besay

B3E1S1A1Y4

verb

To say about (someone or something); get something across verbally or by saying; relay; signify; declare.

OriginMiddle English besayen ← Old English beseċġan ← Proto-Germanic *bisagjaną →
Scrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbbesay (third-person singular simple present besays, present participle besaying, simple past and past participle besaid)

present singular third person besays · participle present besaying · participle past besaid · past besaid

  1. To say about (someone or something); get something across verbally or by saying; relay; signify; declare.

    The 'besaid' are articulate with words and with silence.

    2003, Philip Auslander, Performance: Media and technology
    2 more examples

    "Laughter," reproved Najib, cut to the soul by his chief's ridicule, "laughter is for hyenas — and for women! as I have besaid of often.

    1925, Albert Payson Terhune, Najib

    "How did this Elf child come to be here, Luna?", Methusem besaid. "I granted their ship permission to berth in the bay," Luna projected this with apology.

    2005, Lara Elf Princess Prendville, Screams BeNeath Pandora

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*bisagjaną
  2. Old Englishbeseċġan“to announce, introduce; defend, excuse oneself; accuse”
  3. Middle Englishbesayen
  4. Englishbesay

From Middle English besayen, biseggen, from Old English beseċġan (“to announce, introduce; defend, excuse oneself; accuse”), from Proto-Germanic *bisagjaną, equivalent to be- (“about, concerning, across”) + say. Cognate with Dutch bezeggen, German besagen (“to say”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

bayesBasyeSabeyBaseySeabyabsey
Cite this entry
APA

besay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besay

MLA

“besay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besay. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “besay,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besay.

Source: besay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.