feohtan
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *fehtan. Cognate with Old Frisian fiuhta, Old Saxon fehtan, Old Dutch fehtan, Old High German fehtan.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfe͜ox.tɑn/
Verb
feohtan
- (intransitive) to fight
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- An. DCCX Hēr Beorhtfriþ ealdormon feaht wiþ Peohtas, ⁊ Īne ⁊ Nun his mæġ ġefuhton wiþ Gerente Wāla cyninge.
- Year 710 In this year Prince Brightfrith fought against the Picts, and Ine and his kinsman Nun fought against Gerent, king of the Welsh.
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- (transitive) to fight to obtain something, to obtain something by fighting
Usage notes
- In the sense of fighting with or against someone, as in Sense 1 above, feohtan was generally not used transitively, as in *hēo feaht þone dracan ("she fought the dragon"). Instead it was used with a preposition such as on, onġeġn, or wiþ, all meaning "against": hēo feaht wiþ þone dracan (literally "she fought against the dragon"). When used transitively, it meant to fight to gain or obtain something: hēo feaht þæs dracan hord ("she fought to obtain the dragon's horde"), as per Sense 2. Combining both senses was also possible: hēo feaht wiþ þone dracan his hord ("she fought against the dragon to obtain its horde").
Conjugation
Conjugation of feohtan (strong, class III)
| infinitive | feohtan | feohtenne |
|---|---|---|
| indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
| first person singular | feohte | feaht |
| second person singular | fiehst, fiehtst | fuhte |
| third person singular | fieht | feaht |
| plural | feohtaþ | fuhton |
| subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
| singular | feohte | fuhte |
| plural | feohten | fuhten |
| imperative | ||
| singular | feoht | |
| plural | feohtaþ | |
| participle | present | past |
| feohtende | (ġe)fohten | |