gelæccan

Old English

Etymology

From ge- +‎ læċċan.

Verb

ġelæċċan

1. to grab (sometimes violently: snatch, catch, apprehend)

   Iċ wille wyrd ġelæċċan be þǣre þrotan.

   I want to seize fate by the throat.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Nativity of St. Clement the Martyr"

     Þā sē enġel ġelǣhte hine be þām feaxe and hine bær tō Babylōne.

     Then the angel grabbed him by the hair and carried him to Babylon.

   • Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Manuscript E, year 1009

     Hē wolde Wulnōþ ġelæċċan cwicne oþþe dēadne.

     He wanted to take Wulnoth dead or alive.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "St. Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome"

     Þæs cāseres hēahġerēfa Germānus ġelǣhte þone pistol æt Gregories ǣrendracan and hine tōtær.

     The emperor's prefect Germanus snatched the letter out of Gregory's messenger's hand and tore it to pieces.

2. to pick up food
3. to catch a disease
4. to comprehend

Conjugation

Conjugation of ġelæċċan (weak class 1)

infinitive	ġelæċċan	ġelæċċenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	ġelæċċe	ġelǣhte
second person singular	ġelæċest	ġelǣhtest
third person singular	ġelæċeþ	ġelǣhte
plural	ġelæċċaþ	ġelǣhton
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	ġelæċċe	ġelǣhte
plural	ġelæċċen	ġelǣhten
imperative
singular	ġelæċe
plural	ġelæċċaþ
participle	present	past
	ġelæċċende	ġelǣht

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “ge-læccan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “ge-læccan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[2], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “ge-læccan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[3], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.