Beodan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic verb meaning to present something for acceptance ; to give an order or instruction to someone with authority ; to make a public declaration or proclamation to others
2. Old English verb for holding out a gift or offer to another person ; to direct someone with a command as a superior ; to openly announce something to a gathering of people
3. An old word for putting something forward for someone to take ; to tell another person what they must do by authority ; to make known a message or decree loudly

Etymology: Old English "beodan" meant "to command, order, proclaim, or offer," and it sits behind modern "bid" in both senses of offering something and of commanding someone. Its path to modern English was unusual: "beodan" belonged to a class of strong verbs whose past tense was "bēad" and whose past participle was "boden," and over the centuries the infinitive shifted toward "bid" while the older forms "bade" and "bidden" survived in ordinary use, so the modern verb carries the ghost of a vanished set of forms. The sense of "present to someone," as in offering a greeting or toast, is the older and more central meaning, which later English narrowed in the phrase "bid farewell" and in the greeting "bid you good day." The sense of ordering or commanding, as in "God bade him go," shows the same root branching in two directions: a bid could be a request, a proclamation, or a command depending on the speaker's authority.