gefredan

gefredan

Old English

Etymology

ġe- +‎ frēdan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeˈfreː.dɑn/

Verb

ġefrēdan

1. to feel
   • c. 897, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Sēo burg þæs mōdes sċeal swīðe oft ġefrēdan hire fēonda speru.

     The fortress of the mind must very often feel the spears of its enemies.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies

     Hū, ne sæġde iċ ǣr þæt sē þe bær līċ ġefrēdan wolde, þæt hē hit sċolde mid barum handum ġefrēdan?

     Didn't I say before that if you want to feel someone's bare body, you have to feel it with your bare hands?

   • c. 897, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Sē lǣċe hȳtt his lǣċeseax under his clāðum oþ þæt hē þone untruman wundaþ. Wile þæt hē hit ġefrēde ǣr hē hit ġesēo.

     A doctor will hide his lancet under his clothes until he wounds the patient. He wants them to feel it before they see it.

   • c. 897, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Swā ġīemelēaslīċe oft sċacaþ ūre ġeþōhtas fram ūs þæt wē his furðum ne ġefrēdaþ, þon mā þe man his feax mæġe ġefrēdan bufan þām felle.

     Our thoughts often spin away from us so aimlessly that we don't even feel it, any more than you can feel your hair above your scalp.

   • c. 996, Ælfric's Lives of Saints

     Swā cwæþ Mārtiānus mid miċelum graman, "Swā miċel is þīn drȳcræft þæt þū þās dyntas nāwht ne ġefrētst, and þǣrtō ēacan āblendest þone þe þē bēatan sċolde!" Iūliānus þā cwæþ tō þām wælhrēowan þus: "Clipiaþ tō ēowrum godum and tō eallum gydennum þæt hīe nū ġehǣlaþ þisses hǣðenan ēage! And ġif hīe ne magon, iċ hine ġehǣle þurh Crist."

     Martian said in a rage, "Your magic is so powerful that you don't even feel these blows, and on top of that, you blinded the person who was supposed to be beating you!" Julian gave the wretched man this response: "Shout to your gods and all your goddesses that they need to heal this heathen's eye! And if they can't, then I will, through Christ."

2. to perceive, sense

Conjugation

Conjugation of ġefrēdan (weak class 1)

infinitive	ġefrēdan	ġefrēdenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	ġefrēde	ġefrēdde
second person singular	ġefrēdest, ġefrētst	ġefrēddest
third person singular	ġefrēdeþ, ġefrētt, ġefrēt	ġefrēdde
plural	ġefrēdaþ	ġefrēddon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	ġefrēde	ġefrēdde
plural	ġefrēden	ġefrēdden
imperative
singular	ġefrēd
plural	ġefrēdaþ
participle	present	past
	ġefrēdende	ġefrēded

Synonyms

• fēlan

Derived terms

• ġefrēdelīċ
• ġefrēdendlīċ
• ġefrēdmǣlum
• ġefrēdnes

Related terms

• frōd

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898), “gefredan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.