abet

Meaning

Synonyms

Notes

Extra tools

Opposite of

baffle, confound, counteract, denounce, deter, abet, assist, expedite, facilitate, further, help, hurdle, nurture

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈbɛt/

Inherited from Middle English

Cognate with Icelandic

Cognate with Old English

In summary

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.