Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

befile

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
be-file
IPA
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make filthy; befoul; soil.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

Etymology

From Middle English befilen, from Old English befȳlan (“to befoul, defile, make dirty”), from Proto-West Germanic *bifūlijan (“to make foul”), equivalent to be- + file. Cognate with Scots befile (“to befile”), West Frisian befûlje (“to dirty”), Dutch bevuilen (“to soil, dirty”), German Low German befulen (“to soil, pollute”). See also defile.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

befiles (present, singular) befiling (participle, present) befiled (participle, past) befiled (past)

Synonyms

befoul defile foul assoil beclart bedaub bedirty imbrue (especially with blood) bedizen befile befilth begrime

Questions

What does befile mean?
To make filthy; befoul; soil.
Where does befile come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce befile

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “befile”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “befile”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “befile” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.