bedizen
[ bih-dahy-zuh n, -diz-uh n ]
/ bɪˈdaɪ zən, -ˈdɪz ən /
verb (used with object)
to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
bedeck, embellish, festoon, beautify, embroider, adorn, drape, swaddle, swathe, fit, cloak, disguise, attire, equip, dress, trim, illuminate, deck, brighten, grace
Nearby words
Origin of bedizen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bedizen
bedizen
/ (bɪˈdaɪzən, -ˈdɪzən) /
verb
(tr) archaic to dress or decorate gaudily or tastelessly
Word Origin for bedizen
C17: from be- + obsolete dizen to dress up, of uncertain origin
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
bedizen
1660s, from be- + dizen "to dress" (1610s), especially, from late 18c., "to dress finely, adorn," originally "to dress (a distaff) for spinning" (1520s), and evidently the verbal form of the first element in distaff.
It is remarkable that neither the vb., nor the sb. as a separate word, has been found in OE. or ME., and that on the other hand no vb. corresponding to dizen is known in L.G. or Du. [OED]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper