Forms: (The following notation is used to denote the principal form groups: α = am; β = is; γ = sind; δ = sīe; ε = art, ζ = are; η = be; θ = was; ι = were.) 1. Infinitive. a. (i).

η. early Old English beom (perhaps transmission error), early Old English bieon, Old English bian (non-West Saxon), Old English bion, Old English (rare)–early Middle English bon, Old English (rare)–Middle English beo, Old English–Middle English beon, late Old English–Middle English ben, early Middle English bo, early Middle English boen, early Middle English bowen, early Middle English bu, early Middle English bue, early Middle English buen, early Middle English bun, early Middle English bye, early Middle English byon, Middle English bein, Middle English beyn, Middle English bi, Middle English bie, Middle English bien, Middle English boe, Middle English byen, Middle English byn, Middle English–1500s bene, Middle English–1500s (1900s– U.S. regional (southern)) been, Middle English–1600s bee, Middle English–1600s by, Middle English– be, 1800s ba (Irish English (Wexford)); English regional 1800s– bea (Yorkshire), 1800s– bee (southern and midlands), 1800s– beigh (Derbyshire), 1800s– beo (Northumberland); Scottish pre-1700 beene, pre-1700 bene, pre-1700 beyn, pre-1700 bie, pre-1700 1700s– be, pre-1700 1700s– bee, pre-1700 1800s– bei (southern), 1800s bey (southern). OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. vi. 8 Nolite ergo adsimilare eis : ne scule forþon gelice beon him.OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 1070 Ða oþre ðe þær næron..atiwdon hwi hi ðær beon ne mihton.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1127 Þær mihte wel ben abuton twenti..hornblaweres.a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 174 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 225 Bliðe mai he þanne ben [v.rr. buen, beon, beo].a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 229 Naman ne mai bien ȝehalden [OE Royal beon gehealden].c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 446 Vel sone Þat schal beon idone: Þu schalt beo dubbed kniȝt.?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 101 Þe first tokning sal be þusse.a1350 in Facsimiles National MSS Scotl. (1870) II. 14 Be yemit.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 4138 Þay lete it bene.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 4601 Suche defaute shal ben of breed.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1153 Þou sal bi halden vile.c1415 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Lansd.) (1874) l. 764 Loue wil nouht buen [c1405 Hengwrt be, c1415 Corpus Oxf. ben, c1425 Petworth bene, c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 been] constreyned be maistre.c1450 (c1430) Brut (Galba) (1908) 399 Euyry mane shuld..byn at alle tymes redy.1493 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 180/2 Because he maid nocht Dauid Quhithed bene contentit.a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) l. 33 That Auntre shall..by spoke of on euery syde.a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) x. xiii. l. 162 Thyne armour, quharof sumtyme thou reiosyt, With the I leif, for ay tobeyn eniosyt.1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xviii. 15 Sall I nevir mirry be, Vnto the tyme I se My sweit agane.1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 96/2 It may be easely espyed, thys epistle to bee fayned and misautored.1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. i. 58 To be, or not to be, that is the question.1649 in W. Fraser Memorials Family Wemyss (1888) II. 231 This is my uill, quhaitt sall bei doune uith my bodei clothes quhain itt sall bei Heis blist uill to kaill mei from thes leif.1653 in J. Stuart Sel. Rec. Kirk Aberdeen (1846) 226 Those who did present the children to bie baptized by him.1725 I. Newton Let. 10 Nov. (1977) VII. 340 And some abatement in the value ought to be made for this lightness.1789 Constit. U.S. Amendm. 10 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.1805 M. Lewis Jrnl. 21 Sept. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1988) V. 226 I directed the horses to be hubbled to prevent delay in the morning.1847 H. Melville Omoo i. 19 Bidding me be seated, he ordered the steward to hand me a glass of Pisco.1898 Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/2 O'll beigh [as I am].1924 Hawick Express 1 Feb. 3/7 What that wad bei for.1937 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 6 May in Yours, Plum (1990) v. 131 I would be perfectly happy if i could just be left alone to write stories, as I hate picture work.1966 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1985) I. 179/1 But one time it use' to been so cold right first of the winter.2008 Observer 10 Feb. 25/2 An Arctic fossil dig turned to panic at the sight of approaching polar bears that, on closer inspection, were revealed to be large Arctic rabbits.

θ. early Old English weosan, Old English uosa (Northumbrian), Old English uossa (Northumbrian), Old English wæsan (rare), Old English wesan, Old English wessan (rare), Old English wosa (Northumbrian), Old English wossa (Northumbrian). OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. vi. 8 Nolite ergo assimilari eis : nallas ge ðonne wosa gelic him.OE Genesis B 283 Ic mæg wesan god swa he.

β. U.S. regional (southern, in African-American usage) 1800s yiz. 1888 C. C. Jones Negro Myths Georgia Coast 170 Yiz, am, is, to be, did.

(ii). Contracted.

η. 1600s b'. 1578 G. Whetstone Promos & Cassandra: 2nd Pt. i. iii. sig. Giv Ist possible that my Mistris Lamia, Ouer the shooes shoud b'yn loue with phallax?1616 J. Davies Select Second Husband sig. D5^v Thou must b'a King, a Prophet, and a Priest, To gouerne, teach and pray: so Masters ought.1646 W. Rowland Elegie upon Death of Robert Devereux (single sheet) And he himselfe, by Parliament, To b'Englands Generall had consent, And fought our Battells.

b. Inflected infinitive.

η. Old English bionne, Old English–early Middle English (chiefly south-west midlands) beonne, late Old English beonde, early Middle English bienne (south-eastern), Middle English bene, Middle English benne, Middle English beone, Middle English byenne (south-eastern). The isolated attestation of late Old English bēonde probably shows a phonological rather than a syntactical development; however, occasional substitution of the present participle for the inflected infinitive is attested in southern early Middle English (but apparently not with forms of be v.).OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) ii. 49 Þæt me gebyrað to beonne [OE Lindisf. to wosanne] on þam ðingum ðe mines fæder synt.lOE Manumission, Exeter (Exeter 3501) in J. Earle Hand-bk. Land-charters (1888) 262 Her kið on þissere bec þæt Regenere bohte Alfiðe at Regenolde..freoh & sacles uppan Cuiclande to beonde on fridome.a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 233 Drednesse is ofer hus, and..ah to bienne.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 169 Þet wes y-woned to byenne þe ealde manere at rome.a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 66 Þe soule to þe body nam ase hit wes woned to bene [rhyme sene].a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4390 Sone schal þe puple se þi semli face In manhede & in minde as it out to bene.c1390 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 173 So me þinkeþ hit best to beone [rhymes bideene, clene, wene].c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 141 Bot mon most I algate mynn hym to bene.a1425 (c1300) Assumption of Virgin (BL Add.) (1901) l. 6 Off oure ladi ȝe mai lere, Floure of heuene, ladi and quene, As sche auȝt wel to bene.a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) l. 3725 But none erthely man covde telle The sorow that there by-gan to bene [rhymes in twene, myght it mene].a1500 (c1350) Octovian (Cambr.) (1986) l. 1059 At Mountmertrons let me be no more, So nere the Crysten [c1440 Thornton Crysten men] to bene.

θ. Old English wosane (Northumbrian), Old English wosanne (Northumbrian), Old English wossanne (Northumbrian). OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xvii. 4 Bonum est nos hic esse : god is us her to wossanne.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke ii. 49 In his..oportet me esse : in ðæm..gerisenlic me to wosanne.

2. Present indicative. a. 1st singular. (i).

α. early Old English æam (Mercian), early Old English iom, Old English (Northumbrian) early Middle English (Ormulum) amm, Old English (Northumbrian)–early Middle English (perhaps transmission error) an, Old English–early Middle English eam, Old English–early Middle English eom, Old English (rare)–Middle English em, Old English (chiefly Northumbrian)– am, late Old English æom, late Old English–early Middle English æm, late Old English–early Middle English heom, early Middle English eum, Middle English emme, Middle English hamme, Middle English–1500s ham, Middle English–1600s ame, 1600s 'am; English regional (Yorkshire) 1800s yam, 1800s– aim, 1800s– im; U.S. regional 1800s em (in African-American usage), 1900s– ams, 1900s– yam, 1900s– yams; Scottish pre-1700 amm, pre-1700 amme, pre-1700 1700s ame, pre-1700 1700s– am, 1800s ym, 1900s– um; also Irish English 1800s aam (Wexford), 1800s im (northern), 1900s– um (northern). eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xiii. 28 Ic eom swiðe ungemetlice ofwundrod.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xxviii. 20 Ego uobiscum sum omnibus diebus : ic iuh mið am allum dagum.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xxviii. 20 Ego uobiscum sum omnibus diebus : ic mid eow eam ealle dagas.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 29 Forþam ic eom [c1200 Hatton eom] bilwite.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 675 Ic Theodorus ærcebiscop of Cantwarbyrig am witnesse of þas gewrite.c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: John (Hatton) i. 20 Ne eum [OE Corpus Cambr. eom] ic na crist.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 25 Ic em hal.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12948 Ich æm mon [c1300 Otho Ich ham a man].c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 232 Ich am duc [c1300 Otho ich ham duck].a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 116 Ic am þi mon.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 6926 Ich emme þat þe ber. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. iii. 14 I am þe whiche am.c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. l. 105 ‘Icham sori’, quod Envye ‘I ne am [a1475 Harl. 875 nam] but seldene oþer’.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 5756 Lord here I ame.c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) Prol. l. 240 I hym herde And seyde sere It am I.c1480 (a1400) St. Paul l. 1001 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 58 I ame verray Iow.?1482 W. Mydwynter Let. 20 Sept. in Cely Lett. (1975) 177 I praye as hartely as Y canne that ye make hytte reddy wytthein xiiij dayys haffter Myhelmas, or helse I hamme hottely sammyd.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 618 Quhill that I am in aynd.1525 in W. Fraser Douglas Bk. (1885) IV. 97 I ame rycht sure.1540 T. Wyatt Let. to Henry VIII 3 Feb. in K. Muir Life & Lett. (1963) 135 I do not know that I misdo in vsing the terme that I ame comaundid.1557 T. Mowntayne Mem. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 260 I ham none heretyke.a1592 R. Greene Selimus (1594) sig. A3 I am heauie and disconsolate.1617 R. Newman Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 211 I ame not yet prouided ase I wold bee.1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 770 Dust I am, and shall to dust returne.1745 J. Bisset Jrnl. 25 Nov. in Misc. Spalding Club (1841) I. 401 [I] ame very glade to hear you have such fonds to be raised.1781 M. P. Andrews Baron Kinkvervankotsdorsprakingatchdern i. 7 I am happy to find the castle affords modern as well as antient family pictures to amuse one.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 106 Ich aam goan maake mee will.1870 J. R. Lowell Let. 15 Oct. (1894) II. 74 As to words, I am something of a purist.1914 T. Hardy Satires of Circumstance 169 I am sure it's a dream that cannot be true, But I am so overgloomed By its persistence.1989 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 4 Mar. 23 Popeye, with his famous catchphrase ‘I yam what I yam’, must change with the times.2008 I. M. Banks Matter xv. 272 I am layers and levels away from being jurisdictionally allowed to have any direct influence.

