beteem

English

Etymology 1

From be- +‎ teem (“to befit”). Cognate with Dutch betamen (“to befit, behove, beseem”).

Verb

beteem (third-person singular simple present beteems, present participle beteeming, simple past and past participle beteemed)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To permit; allow; suffer.
   • 1601, "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, act 1 scene 2 lines 139-143:

     So excellent a king, that was to this / Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother / That he might not beteem the winds of heaven / Visit her face too roughly.

2. (transitive, obsolete) To grant, vouchsafe (something to someone); accord; give.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:

     So would I (said th'enchaunter) glad and faine / Beteeme to you this sword, you to defend [...].

3. (transitive, dialectal) To bestow; afford; allow; deign.

Etymology 2

From be- +‎ teem (“to produce”).

Verb

beteem (third-person singular simple present beteems, present participle beteeming, simple past and past participle beteemed)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To bring forth; produce; shed.

Etymology 3

From be- +‎ teem (“to empty, pour”).

Verb

beteem (third-person singular simple present beteems, present participle beteeming, simple past and past participle beteemed)

1. (transitive, rare) To pour all about.

Anagrams

• bemeet, bemete