eldertongue

Old English · verb

hnitan

Normalised hnītan

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
strong class I
IPA
/ˈxniː.tɑn/
[ˈn̥iː.tɑn]
Syllables
ˈxniː · tɑn (2 syllables)
Modern English
clashnote

Meaning

  1. to clash, butt

    Oft iċ beġīne þæt mē onġēan sticað, þonne iċ hnītan sċeal, hringum gyrded, hearde wið heardum, hindan þȳrel, forð āsċūfan þæt mīnes frēan mōd freoþað middelnihtum.

    Oft I swallow that pricks me again, then I should strike, girded by rings, toughly against hard ones, stabbed from behind, shove forth that shields mind-mirth of my lord at midnights.

    c. 980, Exeter Book Riddle 91:

Conjugation

Conjugation of hnitan
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular hnītehnāt
2nd singular hnītsthnite
3rd singular hnītthnīthnāt
Plural hnītaþhniton
Subjunctive
Singular hnītehnite
Plural hnītenhniten
Non-finite forms of hnitan
Form
Infinitive hnītan
Inflected infinitive hnītenne
Imperative singular hnīt
Imperative plural hnītaþ
Present participle hnītende
Past participle hnitenġehniten

All forms (14)

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hnītan, from Proto-Germanic *hnītaną.

Descendants

note

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