gefon

Old English

Etymology

From ġe- +‎ fōn. Cognate with Old Saxon gifāhan, Old High German gifāhan, Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gafahan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeˈfoːn/

Verb

ġefōn

1. to catch, seize, capture, take
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Passion of St. Alban, Martyr"

     Hē rād ðā on his mule mid mycelre fyrde þurh ǣnne hēahne holt mid hetelīcum ġeþance; þā ġefēng hine ān trēow be ðām fexe sona forþan þe hē wæs sīdfæxede and hē swā hangode, and sē mul arn forð fram þām ārlēasan hlāford and Dauides þeġnas hine þurhðydon.

     Then he rode on his mule with a great army through a high wood, with hostile intention; then speedily a tree caught him by the hair, because be was long-haired, and he hanged so, and the mule ran forward from the wicked lord, and David's thanes pierced him through.

   • Wonders of the East

     Þā wīf syndon ðrēotȳne fōta lange ⁊ heora līċ bið on marmorstānes hwītnysse. ⁊ hī habbað olfenda fēt ⁊ eoferes tēð. For heora unclēnnesse hīe ġefelde wurdon fram ðām mycclan macedoniscȧn Alexandre. Þā hē hī lifiende ġefōn ne mihte þā ācwealde hē hī for ðam hī syndon ǣwisċe on līchoman ⁊ unweorðe.

     Those women are thirteen feet tall and their bodies are the whiteness of marble. And they have the feet of camels and teeth of a boar. For their uncleanliness, they were killed by Alexander the Great of Macedon. He killed them because he could not capture them alive, because they are worthless and foul of body.

Conjugation

Conjugation of ġefōn (strong, class VII)

infinitive	ġefōn	ġefōnne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	ġefō	ġefēng
second person singular	ġefēhst	ġefēnge
third person singular	ġefēhþ	ġefēng
plural	ġefōþ	ġefēngon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	ġefō	ġefēnge
plural	ġefōn	ġefēngen
imperative
singular	ġefōh
plural	ġefōþ
participle	present	past
	ġefōnde	ġefangen