Link Centre Dictionary

behold

be·hold

UK/bɪˈhəʊld/ US/bɪˈhoʊld/ fairly common

verb

1.

see with attention

  • “behold Christ!”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English biholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, possess, preserve, belong, keep, observe, look at, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- + hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”).

Phrases

  • eye of the beholder
  • lo and behold
  • long and behold
  • sight to behold

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.