serchen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• cerchen, scherchen, seerchen, seergyn, serce, serche, serchyn, serge, sergen

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman sercher, from Latin circō; equivalent to serche +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛːrt͡ʃən/, /ˈsɛrt͡ʃən/, /ˈsɛːrd͡ʒən/

Verb

serchen

1. To search, to try to find; to scour:
   1. To scrutinise; to look at intently or in-depth.
   2. To verify or check; to perform an inspection or checkup.
   3. To comb through (in order to find or investigate something).
   4. To find a way or a means of performing an action.
   5. To scout out or investigate.
   6. (rare) To forcibly question a captive.
2. To research; to examine a line of study in-depth.
3. To loot, despoil, or ravage.
4. (rare) To take or perform measurements or readings.
5. (rare) To siege; to launch an assault.
6. (rare) To follow; to keep in mind.

Conjugation

Conjugation of serchen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) serchen, serche
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	serche	serched
2nd-person singular	serchest	serchedest
3rd-person singular	sercheth	serched
subjunctive singular	serche
imperative singular		—
plural1	serchen, serche	sercheden, serchede
imperative plural	sercheth, serche	—
participles	serchynge, serchende	serched, yserched

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

Related terms

• aserchen
• enserchen
• serche
• serchour
• serchynge
• unserchable

Descendants

• English: search
• Scots: sairch

References

• “sē̆rchen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-10.