ehtan

Old English

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄htijan (“to pursue, persecute”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːx.tɑn/

Verb

ēhtan

1. to chase (+ genitive or accusative)
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     God ne ēht nānre wihte, for þȳ hine nān wiht ne mæġ flēon.

     God doesn't chase anything, because nothing can run from him.

   • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

     Đā ġesēah hē swymman sċealfran on flōde, and ġelōme doppettan ādūne tō grunde, ēhtende ðearle þǣre ēa fixa.

     Then he saw loons swim in the water, and often dive down toward the bottom, eagerly chasing the fish of the river.

2. to persecute (+ genitive or accusative)

Conjugation

Conjugation of ēhtan (weak, class 1)

infinitive	ēhtan	ēhtenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	ēhte	ēhte
second person singular	ēhtest, ēhst, ēhtst	ēhtest
third person singular	ēhteþ, ēht	ēhte
plural	ēhtaþ	ēhton
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	ēhte	ēhte
plural	ēhten	ēhten
imperative
singular	ēht
plural	ēhtaþ
participle	present	past
	ēhtende	(ġe)ēhted

Derived terms

• ēhtere
• ēhtnes
• ēhtness
• ēhtnys
• ēhtnyss

Related terms

• ēhtian
• ōht

Descendants

• >? Middle English: eghten, egten