wrecan
Old English
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to pursue, to drive out”).
Pronunciation
editVerb
editwrecan
- (transitive, intransitive) to punish (+ dative = a person) (+ accusative = a wrong)
- Sēo lǣrestre wræc hire leornerum þæt hīe yfelra worda brucon.
- The teacher punished her students for using bad words.
- (transitive, intransitive) to avenge or take revenge (+ accusative or with on + dative = "on someone")
- Iċ ġehēt mīnum fæder ġif hine man ofslōge, þæt iċ his dēaþ wrǣċe.
- I promised my father that if he was killed, I would avenge his death.
- Ġif ġē ūs priciaþ, ne blēdaþ wē? Ġif ġē ūs ċiteliaþ, ne hliehhaþ wē? Ġif ġē ūs ġeǣtriaþ, ne sweltaþ wē? And ġif ġē ūs yfeliaþ, ne wrecaþ wē?
- If you prick us, don't we bleed? If you tickle us, don't we laugh? If you poison us, don't we die? And if you wrong us, don't we take revenge?
- to unleash or take out (one's anger) (with on + dative = on someone)
- Hē wræc his ierre on his bearnum.
- He took out his anger on his children.
- to drive, press
- 9th or 10th century, The Seafarer
- Mæġ iċ be mē selfum / sōðġiedd wrecan.
- I can recite a true story about myself.
- 9th or 10th century, The Seafarer
Conjugation
editConjugation of wrecan (strong class 5)
infinitive | wrecan | wrecenne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | wrece | wræc |
second person singular | wricst | wrǣce |
third person singular | wricþ | wræc |
plural | wrecaþ | wrǣcon |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | wrece | wrǣce |
plural | wrecen | wrǣcen |
imperative | ||
singular | wrec | |
plural | wrecaþ | |
participle | present | past |
wrecende | (ġe)wrecen |
Synonyms
edit- (to punish): wītnian
Antonyms
editDerived terms
editRelated terms
edit- wracu (“revenge”)
Descendants
editReferences
edit- Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “wrecan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Categories:
- Old English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English lemmas
- Old English verbs
- Old English transitive verbs
- Old English intransitive verbs
- Old English terms with usage examples
- Old English terms with quotations
- Old English class 5 strong verbs