wesan
Old Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-.
Verb[edit]
wesan
- to be
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | wesan, sīn | |
---|---|---|
indicative | present | past |
1st person singular | bim, bin | was |
2nd person singular | bis, bist | wāri |
3rd person singular | is, ist | was |
1st person plural | sīn | wārun |
2nd person plural | sīt | wārut |
3rd person plural | sint, sīn | wārun |
subjunctive | present | past |
1st person singular | sī | wāri |
2nd person singular | sīs, sīst | wāris, wārist |
3rd person singular | sī | wāri |
1st person plural | sīn | wārin |
2nd person plural | sīt | wārit |
3rd person plural | sīn | wārin |
imperative | present | |
singular | wis | |
plural | wisit | |
participle | present | past |
wesandi | geweson |
Descendants[edit]
- Middle Dutch: wēsen
Further reading[edit]
- “wesan”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012
Old English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-.
The simple present forms originate from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”), which had no infinitive or past tense in Proto-Germanic, but had already formed a single paradigm with *wesaną supplying the infinitive and past tense.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
wesan (third person plural simple earon)
- to be, exist
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of The Consolation of Philosophy
- Þā cwæþ hē, "Wāst þū hwæt mann sīe?" Þā cwæþ iċ, "Iċ wāt þæt hit biþ sāwol and līchama."
- Then he said, "Do you know what a person is?" So I said, "I know it's a soul and a body."
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, John 9:12
- Þā cwǣdon hīe tō him, "Hwǣr is hē?" Þā cwæþ hē, "Iċ nāt."
- Then they said to him, "Where is he?" And he said, "I don't know."
- 10-11th c., Beowulf, lines 1074-1081
- Wit þæt ġecwǣdon, cniht wesende, and ġebēotedon, wǣron beġen þā ġit on ġeogoðfeore, þæt wit on gārsecg ūt aldrum nēðdon, and þæt ġeæfndon swā.
- We agreed, being striplings, and promised, (we were both yet in youthful life,) that we on the ocean out our lives would venture, and that we thus accomplish'd.
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of The Consolation of Philosophy
Usage notes[edit]
The verb “to be” in Old English was suppletive, and used forms from at least three different roots. There were two distinct present stems, for which wesan and bēon were the two infinitive forms. The present bēon was used to express permanent truths (the “gnomic present”), while wesan was used for the imperative, present participle, and the preterite. They shared the same past tense forms.
In the Anglian dialects, the present plural indicative form earon occurred alongside the sind/sindon forms. This may have been due to influence or loaning from the Old Norse cognate vera/vesa, or it may be an earlier native form that was lost entirely in the southern dialects.
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | wesan | wesenne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | eom | wæs |
second person singular | eart | wǣre |
third person singular | is | wæs |
plural | sind, sindon | wǣron |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | sīe | wǣre |
plural | sīen | wǣren |
imperative | ||
singular | wes | |
plural | wesaþ | |
participle | present | past |
wesende | — |
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to consume, feast”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to graze”).[1] The only (possible) attestation is in the form weaxan in line 3115 of Beowulf, argued to be a misspelling of weosan.[2]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
wesan
Usage notes[edit]
- The precise verb class is unknown. It is shown here according to what would be its etymologically inherited form, a class 5 strong verb.
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | wesan | wesenne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | wese | wæs |
second person singular | wist | wǣre |
third person singular | wist | wæs |
plural | wesaþ | wǣron |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | wese | wǣre |
plural | wesen | wǣren |
imperative | ||
singular | wes | |
plural | wesaþ | |
participle | present | past |
wesende | (ġe)weren |
Descendants[edit]
- >? Middle English: wesen (“to tend flocks, pasture”)
Etymology 3[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *wōsijan, from Proto-Germanic *wōsijaną, from *wōsą.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
wēsan
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | wēsan | wēsenne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | wēse | wēsde |
second person singular | wēsest, wēst | wēsdest |
third person singular | wēseþ, wēst | wēsde |
plural | wēsaþ | wēsdon |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | wēse | wēsde |
plural | wēsen | wēsden |
imperative | ||
singular | wēs | |
plural | wēsaþ | |
participle | present | past |
wēsende | (ġe)wēsed |
Further reading[edit]
- John R. Clark Hall (1916) “wesan”, in A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary[2], 2nd edition, New York: Macmillan, page 350
- Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “wesan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary[3], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
References[edit]
- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “Wesan- 2”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
- ^ Seebold, Elmar (1970) “WES-A- 2”, in Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben (Janua Linguarum. Series practica; 85) (in German), Paris, Den Haag: Mouton, →ISBN: “562-63”
Old High German[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- sīn (less common infinitive, but became common over time)
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-.
