beon
Middle English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Verb[edit]
beon (third-person singular simple present is, present participle beinge, first-/third-person singular past indicative was, past participle beon)
- Alternative form of been (“to be”)
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
beon
Old English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *beun, from Proto-Germanic *beuną (“to be”), related to būan (“to dwell”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bʰuH-. The past tense forms are from Proto-Germanic *wesaną (from which also wesan), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-.
Verb[edit]
bēon
- to be; exist
- c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Greater Litany"
- Se ðe gód bēon wile, clypige to ðam þe æfre is gód, þæt he hine gódne gewyrce.
- Let him who desires to be good call to him who ever is good, that he make him good.
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of The Consolation of Philosophy
- Þā cwæþ hē, "Wāst þū hwæt mann sīe?" Þā cwæþ iċ, "Iċ wāt þæt hit biþ sāwol and līchama."
- Then he said, "Do you know what a person is?" So I said, "I know it's a soul and a body."
- c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Lord's Ascension"
- Eft he cwæð, "Ic bēo mid ēow eallum dagum, ōð þisre worulde geendunge," seðe lyfað and rixað mid þam Ælmihtigan Fæder and ðam Halgum Gaste á on ecnysse. Amen.
- Again he said, "I will be with you on all days, until the ending of this world," who liveth and reigneth with the Almighty Father and the Holy Ghost ever to eternity. Amen.
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Passion of the Blessed Stephen Protomartyr"
- Ælc lof bið on ende gesungen.
- All praise will be sung at the end.
- Blickling Homilies, "St. Andrew"
- Wē bēoþ mid þē swā hwæder swā þū færest.
- We'll be with you wherever you go.
- c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Greater Litany"
- to become
Usage notes[edit]
The verb "to be" in Old English was suppletive, and used forms from at least three different roots. There were two distinct present stems, for which wesan and bēon were the two infinitive forms. The present bēon was used to express permanent truths (the "gnomic present"), while wesan was used for the imperative, present participle, and the preterite. They both shared the same past tense forms.
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | bēon | bēonne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | bēo | — |
second person singular | bist | — |
third person singular | biþ | — |
plural | bēoþ | — |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | bēo | — |
plural | bēon | — |
imperative | ||
singular | bēo | |
plural | bēoþ | |
participle | present | past |
bēonde | (ġe)bēon |
Descendants[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun[edit]
bēon
- Nominative and accusative plural of bēo
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English verbs
- Middle English non-lemma forms
- Middle English noun plural forms
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English lemmas
- Old English verbs
- Old English terms with quotations
- Old English irregular verbs
- Old English non-lemma forms
- Old English noun forms
- Old English suppletive verbs