The Son of hum shall be 
incn. 
betrash 
betrasht, '' ' See Mi-nine. 
betray (be-tnV), r. t. [< ME. betrage*, 
< bv- + ii'iiii ii, betray, < OF. trni'i; F. trnliir, < 
L. traitere, deliver, give over : see traitor, trea- 
son, tradition. The form of betray was influ- 
enced by that of bfimiy, a quite different word.] 
1. To deliver to, or expose to the power of, an 
enemy by treachery or disloyalty : as, an olliccr 
bttntyed&e city. 
" ?tt'>l into the hands of 
Mat, xvii. Ui'. 
2. To violate by fraud or unfaithfulness ; be 
unfaithful in keeping or upholding : as, to l>v- 
truii a trust. 
Rptray'd her cause and mine. T<'ii/tii*"/i, I*rincess, v. 
3. To act treacherously to; be disloyal to; 
disappoint the hopes or expectations of. 
Do not l>L>lrtiti me, .sir. I (ear you low Mistress I'age. 
Shak., M. W. of W., iii. 3. 
I will Mm i/ 
Tau ny linn'd fishes ; my bended hook shall pierce 
Their slimy ja\vs. Shak., A. ami C., ii. 6. 
Hut when I rise, 1 shall lint! my legs Iteti-aitity/ me. 
Hnxiffll. 
\i<-n of unquiet mind-. aiut violent ambition followed a 
fearfully eccentric course, . . . served and betrayed all 
parties in turn. Jfoowddy, .Sir William Temple. 
4. To deceive ; beguile ; mislead ; seduce. 
Far, far beneath the shallow maid 
He left believing ami beti-ttiial. 
Byron, The Giaour. 
Our impatience betrays us into rash and foolish alli- 
ances which no (Jod attends. 
Eirwrson, Essays, 1st ser., p. 195. 
5. To reveal or disclose in violation of confi- 
dence; make known through breach of faith or 
obligation: as, to betray a person's secrets or 
designs. 
Secrets are rarely betrayed or discovered according to 
any programme our fear has sketched out. 
Oeorf/e Eliot, Mill on the Floss, v. 5. 
6. To show in true character; allow to be seen; 
permit to appear in spite of will or desire. 
Be swift to hear, hut cautious of your tongue, lest you 
betray your ignorance. Watts. 
Anil scarcely look or tone betrays 
How the heart strives beneath its chain. 
W hittter, Mogg Megone, i. 
My own too-fearful guilt, 
Simpler than any child, betray* itself. 
Tennyson, Guinevere. 
7. To indicate; give indication or evidence of: 
said of something not obvious at first view, or 
that would otherwise be concealed. 
Yon azure smoke betrays the lurking town. 
Wordsworth, Prelude, iv. 
All the names in the country betray great antiquity. 
Bryant. 
A turned leaf, a broken twig, the faintest film of smoke 
against the sky, betrayed to him the passage or presence of 
an enemy. J. F. Clarke, Self-Culture, v. 
betrayal (be-tra'al), n. [< betray + -al] The 
act 01 betraying. 
Gained his freedom by the betrayal of his country's 
cause. S. Sharpe, Hist, of Egypt, xii. 
He seldom lost his self-control, and shrank with the 
most sensitive pride from any noticeable betrayal of emo- 
tion. George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, vi. 7. 
betrayer (bf-tra'er), n. One who betrays; a 
traitor ; a seducer. 
betraymentt (be-tra'ment), n. [< betray + 
-ment.] Betrayal; the state of being betrayed. 
Confessing him to be innocent whose betrayment they 
had sought. Udall, Com. on Mat. xxvii. 
betrendt (be-trend'), v. t. [ME. betrenden; < 
be- 1 + trend.'} To wind about; twist; turn 
round. 
Aboute a tre with many a twiste 
Bytrent and wrythe the soote wodebynde. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 1231. 
betrim (be-trim'), r. t. ; pret. and pp. betrimmed, 
ppr. bctrimming. [< be- 1 + trim.'] To trim; 
set in order; decorate; beautify. 
Thy banks with pioned and twilled brims, 
Which spongy April at thy hest betrims. 
Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 
betroth (be-tr6th' or -troth'), " t. [Early mod. 
E. also betrotlie, betroath, betrouth, < ME. be- 
trouthen, betreuthen, bitreuthien, betroth, < bi-, 
be-, + treuthe, treoicthe, < AS. treoivth, troth, 
truth: see be- 1 and troth, truth.] 1. To con- 
tract to give in marriage to another; promise 
or pledge one's troth for the marriage of ; affi- 
ance. 
You, to remove that siege of grief from her, 
Betrotlt'd and would have married her perforce 
To County Paris. Shall., E. and J., v. 3. 
2. To engage to take in marriage ; pledge one's 
troth to marry. 
537 
What man Is there that hath l>ft/-"tl''l a \vitv and hath 
not taken her? Dent. xx. 7. 
