eldertongue

Old English · verb

forgnagan

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
strong class VI
IPA
/forˈɡnɑ.ɡɑn/
[forˈɡnɑ.ɣɑn]
Syllables
for · ˈɡnɑ · ɡɑn (3 syllables)
Modern English
forgnawgnaw

Meaning

  1. to gnaw or eat up, gnaw away

    Þæt eahtoðe wīte wæs, þæt gærstapan oferēodon eall þæt land swilċe swā næfre ǣrðan nǣron, ne eft næfre ne ġewurðað; and hī forgnogon swā hwæt swā sē hagol belǣfde, oððe on trēowum oððe on ōðrum wæstmum.

    The eight plague was that locusts overran the entire land as they never had before, and never would again; they gnawed up anything that the hail had left, either on trees or on other plants.

    Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

Conjugation

Conjugation of forgnagan
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular forgnageforgnōgforgnōh
2nd singular forgnæġstforgnōge
3rd singular forgnæġþforgnōgforgnōh
Plural forgnagaþforgnōgon
Subjunctive
Singular forgnageforgnōge
Plural forgnagenforgnōgen
Non-finite forms of forgnagan
Form
Infinitive forgnagan
Inflected infinitive forgnagenne
Imperative singular forgnagforgnah
Imperative plural forgnagaþ
Present participle forgnagende
Past participle forgnæġenforgnagen

All forms (16)

Etymology

From for- + gnagan.

Descendants

forgnaw

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forgnagan · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution · Report a problem with this entry