From Middle High German walten, from Old High German waltan, from Proto-West Germanic *waldan (“to reign”), from Proto-Germanic *waldaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-. The Middle High German verb was conjugated as both a strong and a weak verb, suggesting a possible merger with unrecorded Old High German *waltōn, from Proto-West Germanic *waldōn, ultimately from the same source.
Compare English wield, Icelandic valda, Polish władać, Serbo-Croatian vládati, Russian владе́ть (vladétʹ).
walten (weak, third-person singular present waltet, past tense waltete, past participle gewaltet, auxiliary haben) (dated, solemn, except in expressions)
infinitive | walten | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | waltend | ||||
past participle | gewaltet | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich walte | wir walten | i | ich walte | wir walten |
du waltest | ihr waltet | du waltest | ihr waltet | ||
er waltet | sie walten | er walte | sie walten | ||
preterite | ich waltete | wir walteten | ii | ich waltete1 | wir walteten1 |
du waltetest | ihr waltetet | du waltetest1 | ihr waltetet1 | ||
er waltete | sie walteten | er waltete1 | sie walteten1 | ||
imperative | walt (du) walte (du) |
waltet (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.