eldertongue

Old English · verb

gefæstnian

Normalised ġefæstnian

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
weak class 2
IPA
/jeˈfæst.ni.ɑn/
Syllables
je · ˈfæst · ni · ɑn (4 syllables)
Modern English
relationsimprisonconfirmentruststeady

Meaning

  1. to fix, confirm, make fast

    God ġeworhte ðā sōna twā sċīnende lēoht myċele and mǣre, mōnan and sunnan, ðā sunnan on meriġen tō ðǣs dæġes lihtinge, ðone mōnan on ǣfen mannum tō lihtinge on nihtlīcere tīde...And ealle steorran hē ēac ðā geworhte, and hē hī ġefæstnode on ðām fæstan rodore ðæt hī ðā eorðan onlīhton mid heora mæniġfealdum lēoman

    Thereafter, God made two shining lights, a greater one and a lesser one, the moon and the sun, with the Sun to shine by day, and the moon to shine by night...and he also made all the stars, and he fixed them in the firm heavens so that they could illumine the earth with their manyfold rays.

    c. 1000, Ælfric of Eynsham, transl., Hexameron of St. Basil:
  2. to imprison, fetter

  3. to establish (relations), settle, determine

  4. to make steady, constant

  5. to secure, make safe

  6. to entrust, commit

Conjugation

Conjugation of gefæstnian
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular ġefæstniġeġefæstnode
2nd singular ġefæstnastġefæstnodest
3rd singular ġefæstnaþġefæstnode
Plural ġefæstniaþġefæstnodon
Subjunctive
Singular ġefæstniġeġefæstnode
Plural ġefæstniġenġefæstnoden
Non-finite forms of gefæstnian
Form
Infinitive ġefæstnian
Inflected infinitive ġefæstnienne
Imperative singular ġefæstna
Imperative plural ġefæstniaþ
Present participle ġefæstniende
Past participle ġefæstnod

All forms (14)

Etymology

From ġe- + fæstnian. Cognate with Old High German gifastinōn.

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