Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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BÍTAN

  • verb [ strong ]
Dictionary links
Grammar
BÍTAN, part. bítende; ic bíte, ðú bítest, bítst, he bíteþ, bítt, bít, pl. bítaþ; p. ic, he bát, ðú bite, pl. biton; pp. biten.
Wright's OE grammar
§96; §101; §126; §133; §161; §164; §226; §234; §288; §292; §298; §305; §490;
to
BITE with the teeth; mordere
Show examples

  • Ic bíte

    mordeo,

      Ælfc. Gr. 26, 6; Som. 29, 10.

  • Monnan ic ne bíte nymþe he me bíte

    I bite no man unless he bite me,

      Exon. 125 a; Th. 482, 9, 10; Rä. 66, 5.

  • Ǽghwá bíteþ mec on bær líc

    every one bites me on the bare body,

    125 a;
      Th. 482, 7; Rä. 66, 4.

  • Monige mec bítaþ

    many bite me,

    125 a;
      Th. 482, 12; Rä. 66, 6.

  • Ðæt mǽden bát and totær ǽlcne ðe heó gerǽcan mihte

    the maiden bit and tore every one whom she could reach,

      Homl. Th. i. 458, 14: Beo. Th. 1488; B. 742.

  • Biton [MS. byton] hine lýs

    lice bit him,

      Hexam. 17; Norm. 24, 30.

  • Nim ðis ofæt, bít hit and byrge

    take this fruit, bite it and taste,

      Cd. 25; Th. 33, 12; Gen. 519.
used metaphorically of the biting or wounding by a sword,-
to cut, wound; cædere, vulnerare
Show examples

  • Se gist onfand ðæt se beadoleóma bítan nolde

    the guest found that the war-beam [the sword] would not wound,

      Beo. Th. 3051; B. 1523: 2913; B. 1454.

  • Sió ecg gewác, bát unswíðor

    the edge [of the sword] failed, cut less sharply,

      5150; B. 2578.

  • Ðeáh mec heard bite stíðecg stýle

    though the stiff-edge steel wounded me greatly,

      Exon. 130 a; Th. 499, 10; Rä. 88, 13.
Etymology
[Chauc. Wyc. bite: R. Glouc. byten: Laym. biten: Orm. bítenn: Northumb. bíta discerpere: Plat. biten: O. Sax. bítan: O. Frs. bita: Dut. bijten: Ger. beiszen: M. H. Ger. bízen: O. H. Ger. bízan: Goth. beitan: Dan. bide: Swed. bita: Icel. bíta: Sansk. bhid findere, perforare.]
Derived forms
DER. a-bítan, on-.
Linked entries
v.  a-bítan bát.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “BÍTAN.” In An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online, edited by Thomas Northcote Toller, Christ Sean, and Ondřej Tichy. Prague: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2014. https://bosworthtoller.com/4510.

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Full form

Word-wheel

  • BÍTAN, v.

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