bode

See also: Bode, bøde, bodě, bodę, and bódé

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bəʊd/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /boʊd/
• Rhymes: -əʊd
• Homophone: bowed (in one sense)

Etymology 1

Verb from Middle English boden, from Old English bodian (“announce, foretell”), from Proto-West Germanic *bodōn, from Proto-Germanic *budōną (“to proclaim, announce, lere, instruct”). See bid.

Noun from Middle English bod, from Old English bod, from Proto-Germanic *budą (“message, offer”).

Since 1740 also a shortening of forebode.

Verb

bode (third-person singular simple present bodes, present participle boding, simple past and past participle boded)

1. (ambitransitive) To indicate by signs, as future events; to be an omen of; to portend or foretell.

   Synonyms: portend, presage, foreshow

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound,
     And crown what I profess with kind event
     If I speak true; if hollowly invert
     What best is boded me to mischief: I,
     Beyond all limit of what else i' th' world,
     Do love, prize, honour you.

2. (intransitive, followed by "well", "ill", "no good", etc.) To betoken or augur something good or bad that will happen in the future.
   • 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number):

     Whatever now / The omen prove, it boded well to you.

   • 2023 December 27, Ben Jones, “Inside Sellafield... by rail”, in RAIL, number 999, page 25:

     Recent investment by Sellafield and DRS in new wagons and more environmentally friendly traction bodes well for the future of one of the UK's last remaining internal rail networks and for the dedicated team who operate and maintain it.

Derived terms

• abode
• bodeful
• bodement
• Body
• forbode
• forebode
• misbode

Translations

to be the omen of; to portend to presage

Bulgarian: веща́я (bg) (veštája), предвеща́вам (bg) (predveštávam) Catalan: augurar (ca) Czech: věštit impf, předpovídat (cs) impf French: augurer (fr), présager (fr) Galician: augurar (gl) German: verheißen (de), ahnen lassen, sich ankündigen Greek: προμηνύω (el) (prominýo), προοιωνίζω (el) (prooionízo), προοιωνίζομαι (el) (prooionízomai) Ido: augurar (io) Italian: presagire (it), promettere (it) Korean: 징조이다 (jingjoida) Portuguese: augurar (pt), pressagiar (pt) Russian: предвеща́ть (ru) impf (predveščátʹ), веща́ть (ru) impf (veščátʹ), сули́ть (ru) impf (sulítʹ) Spanish: anunciarse (es), agorar (es), presagiar (es), pronosticar (es), augurar (es), agüerar (es) Swedish: båda (sv)

to foreshow something; to augur

Bulgarian: гада́я (bg) (gadája) Dutch: voorspellen (nl) German: verheißen (de), ahnen lassen Italian: far presagire, preannunciare (it) Russian: гада́ть (ru) impf (gadátʹ)

Noun

bode (plural bodes)

1. An omen; a foreshadowing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English bod, from Old English bod (“a bidding”), from Proto-West Germanic *bod, from Proto-Germanic *budą (“a bidding, offer”).

Cognate with Swedish bud, Dutch bod, Icelandic boð, Faroese boð, Norwegian Nynorsk bod, Norwegian Bokmål bud. Compare also Old Saxon gibod, German Gebot. See bid.

Noun

bode (plural bodes)

1. (obsolete or dialect) A bid; an offer.
   • 1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:

     What bode ye shall to your lord bear?

Etymology 3

From Middle English bode, from Old English boda (“messenger, forerunner”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *budô (“messenger”). Cognate with Dutch bode (“messenger, harbinger”), German Bote (“messenger”).

Noun

bode (plural bodes)

1. A herald; a messenger.
   • 1848, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter III, in Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings; […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book II (Lanfranc the Scholar), page 138:

     [T]he fame of the Duke's coming was sent abroad by the bodes or messengers, despatched to prepare the towns through which he was to pass for an arrival sooner than expected, […]

Etymology 4

From Middle English bod, bode, bade, baide, partially a clipping of Middle English abod (“a stopping”), and partially continuing Old English bād (“a waiting, expectation”), from Proto-West Germanic *baidu, from Proto-Germanic *baidō.

Noun

bode (plural bodes)

1. A stop; a halting; delay.

Etymology 5

Inflected form of bide.

Verb

bode

1. simple past of bide

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “bode”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• bedo, Obed, dobe, Dobe, Debo

Chichewa

Etymology

Borrowed from English body.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɓó.ɗe/

Noun

bóde class 5 (plural mabóde class 6)

1. body of a lorry

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbodɛ]
• Rhymes: -odɛ
• Hyphenation: bo‧de

Noun

bode

1. vocative singular of bod

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboːdə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bo‧de
• Rhymes: -oːdə

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch bōde, from Old Dutch bodo, from Proto-Germanic *budô.

Noun

bode m or f (plural boden or bodes, diminutive bodetje n)

1. messenger, deliverer

   Synonym: boodschapper

2. servant

   Synonyms: bediende, dienaar, dienstbode, knecht

Derived terms

• bodes
• bodin
• bodenbrood
• bodenkamer
• bodenloon
• dienstbode
• geluksbode
• gerechtsbode
• ijlbode
• jobsbode
• renbode
• snelbode
• onheilsbode
• postbode

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

bode

1. (dated or formal) singular past subjunctive of bieden

Further reading

• M. J. Koenen & J. Endepols, Verklarend Handwoordenboek der Nederlandse Taal (tevens Vreemde-woordentolk), Groningen, Wolters-Noordhoff, 1969 (26th edition) [Dutch dictionary in Dutch]