healdan

Meaning

1. to keep watch over (cattle etc.)

   Old English Heptateuch, Genesis 4:9

   ...should I watch over my brother?

2. to hold fast, to grasp

3. to contain

4. to possess

   Ðyllīce word María hēold ārǣfniġende on hire heortan.

   Such words Mary held, pondering them in her heart.

   c. 992, Ælfric, "Sermon on the Nativiity of Our Lord"

5. to keep, hold, preserve something in a specific position or state

   Iċ… hlūde ċirme, healde mīne wīsan, hlēoþre ne mīþe,…

   I… loudly cry out, hold my tone, don't hide a sound,…

   10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 8:

6. to keep to, maintain, observe a custom or habit

   Rōmanisc̄e lēodan ongynnað heora ġēar æfter hǣðenum ġewunan on winterlīċere tīde. Ebrei healdað heora geares annginn on lenctenlīcre emnihte. Đā Grēcisċan onginnað hyra ġēar æt ðām sunnstede; ⁊ ða Egiptisċan on hærfest.

   The Roman people begin theirs, after the heathen custom, in the winter time. The Hebrews observe the beginning of their year on the vernal equinox. The Greeks begin their year at the solstice; and the Egyptians in the fall.

   c. 994, Ælfric, On the Seasons of the Year

7. to maintain one’s position against an enemy

Conjugation