cwiþan
Old English
Etymology
Eventually from Proto-Indo-European *gʷey- (“to lament; complain”). Compare Proto-Germanic *kwainōną, whence Old English cwānian.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkwiː.θɑn/, [ˈkwiː.ðɑn]
Verb
cwīþan
- to speak or moan in grief, mourn, lament
- 10th century, The Wanderer:
- Oft iċ sceolde āna · ūhtna ġehwylċe
mīne ċeare cwīþan. · Nis nū cwicra nān…- Oft I had to bemoan my sorrow alone at every dawn. There is no one alive…
Conjugation
Conjugation of cwīþan (weak, class 1)
| infinitive | cwīþan | cwīþenne |
|---|---|---|
| indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
| first person singular | cwīþe | cwīþde |
| second person singular | cwīþest, cwīst | cwīþdest |
| third person singular | cwīþeþ, cwīþþ, cwīþ | cwīþde |
| plural | cwīþaþ | cwīþdon |
| subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
| singular | cwīþe | cwīþde |
| plural | cwīþen | cwīþden |
| imperative | ||
| singular | cwīþ | |
| plural | cwīþaþ | |
| participle | present | past |
| cwīþende | (ġe)cwīþed | |
References
- Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller (1898) “cwīþan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.