η. Now regional. (a) early Old English beam (Mercian), Old English beom, Old English beon (perhaps transmission error), Old English bio, Old English biom (non-West Saxon), Old English bium (Northumbrian), Old English byo (rare), Old English–early Middle English beo, early Middle English beon (Laȝamon), Middle English byn, Middle English– be, 1500s–1600s bee, 1800s– bin (English regional (west midlands)); also Scottish pre-1700 bene; N.E.D. (1887) also records forms Middle English bee, Middle English by; (b) English regional (Hertfordshire) 1900s– bees; U.S. regional (chiefly southern and in African-American usage) 1900s– bees, 1900s– bes, 1900s– be's; Irish English (Wexford) 1800s bees. Sometimes difficult to distinguish from subjunctive (see η. forms at 3a, especially in Middle English and Older Scots). In some regional varieties be or bees is used as a habitual form (contrasting with other forms of the verb such as am, is, etc. or zero copula); compare quot. 2000, which shows African-American usage.eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) cxlv. 1 (2) Psallam deo meo quamdiu ero : singu gode minum swe longe swe ic biom.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. ix. 21 Si tetigero tantum uestimentum eius salua ero : gif ic hrino sua huon wede his ic hal beom [OE Rushw. hal ic eam uel ic beom].OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxviii. 20 Ic beo [OE Lindisf. am, OE Rushw. eam, c1200 Hatton beo; L. sum] mid eow ealle dagas oð worulde geendunge.OE Paris Psalter (1932) cviii. 117 Gefultuma me fæste; ðonne beo ic fægere hal [L. salvus ero].a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 17 Bispreng me mid edmodnesse, louerd; þanne be ich clene.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 225 Þanne beo [OE Royal beo] ic ȝemeneȝed mines weddes.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6736 Ȝif auere cumeð þe dæi; þat ich æhten biȝiten mæi, and ich maȝen swa wel iþeon; þat ȝe cumen a londe þer ich beon, ich eow wulle wel biwiten.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4908 Ȝif þu and þine þer wurðeð dæd, þeonne beo ich wið mine sune iued.c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 5546 Ich vnderstond..þat ȝe Ben of more power þan ich be.c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 144 My love, I be your knyght and shall be as long as I live.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. l. 615 How that I sympill be!1568 D. Lindsay Answer Kingis Flyting l. 6 in Wks. (1931) I. 102 Pardone me, thocht I be Impacient, Quhilk bene so with ȝour prunȝeand pen detractit.1697 C. Cibber Womans Wit v. 80 I be Married, so I bee!1788 R. B. Sheridan St Patrick's Day ii. 14 I be quite single, my relations be all dead.1789 N. Webster Diss. Eng. Lang. 385 The verb be..is still used after the ancient manner, I be, you be, we be, they be.1836 A. E. Bray Descr. Devonshire bordering Tamar & Tavy I. 185 As sure as I live I be going to the birth of a little divel.1882 E. L. Chamberlain Gloss. W. Worcs. Words xxv I be, or bin.1904 R. Kipling Traffics & Discov. 137 I bain't the ram-faced, ruddle-nosed old fule yeou reckon I be.1942 M. K. Rawlings Cross Creek 89 I'll go with him..I be back Tuesday mornin' on the nine o'clock train.1974 W. Foley Child in Forest 39 Jesus Christ, I be vull as a egg!2000 P. Beatty Tuff vii. 99 Whenever I go see one of those silent jammies, Charlie Chaplin or something, I be trying to read the lips.

θ. Old English wese. OE Lambeth Psalter cxviii. 15 In mandatis tuis exercebor : on bebodum þinum ic geornful wese.OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxlii. 7 Wese ic earmum gelic þe on sweartne grund syþþan astigað [L. similis ero descendentibus in lacum].

β. Chiefly northern Middle English es, Middle English–1600s is; English regional (northern) 1700s– is, 1800s as, 1800s– iz; U.S. regional (chiefly southern and in African-American usage) 1800s yiz, 1800s– is; Scottish pre-1700 1800s– is; Caribbean 1900s– is. ?c1350 Ballad Sc. Wars l. 117 in A. Brandl & O. Zippel Mitteleng. Sprach- u. Literaturproben (1917) 138/2 Þe wisere es ii noth of þat.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9727 Þi sun i es [a1400 Trin. Cambr. am I].c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 125 I is as ille a Millere as ar ye [Lansd., I es as il a Melnere as es ye].a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 15 Ic is lazed and mekid. ▸ ?a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 87 I..in my hairt is prowd and hie.a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) i. Prol. l. 79 I..wylfull is my det to pay.1589 W. Warner Albions Eng. (new ed.) v. xxiiii. 108 I is na Wizard.1632 R. Brome Northern Lasse iv. iv. sig. I4 You haue getten a barne by me, I is sure o'that.1797 T. Morton Cure for Heart-ache ii. ii. 40 Ees, now I is better.1837 A. Sherwood Gazetteer Georgia (ed. 3) 70 [Provincialisms to be avoided] I is..you is, for I am..you are.1859 T. Moore Song of Solomon in Durham Dial. i. 6 Lewk nut atoppa mah, becouse a' as black.1912 J. Hyslop Echoes Border Hills 100 A'll sit where A' is.1966 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1985) I. 177/2 He had three girls older than I is.2004 E. E. S. Hilton Displaced Person 231 I is going to a picnic this afternoon.

ζ. regional 1800s ar (U.S. regional (south Midland)), 1800s– are, 1900s– a (Caribbean). Caribbean a is a feature borrowed from Creole, where it probably has an African origin.1817 A. Royall Let. 24 Dec. (1830) 39 I ar ready for trial.1878 in G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. (1879) p. lxxix I are very bad, my Lad, I are only waiting the Lord's time.1968 H. Orton & M. F. Wakelin Surv. Eng. Dial. IV. iii. 1134 If I say: [You're not] English, you can contradict and say: Oh yes,... [Kent] I are.1974 S. A. Warde We jus' catch Um 43 An me a man no mek joke at all.

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.

α. Middle English ycham, Middle English–1500s icham, late Middle English y cham, late Middle English ychame, 1500s chym, 1500s–1600s 'cham (colloquial), 1500s–1600s cham (colloquial), 1500s–1600s ch'am (colloquial); English regional (south-western) 1700s 1900s 'cham, 1700s–1800s cham, 1800s 'ch'am; Irish English (Wexford) 1800s ch'am, 1800s 'cham. Compare discussion at the β. forms at I pron. and n.² and also the γ. forms at I pron. and n.² It is uncertain whether forms such as icham show the beginnings of reanalysis (i.e. whether they indicate a shift of ch to the following syllable); scribal word division can be misleading and, owing to Middle English spelling practice, these attestations are difficult to interpret. However, they have been included because they may be relevant to the genesis of the later forms. In early modern English chiefly recorded in representations of nonstandard speech.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 227 Ah habbich þin anes help, icham wil cweme.a1350 (?c1225) King Horn (Harl.) (1901) l. 209 Horn ycham [c1300 Cambr. ihc am, c1300 Laud hich am] yhote.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 4002 Where-euer þat y hyde me, y cham ouȝt-souȝt.a1547 J. Redford Moral Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 29 Oh! cham a-cold.a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) 122 Iche cham a Cornyshe man.1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36^v And vor manhood, cham zure cham good.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle ii. i. sig. Bii Chym goodly rewarded, cham I not, do you thyncke?1580 H. Gifford Posie of Gilloflowers ii. sig. Q.2^v Cham zure my vurst goodman is dere.a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub i. i. 75 in Wks. (1640) III 'Cham no mans wife.1746 Exmoor Scolding (ed. 3) i. 3 Cham a-troubled.1859 T. Hughes Scouring of White Horse 171 Cham a Zummerzetshire mun.1873 W. P. Williams & W. A. Jones Gloss. Somersetshire 'Ch'am.., I am.1979 N. Rogers Wessex Dial. 35 In a small area of Somerset..at least until a few years ago, if not at present, the old pronoun ich could be heard as in 'chill, I will or 'cham, I am.

(iii). Contracted.

α. 1500s–1600s -me, 1500s– -'m, 1600s -'me, 1600s -m'e, 1800s -'um (Irish English (northern)), 1800s– -m (regional and nonstandard). ?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 230 Whether it be for mirth or for sorrowe Ime even redye to wepe.1599 J. Weever Epigrammes sig. E3^v I'm told that many do thinke much, Because I call you Piller of the Church.1657 H. Bold Wit a Sporting 68 When I'me led out for dead, let thy last kindness be With leaves and moss-work for to cover me.1661 in W. Fraser Red Bk. Grandtully (1868) II. 157 Iff I miss off all thes..I'm wors delt with then some quho hau nott so faithfully serv'd our late king.1766 I. Bickerstaff Plain Dealer ii. viii. 33 You are a man of so much honour I'm sure.1858 P. J. Bailey Age 51 Of fugitive verse I cannot say I'm fond.1943 B. Smith Tree grows in Brooklyn lvi. 441 While I'm there, you'll be getting on that Wolverine train for Michigan.2008 R. Raisin God's Own Country ix. 65 She had a look in her eyes that said, I'm a loopy old spiceloaf, don't think I won't do it.

ζ. regional 1700s -'r (English regional (Lancashire)), 1800s -'re (U.S. regional). ?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. 21 I'r weawndedly glopp'nt, for the dule a hawpunny had eh.1897 E. W. Merriman Diamonds & Hearts i. i. 7 I're got to dance until the last minute.

β. regional 1700s– -se, 1800s– -'s, 1800s– -'se, 1800s– -'z, 1800s– -z. 1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 15 Ise gangin.1820 J. Hogg Winter Evening Tales I. 258 I's fa'an in love wi' thee.1875 Scribner's Monthly June 240 I'se pow'ful skeered; but neversomeless I ain't gwine run away.1912 J. Hyslop Echoes Border Hills 100 A's juist near eneuch the edge!1973 C. Himes Black on Black 136 Ise already free.1998 W. Coleman Bathwater Wine v. 234 I's got johnnycake and gumbo galore.1999 J. Gallas Resistance is Futile 29 Then the water osed me eart an whoosh I's gorn.

(iv). With negative particle affixed.

α. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English neam (Anglian), Old English (Mercian)–early Middle English næm, Old English–early Middle English neom, Old English–1500s nam, early Middle English namm ( Ormulum), 1500s n'am. eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) cxviii. 60 Paratus sum et non sum turbatus : gearu ic eam & neam gedroefed.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. iii. 11 Cuius non sum dignus calciamenta portare : his uel ðæs nam [OE Rushw. næm, OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. neom, c1175 Royal neom] ic wyrðe g[e]sceoe beara.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10281 Namm i nohht godess sune.a1250 Ureisun ure Louerde (Lamb.) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 185 Hwi nam ich in þin earmes?c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7054 Næm [c1300 Otho nam] ich næuere bute care.c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Harl.) l. 64 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 494 Nam ich þi felawe quaþ þis child. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 743 Seie I noght That I nam somdel forto wyte.a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xxxviii. l. 472 In non wyse nam I not so.1575 G. Gascoigne Hundred Flowers in Wks. 64 I nam..the wisest wight of all.1576 G. Gascoigne Steele Glas sig. B.ij J n'am a man as some do thinke I am. (b) With enclitic negative particle. (i.) 1600s amt, 1600s–1700s (1900s– U.S. (nonstandard)) amn't; English regional (west midlands and northern) 1800s ammot (Yorkshire), 1800s– amma (Shropshire), 1800s– ammad (Shropshire), 1800s– amna, 1800s– amnad (Shropshire), 1800s– amn't, 1800s– am't, 1900s– amment, 1900s– ammet, 1900s– amno (north-west midlands); Scottish 1800s amnin, 1800s ym-n', 1900s– amna, 1900s– amnae, 1900s– amn't; Irish English 1800s am'n't, 1800s imin't (northern), 1900s– amnae (northern), 1900s– amn't. 1658 W. Chamberlayne Loves Victory i. 3 Jch amt well skild in these guns.1691 Athenian Gaz. 11 May If I amn't mistaken, the pinch is here.1702 J. Tutchin Mouse grown Rat 15 I amn't to be tried by a parcel of Fellows that send Men to the Pillory.1829 G. Griffin Collegians xxvii. 269 An am'n't I to know where you stop yourself?1865 W. S. Banks List Provinc. Words Wakefield 4 Ammot, am not.1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xviii. 128 Aw thocht I was to get oor ain toon; amnin aw?1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. at In good sooth I amma gwen to scrape their orts after 'em.1900 A. Thomson Thornlea 100 A'm no bad, maister, amn't a no?1905 J. Joyce Let. 28 Feb. (1966) II. 84 Jaysus! amn't I stupid to write that.1907 R. Brooke Let. July (1968) 92 I..ordered a fruit tart... Amn't I business man?1950 R. Davies At my Heart's Core i. 25 Oh, you think yerself far above me, because you can read and write. But haven't I the art of a real Irish story-teller? Amn't I the latter-day heir o' the great bards and story-tellers of the old land?1990 R. Doyle Snapper (1993) 151 I'm gettin' very big, amn't I?2003 C. Forde Fat Boy Swim iii. 25 I'm good, amn't I? (ii.) 1600s–1700s an't, 1700s– ain't /eɪnt/ (regional and nonstandard), 1800s– aint (regional and nonstandard); English regional 1700s–1800s a'n't, 1800s– anna (west midlands), 1800s– an't, 1800s– ant, 1800s– een't (Suffolk), 1800s– ein't, 1800s– eint, 1800s– ent (Berkshire), 1800s– yeant (south-west midlands), 1800s– yent (Berkshire), 1800s– yeunt (south-west midlands), 1900s– yunt (Worcestershire); U.S. regional 1800s ant (New England), 1800s yent (southern), 1800s– ain' (southern), 1800s– aint, 1900s– een't (southern), 1900s– ent (southern, in African-American usage). Perhaps partly representing ζ. forms; compare discussion in the etymology (2.1).1667 A. Bailey Spightful Sister iii. i. 26 Look you, Sir, I an't for complementical words; but here Stands the case.1723 S. Centlivre Artifice ii. ii. 21 Oh gad! I an't able to struggle any longer!1785 J. O'Keeffe Peeping Tom of Coventry i. iii. 10 Now, ain't I an old chaunter?1799 B. Thompson Kotzebue's Stranger in E. Inchbald Theat. I. 17 Sharp lad, a'n't I?1818 T. G. Fessenden Ladies Monitor 171 Some provincial words and phrases, which ought to be avoided..Ant, for am not.1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xiii. 128 I a'n't quite certain.1873 C. H. Smith Bill Arp's Peace Papers 201 I thought I was but I aint.a1874 J. Moultrie Poems (1876) I. i. 147 If I were Proud to be thought a poet (which I an't) I should be fearful.1875 A. Trollope Prime Minister (1876) I. xiii. 203 I ain't thinking of her marrying. I don't want her to marry.1888 C. C. Jones Negro Myths Georgia Coast 7 Buh Rabbit say: ‘Me yent.’ Buh Wolf say: ‘You yis.’1938 V. Woolf Let. 3 Oct. (1980) VI. 278 I believe politics will bring L..to London. And I've not the spirit to pack up and go without him. Ain't I a craven?1959 W. Miller Cool World 8 I aint paying that kind of bread.1993 V. Headley Excess xii. 127 'Nuff black people dying there. I ain't going.

η. (a) 1600s bee'nt, 1600s ben't, 1700s been't (North American); English regional (midlands and southern) 1700s– baint, 1700s– ben't, 1800s baan't (midlands), 1800s– baant (midlands), 1800s– bain't /beɪnt/, 1800s– bant (Devon), 1800s– baynt, 1800s– beant, 1800s– bean't, 1800s– be'ant, 1800s– be-ant, 1800s– bei' (Staffordshire), 1800s– beint, 1800s– bent, 1800s– binna (west midlands), 1800s– bit (Staffordshire), 1800s– bunna (Shropshire), 1800s– byent, 1800s– byunt, 1900s– b'ent, 1900s– beyunt, 1900s– bin (before personal pronoun); U.S. regional (north-eastern, chiefly New England) 1800s ban't, 1800s beant, 1800s ben't, 1800s– beunt; Irish English 1800s beant, 1800s binna; Welsh English 1800s be'na, 1800s ben't; (b) English regional (south-west midlands) 1800s– bisn't, 1800s– bis'n't. 1680 Tryal & Sentence E. Cellier 27 My Lord, I bee'nt bound to accuse my self, I desire it may be proved.1696 T. Dilke Lover's Luck v. 37 Don't take any notice of it, for I ben't in a quarrelling temper at present.1702 C. Mather Magnalia Christi iii.iii.i. 181/2 I been't afraid, I thank God, I been't afraid to die!1765 I. Bickerstaff Maid of Mill ii. iv. 31 But hold, she says I baint to her mind.1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words I. 38 I beant a gooing.1893 J. Salisbury Gloss. Words S.E. Worcs. 48 I byunt agwain to make a wesh-tub o' my belly, by drinkin' sich stuff as that.1896 G. F. Northall Warwickshire Word-bk. 29 ‘Yo' bisn't gooin' up the road, bist?’ ‘No, I bisn't’.1963 N. Marsh Dead Water (1964) i. 12 Be'ant mucky..All gone.

β. (a) 1700s– isn't (regional); English regional 1800s– iznt (northern), 1800s– izn't (northern), 1800s– izzant (Cumberland), 1800s– izzent (Cumberland); U.S. regional (western) 1900s– idn't; (b) (before personal pronoun) 1900s– inna (English regional (Shropshire)), 1900s– in't (English regional (Yorkshire) and Scottish). 1788 S. Low Politician Out-witted i. iii. 8 Not I, I isn't for none of your figure expressions.1859 G. L. Aiken & H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin iv. iii. 39 Dar's somethin' de matter wid me—I isn't a bit like myself.1891 A. J. Munby Vulgar Verses 121 I isn't a child nor a poppet.1967 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1985) I. 179/2 I'm right on that, idn't..I?1971 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. iii. 1044 Q[uestion.]..Now, speaking of [yourself], you can say: [I'm] all right there,... [Shropshire] Inna I?1987 L. Scott in Chelsea 46 309 Man I isn't American, you know.1993 F. Collymore Day at Races 159 Peradventure I isn't as rolling in wealth as you, but lewwe call it a deal at five bob.

ζ. 1700s– aren't (nonstandard except before personal pronoun), 1800s arn't (Irish English, before personal pronoun); English regional 1800s– arent, 1800s– aren't, 1800s– ar'na (Shropshire), 1800s– arnt, 1900s– arem'd (Lancashire, before personal pronoun), 1900s– arem't (northern, before personal pronoun). These are perhaps due to reanalysis of α. forms; compare (c) forms in that section and see discussion in the etymology (2.1).1798 M. J. Young Rose-mount Castle III. 246 Aren't I made already?1862 E. L. Blanchard Harlequin & House that Jack Built iii. 17 I aren't a going to see my sweetheart kissed.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. lxxiii [Bridgnorth] I amna, or ar'na.1907 Lady Grove Social Fetich 38 If ‘ain't I?’ is objected to, surely ‘aren't I?’ is very much worse.1934 D. Thomas Let. 2 May in Sel. Lett. (1966) 117 The first thing I would do..would be to peep, with a nasty aren't-I-a-lad expression, into the pages.1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) ii. 44 ‘Oh, Christ!’ Kelly moaned. ‘Aren't I telling you I aren't deserting you?’2003 R. Bean Honeymoon Suite 55 Any road, I said, I aren't gonna talk about Harriet.

b. 2nd singular. (i).

ε. early Old English erð (Mercian), Old English arst (Northumbrian), Old English arð (Northumbrian), Old English earð (Mercian), Old English (rare) Middle English– art (now archaic and poetic), Old English (rare)–early Middle English ært, Old English (rare)–early Middle English eard, Old English–early Middle English eart, Old English (rare)–Middle English ert, late Old English–early Middle English æart, late Old English–early Middle English eært, early Middle English ard, early Middle English arrt ( Ormulum), early Middle English eræt, early Middle English erat, early Middle English giert, Middle English aart, Middle English artȝ, Middle English arth, Middle English artte, Middle English erte, Middle English hart, Middle English harte, Middle English herd, Middle English hert, Middle English herte, Middle English–1500s arte, 1600s ar't, 1600s art', 1800s yarth (Irish English (Wexford)); English regional 1800s– art, 1800s– at (south-western); Scottish pre-1700 arte, pre-1700 1700s– art. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. vi. 9 Pater noster qui es in caelis : fader urer ðu arð uel ðu bist in heofnum uel in heofnas.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. vi. 9 Pater noster qui es in caelis: fæder ure þu þe in heofunum earð.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 9 Fæder ure þu þe eart [c1200 Hatton ert] on heofonum.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 25 Hwi fullast þu, gif þu ne art ne Heligas ne witega?lOE Canterbury Psalter xxx. 5 Quoniam tu es protector meus : forðon þu art gescyldend min drihten.c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 140 Þu eard Godes Sune.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 223 Þu æart [OE Cambr. Gg.3.28 eart] dust.a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 47 Of þine riche weden nou þu ard al scere.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2163 Eært þu þenne cheues-boren, þat þu wult beon for-loren?c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6371 Þu ært [c1300 Otho har] of ure cunne.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 561 Þu art lutel. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 2 Kings xii. 7 Þou art þilke man [a1425 Corpus Oxf. 4 Thou ert thilk man]. ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vi. 9 Oure fadir that art in heuenes.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14105 In mikel bisenes ert þou, Bise ert þou [Gött. Bisi es þu] bot mani dede.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20219 Sun þou hert [Gött. ert] of heuen king.?a1430 Compleynte Virgin (Huntington) l. 109 in Minor Poems T. Hoccleve (1970) i. 3 Thow..aart al hoolly myn.c1480 (a1400) St. Peter l. 13 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 7 Þu art petir, at is, oure stane.1598 T. Bastard Chrestoleros vii. xxxvii. 178 Go wretched man, thou seest thou art forlorne.1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 47 Pray thee chick, what art' doing?1751 R. Shirra in Remains (1850) 90 The trials and troubles thou art trysted with.1759 P. Collinson Let. 3 Nov. in J. Bartram Corr. (1992) 474 Thou art a Deep rooted Botanist.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 79 Yarth, art.1856 H. S. Riddell Gospel St. Matthew xxv. 24 Thou art ane nippet man.1898 Argosy Sept. 326 Dog of a giaour..we are not thy slaves, but thou art ours instead.1910 J. Lee Poems 43 Thou muckle piece o' misshaped metal, Art thou for firin' aye as fettle.2004 Adbusters May–June 45 I am the true man here. Thou art a small lap bitch, nothing, limp, a contemptible pussy.

