behest
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Old English behǣs (“vow, promise”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“be-”), *haisiz (“command”), from *haitaną (“to command”). Final -t by analogy with other similar words in -t. Related to Old English behātan (“to command, promise”), Middle Low German beheit, behēt (“a promise”). Compare also hest (“command”), hight.
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
behest (plural behests)
- A command, bidding; sometimes also, an authoritative request. [from 12th c.]
- 1977, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Penguin Classics, p. 278:
- Paul did not dare pronounce, let matters rest, / His master having given him no behest.
- 2007, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day:
- And young Mr. Fleetwood Vibe was here at the behest of his father, Wall Street eminence Scarsdale Vibe, who was effectively bankrolling the Expedition.
- 2009, “What a waste”, The Economist, 15 Oct 2009:
- the House of Representatives will try to water down even this feeble effort at the behest of the unions whose members enjoy some of the most lavish policies.
- 2011, Owen Gibson, The Guardian, 24 Mar 2011:
- The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is to meet with the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, at the behest of the Premier League in a bid to resolve their long-running feud.
- 1977, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Penguin Classics, p. 278:
Translations [edit]
command, bidding
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Verb [edit]
behest (third-person singular simple present behests, present participle behesting, simple past and past participle behested)
