Bestand
Origin
From Middle English bistanden, bestanden, from Old English bestandan ("to stand round or about, beset, surround, attend to, harass"), equivalent to - + stand. Cognate with Dutch bestaan ("to exist, subsist, live"), German bestehen ("to exist, endure, be available"), Swedish bestå ("to consist, continue, endure, provide").
Full definition of bestand
Verb
- (transitive) To stand by or near; stand around.
- (transitive) To beset; stand around in hostility; harass.
- 1880, Sidney Lanier, Alfred Kappes, Sir Thomas Malory, The Boy's King Arthur:... that is my lord and uncle King Arthur, for he is full straitly bestood beset with a false traitor, which is my half brother Sir Mordred, ...
- (transitive) To surround; encompass.
- 1846, Polydore Vergil, Sir Henry Ellis, Polydore Vergil's English history:Wherefore the Brittishe bisshops, bestood with weapons and enemies, when thei coulde not execute all functions, and perceaved that the prelates their neighbours weare prompte to assiste them, ...
- (transitive) To serve; be of service to; be ready to serve or aid.
- 1904, Donald Grant Mitchell, American Lands and Letters:... and, inherited Puritan crust of stiffness that rarely left him, and which bestood him well under the ceremonials of his mission, whether at London (1846- 49) or later (1867-74) in Berlin.
- 1907, Donald Grant Mitchell, The works of Donald G. Mitchell:Would not children come kindly to such out-of-door lessons, and to such practical knowledge as would always bestand them well?