ζ. Old English (rare) ear, early Middle English eær, Middle English ar, Middle English er, Middle English har, Middle English– are, 1500s hare, 1900s– a (Caribbean); English regional 1800s– a (Yorkshire), 1800s– are (chiefly before personal pronoun), 1900s– aren (Shropshire, before personal pronoun); Scottish pre-1700 ar, 1700s– are; Irish English (northern) 1900s– er. With thou or thee:OE Bosworth Psalter: Canticles iii. 196 Tu patris sempiternus es filius : þu fæder ece ðu ear bearn.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2170 Þu eær [c1300 Otho har] muchele ahtere. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 1682 Wile ich speke with non oþer reue But with þe, þat iustise are.a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 3032 Þou are come of hygh lynage.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12845 Mi cosin dere and freind ar þou [a1400 Gött. es þu, a1400 Fairf. artow].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14074 Nu er þou [a1400 Gött. es þu, a1400 Trin. Cambr. art þou, a1400 Fairf. artow] sauf.1603 in A. M. Munro Rec. Old Aberdeen (1899) I. 49 Ar thow takin af thai bonnat?1647 Ballance Hand Rationall English-man 7 The remaining degrees which thou are to take in misery, are not to be proceeded in without thy consent to a continued vassilage.1736 tr. Polit. Dialogues Pasquin & Marforio 2 I hope..thou are not carrying Orders for removing the immense Treasure of Loretto.1838 Sc. Christian Herald 3 779/1 Verily, out of thine own mouth thou are condemned.1922 D. A. Mackenzie Cromarty Dial. in Rymour Club Misc. III. 76 'Ar are thee gae'an?2003 B. Morris Put Old on Hold 162 If thou are a woman over 50, thou certainly shall not have a relationship with a younger man unless thou are a celebrity. With ye or you (originally polite form):c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 662 Fader..Ful welcom er ȝe!c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 125 I is as ille a Millere as ar ye.a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) l. 9724 Think wel, my ladie dere, How that ye ar partenere Of that we haue doon.1515 S. Hawes Comforte of Louers sig. C.iv A madame you are cause of my languysshe.1518 A. Clifton Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 224 And y^t hayfe I grette maruell of seyng y^t ȝ^e hare daly at london.1588 J. Aske Elizabetha Triumphans 17 My friend you are deceiu'd, This is no gunne, a Musket we it call.1613 in S. Ree Rec. Elgin (1908) II. 136 Elspet gang your way hame again, ye are in our buiks els.1692 R. Ames Dialogue Claret & Darby-Ale 6 By other Names than Claret you are known.a1722 J. Lauder Jrnls. (1900) 121 I fell to and abuse them in Scots, as logerhead, ye are a sheip, etc.1796 J. Bennet Redemption i. iii. 12 The Angels answer'd, Adam now you are Sole Emp'ror of the earth.1822 R. Wilson Poems 90 Fair-farrand burdie, to be plain, Ye are the cause o' a' my pain.1855 E. Arnold Griselda iii. ii. 98 You are fierce, And soldierlike, and stern; your gentleness Would crush this little life.1907 J. Cook Garnockside Lilts 75 And noo, my sonsy, gurdie chappie, We've a' agreed ye are a sappy An' weel made haggis.1989 M. Torgov Yellow Pages in C. Anthony Family Portraits 281 You are going to be a doctor, not some schlepper with a paintbrush.2007 C. Stross Halting State (2008) 15 You are looking at an Orcish war band.

η. (a) early Old English bis, Old English bitst (probably transmission error), Old English–early Middle English byst, Old English–1500s (1900s– Welsh English) bist, late Old English biist, late Old English bisð, late Old English–early Middle English beost, early Middle English beas, early Middle English biest, early Middle English bihest, early Middle English byost, Middle English bees (chiefly northern), Middle English bes (chiefly northern), Middle English bese (northern), Middle English best, Middle English beste, Middle English–1800s beest (archaic in later use), 1600s be'st, 1800s be'est (archaic); English regional (chiefly midlands and southern) 1800s beast, 1800s byst, 1800s– bees, 1800s– beest, 1800s– bes, 1800s– bist, 1900s– be'st, 1900s– byst (Yorkshire); U.S. regional (southern) 1900s– bes; also Scottish pre-1700 beis, 1900s– bees (Shetland); (b) Middle English been, Middle English ben, Middle English beth, Middle English–1600s (1700s– regional) be, 1800s– bin (English regional and Irish English); also Scottish pre-1700 be. In a number of regional varieties be or bees is used as a habitual form (contrasting with other forms of the verb such as are, is, etc. or with zero copula); compare quot. 1917, which is paraphrased in the source as ‘You are employed in some capacity on the ferry’. With thou or thee:OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. vi. 9 Pater noster qui es in caelis : fader urer ðu arð uel ðu bist in heofnum uel in heofnas.OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xxiii. 43 Todæg þu bist [c1200 Hatton byst; L. eris] mid me on paradiso.lOE Canterbury Psalter xvii. 26 Cum sancto sanctus eris et cum viro innocente innocens eris : mid hælgum hælig þu bist & mid were unscyldigum unscyldig ðu beost.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2455 Þu best wiþþ childe.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 103 Ne biest ðu naht hier lange wuniȝende.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 112 Ȝif þu hauist a frend to day ant..driuist him awei, Þenne bes þu one.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1525 Al swa muchel þu bist [c1300 Otho hart] woruh.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4905 Wið þine sune þu beost iuæid.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 5716 Þenne þu beost [c1300 Otho hart] forð faren.c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) l. 105 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 291 Þou best mi lemman ar þou go.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 2038 Þou beste of his blessyng quyt.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. l. 598 Bileue-so-or-þow-beest-nouȝte-ysaued.c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 1688 Þou bees noghte delyverede.a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xii. l. 246 In body & sowle distroyed thou beest.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 124 ^v Of Shame & shentship shut bes þou neuer Euery lede will þe lacke and þi lose file.?1592 A. Willet Sacrorum Emblematum Centuria Vna sig. B3^v My sister why beest thou so sad, with mourning weede in blacke thus clad?1671 A. Behn Forc'd Marriage iii. ii. 45 I care not who thou beest, but if a man Revenge me on Alcander.1780 S. Lee Chapter of Accidents ii. ii. 24 Why, zure as two-pence, thou beest Jacob Gawky!1842 Bentley's Misc. Feb. 174 Thee bist a queer quist.1848 C. Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. vii. 100 Wood cutter:—Be'est a keeper, man?1861 T. S. Baynes Song Solomon i. 15 in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 198/1 Theow beäst vair.1862 W. Barnes Rhymes Dorset Dial. I. 61 Whatever bist about.1901 E. Arnold Voy. Ithobal 131 Cleave to the coast till thou beest come to Suph.1968 H. Orton & M. F. Wakelin Surv. Eng. Dial. IV. iii. 1134 If I say: [I'm not] English, you can contradict and say: Oh yes,... [Somerset] Thee be.1995 D. Griffiths That Inward Eye xiv. 88 Thee bist going the nearest way, boy. With ye or you (originally polite form):c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) l. 582 Al þai seyd at o criing, ‘ȝe beþ our lord, Sir, & our king.’c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 66 Sire,..or semblaunt is feble, In gret Anguisse ȝe ben.c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1646 Ȝe ben ryche in a whyle, Such chaffer & ȝe drowe.c1475 Mankind (1969) l. 811 Aryse, my precyose redempt son! Ȝe be to me full dere.1581 W. Averell Life & Death Charles & Iulia sig. K.iv We haue been Loouers as you be.1602 Contention Liberalitie & Prodigalitie iii. v. sig. D2 Who be you, my friend?1789 N. Webster Diss. Eng. Lang. 385 The verb be..is still used after the ancient manner, I be, you be, we be, they be.1843 Bentley's Misc. Dec. 558 You be lookin' middlinish, zur.1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase II. lvi. 243 Ride strate up-bank where you be.1917 Dial. Notes 4 420 You bes on the ferry.1968 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1985) I. 176/1 [Outdoor games] ‘Squat where you be’—similar to ‘Statues’.

β. Chiefly northern late Old English–Middle English is, Middle English es, Middle English ys; English regional (northern and midlands) 1800s– is, 1800s– iz; U.S. regional (southern) 1800s yis, 1800s– is; Scottish (now northern and Shetland) pre-1700 1700s– is; Caribbean 1900s– is. Originally in isolated use in sources from Kent (cf. quot. lOE) and Essex (cf. quot. c1350); earlier apparent instances in Old English interlinear glosses are probably errors. In later Middle English apparently only northern. With thou or thee:lOE Canterbury Psalter cxviii.151 Prope es tu domine et omnia mandata tua veritas : neæh is þu drihten & eælre bebod þin soþfestnesse.c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) iii. 3 Þou, Lord, for-soþe ys [c1400 Trin. Dublin ert] my keper.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 14105 In mekil besines es þu.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5262 Þat þou liuand es! [Fairf. on liue þou ys].c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 169 Ilhail, by god Alayn, thow is a fonne.a1599 R. Rollock Sel. Wks. (1849) I. 319 Thou is ane fuile quha thinkis that thou hes ane inheritance in eirth.1661 in G. F. Black Sc. Witchcraft Trials (1941) 41 Thou is ane ill woman that sould say so, to mak any outcast among folks.?1780 'Merry Andrew at Tam-Tallan' Antient & New Hist. Buck-Haven (new ed.) ii. 12 You should be scourg'd fause loun quein it thou is.1820 J. Hogg Winter Evening Tales I. 258 Feath, thou maun tell me wha thou is.1908 in J. Jakobsen Etymol. Dict. Norn Lang. in Shetl. (1928) 571/2 Du is morgin ut de fire. With ye or you:c1415 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Lansd.) (2003) l. 125 I es as il a Melnere as es ye [c1405 Hengwrt, I is as ille a Millere as ar ye].1837 A. Sherwood Gazetteer Georgia (ed. 3) 70 [Provincialisms to be avoided] I is..you is, for I am..you are.1888 C. C. Jones Negro Myths Georgia Coast 7 Buh Rabbit say: ‘Me yent.’ Buh Wolf say: ‘You yis.’1951 T. Redcam Orange River 28 What you is saying?1953 J. M. Brewer Word on Brazos 9 Le's see what kinda fawmuh you is.1992 V. Headley Yardie (1993) 20 Her face broke into a wide smile. ‘Lord! D., is you fe true?’ she exclaimed, stepping towards him, arms open.

α. regional 1800s em (U.S. regional (in African-American usage)), 1800s– am. 1893 H. A. Shands Some Peculiarities Speech Mississippi 17 Negroes..say: ‘I is’, ‘You am’,..etc.1977 S. J. Perelman Let. 29 Apr. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 332 What geschmack! What poesy!.. You am de bestest in the field.2001 T. Medina & L. R. Rivera Bum Rush 81 Say it..like the sho enuf shaman man you am.

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2 at thou pron. and Forms 2a at ye pron.

