cweþan
Old English
Alternative forms
- cweðan, cƿeþan
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *kweþaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷet- (compare Proto-Celtic *bet-lo- (“mouth”) in Old Irish bél). Cognate with Old Frisian qwetha, Old Saxon quethan, queþan, Old Dutch quethan (Middle Dutch quedden), Old High German quedan, Old Norse kveða (Icelandic kveða, Danish kvæde, Swedish kväda), Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌽 (qiþan).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkweθɑn/, [ˈkweðɑn]
Verb
cweþan
- to say, tell
- Hēo cwæþ þæt hēo wǣre lǣċe.
- She said she was a doctor.
- Cwæþ se hræfn, "Nǣfre mā."
- The raven said, "Never more".
Conjugation
Conjugation of cweþan (strong class 5)
| infinitive | cweþan | tō cweþenne |
|---|---|---|
| indicative | present | past |
| 1st-person singular | cweþe | cwæþ |
| 2nd-person singular | cweþest, cwiþst, cwist | cwǣde |
| 3rd-person singular | cweþeþ, cwiþ | cwæþ |
| plural | cweþaþ | cwǣdon |
| subjunctive | present | past |
| singular | cweþe | cwǣde |
| plural | cweþen | cwǣden |
| imperative | ||
| singular | cweþ | |
| plural | cweþaþ | |
| participle | present | past |
| cweþende | (ġe)cweden | |
Derived terms
- becweþan
- forcweþan
- ġecweþan
- miscweþan
- oncweþan
- tōcweþan
- weargcweþan
- yfelcweþan
- æftercweþan
Descendants
- Middle English: quethen, cwethen, cweþen, cweðen, queðen, qwethyn, qweþe, queþen, quethe, queþe, queden, cwæthen
- English: quethe (obsolete outside of quoth, and dated even then)
- Scots: quethe (noun)