gehælan

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gahailijan, from Proto-Germanic *gahailijaną; equivalent to ġe- +‎ hǣlan. Cognate with Old Saxon gihēlian, Old High German giheilen, Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gahailjan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeˈxæː.lɑn/, [jeˈhæː.lɑn]

Verb

ġehǣlan

1. to heal
   • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 5‎^[1]:

     Nǣfre lǣċecynn on folcstede findan meahte, þāra þe mid wyrtum wunde ġehǣlde,…

     I could never find physicians on a battlefield, who would heal a wound with herbs,…

2. to cure
3. to save

   ġehǣlan middanġeard

   to save the world

4. to allay or remove anxiety
5. to hail

Conjugation

Conjugation of ġehǣlan (weak class 1)

infinitive	ġehǣlan	ġehǣlenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	ġehǣle	ġehǣlde
second person singular	ġehǣlest, ġehǣlst	ġehǣldest
third person singular	ġehǣleþ, ġehǣlþ	ġehǣlde
plural	ġehǣlaþ	ġehǣldon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	ġehǣle	ġehǣlde
plural	ġehǣlen	ġehǣlden
imperative
singular	ġehǣl
plural	ġehǣlaþ
participle	present	past
	ġehǣlende	ġehǣled

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “ġehǣlan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[2], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.