What does bespeak mean?

Definitions for bespeak
bɪˈspikbe·speak

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word bespeak.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. bespeak, betoken, indicate, point, signalverb

    be a signal for or a symptom of

    "These symptoms indicate a serious illness"; "Her behavior points to a severe neurosis"; "The economic indicators signal that the euro is undervalued"

  2. request, bespeak, call for, questverb

    express the need or desire for; ask for

    "She requested an extra bed in her room"; "She called for room service"

Wiktionary

  1. bespeaknoun

    A request for a specific performance; a benefit performance, by a patron.

  2. bespeakverb

    To speak about; tell of; relate; discuss.

  3. bespeakverb

    To speak for beforehand; engage in advance; make arrangements for; order or reserve in advance.

    to bespeak a seat in a theatre

  4. bespeakverb

    To stipulate, solicit, ask for, or request, as in a favour.

  5. bespeakverb

    To forbode; foretell.

  6. bespeakverb

    To speak to; address.

    He thus the queen bespoke. uE000179487uE001 Dryden.

  7. bespeakverb

    To betoken; show; indicate; foretell; suggest.

  8. bespeakverb

    To speak up or out; exclaim; speak.

  9. Etymology: From bespeken, bispeken, from *, besprecan, from bisprekanan, equivalent to. Cognate with bespeke, besprekke, bespreken, besprechen.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To Bespeakverb

    I bespoke, or bespake; I have bespoke, or bespoken.

    Etymology: from speak.

    If you will marry, make your loves to me;
    My lady is bespoke. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

    Here is the cap your worship did bespeak. William Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew.

    When Baboon came to Strutt’s estate, his tradesmen waited upon him, to bespeak his custom. John Arbuthnot, Hist. of J. Bull.

    A heavy writer was to be encouraged, and accordingly many thousand copies were bespoke. Jonathan Swift.

    My preface looks as if I were afraid of my reader, by so tedious a bespeaking of him. Dryden.

    Thy started fears bespoke dangers, and formed ominous prognosticks, in order to scare the allies. Jonathan Swift, Examin. №. 45.

    With hearty words her knight she ’gan to chear,
    And, in her modest manner, thus bespake,
    Dear knight. Fairy Queen, b. i. cant. i. stanz. 8.

    At length with indignation thus he broke
    His awful silence, and the powers bespoke. Dryden.

    Then staring on her with a ghastly look,
    And hollow voice, he thus the queen bespoke. Dryden.

    When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so little of the figure of a man, that it bespoke him rather a monster. John Locke.

    He has dispatch’d me hence,
    With orders that bespeak a mind compos’d. Joseph Addison, Cato.

ChatGPT

  1. bespeak

    Bespeak generally means to suggest, indicate, or signify something. It can also refer to ordering or arranging for something in advance.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Bespeakverb

    to speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a favor

  2. Bespeakverb

    to show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate

  3. Bespeakverb

    to betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or appearances

  4. Bespeakverb

    to speak to; to address

  5. Bespeakverb

    to speak

  6. Bespeaknoun

    a bespeaking. Among actors, a benefit (when a particular play is bespoken.)

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Bespeak

    be-spēk′, v.t. to speak for or engage beforehand: to stipulate or ask for: to betoken.—v.i. (obs.) to speak:—pa.t. bespōke′; pa.p. bespōke′ and bespōk′en.—n. an actor's benefit, so called because the actor's friends and patrons bespeak or choose the piece to be performed that night.

Matched Categories

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of bespeak in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of bespeak in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Popularity rank by frequency of use

bespeak#100000#187481#333333

Translations for bespeak

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • reservieren, bitten um, zeigen, arrangieren, ansprechen, diskutieren, anfragen, erbitten, anzeigen, besprechen, bekanntgeben, aussprechen, vorhersagen, sich richten an, mitteilen, buchen, hinweisen auf, vorbestellen, voraussagenGerman
  • besprekenDutch
  • отражать, резервировать, обращаться, предсказывать, бронировать, просить, восклицать, обсуждать, показыватьRussian

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"bespeak." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/bespeak>.

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