on mod berinnan

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /on moːd beˈrin.nɑn/

Verb

on mōd berinnan

1. to occur (of a thought or idea): come to mind, cross one's mind
   • c. 900, Werferth, translation of the Dialogues of Gregory

     Ān wundor iċ wille seċġan þæt mē nū on mōd berann.

     I want to tell you about one miracle that just occurred to me.

   • c. 992, Ælfric's preface to his first book of homilies

     Þā berann mē on mōd þæt iċ þās bōc of Lǣdenum ġereorde tō Englisċre sprǣċe āwende.

     Then it occurred to me that I should translate this book from Latin into English.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Second Sunday After Pentecost"

     Siþþan sē rīċa wearþ orwēne his āgenre ālīesednesse, þā berann him on mōd his ġebrōðra ġemynd.

     When the rich man had lost hope that he would ever escape, the memory of his brothers came to his mind.

   • c. 996, Ælfric's Lives of Saints

     Wē sċulon seċġan be þǣre snotoran Petronellan þæs ēadigan Petres dehter, ac ūs berann þis on mōd.

     We have to speak about Saint Peter's wise daughter Petronilla, but this crossed our minds.

Usage notes

• If something comes to mind that one knows already, the phrase on ġemynd cuman (literally "come into memory") might be used instead.