bide

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb dwell

Etymology

From Middle English biden, from Old English bīdan (“to stay, continue, live, remain, delay; wait for, await, expect; endure, experience, find; attain, obtain; own”), from Proto-West Germanic *bīdan (“to wait”), from Proto-Germanic *bīdaną (“to wait”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéydʰeti, from *bʰeydʰ- (“to command, persuade, compel, trust”). Latinate cognates (via PIE) include faith and fidelity. Cognates Cognate with Scots bide (“to dwell, to live; to stay”), Alemannic German beite (“to wait”), Cimbrian paiten (“to wait”), Dutch beiden (“to wait”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål bie (“to stay, to wait”), Faroese, Icelandic bíða (“to wait”), Norwegian Nynorsk bide, bie (“to wait”), Swedish bida (“to await, to bide”), Gothic 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (beidan, “to wait”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

abide, stay

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