What does "bespeak" mean?
Bespeak: To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate. [They] bespoke dangers . . . in order to scare the allies. Swift.
Additional senses
- 2.To betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or appearances. When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so little the figure of a man that it bespoke him rather a monster. Locke.
- 3.To speak to; to address. [Poetic] He thus the queen bespoke. Dryden.
- 4.To speak. [Obs.] Milton.
- 5.A bespeaking. Among actors, a benefit (when a particular play is bespoken.) "The night of her bespeak." Dickens.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00