eldertongue

Old English · verb

aliefan

Normalised ālīefan

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
weak class 1
IPA
/ɑːˈli͜yː.fɑn/
[ɑːˈli͜yː.vɑn]
Syllables
ɑː · ˈli͜yː · fɑn (3 syllables)
Modern English
permitconcedepermittedallowedallowadmitsurrender

Meaning

  1. to allow, permit (often impersonal)

    Nis nu ālȳfed cristenum mannum þæt hi þas ymbsnidennysse lichamlice healdan, ac þeah-hwæðere nan man ne bið soðlice cristen, buton he ða ymbsnidennysse on gastlicum ðeawum gehealde.

    It is not now allowed for Christian men to observe circumcision bodily, but, nevertheless, no man is truly a Christian, unless he observe circumcision in spiritual conduct.

    c. 992, Ælfric, "The Octaves and Circumcision of our Lord"

  2. to be permitted, allowed

  3. to grant, give, yield

  4. to hand over

  5. to admit, concede, grant

  6. to surrender, yield up

Conjugation

Conjugation of aliefan
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular ālīefeālīefde
2nd singular ālīefestālīefstālīefdest
3rd singular ālīefeþālīefþālīefde
Plural ālīefaþālīefdon
Subjunctive
Singular ālīefeālīefde
Plural ālīefenālīefden
Non-finite forms of aliefan
Form
Infinitive ālīefan
Inflected infinitive ālīefenne
Imperative singular ālīef
Imperative plural ālīefaþ
Present participle ālīefende
Past participle ālīefed

All forms (16)

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *uʀlaubijan, from Proto-Germanic *uzlaubijaną, equivalent to ā- + līefan (“to grant”).

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aliefan · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution