Old English · verb

drefan

Normalised drēfan

Part of speech: verb
Verb class: weak class 1
IPA: /ˈdreː.fɑn/
[ˈdreː.vɑn]
Syllables: ˈdreː · fɑn (2 syllables)
Modern English: dreve agitate disturb

Meaning

to stir up, agitate, move
to trouble, disturb, afflict

Đā ġewearþ hit þæt þǣs mǣdenes fōstormōdor intō þām būre ēode, ⁊ ġesēah hī ðār sittan on miċelre ġedrefednesse, ⁊ hire cwæð tō, "Hwiġ eart þū hlæfdiġe swā ġedrefedes mōdes?"

It happened that the girl's foster mother came into the room and saw her sitting full of confusion, and said to her "Lady, why are you so troubled of mind?."
The Anglo-Saxon version of the story of Apollonius of Tyre

Conjugation

Conjugation of drefan
Indicative
	Present	Past
1st singular	drēfe	drēfde
2nd singular	drēfest drēfst	drēfdest
3rd singular	drēfeþ drēfþ	drēfde
Plural	drēfaþ	drēfdon
Subjunctive
Singular	drēfe	drēfde
Plural	drēfen	drēfden

Non-finite forms of drefan
	Form
Infinitive	drēfan
Inflected infinitive	drēfenne
Imperative singular	drēf
Imperative plural	drēfaþ
Present participle	drēfende
Past participle	drēfed ġedrēfed

All forms (17)

drēfe
drēfde
drēfest
drēfst
drēfdest
drēfeþ
drēfþ
drēfaþ
drēfdon
drēfen
drēfden
drēfan
drēfenne
drēf
drēfende
drēfed
ġedrēfed

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *drōbijan, from Proto-Germanic *drōbijaną (“to disturb”); equivalent to drōf + -an. Cognate with Old Saxon drōƀjan, Old Dutch druoven (Dutch droeven), Old High German truoben (German trüben), Gothic (drōbjan).

Descendants

dreve

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