Meanings
beest1
alternative bist
- archaicindicativepresentsecond personsingularsubjunctivesecond-person singular present indicative or subjunctive of be
If thou, to be so seene, beest loath, / By Sunne, or Moone, thou darknest both […].
a. 1631 (date written), J[ohn] Donne, “The Baite”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC1 more example
Stephano! if thou beest Stephano, touch me, and speake to me: for I am Trinculo; be not afeard, thy good friend Trinculo.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]
beest2
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
beest · verb
- Old Englishbist
- Middle Englishbēst
- Englishbeest
From Middle English bēst, biest, beost, bist, from Old English bist; equivalent to be + -est. Compare West Frisian bist, German bist.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
beest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beest
“beest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beest. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beest,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beest.
Source: beest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.