bestay

B3E1S1T1A1Y4

verb

To secure or steady; cause to come to a fixed position or state; bring to a halt or stop.

OriginMiddle English *stayen ← Old French estaier →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

verbbestay (third-person singular simple present bestays, present participle bestaying, simple past and past participle bestayed)

present singular third person bestays · participle present bestaying · participle past bestayed · past bestayed

  1. transitiveTo secure or steady; cause to come to a fixed position or state; bring to a halt or stop.

    Bestay thee, bestay thee in fighting!

    1940, Thornwell Jacobs, Red lanterns on St. Michael's
    2 more examples

    Mid the half-furrowed field bestay the plough, Bid the twin toilers of the yoke go free, And aught that doth thee patient servitude, From closing sabbath to its blest return, [...]

    1834, Theodore Sedwick Fay, George Pope Morris, Samuel Woodworth, New-York mirror

    Hereupon the magistrates of the town cried "Hola, hola, bestay the matter."

    1874, Great Britain. Public Record Office, Calendar of state papers, foreign series, of the reign of Elizabeth

Origin

  1. Old Frenchestaier
  2. Middle English*stayen
  3. Englishbestay

From be- + stay, from Middle English *stayen, steyen, from Old French estaier, estayer (“to prop, stay, support”), from estaye (“prop, support”), of Proto-Germanic origin. More at stay.

More words from Middle English, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

beastyBatesyEastby
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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