grædan

Old English

Etymology

From grǣd (“cry”) +‎ -an.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡræː.dɑn/

Verb

grǣdan

1. to cry, call out
   • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 24‎^[1]:

     Iċ eom wunderliċu wiht, wrǣsne mīne stefne, hwīlum beorce swā hund, hwīlum blǣte swā gāt, hwīlum grǣde swā gōs, hwīlum ġielle swā hafoc,…

     I am a wonderful thing, change my voice, sometimes bark like a hound, sometimes bleat like a goat, sometimes cry like a goose, sometimes yell like a hawk,…

2. to crow

Conjugation

Conjugation of grǣdan (weak class 1)

infinitive	grǣdan	grǣdenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	grǣde	grǣdde
second person singular	grǣdest, grǣtst	grǣddest
third person singular	grǣdeþ, grǣtt, grǣt	grǣdde
plural	grǣdaþ	grǣddon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	grǣde	grǣdde
plural	grǣden	grǣdden
imperative
singular	grǣd
plural	grǣdaþ
participle	present	past
	grǣdende	(ġe)grǣded

Related terms

• hangrǣd

Descendants

• Middle English: greden

References

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