Is it waiting with baited breath or bated breath?
A The correct spelling is actually bated breath but it’s so common these days to see it written as baited breath that there’s every chance that it will soon become the usual form, to the disgust of conservative speakers and the confusion of dictionary writers.
What did Shakespeare mean by bated breath?
Bated breath first appeared in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice in 1605. Using a shortened form of abated, which means “stopped or reduced,” the phrase refers to people holding their breath in excitement or fear as they wait to see what happens next.
Is it correct to say bated breath?
Is it Bated Breath or Baited Breath? The correct form of the English expression is bated breath. The dictionary defines this idiom as a nervous or excited state anticipating what will happen. The expression under discussion has become controversial because of its misuse in Harry Potter.
Is it baited or bated?
Baited is the past form of the verb bait, which means to tease, harass, or put food (or bait) in a trap. A hook, witness, or animal is baited (lured, enticed, tempted). The word bated is a clipped form of the past tense of the verb abate, which means to reduce or restrain. Breath is bated.
What do you mean by abate?
Definition of abate
intransitive verb. 1 : to decrease in force or intensity waiting for the storm to abate. 2a : to become defeated or become null or void (as of a writ or appeal) b : to decrease in amount or value The legacies abated proportionately.
Where did the term baited breath come from?
Bated Breath Origin
The origin of “bated breath” comes from the Shakespeare play, “The Merchant of Venice,” written in 1605. The character, Shylock, says, “Shall I bend low and in a bondman’s key, With bated breath and whispering humbleness.”
How do you use bated breath?
Eagerly or anxiously, as in We waited for the announcement of the winner with bated breath. This expression literally means “holding one’s breath” (bate means “restrain”). Today it is also used somewhat ironically, indicating one is not all that eager or anxious.
How do you use bated breath in a sentence?
Flora and I waited with bated breath to hear what Evelyn considered sensible. I was waiting with bated breath for him to say something, anything, that wasn’t a cliché. Once, twice, and he waited with bated breath, trapped by a childhood memory. She waited with bated breath for their host to emerge from the shadows.
What Bate means?
restrain
Definition of bate
(Entry 1 of 2) transitive verb. 1 : to reduce the force or intensity of : restrain waited with bated breath. 2 : to take away : deduct That grave and orderly senior was not going to bate a jot of his dignity …—
How do you pronounce bated breath?
Meaning of Bated Breath – YouTube
What does Hummock mean?
1 : a rounded knoll or hillock. 2 : a ridge of ice.
Is Abait a word?
abait is a valid English word.
What does bated breath mean today?
Definition of with bated breath
: in a nervous and excited state anticipating what will happen They waited for the answer on their application with bated breath.
What does bated mean in Old English?
ˈbāt. bated; bating. transitive verb. : to reduce the force or intensity of : restrain.
What does bait mean in slang?
bait verb [T] (MAKE ANGRY)
to intentionally make a person angry by saying or doing things to annoy them: Ignore him – he’s just baiting you. I suspect he was just baiting me. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Causing feelings of anger and displeasure.
What’s a Bosk?
: a small wooded area.
What is a Hummics?
A hummock refers to a small mound, hillock, or a knoll that occurs above the surface of the earth. The terms should not be confused with hummocky, which is a word that is used to describe a surface that is extremely irregular. Usually, these mounds do not go higher than 49 feet and tend to occur in groups.
What is a Tabia?
Definition of tabia
: a building material composed of earth, lime, and pebbles rammed into place between forms and found very durable in rainless areas and especially in building the castles of the northern Sahara — compare tabby entry 3.
What does shall abate mean?
1 : to decrease in force or intensity waiting for the storm to abate. 2a : to become defeated or become null or void (as of a writ or appeal) b : to decrease in amount or value The legacies abated proportionately. transitive verb. 1a : to put an end to abate a nuisance.
What does bated mean slang?
: in a nervous and excited state because you do not know what will happen. They waited for the answer with bated breath. [=they nervously waited for the answer]
What does Bai mean in texting?
Bai is a slang variation of “bye” that is said to a person when he or she is leaving. It is typically used when someone is ending a conversation when texting or chatting in an online chatroom. Bai is one of those slang terms used by people just to be different.
What does Ting mean slang?
The slang term “Ting” is a noun, the word is Jamaican/Caribbean way of saying “thing” but ting is widely used to reference a beautiful girl.
What is a Humix?
Ful-Humix is consists of humic and fulvic acids. It is a powerful activator that improves the intake of nutrients, raises the effectivity of the nutrients and improves cell activity.
What is an ice hummock?
An ice hummock is a boss or rounded knoll of ice rising above the general level of an ice-field. Hummocky ice is caused by slow and unequal pressure in the main body of the packed ice, and by unequal structure and temperature at a later period.
What is Tabiya chess?
tabiya (plural tabiyas) (chess) A position in the opening of a game that occurs after a sequence of moves that is heavily standardized, and from which the players have many possible moves again.