Beshrewing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Wishing evil or misfortune upon someone, as an archaic way of cursing or scolding them
2. Invoking a curse or ill luck on a person in an old-fashioned, playful or reproachful manner
3. Calling down harm or bad fortune on another, a term used in older English to express a curse

Etymology: "Beshrewing" is the present participle of "beshrew," a verb meaning to curse or wish misfortune on someone. The verb came into Middle English as "beschrewen," meaning to curse or to pervert, and it is built from the prefix "be-" attached to "shrew." The "be-" prefix here works as an intensifier, giving the sense of thoroughly cursing someone, rather than shifting the meaning in any other direction. The surprise lies in the "shrew" half. Today a shrew is an ill-tempered, nagging woman, but in the Middle English period "shrew" was not restricted to a person at all. It carried the sense of a wicked or evil person, and the word was used more broadly for someone who did harm, so "beshrew" meant to wish evil upon a person or thing. Its modern echo survives mainly in the exclamation "Beshrew me!", an old-fashioned oath of mild protest.

Synonyms: curse, damn, malign

Antonyms: bless