bestow
/bɪˈstoʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.98 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To impart (something) gratuitously; to present (something) to someone or something, especially as a gift or an honour; to confer, to give, to accord; to render.
Transitive verb
verb
To place or put (someone or something) somewhere or in a certain situation; to dispose of.
Archaic; Transitive verb
verb
To deposit (something) for safekeeping; to lay up (something) in store; to stow.
Archaic; Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "All the voide time, that is betwene the huores of woorke ſlepe and meat, that they be ſuffered to beſtowe, euerye man as he lyketh beſte hym ſelfe."
- "[S]ince the voyce / Of moſt ſupreme Authority commands / My abſence: I determine to beſtovv / Some time in learning Languages abroad; […]"
- "Richmond, thy purling ſtreams and pleaſing ſhades, / Might claim the chorus of Aonian maids; / VVhere e’en Apollo might his hours beſtovv, / By turns employ his lyre, by turns his bovv, / VVhere all the pleaſures dvvell, vvhich poets feign / On fair Arcadia’s fields or Tempe’s plain."
- "O if I had had time to haue made nevv liueries: I vvoulde haue beſtovved the thouſand pound I borrovved of you, but tis no matter, this poore ſhevv doth better, this doth inferre the zeale I had to ſee him."
- "And thou ſhalt beſtow that money for whatſoeuer thy ſoule lutſeth after, for oxen, or for ſheepe, or for wine, or for ſtrong drinke, or for whatſoeuer thy ſoule deſireth: and thou ſhalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou ſhalt reioyce, thou and thine houſhold."
- "I bestow upon you the name of Peter."
Etymology
PIE word *h₁épi The verb is derived from Middle English bestowen, bistouen, bistowen (“to give, bestow; to apply (something to something else); to arrange or have control over (something); to place (someone) in a position; to use (for some purpose); (reflexive) to find (oneself) a place to live or shelter”) [and other forms], from bi- (prefix forming verbs, often with a completive, figurative, or intensive meaning) + stouen, stowen (“to pack (cargo) in a ship, stow; to place (someone) in a certain position; to provide quarters for, lodge; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to place; to stand (up)”)). The English word is analysable as be- (intensifying prefix forming verbs) + stow (“to put (something) away in a suitable place; etc.”). The noun is derived from the verb.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bɪˈstoʊ/
- British English: /bɪˈstəʊ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
bestows (present, singular)
bestowing (participle, present)
bestowed (participle, past)
bestowed (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
bestowed (first person, past)
bestowest (archaic, present)
bestowed (past, second person)
bestowedst (archaic, past)
bestoweth (archaic, present)
bestowed (past, singular)