Third person singular present tense of betide; happens to or befalls someone.
The '-s' conjugation of 'betide,' following standard verb formation. The root 'betide' comes from Old English 'be-' plus 'tīdan' (to happen).
This verb is essentially extinct except for the fossilized curse 'woe betide'—it's a perfect example of how English sometimes preserves obsolete words by freezing them in set phrases. We keep saying 'woe betide' even though nobody says 'betides' in actual conversation anymore.
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