Beheld

simple past tense and past participle of behold.
to observe; look at; see.
look; see:
and, behold, three sentries of the king did appear.
contemporary examples

upon their arrival in rockaway on friday, the sisters were stunned by the destruction they beheld.
sandy’s rockaway victims pause to vote, press on with recovery efforts michael daly november 6, 2012

thirty years later, miller beheld her in another proceeding and asked the board not to parole her.
the first modern school shooter feels responsible for the rest michael daly may 29, 2014

historical examples

never was a spectacle of a like nature, more awful yet more magnificent, beheld.
mark seaworth william h.g. kingston

now vavasor was in reality not a little disgusted at what he beheld.
weighed and wanting george macdonald

i looked at my hands, and beheld they were becoming like those of some one very aged.
the uninhabited house mrs. j. h. riddell

nice is the most beautiful city in france, i am tempted to say the most beautiful city i ever beheld.
in the heart of vosges matilda betham-edwards

marshland gave a cry as she beheld the sight of the unhappy wilson slink into a corner.
daisy ashford: her book daisy ashford

morton, where he sat, beheld a struggle—he heard a death-cry.
night and morning, complete edward bulwer-lytton

no sooner had mr. kung beheld this lovely creature than he quite forgot to groan, and began to brighten up.
strange stories from a chinese studio (volumes i and ii) songling pu

it was the very place where spencer had first beheld camilla.
night and morning, complete edward bulwer-lytton

verb
the past tense and past participle of behold
verb (often used in the imperative to draw attention to something, archaic or literary) -holds, -holding, -held
to look (at); observe
v.

past tense and past participle of behold.
v.

old english bihaldan (west saxon behealdan) “give regard to, hold in view,” also “to keep hold of, to belong to,” from be- + haldan, healdan (see hold). related: beheld; beholding. a common west germanic compound, cf. old saxon bihaldan “hold, keep,” old frisian bihalda, old high german bihaltan, german behalten, but “[t]he application to watching, looking, is confined to english” [oed].