- Bespoken
- Bespeak Be*speak", v. t. [imp. {Bespoke}, {Bespake} (Archaic);
p. p. {Bespoke}, {Bespoken}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Bespeaking}.]
[OE. bispeken, AS. besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. be-
+ sprecan to speak. See {Speak}.]
1. To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage
against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a
favor.
[1913 Webster]
Concluding, naturally, that to gratify his avarice was to bespeak his favor. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
2. To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate. [1913 Webster]
[They] bespoke dangers . . . in order to scare the allies. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
3. To betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or appearances. [1913 Webster]
When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so little the figure of a man that it bespoke him rather a monster. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
4. To speak to; to address. [Poetic] [1913 Webster]
He thus the queen bespoke. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
