bestrew means to strew or scatter about; throw or drop here and there. It carries an Arena rating of 1688, earned across 13 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bestrew ranks #1,166 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #1,798 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,788 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,005 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
Why “bestrew” is a great word
To scatter or sprinkle things loosely over a surface. From Middle English bistrewen, from Old English bestrēawian, bestrēowian (“to bestrew, besprinkle”), equivalent to be- (“all over, thoroughly”) + strew (“to scatter”). Unlike “sprinkle,” which implies a controlled, fine mist, or “arrange,” which demands deliberate order, to bestrew is to cast with a heedless or generous hand. It is the wind-scattered petals on a flagstone path, the strewn grain from a torn sack, the careless toss of autumn leaves over a forgotten lawn—a casual act of decoration that accepts the beautiful, indifferent randomness of where things fall.
Etymology
From Middle English bistrewen, from Old English bestrēawian, bestrēowian (“to bestrew, besprinkle”), equivalent to be- + strew. Cognate with Dutch bestrooien (“to sprinkle, bestrew”), German bestreuen (“to sprinkle, cover”), Swedish beströ (“to strew, sprinkle, scatter”).
verb
- To strew or scatter about; throw or drop here and there.
- To strew anything upon; strew over or about; cover or partially cover with things strewn; cover with straw or strewing.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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