sculan

Old English

Alternative forms

• sċeolan

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *skulaną (“to owe”), from Proto-Indo-European *skel- (“shall, must, owe”). Cognate with Old Frisian skela, Old Saxon skulan, Old High German sculan, Old Norse skulu, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌰𐌽 (skulan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃu.lɑn/

Verb

sċulan

1. (auxiliary) should
2. (auxiliary) must
3. to be supposed to do something (used like "supposedly" or "they say...")
4. (transitive) to owe
5. (auxiliary) will (indicating the future)

Conjugation

Conjugation of sċulan (preterite-present)

infinitive	sċulan	—
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	sċeal	sċolde
second person singular	sċealt	sċoldest
third person singular	sċeal	sċolde
plural	sċulon	sċoldon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	sċyle	sċolde
plural	sċylen	sċolden
imperative
singular	—
plural	—
participle	present	past
	—	—

Descendants

• Middle English: schulen
  • Scots: sal, sall, sud, should
  • English: shall, should

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Old Saxon

Verb

sculan

1. Alternative spelling of skulan