eldertongue

Old English · verb

beginan

Normalised beġīnan

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
strong class I
IPA
/beˈjiː.nɑn/
Syllables
be · ˈjiː · nɑn (3 syllables)
Modern English
swallow

Meaning

  1. to swallow

    Oft iċ beġīne þæt mē onġēan sticað, þonne iċ hnītan sċeal, hringum gyrded, hearde wið heardum, hindan þȳrel, forð āsċūfan þæt mīnes frēan mōd freoþað middelnihtum.

    Oft I swallow that pricks me again, then I should strike, girded by rings, toughly against hard ones, stabbed from behind, shove forth that shields mind-mirth of my lord at midnights.

    c. 980, Exeter Book Riddle 91:

Conjugation

Conjugation of beginan
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular beġīnebegān
2nd singular beġīnstbeġine
3rd singular beġīnþbegān
Plural beġīnaþbeġinon
Subjunctive
Singular beġīnebeġine
Plural beġīnenbeġinen
Non-finite forms of beginan
Form
Infinitive beġīnan
Inflected infinitive beġīnenne
Imperative singular beġīn
Imperative plural beġīnaþ
Present participle beġīnende
Past participle beġinen

All forms (13)

Etymology

From be- + ġīnan (“to yawn”).

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