Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
verb
To steal, move stealthily.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, intransitive, obsolete, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: steal away
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Middle English bistelen, from Old English bestelan, from Proto-West Germanic *bestelan, from Proto-Germanic *bistelaną, corresponding to be- (“off, away”) + steal. Cognate with Saterland Frisian besteele, Dutch bestelen, German Low German bestehlen, Luxembourgish bestielen, German bestehlen, Swedish bestjäla (“to rob”).
