betake
Definition
- Verb (transitive, reflexive):
- To go or move oneself to a place: "betake" means to cause oneself to go to a particular location or situation, often with a sense of purpose or urgency.
- To apply oneself to an activity: It can mean to devote or commit oneself to a specific action or pursuit.
Usage Examples
- (He went to the library with a specific purpose.)
- (She moved to the garden for solitude.)
- (He went to his room, likely to avoid conflict.)
Advanced Usage
"to betake oneself to one's heels": an archaic phrase meaning to run away or flee.
- When the thief saw the police, he betook himself to his heels. (He ran away quickly.)
"to betake oneself to drink": to become addicted to or habitually engage in drinking alcohol.
- In his despair, he betook himself to drink. (He started drinking heavily as a coping mechanism.)
Variants and Related Words
- Betook (past tense): (He went to the mountains.)
- Betaken (past participle): (He has committed himself to a solitary life.)
Synonyms
- Repair: to go to a place.
- They repaired to the tavern after the meeting. (They went to the tavern.)
- Resort: to turn to something for help or action.
- He resorted to begging when he lost his job. (He applied himself to begging.)
- Flee: to run away (when used with "to one's heels").
Related Idioms
- Betake oneself to: a formal or literary way to say "go to" or "apply oneself to."
- He betook himself to his duties. (He started doing his responsibilities.)
Notes on Usage
- This word is archaic or literary in modern English. It is rarely used in everyday conversation and is more common in historical texts, formal writing, or poetic contexts.
- The verb is always used reflexively (with "oneself") and is conjugated irregularly: betake → betook → betaken.