behold
/bɪˈhoʊld/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.76 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To look at or see (someone or something), especially appreciatively; to descry, to look upon.
Transitive verb
intj
lo!
Example Sentences
- "There's not the ſmalleſt orbe [in the sky] vvhich thou beholdſt, / But in his motion like an Angell ſings, / Still quiring to the young eide Cherubins; / Such harmony is in immortall ſoules, / But vvhilſt this muddy veſture of decay [i.e., the human body] / Doth groſſely cloſe in it, vve cannot heare it."
- "[…] Alaeddin ate and drank and was cheered and after he had rested and had recovered spirits he cried, "Ah, O my mother, I have a sore grievance against thee for leaving me to that accursed wight who strave to compass my destruction and designed to take my life. Know that I beheld Death with mine own eyes at the hand of this damned wretch, whom thou didst certify to be my uncle; […]"
- "The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold."
- "I was working in the lab late one night When my eyes beheld an eerie sight For my monster, from his slab, began to rise And suddenly, to my surprise He did the Mash He did the Monster Mash."
- "Lo and behold."
Etymology
From Middle English biholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, possess, preserve, belong, keep, observe, look at, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- + hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bɪˈhoʊld/
- British English: /bɪˈhəʊld/
Usage
Inflected Forms
beholds (present, singular)
beholding (participle, present)
beheld (past)
beheld (participle, past)
beholden (participle, past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
beheld (first person, past)
beholdest (archaic, present)
beheld (past, second person)
beheldst (archaic, past)
beholdeth (archaic, present)