Bespeak
Bespeak ({not transcribed}) , transitive verb
[Old English bispeken, Anglo-Saxon besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. be- + sprecan to speak. See Speak.]
1.
To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a favor. [Archaic]
Concluding, naturally, that to gratify his avarice was to bespeak his favor.
2.
To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate.
[They] bespoke dangers... in order to scare the allies.
3.
To betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or appearances.
When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so little the figure of a man that it bespoke him rather a monster.
4.
To speak to; to address. [Poetic]
He thus the queen bespoke.
Bespeak , intransitive verb
To speak. [Obsolete] — Milton
Bespeak , noun
A bespeaking. Among actors, a benefit (when a particular play is bespoken.)
The night of her bespeak.