betoken

English

Etymology

From Middle English bitoknen, bitacnen, from Old English betācnian (“to betoken, signify, designate”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitaiknijan. Equivalent to be- +‎ token. Cognate with Dutch betekenen (“to mean, signify”), German bezeichnen (“to call, designate”), Swedish beteckna (“to represent, designate, indicate”) and Danish betegne (“to represent, designate, indicate”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bɪˈtoʊ.kən/
Audio (UK): (file)
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -əʊkən

Verb

betoken (third-person singular simple present betokens, present participle betokening, simple past and past participle betokened)

(transitive) To signify by some visible object; show by signs or tokens.
- 1557: Robert Recorde, The whetstone of witte, whiche is the seconde parte of Arithmetike : containyng the xtraction of Rootes : The Cossike practise, with the rule of Equation : and the workes of Surde Nombers.^ʀ, page unknown (Ihon Kyngstone)
  There be other 2 signes in often use of which the first is made thus + and betokeneth more : the other is thus made – and betokeneth lesse.
- 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 87:
  During the fight, we ran forward a few paces, but a heavy, rushing flight betokened an easy victory, and the stranger flew away.
- 1955 July, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 448:
  Here, too, there is a marked change in the character of the country, for Tondu lies at the foot of the imposing mass of the central group of Glamorgan mountains, betokening the stiff gradients that lie ahead.
- 1964 July, “News and Comment: The Broad Street-Richmond line”, in Modern Railways, page 17:
  The new propaganda for the route, modest though it is in content and extent so far, does seem to betoken a BR effort to improve its carryings and save the service from extinction.
- 2010 May 10, Bert Youn, Pete Browngardt, & Adam Muto, “Wizard” (3:19 from the start), in Adventure Time‎^[1], season 1, episode 11, spoken by Bufo (Tom Kenny):
  “Now, for every power that you accrue, you shall receive a star badge like these. This final star betokens the rank of ultimate wizard.”
(transitive) To foreshow by present signs; indicate something future by that which is seen or known.
- 1853: Virgil, Charles Anthon, LL.D. [tr.], Æneïd of Virgil: With English Notes, Critical and Explanatory, a Metrical Clavis: And an Historical, Geographical, and Mythological Index, page 474 (Harper & Brothers, 329 & 331 Pearl Street, Franklin Square, New York)
  “ Ah ! hospitable land, thou (nevertheless) betokenest war,” i. e., although hospitable, thou nevertheless betokenest war. — Bello.
- 1963 July, “News and Comment: Second thoughts on Liner trains?”, in Modern Railways, page 5:
  Since the Report was published there has been a rather unnatural absence of follow-up propaganda for the Liner trains, which seems to betoken a disinclination to embark on the heavy expenditure involved until a long-term patronage of the projected services has been assured.

Synonyms

(signify): indicate, mark, note
(foreshow): portend, presage, forebode

Derived terms

Translations

to show by signs or tokens

Bulgarian: , знача (bg) (znača), означавам (bg) (označavam)
Polish: świadczyć (pl) impf, znaczyć (pl) impf
Serbo-Croatian: naznačiti (sh)

to indicate something future by that which is seen or known

Bulgarian: , вещая (bg) (veštaja), предсказвам (bg) (predskazvam)
Polish: wróżyć (pl) impf, zapowiadać (pl) impf, zapowiedzieć (pl) pf
Serbo-Croatian: nagovjestiti, nagovestiti (sh)

References

“betoken”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
“betoken”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.