abet
See also: abêt, abét, and авет
English
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”)[1], 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 Proto-Germanic [Term?] source.
See also bait, bet.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əˈbɛt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (CA) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛt
Verb
abet (third-person singular simple present abets, present participle abetting, simple past and past participle abetted)
- (transitive) To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime. [from ca. 1350–1470][2]
- Synonyms: instigate, foment, encourage, support
- Antonyms: baffle, confound, counteract, denounce, deter; see also Thesaurus:hinder
- aid and abet
- 1823, John Galt, Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters:
- Those who would exalt themselves by abetting the strength of the Godless, and the wrength of the oppressors.
- 1851, Charles G. Davis, Report of the Proceedings at the Examination of Charles G. Davis, Esq., on the Charge of Aiding and Abetting in the Rescue of a Fugitive Slave, page 39:
- The Statute provides that whoever has been engaged in aiding, abetting, or assisting, directly or indirectly, is criminal.
- 1876, Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark […] , London: Macmillan, Fit the Sixth. The Barrister's Dream:
- In the matter of Treason the pig would appear / To have aided, but scarcely abetted: / While the charge of Insolvency fails, it is clear, If you grant the plea ‘never indebted.
- 2023 February 17, Michelle Goldberg, “What Fox News Says When You’re Not Listening”, in The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331:
- The brief, a motion for summary judgment in a case stemming from Fox’s egregiously false claims of Dominion-abetted election fraud, offers a portrait of extravagant cynicism.
- (transitive) To support, countenance, maintain, uphold, or aid (any good cause, opinion, or action); to maintain. [from late 16th c.][2]
- a. 1667, Jeremy Taylor, George Rust, editor, The whole works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, published 1835:
- Our duty is urged, and our confidence abetted.
- 1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, OCLC 4103827:
- The elements, however, abetted me in making a path through the deepest snow in the woods, for when I had once gone through the wind blew the oak leaves into my tracks, where they lodged, and by absorbing the rays of the sun melted the snow, and so not only made a dry bed for my feet, but in the night their dark line was my guide.
- 1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, in The Atlantic:
- Later some of these artistic friends […] abetted this ecclesiastical view in so far as they renounced pre-Raphaelism and learned to love the baroque; but that was an aesthetic fashion also, and corrupt, […]
- 2017 September 27, David Browne, “Hugh Hefner, 'Playboy' Founder, Dead at 91”, in Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 2017-09-28:
- By the early Seventies, Playboy was selling seven million copies a month and Hefner's globe-trotting lifestyle was abetted by his private jet, the Big Bunny, that contained a circular bed, an inside disco and a wet bar.
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- (obsolete, transitive) To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable. [late 14th–early 17th c.][3]
- (obsolete) To back up one's forecast of a doubtful issue, by staking money, etc., to bet.
Derived terms
- abetment
- abettal
- abettor
- aid and abet
Translations
to assist or encourage in crime
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to support, uphold, or aid
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Noun
abet (plural abets)
- (obsolete) Fraud or cunning. [mid-12th–mid-14th c.][2]
- (obsolete) An act of abetting; of helping; of giving aid. [from ca. 1350—1470][2]
References
- Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 2
- Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abet”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 4.
- Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 6
Anagrams
- Bate, Beta, Teba, bate, beat, beta
Aragonese
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
abet m
- fir-tree
References
- Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002), “abet”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN
Chamorro
Etymology
From Spanish vamos a ver (“we'll see”).
Phrase
abet
- An expression of doubt
Danish
Verb
abet
- past participle of abe
Lombard
Etymology
From Latin habitus (“habit, appearance”).
Noun
abet m
- religious habit (clothing)