English

Noun

behest ‎(plural behests)

1. A command, bidding; sometimes also, an authoritative request. [from 12th c.]
   • 1977, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Penguin Classics, p. 278:

     Paul did not dare pronounce, let matters rest, / His master having given him no behest.

   • Sir Walter Scott

     to do his master's high behest

   • 2007, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day:

     And young Mr. Fleetwood Vibe was here at the behest of his father, Wall Street eminence Scarsdale Vibe, who was effectively bankrolling the Expedition.

   • 2009, “What a waste”, The Economist, 15 Oct 2009:

     the House of Representatives will try to water down even this feeble effort at the behest of the unions whose members enjoy some of the most lavish policies.

   • 2011, Owen Gibson, The Guardian, 24 Mar 2011:

     The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is to meet with the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, at the behest of the Premier League in a bid to resolve their long-running feud.

2. A vow; a promise.
   • Paston

     The time is come that I should send it her, if I keep the behest that I have made.

Translations

Verb

behest ‎(third-person singular simple present behests, present participle behesting, simple past and past participle behested)

1. (obsolete) To promise; vow.

Anagrams

• Thebes, Thêbes