▪ I. behold, v.
(bɪˈhəʊld)
Pa. tense beheld. Pa. pple. beheld, arch. beholden. Chief forms: inf. 1–2 biheald-an, 2 -helden, 2–5 -hald-e(n, 3–5 -holde(n, 6– behold. ind. pres. 3rd sing. 2 bihalt. pa. tense 1–4 beheold, -hield, -held, -huld, -heild, -heeld, 5– beheld, (4 beholded). pa. pple. 4 bihalden, 4– beholden, 4–5 beholde, 7– beheld, (4 behelded, beholdyd, 4–6 -ed). For other forms see hold.
[OE. bihaldan (WSax. behealdan), identical w. OS. bihaldan, OFris. bihalda, OHG. bihaltan, mod.G. behalten, Du. behouden, f. bi- be- 2 + haldan, healdan to hold. The application to watching, looking, is confined to English.]
I. To hold by, keep, observe, regard, look.
† 1. trans. To hold by, keep hold of, retain. Obs.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 366 (Gr.) Ðæt Adam sceal..minne stronglican stol behealdan. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 384 Men that biholden [MS. E holden] bileve of Crist. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. lxiv. [lxix] 222 Euery man behelde the same oppynyon. |
b. intr. (for refl.) To hold, keep to.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9483 To quas seruis straitly he bi-held. |
† 2. trans. To hold by some tie of duty or obligation, to retain as a client or person in duty bound. Found only in the pa. pple. beholden, q.v.
† 3. a. intr. To hold on by, appertain or belong to. b. trans. To pertain, relate or belong to, to concern. Obs.
| a 1067 Chart. Eadweard in Cod. Dipl. IV. 214 God eów ᵹehealde and alle ðe ðat beholde intó ðáre hálaᵹen stowe. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 65 Þe pater noster bihalt me noht, bute ic þis habbe in mi þoht. a 1250 Moral Ode 156 in E.E.P. (1862) 31 Al hit hanged and bihalt bi þisse twam worde. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. ix. 45 Ech of hem [gouernauncis] whiche biholden the making..of the said sacramentis. |
† 4. trans. To hold or contain by way of purport or signification, to signify, mean. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 13408 We muȝhenn sen whatt itt bihallt. a 1225 St. Marher. 7 Whet bihalt,..þat tu ne buhest to me? |
† 5. trans. To hold in regard, keep, observe (commands, appointed days, etc.). Obs.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 11 Symle bliþe mode Godes beboda utan we behealdan. 1387 Trevisa Higden (1865) I. 243 þe Romaynes..byhelde þilke dayes and wrouȝt nouȝt þilke dayes. |
† 6. a. trans. To regard (with the mind), have regard to, attend to, consider. b. intr. To give attention or regard, have regard unto, to. Obs.
| c 825 Vesp. Ps. lx. 1 Bihald to ᵹebede minum. a 1000 Ags. Ps. lx. 1 Beheald min ᵹebed. a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxi. 1 Unto mi bede bihald þou. c 1300 Beket 760 Al this (ho so riȝt bihalth) thu gynnest forth to drawe. 1382 Wyclif Gen. iv. 5 The Lord bihelde to Abel and to his ȝiftis. ? a 1400 Cato Major. ii. xxv, Ende and biginnynge of þe werk Boþe þou hem bi-holde. |
7. trans. a. To hold or keep in view, to watch; to regard or contemplate with the eyes; to look upon, look at (implying active voluntary exercise of the faculty of vision). arch. This has passed imperceptibly into the resulting passive sensation: b. To receive the impression of (anything) through the eyes, to see: the ordinary current sense. (It is not easy to show the beginning of sense b, as nearly all the early instances have some suggestion of the former: the earlier quotations under b. must therefore be treated as merely introductory.)
