douen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• dowen, duhen, duȝen

Etymology 1

From Old English dugan, from Proto-West Germanic *dugan, from Proto-Germanic *duganą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈduːən/

Verb

douen

1. (ambitransitive) To be helpful or beneficial; to have worthiness or use (for something)
2. (impersonal) To be appropriate or suitable for a given situation.
3. (intransitive, rare) To be mighty, bold, or hardy.
4. (intransitive, rare) To attain victory or success; to win.
5. (transitive, rare) To be able to (perform an act).

Conjugation

Conjugation of douen (preterite-present, defective)

infinitive	(to) douen, doue
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	deigh	doughte
2nd-person singular	deight	doughtest
3rd-person singular	deigh	doughte
subjunctive singular	doue
imperative singular	—	—
plural1	douen, doue	doughten, doughte
imperative plural	—	—
participles	douynge, douende	douen, doue, dought, ydouen, ydoue, ydought

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

Descendants

• English: dow (obsolete)
• Scots: dow

References

• “dǒuen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 October 2018.

Etymology 2

From Old French douer.

Verb

douen

1. alternative form of dowen