bestill

B3E1S1T1I1L1L1

verb

To make quiet or still; calm; pacify.

OriginMiddle English bistillen ← Old English ġestillan →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

verbbestill (third-person singular simple present bestills, present participle bestilling, simple past and past participle bestilled)

present singular third person bestills · participle present bestilling · participle past bestilled · past bestilled

  1. transitiveTo make quiet or still; calm; pacify.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
bring downpacifysoothestifle

Origin

  1. Old Englishġestillan“to calm, quieten, pacify, stop”
  2. Middle Englishistillen
  3. Middle Englishbistillen
  4. Englishbestill

From Middle English bistillen, bystillen (“to silence”), equivalent to be- + still. Perhaps and alteration of earlier Middle English istillen, ȝestillen (“to make still, calm”), from Old English ġestillan (“to calm, quieten, pacify, stop”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bestill

willstilluntilbillhillbrazilkilltillillskillphilpillgrilllilmiltilnilrefillfulfillchillspillgillgoodwillthrill
All rhymes →

Anagrams

bellist
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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