From Middle High German genāden, from Old High German ginādōn. See Gnade (“mercy”).
gnaden (weak, third-person singular present gnadet, past tense gnadete, past participle gegnadet, auxiliary haben)
The only form of this verb still used in contemporary German is the subjunctive gnade in set phrases such as gnade dir Gott! (“May God have mercy upon you!”) or gnade uns Gott! (“May God have mercy upon us all!”) These phrases are commonly used as warnings: Wenn du dich in der Wüste verfährst, dann gnade dir Gott! – “If you lose your way in the desert, then may God have mercy upon you!”
| infinitive | gnaden | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | gnadend | ||||
| past participle | gegnadet | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich gnade | wir gnaden | i | ich gnade | wir gnaden |
| du gnadest | ihr gnadet | du gnadest | ihr gnadet | ||
| er gnadet | sie gnaden | er gnade | sie gnaden | ||
| preterite | ich gnadete | wir gnadeten | ii | ich gnadete1 | wir gnadeten1 |
| du gnadetest | ihr gnadetet | du gnadetest1 | ihr gnadetet1 | ||
| er gnadete | sie gnadeten | er gnadete1 | sie gnadeten1 | ||
| imperative | gnad (du) gnade (du) |
gnadet (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.