beste

See also: Beste and bəstə

Basque

Alternative forms

• bertze (Northern)

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *bertze, possibly from the root *beR-. Compare berri (“new”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bes̺te/ [bes̺.t̪e]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -es̺te, -e
• Hyphenation: bes‧te

Determiner

beste (preposed)

1. other

Derived terms

• beste barik
• beste bat arte
• beste batean
• beste behin
• beste hainbat
• beste hainbeste
• beste honenbeste
• beste horrenbeste
• beste kuku batek jo
• beste mundu
• beste munduko (“extraordinary”)
• beste munduko gauza
• beste oilar batek kukurruku jo
• beste orduz
• bestea (“the other one”, pronoun)
• besteak beste
• besteetan
• bestela (“otherwise”)
• bestela baitakoan
• bestela bezala
• bestela esan
• bestela esanda
• bestela esateko
• bestelako (“different”)
• bestelakotasun
• bestelakotu
• bestelakotze
• bestelan
• bestelaz
• bestenaz
• bestengusina (“younger female cousin”)
• bestengusu (“younger male cousin”)
• bestera
• besterako
• besteratu
• besterendu
• besterenganatu
• besterentzaile
• besterentze
• besterik ezean
• besterik ezinean
• besterik izan
• bestetar
• bestetara
• bestetaratu
• bestetasun
• bestetik (“on the other hand”)
• bestetxo
• bestetzuk

Further reading

• “beste”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “beste”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of best, the superlative degree of goed:
   1. masculine/feminine singular attributive
   2. definite neuter singular attributive
   3. plural attributive

Anagrams

• beest

German

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of gut:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular superlative degree
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural superlative degree
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular superlative degree
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular superlative degree

Middle Dutch

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of best:
   1. masculine nominative singular
   2. feminine/neuter nominative/accusative singular
   3. nominative/accusative plural

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French beste, from Latin bēstia. First attested in c. 1225.

Alternative forms

• beest, beeste, best
• beast (Early Middle English); beaste (Late Middle English)
• beist (Northern); beyst (Promptorium Parvulorum)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛ̝ːst(ə)/, /ˈbɛst(ə)/

Noun

beste (plural bestes)

1. An animal or creature (life in the kingdom Animalia, sometimes including mankind):
   1. A (landborne and mammalian) quadruped.
   2. A creature used as livestock; a domesticated animal.
      • c. 1335-1361, William of Palerne (MS. King's College 13), folio 6, recto, lines 198-199; republished as W. W. Skeat, editor, The Romance of William of Palerne‎^[3], London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1867, →OCLC, page 12:

        Hit tidde after on a time · as tellus our bokes / as þis bold barn his beſtes · blybeliche keped […]

        Afterwards, as our books record, it happened one day that / while this brave child was peacefully looking after his animals […]

2. An evil being; a demon or monster.
3. A beast; a powerful fantastic or mythological creature.
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[4], published c. 1410, Apocalips 4:7, folio 118, verso, column 2; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     ⁊ þe firſte beeſte .· liyk a lioun / ⁊ þe ſecounde beeſte .· lijk a calf / ⁊ þe þꝛidde beeſte .· hauynge a face as of a man / ⁊ þe fourþe beeſte .· liyk an egle fleynge

     And the first beast [was] like a lion; and the second beast [was] like a calf; and the third beast had a face like a human; and the fourth beast [was] like an eagle flying.

4. A person who is merciless or unforgiving.
5. A simpleton; an ignorant individual.

Related terms

• bestely
• bestayle
• bestial

Descendants

• English: beast
• Middle Scots: beist
  • Scots: beast, baste, baist, baest, beist
  • Shetland: best
• Yola: beast, bast
• → Cornish: best

Etymology 2

Adjective

beste

1. alternative form of best

Adverb

beste

1. alternative form of best

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French beste, from Latin bēstia.

Noun

beste f (plural bestes)

1. beast, animal

Descendants

• French: bête
  • Haitian Creole: bèt
  • → Dutch: bête
  • → Swedish: bet

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈpeːsːte/

Verb

bēste

1. inflection of beastit:
   1. first-person dual present indicative
   2. third-person plural past indicative

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of god:
   1. definite singular superlative degree
   2. plural superlative degree
2. inflection of bra:
   1. definite singular superlative degree
   2. plural superlative degree

Noun

beste n

1. the best

Derived terms

• bestefar
• bestemor
• bestevenn
• bestevenninne
• det beste fra to verdener

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Definite singular and plural of best.

Adjective

beste

1. definite singular of best
   1. superlative degree definite singular of god
   2. superlative degree definite singular of bra
2. plural of best
   1. superlative degree plural of god
   2. superlative degree plural of bra

Derived terms

• bestefar
• bestemor
• besteven, bestevenn
• besteveninne, bestevenninne

Etymology 2

A clipping of bestefar m (“grandfather”) and bestemor f (“grandmother”). The first part also being from best (“best”).

