ongietan

Old English

Etymology

From on- +‎ ġietan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /onˈji͜y.tɑn/

Verb

onġietan (West Saxon)

1. to understand, recognize, comprehend
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Þȳ iċ wundriġe hwȳ þū ne mæġe onġietan þæt þū eart nū ġīet swīðe ġesǣliġ, nū þū ġīet leofast and eart hāl.

     So I wonder why you can't understand that you're still very lucky, since you're still alive and healthy.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies

     Ic hī lufige for frēondscype and for gefērǣdenne and þā þēah ofer æalle ōðre þe mē mǣstne fultum dōð tō ongyttanne and tō witanne gescēadwīsnesse and wīsdōm, and æalra mǣst be Gode and be ūrum sāulum; forðām ic wōt þæt ic mæg ǣð myd heora fultume æfter spurian þonne ic būtan mæge.

     I love them for friendship and for companionship, and above all others I love those who most help me to understand and to know reason and wisdom, most of all about God and about our souls; for I know that I can more easily seek after Him with their help than I can without.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Seven Sleepers"

     ...ac ic þurh nan þincg ongytan ne mæg hu me sy þus gelumpen þæt ic hit þus macige.

     ...but I cannot at all understand how it has thus happened to me that I act thus.'

2. (poetic) to seize
3. to perceive
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Seven Sleepers"

     nu ic wæs of þam rihtan wege mines ingeþances ac betere hit bið þæt ic eft fare ut of þysum porte ðylæs þe ic to swiðe dwelige and for-þy þonne ne cume to minum geferum þe me ær hyder sendon; gewislice ic her ongyten hæbbe þæt me hæfð gelæht fæste mines modes oferstige þæt ic nat na forgeare hu ic hit þus macige.

     Now I was in the right way in my inward thought, but better will it be that I go out of this town again lest I be too greatly bewildered, and so may not come to my comrades who erewhile sent me here; certainly I have here perceived that the over anxiety of my mind hath here seized me, so that I know not very certainly why I thus act.

Conjugation

Conjugation of onġietan (strong class 5)

infinitive	onġietan	onġietenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	onġiete	onġeat
second person singular	onġietst	onġēate
third person singular	onġiett, onġiet	onġeat
plural	onġietaþ	onġēaton
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	onġiete	onġēate
plural	onġieten	onġēaten
imperative
singular	onġiet
plural	onġietaþ
participle	present	past
	onġietende	onġeten

Descendants

• Middle English: anget