betoken

Etymology

Comes from Middle English bitoknen, bitacnen, from Old English betācnian ("to betoken, signify, designate"), from Proto-West Germanic *bitaiknijan, equivalent to be- + token. It is cognate with Dutch betekenen ("to mean, signify"), German bezeichnen ("to call, designate"), Swedish beteckna ("to represent, designate, indicate"), and Danish betegne ("to represent, designate, indicate").