bedizen
UK /bɪˈdaɪz(ə)n/ · US /bɪˈdaɪzən/ verb
Forms bedizens bedizening bedizened bedisen bedizzen
- verb (also figurative) To dress or ornament (someone or something), especially in a gaudy, showy, or tasteless manner.
- verb (Northern England) To make (someone or something) dirty; to bedaub, to besmear, to dirty.
Synonyms
bedaub embellish gaud overdecorate bedirty befoul sully assoil beclart imbrue (especially with blood) befile befilth begrime beray beshit besmear besmirch besully bewray blacken dizen
Etymology
From be- (intensifying prefix) + dizen (“to attire, dress, especially showily”). Dizen is derived from dialectal dize (“to put (tow) on a distaff”), probably from Middle English *disen, from Old English *disan, *disian, from *dise, *disen (“bunch of flax on a distaff”), from Proto-Germanic *disanō (“distaff”); further etymology unknown.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bedizen”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details