sprenten

Middle English

Alternative forms

• sprent

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse *sprenta (for later spretta), from Proto-Germanic *sprantijaną, thus a doublet of sprytten. Reinforced by sprent, variant of sprend, past participle of sprengen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsprɛntən/

Verb

sprenten (third-person singular simple present sprente, present participle sprentynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative sprente, past participle sprent) (Northern)

1. To spring (jump with great speed or energy).
2. To shoot or spurt out; to emerge suddenly and quickly.

Conjugation

Conjugation of sprenten (weak in -te)

infinitive	(to) sprenten
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	sprente	sprente
2nd-person singular	sprentest	sprentest
3rd-person singular	sprenteth	sprente
subjunctive singular	sprente
imperative singular		—
plural1	sprenten, sprente	sprenten, sprente
imperative plural	sprenteth, sprente	—
participles	sprentynge, sprentende	sprent

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: sprint (see there for further descendants; dialectal sprent, sprunt)
• Scots: sprent, sprint, spraint, sprind

References

• “sprenten, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.