æfen

Old English

Alternative forms

• ēfen, ēfern

Etymology

Form reflects Proto-West Germanic *āban, a byform or derivative of *ābanþ.

Cognate with Old Frisian ēvend, Old Saxon āƀand, Old Dutch āvont, Old High German ābant, Old Norse aptann.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæː.fen/, [ˈæː.ven]

Noun

ǣfen m

1. evening
2. eve: the day/evening/night before something

   mōnanǣfen ― Sunday evening

   *ġēolǣfen ― Christmas Eve

3. (Christianity) vespers

Declension

Declension of æfen (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	ǣfen	ǣfennas
accusative	ǣfen	ǣfennas
genitive	ǣfennes	ǣfenna
dative	ǣfenne	ǣfennum

Synonyms

• (hour): ǣfentīd, ǣfentīma
• (vespers): ǣfendrēam, ǣfengebēd, ǣfenhrepsung, ǣfensang

Derived terms

Derived terms

• ǣfendreām
• ǣfengebēd
• ǣfengereord
• ǣfengereordian
• ǣfengifl
• ǣfenglōm
• ǣfengrom
• ǣfenhrepsung
• ǣfenlāc
• ǣfenlǣcan
• ǣfenleōht
• ǣfenleōþ
• ǣfenlīc
• ǣfenmete
• ǣfenrest
• ǣfenrima
• ǣfensang
• ǣfensceōp
• ǣfenscīma
• ǣfenspræc
• ǣfensteorra
• ǣfenþēnung
• ǣfenþeōwdōm
• ǣfentīd
• ǣfentīma
• ǣfentungel
• ǣfnung
  • English: evening
• ġiestranǣfen
• Mōnanǣfen

Descendants

• Middle English: even, evene, even, efen
  • English: even
  • Yola: e'en

References

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