gefeoht

Old English

Alternative forms

• ġefiht, gifect

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gafehtą. Cognate with Old Saxon *gifeht, Old High German gifeht. Equivalent to ġe- +‎ feoht.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeˈfe͜oxt/

Noun

ġefeoht n

1. fight, fighting

   Ġeswīcaþ þæs ġefeohtes!

   Stop the fighting!

2. battle
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     Leoniða, Læcedemonia cyning, Crēca byrġ, hæfde IIII þūsend monna, þā hē anġēan Xersis fōr, on ānum nearwan londfæstenne; ⁊ him þǣr mid ġefeohte wiðstōd.

     Leonidas, king of Sparta, a Greek city, had four thousand men, when he marched against Xerxes, in a narrow fortified pass; and stood against him in battle.

3. war
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Agnes, Virgin"

     ...and behat me þam heretogan þæt he me underfo æfter ðam gefeohte siððan he ða scyððiscan mid sige oferwinð.

     ...and promise me to the general, that he may take me after the war, after he shall by victory conquer the Scythians.

Usage notes

In the Early West Saxon of King Alfred, ġewinn was used for "war" and ġefeoht for "battle," while in the Late West Saxon of Ælfric ġefeoht was the word for both "battle" and "war."

Declension

Declension of ġefeoht (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	ġefeoht	ġefeoht
accusative	ġefeoht	ġefeoht
genitive	ġefeohtes	ġefeohta
dative	ġefeohte	ġefeohtum

Derived terms

• inġefeoht
• sċipġefeoht
• ūtgefeoht
• þurhġefeoht

Related terms

• feohtan