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In Return of the Jedi, the villain Darth Vader speaks with an old-timey flair when he asks his boss, the Emperor, for instructions: “What is thy bidding, my master?” If the film’s screenwriters wanted him to sound even more old-timey, however, they could have chosen to have him ask “What is thy behest?” As a word for a command or order, behest predates bidding in English by a couple centuries, dating all the way back—long, long ago, though still in this galaxy—to the 1100s. Its Old English ancestor, the noun behǣs, referred to a promise, a meaning that continued on in Middle English especially in the phrase “the land of behest” but is now obsolete. The “command” sense of behest is still in good use, typically referring to an authoritative order, whether from an emperor or some other high-ranking figure. Behest is now also used with a less forceful meaning; it can refer to an urgent prompting, as in “an anniversary showing of classic films at the behest of the franchise’s fans.”
Examples of behest in a Sentence
David Folkenflik, NPR, 4 Feb. 2026
The board's nine members would serve at the mayor's behest, and charter and traditional public schools would each be guaranteed three representatives.
—Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 3 Feb. 2026
That’s because the package only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, through Feb 13, at the behest of Democrats who are demanding more restrictions on immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis.
—Kevin Freking, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
Bayfront Park Management Trust installed the gym equipment at Carollo’s behest in 2023.
—Tess Riski
january 30, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for behest
Cite this Entry
“Behest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behest. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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behest
noun
