Past participle of 'bid'; commanded, instructed, or invited to do something.
From Old English 'bēodan' meaning to command or offer. The past participle form 'bidden' is now archaic, though it appears in phrases like 'unbidden' (not commanded or invited).
While 'bidden' is nearly extinct in modern English, its opposite 'unbidden' is still common in phrases like 'unbidden guest'—showing how negative forms sometimes outlast their positive counterparts in language evolution.
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