weren
English
Etymology
From Middle English weren, from Old English wǣron, plural past indicative of bēon, and wǣren, plural past subjunctive of bēon, equivalent to were + -en.
Verb
weren
- (obsolete) plural simple past of be
- 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], OCLC 606515406; reprinted as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, The Shepheardes Calender […], London: John C. Nimmo, […], 1890, OCLC 890162479:
- But sike fancies weren foolerie,
And broughten this Oake to this miserye.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938:
- Therein an hundred raunges weren pight,
And hundred fornaces all burning bright;
- 1889, John Gower (edited by Henry Morley), Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins: Being the Confessio Amantis:
- For of the falsé Moabites
- Forth with the strength of Amonites
- Of that they weren first misget,
-
Anagrams
- newer, renew
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʋeːrə(n)/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: we‧ren
- Rhymes: -eːrən
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch wēren, from Old Dutch *werien, from Proto-West Germanic *warjan, from Proto-Germanic *warjaną.
Verb
weren
- (transitive) to hold back, to keep out
- (reflexive) to defend oneself, to put up resistance
Inflection
Inflection of weren (weak) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | weren | |||
past singular | weerde | |||
past participle | geweerd | |||
infinitive | weren | |||
gerund | weren n | |||
present tense | past tense | |||
1st person singular | weer | weerde | ||
2nd person sing. (jij) | weert | weerde | ||
2nd person sing. (u) | weert | weerde | ||
2nd person sing. (gij) | weert | weerde | ||
3rd person singular | weert | weerde | ||
plural | weren | weerden | ||
subjunctive sing.1 | were | weerde | ||
subjunctive plur.1 | weren | weerden | ||
imperative sing. | weer | |||
imperative plur.1 | weert | |||
participles | werend | geweerd | ||
1) Archaic. |
Derived terms
- afweren
- beweren
- verweren
Descendants
- Afrikaans: weer
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun
weren
- Plural form of weer
Middle Dutch
Etymology 1
From Old Dutch *werien, from Proto-West Germanic *warjan.
Verb
wēren
- to hold back, to keep out, to resist
- to prevent
- to protect
- to fight against, to oppose
- to object (in court)
- to refuse, to deny
Inflection
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
- Dutch: weren
- Limburgish: waere
Etymology 2
From Old Dutch *werien, from Proto-West Germanic *waʀjan.
Verb
wēren
- to continue, to persist
Inflection
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Further reading
- “weren (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “weren (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “weren (III)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page III
Middle English
Etymology 1
From a conflation of Old English wǣron, the plural indicative past of wesan (from Proto-Germanic *wēzun, the third-person plural indicative past of *wesaną) and Old English wǣren, the plural subjunctive past of wesan (from Proto-Germanic *wēzīn, the third-person plural subjunctive past of *wesaną).
Alternative forms
- were, wern, weryn
- (after Old Norse vera) waren, warn, worn, woren
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwɛːr(ə)n/, /ˈwɛr(ə)n/
Verb
weren
- plural past indicative/subjunctive of been
- c. 1450, Richard the Redeless
- And rafte was youre riott and rest, for youre daiez weren wikkid […]
- c. 1450, Prose Merlin
- Whan these thre kynges weren abedde and at her ese that nyght, the storye seith that they lay till on the morn that thei ronge to messe right erly, for it was a litill afore Halowmesse.
- c. 1450, Richard the Redeless
Descendants
- English: were (obsolete wern, weren)
Etymology 2
From Old English werian. Strong forms are analogical to beren, teren, etc.
Alternative forms
- wern, werien, veren
Verb
weren (third-person singular simple present wereth, present participle werende, werynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle wered)
- to wear, be clothed with
Conjugation
infinitive | (to) weren, were | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | were | wered, war, wer | |
2nd-person singular | werest | weredest, were, ware, war, wer | |
3rd-person singular | wereth | wered, war, wer | |
subjunctive singular | were | wered1, were1, ware1 | |
imperative singular | — | ||
plural2 | weren, were | wereden, werede, weren, were, waren, ware | |
imperative plural | wereth, were | — | |
participles | werynge, werende | wered, woren, worn, ywered |
1Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
2Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
Descendants
- English: wear
- Scots: were, weir
- Yola: waare
References
- “wēren, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Verb
weren
- Alternative form of werren