Crossword clues for bespeak
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Bespeak \Be*speak"\, v. i.
To speak. [Obs.]
--Milton.
Bespeak \Be*speak"\, n.
A bespeaking. Among actors, a benefit (when a particular play
is bespoken.) ``The night of her bespeak.''
--Dickens.
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.]
-
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. -
To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate.
[They] bespoke dangers . . . in order to scare the allies.
--Swift. -
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. -
To speak to; to address. [Poetic]
He thus the queen bespoke.
--Dryden.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Old English besprecan "speak about, speak against, complain," from be- + sprecan "to speak" (see speak (v.)). A common Germanic compound (cognates: Old Saxon bisprecan, Dutch bespreken, Old High German bisprehhan, German besprechen); originally "to call out," it evolved a wide range of meaning in English, including "speak up," "oppose," "request," "discuss, "arrange," and "to order (goods)" (1580s).\n\nThe connection of the senses is very loose; some of them appear to have arisen quite independently of each other from different applications of BE- pref.
[OED]
Wiktionary
n. A request for a specific performance; a benefit performance, by a patron. vb. 1 (lb en transitive) To speak about; tell of; relate; discuss. 2 (lb en transitive) To speak for beforehand; engage in advance; make arrangements for; order or reserve in advance. 3 (lb en transitive) To stipulate, solicit, ask for, or request, as in a favour. 4 (lb en transitive archaic) To forbode; foretell. 5 (lb en transitive archaic poetic) To speak to; address. 6 (lb en transitive) To betoken; show; indicate; foretell; suggest. 7 (lb en intransitive) To speak up or speak out; exclaim; speak.
WordNet
v. be a signal for or a symptom of; "These symptoms indicate a serious illness"; "Her behavior points to a severe neurosis"; "The economic indicators signal that the euro is undervalued" [syn: betoken, indicate, point, signal]
express the need or desire for; ask for; "She requested an extra bed in her room"; "She called for room service" [syn: request, call for, quest]
Usage examples of "bespeak".
The High King dispatched his new navy to beat off the Andradhians, and commanded his Royal Alchymist to bespeak the hedge-wizards attending rebellious Prince Somarus, warning of nasty consequences if his fighters pressed their attack on Tarn.
Then you must bespeak Snudge ordering his return and warn Abbas Noachil to put Kilian and his three cronies into close confinement.
Snudge knew with woozy certainty that there was no possibility that he himself might bespeak the Royal Alchymist and learn more.
In this situation, it had been relatively easy for Snudge to slip away from his fellow-retainers, perform his clandestine duties, and bespeak his findings directly to Lord Stergos, who would pass the information on to the High King.
Vra-Mattis, withdraw from us and attempt to bespeak Lord Stergos for information.
The man he was minded to bespeak was by no means completely trustworthy, but neither was he a friend to the Sovereign of Blenholme.
Then he settled himself comfortably and prepared to bespeak Fring Bulegosset, the Archwizard of Didion.
It would probably be a good idea to bespeak Fring and attempt to clarify the situation.
He was obliged to use Yavenis to bespeak his message to Gala Palace, since he lacks the ability to converse across great distances.
Lord Kilian promised to bespeak us when he was well into the mountains and there was only a small chance of the thread of his windspeech being traced back to him.
When this is accomplished, Deveron will bespeak me personally with all details of the venture.
His attempt to bespeak the Brothers using their private password had failed.
Nevertheless, I beg you to have your wizards bespeak Honigalus as soon as possible, warning him of the potential danger to him and his family.
But no tentacles took hold of the brash young sorcerer, nor did the Supreme Warrior bespeak him with fresh threats.
Brother there can bespeak the old windvoice who lives at the place and arrange it all for you in advance.