befog

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi

Proto-Germanic *bider.

Proto-Germanic *bi-

Proto-West Germanic *bi-

Old English be-

Middle English bi-

English be-

English fog

English befog

From be- + fog.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒɡ

Verb

befog (third-person singular simple present befogs, present participle befogging, simple past and past participle befogged)

1. To envelop in fog or smoke.
   • 1916, E. F. Benson, “The Spiritual Pastor”, in The Freaks of Mayfair‎^[1], London: T.N. Foulis, page 186:

     Clouds of the most expensive incense befog the chancel […]

   • 1953, Jean Stafford, “Cops and Robbers” (original title: “The Shorn Lamb”) in The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford, New York: Dutton, 1984, p. 432,

     Sad, in her covert, Hannah saw that her mother was now sitting straight against the headboard and was smoking a cigarette in long, meditative puffs; the smoke befogged her frowning forehead.

2. To confuse, mystify (a person); to make less acute or perceptive, to cloud (a person’s faculties).
   • 1871, Carl Schurz, Speech in the U.S. Senate, 27 January, 1871, in Frederic Bancroft (ed.), Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz, New York: Putnam, 1913, Volume II, p. 151,^[2]

     The voice of interested sycophancy is apt to fill their ears and to befog their judgment.

   • 1921, Harold MacGrath, chapter 14, in The Pagan Madonna‎^[3], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page, page 177:

     “ […] He’s been blarneying you. You’ve let his plausible tongue and handsome face befog you.”

   • 1938, Rabindranath Tagore, “Worshippers of Buddha”, in The Visva-Bharati Quarterly‎^[4], Volume 4, Part 1, May-July 1938, p. 28:

     […] they pray that they may befog minds with untruths
     and poison God’s sweet air of breath,

   • 1981, Ramsey Campbell, chapter 8, in The Nameless‎^[5], New York: Tor, published 1985, page 75:

     Everything looked gray and shabby, the faces as much as the clothes. She thought it was less the shade than the noise which was befogging her vision, choking her thoughts.

3. To obscure, make less clear (a subject, issue, etc.).
   • 1880, [Henry Brooks Adams], chapter V, in Democracy: An American Novel (Leisure-hour Series; no. 112), New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 84:

     How they had managed to befog the subject! What elaborate show-structures they had built up, with no result but to obscure the horizon!

   • 1918, John H. Stokes, chapter 2, in The Third Great Plague: A Discussion of Syphilis for Everyday People‎^[6], Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, pages 15–16:

     There is only one way to understand syphilis, and that is to give it impartial, discriminating discussion as an issue which concerns the general health. To color it up and hang it in a gallery of horrors, or to befog it with verbal turnings and twistings, are equally serious mistakes.

References

• “befog”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Hungarian

Etymology

be- +‎ fog

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɛfoɡ]
• Hyphenation: be‧fog
• Rhymes: -oɡ

Verb

befog

1. (transitive, of ears, mouth, eyes) to cover
2. (transitive, of a draught animal) to harness (to attach a draught animal to a carriage)
3. (transitive, of a person) to make someone work
4. (transitive) to clamp (to grip tightly in a vice)

Conjugation

Conjugation of befog

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive	indica­tive	pre­sent	indef.	befogok	befogsz	befog	befogunk	befogtok	befognak
			def.	befogom	befogod	befogja	befogjuk	befogjátok	befogják
			2nd obj	befoglak
		past	indef.	befogtam	befogtál	befogott	befogtunk	befogtatok	befogtak
			def.	befogtam	befogtad	befogta	befogtuk	befogtátok	befogták
			2nd obj	befogtalak
		future		Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. be fog fogni.
archaic preterite		indef.	befogék	befogál	befoga	befogánk	befogátok	befogának
		def.	befogám	befogád	befogá	befogánk	befogátok	befogák
		2nd obj	befogálak
archaic past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. befog vala, befogott vala/volt.
archaic future	indef.	befogandok	befogandasz	befogand	befogandunk	befogandotok	befogandanak
	def.	befogandom	befogandod	befogandja	befogandjuk	befogandjátok	befogandják
	2nd obj	befogandalak
condi­tional	pre­sent	indef.	befognék	befognál	befogna	befognánk	befognátok	befognának
		def.	befognám	befognád	befogná	befognánk (or befognók)	befognátok	befognák
		2nd obj	befognálak
	past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. befogott volna
sub­junc­tive	sub­junc­tive	pre­sent	indef.	befogjak	befogj or befogjál	befogjon	befogjunk	befogjatok	befogjanak
			def.	befogjam	befogd or befogjad	befogja	befogjuk	befogjátok	befogják
			2nd obj	befogjalak
(archaic) past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. befogott légyen
infinitive	befogni		befognom	befognod	befognia	befognunk	befognotok	befogniuk
other forms	verbal noun		present part.	past part.	future part.	adverbial participle		causative
	befogás		befogó	befogott	befogandó	befogva (befogván)		befogat
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular (and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs).
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g. nem fog be or be is fog.

Potential conjugation of befog

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive	indica­tive	pre­sent	indef.	befoghatok	befoghatsz	befoghat	befoghatunk	befoghattok	befoghatnak
			def.	befoghatom	befoghatod	befoghatja	befoghatjuk	befoghatjátok	befoghatják
			2nd obj	befoghatlak
		past	indef.	befoghattam	befoghattál	befoghatott	befoghattunk	befoghattatok	befoghattak
			def.	befoghattam	befoghattad	befoghatta	befoghattuk	befoghattátok	befoghatták
			2nd obj	befoghattalak
archaic preterite		indef.	befoghaték	befoghatál	befoghata	befoghatánk	befoghatátok	befoghatának
		def.	befoghatám	befoghatád	befoghatá	befoghatánk	befoghatátok	befoghaták
		2nd obj	befoghatálak
archaic past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. befoghat vala, befoghatott vala/volt.
archaic future	indef.	befoghatandok or befogandhatok	befoghatandasz or befogandhatsz	befoghatand or befogandhat	befoghatandunk or befogandhatunk	befoghatandotok or befogandhattok	befoghatandanak or befogandhatnak
	def.	befoghatandom or befogandhatom	befoghatandod or befogandhatod	befoghatandja or befogandhatja	befoghatandjuk or befogandhatjuk	befoghatandjátok or befogandhatjátok	befoghatandják or befogandhatják
	2nd obj	befoghatandalak or befogandhatlak
condi­tional	pre­sent	indef.	befoghatnék	befoghatnál	befoghatna	befoghatnánk	befoghatnátok	befoghatnának
		def.	befoghatnám	befoghatnád	befoghatná	befoghatnánk (or befoghatnók)	befoghatnátok	befoghatnák
		2nd obj	befoghatnálak
	past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. befoghatott volna
sub­junc­tive	sub­junc­tive	pre­sent	indef.	befoghassak	befoghass or befoghassál	befoghasson	befoghassunk	befoghassatok	befoghassanak
			def.	befoghassam	befoghasd or befoghassad	befoghassa	befoghassuk	befoghassátok	befoghassák
			2nd obj	befoghassalak
(archaic) past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. befoghatott légyen
infinitive	(befoghatni)		(befoghatnom)	(befoghatnod)	(befoghatnia)	(befoghatnunk)	(befoghatnotok)	(befoghatniuk)
other forms	positive adjective			negative adjective		adverbial participle
	befogható			befoghatatlan		(befoghatva / befoghatván)
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g. nem foghat be or be is foghat.

Derived terms

• befogás
• befogó (noun)

Expressions

• befogja a száját

Further reading

• befog in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• befog in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2026).