Nearby words
bespatter, bespeak, bespeckle, bespectacled, bespoke, bespoken, bespread, besprent, besprinkle, bess, bessarabia
Origin of bespoken
1600–10 for def 2
Related formsun·be·spo·ken, adjectivewell-be·spo·ken, adjective
Definition for bespoken (2 of 2)
bespeak
[ bih-speek ]
/ bɪˈspik /
verb (used with object), be·spoke or (Archaic) be·spake; be·spo·ken or be·spoke; be·speak·ing.
to ask for in advance: to bespeak the reader's patience.
to reserve beforehand; engage in advance; make arrangements for: to bespeak a seat in a theater.
Literary. to speak to; address.
to show; indicate: This bespeaks a kindly heart.
Obsolete. to foretell; forebode.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bespoken
British Dictionary definitions for bespoken
bespeak
/ (bɪˈspiːk) /
verb -speaks, -speaking, -spoke, -spoken or -spoke (tr)
to engage, request, or ask for in advance
to indicate or suggestthis act bespeaks kindness
poetic to speak to; address
archaic to foretell
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bespoken
bespeak
Old English besprecan "speak about, speak against, complain," from be- + sprecan "to speak" (see speak). A common Germanic compound (cf. Old Saxon bisprecan, Dutch bespreken, Old High German bisprehhan, German besprechen); originally "to call out," it evolved a wide range of meaning in English, including "speak up," "oppose," "request," "discuss, "arrange," and "to order (goods)" (1580s).
The connection of the senses is very loose; some of them appear to have arisen quite independently of each other from different applications of BE- pref. [OED]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper