eldertongue

Old English · verb

fretan

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
strong class V
IPA
/ˈfre.tɑn/
Syllables
ˈfre · tɑn (2 syllables)
Modern English
fretdevour

Meaning

  1. to devour

    Nū wile monna sum mīn flǣsċ fretan, felles ne reċċeð, siþþan hē mē of sīdan seaxes orde hȳd ārȳpeð, …ec hr…þe siþþan iteð unsodene ea…

    Now one of men wishes to eat my flesh, doesn't care for skin, since he tears hide from me by a point of sword's sides, since he eats uncooked…

    c. 980, Exeter Book Riddle 77:

  2. to break, burst

Conjugation

Conjugation of fretan
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular fretefrǣt
2nd singular fritstfrǣte
3rd singular frittfritfrǣt
Plural fretaþfrǣton
Subjunctive
Singular fretefrǣte
Plural fretenfrǣten
Non-finite forms of fretan
Form
Infinitive fretan
Inflected infinitive fretenne
Imperative singular fret
Imperative plural fretaþ
Present participle fretende
Past participle fretenġefreten

All forms (15)

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *fraetan, corresponding to for- + etan. Cognate with Old Saxon fretan (Middle Low German vreten), Old High German frezzan (German fressen), Gothic (fraitan).

Descendants

fret

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