bestir · verb — to put into brisk or vigorous action; to move with life and vigor.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
bestir is pronounced /bɪˈstɜː/.
Why “bestir” is a great word
To rouse oneself or another to action or into brisk motion. From Middle English *bestyrien, bestirien*, from Old English *bestyrian* ("to heap up, pile up"), equivalent to the intensive prefix *be-* + the verb *stir*. Unlike "stir," which suggests a gentle perturbation, or "arouse," which awakens feeling, to bestir is to command the limbs and will from torpor into active effort. It is the groan of the body levering itself from a warm bed into the cold dark, the deliberate, weary stacking of cordwood on a winter's morning, the first decisive footfall on snow that has lain undisturbed all winter—the quiet rebellion of motion against the world's deep and patient pull.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English bestyrien, bestirien, from Old English bestyrian (“to heap up, pile up”), equivalent to be- + stir.
verb
- To put into brisk or vigorous action; to move with life and vigor.e.g.“Notwithstanding all the various temptations to bad temper, pride, greediness, adultery and so forth, the enemy really has but one temptation, and that is, to bestir the saints.” — 1986, Watchman Nee, The Life that Wins, page 75:
- To make active; to rouse oneself.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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