chewen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• chewe, chyewe, cheowen, chiewe, chiewen, chiwen, chowen, chuen, chawen
• chewwenn (Ormulum)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English ċēowan (strong class 2), from Proto-West Germanic *keuwan, from Proto-Germanic *kewwaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃiu̯ən/, (from the OE past stem ċēaw-) /ˈt͡ʃɛu̯ən/
• (dialectal) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɔu̯ən/

Verb

chewen (third-person singular simple present cheweth, present participle chewende, chewynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle chewed)

1. To chew; to mash food with one's teeth (especially of cud).
   • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 3690–3691:

     But first he cheweth greyn and lycorys / To smellen sweete, er he hadde kembd his heer.

     Though first he chews spices and licorice, / To smell sweet before he'd combed his hair.

2. To consume or digest food or comestibles; to feast upon.
   • a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Osee 7:14”, in Wycliffe's Bible:

     And thei crieden not to me in her herte, but ȝelliden in her beddis. Thei chewiden code on wheete, and wyn, and thei ȝeden awei fro me.

     And they didn't cry to me from their hearts; instead they whined in their beds. They chewed wheat and wine like cud, then they ran away from me.

3. To ponder about; to think or reflect upon something.
4. (rare) To grip or hold onto something with one's teeth.
5. (rare) To destroy or injure; to harass or annoy.

Usage notes

It is entirely possible that this verb could have remained as a strong verb for some speakers, with a past singular *chew ( /ˈt͡ʃɛu̯/) and a past participle *chowen. In Early Modern English, a past participle chewen appears; this could represent a continuation of *chowen or an innovation.

Conjugation

Conjugation of chewen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) chewen, chewe
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	chewe	chewed
2nd-person singular	chewest	chewedest
3rd-person singular	cheweth	chewed
subjunctive singular	chewe
imperative singular		—
plural1	chewen, chewe	cheweden, chewede
imperative plural	cheweth, chewe	—
participles	chewynge, chewende	chewed, ychewed

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Related terms

• chewynge

Descendants

• English: chew
  • → Pennsylvania German: tschaae
• Scots: chow, chaw

References

• “cheuen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-21.