Etymologically
Log in

abet

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 13 October 2026 at 23:24. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈbɛt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English abetten,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French abeter (“to bait, to harass with dogs”),[2][5][3] from a- “to” (from Latin ad-) and beter “to bait”.[2][5][4] The French verb is of Germanic origin,[5][4][3] probably Frankish bētan (“to incite”) or Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite”),[5][3] so that the literal sense was “to cause to bite”.[5] It is related to bait and bite.[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To urge on or stir up a person to do something (about 1380).[7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

From the hunting picture of setting dogs on to bite, the verb came to mean urging someone on in general.[5][7] By 1590 it had taken a bad sense, inciting or encouraging someone to commit a crime,[3][7] and from 1779 it was used of encouraging or countenancing the offence itself.[7][5] The good sense of supporting a cause is now obsolete,[7] and the word survives mostly in the legal phrase aid and abet.[6]

Timeline

  • about 1315 – noun abet, fraud or cunning, now obsolete.[7]
  • about 1380 – verb, to urge on or incite.[7][3][5]
  • 1590 – to instigate or encourage a person in a crime.[7][3]
  • 1596 – to support a cause or opinion, now obsolete.[7]
  • 1779 – to encourage or countenance an offence.[7][5]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To encourage or assist someone, especially in wrongdoing.
  2. To support or promote an activity or plan.

Word family

  • abetment
  • abettor

Usage notes

Random House gives help, aid, assist and promote as synonyms, and hinder and discourage as antonyms.[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press