Besought

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Besought \Be*sought"\,
     p. p. of {Beseech}.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Beseech \Be*seech"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Besought}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Beseeching}.] [OE. bisechen, biseken (akin to G.
     besuchen to visit); pref. be- + sechen, seken, to seek. See
     {Seek}.]
     1. To ask or entreat with urgency; to supplicate; to implore.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I beseech you, punish me not with your hard
              thoughts.                             --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              But Eve . . . besought his peace.     --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: To beg; to crave.
  
     Usage: {To Beseech}, {Entreat}, {Solicit}, {Implore},
            {Supplicate}. These words agree in marking that sense
            of want which leads men to beg some favor. To solicit
            is to make a request, with some degree of earnestness
            and repetition, of one whom we address as a superior.
            To entreat implies greater urgency, usually enforced
            by adducing reasons or arguments. To beseech is still
            stronger, and belongs rather to the language of poetry
            and imagination. To implore denotes increased fervor
            of entreaty, as addressed either to equals or
            superiors. To supplicate expresses the extreme of
            entreaty, and usually implies a state of deep
            humiliation. Thus, a captive supplicates a conqueror
            to spare his life. Men solicit by virtue of their
            interest with another; they entreat in the use of
            reasoning and strong representations; they beseech
            with importunate earnestness; they implore from a
            sense of overwhelming distress; they supplicate with a
            feeling of the most absolute inferiority and
            dependence.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  beseech
       v : ask for or request earnestly; "The prophet bid all people to
           become good persons" [syn: {bid}, {entreat}, {adjure}, {press},
            {conjure}]
       [also: {besought}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  besought
       See {beseech}