betan
Old English
Etymology
From earlier *bœ̄tjan [bøːt.jɑn], from West Germanic *bōtijan, from Proto-Germanic *bōtijaną, derived from *bōtō. Cognate with Old Frisian bēta (West Frisian boetsje), Old Saxon bōtian (Low German böten), Old Dutch buoten (Dutch boeten), Old High German buozen (German büßen), Old Norse bœta (Icelandic bæta, Swedish böta), Gothic 𐌱𐍉𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bōtjan).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbeː.tɑn/, [ˈbeː.tɑn]
Verb
bētan
- (transitive) to improve
- c. 900, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
- Þā þing þe hē unfulfremed ġemētte, mid heora fultume hē þā rihte and bētte.
- Anything that was imperfect when he found it, he set right and improved with their help.
- Þā þing þe hē unfulfremed ġemētte, mid heora fultume hē þā rihte and bētte.
- 11th century, "Æcerbot Charm"
- Hēr is sēo bōt, hū þū meaht þīne æcras bētan ġif hīe nyllaþ wel weaxan oþþe þǣr hwilċ unġedēfe þing on ġedōn biþ on drȳ oþþe on lyblāce.
- Here is the remedy, how you can improve your fields if they won’t grow well or something harmful has been done to them by a wizard or through witchcraft.
- Hēr is sēo bōt, hū þū meaht þīne æcras bētan ġif hīe nyllaþ wel weaxan oþþe þǣr hwilċ unġedēfe þing on ġedōn biþ on drȳ oþþe on lyblāce.
- c. 900, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
- to fix, repair
- early 11th century, Wulfstan, "Larspell"
- Uton lufian ūre ċirican, for þon hēo biþ ūre friðiġend and werġend on Dōmes Dæġe. And wyrċen wē simle bryċġe and þā bētan.
- Let’s love our church, because it will be our defender and protector at the Last Judgment. And let’s always build bridges and repair them.
- Uton lufian ūre ċirican, for þon hēo biþ ūre friðiġend and werġend on Dōmes Dæġe. And wyrċen wē simle bryċġe and þā bētan.
- c. 900, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
- On þisse ċirican ǣrest þā hālgan lārēowas ongunnon samnian and singan and ġebiddan and mæssesang dōn and menn lǣran and fulwian, oþ þæt se cyning tō ġelēafan ġeċierred wæs and māran lēafnesse onfēngon ofer eall tō lǣrenne and ċirican tō timbriġenne and tō bētenne.
- This is the church where the holy teachers first began to gather and sing and pray and hold mass and teach and baptize people, before the king was converted to Christianity and they received more permission to teach everywhere and to build and repair churches.
- On þisse ċirican ǣrest þā hālgan lārēowas ongunnon samnian and singan and ġebiddan and mæssesang dōn and menn lǣran and fulwian, oþ þæt se cyning tō ġelēafan ġeċierred wæs and māran lēafnesse onfēngon ofer eall tō lǣrenne and ċirican tō timbriġenne and tō bētenne.
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
- Corrigō: Iċ bēte sume lēase bōc oþþe iċ styriġe sumum stuntum menn.
- Corrigo: I amend a faulty book or I exhort a foolish person.
- Corrigō: Iċ bēte sume lēase bōc oþþe iċ styriġe sumum stuntum menn.
- early 11th century, Wulfstan, "Larspell"
- to atone or compensate for
- c. 899, Alfred the Great, Psalm 36:9
- Þā þe yfel dōþ and þæt ne bētaþ, hīe bēoþ āwyrtwalode of eorðan.
- Those who do evil and do not atone for it will be uprooted from the earth.
- Þā þe yfel dōþ and þæt ne bētaþ, hīe bēoþ āwyrtwalode of eorðan.
- c. 899, Alfred the Great, Psalm 36:9
- to make or attend to a fire or a lamp
- c. 900, Werferth, translation of the Dialogues of Gregory
- Sume nihte, þā þā hē wel ǣr ārās tō bētenne þā lēoht þe wǣron nēah þǣre dura, and þā stōd hē on trīwenre hlǣdre under þām lēohtfæte and ontende and ġebētte þæt lēoht, þā stōd þǣr ofdūne on þǣre flōre sanctus Petrus se ēadiga apostol on hwītum hræġlum, and þus cwæþ tō him, "Þū ġefēra, for hwon ārise þū swā hraðe?"
- One night, when he had gotten up very quickly to kindle the lights that were near the door, and he was standing on a wooden ladder under the lamp to light the fire, down there on the floor stood Saint Peter the apostle, and he said to him, "Comrade, why did you get up so quickly?"
- Sume nihte, þā þā hē wel ǣr ārās tō bētenne þā lēoht þe wǣron nēah þǣre dura, and þā stōd hē on trīwenre hlǣdre under þām lēohtfæte and ontende and ġebētte þæt lēoht, þā stōd þǣr ofdūne on þǣre flōre sanctus Petrus se ēadiga apostol on hwītum hræġlum, and þus cwæþ tō him, "Þū ġefēra, for hwon ārise þū swā hraðe?"
- c. 900, Werferth, translation of the Dialogues of Gregory
Conjugation
Conjugation of bētan (weak class 1)
infinitive | bētan | tō bētenne |
---|---|---|
indicative | present | past |
1st-person singular | bēte | bētte |
2nd-person singular | bētst | bēttest |
3rd-person singular | bētt | bētte |
plural | bētaþ | bētton |
subjunctive | present | past |
singular | bēte | bētte |
plural | bēten | bētten |
imperative | ||
singular | bēt | |
plural | bētaþ | |
participle | present | past |
bētende | (ġe)bētt |
This article is issued from
Wiktionary.
The text is licensed under Creative
Commons - Attribution - Sharealike.
Additional terms may apply for the media files.