wend

See also: Wend

English

Etymology

From Middle English wenden, from Old English wendan ‎(“to turn, direct, wend one’s way, go, return, change, alter, vary, restore, happen, convert, translate”), from Proto-Germanic *wandijaną ‎(“to turn”), causative of Proto-Germanic *windaną ‎(“to wind”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- ‎(“to turn, wind, braid”). Cognate with Dutch wenden ‎(“to turn”), German wenden ‎(“to turn, reverse”), Danish vende ‎(“to turn”), Swedish vända ‎(“to turn, turn over, veer, direct”), Icelandic venda ‎(“to wend, turn, change”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 ‎(wandjan, “to cause to turn”). Related to wind.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /wɛnd/
• Rhymes: -ɛnd

Verb

wend (third-person singular simple present wends, present participle wending, simple past and past participle wended or (archaic) went)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To turn; change.
2. (transitive) To direct (one's way or course); pursue one's way; proceed upon some course or way.

   We wended our weary way westward.

   • Surrey

     Great voyages to wend.

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To turn; make a turn; go round; veer.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Walter Raleigh to this entry?)

4. (intransitive, obsolete) To pass away; disappear; depart; vanish.

Usage notes

The modern past tense of wend is wended. Originally it was went, similarly to pairs such as send/sent, spend/spent, lend/lent, rend/rent, or blend/blent. However, went was co-opted as the past tense of go (replacing Early Modern English yede, Middle English yeed, Old English eode) and using it as the past tense of wend is now considered archaic.

Synonyms

• to betake oneself

Related terms

• wind

Noun

wend (plural wends)

1. (obsolete, Britain, law) A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burrill to this entry?)

References

• wend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

wend

1. first-person singular present indicative of wenden
2. imperative of wenden