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.
And hard bestead was Sir Owen to shield himself from the smashing blows which rained upon him.
From King Arthur's Knights The Tales Re-told for Boys & Girls by Henry Gilbert
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 Edward Fairfax Taylor
Then let’s be merry in our God and King, That made us merry, being ill bestead.
From A Life of William Shakespeare with portraits and facsimiles by Sir Sidney Lee
And for he was far and fremd bestead Yslain he should have be.
From Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse by Various
Indeed, fair lady,” he added, “bear this in mind, that we are sore bestead, and may never look 180 upon each other’s face from this night forward till we die.”
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 8 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson
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.
