bent

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See also: Bent

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK, US) enPR: bĕnt, IPA(key): /bɛnt/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

Etymology 1[edit]

From bend +‎ -t.

Verb[edit]

bent

  1. simple past tense and past participle of bend

Adjective[edit]

bent (comparative benter or more bent, superlative bentest or most bent)

  1. (Of something that is usually straight) folded, dented
  2. (colloquial, chiefly Britain) corrupt, dishonest
  3. (derogatory, colloquial, chiefly Britain) Homosexual.
  4. Determined or insistent.
    He was bent on going to Texas, but not even he could say why.
    They were bent on mischief.
    • 2017 July 7, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “The ambitious War For The Planet Of The Apes ends up surrendering to formula”, in The Onion AV Club‎[1]:
      […] in the ape posse, bent on vengeance, traversing landscapes clothed in snow and bristling with California red fir and silver pine, spooking human stragglers, and running across fresh graves as they search for the nameless colonel and try to piece together why the humans are killing each other.
  5. (Of a person) leading a life of crime.
  6. (slang, soccer) inaccurately aimed
    That shot was so bent it left the pitch.
  7. (colloquial, chiefly US) Suffering from the bends
  8. (slang) High from both marijuana and alcohol.
    Man, I am so bent right now!
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

bent (plural bents)

  1. An inclination or talent.
    He had a natural bent for painting.
  2. A predisposition to act or react in a particular way.
    His mind was of a technical bent.
  3. The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity.
    the bent of a bow
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wilkins to this entry?)
  4. A declivity or slope, as of a hill.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)
  5. Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.
    • (Can we date this quote by John Locke and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
      bents and turns of the matter
  6. (carpentry) A transverse frame of a framed structure; a subunit of framing.
    1. Such a subunit as a component of a barn's framing, joined to other bents by girts and summer beams.
    2. Such a subunit as a reinforcement to, or integral part of, a bridge's framing.
  7. Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus.
    • (Can we date this quote by Norris and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
      the full bent and stress of the soul
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English bent, benet, from Old English *beonet- (attested only in place-names and personal names), from Proto-Germanic *binutaz (“reed, rush”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Old Saxon binitin (“made of reeds”), Old High German binuz (modern German Binse (“rush, reed”)).

Noun[edit]

bent (countable and uncountable, plural bents)

  1. Any of various stiff or reedy grasses.
    • (Can we date this quote by Drayton and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
      His spear a bent, both stiff and strong.
    • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes’, The Phantom ’Rickshaw and Other Tales, Folio Society 2005, p. 121:
      Gunga Dass gave me a double handful of dried bents which I thrust down the mouth of the lair to the right of his, and followed myself, feet foremost [...].
    • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 9
      Clusters of strong flowers rose everywhere above the coarse tussocks of bent.
  2. A grassy area, grassland.
  3. The old dried stalks of grasses.

Synonyms[edit]

(grass): bentgrass

Translations[edit]

grass — see bentgrass
area — see grassland

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Created in analogy to Dutch ben (“am”). Modern Dutch bent has replaced the Middle Dutch verb forms bes and best (“(you) are (sg.)”).[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

bent

  1. second-person singular present indicative of zijn; are.

References[edit]

  1. ^ A. van Loey, Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands, 8. druk 1970, →ISBN; §147a

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From benn, following the example of alant and lent.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

bent (comparative bentebb, superlative legbentebb)

  1. inside
    Synonym: benn
    Antonyms: kinn, kint

References[edit]

  1. ^ Zaicz, Gábor. Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (’Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN

Old Norse[edit]

Participle[edit]

bent

  1. strong neuter nominative/accusative singular of bendr

Verb[edit]

bent

  1. supine of benda

Scots[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English beonet, compare Middle English bent.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bent (plural bents)

  1. (archaic, 14th century) Coarse or wiry grass growing upon moorlands.
  2. (archaic, 15th century) An area covered with coarse or wiry grass; a moor.

Derived terms[edit]

Turkish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Persian بند‎ (band).

Noun[edit]

bent (definite accusative {{{1}}}, plural {{{2}}})

  1. dam
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