Verb[edit]
The template Template:goh-verb does not use the parameter(s):type=irregPlease see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.
wesan
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | wesan | |
---|---|---|
indicative | present | past |
1st person singular | bim, bin | was |
2nd person singular | bist, bis | wāri |
3rd person singular | ist | was |
1st person plural | birum, birun | wārum, wārumēs |
2nd person plural | birut | wārut |
3rd person plural | sint | wārun |
subjunctive | present | past |
1st person singular | sī | wāri |
2nd person singular | sīs, sīst | wārīs, wārīst |
3rd person singular | sī | wāri |
1st person plural | sīn | wārīm, wārīmēs |
2nd person plural | sīt | wārīt |
3rd person plural | sīn | wārīn |
imperative | present | |
singular | wis | |
plural | wesit | |
participle | present | past |
wesanti | giwesan |
Derived terms[edit]
- giwesan (past participle) (in some descendants, the strong -en ending was replaced by the weak -t ending, or elided)
Descendants[edit]
- Middle High German: wësen
- Alemannic German: si, sii, siin, sinh, ŝchi
- Swabian:
- Bavarian: sain
- Cimbrian: sain, soin, zèinan
- Mòcheno: sai'
- Northern Bavarian: [z̥ai̯]
- Central Franconian: sein, senn, sinn
- East Central German:
- Erzgebirgisch: [saɪ]
- Upper Saxon German:
- Vilamovian: zajn
- East Franconian:
- German: sein (all forms); Wesen
- Rhine Franconian: sei, senn, sinn
- Frankfurterisch: [sɑ̃ɪ]
- Pennsylvania German: sei
- Yiddish: זײַן (zayn)
- Alemannic German: si, sii, siin, sinh, ŝchi
Old Saxon[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-. The forms in b- derive from Proto-Germanic *beuną (“to be, exist, become”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to grow, become, appear”).
Verb[edit]
wesan
- to be
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | wesan | |
---|---|---|
indicative | present | past |
1st person singular | bium, biun, bion | was |
2nd person singular | bist, bis | *wāri |
3rd person singular | ist, is | was |
plural | sind, sindun, sindon, sundon | wārun |
subjunctive | present | past |
1st person singular | sī | wāri |
2nd person singular | sīs | wāris |
3rd person singular | sī, wese | wāri |
plural | sīn | wārin |
imperative | present | |
singular | wes, wis | |
plural | wesad, wesat, wesath | |
participle | present | past |
wesandi | giwesan |
Synonyms[edit]
- sīn (rare infinitive)
Descendants[edit]
Tok Pisin[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
wesan
Related terms[edit]
- German terms with quotations
- Old Dutch terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Dutch terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Dutch lemmas
- Old Dutch verbs
- Old Dutch irregular verbs
- Old Dutch suppletive verbs
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English non-lemma forms
- Old English verb forms
- Old English terms with quotations
- Old English irregular verbs
- Old English lemmas
- Old English verbs
- Old English class 5 strong verbs
- Old English class 1 weak verbs
- Old English suppletive verbs
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old High German lemmas
- Old High German verbs
- Old High German irregular verbs
- Old High German suppletive verbs
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Saxon lemmas
- Old Saxon verbs
- Old Saxon irregular verbs
- Old Saxon suppletive verbs
- Tok Pisin terms derived from English
- Tok Pisin lemmas
- Tok Pisin nouns