bist meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

bist

verb

Etymology From Middle English bist, beest, best, from Old English bist ("(thou) art"; second person singular of bēon (“to be”)), from Proto-Germanic *biusi (“(thou) art”), equivalent to be + -est. Cognate with West Frisian bist (“(thou) art”), Low German büst (“(thou) art”), German bist (“(thou) art”).

Northern England, UK, West Country, Dialectal Used to form the second person singular of be.

Black Country; Bristol; Black Country; Bristol

Thee bist rayther too much a feelosofer, I be afeard, for me.1875, Mark Lemon, Henry Mayhew, Tom Taylor, Punch:
Lookee, thee bist purty, my love; lookee, thee bist purty: thee hast dove's eyes betwix thy locks; thy locks be like a flock o' ship fur thickedness.1904, Henry Branch, Cotswold and vale:

3 more examples

"[…] Stay thee where tha bist, sit down on thi property; what's the sense of wanderen over the barren sea and maybe happenen an accident?"1937, Homer, The Odyssey:
Where bist goin'. Where are you going?
How bist? How are you?

Related terms: bin, bisn't