spurnen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• sporne, spornen, spournen, spurn, spurne, spyrnen

Etymology

Inherited from Old English spornan, spurnan, from Proto-West Germanic *spurnan, from Proto-Germanic *spurnaną; equivalent to spurn (“stumbling”) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspurnən/, /ˈspɔːrnən/

Verb

spurnen

1. To fall over, to misstep; to bump into something.
   • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Reues Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:

     The myller spurnde on a stone. / And downe he fyl backwarde upon his wyfe

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. To hit or land a blow using one's feet.
3. To force to the ground; to stand on.
4. (rare) To scorn; to hold in low regard or standing.
5. (rare) To make a mistake or error; to mischoose.

Conjugation

Conjugation of spurnen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) spurnen, spurne
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	spurne	spurned
2nd-person singular	spurnest	spurnedest
3rd-person singular	spurneth	spurned
subjunctive singular	spurne
imperative singular		—
plural1	spurnen, spurne	spurneden, spurnede
imperative plural	spurneth, spurne	—
participles	spurnynge, spurnende	spurned, yspurned

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

Derived terms

• spurn
• spurnynge

Descendants

• English: spurn
• Scots: spurn

References

• “spurnen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-08.