pæcan

Old English

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *paikijan (“to seduce, deceive”) (compare Middle Low German pêke (“mistress, whore”, pejorative swear word) and pichte, picht (“argument, dispute, manslaughter”), connected to Old Prussian paik- 'deceive' and Lithuanian pìktas 'evil', which correspond to Old English fāh (foe) and Middle High-German vêch, with Grimm's Law applied. The forms showing unshifted consonants are therefore probably loan words from another IE language, maybe an unattested one (see Nordwestblock).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpæː.t͡ʃɑn/

Verb

pǣċan

1. to deceive

Conjugation

Conjugation of pǣċan (weak, class 1)

infinitive	pǣċan	pǣċenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	pǣċe	pǣhte
second person singular	pǣċest, pǣcst	pǣhtest
third person singular	pǣċeþ, pǣcþ	pǣhte
plural	pǣċaþ	pǣhton
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	pǣċe	pǣhte
plural	pǣċen	pǣhten
imperative
singular	pǣċ
plural	pǣċaþ
participle	present	past
	pǣċende	(ġe)pǣht

Derived terms

• āpǣċan
• bepǣċan

Related terms

• bepǣċestre f (“seductress; harlot”)
• pǣċa m (“deceiver”)
• pǣċung f (“deception, seduction”)

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “pǽcan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.