beter

See also: betér and betər

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch beter, from Middle Dutch beter, from Old Dutch betiro, from Proto-Germanic *batizô. The verb sense is a calque from English better, had better.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪətər/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

beter

1. comparative degree of goed

Verb

beter (present beter)

1. had better (used as an auxiliary verb to mean should; must)

   Jy beter versigtig wees.

   You (had) better be careful.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch beter, from Old Dutch betiro, from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *batizô, comparative of *gōdaz.

Cognate with Low German beter, West Frisian better, English better, German besser, Danish bedre, Swedish bättre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeːtər/

• Audio (Netherlands):

  (file)

• Audio (Belgium):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːtər

Adjective

beter

1. comparative degree of goed; better

   Synonym: (obsolete) bet

2. not sick anymore; recovered (from a disease)

   Word snel weer beter! ― Get well soon!

3. of high quality

   De nieuwe editie is te koop in de betere boekenwinkel. ― The new edition is for sale at any quality bookstore.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: beter
• Berbice Creole Dutch: betre
• Negerhollands: beeter
• → Sranan Tongo: betre
  • Aukan: betee
  • Saramaccan: bë́të

Verb

beter

1. inflection of beteren:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch betera, betiro, from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛːtər/

Adjective

bēter

1. better; comparative degree of goet

Derived terms

• bēteren

Adverb

bēter

1. better; comparative degree of wel

Synonyms

• bat

Descendants

• Dutch: beter
  • Afrikaans: beter
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: betre
  • Negerhollands: beeter
  • → Sranan Tongo: betre
    • Aukan: betee
    • Saramaccan: bë́të
• Limburgish: baeter

Middle English

Adjective

beter

1. alternative form of bettre

Adverb

beter

1. alternative form of bettre

Noun

beter

1. alternative form of bettre

Old French

Etymology

Probably from Old Norse beita.

Verb

beter

1. to bait

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-ts, *-tt are modified to z, t. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of beter (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		beter			avoir beté
gerund		en betant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		betant
past participle		beté
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	bet	betes	bete	betons	betez	betent
	imperfect	betoie, beteie, betoe, beteve	betoies, beteies, betoes, beteves	betoit, beteit, betot, beteve	betiiens, betiens	betiiez, betiez	betoient, beteient, betoent, betevent
	preterite	betai	betas	beta	betames	betastes	beterent
	future	beterai	beteras	betera	beterons	beteroiz, betereiz, beterez	beteront
	conditional	beteroie, betereie	beteroies, betereies	beteroit, betereit	beteriiens, beteriens	beteriiez, beteriez	beteroient, betereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	bet	bez	bet	betons	betez	betent
	imperfect	betasse	betasses	betast	betissons, betissiens	betissoiz, betissez, betissiez	betassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	bete	—	betons	betez	—

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian betera, from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeːtər/
• Hyphenation: be‧ter
• Rhymes: -eːtər

Adjective

beter (masculine beteren, feminine, plural or definite betere)

1. comparative degree of goud: better

References

• Marron C. Fort (2015), “beter”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Swedish

Verb

beter

1. present indicative of bete

Turkish

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish بتر (beter), from Classical Persian بَدْتَر (badtar).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beˈteɾ/, [-æɾ]
• Hyphenation: be‧ter

Adjective

beter

1. worse

   beter ol! ― go to hell! (literally, “become worse”)

Declension

Predicative forms of beter

present tense
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I am)	beterim	beter miyim?
sen (you are)	betersin	beter misin?
o (he/she/it is)	beter / beterdir	beter mi?
biz (we are)	beteriz	beter miyiz?
siz (you are)	betersiniz	beter misiniz?
onlar (they are)	beter(ler)	beter(ler) mi?
past tense
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I was)	beterdim	beter miydim?
sen (you were)	beterdin	beter miydin?
o (he/she/it was)	beterdi	beter miydi?
biz (we were)	beterdik	beter miydik?
siz (you were)	beterdiniz	beter miydiniz?
onlar (they were)	beterdiler	beter miydiler?
indirect past
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I was)	betermişim	beter miymişim?
sen (you were)	betermişsin	beter miymişsin?
o (he/she/it was)	betermiş	beter miymiş?
biz (we were)	betermişiz	beter miymişiz?
siz (you were)	betermişsiniz	beter miymişsiniz?
onlar (they were)	betermişler	beter miymişler?
conditional
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (if I)	betersem	beter miysem?
sen (if you)	betersen	beter miysen?
o (if he/she/it)	beterse	beter miyse?
biz (if we)	betersek	beter miysek?
siz (if you)	beterseniz	beter miyseniz?
onlar (if they)	beterseler	beter miyseler?

For negative forms, use the appropriate form of değil.

Derived terms

• beterleşmek

Further reading

• “beter”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “beter”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “beter”, in Nişanyan Sözlük