eldertongue

Old English · verb

nabban

Part of speech
verb
Verb class
weak class 3
IPA
/ˈnɑb.bɑn/
Syllables
ˈnɑb · bɑn (2 syllables)
Modern English
hobnobhave

Meaning

  1. to not have, be without

    Næbbe iċ seolfor ne gold...

    I don't have silver or gold...

    late 10th century, Ælfric, Lives of Saints

Conjugation

Conjugation of nabban
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular næbbenæfde
2nd singular næfstnæfdest
3rd singular næfþnæfde
Plural nabbaþnæfdon
Subjunctive
Singular næbbenæfde
Plural næbbennæfden
Non-finite forms of nabban
Form
Infinitive nabban
Inflected infinitive næbbenne
Imperative singular nafa
Imperative plural nabbaþ
Present participle næbbende
Past participle næfdġenæfd

All forms (15)

Etymology

Contraction of ne + habban. The same process occurred with ne + willan (nillan, to not want), ne + wesan (nesan, to not be), and ne + witan (nytan, to not know).

Descendants

hobnob

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