behold
v.to look at or see something that is very impressive or beautiful. It is a more poetic way of saying 'look'.
v.to observe or gaze upon something, typically of remarkable interest or impressive nature. Often carries a literary or archaic tone in modern usage.
“Behold the beauty of the sunrise over the mountains.”
“The travelers stood in silence to behold the ancient ruins for the first time.”
“To behold the sheer scale of the cathedral is to understand the architectural ambition of the era, as every stone seems to defy the gravity of its own weight.”
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object; it is rarely used in casual conversation, appearing mostly in literature or formal oratory.
From Middle English biholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, possess, preserve, belong, keep, observe, look at, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- + hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.