scieppan

Old English

Alternative forms

• sċyppan, sċippan

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *skappjan, from Proto-Germanic *skapjaną. Cognate with Old Frisian skeppa, Old High German scaffan, Old Norse skapa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃi͜yp.pɑn/

Verb

sċieppan

1. to create
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Octaves and Circumcision of Our Lord"

     Dēofol ne mæġ nāne ġesċeaft sċieppan.

     Satan cannot create anything.

2. to shape; mould, form
   • c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English

     Fingō: "iċ hīewiġe oþþe sċieppe."

     Fingo: "I form or shape."

Usage notes

• (Ġe)sċieppan is loftier than (ġe)wyrċan, which is the general word for "to make." (Ġe)sċieppan is almost solely attested describing the acts of deities, though a wider sense such as "to create with the mind" is hinted at by the phrase menn naman ġesċieppan (“to give someone a name”).

• The prefixed variant ġesċieppan is much more common in prose, almost to the total exclusion of the unprefixed form.

Conjugation

Conjugation of sċieppan (strong class 6)

infinitive	sċieppan	sċieppenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	sċieppe	sċōp, sċeōp
second person singular	sċiepest	sċōpe, sċeōpe
third person singular	sċiepeþ	sċōp, sċeōp
plural	sċieppaþ	sċōpon, sċeōpon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	sċieppe	sċōpe, sċeōpe
plural	sċieppen	sċōpen, sċeōpen
imperative
singular	sċiepe
plural	sċieppaþ
participle	present	past
	sċieppende	(ġe)sċeapen, (ġe)sċapen

Derived terms

• forsċieppan
• sċieppend
• ġesċeaft
• ġesċieppan

 

Descendants

• Middle English: scheppen, schippen, schappen, schapen
  • English: shape
  • Scots: schape, schaipe