Noun

beste m (definite singular besten, indefinite plural bestar, definite plural bestane)

1. granddad

Noun

beste f (definite singular besta, indefinite plural bester, definite plural bestene)

1. grandma

Etymology 3

A nominal use of Etymology 1.

Noun

beste n

1. best

Etymology 4

From Middle Low German basten, besten.

Alternative forms

• besta (a-infinitive)

Verb

beste (present tense bestar or bester, past tense besta or beste, supine and past participle besta or best, present participle bestande, imperative best)

1. to sew loosely, to sew together using only a few stitches

Related terms

• baste

Old French

Etymology

Probably a semi-learned term borrowed partly from Latin bēstia. Compare bisse (modern French biche), which was popularly inherited from a variant (bīstia) of the same word. An alternative hypothesis derives beste from an unattested Vulgar Latin variant form *bēsta (deduced through a supposed diminutive form bēstula), though this is unlikely as it would assume there was a second popular variant of bēstia (bīstia being well attested).

Noun

beste oblique singular, f (oblique plural bestes, nominative singular beste, nominative plural bestes)

1. beast, animal

Descendants

• Middle French: beste
  • French: bête
• Gallo: bestt
• Norman: baête (Cotentin), beyte (Pays de Caux, Pays de Rouen), beet (Sark)
• → Middle Dutch: beest
  • Dutch: beest
    • Afrikaans: bees
    • Jersey Dutch: bêst, beîśe
    • Negerhollands: beest
    • → Papiamentu: bichi
    • → Sranan Tongo: beist
  • Limburgish: bies
  • → Middle Low German: best
    • Low German: Beest
    • → Danish: bæst
    • → German: Biest
    • → Norwegian:
      • Norwegian Bokmål: beist, best
      • Norwegian Nynorsk: beist
    • → Swedish: best
• → Middle English: beste, beest, beeste, best, beast (Early Middle English), beaste (Late Middle English), beist (Northern), beyst (Promptorium Parvulorum)
  • English: beast
  • Middle Scots: beist
    • Scots: beast, baste, baist, baest, beist
    • Shetland: best
  • Yola: beast, bast
  • → Cornish: best

Portuguese

Verb

beste

1. inflection of bestar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Turkish

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish بسته (beste), from Classical Persian بَسْتَه (basta), past participle of بَسْتَن (bastan, “to bind, tie”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /besˈte/
• Hyphenation: bes‧te

Noun

beste (definite accusative besteyi, plural besteler)

1. (music) musical composition
   • 2024, Can Ozan, “Acıtır gibi severek”:

     Her nefeste yüreğimde bi' beste
     O da ben'le mezara dek
     Çalıyor aheste aheste

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of beste

singular plural nominative beste besteler definite accusative besteyi besteleri dative besteye bestelere locative bestede bestelerde ablative besteden bestelerden genitive bestenin bestelerin Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular bestem bestelerim 2nd singular besten bestelerin 3rd singular bestesi besteleri 1st plural bestemiz bestelerimiz 2nd plural besteniz besteleriniz 3rd plural besteleri besteleri definite accusative singular plural 1st singular bestemi bestelerimi 2nd singular besteni bestelerini 3rd singular bestesini bestelerini 1st plural bestemizi bestelerimizi 2nd plural bestenizi bestelerinizi 3rd plural bestelerini bestelerini dative singular plural 1st singular besteme bestelerime 2nd singular bestene bestelerine 3rd singular bestesine bestelerine 1st plural bestemize bestelerimize 2nd plural bestenize bestelerinize 3rd plural bestelerine bestelerine locative singular plural 1st singular bestemde bestelerimde 2nd singular bestende bestelerinde 3rd singular bestesinde bestelerinde 1st plural bestemizde bestelerimizde 2nd plural bestenizde bestelerinizde 3rd plural bestelerinde bestelerinde ablative singular plural 1st singular bestemden bestelerimden 2nd singular bestenden bestelerinden 3rd singular bestesinden bestelerinden 1st plural bestemizden bestelerimizden 2nd plural bestenizden bestelerinizden 3rd plural bestelerinden bestelerinden genitive singular plural 1st singular bestemin bestelerimin 2nd singular bestenin bestelerinin 3rd singular bestesinin bestelerinin 1st plural bestemizin bestelerimizin 2nd plural bestenizin bestelerinizin 3rd plural bestelerinin bestelerinin Predicative forms singular plural 1st singular besteyim bestelerim 2nd singular bestesin bestelersin 3rd singular beste bestedir besteler bestelerdir 1st plural besteyiz besteleriz 2nd plural bestesiniz bestelersiniz 3rd plural besteler bestelerdir

Derived terms

• besteci
• bestekâr
• bestelemek
• besteli
• bestelik
• bestenigâr
• bestesiz

Further reading

• “beste”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “beste”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “beste”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 563
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “beste”, in Nişanyan Sözlük