Old English · verb

profian

Normalised prōfian

Part of speech: verb
Verb class: weak class 2
IPA: /ˈproː.fi.ɑn/
[ˈproː.vi.ɑn]
Syllables: ˈproː · fi · ɑn (3 syllables)
Modern English: prove proove evince esteem

Meaning

to esteem; regard as

... for þeóf hé is tó prófianne

... he is to be regarded as a thief (L. Wih. 28; Th. i. 42, 25: L. In. 20; Th. i. 116, 2.)
to test, try, prove
to show evidence of, evince

Conjugation

Conjugation of profian
Indicative
	Present	Past
1st singular	prōfiġe	prōfode
2nd singular	prōfast	prōfodest
3rd singular	prōfaþ	prōfode
Plural	prōfiaþ	prōfodon
Subjunctive
Singular	prōfiġe	prōfode
Plural	prōfiġen	prōfoden

Non-finite forms of profian
	Form
Infinitive	prōfian
Inflected infinitive	prōfienne
Imperative singular	prōfa
Imperative plural	prōfiaþ
Present participle	prōfiende
Past participle	prōfod ġeprōfod

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *prōbōn, from Late Latin probō (“test, try, examine, approve, show to be good or fit, prove”, verb), from probus (“good, worthy, excellent”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰuH-s (“being in front, prominent”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-, *per- (“toward”) + Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to be”). Related to Old Frisian prōvia, Old Norse prófa. More at for, be.

Descendants

proove, prove

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