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.
noun
Something monstrous or portentous; a shocking sight; sorry spectacle; disgraceful thing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, obsolete, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Something serving as a warning or an example to be avoided.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Middle English bysen, partly from Old English bȳsen (“example, pattern, model, similitude, parable, parallel, rule, command, precept”), and partly from Old Norse býsn (“a wonder, a portentous thing”), both from Proto-Germanic *būsniz (“command, precept”), from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to ask, beg”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhewdh- (“to be awake, perceive fully”).
