bestill
"bestill" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bestill” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make quiet or still; calm; pacify.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bestill |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bestill” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bestill is 7 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To make quiet or still; calm; pacify.".
Zero misspellings are on record for bestill in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bistillen, bystillen (“to silence”), equivalent to be- + still. Perhaps and alteration of earlier Middle English istillen, ȝestillen (“to make still, calm”), from Old English ġestillan (“to calm, quieten, pacify, stop”). The correct English form is bestill, spelled B-E-S-T-I-L-L.
Definition
- 1To make quiet or still; calm; pacify.
Etymology
From Middle English bistillen, bystillen (“to silence”), equivalent to be- + still. Perhaps and alteration of earlier Middle English istillen, ȝestillen (“to make still, calm”), from Old English ġestillan (“to calm, quieten, pacify, stop”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “bestill”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-S-T-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.