behold

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɪˈhoʊld/ UK /bɪˈhəʊld/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to see or observe, especially something remarkable

Behold the towers of the ancient city at dawn.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to see or observe,... see observe view regard witness contemplate perceive

Opposites

overlook ignore

Word family

Derived forms beholderbeholdingbeheld

Related forms hold

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Ecce homo!
Matching variant: Behold the man!

Etymology

From Old English behealdan ('to hold, keep, watch, observe'), from be- + healdan ('to hold'). The sense narrowed from 'to keep in view' to 'to look at'.

be- Old English healdan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# behold

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bɪˈhoʊld/
**IPA (UK):** /bɪˈhəʊld/

## Meanings
1. to see or observe, especially something remarkable

## Examples
- Behold the towers of the ancient city at dawn.

## Synonyms
- see
- observe
- view
- regard
- witness
- contemplate
- perceive

## Antonyms
- overlook
- ignore

## Derived Forms
- beholder
- beholding
- beheld

## Related Forms
- hold

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: be-
- Root: healdan

## Etymology
From Old English behealdan ('to hold, keep, watch, observe'), from be- + healdan ('to hold'). The sense narrowed from 'to keep in view' to 'to look at'.

## AI Etymology
Behold is from Old English behealdan ('to hold, keep, watch, observe'), from be- + healdan ('to hold'). The sense narrowed from 'to keep in view' to 'to look at'. Important recorded forms include be- (Old English) and healdan (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to see or observe, especially something remarkable. The wider family includes derived forms such as beholder, beholding, and beheld and related words such as hold.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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