Where does “bested” come from?

Bested comes from Old English betst, superlative of bet, derived from Latin bestia meaning "beast," though the semantic connection between "beast" and the verb sense remains unclear.

bested (English): simple past tense and past participle of best;...

Definitions

  1. simple past tense and past participle of best;...

Ancestry of “bested”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishbestsuperlative form of good: most good; Most;...
2Middle Englishbestebest; superlative degree of good; best;...
3Old Frenchbestebeast, animal
4Latinbēstiaa beast

Words derived from “bested

Every word from Latin bēstiaEvery word from Old French besteEvery word from Middle English beste
bested — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer