From Middle Low German echt, whence also German echt (“lawful”). Originally a compound of 1. Middle Low German ē (“law, marriage”) (German Ehe (“marriage”)), from Proto-Germanic *aiwǭ, *aiwaz (“law”), and 2. German -haft, from Proto-Germanic *haftaz (“captured, afflicted”).
The verb is derived from the adjective.
ægte
| Inflection of ægte | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | |
| Indefinte common singular | ægte | — | —2 |
| Indefinite neuter singular | ægte | — | —2 |
| Plural | ægte | — | —2 |
| Definite attributive1 | ægte | — | — |
| 1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively. | |||
ægte (imperative ægt, infinitive at ægte, present tense ægter, past tense ægtede, perfect tense har ægtet)