bestead
1 Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
Etymology
Origin of bestead1
First recorded in 1575–85; be- + stead
Origin of bestead2
1300–50; Middle English bisted, bistad, equivalent to bi be- + sted, variant of stad placed < Old Norse staddr, past participle of stethja to place, derivative of stathr place
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sir Gernot," said Rudeger ill bestead, "That you were safe in Rhineland, and I with honor dead!
From The Nibelungenlied Revised Edition by Unknown
Downy pillow take thy head, Silken coverlet bestead, Sunshine help thy sleeping!
From Heads and Tales : or, Anecdotes and Stories of Quadrupeds and Other Beasts, Chiefly Connected with Incidents in the Histories of More or Less Distinguished Men. by White, Adam
In sooth I deem him of celestial race; Fear argues souls degenerate and base; But he—how oft by danger sore bestead, What warlike exploits did his lips retrace.
From The Æneid of Virgil Translated into English Verse by E. Fairfax Taylor by Taylor, Edward Fairfax
If I ain’t the worst bestead woman in the world!
From The Sun Maid A Story of Fort Dearborn by Raymond, Evelyn
The Vallombrosan monk, who thus bestead the Viceroy at his need, was, as Varchi records, rewarded by the bishopric of Muro, in the kingdom of Naples, which, adds the historian, "he still holds."
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 09 by Johnson, Rossiter
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
