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Added 7 October 2026

abet

/əˈbɛt/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about abet at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
aid and abet
To support, countenance, maintain, uphold, or aid (any good cause, opinion, or action).
To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.

noun

Fraud or cunning.
An act of abetting; of helping; of giving aid.

Origin

From Middle English abetten, abette, from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”), either from Middle Dutch bētan (“incite”) or from Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite, bait, incite”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to set dogs on; to feed”). Alternate etymology traces the Middle English and Old French words through Old English *ābǣtan (“to hound on”), from ā- + bǣtan (“to bait”), from the same source (Proto-Germanic *baitijaną). See also bait, bet.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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