behold

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English biholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, possess, preserve, belong, keep, observe, look at, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- +‎ hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”). === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /bɪˈhəʊld/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /bɪˈhoʊld/, /biˈhoʊld/ Rhymes: -əʊld, -oʊld === Verb === behold (third-person singular simple present beholds, present participle beholding, simple past beheld, past participle beheld or (rare) beholden) (transitive) To look at or see (someone or something), especially appreciatively; to descry, to look upon. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:look To contemplate (someone or something). (intransitive) To look. ==== Usage notes ==== Rarely used in informal speech. Often used in commands. The past participle beholden now has a meaning detached from the other forms of the word. ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Interjection === behold look, a call of attention to something lo! ==== Synonyms ==== See Thesaurus:lo ==== Translations ==== === References === William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “behold”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “behold”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. == Danish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [b̥eˈhʌlˀ] === Etymology 1 === From Middle Low German beholt, behalt, from the verb beholden; see also Danish beholde. ==== Noun ==== behold c (uninflected) (archaic) haven, refuge in the phrases i behold (“intact”) and i god behold (“safe”) === Etymology 2 === See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. ==== Verb ==== behold imperative of beholde == Norwegian Bokmål == === Verb === behold imperative of beholde