To her, my lord, 
Was I bcti-uth'd ere I saw llenniii. 
Nlmk., M. N. D., iv. 1. 
3f. To nominate to a bishopric in order to con- 
secration. 
If any person In- consecrated it liishop to that church 
whercuntohc was not before/*'// 1 ',//!*-!/. A;ilijli', Pareri;oii. 
betrothal (be-ti-6th'- or be-t rot h'al), M. [< '"- 
troth + -nl,] The act of betrothing; betroth- 
ment. 
The feast of lu'lrullml. /,/(.</. //<.!', t:\an-eline iv. 
betrothment (be-troth'- or be-troth' ment), >i. 
[< betroth + -nient.~\ A mutual and formal 
promise or contract made for or by a man and 
a woman with a view to their marriage; be- 
trothal ; the act or state of being betrothed, or 
promised in marriage. 
How the strange hi'trttthmi'nt was to end. 
Trnnifxinl, l'[ inn -^. 
betrust (be-trusf), v. t. [< be- 1 + trust,] 1. 
To intrust; commit to another in confidence 
of fidelity. 
Whatsoever you would h.'truxt to your memory, let it 
be disposed in a proper method. Watts. 
2. To confide in. 
To esteem themselves Maisters, both of that great trust 
which they serve, anil of the People that betnuted them. 
Milton, Eikonoklastes, xiii. 
[Rare in both senses.] 
betrustment (be-trust'ment), n. [< betrust + 
-ment.] The act of intrusting; the thing in- 
trusted. [Rare.] 
betsot, betsat (bet'so, -sa), n. [< It. bezzo (pron. 
bet'so), farthing, piece of money; appar. same 
as It. pezzo, a piece, bit (see piece); but cf. G. 
betg, batz, also batzen, a small Swiss coin : see 
bats.'] A small copper coin of Venice, current 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 
the system established in 1750 it was equal to a quarter 
of a United States cent, being the fortieth part of a lira 
piccola ; a hagattino. 
The last and least fcoin] is the betsa, which is half a sol ; 
that is, almost a farthing. 
Coryat, Crudities (ed. 1776), II. 69. 
bettt, bettet, adv. Middle English forms of bet 1 . 
better 1 (bet'er), a. and n. [< ME. bettere, be- 
tere, < AS. betera, betra = OFries. betere, betre = 
OS. betara, betera = T>. beter = OHG. bezziro, 
MHG. bezzer, G. besser = Icel. betri = Sw. bat- 
tre = Dan. bedre = Goth, batiza; compar. with 
weak inflection; with superl. best, < ME. beste, 
< AS. betst, betest = OFries. beste = OS. betsto 
= D. best = OHG. bezzisto, MHG. bezzist, best, 
G. best = Icel. beztr, older baztr, = Sw. bast = 
Dan. bedst = Goth, batists ; with regular com- 
par. and superl. suffixes from a positive not in 
use, Teut. *bat, of which the compar., with loss 
of the suffix, appears in the AS., ME., and 
early mod. E. adv. bet: see bet 1 .] I. a. 1. As 
comparative of flood : (a) Of superior quality or 
excellence, whether personal, physical, mental, 
moral, or social, essential or acquired: as, he 
is a better man than his brother; better times 
are at hand; a better position. 
Man's better nature triumphed then. 
Bryant, The Prairies. 
Our institutions had been so good that they had edu- 
cated us into a capacity for better institutions. 
Macautay, Mirabeau. 
(b) Of superior value, use, fitness, acceptable- 
ness, etc. ; more profitable or suitable for a 
purpose; more useful, eligible, or desirable: 
as, copper is a better conductor than iron. 
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled 
ox and hatred therewith. Prov. xv. 17. 
Sleep 
Doth, in my estimate of good, appear 
A better state than waking ; death than sleep. 
Wordsworth, Excursion, iii. 
(e) Larger; greater: as, the better part of a 
day was spent in shopping. 
You are as a candle, the better part burnt out. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., i. 2. 
How have we wander'd, that the better part 
Of this good night is perish'd ! 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, ii. 4. 
2. As comparative of well ; (a) More in accor- 
dance with one's wish or desire ; more satis- 
factory. (6) More healthy; having sounder 
health, (c) More just, right, or proper Better 
arm. See armi. Better half> wife. (Colloq.] To be 
better, (a) To be improved, as in health, estate, etc. : 
as, the patient is better, (b) To be quite well again ; be 
fully recovered. (Scotland.] 
II. n. 1. That which has superior excellence ; 
that which is better. 
That ideal better, towards which both men and institu- 
tions must progress, if they would not retrograde. 
Huxley, Universities. 
betterment 
2. A superior; one who lias a claim to prn-i- 
dence on account of rank, age, merit, skill, 
power, or office: as, give place to your betters, 
[In this sense generally useil in the plural, and 
with a possessive pronoun.] 
