▪ I. betray, v.
(bɪˈtreɪ)
Forms: 3–5 bitrai(e, -y(e, by-, betraye, 4–7 betrai(e, 4– betray. pa. pple. 5 betrayne.
[ME. bi-, betraien, f. bi-, be- 2 + traien tray, a. OF. traïr:—L. tradĕre to deliver, hand over.]
1. a. trans. To give up to, or place in the power of an enemy, by treachery or disloyalty.
| c 1275 Passion Our Lord 93 in O.E. Misc., On me scal bi⁓traye · þat nv is vre yuere. a 1300 Cursor M. 16514 Iudas..come als traitur ful fals his lauerd for to be-trai. 1382 Wyclif Jer. xxvi. 15 An ynnocent blod ȝee shul betraȝe aȝen ȝou self. c 1400 Destr. Troy xxviii. 11196 The toune to be-tray, truly, þai thoght. 1526 Tindale Matt. xxvi. 21 Verely I saye vnto you, that one of you shall betraye [Wyclif, bitraye] me. 1584 D. Powel Lloyd's Cambria 374 Lhewelyn was betraied by the men of Buelht. 1718 Pope Iliad x. 521 Once a traitor, thou betray'st no more. 1862 Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. xiii. 265 The faithless guardian..tempted to betray the sacred treasure. |
† b. To give up or expose to punishment. Obs.
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. 90 She did betray me to my owne reproofe. 1598 ― Merry W. iii. iii. 207 To betray him to another punishment. 1660 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 87/1 Circumvented and betrayed to excessive Punishments. |
2. a. To be or prove false to (a trust or him who trusts one); to be disloyal to; to disappoint the hopes or expectations of.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1634 ‘Noe,’ God said, ‘i tell till þe, All þis world bitrais me.’ c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame 294 Let us speke of Eneas How he betrayed hir allas. c 1430 Syr Tryam. 165 (Halliw.) Syr, he sayde, for certenté, Your quene hath you betrayne. c 1590 Marlowe Dido v. i, Why wilt thou so betray thy sons good hap? 1791 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 278 People who..betray every cause that they have in hand. 1844 A. Welby Poems (1867) 24 Those whom I trust are the first to betray. |
b. fig. To prove false to, let go weakly or basely.
| 1614 Lodge Seneca 1 Without any election we rather betray than bestow our benefits. 1624 Quarles Job (1717) 171 Worn bare with grief, the patient Job betraid His seven-days silence. 1765 H. Walpole Otranto iii. (1798) 51 Scorning..to betray the courage he had always manifested. |
† 3. loosely. To cheat, disappoint. Obs.
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. v. ii. 146 Reuenge now goes To lay a complot to betray thy foes. a 1704 T. Brown Sat. Quack Wks. I. 65 Her much wrong'd child was of its life betray'd. |
4. a. To lead astray or into error, as a false guide; to mislead, seduce, deceive (the trustful).
| c 1250 Lay 8924 He wende [þat Andr]ogius bi-traie [c 1205 swiken] hi[ne wo]lde. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 137 Had hem bitraied with his sophistrye. 1604 Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 6 Yet she must dye, else shee'l betray more men. 1647 Cowley Mistr., Bargain i, Take heed, take heed, thou lovely Maid, Nor be by glittering ills betraid. 1775 Johnson Tax. no Tyr. 35 Their wit has not yet betrayed them to heresy. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 239 Pride and self-confidence betray man to his fall. |
b. spec. To induce (a woman) to surrender her chastity by false promises; to seduce. Also absol.
| 1766 Goldsmith Vic. W. xxix, When lovely Woman stoops to folly, And finds too late that men betray. 1891 Hardy Tess xvi, A conviction not so entirely unknown to the ‘betrayed’ as some amiable theorists would have us believe. 1926 J. Black You can't Win v. 52 Betrayed and deserted, she stole enough of her father's money to take her to the city and into a hospital where her baby was born. |
5. To disclose or reveal with breach of faith (a secret, or that which should be kept secret).
| 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 298 Who tells whate'er you think, whate'er you say, And, if he lie not, must at least betray. 1798 Ferriar Illustr. Sterne v. 150 The officious doctor..betrayed his patient's confidence. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 65 He betrayed to Barillon all the schemes adverse to France. 1855 Tennyson Maud ii. v. 34. |
6. To reveal or disclose against one's will or intention the existence, identity, real character of (a person or thing desired to be kept secret).
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 138, I do betray my selfe with blushing. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 117 Ire, envie and despair..betraid Him Counterfet. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 650 Antick Vests; which, thro' their shady fold, Betray the Streaks of ill-dissembl'd Gold. 1759 Johnson Rasselas xv, Lest they should betray their rank by their unusual behaviour. 1822 Proctor (B. Cornwall) A Voice, She tries to hide The love her eyes betray. |
7. To reveal, disclose or show incidentally; to exhibit, show signs of, to show (a thing which there is no attempt to keep secret).
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 426 His Bowels bruis'd within, Betray no Wound on his unbroken Skin. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 106 ¶3 If he coughs, or betrays any Infirmity of Old Age. 1774 J. Bryant Mythol. II. 174 A temple of this sort, which betrayed great antiquity. 1841 Myers Cath. Th. iii. §14. 51 An irreverence which betrays an utter unconsciousness of our due position. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 92 No prince of the house of Lancaster betrayed a wish to renew the quarrel with the Church. |
▪ II. † beˈtray, n. Obs. rare—1.
[f. prec. vb.]
= next.
| 1600 Chapman Iliad xxiv. 74 O thou that to betray and shame art still companion! |