ε. (a) With enclitic pronoun (i). Old English arþu (Mercian), Old English arðu (Northumbrian), Old English earttu, Old English earþu, Old English earðu, early Middle English erte, early Middle English erto, Middle English artou, Middle English arþou, Middle English artow, Middle English arþow, Middle English artu, Middle English ertou, Middle English ertow, Middle English ertu, Middle English hartu, Middle English hertou; English regional (chiefly northern and midlands) 1800s atta (Lincolnshire), 1800s– arta, 1800s– arto, 1800s– art to; (ii). Irish English (Wexford) 1800s yartha, 1800s yarthe. OE (Northumbrian) Rushw. Gospels: John iv. 12 Numquid tu maior es patre nostro iacob : ahne arðu [OE Lindisf. arð ðu] mara feder usum iacobe.a1250 Ureisun ure Louerde (Nero) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 201 Hwi ertu [a1250 Lamb. art tu] me so freomede.?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 459 Wher artou, mi deþ?a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 12136 Vnneþes artow of vij. ȝere.c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 382 O blisful artow now.a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 424 Askes er-tow now, And in to askes agayn turn sal-tow.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 80 How yarthe to-die, mee joee?1864 Ld. Tennyson Northern Farmer: Old Style xvii What atta stannin' theer fur, an' doesn bring ma the aäle?a1876 E. Leigh Gloss. Words Dial. Cheshire (1877) 7 Arto theer, Jack?1901 F. E. Taylor Folk-speech S. Lancs. at Tidy-loike ‘An heaw arto?’ ‘Well, aw'm tidy-loike.’a1903 B. Kirkby in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 833/1 Arta peckish? (b) With proclitic pronoun 1600s t'arte, 1600s th'art, 1600s thar't, 1600s thart. c1604 Charlemagne (1920) ii. 46 T'arte a vyllane.a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. iv. 19 Th'art a tall fellow, hold thee that to drinke.

η. early Old English bistu; English regional (west midlands and south-western) 1800s– beest-ee, 1800s– bista. eOE Rubrics & Direct. for Use of Forms of Service (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) in A. B. Kuypers Bk. of Cerne (1902) 3 Ðonne bistu ðone deg daelniomende ðorh dryhtnes gefe alra ðeara goda.1884 R. Holland Cheshire Gloss. 30 Where bista bahnd?1898 M. A. Courtney in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 198/2 Beest-ee?1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 53 Bista coming?

ζ. 1500s year, 1500s yeare, 1500s– y'are, 1600s y'ar, 1600s ya'r, 1600s yare, 1600s y'oare, 1600s y'or. ?1577 Misogonus i. iv, in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 24 Year a man by S Sampson ery length of a spare.1583 A. Hawkins in G. Peckham True Rep. Newfound Landes ∫.iiiv Y'are proferd at this time, fayre Grapes to make your wine.1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. B4^v I, I, y'oare best take mee vp for your foole.1607 Fayre Mayde of Exchange sig. I3^v Welcome M. Golding yare very welcome sir.1660 J. Tatham Rump i. i. 14 If you please to stay my Lord, y'are welcom.1700 W. Congreve Way of World i. i. 4 O, y'are come.1888 R. L. Stevenson Black Arrow Prol. 14 Y' are a prater, Bennet, a talker, a babbler.1992 I. Pattison More Rab C. Nesbitt Scripts 183 Religion is it? Don't talk to me! It's ruined my bliddy life boy, there y'are!

β. English regional (northern and Lincolnshire) 1800s isto, 1800s– is-ta, 1800s– ista; Scottish 1800s istow. 1824 W. Carr Horæ Momenta Cravenæ 73 How isto, Tom?1825 Babylon in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1882) I. xiv. 175 Istow a maid, or istow a wife?1848 T. Blezard Westmoreld. Songs 33 Hoo ista, I sed.1893 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Is ta, art thou.

(iii). Contracted.

ζ. 1500s– -'r (now nonstandard), 1500s– -'re, 1800s– -r. With thou or thee: Quot. 1748 is quoting a source unnamed in the text but apparently R. Norris Medit. in 1692 Coll. Misc., which, however, has thou'rt rather than thou're in the original.1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. i. 12 Thou're all wrapt up in clouds, as if to thee Our very knowlege had antipathy.1749 W. Hawkins Henry & Rosamond iii. ii. 43 By my balk'd Joys, thou're Partner in the Trade; Thou sharest in the Spoil.a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1956) II. 95 I think thou're the flower of the claughing.1854 C. Dickens Hard Times ii. vi. 192 I would never see or think o' onnything that angered me, but thou..should'st be beside it. Thou're beside it now.1880 W. T. Dennison Orcadian Sketch-bk. 29 Trath thu're gotten a bonnie aithkin on thee hass this blessed day!1908 Orkney & Shetland Misc. 1 viii. 321 Thu're the ae lass i' the wirld wha I like, thu're me peerie doo. With ye or you: The form yer may in some instances represent a reduced form of you’re rather than a contraction of ye and are.1594 Taming of a Shrew sig. D 4^v I, when you'r meeke and gentell but not Before.1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. E You're sure a swift horse will tier.1652 Bastard i. iv. 12 You're a treacherous man, Base and unworthy.1779 H. Cowley Albina ii. 22 Love and Albina are alike forgot, And you're again the Hero!1798 D. Crawford Poems 54 They'll think you're as dead as a mell.1803 G. Colman John Bull i. i. 5 You're a monster!1823 J. Hogg Three Perils of Woman I. i. ii. 60 Yer no gaun to leive yer lane a' yer days... Na, na, dauchter Gat, ye mun lerne to slotter for yersell.1878 W. Penman Echoes from Ingleside 18 Noo Sandy, my man, dinna draw doon your broo, An' say you're no gaun to your creepie the noo.1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 29/2 There's no telling, ye know, the first night. But if yer a good boy and wash yer face I'll see.1936 D. Thomas Let. Dec. (1987) 243 You're the only reviewer, I think, who has commented on my attempts to get away from those rhythmic and thematic dead ends, that physical blank wall.1962 D. Phillips Lichty Nichts 60 Margaret, you're gitn half-mallied.2007 C. Stross Halting State (2008) 302 When you're a quarter-ton bull ursus, reality gets to take a back seat.

β. 1500s -s, 1600s -'s; English regional (northern and midlands) 1800s– -'s, 1800s– -z, 1800s– -'z; Scottish (now northern and Shetland) pre-1700 1700s– -'s, 1700s -'se'. 1595 E. Spenser Colin Clouts come Home Againe sig. B4 Thous a son, That hast not seene least part of natures worke.1609 A. Gardyne Garden Grave & Godlie Flowres sig. K2 For all thy wealth, thou's miserable.1621 R. Brathwait Times Curtaine Drawne sig. L 5^v Thou's far misled; if I were sike an ane I reede thee Rowie, I cudd haue a Swaine.a1681 J. Lacy Sr. Hercules Buffoon (1684) ii. iii. 14 Thou's an ill-favoured grizely like Fellow.1786 R. Burns To Mouse vi, in Poems 140 Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble, But house or hald.1795 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XIV. 429 How 'se' t'ou, how art thou.1816 T. Morton Slave iii. i. 58 Oh, Matty! thou's a rogue!1823 J. Galt Entail III. x. 101 Thou's a wheedling creature, Jamie.1929 John o' Groat Jrnl. 22 Nov. Thou's the most uncouth hillock o' a lass ever called at me hoose.1970 C. Egleton Piece of Resistance (1974) viii. 104 I'll say one thing for thee lad—thou's not lacking in cheek.

ε. Now archaic and English regional 1500s– -'rt, 1600s -rt, 1600s -r't, 1800s– -'t (English regional (midlands)). 1599 J. Weever Epigrammes sig. B2 Thou'rt medling with my hat.1691 W. Mountfort Greenwich-Park iii. iii. 31 Drugster..thou'rt as dry as the Ingredients of thy Trade, and hast no more Moisture in thee than a Potato.1692 ‘J. Curate’ Sc. Presbyterian Eloquence iv. 113 O Lord, thou'rt like a Mousie peeping out at the hole of a Wall.1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) I. 266 Plainly, friend, thou'rt undone, If such a creature marry thee.1772 R. Cumberland Fashionable Lover iii. 25 Ah, Colin, thou'rt a prodigal; a thriftless loon thou'st been.1814 W. Nicholson Poems 90 Thou'rt war fa'ur'd than a plucked daw.1863 F. Kemble Eng. Trag. v. ii, in Plays 157 Thou'rt an angel, bless thee! bless thee! Thou'rt come to take me out of torment; take me!1960 J. Barth Sot-weed Factor ii. ix. 187 But say, thou'rt all beshit.

η. 1600s (1800s– English regional) b'. ?1602 Narcissus (Rawl. Poet. 212) (1893) 626 Why doe you flye? Where b'ye?1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles II. xxiii. 32 B' you awake, Tess?

α. regional 1800s– -'m. 1891 ‘Q’ Noughts & Crosses 97 I'm afeard you'm o' no account,..but sam-sodden if I may say so.1982 in G. M. Story et al. Dict. Newfoundland Eng. 314/2 [She] was complimented on her agility by an elderly gentleman who said to her, ‘My, miss, you'm a loose woman.’1984 C. Kightly Country Voices i. 27 If you got five bob, well you'm drunk, inner you?1987 ‘J. Gash’ Moonspender (1988) xxviii. 251 Gawd, but you'm slow, booy.

(iv). With negative particle affixed.

ε. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English narð (Northumbrian), Old English (rare)–early Middle English nært, Old English–early Middle English neart, early Middle English nard, early Middle English narrt ( Ormulum), Middle English nart, Middle English n'art, Middle English nert. eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) viii. 20 Þonne neart ðu þeah ungesælig.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John xix. 12 Non es amicus caesaris : narð ðæs cæsares friond.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4676 Loc nu ȝiff þatt tu narrt rihht wod.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6804 Nert þu na wimman swa sære to wepen.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1138 Þu nard [a1300 Jesus Oxf. nart] noȝt bute ded.c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 7498 A, Mahoun,..Þou nart no god worþ a slo.?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) i. pr. v. l. 556 Þou nart nat put out of it [sc. þi contre].?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) iii. pr. vi. l. 2127 Þou nart no þing ellys to þousandes of folkes.1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) iv. xx. f. lxv Why nart thou here. (b) With enclitic negative particle 1700s art'nt, 1700s–1800s artn't (North American); English regional 1800s– artent, 1800s– art'n (south-western), 1800s– artna, 1800s– artn't, 1800s– at'n (south-western), 1800s– atten (south-western); Welsh English 1800s art'n, 1800s art'na. 1706 T. Baker Hampstead Heath iv. ii. 42 You Coxcomb, thou artn't Meat for the Crows.1827 A. N. Royall Tennessean xiii. 127 Oh, thou needn't let blood, thou artn't so bad, man.1856 E. Waugh in Manch. Weekly Examiner & Times 21 June (Suppl.) 3/3 Mon, aw'm one-ly when theaw artn't theer.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. Introd. 73 Thou artna.a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 198/2 Thee beint, eint, or artent.1898 G. Sweetman in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 198/2 Thee atten.1994 C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. 496/1 [Cornwall] Artn't thou?

