abet

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”), 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈbɛt/

• Audio (CA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛt

Verb

abet (third-person singular simple present abets, present participle abetting, simple past and past participle abetted)

1. (transitive) To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime.

   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:

     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.

2. (transitive) To support, countenance, maintain, uphold, or aid (any good cause, opinion, or action); to maintain.
   • a. 1667, Jeremy Taylor, edited by George Rust, 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:

     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.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
4. (obsolete) To back up one's forecast of a doubtful issue, by staking money, etc., to bet.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

abet (plural abets)

1. (obsolete) Fraud or cunning.
2. (obsolete) An act of abetting; of helping; of giving aid.

References

Anagrams

• Bate, Beta, Teba, bate, beat, beta

Aragonese

Alternative forms

• abete

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *abētem, from Classical Latin abietem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈbet/
• Rhymes: -et
• Syllabification: a‧bet

Noun

abet m (plural abetz)

1. fir

Descendants

• → Spanish: abeto, abete (or from Catalan)
  • → Asturian: abetu
  • → Galician: abeto
  • → Portuguese: abeto

References

• “abeto”, in Aragonario, diccionario castellano–aragonés (in Spanish)
• 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

1. An expression of doubt

Danish

Verb

abet

1. past participle of abe

Indonesian

Noun

abet (first-person possessive abetku, second-person possessive abetmu, third-person possessive abetnya)

1. attitude

Lombard

Etymology

From Latin habitus (“habit, appearance”).

Noun

abet m

1. religious habit (clothing)

Malay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.bət/
• Hyphenation: a‧ber
• Rhymes: -ət

Noun

abet (Jawi spelling ابت, plural abet-abet, informal 1st possessive abetku, 2nd possessive abetmu, 3rd possessive abetnya)

1. behaviour.

Derived terms

References

• “abet” in Kamus Dewan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2021, →ISBN, page 4.

Further reading

• “abet” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.