Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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ge-

  • prefix
Dictionary links
Wright's OE grammar
§12; §252; §268; §460; §462; §560; §574; §651;
a preposition, originally meaning with, but found only as a prefix. v.
  • Schleicher, Die Deutsche Sprache, p. 224.
In accordance with this meaning it often gives a collective sense to nouns to which it is prefixed, as,
Ge- sometimes gives to a neuter verb an active signification,
Show examples

  • Wið God winnan

    to fight [war] with God,

    • Cd. 18
      • ;
    • Th. 22, 26
      • ;
    • Gen. 346.

  • Sige on him ge-wann

    he gained [won] a victory over him,

    • Num. 21, 1.
Show examples

  • Ic on wicge ríde

    I ride on a horse,

    • Exon. 127 a
      • ;
    • Th. 489, 14
      • ;
    • Rä. 78, 7.

  • Ge-rád Æðelwold ðone hám æt Winburnan

    postea invāsit Æthelwaldus villam ăpud Winburnam,

    • Gib. 99, 37 : Chr. 901
      • ;
    • Erl. 97, 11.
On this power of ge-, Mr. Earle, in
  • Chr. p. 321
, remarks 'A strong instance is ge-winnan [1090] = to win; which sense, now so intimately identified with this root, is not in the simple verb winnan, until compounded with ge-. Winnan is to toil, fight, contend; ge-winnan is to get by striving, fighting, contending, i. e. to win, '
  • A.D. 685
    • ;
  • p. 40, 16 : p. 4, 25.
Ge- often seems void of signification; as,
In verbs it seems sometimes to be a mere augment, e. g. in the following
Show examples

  • Ðæt wíf genam ðá of ðæs treówes wæstme and geæt and sealde hire were : he æt ða

    mŭlier tŭlit de fructu illīus et comēdit dĕditgue vĭro suo, qui comēdit,

    • Gen. 3, 6.
It often changes the signification from literal to figurative; as, healdan to hold; ge-healdan to observe, preserve; fyllan to fill; ge-fyllanto fulfil; biddan to bid, require; ge-biddan to pray. In the Rushworth Gloss, the prefix is often gi-.
Etymology
[
Wyc. Piers P. Chauc. y-
:
Laym. i-
:
O. Sax. gi-
:
O. Frs. ge-, gi-, ie-
:
Dut. Ger. ge-
:
M. H. Ger. ge-, gi-
:
O. H. Ger. ga-, ka-, gi-, ki-, ge-, ke-
:
Goth. ga-
:
Dan. Swed. ge-.
]
Derived forms
ge-bróðor, ge-húsan, ge-magas, ge-macan, ge-gylda, ge-wita, ge-fera, gescý,
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “ge-.” 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/13353.

Checked: 1
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  • ge-, prefix

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