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definitions

bethought

[bih-thawt]
verb
  1. simple past tense and past participle of bethink.

bethink

[bih-thingk]
verb (used with object), be·thought, be·think·ing.
  1. to think; consider (used reflexively): He bethought himself a moment.
  2. to remind (oneself): to bethink oneself of family obligations.
  3. to remember; recall (used reflexively): She lives in the past now, bethinking herself of happier days.
  4. to determine; resolve: Under the circumstances I could not otherwise bethink me.
  5. Archaic. to bear in mind; remember.
verb (used without object), be·thought, be·think·ing.
  1. Archaic. to consider; meditate.

Origin of bethink

before 1000; Middle English bethenken, Old English bethencan. See be-, think1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bethought

reminisce, remember, deliberate, devise, recall, mind, recollect, reflect

Examples from the Web for bethought

Historical Examples of bethought

  • Then he bethought him that there was one beside him who was fitter to judge on such a matter.

    The White Company

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • Then, he bethought himself of a subtle form of rebuke by emphasizing his generosity.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • All at once, Jason bethought himself of the galley's miraculous figure-head.

    Tanglewood Tales

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • "I may not see you folks again till supper," he bethought him to call back.

    Good Indian

    B. M. Bower

  • Mr Dorrit bethought himself that he had business at his banker's.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for bethought

bethought

verb
  1. the past tense and past participle of bethink

bethink

verb -thinks, -thinking or -thought archaic, or dialect
  1. to cause (oneself) to consider or meditate
  2. (tr often foll by of) to remind (oneself)
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
Word Origin and History for bethought

bethink

v.

reflexive verb, Old English beþencan "to consider," from be- + þencan "to think" (see think). Related: Bethought.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper