geflit
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Old English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
ġeflit n
Usage notes[edit]
- Ġeflit means an argument as in "a debate, dispute, quarrel." For the sense "line of reasoning," racu is used.
- Most often, ġeflit denotes verbal fighting and ġefeoht physical fighting, though this is only a generalization.
- The plural ending -u, attested in Alfred, Ælfric, and the translator of Bede, shows that the /i/ in this word is short, cf. pairs such as wrītan (“to write”) and ġewrit (“writing,” → Modern English writ). Bede's translator even spells the plural ⟨gefleoto⟩, showing back umlaut, which only occurs to short vowels. This means at least a form of the word must have had short /i/ at least since around 700, when back umlaut took place. Thus, the /aɪ/ of the modern noun flyte must be from the verb.
Declension[edit]
Declension of geflit (strong a-stem)
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- Middle English: flit