To make moist or wet; to dampen or saturate with moisture.
From 'be-' (prefix meaning to make or cause) + 'moisten' (from 'moist', from Old French 'moiste', possibly from Latin 'mustus' meaning new or fresh). The prefix emphasizes the action of moistening.
Verbs like 'bemoisten' were more common in older English when the 'be-' prefix was more productive—speakers could create them freely for poetic effect, giving writers like Chaucer incredible flexibility in describing states.
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