η. (a) 1600s bent, 1600s–1700s ben't; English regional (chiefly southern and midlands) 1800s– baant (midlands), 1800s– bainst (Cornwall), 1800s– bain't /beɪnt/, 1800s– baint, 1800s– banna (Kent), 1800s– banner (Kent), 1800s– baynt, 1800s– beant, 1800s– be-ant, 1800s– bean't, 1800s– beint, 1800s– bent, 1800s– ben't, 1800s– binna (west midlands), 1900s– b'ent, 1900s– beyunt, 1900s– byunt; U.S. regional (chiefly New England) 1800s ban't, 1800s ben't, 1800s– beant, 1900s– beint (southern), 1900s– beunt; (b) English regional (chiefly southern and midlands) 1800s be s'n't, 1800s– beesnt, 1800s– beesn't, 1800s– beestna, 1800s– bis'na, 1800s– bisn't, 1800s– bisnt, 1800s– bis'n't, 1800s– bissen, 1800s– bissent, 1800s– bistna, 1800s– bistnt, 1800s– bistn't; Welsh English 1900s– bistn't. 1669 R. Stapylton Trag. Hero & Leander i. 8 Ben't you in Love?a1672 F. Willughby Bk. of Games (2003) 95 Putting those that are right placed in a row above the former, that you bent confounded and mistake the places.1707 C. Cibber School-boy ii. 32 What ben't you married yet?1818 T. G. Fessenden Ladies Monitor 171 Some provincial words and phrases, which ought to be avoided..ban't for are not or be not.1853 ‘C. Bede’ Adventures Mr. Verdant Green viii. 73 ‘Bain't you well, sir?’ repeated Mr. Filcher.1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words I. 44 Be s'n't thee angry?1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words Holderness 26/1 Baint yă cummin?1886 W. Barnes Gloss. Dorset Dial. Bissen, bist not, art not.1887 W. D. Parish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. 7 Banna ye going hopping this year?1898 G. F. Northall in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 Bisn't yer?1905 Dial. Notes 3 3 Sometimes you be and sometimes you beunt.1938 C. H. Matschat Suwannee River 197 Beint ye a-comin back, Cella?1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 52 B'ent , Beyunt, am not, are not.1986 D. Potter Singing Detective ii. 78 You byunt interested in clapping thee fayther, now be ya?

ζ. (a) 1600s are'nt, 1600s–1700s arn't, 1700s–1800s ar'n't, 1800s– aren't; English regional 1800s– arn't, 1900s– adn't (Yorkshire); Scottish 1900s– arna, 1900s– arnae, 1900s– urnae; Irish English (northern) 1900s– urnae; (b) 1700s–1800s an't, 1700s– ain't /eɪnt/ (regional and nonstandard); English regional 1800s– aint, 1800s– eint, 1800s– ein't, 1800s– yeunt (Worcestershire), 1900s– anna (west midlands); U.S. regional 1800s aint, 1800s yent (southern). With ye or you:1675 T. Duffett Mock-tempest i. ii. 10 Arn't you Prospero Whiffe, sooth, Keeper of Bridewell, my Father?1683 J. Crowne City Politiques i. 5 Whoo! but are'nt you wi' my Father yonder?1723 New-Eng. Courant 16–23 Sept. 1/1 An't you an impudent, saucy, sorry Fellow.1794 R. Southey Wat Tyler iii. ii You ar'n't to die So easily.1798 J. O'Keeffe Beggar on Horseback ii. iv, in Dramatic Wks. III. 467 Why ain't you Nokes the Player, son to old Barnavag?1810 S. Green Reformist I. 86 Aren't you ashamed, you undecent fellow, to be appearing on the stair~case in that there manner?1829 C. Lamb Let. 22 Jan. (1935) III. 202 An't you glad about Burke's case?1848 E. C. Gaskell Mary Barton I. xiii. 233 Come! Mary, ar'n't you ready?1882 Harper's Mag. June 48/1 You ain't even phazed by it.1994 N. DeMille Spencerville xxxvii. 407 You got to remember you ain't firin' a rifle.2000 K. Charles Cruel Habitations (2001) xv. 283 ‘Oh, bully for you,’ she sneered. ‘Aren't you the noble one?’ With thou or thee:1827 A. N. Royall Tennessean xiii. 130 Thou an't sick, child, art thee?a1895 H. Walker MS Coll. Notts. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 199/1 Eint thou?1963 H. Orton & W. J. Halliday Surv. Eng. Dial. I. iii. 1056 Q[uestion]..Now, speaking of [me], you can say: [You're] all right there,... [Yorkshire] Adn't thou.

β. (a) 1800s– isn't (nonstandard); English regional (northern and midlands) 1800s– isn't, 1800s– izn't, 1800s– iznt, 1800s– izzent; (b) British regional 1900s– inner (Welsh English, before personal pronoun), 1900s– in't. ?1858 C. H. Saunders Pirate's Legacy i. ii. 10 Dat's a fac, Paddy; I'm dam if you isn't!1867 C. White Bone Squash i. i. 5 Now leff me feel your head; you isn't got no bump like de one I is.a1888 B. Campbell Fairfax i. in White Slave & Other Plays (1941) 153 No, you isn't [going]; I'se afraid, all by myself.a1898 M. C. F. Morris in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 198/1 Ah, thoo isn't.1966 J. J. Phillips Mojo Hand ii. 16 Is you jiving, woman, or what? You sure has me fooled if you isn't.1984 in C. Kightly Country Voices i. 27 If you got five bob, well you'm drunk, inner you?1992 I. Pattison More Rab C. Nesbitt Scripts 77 Yir a stud, in't yi! Yir a sex machine!1993 F. Collymore RSVP to Mrs Bush-Hall 134 You isn't doing nothing of the sort.

α. 1900s– amma (Shropshire). 1971 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. iii. 1041 Q[uestion]. If you saw me wheeling a pram and then gathered from our conversation that I was not married, you might ask me in some surprise: But..married?..[Shropshire] Amma you [wed]?

(v). With negative particle and personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2a at thou pron. and Forms 2b at you pron.

ε. early Middle English nartu, early Middle English nertu. c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Royal) (1934) 31 Ne nawiht nartu wummon ilich.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1330 Nartu [a1300 Jesus Oxf. Nertu] þe wisure neauer þe mo.a1300 Passion our Lord l. 420 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 49 If þu þysne bileuest..Nertu nouht cesares freond, ac ert his ivo.

ζ. nonstandard. (a) 1900s– aincha, 1900s– aintcha, 1900s– ain'tcha, 1900s– ain't'cha, 1900s– ain't-cha, 1900s– aint'cha; (b) 1900s– aren'cha, 1900s– arencha, 1900s– arentcha, 1900s– aren'tcha. 1903 Lima (Ohio) Times Democrat 13 Aug. 13 Aincha hungry?1920 C. S. Montanye Some Nephew 12 Aintcha gonna get me none?1933 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 28 Mar. 10 You're still there arentcha?1955 Sci. Amer. Aug. 78/3 Comic strips and some other contemporary literature (literachoor) recognize the prevalence of these forms in speech by spelling them that way: aintcha, arentcha, betcha, etc.1977 Private Eye 15 Apr. 14/1 Aren'tcha sick to death of the cold weather??1986 L. Reed Hey Mr. Rain in Pass thru Fire (2000) 90 (song) Mr. Rain ain'tcha follow me down Hey Mr. Rain ain'tcha follow me down.2007 C. T. Adams & C. Clamp Moon's Fury 65 Yo're her, aint'cha?

c. 3rd singular. (i).

β. Old English ist (rare), Old English (rare)–Middle English hys, Old English (rare)–Middle English 1600s his, Old English (rare)–Middle English 1600s iss, Old English–1500s ys, Old English– is, early Middle English ec (transmission error), early Middle English ef (transmission error), early Middle English if (transmission error), early Middle English us (perhaps transmission error), Middle English ese (chiefly northern), Middle English ess (chiefly northern), Middle English esse (chiefly northern and north-east midlands), Middle English hes (chiefly northern), Middle English hiis, Middle English hijs, Middle English hyse, Middle English ins (transmission error), Middle English ise, Middle English isse, Middle English js, Middle English y, Middle English yes, Middle English yis, Middle English yse, Middle English ysse, Middle English (chiefly northern and north-east midlands)–1500s es, Middle English–1500s iis, late Middle English as (perhaps transmission error), late Middle English est (perhaps transmission error), 1600s ish (apparently only in representations of Irish English), 1800s– iz (regional); English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s uz (south-western), 1800s– es (south-western), 1800s– ist; U.S. regional (southern) 1800s– yiz; Scottish pre-1700 es, pre-1700 his, pre-1700 1700s– is, pre-1700 1800s ys, 1800s iss. eOE Acct. Voy. Ohthere & Wulfstan in tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. i. 14 Hit [sc. þæt land] is eal weste.OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 27 Nis God deadra ac he hys lybbendra.lOE Manumission, Exeter (Exeter 3501) in J. Earle Hand-bk. Land-charters (1888) 258 Þar to ys iwitnis Ricard se portreua.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2670 Teruagant..us [emended in ed. to is] oure god.?a1300 Maximian (Digby) l. 112 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 95 Foul soþ I-seid hit Iis, þe mon þat is of pris, He haveþ frendes þe mo.?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 93 Man is lif nis bot a schade; Nov he is, and nov he nis.1385 in 3rd Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1872) App. 410 in Parl. Papers (C. 673) XXXIII. 337 Thys tewysday that nw ys.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 19422 ‘Queþir hes þis,’ he said, ‘soþe ouir nan.’a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 13158 Seint Ion þat in prisoun isse.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5779 Til ȝou me sendis he þat ess [Vesp. es, Fairf. ys].a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 32 Als he was ay God in trinite, Swa he es, and ay God sal be.a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 44 Sho est [perh. read es] heȝid ouir toþir.a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 10 Alle ys for defawte of lore.1482 J. Dalton Let. 12 Aug. in Cely Lett. (1975) 166 I askyd Wylliam Cely..yff yow hayd tolde hym wat yow wold that he schvlde do wyth your hosse wher ase your stabyll hyse.1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) xviii. 37 Is hit right or wrong.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvi. 534 Quhar lestand loving is.1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (rev. ed.) f. 36^v Lufe his fulfilling of the Law.a1625 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Captaine i. i, in Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ff4/1 Report? you are unwise; report is nothing.1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 276 One truth is clear..Whatever Is, is Right.1786 R. Burns Poems 59 The bleezan, curst, mischievous monkies Delude his eyes Till in some miry slough he sunk is.1844 W. Thom Rhymes & Recoll. 92 Loveless is her strain.1888 C. C. Jones Negro Myths Georgia Coast 170 Yiz, am, is, to be, did.1899 O. Wilde Importance of being Earnest i. 1 As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte.1936 N.Y. Woman 23 Sept. 13/3 A gentleman..is a man who takes off his hat and gloves when speaking to a lady.1992 C. P. Estés Women who run with Wolves xii. 358 In northern Japan where the Ainu tribe lives, the bear is one who can talk to God directly.1999 Scotsman 13 Aug. 10 There is ultimately a rather shoogly grip on the play's tone.

