Old English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-West Germanic *frabrinnan. Equivalent to for- +‎ birnan.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /forˈbir.nɑn/, [forˈbirˠ.nɑn]

Verb edit

forbirnan

  1. (intransitive) to burn (completely): burn down, burn up
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Exodus 3:2
      Mōȳsēs ġeseah þæt sēo þyrne barn and næs forburnen.
      Moses saw that the bush was burning without being consumed.
    • c. 900, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
      Eft ġelamp æfter tīde fæce þætte sē ilca tūn forbarn and sēo ilce ċiriċe.
      Then after a while the same town burned down again, along with the same church.
    • c. 900, translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
      Ethna fȳr āflēow upp swā brād and swā miċel þætte eall þā clifu þe nēah þǣre sǣ wǣron forburnon tō ascan.
      Mount Etna erupted so explosively that all the cliffs near the sea were burned to ashes.

Conjugation edit

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

  • Middle English: forbrinnen, forburnen