besoothe

besoothe

English

Etymology

From be- +‎ soothe.

Verb

besoothe (third-person singular simple present besoothes, present participle besoothing, simple past and past participle besoothed)

1. (transitive) To soothe about or all over; comfort.
   • 1842, Robert Montgomery, Martin Luther, Luther: or, The spirit of the Reformation:

     Attracting downward some responsive grace Or balm which heal'd him, like the hand of God: Or haply music, (like the lyre of old, Tuned into magic by the sweeping touch Of David, when he charm'd the fiend from Saul,) Besoothed the spirit; till o'er all his frame A lulling softness exquisitely crept, And he was cradled in the charm of sound.

   • 1903, Thomas Ostenson Stine, Echoes from Dreamland:

     Nature then with rapture trembles, Music flows divine along To besoothe our restless feeling By the magic thrill of song.