læccan

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *lakkjan (“to seize”), from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną (“to grasp, seize”), evidently only attested in Old English, from Proto-Indo-European *lh₂g-ie-, which could be an isogloss shared with Ancient Greek λάζομαι (lázomai, “I seize, grasp”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlæt.t͡ʃɑn/

Verb

læċċan

1. to grab (sometimes violently: snatch, catch, apprehend)

Conjugation

Conjugation of læċċan (weak class 1)

infinitive	læċċan	læċċenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	læċċe	lǣhte
second person singular	læċest	lǣhtest
third person singular	læċeþ	lǣhte
plural	læċċaþ	lǣhton
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	læċċe	lǣhte
plural	læċċen	lǣhten
imperative
singular	læċe
plural	læċċaþ
participle	present	past
	læċċende	(ġe)lǣht

Derived terms

• ġelæċċan

Descendants

• Middle English: lacchen
  • English: latch

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “læccan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.