η. (a) early Old English bi (Mercian, probably transmission error), Old English biað (Northumbrian), Old English bit (rare), Old English (Mercian)–early Middle English beoþ, Old English (rare)–early Middle English bid, Old English (rare)–early Middle English bieð, Old English–early Middle English bið, Old English–early Middle English byð, Old English–Middle English biþ, Old English–Middle English byþ, late Old English byod (probably transmission error), late Old English byt, late Old English–early Middle English beoð, late Old English–early Middle English beð, late Old English–early Middle English bioð, late Old English–early Middle English boð, late Old English–early Middle English byd, late Old English–early Middle English byoð, late Old English–Middle English beþ, early Middle English bæð, early Middle English beað, early Middle English bed, early Middle English beod, early Middle English beoit, early Middle English bide, early Middle English biðe, early Middle English boit, early Middle English boþ, early Middle English bued, early Middle English buh, early Middle English buð, early Middle English byeð, Middle English beet, Middle English beeþ, Middle English bet, Middle English beth, Middle English bieþ, Middle English bith, Middle English bueþ, Middle English buþ, Middle English byeþ, Middle English byht, Middle English byth, late Middle English beyth, 1500s bethe; N.E.D. (1887) also records a form early Middle English bideð; (b) chiefly northern and north midlands early Middle English beos, early Middle English bez, Middle English bees, Middle English beess, Middle English beis, Middle English bes, Middle English bese, Middle English betȝ, Middle English beys, Middle English biis, Middle English bijs; English regional (chiefly northern and midlands) 1800s beez (Northumberland), 1800s biz, 1800s– bees, 1800s– bis; U.S. regional (chiefly southern and in African-American usage) 1900s– bees, 1900s– bes, 1900s– be's; Scottish pre-1700 bee's, pre-1700 beies, pre-1700 bes, pre-1700 1700s beis, pre-1700 1800s beys, 1700s– bees, 1900s– bus (Shetland); Irish English 1700s– bes, 1800s– bees, 1900s– beez (northern), 1900s– biz (northern); (c) early Middle English byn (northern), 1700s–1800s bin (pseudo-archaic); English regional (west midlands) 1800s– bin; Scottish (pseudo-archaic) pre-1700 bein, pre-1700 beine, pre-1700 bene, pre-1700 beyn, pre-1700 beyne, pre-1700 byne; (d) Middle English 1700s– be (regional); Scottish pre-1700 1800s be; (e) English regional (Worcestershire) 1900s– bist. Older Scots bene is a literary hyper-anglicized form used at a time when bene was already obsolete as a plural form in standard English (see Forms 2d(i)α). Byron uses bin after an 18th-cent. emendation of Shakespeare Cymbeline ii. iii. 24. In a number of regional varieties be or bees is used as a habitual form (contrasting with other forms of the verb such as is, etc. or zero copula); compare quots. 1972¹, 1996.eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) cii. 3 Qui propitius fit omnibus iniquitatibus tuis : se milde bið allum unrehtwisnissum dinum.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. vi. 23 Si autem oculus tuus nequam est totum corpus tuum tenebrosum erit : gif þin ege þonne ne bið nan eall þin lichoma beoþ ðeostru.OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) cxv. 156 Ðeos wyrt..byþ cenned neah sæ & on hatum stowum.OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxlix. 6 Him on gomum bið godes oft gemynd.lOE Laws: Rectitudines (Corpus Cambr.) iv. 446 Gif he aferað, ne ðearf he wyrcan ða hwile ðe his hors ute bið.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 675 Hwilc abbot þe beþ þær coren of þe munecan.c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 28 Eall hit bið swa ðu bidest.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1622 Itt beoþ þe rihht inoh. To winnenn godess are.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6774 An godd..þatt æfre wass. & iss. & beoþ.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 25 He bið wið-uten feire.a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 120 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 167 Al his lif scal bon suilch boð [v.rr. bued, buð] his endinge.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 97 [Crist]..was & is & æuremo bieð.a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Titus) (1963) 26 Þe hus beos uuele loked.?c1250 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) l. 77 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 290 So muchel bet [a1225 Lamb. boð] his mihte.a1275 Body & Soul (Trin. Cambr. B.14.39) in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 31 Þe prest boit icomin.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2093 Hit buh heom wel iqueme.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2874 A-nan swa hit beoð [c1300 Otho his] auen.?a1300 ( Writ of Gospatric (Sawyer 1243) in D. A. Woodman Charters of Northern Houses (2012) (corrected text) 370 Loc hwylkun [MS hyylkun] byn [þe] þar bydann geyldfreo beo swa ic byn.?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) l. 270 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II. 281 Non ne byht ther nevermore.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 54 Þe holyist man byeþ..becaȝt.1372 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 87 Þi moder seet Hou wo þe beet.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1175 It beis [Gött. bes, Trin. Cambr. beþ] not sua.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2065 Blissed bijs [a1400 Gött. sal be] your tabernacle.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 3762 My hert bese [Trin. Cambr. beþ] neuer broȝt in rest. bi-twix and þis Iacob be slayne.c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 611 No blysse betz fro him reparde.c1410 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Harl. 7334) (1885) l. 2021 Nought beþ [c1405 Hengwrt was] forgeten þe infortune of mart.1428 in C. Innes & P. Chalmers Liber Aberbrothoc (1856) II. 58 As lang as the abbot beis at his innys.?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 4762 To durham, with' þe bischope se, It was broght and ȝit þare be.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xix. 300 It beis nocht swa.a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 19 It bese the wars for thi sake.1516–21 Duke of Buckingham in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 217 It bethe matter that I am lothe..to troble you withall.1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 565 Traist weill..the feild this da beis ouris.c1550 Clariodus (1830) i. 1347 Quhair Clariodus beine ȝit.1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour 5266 in Wks. (1931) I. 355 To God allone the day bene knawin.1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. A3 Nothing..Different..Than bene the purest Creature That euir wes formit of nature.1604 A. Craig Poet. Ess. sig. B2 Thy folde bene broke.1633 in W. Fraser Mem. Maxwells of Pollok (1863) II. 242 The kingis maiestie beis al day in Seitowne.1789 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Glocestershire I. 326 [Provincialisms:] Be is generally used for is.1795 J. O'Keeffe Irish Mimic i. i. 1 Yes, it bes, Harry.1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII xxvi. 68 Also there bin another pious reason For making squares and streets anonymous.1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. I. 562/1 The heather-bleet, the mire-snipe, How mony burds be that?1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words I. 52 There it biz.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxx [Ludlow] 'E be, or 'e bin.1887 J. C. Harris Free Joe (1888) 95 Wiles he be talkin', he'd stop en look roun'.1948 M. Carbery & E. Grey Herts. Heritage 60 Ther it be! Ketch a 'olt..on 't.1972 D. Claerbaut Black Jargon in White Amer. 57 It be's that way sometimes.1972 Orbis 21 25 I think it be close..Mr. Nixon be our nex' president.1994 C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. 494/2 [Worcs.] Her bist.1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 19/1 She bees working every day.2008 A. Clarke More 165 The Tech be the coolest high school in the city to hang out in.

θ. Old English weseð. OE Phoenix 373 He..edgeong weseð under swegles hleo.

ζ. English regional (southern and midlands) 1800s– are; U.S. regional (chiefly south Midland) 1800s air, 1800s– are; Caribbean 1900s– a, 1900s– ah. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxxix [Oswestry] 'E be, or bin, or are.1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 168/1 De yaller gal, ef she are likely..is wuss'n a rattlesnake.1891 T. N. Page Elsket 137 He ax me agin, 'Whar air P'laski?' I tell him I don' know whar P'laski air.1977 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1974 lxi. 66 She are too crazy.1992 P. Baikie et al. Absolutely 99 Nobody are the father. Nobody have touched me. It are a miracle.

α. U.S. regional (chiefly southern and in African-American usage) and English regional 1800s– am. 1897 G. F. Northall in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 198/2 [N. Warwickshire] Am or bin it?1977 G. Smitherman Talkin & Testifyin 15 Everything I tells you am the truth.2007 A. Theroux Laura Warholic xlvii. 780 ‘What it am, baby!’ he cooed, flashing out of a doorway and doffing his hat.

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2 at it pron., adj., and n.¹

β. (a) With proclitic pronoun Middle English tys, Middle English– tis, 1500s t'is, 1500s– 'tis (now poetic, archaic, regional, and colloquial), 1600s t' is, 1600s t'is, 1600s ti's, 1600s tish (apparently only in representations of Irish English), 1600s ty's, 1900s– 'tes. Some Middle English attestations show doubling of the pronoun.?a1289 Ancrene Riwle (Cleo.: Scribe D) (1972) 318 Þe blisse þet he greiþed alse as it tis uneuenelike til alle uerdlike blisses, also it is untalelike to alle werdlike þingis.?1443 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 218 Your sor myth ben as wyl lokyth to here as it tys þer ȝe ben.c1475 Mankind (1969) l. 828 Alas, tys pety yt schwld be þus.1487 W. Caxton tr. J. Legrand Bk. Good Maners v. iv. sig. hiiii v But tis a grete thyng whan a man maye & can despyse his lyf.a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Gj Tis a pestens quene.1590 T. Fenne Hecubaes Mishaps in Frutes sig. Gg3 'Tis past with us and remedles, wherefore no longer mourn.1598 R. Haydocke tr. G. P. Lomazzo Tracte Artes Paintinge ii. xiii. 47 T'is onely thou that can'st dis-arme this hande.a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. iii. 28 Your wit..'tis strongly wadg'd vp in a blocke-head.1656 J. Davies tr. M. de Scudéry Clelia II. ii. 51 'Tis not that she would renovate her affection with this Prince..but she at least would not have been displeas'd if she could have excus'd her self to him.1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. i. ii. 22 Purslain..tis very sweet, and makes a good Sallad for a hot Country.1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy V. v. 37 'Tis a shrill, penetrating sound of itself.1896 I. T. Thurston Well Won iv. 39 ‘Henderson, is that true?’ demanded Gordon sternly... For once, Henderson absolutely looked ashamed of himself..as he said sulkily, ‘Yes, 'tis.’1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. 56 Lovely weather, sir.—'Tis all that.1932 S. Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm iv. 53 'Tes the cowshed! 'Tes our Feckless openin' the door fer me!1977 P. Hill Liars (1978) xii. 154 'Tis your business if'n you want to waste your time.2005 S. Elmes Talking for Brit. i. 15 My dad used to say ‘'tis all for eatin' pilchards’; it meant it's gonna be hot and the pilchards were gonna come in'. (b) With enclitic pronoun Middle English–1600s yst, Middle English–1700s ist, 1500s– is't (now archaic and regional), 1600s i'st, 1600s ist't. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 750 Nov ist a water of loðlic ble, Men calið it ðe dede se.c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 108 Who yst þat neuer nas rebel Aȝeins hys souerayn?a1547 J. Redford Moral Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 3 Ah! syr, what tyme of day yst??1553 Respublica (1952) i. iv. 12 Youe that sholde have wytte, yst your descretion Bluntlye to goe forth, and be called Oppression?1567 G. Turberville tr. G. B. Spagnoli Eglogs viii. f. 79^v How thinkst thou Candid is't not right and reason?1608 T. Middleton Familie of Love (new ed.) ii. sig. B4^v Gud... How yst: me thinkes thou hast been a long vagrant. Lip. The Rogation hath been long indeed.a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 246 What is't thou canst demand?1715 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus (ed. 3) I. iv. v. 2 Nor is't but Justice that each Toe Should the same Pennance undergo.1798 W. Wordsworth Goody Blake & Harry Gill in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 85 What is't that ails young Harry Gill?1876 R. Browning Pacchiarotto & Other Poems 40 That chord now—a groan or a grunt is't? Schumann's self was no worse contrapuntist.1979 G. Campbell Hay in Chapman No. 23–4 (1985) 86 What is't?2004 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) 7 June 14 Is't ony winner that those that cairry the deepest scars the day got their birse up?

