beheld

[bih-held]

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verb

simple past tense and past participle of behold.

Related formsun·be·held, adjective

behold

[bih-hohld]

verb (used with object), be·held, be·hold·ing.

to observe; look at; see.

interjection

look; see: And, behold, three sentries of the King did appear.

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 for behold

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1. regard, gaze upon, view; watch; discern.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for be-held

realized, recognized, noticed, attended, checked, detected, stare, notice, consider, read, study, watch, see, peer, glance, view, observe, attend, register, perceive

Examples from the Web for be-held

Historical Examples of be-held

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

the past tense and past participle of behold

behold

verb -holds, -holding or -held (often used in the imperative to draw attention to something) archaic, or literary

to look (at); observe

Derived Formsbeholder, noun

Word Origin for behold

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

past tense and past participle of behold.

behold

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].