- abet
- \ \ see BAIT
Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
abet
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abet — /ə bet/ vt abet·ted, abet·ting: to assist, encourage, instigate, or support with criminal intent in attempting or carrying out a crime often used in the phrase aid and abet abet·ment n abet·tor also abet·ter /ə be tər/ n Merriam Webster’s… … Law dictionary
Abet — A*bet , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Abetted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Abetting}.] [OF. abeter; a (L. ad) + beter to bait (as a bear), fr. Icel. beita to set dogs on, to feed, originally, to cause to bite, fr. Icel. b[=i]ta to bite, hence to bait, to incite.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
abet — abet; abet·ment; abet·tor; abet·ter; … English syllables
Abet — A*bet , n. [OF. abet, fr. abeter.] Act of abetting; aid. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Abet — may refer to:* Abet Guidaben (20th century), former Philippine Basketball Association basketball player * Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, a non profit organizationee also* Abettor … Wikipedia
abet — ► VERB (abetted, abetting) (usu. in phrase aid and abet) ▪ encourage or assist (someone) to do something wrong, in particular to commit a crime. DERIVATIVES abetment noun abetter (also abettor) noun. ORIGIN Old French abeter, from be … English terms dictionary
abet — (v.) late 14c. (implied in abetting), from O.Fr. abeter to bait, to harass with dogs, lit. to cause to bite, from a to (see AD (Cf. ad )) + beter to bait, from a Germanic source, perhaps Low Franconian betan incite, or O.N. beita cause to bite,… … Etymology dictionary
abet — *incite, foment, instigate Analogous words: aid, assist, *help: back, *support, uphold: cooperate, concur (see UNITE): forward, further, promote (see ADVANCE) Antonyms: deter (with a personal subject) Contrasted words: * … New Dictionary of Synonyms
abet — [v] assist, help in wrongdoing advocate, back, condone, egg on*, encourage, endorse, goad, incite, instigate, prod, promote, provoke, sanction, spur, support, urge; concepts 14,110 Ant. counter, deter, discourage, frustrate, hinder, hurt, impede … New thesaurus
abet — [ə bet′] vt. abetted, abetting [ME abetten < OFr abeter, to incite < a , to + beter, to bait < ON beita: see BAIT] to incite, sanction, or help, esp. in wrongdoing abetment n. abettor n. abetter … English World dictionary
abet — v. (formal) (D; tr.) to abet in (to abet smb. in doing smt.; to aid and abet smb. in doing smt.) * * * [ə bet] (formal) (D; tr.) to abet in (to abet smb. in doing smt.; to aid and abet smb. in doing smt.) … Combinatory dictionary