| a. 971 Blickl. Hom. 11 Englas hie ᵹeorne beheoldan. a 1200 Trin. Hom. 29 Þe wimman bihalt hire sheawere and cumeð hire shadewe þaronne. c 1250 Owl & N. 1323 On ape mai a boc bi-halde, An leves wenden. a 1300 Cursor M. 290 Behald þe sune and þou mai se. c 1450 Merlin xiv. 225 The maiden hym be-heilde moche, and he her. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. (1812) I. 423 They brought him to the princis..who behelde hym right fersly and felly. 1530 Palsgr. 447/1 To se an olde ryddylled queene to beholde herselfe in a glasse. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. §2 (1873) 1 Beholding you not with the inquisitive eye of presumption. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 1080 How shall I behold the face Henceforth of God or Angel, earst with joy And rapture so oft beheld? 1676 Hobbes Iliad 291 And when enough beholden them he had. 1718 Pope Iliad i. 553 From far Behold the field. |
| b. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 177 He muwen ben of-drad þe hine sculleð bi-helde. a 1225 Ancr. R. 106 He biheold hu his deore deciples fluen alle vrom him. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxiv. 64 Rebecca, Isaac biholdyd, descendide of the camel. 1483 Cath. Angl. 26/1 To behalde: asspicere casu. 1565 Stapleton Fortresse 56 And such as haue not heard haue yet beholded. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. ii. i. 11, I neuer yet beheld that speciall face, Which I could fancie. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 711 On Winter Seas we fewer Storms behold. 1850 Mrs. Browning Poems I. 90 These are stars beholden By your eyes in Eden. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §16. 109 Anything more exquisite I had never beheld. |
† 8. intr. To look. Const. with various adverbs and prepositions. Obs. (exc. as absolute use of 7.)
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 133 Bihald he seide up to heouene. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 153 Bi-hold up to heuene and tel þe sterres. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 809 Hys face..Þat watz so fayr on to byholde. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 135 Thanne wolde she..pitously in to the see biholde. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 14 Esteward ich byhulde · after þe sonne. 1491 Caxton Vitas Patr. (W. de W. 1495) ii. 210 b/2 The holy fader..beholdynge upon hym. 1509 Barclay Ship of Fooles (1570) ¶¶vj, Beholde vnto the shore. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. v. iii. 33 Come downe, behold no more. 1634 Malory's Arthur (1816) II. 95 They took their horses, and beheld about them. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc vi. 277 The Maiden's host beheld. |
† 9. a. intr. To look or face (as a building) against or to (a direction). b. trans. To face. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Song Sol. vii. 4 The tour of Liban that beholdith aȝen Damasch. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. i. 280 At the see that biholdith to the west. 1593 T. Fale Dialling 8 Let the arke behold the South. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 209 The Land is high..chiefly where it beholds the Sea. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 310 The South Erect..whose Plane..directly beholds the South. |
† 10. trans. To look upon, view, consider as (something); to consider or hold in a certain capacity.
| 1642 Rogers Naaman 344 To behold himselfe the true bread and..water of life. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iii. i, It is beheld in Scripture as most solemn and of highest importance. 1662 ― Worthies (1840) II. 223 Though beans be generally beheld but as horse and hog-grain. Ibid. 551 He is beheld one of the first merchants. |
† II. Senses apparently derived from hold at a later period. Only in Sc. Obs. (Some of these are doubtful.)
† 11. intr. To ‘hold,’ stop, wait.
| a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I, I. 143 (Jam.) They beheld but keeped still the fields. 1768 Ross Helenore 21 (Jam.) ‘That's true,’ quo' she, ‘but we'll behad a wee.’ |
† b. trans. ‘To await.’ Jam.
| 1639 Act Chas. I, Addit. (1814) V. 665 (Jam.) To behold the treattie with the commissioneris. a 1662 Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 24 (Jam.) To behold the event of that meeting. |
† 12. trans. ‘To connive at, take no notice of.’ Jam.
| a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I, I. 154 (Jam.) To understand if his lordship would behold them, or if he would raise forces against them. |
† 13. ‘To permit.’ Jam.
| a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I, I. 117 (Jam.) They..desired him out of love..that he would be pleased to behold them to go on, otherwise they were making such preparations that they would come and might not be resisted. |
▪ II. behold, int.
(bɪˈhəʊld)
The imperative of the preceding verb, used to call attention; = lo int.
| [c 1440 York Myst. xx. 193 Be-halde howe he alleggis oure lawe.] 1535 Coverdale Mal. iii. 1 Beholde, I will send my messaunger. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 147 Behold, The iawes of darknesse do deuoure it vp. a 1764 Lloyd Dial. Wks. II. 2 Behold! to yours and my surprize, These trifles to a volume rise. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. iii. viii, Fortunatus..when he..wished himself Anywhere, behold he was There. |