bewake

B3E1W4A1K5E1

verb

To watch; keep watch over; guard.

OriginMiddle English bewaken ← Old English bewacian →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

verbbewake (third-person singular simple present bewakes, present participle bewaking, simple past and past participle bewaked)

present singular third person bewakes · participle present bewaking · participle past bewaked · past bewaked

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo watch; keep watch over; guard.
  2. transitiveTo awaken thoroughly; keep awake.
  3. transitiveTo spend waking; watch through.
  4. intransitiveTo keep awake; watch.
  5. obsoletetransitiveTo watch over (a body); observe funeral rites for.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
wake

Origin

  1. Old Englishbewacian“to watch, keep watch over”
  2. Middle Englishbewaken“to watch”
  3. Englishbewake

From Middle English bewaken (“to watch”), from Old English bewacian (“to watch, keep watch over”), equivalent to be- + wake. Cognate with Dutch bewaken, German bewachen, Swedish bevaka, Danish bevåge.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bewake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bewake

MLA

“bewake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bewake. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bewake,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bewake.

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