# abet

> English word · Verb · IPA /əˈbɛt/ · frequency rank #58,486

## Definitions
1. To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime.
2. To support, countenance, maintain, uphold, or aid (any good cause, opinion, or action).
3. To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
4. To back up one's forecast of a doubtful issue, by staking money, etc., to bet.

## Etymology
From Middle English abetten, abette, from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”), either from Middle Dutch bētan (“incite”) or from Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite, bait, incite”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to set dogs on; to feed”).
Alternate etymology traces the Middle English and Old French words through Old English *ābǣtan (“to hound on”), from ā- + bǣtan (“to bait”), from the same source (Proto-Germanic *baitijaną).
See also bait, bet.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/abet