abet
/əˈbɛt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.41 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "aid and abet"
- "Those who would exalt themselves by abetting the strength of the Godless, and the wrength of the oppressors."
- "The Statute provides that whoever has been engaged in aiding, abetting, or assisting, directly or indirectly, is criminal."
- "In the matter of Treason the pig would appear / To have aided, but scarcely abetted: / While the charge of Insolvency fails, it is clear, If you grant the plea ‘never indebted."
- "The brief, a motion for summary judgment in a case stemming from Fox’s egregiously false claims of Dominion-abetted election fraud, offers a portrait of extravagant cynicism."
- "Our duty is urged, and our confidence abetted."
Etymology
From Middle English abetten, abette, from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”), either from Middle Dutch bētan (“incite”) or from Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite, bait, incite”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to set dogs on; to feed”). Alternate etymology traces the Middle English and Old French words through Old English *ābǣtan (“to hound on”), from ā- + bǣtan (“to bait”), from the same source (Proto-Germanic *baitijaną). See also bait, bet.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰeyd-, abetten, abeter, bētan, beita, *baitijaną