bethought

[bih-thawt]

verb

simple past tense and past participle of bethink.

bethink

[bih-thingk]

verb (used with object), be·thought, be·think·ing.

to think; consider (used reflexively): He bethought himself a moment.

to remind (oneself): to bethink oneself of family obligations.

to remember; recall (used reflexively): She lives in the past now, bethinking herself of happier days.

to determine; resolve: Under the circumstances I could not otherwise bethink me.

Archaic. to bear in mind; remember.

verb (used without object), be·thought, be·think·ing.

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. 2019

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

the past tense and past participle of bethink

bethink

verb -thinks, -thinking or -thought archaic, or dialect

to cause (oneself) to consider or meditate

(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

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