to something) archaic, or literary
  1. to look (at); observe
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Derived Formsbeholder, noun

Word Origin

Old English bihealdan; related to Old High German bihaltan, Dutch behouden; see be-, hold
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for be-held

beheld

v.

past tense and past participle of behold.

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behold

v.

Old English bihaldan (West Saxon behealdan) "give regard to, hold in view," also "to keep hold of, to belong to," from be- + haldan, healdan (see hold). Related: Beheld; beholding. A common West Germanic compound, cf. Old Saxon bihaldan "hold, keep," Old Frisian bihalda, Old High German bihaltan, German behalten, but "[t]he application to watching, looking, is confined to English" [OED].

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper