Old English · verb

gælan

Normalised gǣlan

Part of speech: verb
Verb class: weak class 1
IPA: /ˈɡæː.lɑn/
Syllables: ˈɡæː · lɑn (2 syllables)
Modern English: impede dupe remit suspense linger relax suspend hesitate

Meaning

to hinder, delay, impede
to suspend, keep in suspense; to dupe

"Gospel of Saint John", chapter 10, verse 24

Then the Jew surrounded him from outside and said to him, how long do you keep in suspense our lives? Tell us openly whether you be Christ.
to hesitate, linger, stall
to remit, relax; to neglect

Conjugation

Conjugation of gælan
Indicative
	Present	Past
1st singular	gǣle	gǣlde
2nd singular	gǣlest gǣlst	gǣldest
3rd singular	gǣleþ gǣlþ	gǣlde
Plural	gǣlaþ	gǣldon
Subjunctive
Singular	gǣle	gǣlde
Plural	gǣlen	gǣlden

Non-finite forms of gælan
	Form
Infinitive	gǣlan
Inflected infinitive	gǣlenne
Imperative singular	gǣl
Imperative plural	gǣlaþ
Present participle	gǣlende
Past participle	gǣled ġegǣled

All forms (17)

gǣle
gǣlde
gǣlest
gǣlst
gǣldest
gǣleþ
gǣlþ
gǣlaþ
gǣldon
gǣlen
gǣlden
gǣlan
gǣlenne
gǣl
gǣlende
gǣled
ġegǣled

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gailijan, possibly from Proto-Germanic *gailō (“lane, passageway”). Compare Old Norse geil (“narrow glen, passage”), Middle English gale (“way, course”). Compare also assumed Old English *gāl ("obstacle, boundary, marker"; > Middle English gol (“boundary, limit”)).

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