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Abet
Definitions
- 1 Fraud or cunning. obsolete
- 2 An act of abetting; of helping; of giving aid. obsolete
- 1 To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime. transitive
"aid and abet"
- 2 assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing wordnet
- 3 To support, countenance, maintain, uphold, or aid (any good cause, opinion, or action). transitive
"Our duty is urged, and our confidence abetted."
- 4 To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable. obsolete, transitive
- 5 To back up one's forecast of a doubtful issue, by staking money, etc., to bet. obsolete
Etymology
From Middle English abetten, abette, from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”), either from Middle Dutch bētan (“incite”) or from Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite, bait, incite”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to set dogs on; to feed”). Alternate etymology traces the Middle English and Old French words through Old English *ābǣtan (“to hound on”), from ā- + bǣtan (“to bait”), from the same source (Proto-Germanic *baitijaną). See also bait, bet.
From Middle English abetten, abette, from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”), either from Middle Dutch bētan (“incite”) or from Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite, bait, incite”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to set dogs on; to feed”). Alternate etymology traces the Middle English and Old French words through Old English *ābǣtan (“to hound on”), from ā- + bǣtan (“to bait”), from the same source (Proto-Germanic *baitijaną). See also bait, bet.
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