espoventer

Middle French

Etymology

Old French espoenter, with the v added back to reflect the Latin etymon pavor (“fear”).

Verb

espoventer

1. to scare

Conjugation

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of espoventer

infinitive	simple	espoventer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle1 or gerund2	simple	espoventant
	compound	present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle
past participle		espoventé
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ie (i’)	tu	il, elle	nous	vous	ilz, elles
(simple tenses)	present	espovente	espoventes	espovente	espoventons	espoventez	espoventent
	imperfect	espoventois, espoventoys	espoventois, espoventoys	espoventoit, espoventoyt	espoventions, espoventyons	espoventiez, espoventyez	espoventoient, espoventoyent
	past historic	espoventa	espoventas	espoventa	espoventasmes	espoventastes	espoventerent
	future	espoventerai, espoventeray	espoventeras	espoventera	espoventerons	espoventerez	espoventeront
	conditional	espoventerois, espoventeroys	espoventerois, espoventeroys	espoventeroit, espoventeroyt	espoventerions, espoventeryons	espoventeriez, espoventeryez	espoventeroient, espoventeroyent
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que ie (i’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ilz, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	espovente	espoventes	espovente	espoventons	espoventez	espoventent
	imperfect	espoventasse	espoventasses	espoventast	espoventassions	espoventassiez	espoventassent
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	espovente	—	espoventons	espoventez	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679.
2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180).

Descendants

• French: épouvanter

References

• espoventer on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)