bestial
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French bestial, from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”) (whence English beast).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɛs.ti.əl/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈbɛs.tʃəl/, /ˈbis-/
Adjective
bestial (comparative more bestial, superlative most bestial)
- (literally and figuratively) Beast-like
- c. 1604, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act II, Scene 3,
- Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.
- 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 4, lines 753-4,
- By thee adulterous lust was driven from men /
- Among the bestial herds to range […]
- 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,
- 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.
- c. 1604, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act II, Scene 3,
Hypernyms
Derived terms
Translations
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Noun
bestial pl (plural only)
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).
Adjective
bestial (feminine singular bestiale, masculine plural bestiaux, feminine plural bestiales)
Related terms
Further reading
- “bestial” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Old French
Etymology
First known attestation circa 1190, borrowed from Latin bēstiālis.
Adjective
bestial m (oblique and nominative feminine singular bestiale)
- bestial (of or relating to a beast)
Related terms
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).
Pronunciation
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /bɨʃˈtjaɫ/
- Hyphenation: bes‧ti‧al
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French bestial, Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [bes.tiˈal]
Adjective
bestial m or n (feminine singular bestială, masculine plural bestiali, feminine and neuter plural bestiale)
Usage notes
As indicated by the informal meaning of "cool", this word does not have the same negative connotations as in English.
Declension
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 | bestialilor | bestialelor |