Hypertext Webster Gateway: "befriending"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Befriend \Be*friend"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Befriended}; p. pr.
& vb. n. {Befriending}.]
To act as a friend to; to favor; to aid, benefit, or
countenance.
By the darkness befriended. --Longfellow.
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