From Old English gnīdan (“to rub, grind together, crumble”), from Proto-West Germanic *gnīdan, from Proto-Germanic *gnīdaną (“to rub, crush”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰneydʰ-, *gʰneyd- (“to gnaw, chew, scratch, rub”); compare gnodden.
Cognate with Danish gnide (“to rub”), Swedish gnida (“to rub, scrape”), Icelandic gníða (“to rub”).
gniden (third-person singular simple present gnideth, present participle gnidynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative *gnod, past participle gniden) (rare)
| infinitive | (to) gniden | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | gnide | *gnod | |
| 2nd-person singular | gnidest | *gnode, gnide, *gnod | |
| 3rd-person singular | gnideth | *gnod | |
| subjunctive singular | gnide | *gnode1, gnide1 | |
| imperative singular | — | ||
| plural2 | gniden, gnide | *gnoden, *gnode, gniden, gnide | |
| imperative plural | gnideth, gnide | — | |
| participles | gnidynge, gnidende | gniden, gnide, ygniden, ygnide | |
1Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
2Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
gniden (comparative mer gniden, superlative mest gniden)
| Inflection of gniden | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
| Common singular | gniden | gnidnare | gnidnast |
| Neuter singular | gnidet | gnidnare | gnidnast |
| Plural | gnidna | gnidnare | gnidnast |
| Masculine plural3 | gnidne | gnidnare | gnidnast |
| Definite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| Masculine singular1 | gnidne | gnidnare | gnidnaste |
| All | gnidna | gnidnare | gnidnaste |
| 1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic | |||