gnætt

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Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gnatt, from Proto-Germanic *gnattaz (gnat).

Pronunciation

Noun

gnætt m

  1. a small flying insect or midge; gnat
    • c. 900, the Old English Orosius
      Gnættas cōmon ofer eall þæt land.
      Gnats came over all the land.
    • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
      Moyses, ðurh Godes mihte, āwende eal heora wæter tō rēadum blōde, and hē āfylde eal heora land mid froggon, and siððan mid gnættum, eft mid hundes lūsum, ðā flugon into heora mūðe and heora næsðyrlum; and sē Ælmihtiġa ðone mōdiġan cyning mid þām eaðelicum ġesċeaftum swā gėswencte...
      Moses, through the power of God, turned all their water into red blood, and filled all of their land with frogs, and then with gnats, and afterwards with dogflies, which flew into their mouths and their nostrils; the Almighty punished their proud king in that way with every kind of creature...

Declension

Strong a-stem:

singular plural
nominative gnætt gnættas
accusative gnætt gnættas
genitive gnættes gnætta
dative gnætte gnættum

Synonyms

Descendants

  • Middle English: gnat