bidelven

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English bedelfan (to dig around, bury); equivalent to bi- +‎ delven. Cognate with Dutch bedelven (to bury, overwhelm).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biˈdɛlvən/

Verb

bidelven (third-person singular simple present bidelveth, present participle bidelvende, first-/third-person singular past indicative bidalf, past participle bidolven)

  1. To bury; to cover up.
  2. To dig around or about.

Conjugation

Conjugation of bidelven (strong class 3)
infinitive (to) bidelven, bidelve
present tense past tense
1st-person singular bidelve bidalf
2nd-person singular bidelvest bidolve1
3rd-person singular bidelveth bidalf
subjunctive singular bidelve bidolve2
imperative singular
plural3 bidelven, bidelve bidolven, bidolve
imperative plural bidelveth, bidelve
participles bidelvynge, bidelvende bidolven, bidolve

1 Later replaced by the 1st-/3rd-person singular or bidalfest.
2 Later replaced by the indicative.
3 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

References