geswican

Old English

Etymology

From ġe- +‎ swīcan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeˈswiː.kɑn/

Verb

ġeswīcan

1. to stop, quit
   • c. 900, the Old English Orosius

     Þā hīe lange fuhton, þā cleopode Lacedaemōnia ealdormann tō Arcadium and bǣdon þæt hīe þæs ġefeohtes ġeswiċen þæt hīe mōsten þā dēadan bebyrġan þe heora folces ofslagene wǣron.

     When they had been fighting for a long time, the leader of the Laconians called out to the Arcadians and asked them to stop the fighting so they could bury the dead of their nation who had been killed.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "Preface"

     Eft cwæð se Ælmihtiga to þam witegan Isaiam, "Clypa and ne geswīc ðu, ahefe þine stemne swā swā byme, and cyð minum folce heora leahtras, and Iacobes hirede heora synna."

     Again the Almighty spake to the prophet Isaiah, "Cry and cease thou not, raise thy voice as a trumpet, and declare to my people their crimes, and to the family of Jacob their sins."

   ġeswīcan tō bēonne

   to cease to exist

   Iċ ġeswāc tō drincenne.

   I stopped drinking.

   Þā sē reġn ġeswāc, þā ēodon þā ċildru ūt.

   When the rain stopped, the children went outside.

2. to fail

Conjugation

Conjugation of ġeswīcan (strong class 1)

infinitive	ġeswīcan	ġeswīcenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	ġeswīce	ġeswāc
second person singular	ġeswīcst	ġeswice
third person singular	ġeswīcþ	ġeswāc
plural	ġeswīcaþ	ġeswicon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	ġeswīce	ġeswice
plural	ġeswīcen	ġeswicen
imperative
singular	ġeswīc
plural	ġeswīcaþ
participle	present	past
	ġeswīcende	ġeswicen