Bade

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /bæd/

Definitions

1. Expressed an order or command in the past tense
2. Issued a directive or request formerly
3. Gave an instruction or invitation previously

Etymology: "Bade" is the simple past of "bid", and the verb has two Old English ancestors that merged over time. One, "biddan", meant "to ask" or "to demand" and is the source of the sense of praying or requesting. The other, "bēodan", meant "to offer" or "to announce," and it is the source of the sense of commanding or ordering someone to do something. The two verbs were conflated, so that a single English word now carries both a plea and an order. Related forms appear across the Germanic languages. German "bitten" means "to ask," Dutch "bidden" means "to pray," and Danish "bede" carries the same sense of praying, while German "bieten" and Dutch "bieden" carry the "offer" sense, so the cousins preserve the split that English blurred.

Synonyms: commanded, ordered, requested