befold
befold verb: to fold up; fold around; wrap up; envelop.
Verb
befold (third-person singular simple present befolds, present participle befolding, simple past befolded or (obsolete) befeld, past participle befolded or (obsolete) befeld or (obsolete) befolden)
- To fold up; fold around; wrap up; envelop.
- And when I rant and rave and raise hell about the power structure and about slaverytood, and nigratood, and nigraism, and everything else that befolds me being a black woman every day, I still love people.1974, Harrisene Jackson, There's nothing I own that I want
- So, brothers and sisters that is God's law and God's punishment that befolds a person who during their life does not acknowledge or feels the greatness of God and God's reality.2002, Simon Monbaron, How to Develop Peace in the World
Forms of befold
| third-person singular present | befolds |
|---|---|
| present participle | befolding |
| past | befolded |
| past participle | befolded |
| past (obsolete) | befeld |
| past participle (obsolete) | befeld |
| past participle (obsolete) | befolden |
Origin of befold
From Middle English bifealden, bevealden, from Old English befealdan (“to fold, roll up, envelop, clasp, surround, involve, cover, attach”), equivalent to be- (“around, about”) + fold. Cognate with Old High German bifaltan (“to envelop”).
Questions about befold
- What does befold mean?
- Befold means to fold up; fold around; wrap up; envelop.
- What part of speech is befold?
- Befold is a verb.
- What is the past tense of befold?
- The past tense of befold is befolded.
Words near befold in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: befold (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “befold.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/befold. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.