Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- To receive; endure.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive, obsolete To
receive ;welcome . - verb transitive, obsolete To
accept ;endure . - verb transitive, obsolete (of a woman) To
conceive .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Middle English onfangen, onfon ("to receive, accept"), from Old English onfōn, ondfōn ("to receive, accept, perceive"), from Proto-Germanic *and- + *fanhanan (“to accept”), from Proto-Indo-European *paḱ- (“to fasten, fix, stick”), equivalent to and- + fang. Cognate with West Frisian ûntfange ("to receive"), Dutch ontvangen ("to receive"), German empfangen ("to receive, welcome"), Icelandic aðfang ("input, supply"), Latin pangō ("fix, fasten, drive in"), Old English ġefangian ("to fasten, join"). More at un-, fang.
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Examples
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A ++Sainte marie uirgine [f. 85r moder ih {es} u cristes nazarene onfo schild help þin godric · onfang bring heȝilich wið þe in godes riche ·
Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250 Part I: Texts Joseph Hall
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