behold

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English word behold comes from Proto-Germanic *haldaną, Old English healdan, Proto-Germanic *bi- (By, at; a general locative prefix.)

*haldaną (Proto-Germanic)

healdan (Old English)

(intransitive) to maintain one’s position against an enemy. To contain. To hold fast, to grasp. To keep watch over (cattle etc.). To possess.

*bi- (Proto-Germanic)

By, at; a general locative prefix.

*bihaldaną (Proto-Germanic)

To keep.

behealdan (Old English)

To do, perform. To hold, occupy, retain. To look upon, behold.

beholden (Middle English)

behold (English)

(transitive) To see, or to look at. Lo!. Look, a call of attention to something.

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