þurfan

== Old English == === Etymology === From Proto-West Germanic *þurban (“to need”). Germanic cognates include Old Frisian *thurva, Old Saxon thurƀan, Old Dutch thurvan, Old High German durfan, Old Norse þurfa, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌱𐌰𐌽 (þaurban). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈθur.fɑn/, [ˈθurˠ.vɑn] === Verb === þurfan to need [with genitive] to be obliged (to do something) ==== Usage notes ==== Þurfan is not used in the passive voice, i.e. to express that something "is/was needed", as it lacks an attested past participle. Instead, one would say that there "is/was need of it" using the related noun þearf, along with the genitive of the thing needed, the dative of the one experiencing the need, and the verb "to be": Ūs wæs þīn þearf ("You were needed by us", or more literally, "To us, there was need of you"). ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Derived terms ==== beþurfan ==== Descendants ==== Middle English: tharenMiddle Scots: tharScots: thair