giefan

Old English

Alternative forms

• ġifan — West Saxon
• ġyfan — Late West Saxon
• ġefan, ġeofan, ġiofan — Non-West Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gebaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈji͜y.fɑn/, [ˈji͜y.vɑn]

Verb

ġiefan (Early West Saxon)

1. to give
   • The Legend of St. Andrew in Verse

     ...Ne ġedafenað þē nū þē dryhten ġeaf welan and wiste and woruldspēde,...

     ...It befitteth thee not since to thee the Lord hath given wealth and abundance and worldly prosperity,...

   • c. 1011, Byrhtferth, Manual, line 125

     Nu þǣr ys ān tō lāfe; ġif þǣre Aprili.

     Now there is one left; give that April.

Conjugation

Conjugation of ġiefan (strong class 5)

infinitive	ġiefan	ġiefenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	ġiefe	ġeaf
second person singular	ġiefst	ġēafe
third person singular	ġiefþ	ġeaf
plural	ġiefaþ	ġēafon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	ġiefe	ġēafe
plural	ġiefen	ġēafen
imperative
singular	ġief
plural	ġiefaþ
participle	present	past
	ġiefende	(ġe)ġefen

Derived terms

• aġiefan
• forġiefan
• ġiefa
• ofġiefan

Descendants

• Middle English: yiven, ȝeven, ȝiven, yeven
  • English: yive
  • Yola: yie, ye, yive
• ⇒ Middle English: given, gifen, geven
  • English: give
  • Scots: gie, geve, gewe, gif, gyf, gefe
  • Yola: gee
  (influenced by Old Norse gefa)