Word of the Day

: January 30, 2008

beholden

adjective bih-HOHL-dun

What It Means

: being under obligation for a favor or gift : indebted

beholden in Context

Tom understood that Mrs. Milton disliked being beholden to anyone, so he usually let her give him a dollar or two when he mowed her lawn or shoveled her driveway.

Did You Know?

Have you ever found yourself under obligation to someone else for a gift or favor? It's a common experience, and, not surprisingly, many of the words describing this condition have been part of the English language for centuries. "Beholden" was first recorded in writing in the 14th century, in the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." "Indebted," which entered English through Anglo-French, is even older, first appearing in the 13th century. English speakers in the 14th century would also have had another synonym of "beholden" to choose from, a now-obsolete sense of "bounden," which today means "made obligatory" or "binding."