miþan
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *mīþan.
Cognate with Old Saxon mīthan (Middle Low German mîden), Dutch mijden, Old High German mīdan (German meiden).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmiː.θɑn/, [ˈmiː.ðɑn]
Verb
mīþan
- to hide, conceal, dissemble
- Cyriacus hygerune ne mað to Gode cleopode.
- Cyriacus did not hide his mind's secret, but cried out to God.
- 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 8[1]:
- Iċ… hlūde ċirme, healde mīne wīsan, hlēoþre ne mīþe,…
- I… loudly cry out, hold my tone, don't hide a sound,…
Conjugation
Conjugation of mīþan (strong, class I)
| infinitive | mīþan | mīþenne |
|---|---|---|
| indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
| first person singular | mīþe | māþ |
| second person singular | mīst | miþe |
| third person singular | mīþþ, mīþ | māþ |
| plural | mīþaþ | miþon |
| subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
| singular | mīþe | miþe |
| plural | mīþen | miþen |
| imperative | ||
| singular | mīþ | |
| plural | mīþaþ | |
| participle | present | past |
| mīþende | (ġe)miþen | |
Derived terms
Descendants
- Middle English: mithen
References
- Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller (1898) “miþan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.