E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Bid.
I bid you good night. I wish you good night, or I pray that you may have a good night. This is the Anglo-Saxon biddan, to ask, pray, or intreat. Whence “beads-men” (q.v.), “bidding prayer” (q.v.). “Bid him welcome.”
1
“Neither bid him God-speed.”—2 John 10, 11.
To bid the [marriage] banns. To ask if anyone objects to the marriage of the persons named. “Si quis” (q.v.).
2
To bid to the wedding. In the New Testament is to ask to the wedding feast.
