mowen
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Old English magan, from Proto-West Germanic *magan, from Proto-Germanic *maganą.
Most forms are from an Old English by-form *mugan (no doubt due to the analogy of dugan).
Alternative forms edit
- magen, maȝen, mayen, mauen, mawe, mawen, moȝen, mouen, mouin, moun, mouwe, mouwen, mow, mowe, mugen, muȝhen
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /ˈmuːən/, /ˈmɔu̯ən/
- (early) IPA(key): /ˈmuɣən/, /ˈmaɣən/
- (Northern) IPA(key): /muː/, /mɑu̯/
Verb edit
mowen (third-person singular simple present may, present participle mowynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative myghte, past participle mowen)
- To be strong or powerful.
- (auxiliary) To be able to; to have the capability (to do); can.
- p. 1154, “AD 1137”, in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS. Laud Misc. 636, continuation), Peterborough, folio 89, verso; republished at Oxford: Digital Bodleian, 2018 February 8:
- Þu myhteſ faren al a dæiſ fare ſculdeſt thu neure finden man in tun ſittende · ne land tiled.
- You could go a whole day's journey, but you'd never find anyone in town or any tilled fields.
- c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)[1], published c. 1410, Apocalips 6:17, page 119v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
- foꝛ þe greet dai of her wraþþe comeþ · ⁊ who ſchal mowe ſtonde
- […] because the great day of their wrath has arrived, and who'll be able to stand?
- (auxiliary) To potentially be able (to do); might.
- 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, pages 40–41:
- Maister Ion Aston taughte and wroot acordingli and ful bisili, where and whanne and to whom he myghte, and he vsid it himsilf, I gesse, right perfyghtli vnto his lyues eende. […] "
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- (auxiliary) To be permitted (to do); may.
- (auxiliary) To ought (to do); should.
- (auxiliary) Will, would.
- (auxiliary) As a syntactic marker.
Usage notes edit
As in Modern English, what are historically the past forms of this verb are frequently used with present or even future semantics.
Conjugation edit
| infinitive | (to) mowen, mowe, maye | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | may | myghte, moghte | |
| 2nd-person singular | myght, mayst | myghtest, moghtest | |
| 3rd-person singular | may | myghte, moghte | |
| subjunctive singular | mowe, maye | ||
| imperative singular | — | — | |
| plural1 | mowen, mowe, mayen, maye | myghten, myghte, moghten, moghte | |
| imperative plural | — | — | |
| participles | mowynge, mowende | mowen, mowe, myght, moght | |
1Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
Descendants edit
References edit
- “mouen, v.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-12.
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English māwan, from Proto-West Germanic *māan, from Proto-Germanic *mēaną.
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
mowen (third-person singular simple present moweth, present participle mowynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative mew, past participle mowen)
- To mow; to cut or slice off (the tops) of grasses or stalks.
- To collect crops using a scythe or similar implement.
Conjugation edit
| infinitive | (to) mowen, mowe | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | mowe | mew | |
| 2nd-person singular | mowest | mewe, mew | |
| 3rd-person singular | moweth | mew | |
| subjunctive singular | mowe | mewe1 | |
| imperative singular | — | ||
| plural2 | mowen, mowe | mewen, mewe | |
| imperative plural | moweth, mowe | — | |
| participles | mowynge, mowende | mowen, mowe, ymowen, ymowe | |
1Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
2Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “mouen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-05-03.