Betake
/bɪˈteɪk/noun
To go or turn to a place, person, or course of action; often used in the reflexive form.
Did you know?Betake is built on the old verb take, with the prefix be- intensifying the action, and it survives today mostly in the solemn phrase “betake oneself,” like a linguistic relic of deliberate self-commitment.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
betæcan
“to commit, entrust, or deliver over”
Old English
OE
tacan
“to take, seize, or receive”
Middle English
ME
betaken
“to commit oneself, resort to, or go to”
14th Century
English
betake
“to turn or direct oneself to a place or action”
Modern English
English
betake
“to go or turn to a place, person, or course of action”