behold means look, a call of attention to something. It carries an Arena rating of 1890, earned across 46 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, behold ranks #1,040 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,388 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,117 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,451 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
behold is pronounced /bɪˈhəʊld/.
Why “behold” is a great word
To look upon with sustained attention or awe, or an interjection calling others to witness what is seen. From Middle English *biholden*, derived from Old English *behealdan* ("to hold, keep, observe, look at"), rooted in Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan* ("to hold with, keep"), combining the prefix *be-* with *hold*, and cognate with German *behalten* ("to keep"). Unlike "see" (a general, often passive registration of sight) or "observe" (a careful, analytical watching for study), to behold is an act of the will—an anchoring of the gaze, as when a traveler first pauses on a ridgeline to take in a valley bathed in dawn light, a mother locks eyes with her newborn, or a mourner lingers on the face of the departed. It is the conscious, human act of making a moment sacred by the simple, profound effort of truly holding it.
Etymology
From Middle English biholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, possess, preserve, belong, keep, observe, look at, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- + hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”).
intj
- look, a call of attention to something
- lo!
verb
- To look at or see (someone or something), especially appreciatively; to descry, to look upon.
- To contemplate (someone or something).
- To look.e.g.“Lo and behold.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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