gniden

Middle English

Alternative forms

gnyde

Etymology

From Old English gnīdan (“to rub, grind together, crumble”), from Proto-West Germanic *gnīdan, from Proto-Germanic *gnīdaną (“to rub, crush”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰneydʰ-, *gʰneyd- (“to gnaw, chew, scratch, rub”); compare gnodden.

Cognate with Danish gnide (“to rub”), Swedish gnida (“to rub, scrape”), Icelandic gníða (“to rub”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡniːdən/

Verb

gniden (third-person singular simple present gnideth, present participle gnidynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative *gnod, past participle gniden) (rare)

To grind by rubbing together.
To rub; to smear.
To crush; to crumble.

Conjugation

Conjugation of gniden (strong class 1)

infinitive	(to) gniden
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	gnide	*gnod
2nd-person singular	gnidest	gnode, gnide, gnod
3rd-person singular	gnideth	*gnod
subjunctive singular	gnide	*gnode¹, gnide¹
imperative singular	gnide	—

plural²	gniden, gnide	gnoden, gnode, gniden, gnide
imperative plural	gnideth, gnide	—

participles	gnidynge, gnidende	gniden, gnide, ygniden, ygnide

¹Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
²Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Synonyms

gnodden (all senses)

References

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

Swedish

Adjective

gniden (comparative mer gniden, superlative mest gniden)

stingy, cheap
Synonyms: gnidig, snål

Declension

Inflection of gniden
Indefinite	Positive	Comparative	Superlative²
Common singular	gniden	gnidnare	gnidnast
Neuter singular	gnidet	gnidnare	gnidnast
Plural	gnidna	gnidnare	gnidnast
Masculine plural³	gnidne	gnidnare	gnidnast
Definite	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Masculine singular¹	gnidne	gnidnare	gnidnaste
All	gnidna	gnidnare	gnidnaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic

References