eldertongue

Old English · verb

forstelan

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
strong class IV
IPA
/forˈste.lɑn/
Syllables
for · ˈste · lɑn (3 syllables)
Modern English
forstealkidnapsteal

Meaning

  1. to steal

    c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 28:13

    Say that his disciples came at night and stole him away while we were asleep.

  2. to kidnap

    late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Exodus 21:16

    Whoever kidnaps someone and sells them will be put to death.

Conjugation

Conjugation of forstelan
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular forsteleforstæl
2nd singular forstilestforstilstforstǣle
3rd singular forstileþforstilþforstæl
Plural forstelaþforstǣlon
Subjunctive
Singular forsteleforstǣle
Plural forstelenforstǣlen
Non-finite forms of forstelan
Form
Infinitive forstelan
Inflected infinitive forstelenne
Imperative singular forstel
Imperative plural forstelaþ
Present participle forstelende
Past participle forstolen

All forms (16)

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *frastelaną (“to steal, steal away”), equivalent to for- + stelan. Cognate with Old Saxon farstelan, Old High German firstelan.

Descendants

forsteal

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