gniden

Middle English

Alternative forms

gnyde

Etymology

From Old English gnīdan (“to rub, grind together, crumble”), from Proto-West Germanic *gnīdan, from Proto-Germanic *gnīdaną (“to rub, crush”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰneydʰ-, *gʰneyd- (“to gnaw, chew, scratch, rub”); compare gnodden.

Cognate with Danish gnide (“to rub”), Swedish gnida (“to rub, scrape”), Icelandic gníða (“to rub”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡniːdən/

Verb

gniden (third-person singular simple present gnideth, present participle gnidynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative *gnod, past participle gniden) (rare)

To grind by rubbing together.
To rub; to smear.
To crush; to crumble.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *gniden* (strong class 1)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) gniden

1st-person singular	gnide	*gnod
2nd-person singular	gnidest	gnode, gnide, gnod
3rd-person singular	gnideth	*gnod
subjunctive singular	gnide	*gnode¹, gnide¹
imperative singular	gnide	—

plural²	gniden, gnide	gnoden, gnode, gniden, gnide
imperative plural	gnideth, gnide	—

participles	gnidynge, gnidende	gniden, gnide, ygniden, ygnide

¹ Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
² Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Synonyms

gnodden (all senses)

References

“gnīden, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Swedish

Adjective

gniden (comparative mer gniden, superlative mest gniden)

stingy, cheap
Synonyms: gnidig, snål

Declension

Inflection of **gniden**
Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative¹
common singular	gniden	gnidnare	gnidnast
neuter singular	gnidet	gnidnare	gnidnast
plural	gnidna	gnidnare	gnidnast
masculine plural²	gnidne	gnidnare	gnidnast

Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular³	gnidne	gnidnare	gnidnaste
all	gnidna	gnidnare	gnidnaste

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

References