besteal

B3E1S1T1E1A1L1

verb

To steal, move stealthily.

Similar
steal away
OriginMiddle English bistelen ← Old English bestelan ← Proto-West Germanic *bestelan →
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Meanings

verbbesteal (third-person singular simple present besteals, present participle bestealing, simple past bestole, past participle bestolen)

present singular third person besteals · participle present bestealing · past bestole · participle past bestolen

  1. archaicintransitiveobsoleterareTo steal, move stealthily.

    Come, come, truly see what mortal man behold, the mother of beauty to them all bestole. Truly matchless thou art, my beloved. I love you more than all!

    2018, Edgar Beaumont, Teleportkinesis

    Synonyms: steal away

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo steal, move stealthily.

Similar
steal away

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*bistelaną
  2. Proto-West Germanic*bestelan
  3. Old Englishbestelan
  4. Middle Englishbistelen
  5. Englishbesteal

From Middle English bistelen, from Old English bestelan, from Proto-West Germanic *bestelan, from Proto-Germanic *bistelaną, corresponding to be- (“off, away”) + steal. Cognate with Saterland Frisian besteele, Dutch bestelen, German Low German bestehlen, Luxembourgish bestielen, German bestehlen, Swedish bestjäla (“to rob”).

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

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

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Cite this entry
APA

besteal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besteal

MLA

“besteal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besteal. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “besteal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besteal.

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