asken

See also: äsken

English

Etymology

From Middle English asken, axen, equivalent to ask +‎ -en.

Verb

asken

1. (obsolete) plural simple present of ask
   • c. 1450, Prose Merlin:

     And Merlin seide, "Of that ye me asken, I shall not speke withoute Ulfyn."

   • c. 1527–1542, Thomas Wyatt, “Myne owne John Poyntz”, in Egerton MS 2711‎^[1], page 49r:

     And much the leſſe of thinges that greater be
     that aſken helpe of colours of deviſe

   • a. 1727, Alexander Pope, Imitations of English Poets: Chaucer:

     They asken that, and talken this, […]

Anagrams

• kaens, akens, nakes, skean, Keans, snake, sneak, Kasen, kenas, Snake, Skåne

Danish

Noun

asken c

1. definite singular of ask

Middle English

Alternative forms

• aske, aski, axen, axe
• axien, eski, eskien, oxien (Early Middle English); easki, easkin (AB language); asskenn (Ormulum)
• asshe, asche, axse, axsy, axie, ix (Late Middle English)
• acsy, oxi (Kent); esche, esse (Gloucestershire)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English āscian, ācsian, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaskən/ (general), /ˈaksən/ (not Northern or North Midlands)
• IPA^(key): /ˈaʃ-/ (uncommon, especially West Midland), /ˈɛʃ-/ (mostly Gloucestershire)
• IPA^(key): /ˈɔksiən/ (early Southern), /ˈɔksiː/ (Kent)

Verb

asken (third-person singular simple present asketh, present participle askende, askynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle asked)

1. (ambitransitive, ditransitive) To ask (someone or something):
   1. To ask about; to ask for information. [with direct object or of or by]
      • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[2], published c. 1410, Coꝛinthis ·i· 14:35, folio 66, verso, column 2; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

        but if þei wolen ony þing lerne .· at hoom axe þei her hoſebondis / foꝛ it is foule þing to a womman .· to ſpeke in chirche

        But if they want to learn anything, they should ask their husbands at home, because it's a revolting thing for a woman to speak in church.

   2. To ask for; to request (especially in prayer)
      • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[3], published c. 1410, Matheu 7:7-8, folio 3, verso, column 2; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

        Axe ȝe .· ⁊ it ſchal be ȝouun to ȝou / ſeke ȝe .· ⁊ ȝe ſchulen fynde / knocke ȝe .· ⁊ it ſchal be opened to ȝou / foꝛ ech that axiþ .· takiþ / and he that ſekiþ .· fyndiþ / and it ſchal be openyde to hym .· that knockiþ

        Ask, and you'll receive it; look, and you'll find; knock, and it'll be opened for you. / Because anyone who asks takes, someone that looks finds, and that'll be opened to them that knocks.

   3. To command, demand, or require.
      • c. 1378-9, [William Langland], “Paſſus pͥm᷒ de vıſıone”, in Lıber de petro plowman (L, B-text), London, published c. 1395, folio 4, recto; republished as Hoyt N. Duggan, Ralph Hanna, editors, Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Laud misc. 581 (The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive; 6), SEENET, 2014, →ISBN:

        It ıs nauȝt al gode to þe goſte· þat þe gutte axeþ / Ne lıflode to þı lıkam· foꝛ a lyer hım techeth

        It isn't at all good for the spirit that the gut demands, / or sustenance for your body, since a liar teaches it.

2. (transitive, ditransitive) To look or search for; to attempt to obtain.
3. (transitive) To investigate or examine (something).
4. (rare, transitive) To aim to visit a location.
5. (rare, transitive) To extend towards.

Conjugation

Conjugation of asken (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) asken, aske
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	aske	asked
2nd-person singular	askest	askedest
3rd-person singular	asketh	asked
subjunctive singular	aske
imperative singular		—
plural1	asken, aske	askeden, askede
imperative plural	asketh, aske	—
participles	askynge, askende	asked

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

Related terms

• asker
• askynge

Descendants

• English: ask (dialectal ax, axe, aks)
• Middle Scots: ask, as
  • Scots: ask, as, ax
• Yola: ishe

References

• “asken, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• Laing, Margaret (2008), LAEME: A Linguistic Atlas of Early Middle English‎^[4], version 4.0, Edinburgh: Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics; revised 2024.

• McIntosh, Angus; Samuels, M[ichael] L.; Benskin, Michael (2013) [1986], Michael Benskin, Margaret Laing, editors, eLALME: A Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English‎^[5], Edinburgh: Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics; revised November 2024.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Noun

asken m

1. definite singular of ask

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• aska

Noun

asken m or f

1. definite masculine singular of aske

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

asken m

1. definite singular of ask

Swedish

Noun

asken

1. definite singular of ask

Anagrams

• ekans, nekas, saken, skena