Wiktionary

bestial

English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English bestial, from Old French bestial, from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”) (whence English beast).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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bestial (comparative more bestial, superlative most bestial)

  1. (literally and figuratively) Beast-like
    • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
      Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 753-4:
      By thee adulterous lust was driven from men /
      Among the bestial herds to range […]
    • 1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC:
      This familiar that I called out of my own soul, and sent forth alone to do his good pleasure, was a being inherently malign and villainous; his every act and thought centered on self; drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another; relentless like a man of stone.
    • 1900 April, Willa Cather, “Eric Hermannson's Soul”, in Cosmopolitan:
      His was a bestial face, a face that bore the stamp of Nature's eternal injustice.
    • 2022 December 31, Matteo Wong, “Hollywood’s Love Affair With Fictional Languages”, in The Atlantic:
      The Game of Thrones novels were best sellers without fleshed-out Dothraki; the languages in Star Wars, one of the most successful franchises ever, are mostly gibberish, even if Han Solo claims to understand Chewbacca’s bestial warbling.
Synonyms
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Hypernyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle Scots bestiall, from Middle English bestaile, from Old French bestaille, from Late Latin bēstiālia; later reinforced and remodelled on Middle French bestial, itself from Late Latin bēstiālis.

Noun

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bestial pl (plural only)

  2. (Scotland, obsolete) Cattle.
    • 1845, The New Statistical Account of Scotland: Forfar, Kincardine, page 94:
      […] much must depend upon the way in which bestial are bought or reared, and the state of the markets when they are sold.

Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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bestial (feminine bestiale, masculine plural bestiaux, feminine plural bestiales)

  1. bestial
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Galician

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).

Adjective

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bestial m or f (plural bestiais)

  1. beastly
  2. massive, huge, giant
  3. tremendous, fantastic, awesome
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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old French bestial, from Late Latin bēstiālis.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bɛstiˈaːl/, /ˈbɛstial/, /ˈbɛːstial/

Adjective

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bestial

  1. animal (of or pertaining to animals)
  2. physical; non-spiritual (of faculties, knowledge, etc.)
  3. beastly, depraved (lacking human sensibility)
  4. stupid, unlearned

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • English: bestial

References

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Old French

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Etymology

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First known attestation circa 1190, borrowed from Latin bēstiālis.

Adjective

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bestial m (oblique and nominative feminine singular bestiale)

  1. bestial (of or relating to a beast)
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Descendants

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Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).

Pronunciation

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  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /bes.t͡ʃiˈaw/ [bes.t͡ʃɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /besˈt͡ʃjaw/ [besˈt͡ʃjaʊ̯]
    • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /beʃ.t͡ʃiˈaw/ [beʃ.t͡ʃɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /beʃˈt͡ʃjaw/ [beʃˈt͡ʃjaʊ̯]
 

  • Rhymes: -al, -aw
  • Hyphenation: bes‧ti‧al

Adjective

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bestial m or f (plural bestiais)

  1. bestial; brutish
  2. beastly
  3. (informal) cool
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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French bestial, Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”). By surface analysis, bestie ‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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bestial m or n (feminine singular bestială, masculine plural bestiali, feminine and neuter plural bestiale)

  1. bestial, animal
  2. (informal) cool

Usage notes

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As indicated by the informal meaning of "cool", this word does not have the same negative connotations as in English.

Declension

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singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative 		indefinite bestial bestială bestiali bestiale
definite bestialul bestiala bestialii bestialele
genitive-
dative 		indefinite bestial bestiale bestiali bestiale
definite bestialului bestialei bestialelor bestialilor

Synonyms

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Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /besˈtjal/ [besˈt̪jal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: bes‧tial

Adjective

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bestial m or f (masculine and feminine plural bestiales)

  1. beastly
  2. massive, huge, giant
  3. tremendous, fantastic, awesome

Derived terms

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Further reading

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