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Betoken

[bih-toh-kuhn]

Origin

verb (used with object)

to give evidence of; indicate: to betoken one's fidelity with a vow; a kiss that betokens one's affection.

to be or give a token or sign of; portend: a thunderclap that betokens foul weather; an angry word that betokens hostility.

Origin:
1125–75; Middle English bitocnen, bitacnen. See be-, token

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Betoken is one of our favorite verbs.

So is kibitz. Does it mean:

chat, to converse

to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

betoken (bɪˈtəʊkən)

—vb
1.	to indicate; signify: black clothes betoken mourning
2.	to portend; augur

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

betoken

late 12c., from be- + O.E. tacnian "to signify," from tacn "sign" (see token).

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"The emancipation of today displays itself mainly in cigarettes and shorts. There is even a reaction from the ideal of an intellectual and emancipated womanhood, for which the pioneers toiled and suffered, to be seen in painted lips and nails, and the return of trailing skirts and other absurdities of dress which betoken the slave-woman's intelligent companionship."

-Sylvia Pankhurst

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Betoken

be·to·ken