beseem
/bəˈsim/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
Generally with a qualifying word such as ill or well: to appear, look, or seem (a certain way for someone or something).
Archaic
verb
Without any qualifying word: to be appropriate or creditable (for someone or something).
Archaic
Example Sentences
- "This inn beseems well for a weary wayfarer."
- "To ſay the truth, this fact was infamous, / And ill beſeeming any common man; / Much more a Knight, a Captaine, and a Leader."
- "VVith that, her angels Face, vnſeene afore, / Like to the ruddie morne appeard in ſight, / Deawed with ſiluer drops, through ſweating ſore, / But ſomewhat redder, then beſeem'd aright, / Through toyleſome heate and labour of her weary fight."
- "Alt[ea]. Shee would faine marry. / 1. Tis a proper calling, / And well beſeemes her yeares, who would ſhe yoke with?"
- "The Nationall Aſſembly of this Kirk, from which we have our Commiſſion, did promiſe in their thankſgiving for the many favours expreſſed in Your Majeſties Letter, their beſt endeavours to keep the people under their charge, in unity and peace, and in loyalty and obedience to Your Majeſtie and Your Laws, which we confeſſe is a duty well beſeeming the preachers of the Goſpel: […]"
- "Now they can no more hear thy ghittern's tune, / For venturing syllables that ill beseem / The quiet glooms of such a piteous theme."
Etymology
PIE word *h₁epi From Middle English bisemen (“to beseem”) [and other forms], from be-, bi- (prefix forming transitive verbs with a completive, figurative, or intensifying sense) + semen (“to seem; to be or see as appropriate; to be visible or apparent; to regard”). Semen is derived from Old Norse sœma (“to conform to; to befit, beseem”), from Proto-Germanic *sōmijaną (“to fit; to unite”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; whole”). The English word is analysable as be- (prefix with an intensifying sense) + seem.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bəˈsim/
- British English: /bɪˈsiːm/