To put bait on or in something; to prepare with bait.
From the prefix 'be-' plus 'bait.' The 'be-' prefix adds an intensive or causative quality, similar to how 'befriend' means 'to make a friend of' or 'bejewel' means 'to adorn with jewels.'
The 'be-' prefix is magical for turning simple words into verbs—so bebait literally means 'to cause something to be baited,' and Old English speakers used this prefix constantly to create new verbs without inventing entirely new words.
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