Hypertext Webster Gateway: "bespoken"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Bespeak \Be*speak"\, v. t. [imp. {Bespoke}, {Bespake} (Archaic);
p. p. {Bespoke}, {Bespoken}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Bespeaking}.]
[OE. bispeken, AS. besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. be-
+ sprecan to speak. See {Speak}.]
1. To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage
against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a
favor.

Concluding, naturally, that to gratify his avarice
was to bespeak his favor. --Sir W.
Scott.

2. To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate.

[They] bespoke dangers . . . in order to scare the
allies. --Swift.

3. To betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or
appearances.

When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so
little the figure of a man that it bespoke him
rather a monster. --Locke.

4. To speak to; to address. [Poetic]

He thus the queen bespoke. --Dryden.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

bespoken
adj 1: of clothing [syn: {bespoke}, {custom}, {made-to-order}, {tailored},
{tailor-made}]
2: pledged to be married; "the engaged couple" [syn: {affianced},
{betrothed}, {engaged}, {pledged}]


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