bespeak

• POS: Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: be=speak

CIDE DICTIONARY

bespeak, v. t. [OE. bispeken, AS. besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. be- + sprecan to speak. See Speak.].

•  To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a favor.  [1913 Webster]

  "Concluding, naturally, that to gratify his avarice was to bespeak his favor."  [1913 Webster]
•  To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate.  [1913 Webster]

  "[They] bespoke dangers . . . in order to scare the allies."  [1913 Webster]
•  To betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or appearances.  [1913 Webster]

  "When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so little the figure of a man that it bespoke him rather a monster."  [1913 Webster]
•  To speak to; to address.  [1913 Webster]

  "He thus the queen bespoke."  [1913 Webster]

bespeak, v. i. 

 To speak.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

bespeak, n. 

 A bespeaking. Among actors, a benefit (when a particular play is bespoken.)  Dickens.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

bespeak, v.tr. (past bespoke; past part. bespoken or as adj. bespoke)
1 engage in advance.
2 order (goods).
3 suggest; be evidence of (his gift bespeaks a kind heart).
4 literary speak to.

Etymology

OE bisprecan (as BE-, SPEAK)

THESAURUS

bespeak

accost, address, announce, apostrophize, appeal to, apply for, apply to, approach, approve, argue, ask, ask for, attest, be construed as, be indicative of, be significant of, be symptomatic of, beg leave, betoken, book, breathe, brief, buttonhole, call for, call to, characterize, connote, crave, demand, demonstrate, denominate, denote, desire, differentiate, disclose, display, employ, engage, entail, evidence, evince, exhibit, express, file for, furnish evidence, give evidence, give indication of, give token, go to show, greet, hail, halloo, highlight, hint, hire, identify, illustrate, imply, import, indent, indicate, invoke, involve, make a request, make a requisition, make application, manifest, mark, mean, memorialize, note, order, point to, preengage, put in for, recruit, refer to, request, requisition, reserve, retain, reveal, salute, set forth, show, show signs of, sign on, sign up, sign up for, signalize, signify, solicit, speak, speak fair, speak for itself, speak to, speak volumes, spell, stand for, suggest, symbolize, symptomatize, symptomize, take aside, take into employment, take on, talk to, tell, tend to show, testify, whistle for, wish, witness

ROGET THESAURUS

bespeak

Commission

VB commission, delegate, depute, consign, assign, charge, intrust, entrust, commit, commit to the hands of, authorize, put in commission, accredit, engage, hire, bespeak, appoint, name, nominate, return, ordain, install, induct, inaugurate, swear in, invest, crown, enroll, enlist, give power of attorney to, employ, empower, set over, place over, send out, be commissioned, be accredited, represent, stand for, stand in the stead of, stand in the place of, stand in the shoes of.

Request

VB request, ask, beg, crave, sue, pray, petition, solicit, invite, pop the question, make bold to ask, beg leave, beg a boon, apply to, call to, put to, call upon, call for, make a request, address a request, prefer a request, put up a request, make a prayer, address a prayer, prefer a prayer, put up a prayer, make a petition, address a petition, prefer a petition, put up a petition, make application, make a requisition, ask trouble, ask one for, claim, offer up prayers, whistle for, beg hard, entreat, beseech, plead, supplicate, implore, conjure, adjure, obtest, cry to, kneel to, appeal to, invoke, evoke, impetrate, imprecate, ply, press, urge, beset, importune, dun, tax, clamor for, cry aloud, cry for help, fall on one's knees, throw oneself at the feet of, come down on one's marrowbones, beg from door to door, send the hat round, go a begging, mendicate, mump, cadge, beg one's bread, dance attendance on, besiege, knock at the door, bespeak, canvass, tout, make interest, court, seek, bid for, publish the banns.

Earliness

VB be early, be beforehand, keep time, take time by the forelock, anticipate, forestall, have the start, gain the start, steal a march upon, gain time, draw on futurity, bespeak, secure, engage, preengage, accelerate, expedite, make haste.

Caution

VB be cautious, take care, take heed, take good care, have a care mind, what one is about, be on one's guard, make assurance doubly sure, bespeak, think twice, look before one leaps, count the cost, look to the main chance, cut one's coat according to one's cloth, feel one's ground, feel one's way, see how the land lies, wait to see how the cat jumps, bridle one's tongue, reculer pour mieux sauter, let well alone, let well enough alone, let sleeping dogs lie, ne pas reveiller le chat qui dort, don't wake a sleeping cat, keep out of harm's way, keep out of troubled waters, keep at a respectful distance, stand aloof, keep on the safe side, be on the safe side, husband one's resources, caution.

Evidence

VB be evidence, evince, show, betoken, tell of, indicate, imply, involve, argue, bespeak, breathe, have weight, carry weight, tell, speak volumes, speak for itself, rest upon, depend upon, repose on, bear witness, give evidence, testify, depose, witness, vouch for, sign, seal, undersign, set one's hand and seal, sign and seal, deliver as one's act and deed, certify, attest, acknowledge, make absolute, confirm, prove (demonstrate), indorse, countersign, corroborate, support, ratify, bear out, uphold, warrant, adduce, attest, cite, quote, refer to, appeal to, call, call to witness, bring forward, bring into court, allege, plead, produce witnesses, confront witnesses, place into evidence, mark into evidence, collect evidence, bring together evidence, rake up evidence, experiment, have a case, make out a case, establish, authenticate, substantiate, verify, make good, quote chapter and verse, bring home to, bring to book.

Meaning

VB mean, signify, express, import, purport, convey, imply, breathe, indicate, bespeak, bear a sense, tell of, speak of, touch on, point to, allude to, drive at, involve, declare, understand by.