þurfan

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).

• IPA^(key): /ˈθur.fɑn/, [ˈθurˠ.vɑn]

þurfan

1. to need [+genitive]
2. to be obliged (to do something)

• 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": Us wæs þīne þearf ("You were needed by us", or more literally, "To us, there was need of you").

Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)

• Middle English: tharen
  • English: thair (dialectal)
  • Scots: thair