Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Bestride
Be-stride′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Bestrode
, (Obs. or R.)
Bestrid
; p. p.
Bestridden
, Bestrid
, Bestrode
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Bestriding
.] [AS.
bestrīdan
; pref. be-
+ strīdan
to stride.] 1.
To stand or sit with anything between the legs, or with the legs astride; to stand over
That horse that thou so often hast
bestrid
. Shakespeare
Why, man, he doth
Like a Colossus.
bestride
the narrow worldLike a Colossus.
Shakespeare
2.
To step over; to stride over or across;
as, to
. bestride
a thresholdWebster 1828 Edition
Bestride
BESTRI'DE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To stride over; to stand or sit with any thing between the legs, or with the legs extended across; as, to bestride the world, like a colossus; to bestride a horse.2.
To step over; as, to bestride a threshold.Bestriding sometimes includes riding, or defending, as Johnson remarks; but the particular purposes to the act, which depend on the circumstances of the case, can hardly be reduced to definition.