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Glite Dictionary
to betide

to betide

2 9.9
To happen to someone, often in a bad way, used in old or literary language
  • verb
  • /bɪˈtaɪd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : suceder
  • Account for yourself this very minute or woe betide you!
  • woe betide

And, you know, woe betide anybody who dares to say, well, I don't agree.

Examples

  • And woe betide the creature who steps into his garden.

    The Devil's Advocate (1997)

  • Now, help, or woe betide thee evermore.

    Titus (1999)

  • Woe betide if ever we turn our back on him.

    The New World (2005)

  • Those companies have the money and the power, and woe betide anyone who speaks critically of them.

    Blog text (20)

  • Woe betide an officer who was dealing with a member and did not keep the Chief Executive in the loop!

    Blog text (31)

  • Woe betide any such prey that crosses the path of one of these animals.

    Academic text (2009)

  • If I take what Fotis thinks seriously, woe betide us!

    Singularity Principle (2013)

  • Woe betide the man who covets a leprechaun's shillin'.

    Leprechaun 3 (1995)

  • Woe betide the chef who set before him what His Highness did not deem a dainty dish.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Be not dismayed whate'er betide; God will take care of you.

Synonyms

to befall
vsto betide
  • Formal
33 7.8

To happen to a person or thing, usually something bad

is neutral and does not imply something bad
to overgo
vsto betide
  • Archaic
9.9

To happen to someone often as bad luck

is the same idea but without the fate emphasis
to bechance
vsto betide
  • Archaic
9.9

To happen to someone by accident

is general and does not stress chance or accident

Idioms

woe betide
  • Archaic
9.9

Bad things will happen to anyone who does that

Surface Forms

betide infinitive
betiding present participle
betides third person singular
betid past
betid past participle

Morphology

betide = tide (semi-transparent) = be + tide

Formally be- + tide is clear, but the meaning depends on an archaic sense of 'tide' = 'time/occasion', so learners may not infer the sense easily.

Etymology

The word betide comes from the parts be- ('about' or 'to cause') and tide ('time', as in Yuletide). So, to betide is to 'happen to' someone.