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Behest is an ancient word: it is almost a thousand years old. It was formed from the prefix be- and the verb hātan ("to command" or "to promise"), and its Old English ancestor was used exclusively in the sense of "promise," a now-obsolete meaning that continued on in Middle English especially in the phrase "the land of behest." The "command" meaning of behest is also ancient but it's still in good use, typically referring to an authoritative order. Behest is now also used with a less weighty meaning; it can refer to an urgent prompting, as in "a repeat performance at the behest of the troupe's fans."
Examples of behest in a Sentence
Jennifer Dasal
july 16, Literary Hub, 16 July 2025
At the behest of Cook, the group was beginning to plot a show to save the beloved Shepherd’s Bush concert venue Bush Hall.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 12 July 2025
Although South Carolina is a strongly Republican state, in 2024 the Democratic Party, at the behest of then-President Joe Biden, designated it as the first state to have a presidential primary.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 10 July 2025
Experts think the tapestry was created by nuns in Canterbury, England, at the behest of William’s half-brother Bishop Odo of Bayeux and taken to France in the years after William won the English throne.
—Asia London Palomba, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Behest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behest. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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behest
noun
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