bathen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• baathe, bathe, bathien, baþen, baþie, baþiȝe
• baðien, beaðien (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English baþian, from Proto-West Germanic *baþōn, from Proto-Germanic *baþōną; equivalent to bath +‎ -en (infinitival suffix). Compare bethen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaːðən/

Verb

bathen (third-person singular simple present batheth, present participle bathende, bathynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle bathed)

1. To put or cover in water:
   1. To bath or wash (especially for medicinal reasons)
   2. To dip; to quickly immerse someone.
   3. To shower or drench something or someone (usually in liquid).
      • 1387–1400, [Geoffrey] Chaucer, “Here Bygynneth the Book of the Tales of Caunt́burẏ”, in The Tales of Caunt́bury (Hengwrt Chaucer; Peniarth Manuscript 392D), Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: National Library of Wales, published c. 1400–1410], →OCLC, folio 2, recto:

        Whan that Auerill w^t his shoures soote / The droghte of march hath ꝑced to the roote / And bathed euery veyne in swich lycour / Of which v̄tu engendred is the flour […]

        When that April, with its sweet showers / Has pierced March's drought to the root / And bathed every vein in fluid such that / with its power, the flower is made […]

2. To bathe; to have a bath or immerse oneself in liquid:

   Synonym: bethen

3. To enjoy or relax in something; to benefit from something.
4. (rare) To immerse, steep, or absorb.
5. (rare) To swim; to move in water.

Conjugation

Conjugation of bathen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) bathen, bathe
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	bathe	bathed
2nd-person singular	bathest	bathedest
3rd-person singular	batheth	bathed
subjunctive singular	bathe
imperative singular		—
plural1	bathen, bathe	batheden, bathede
imperative plural	batheth, bathe	—
participles	bathynge, bathende	bathed, ybathed

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: bathe
• Scots: bathe, baith, bauthe

References

• “bāthen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-16.