giefu

Old English

Alternative forms

• ġifu — West Saxon
• ġyfu — Late West Saxon
• ġeofu — Mercian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gebu, from Proto-Germanic *gebō. Cognates include Old Frisian jeve, Old Saxon geva, Old High German geba, Old Norse gjǫf, and Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰 (giba).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈji͜y.fu/, [ˈji͜y.vu]
• Rhymes: -i͜y.fu

Noun

ġiefu f

(Early West Saxon)

1. present, gift
   • 10th century, The Seafarer:

     Forþon nis þæs mōdwlonc mon ofer eorþan, ne his ġifena þæs god, ne in ġeoguþe tō þæs hwæt, ne in his dǣdum tō þæs dēor, ne him his dryhten tō þæs hold, þæt hē ā his sǣfōre sorge næbbe, tō hwon hine dryhten ġedōn wille.

     Thus, there is no mind-proud man over Earth, nor his gifts of god, nor too bold in youth, nor too daring in his deeds, nor his Lord too kind for him, who would never have his seafarer sorrow, for which the Lord would like to put on him.

2. (theology) grace
3. the runic character ᚷ (/ɡ/ or /j/)
   • The Old English rune poem

     ᚷ gumena byþ, glenġ and herenys...

     Gift of men is an honor and a praise...

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	ġiefu	ġiefa, ġiefe
accusative	ġiefe	ġiefa, ġiefe
genitive	ġiefe	ġiefa, ġiefena
dative	ġiefe	ġiefum

Derived terms

• Ælfġiefu
• gāstgifu
• sundorġiefu
• wundorġiefu

Related terms

• ġiefan

Descendants

• Middle English: gife, ȝyfe, ȝef, ȝif, yeve