In al Yngleloml u;t.s non liv* / / f. 
i::,-i,. c. ,/, i.. 
Their bfttfr* would hardly lie found. Iliuiki-r. 
'I 'linn poor shallow of ii soldier, I will make thee know 
my master keeps >ei\an!s thy //</'.'/,. in ijtiality and IMT- 
formance. r\-<l, I is pity, i. 2. 
Mai phrase /<;/ Hi,' <,,-, that. U, in the direction "I JIM 
The better. (</) Improremenl : -< m-rally in the udver- 
X in i" 
plovrim'lit. 
If I havi: alti.-rt'il him ;tny\\ ht-i /-/ tf,< i,, n, / . 
n 1'n'fiu-e to Fables. 
(b) Advantage ; superiority ; victory : cliielly in the phrases 
/ ; n-t, <.iain, or haw tlu: belter o/(a person or thing). 
Dionysius, his countryman, in an epistle to Vompcj. 
after an express comparison, attonls liini '/*- t/rtter of 
Thucydides. .S'<V 7'. /;/o, <//,-, \ nig. Erf. 
She took her leave, charmed with the pi "-IH ct nt linally 
iH'ltiii'i tli,' Mlrriiftiu: only woman in London win. in she 
acknowledged as her equal in subtlety and inii ijm . 
J. Jlaicthome, Dust, p. 334. 
better 1 (bet'er). adv. (comparative of well, adv.). 
[< ME. better, beter, betre, < AS. betere, betre; 
with superl. best, < ME. best, < AS. betst, bctost ; 
prop. neut. ace. of the adj. : see better 1 , a. The 
older adv. was bet: see bet 1 .] 1. In a more 
excellent way or manner: as, to behave better; 
the land is better cultivated and the govern- 
ment better administered. 
The plays of Shakspeare were belter acted, better edited, 
and better known than they had ever been. 
Macaulay, Moore's Byron. 
2. In a superior degree: as, to know a man 
better than some one else knows him. 
Which is the better able to defend himself : astrong man 
with nothing but his fists, or a paralytic cripple encum- 
bered with a sword which he cannot lift? 
Macaulay, Utilitarian Theory of Government. 
3. More, without any idea of superior excel- 
lence : as, it is better than a mile to the town. 
[Colloq.] 
Dorlcote Mill has been in our family a hundred year and 
better. George Eliot, Mill on the Floss. 
To be better off, to be in improved circumstances. 
The mechanic teaches us how we may in a small degree 
be better of than we were. The Utilitarian advises us with 
great pomp to be as well off as we can. 
Macaulay, West. Reviewer's Def. of Mill. 
Men had become Romans ; they were proud of the Ro- 
man name ; . . . they felt that they were better off as mem- 
bers of a civilized community ordered by law than they 
could be under the dominion of any barbarian. 
E. A. Freeman, Amer. Lects., p. 126. 
To go one better. See go, v. t. 
better^ (bet'er), v. [< ME. bettren, betren, < AS. 
beterian, betriaii, intr., be better, ne-beterian, 
ge-betrian, trans., make better (= OFries. be- 
teria = Icel. betra = Sw. battra = Dan. bedre 
= OHG. bezziron, MHG. G. bessern; cf. OS. 
betian, < bet, the older compar. adv.), < betera, 
better: see better 1 , a.] I. trans. 1. To make 
better ; improve ; ameliorate ; increase the 
good qualities of : as, manure betters land ; dis- 
cipline may better the morals. 
The cause of his taking upon him our nature was to lat- 
ter the quality, and to advance the condition thereof. 
Hooker. 
2. To improve upon ; surpass ; exceed ; outdo. 
He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age ; 
... he hath, indeed, better bettered expectation than you 
must expect of me to tell you how. Shak., Much Ado, i. 1. 
What you do 
Still betters what is done. Shak., W. T., iv. 8. 
3. To advance the interest of; support; give 
advantage to. 
Weapons more violent, when next we meet, 
May serve to better us and worse our foes. 
Milton, P. L., vi. 440. 
= Syn. 1. Amend, Improve, Better, etc. (see amend), meli- 
orate, promote. 
H. intrans. To grow better; become better; 
improve : as. his condition is bettering. [Rare.] 
better 2 (berer), . [< beft + -er 1 .] One who 
lays bets or wagers. Also bettor. 
Be able to give them the character of every bowler or 
better on the green. B. Jonson, Epicoene, i. 1. 
bettering-houset (bet'er-ing-hous), n. A refor- 
matory. 
Soldiers buried in this ground, from the hospital and 
the bettering-houxe. An /ml* of Phil, and Penn., I. 406. 
betterment (bet'er-ment). n. [< better 1 , v., + 
-ment.] 1. A making better; improvement. 
2. In American late, an improvement of real 
property which adds to its value otherwise 
than by mere repairs: generally used in the 
plural. 
