wendan

From Proto-West Germanic *wandijan, from Proto-Germanic *wandijaną, originally ‘to make something twist or wind’, a causative form of *windaną (“to twist”) (whence windan).

Cognate with Old Frisian wenda, Old Saxon wendian, Old Dutch wenden, Old High German wenten, Old Norse venda, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wandjan).

• IPA^(key): /ˈwen.dɑn/

wendan

1. (transitive, intransitive) to turn
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "THE PASSION OF THE APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL"

     Ic bidde eow, wendað min heafod adune, and astreccað mine fet wið heofonas weard: ne eom ic wyrðe þæt ic swa hangige swa min Drihten.

     I beseech you, turn my head down, and stretch my feet towards heaven: I am not worthy to hang as my Lord.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Hīe wendon heora bæc tō him.

     They turned their backs [literally “back”] to him.

   • c. 994, Ælfric, On the Seasons of the Year

     Simle went sē mōna his hryċġ tō þǣre sunnan, þæt is sē sinewealta ende þe þǣr onlīehted biþ.

     The moon always turns its back to the sun, i.e. the round side that is illuminated.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, “The First Sunday in Lent”

     Þā Crist hyngrede æfter swā langum firste, þā wēnde sē dēofol þæt hē Crist nǣre, and cwæþ tō him, “Hwȳ hyngreþ þē? Ġif þū Godes sunu sīe, wend þās stānas tō hlāfum and et!”

     After Jesus had been starving for such a long time, the Devil thought he wasn't the messiah, and said to him, “Why are you hungry? If you're God's son, turn these rocks into bread and eat them!”

2. (transitive, intransitive) to change
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     For þām hit nis nā unnytt þæt wē hopiġen tō Gode, for þām hē ne went nā swā swǣ wē dōþ.

     It's not useless for us to put our hope in God, because he doesn't change like we do.

3. to translate
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Ælfrēd cyning wende þās bōc of Bōclǣdene on Englisċ.

     King Alfred translated this book from Latin to English.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Þā iċ þā ġemunde hū sēo lār Lǣdenġeþēodes ǣr þissum āfeallen wæs ġeond Angelcynn, and þēah maniġe cūðon Englisċ ġewrit ārǣdan, þā ongann iċ þā bōc wendan on Englisċ þe is ġenemnedu on Lǣden Pāstorālis and on Englisċ Hierdebōc, hwīlum word be worde, hwīlum andġiet of andġiete.

     When I remembered how the teaching of Latin had declined throughout England, but many people could still read English writing, I began to translate the book into English that is known as Pastoralis in Latin and “Shepherd Book” in English, sometimes word for word, sometimes sense for sense.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Þā iċ þisses ealles ġemunde, þā wundrode iċ swīðe swīðe þāra gōdena witena þe ġeō wǣron ġeond Angelcynn and þā bēċ ealle be fullan ġeleornode hæfdon, þæt hīe heora þā nānne dǣl noldon on heora āgen ġeþēode wendan. Ac iċ þā sōna eft mē selfum andwyrde and cwæþ: hīe ne wēndon þætte ǣfre menn sċolden swā rēċelēase weorðan and sēo lār swā oþfeallan.

     When I remembered all this, I was utterly amazed at the good and wise people who used to live throughout England, who had studied all the books thoroughly and didn't want to translate any part of them into their own language. But then I answered myself and said: they didn't think people would ever become so careless or that learning would decay the way it has.

4. (intransitive) to go or depart
5. to happen

• windan

• Middle English: wenden
  • English: wend