different between behest vs instruction

English

Etymology

From Middle English biheste, from Old English beh?s (“vow, promise”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“be-”), *haisiz (“command”), from *haitan? (“to command”). Final -t by analogy with other similar words in -t. Related to Old English beh?tan (“to command, promise”), Middle Low German beheit, beh?t (“a promise”). Compare also hest (“command”), hight.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /bi?h?st/

Noun

behest (plural behests)

1. A command, bidding; sometimes also, an authoritative request; now usually in the phrase at the behest of. [from 12th c.]
   • 2009, “What a waste”, The Economist, 15 Oct 2009:

     the House of Representatives will try to water down even this feeble effort at the behest of the unions whose members enjoy some of the most lavish policies.

   • 2011, Owen Gibson, The Guardian, 24 Mar 2011:

     The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is to meet with the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, at the behest of the Premier League in a bid to resolve their long-running feud.

2. (obsolete) A vow; a promise.
   • c. 1440, Markaryte Paston, letter to John Paston

     The time is come that I should send it her, if I keep the behest that I have made.

Translations

Verb

behest (third-person singular simple present behests, present participle behesting, simple past and past participle behested)

1. (obsolete) To promise; vow.

Anagrams

• Bethes, Thebes, Thêbes, bethes, thebes

English

Etymology

From Middle English instruccioun, from Old French instruccion, from Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct +? -ion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?st??k??n/
• Rhymes: -?k??n

Noun

instruction (countable and uncountable, plural instructions)

1. (uncountable) The act of instructing, teaching, or furnishing with information or knowledge.
2. (countable) An instance of the information or knowledge so furnished.
3. (countable) An order or command.
4. (computing) A single operation of a processor defined by an instruction set architecture.
5. A set of directions provided by a manufacturer for the users of a product or service.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:instruction

Translations

French

Etymology

From Latin ?nstr?cti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s.t?yk.sj??/

Noun

instruction f (plural instructions)

1. instruction (clarification of this definition is needed)

Related terms

• instruire

Further reading

• “instruction” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).