An archaic or obsolete verb meaning to poison or infect with venom.
From the prefix 'be-' combined with 'venom,' following Middle English patterns of creating transitive verbs with 'be-' prefix. The meaning was literal poisoning or metaphorical corruption.
This is a lost 'be-' verb—Shakespeare and earlier writers used it, but it completely disappeared from English! It shows how languages naturally lose words they don't need anymore.
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