Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗verb
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryTo tow about; pull; draw; lead about; conduct. · To educate; influence; steer; direct. · To bestow; apply.
From be- + tow, or as a back-formation from Middle English betowen (“bestowed, applied”), past participle of bitēn (“to tug, pull, cover, apply, devote, employ, bring about, perform”), from Old English betēon (“to cover, surround, enclose”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "prefix",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "be",
"3": "tow"
},
"expansion": "be- + tow"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "betowen",
"4": "",
"5": "bestowed, applied"
},
"expansion": "Middle English betowen (“bestowed, applied”)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "betēon",
"4": "",
"5": "to cover, surround, enclose"
},
"expansion": "Old English betēon (“to cover, surround, enclose”)"
}
],
"links": [
[
"be-",
"be-#English"
],
[
"tow",
"tow#English"
],
[
"betowen",
"betowen#Middle_English"
],
[
"bitēn",
"biten#Middle_English"
],
[
"betēon",
"beteon#Old_English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To tow about; pull; draw; lead about; conduct.",
"To educate; influence; steer; direct.",
"To bestow; apply."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete",
"transitive"
],
"recordId": "f309bd11b8217ebe55fa35b51da8af425bf3d583dd920b314c17f34e86184223",
"rawRecordSha256": "314eb904f5d63826d9ab99e4cd9113f818b608a5b735cfe38b6aad843e470d95",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 3889550
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 0,
"glosses": 0
}
}