lippen

See also: Lippen

English

Alternative forms

• licken (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English lipnen (“to trust”), of obscure origin. Perhaps an alteration of Middle English litnen (“to trust”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hlíta, compare Swedish lita (“to trust, depend, rely on”).

Verb

lippen (third-person singular simple present lippens, present participle lippening, simple past and past participle lippened)

1. (transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To entrust; trust to (someone/something).
2. (intransitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To trust; to expect; to depend or rely (on).

   Do not lippen to him! / I was lippening on you.

   • 1896, Margaret Oliphant, The Library Window:

     "And never lippen to what you see from the window," she said. "The eye is deceitful as well as the heart."

Usage notes

• Sense 2 usually with to or on.

Derived terms

• lippening
• mislippen

Anagrams

• nipple

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪpən

Noun

lippen

1. plural of lip

Low German

Etymology

From Old Saxon libbian (“to live, be alive”), though the semantic shift is unexplained.

Verb

lippen (past singular lipp, past participle lippt, auxiliary verb hebben)

1. to sob, to cry

Conjugation

Conjugation of lippen (weak verb)

infinitive	lippen
indicative	present	preterite
1st person singular	lipp	lipp
2nd person singular	lipps(t)	lipps(t)
3rd person singular	lipp(t)	lipp
plural	lippt, lippen	lippen
imperative	present	—
singular	lipp(e)
plural	lippt
participle	present	past
	lippen	(e)lippt, gelippt
Note: This conjugation is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lɪpn]

Verb

lippen (third-person singular simple present lippens, present participle lippenin, simple past lippent, past participle lippent)

1. (archaic) to trust, entrust
2. to expect, count on

Derived terms

• mislippen