bedizen

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To dress or ornament (someone or something), especially in a gaudy, showy, or tasteless manner.
To make (someone or something) dirty; to bedaub, to besmear, to dirty.

Pronunciation

/bɪˈdaɪz(ə)n/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bedizen2.wav /bɪˈdaɪzən/ /-ˈdɪ-/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-bedizen.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-bedizen (alt).wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bedizen.wav

Word forms

bedizen bedizens bedizening bedizened bedisen bedizzen

Etymology

PIE word *h₁epi From be- (intensifying prefix) + dizen (“to attire, dress, especially showily”). Dizen is derived from dialectal dize (“to put (tow) on a distaff”), probably from Middle English *disen, from Old English *disan, *disian, from *dise, *disen (“bunch of flax on a distaff”), from Proto-Germanic *disanō (“distaff”); further etymology unknown.

Synonyms

bedaub embellish gaud overdecorate bedirty befoul sully assoil beclart imbrue (especially with blood) bedizen befile befilth begrime beray beshit besmear besmirch besully bewray blacken blot blur clat contaminate darken defile dirten dirty elt file foil foul gunk gunk up inquinate scunge sling mud slotter slur smear smirch smudge smut smutch soil soss sowl spot stain sullow tarnish uggle

Related words

dize dizen dizened dizenment endizen undizened

Derived words

bedizened bedizening bedizenment bedizenry

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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