Link Centre Dictionary

bestow

bes·tow

UK/bɪˈstəʊ/ US/bɪˈstoʊ/ uncommon archaic obsolete rare

verb

1.

present

  • “The university conferred a degree on its most famous former student, who never graduated”
  • “bestow an honor on someone”
Synonyms
2.

give as a gift

3.

bestow a quality on

  • “Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company”
  • “The music added a lot to the play”
  • “She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings”
  • “This adds a light note to the program”
Synonyms

Origin

PIE word *h₁epi The verb is derived from Middle English bestowen, bistouen, bistowen (“to give, bestow; to apply (something to something else); to arrange or have control over (something); to place (someone) in a position; to use (for some purpose); (reflexive) to find (oneself) a place to live or shelter”) [and other forms], from bi- (prefix forming verbs, often with a completive, figurative, or intensive meaning) + stouen, stowen (“to pack (cargo) in a ship, stow; to place (someone) in a certain position; to provide quarters for, lodge; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to place; to stand (up)”)). The English word is analysable as be- (intensifying prefix forming verbs) + stow (“to put (something) away in a suitable place; etc.”). The noun is derived from the verb.

Phrases

  • stow away

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower 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.