be
be Forms: pres. ind. am; (arch. and dial.) art; is; pl. are, (arch. and dial.) be; past ind. was, pl. were; pres. subj. be; past subj. were; pp. been. The forms are derived from four bases as follows.
A. IE. *es-, *s-. 1st pers. sg. OE. (e)am, eom, corr. to ON. em, Goth. im, Gr. eimí, Skr. ásmi :- IE. *ésmi.
3rd pers. sg. OE. is = OS., (O)HG., Goth. ist, ON. er, L. est, Gr. estí, Skr. ásti :- IE. *ésti.
pl. OE. sind(on) = OS. sind(an), OHG. sint (G. sind), Goth. sind, L. sunt, Gr. eisí, Skr. sánti :- IE. *sénti.
pres. subj. OE. sīe, pl. sīen = OS., OHG. sī, sīn (G. sei, seien), L. siēm, sim, Gr. eíēn, Skr. syā́t :- IE. *s(i)jḗm, *s(i)jénti.
B. Gmc. *ar- (:- *or-), of unkn. orig. 2nd pers. sg. OE. eart, pl. (e)ar on.
C. IE. *bheu-, *bhū-, 1st pers. sg. OE. bēo(m) = OS. bium, OHG. bim (G. bin), corr. to L. fīo I become, rel. to fuī I was, Gr. phúein bring forth, cause to grow, Skr. bhávati becomes, is. The orig. meaning of this base is ‘grow’; the derived sense ‘become’ led to its adoption as an element in the paradigm of the verb ‘be’, esp. for expressing the future.
D. IE. *wes-. inf. OE. wesan = OS., OHG. wesan, ON. vera, Goth. wisan, rel. to Skr. vásati dwells, remains. The orig. meaning is ‘dwell, remain’, and the use of this base is therefore appropriate to the imper. (OE. wes, pl. wesaǒ) and the past (OE. 1st and 3rd sg. wæs, 2nd sg. wære, pl. wæron), in which latter alone it remains.
A. IE. *es-, *s-. 1st pers. sg. OE. (e)am, eom, corr. to ON. em, Goth. im, Gr. eimí, Skr. ásmi :- IE. *ésmi.
3rd pers. sg. OE. is = OS., (O)HG., Goth. ist, ON. er, L. est, Gr. estí, Skr. ásti :- IE. *ésti.
pl. OE. sind(on) = OS. sind(an), OHG. sint (G. sind), Goth. sind, L. sunt, Gr. eisí, Skr. sánti :- IE. *sénti.
pres. subj. OE. sīe, pl. sīen = OS., OHG. sī, sīn (G. sei, seien), L. siēm, sim, Gr. eíēn, Skr. syā́t :- IE. *s(i)jḗm, *s(i)jénti.
B. Gmc. *ar- (:- *or-), of unkn. orig. 2nd pers. sg. OE. eart, pl. (e)ar on.
C. IE. *bheu-, *bhū-, 1st pers. sg. OE. bēo(m) = OS. bium, OHG. bim (G. bin), corr. to L. fīo I become, rel. to fuī I was, Gr. phúein bring forth, cause to grow, Skr. bhávati becomes, is. The orig. meaning of this base is ‘grow’; the derived sense ‘become’ led to its adoption as an element in the paradigm of the verb ‘be’, esp. for expressing the future.
D. IE. *wes-. inf. OE. wesan = OS., OHG. wesan, ON. vera, Goth. wisan, rel. to Skr. vásati dwells, remains. The orig. meaning is ‘dwell, remain’, and the use of this base is therefore appropriate to the imper. (OE. wes, pl. wesaǒ) and the past (OE. 1st and 3rd sg. wæs, 2nd sg. wære, pl. wæron), in which latter alone it remains.
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