Behest Meaning
/bɪˈhɛst/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA command, bidding; sometimes also, an authoritative request; now usually in the phrase at the behest of and at one's behest.
nounA vow; a promise.
Sentence Examples
He testified that the wire-tapping was carried out at the behest of his superiors.
Tom says he did it at John's behest.
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the king's ____, the soldiers marched into battle without hesitation.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new rules were implemented at the ____ of the company chairman today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English biheste, from Old English behǣs (“vow, promise”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaisi, from *bi- (“be-”) + *haisi (“command”), from Proto-Germanic *haisiz, from *haitaną (“to command”). Final -t by analogy with other similar words in -t. Related to Old English behātan (“to command, promise”), Middle Low German beheit, behēt (“a promise”). Compare also hest (“command”), hight.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Moſt great and puiſant Monarke of the earth,
Your Baſſoe wil accompliſh your beheſt: […]"
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene i:
"to do his master's high behest"
— 1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
"I have spells for the north, I have charms for the west, / And the south and the east must obey my behest."
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 302:
"Paul did not dare pronounce, let matters rest, / His master having given him no behest."
— 1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill, The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977, page 278:
"The London Midland Region has announced receipt of authority from the Ministry of Transport to resume the reconstruction of Stafford station and layout, interrupted at the Minister's behest; contracts have now been placed for the erection of the new station buildings and the yardmaster's office."
— 1961 May, “Talking of Trains: Stourton and Stafford approved”, in Trains Illustrated, page 260:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the king's ____, the soldiers marched into battle without hesitation.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new rules were implemented at the ____ of the company chairman today.