Wiktionary

bent

See also: Bent and ben't

English edit

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK, US) enPR: bĕnt, IPA(key): /bɛnt/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English bent-, preterite stem (as in bente, benten, etc.), and Middle English bent, ibent, ybent, past participle forms of Middle English benden (“to bend”). Equivalennt to bend +‎ -t.

Verb edit

bent

  1. simple past and past participle of bend

Adjective edit

bent (comparative benter or more bent, superlative bentest or most bent)

  1. (Of something that is usually straight) Folded, dented.
    Synonym: crooked
  2. (colloquial, chiefly UK) Corrupt, dishonest.
    Synonym: crooked
  3. (derogatory, colloquial, chiefly UK) Homosexual.
    Synonyms: queer; see also Thesaurus:homosexual
    • 2019 January 22, Joe Sommerlad, “The reasons why Bohemian Rhapsody faced such a massive backlash”, in The Independent‎[1]:
      Asked bluntly by Julie Webb of the NME whether he was “bent” in December 1974, Freddie answered evasively: “You're a crafty cow. […] ”
  4. Determined or insistent.
    Synonym: hell-bent
    He was bent on going to Texas, but not even he could say why.
    They were bent on mischief.
    • 2017 July 7, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “The ambitious War For The Planet Of The Apes ends up surrendering to formula”, in The Onion AV Club‎[2]:
      […] in the ape posse, bent on vengeance, traversing landscapes clothed in snow and bristling with California red fir and silver pine, spooking human stragglers, and running across fresh graves as they search for the nameless colonel and try to piece together why the humans are killing each other.
  5. (Of a person) leading a life of crime.
  6. (slang, soccer) Inaccurately aimed.
    That shot was so bent it left the pitch.
  7. (colloquial, chiefly US) Suffering from the bends.
  8. (slang) High from both marijuana and alcohol.
    Man, I am so bent right now!
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit

Noun edit

bent (plural bents)

  1. An inclination or talent.
    He had a natural bent for painting.
  2. A predisposition to act or react in a particular way.
    His mind was of a technical bent.
  3. The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity.
    the bent of a bow
  4. A declivity or slope, as of a hill.
  5. Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.
  6. (carpentry) A transverse frame of a framed structure; a subunit of framing.
    1. Such a subunit as a component of a barn's framing, joined to other bents by girts and summer beams.
    2. Such a subunit as a reinforcement to, or integral part of, a bridge's framing.
  7. Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus.
    • 1707, John Norris, Practical Discourses Upon the Beatitudes of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.:
      the full bent and stress of the soul
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2 edit

From Middle English bent, benet, from Old English *beonot (attested only in place-names and personal names), from Proto-West Germanic *binut (“reed, rush”), of uncertain origin.

Noun edit

bent (countable and uncountable, plural bents)

  1. Any of various stiff or reedy grasses.
    Synonym: bentgrass
    • 1627, Michael Drayton, Nymphidia, published 1810, page 124:
      His spear a bent, both stiff and strong.
    • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes”, in The Phantom ’Rickshaw and Other Tales, Folio Society, published 2005, page 121:
      Gunga Dass gave me a double handful of dried bents which I thrust down the mouth of the lair to the right of his, and followed myself, feet foremost [...].
    • 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 9”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
      Clusters of strong flowers rose everywhere above the coarse tussocks of bent.
  2. A grassy area, grassland.
  3. The old dried stalks of grasses.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
grass — see bentgrass
area — see grassland

Dutch edit

Etymology edit

Innovative form replacing older zijt, which is still maintained in combination with the archaic/southern gij. The form bent was built by analogy with ben (“I am”) after jij had adopted the function of second-person singular. In this it may (but need not) have been influenced by Middle Dutch bes, the form used with the defunct singular pronoun du.[1]

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

bent

  1. second-person singular present indicative of zijn; are.

References edit

  1. ^ A. van Loey, Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands, 8. druk 1970, →ISBN; §147a

Hungarian edit

Etymology edit

From benn, following the example of alant and lent.[1]

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

bent (comparative beljebb or bentebb, superlative legbeljebb or legbentebb)

  1. inside
    Synonym: benn
    Antonyms: kinn, kint

Related terms edit

References edit

  1. ^ bent in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

Further reading edit

  • bent , mostly redirecting to benn in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
  • bent in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)

Lithuanian edit

Adverb edit

bent

  1. at least
    Synonyms: mažiausia, mažiausiai

Old Norse edit

Participle edit

bent

  1. strong neuter nominative/accusative singular of bendr

Verb edit

bent

  1. supine of benda

Scots edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Old English beonet, compare Middle English bent.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bent (plural bents)

  1. (archaic, 14th century) Coarse or wiry grass growing upon moorlands.
  2. (archaic, 15th century) An area covered with coarse or wiry grass; a moor.

Derived terms edit

Turkish edit

Etymology edit

From Persian بند (band).

Noun edit

bent (definite accusative bendi, plural bentler)

  1. dam
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