Word.ws English Dictionary

betimes

UK/bɪˈtaɪmz/

betimes adverb: in good season or time; early, especially in the morning; seasonably.

Adverb

betimes (not comparable)

  1. (dated) In good season or time; early, especially in the morning; seasonably.
    • Behold, as wilde asses in the desart, goe they foorth to their worke, rising betimes for a pray: the wildernes yeeldeth food for them, and for their children.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 24:5
    • They slept well that night and betimes next morning the mother of Alaeddin arose and went with her bowl to the King's court which she found closed.1885–1888, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editor, Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night […], Shammar edition, volume (please specify the volume), [London]: […]...
  2. (archaic) In a short time, soon; quickly, forthwith.
    • [O]ne prayed God right heartily aloud that He would send them betimes a knight that durst convoy them through this strait pass.1898, The High History of the Holy Graal, translated by Sebastian Evans, Branch IX, Title II
    • Reproving betimes with sharpness...and afterward showing forth an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved[…]1839, Doctrine and Covenants, 121:43

betimes meaning in Tamil

betimes in Tamil

உரிய காலத்தில், முன்கூட்டி

Examples of betimes in a sentence

  • Thou knowest that the nobles are wont to carry their sons, as children, early into the fight, that they may learn the deeds of chivalry betimes.”1840, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter I, in Mercedes of Castile: Or, The Voyage to Cathay. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and...
  • I was up betimes in the morning, but Holmes was afoot earlier still, for I saw him as I dressed, coming up the drive.1902, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 13, in The Hound of the Baskervilles:
  • However they dined very early, for the winter dusk fell betimes at this season [...].1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 786:

Origin of betimes

From Middle English betymes, from bi (“by”) + time + adverbial -s. By surface analysis, betime + -s (adverbial suffix). Compare also betides.

Words that rhyme with betimes

5 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about betimes

What does betimes mean?
Betimes means in good season or time; early, especially in the morning; seasonably.
What is betimes in Tamil?
Betimes in Tamil is உரிய காலத்தில், முன்கூட்டி. See Betimes meaning in Tamil.
How do you use betimes in a sentence?
Thou knowest that the nobles are wont to carry their sons, as children, early into the fight, that they may learn the deeds of chivalry betimes.”
What part of speech is betimes?
Betimes is an adverb.
How do you pronounce betimes?
Betimes is pronounced /bɪˈtaɪmz/ (UK).

Words near betimes in the dictionary

  1. betimbering
  2. betimbers
  3. betime
  4. betimed
  5. betimely
  6. betimes
  7. betiming
  8. betine
  9. betined
  10. betines
  11. betining

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: betimes (page history and authors); betimes (Tamil Wiktionary) (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-betimes.ogg.

Cite this entry: “betimes.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/betimes. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.