beshrew

[ bih-shroo ]

verb (used with object)Archaic.
  1. to curse; invoke evil upon.

Origin of beshrew

1
First recorded in 1275–1325, beshrew is from the Middle English word beshrewen.See be-, shrew1

Words Nearby beshrew

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How to use beshrew in a sentence

  • beshrew me, if my wife and thee could not make exchange of some portion of her spirit and thy meekness to the advantage of both.

    Constance Sherwood | Lady Georgiana Fullerton
  • But listen now: I have weightier matters; I have eggs on the spit, beshrew me else!

    Judith Shakespeare | William Black
  • Get me some drink George, I am almost molten with fretting: now beshrew his Knaves heart for it.

  • beshrew me, there be plenty of that trade in London, and chiefly the feeble folk that he hath driven from our stage.

    Judith Shakespeare | William Black
  • "beshrew me, but I think thou art distraught already," answered the Queen.

    Kenilworth | Sir Walter Scott

British Dictionary definitions for beshrew

beshrew

/ (bɪˈʃruː) /


verb
  1. (tr) archaic to wish evil on; curse (used in mild oaths such as beshrew me)

Origin of beshrew

1
C14: see be-, shrew

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012