besot

[bih-sot]

verb (used with object), be·sot·ted, be·sot·ting.

to intoxicate or stupefy with drink.
to make stupid or foolish: The stories had besotted her mind with fear and superstition.
to infatuate; obsess: Youth and beauty have a tendency to besot middle-aged men; charm and tenderness does it for women of all ages.

Origin of besot

First recorded in 1575–85; be + sot

Related formsbe·sot·ting·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

They've besot the house, and are a givin' lip to frighten folks.
The Attache
Thomas Chandler Haliburton
The Indian wished to exercise men's minds equally, and give them pleasure; the popes wished to besot men's minds.
Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary
Voltaire
Up at Fort Shurdan they had a ginmill where th' warryors cud go an' besot thimsilves with bottled beer an' dominoes.
Mr. Dooley Says
Finley Dunne

"affect with a foolish manifestation," 1570s, from be- + sot. Related: Besotted; besotting.