swican

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *swīkwan, from Proto-Germanic *swīkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *swem(bʰ)- (“to bend, turn, swing”).

Cognate with Old Frisian swīka (“stay far from”), Old Saxon swīkan (“betray, languish”), Middle Dutch swiken (Dutch bezwijken (“give way, sink”)), Old High German swīhhan (dialectal German schweichen (“wander round, deceive”)), Old Norse svíkva (“betray”) (Swedish svika, Danish svige).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈswiː.kɑn/

Verb

swīcan

1. to wander, to move about
2. to deceive, be treacherous

Conjugation

Conjugation of swīcan (strong class 1)

infinitive	swīcan	swīcenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	swīce	swāc
second person singular	swīcst	swice
third person singular	swīcþ	swāc
plural	swīcaþ	swicon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	swīce	swice
plural	swīcen	swicen
imperative
singular	swīc
plural	swīcaþ
participle	present	past
	swīcende	(ġe)swicen

Derived terms

• ġeswīcan
• beswīcan

Descendants

• English: swike