(iii). Contracted.

β. Middle English–1600s -s, 1500s–1600s -se, 1500s– -'s, 1600s -'es, 1600s -s'; English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s– -z. c1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 84 Nu þes þiolden [read þe's ȝiolden]..þe pine werof þu were ine ti chilthing [printed chiltuing] quite and fre.a1325 St. Theophilus (Corpus Cambr.) l. 35 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 222 Was [c1300 Harl. What is] þis þulke..þat þou bringst þere wiþ þe?1574 R. Robinson Rewarde of Wickednesse sig. G3^v And ambition is a priuie poison, It's also a pestilens.1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages To Rdr. sig. A.iv^v To bring but its Ill thats not thair ben.1635 F. Quarles Emblemes ii. xiv. 118 When not himself, hee's mad; when most himself, hee's worse.1671 J. Caryll Sir Salomon ii. 17 Ho; Whose within there?1721 T. D'Urfey Ariadne ii. i. 203 She's coming, Flushing, and fierce like Woman when she's angry.?1772 Young Coalman's Courtship to Creelwife's Daughter (ed. 3) iii. 3 It's a cald day.1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus iii. i. 103 Again the love-fit 's on him.1848 C. Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. vii. 100 What's thy name?a1917 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick (1927) 12 It's an ill day wui rain.1948 Z. N. Hurston Seraph on Suwanee xxvii. 296 That's a damn whore's egg!2009 N.Y. Mag. 5 Jan. 74/1 But it's too easy to stamp this book with some snarky dismissal (EPIC FAIL) and continue on one's self-satisfied way.

α. English regional 1800s– -'m. a1890 A. J. Ellis in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 197/2 I are, he'm.1915 J. Galsworthy Bit o' Love I. 10 He'm in his thinkin' box.1963 N. Marsh Dead Water (1964) i. 13 ‘She'm sozzled’, said Wally, and indeed, it was so.1999 J. Burchill Married Alive xiv. 206 Mrs Kemp, she 'eard the argufying. Said as 'ow I shouldn't 'ave to put up with it at my age. She'm right too.

(iv). Contracted, with zero form of pronoun implied.By contraction of it's, that's in proclitic position.

β. regional and nonstandard. (a) With zero form of it 1900s– 's. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. iv. 8 By my troth's not so good, and I warrant your cosin will say so.] 1914 Crisis Apr. 294/2 ‘It's all right now, Jimmy. You're my boy now.’ A contented smile and a murmured: ‘Yas'm, 's all right now.’1927 I. Gershwin 'S Wonderful in Compl. Lyrics (1993) 103/3 'S wonderful! 'S marvelous—You should care for me! 'S awful nice! 'S Paradise—'S what I love to see.1933 H. C. Bailey Mr. Fortune Wonders 98 You wouldn't blame your dear boy! Your only one! 's too bad.1951 ‘J. Wyndham’ Day of Triffids i. 25 'S that bloody comet, b—— it! Thash what done it.1982 D. Lucie Hard Feelings i. ii, in Fashion, Progress, Hard Feelings, Doing the Business (1991) 189 'S all a bit Freudian, you ask me.2005 S. Elmes Talking for Brit. i. 8 'S like the gutt'rin on yuh roof, ennuh. To us i's the ‘launder’. (b) With zero form of that 1900s– 's, 1900s– s'. 1921 B. Tarkington Alice Adams xxii. 377 ‘I don't know any Mr. Law. You sure you got the name right?’ ‘Say he name Law,’ Gertrude replied, looking at the ceiling to express her fatigue. ‘Law. 'S all he tell me; 's all I know.’1939 M. Harrison What are we waiting For? 99 ‘It was two years last August: wasn't it, Fred?’ ‘Sri,’ said Fred.1954 M. Sennett King of Comedy xxii. 241 All I do is tell them what happened. 'Sall there is to it.1958 C. Watson Coffin scarcely Used xix. 174 ‘I thought he had only one funeral today.’ ‘S'right.’1968 ‘S. Woods’ Past Praying For iii. 245 ‘Wednesday, the twenty-second of September?’ ‘'sright.’1969 N. Freeling Tsing-Boum x. 64 ‘Man to see you, chief. Says you're expecting him.’ ‘'s right.’1977 ‘M. Underwood’ Fatal Trip xxv. 153 ‘Did they all leave together?’ ‘'Sright.’ ‘By car?’ ‘'Sright.’1992 L. Ladd Dragon Fire xi. 85 ‘What's it to you?’ Jed squirmed under Stone's unflinching look. ‘Ain't nuthin' to me. Just tryin' to be friendly-like, 'sall.’

(v). With negative particle affixed.

β. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English nyss (rare), Old English (rare)–Middle English nes, Old English–1500s nys, Old English–1500s (1600s archaic) nis, early Middle English mis (transmission error), early Middle English ni (transmission error), early Middle English niss ( Ormulum), early Middle English nus (perhaps transmission error), 1500s (1600s archaic) n'is. eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) iii. 1 (3) Non est salus illi in deo eius : nis haelu hire in deo hire.eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) v. 14 Hit nis giet se tima.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xxviii. 6 Non est hic : nis he her.OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 142 Hit nan wundor nys.OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 227 Non? nis hit swa? Non hit nis.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxviii. 6 Nys he her.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6181 Inn all þatt niss nan sinne.c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Hatton) xxviii. 6 Nis he her.c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: John (Hatton) v. 10 Hit ys [OE Corpus is] reste-daig; nys [OE Corpus nis] þe alyfed þæt þu þin bed bere.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 23 Hit nis nan wunder þah mon sunegie..unwaldes.c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) l. 129 Þer nis buten an godd.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6871 Nus [c1300 Otho nis] þer cost nan oðer.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 465 He nis noþer ȝep ne wis.c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 13 Fairer nis non þane he was.c1330 Sir Tristrem 997 Nis þer non so bald.c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 34 Al nis not good to þe gost þat þe bodi lykeþ.c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 951 Ierusalem..nys to yow no more to mene, Bot cete of god.?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 12 Men of Grece..seye þat þere nys no purgatorie.?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 35 Men may noȝt make þe pitte..so wyde þat it nes [?a1425 Titus but þat it is] at þe ȝere end full agayne.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 15723 No lond nyster ferrere west, Þer þe sonne goþ to rest.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3184 Bot ȝyff seynt Woltrude hurre þe rather holpe, ne nys bot dedde.1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) iv. xx. f. lxviij^v He and I oure herte nys but one.1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) xxxv. 133 Ther nys so grete sorowe, but that it may be forgoton at the laste.a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) l. 207 This science nys holy in effecte.?1528 J. Skelton Dyuers Balettys & Dyties xvi There nys thynge that I couet so fayne.1532 Romaunt Rose in Wks. G. Chaucer f. cxxix^v/1 In worlde nys wyght so harde of herte..That nolde haue had of her pyte.1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. May 144 Thou findest faulte where nys to be found.1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. June 19 Those hilles where harbrough nis to see.a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. sig. N3 Nothing can endure where order n'is.a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) iv. 11 I nis not Edmond Ironside God wot. (b) With enclitic negative particle. (i). 1600s isn t, 1600s– isn't, 1600s– is'nt (now regional and nonstandard), 1800s is'n (Welsh English, before personal pronoun), 2000s– isnae (Irish English (northern)); English regional 1800s– idden (southern), 1800s– idn' (southern), 1800s– id'n (southern), 1800s– idn'd (southern), 1800s– idn't (southern), 1800s– isn, 1800s– is'n, 1800s– isna, 1800s– isner, 1800s– isno' (now chiefly Derbyshire), 1800s– isnt, 1800s– izzent, 1900s– edn't (southern); U.S. regional (chiefly southern) 1800s– idn't, 1900s– id'n, 1900s– id'nt; Scottish 1800s ys-n', 1800s– isna, 1800s– isnae, 1800s– isn't, 1900s– isn', 1900s– isni, 1900s– isny, 1900s– izny; (ii). 1600s i'not, 1600s– i'n't (now nonstandard and Welsh English), 1700s i'nt, 1700s int; English regional 1800s– inna (west midlands), 1800s– innad (Shropshire, before personal pronoun), 1800s– it (Staffordshire), 1900s– inno (west midlands), 1900s– i'n't, 1900s– in't; U.S. regional (chiefly southern) 1900s– 'i'nt; Scottish 1900s– in't. 1608 T. Middleton Your Fiue Gallants sig. E2^v Isn t this the chaine o pearle I gaue to that periurde harlat?1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iii. iii. sig. G3^v It i'not he?1655 E. Calamy Saints Transfig. 29 I'n't the Church throughout Its body pained when an Eie's put out?1661 S. Pordage Mundorum Explicatio ii. 160 Isn't he a Fool that such things [sc. treasures] disesteems?1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxvii. 363 Your Lady's gone with them, i'n't she?1784 H. Cowley Bold Stroke for Husband (London ed.) iii. ii. 47 Pity she isn't brown or olive—I like your olives.1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl IV. ii. 50 That's game, int it, maum?1831 G. Almar Pedlar's Acre ii. iii. 44 There you are misinformed; he is very drunk, but he isn't blind.1836 A. Cunningham Lord Roldan III. 238 I wonder he isnae afraid that the caverns will creep together when he's in them and crush him.1864 B. Brierley Layrock of Langley-side 38 There isno' one on 'em ut's had a gradely dinner sin' th' last Kesmus.1889 F. Barnard Chirps frae Engine Lum 109 Their grammar isna Lennie's noo, Their coont-book isna Gray's.1898 G. Sweetman in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/1 Idden the house?1921 J. Russell Where Pavement Ends 188 Oh, it 'in't so bad.a1928 C. M. Mew Coll. Poems (1981) 56 Et edn't there we'm goin' to meet!1929 O. Nash Let. 28 Oct. in Loving Lett. (1990) 65 My hands keep reaching for something that isn't here.1949 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xi. 7 Id'nt..Isn't. Occasional. Not limited to the uneducated.1966 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1985) I. 179/2 Id'n..that sump'm?1977 W. McIlvanney Laidlaw xxii. 100 Ye're right it isny.1992 I. Pattison More Rab C. Nesbitt Scripts 186 That's a turn up for the book, in't it?1994 L. Johnson in J. Robertson Tongue in yer Heid 167 He's caa'd Jack Barnett, Mary. Isn' he just lovely?2001 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 2 June 22 Line dauncin, quhaur thar isnae onie touchin o yin dauncer by anither ava.2008 Wired May 136/2 All the legal water in the world isn't enough to wash a bandanna if there's no physical water available.

η. (a) 1600s be'nt; English regional (southern and midlands) 1800s– baint, 1800s– bain't /beɪnt/, 1800s– baynt, 1800s– be-ant, 1800s– beant, 1800s– bean't, 1800s– beint, 1800s– bent, 1800s– ben't, 1800s– binna (west midlands); U.S. regional (New England) 1800s– beant, 1900s– beunt; (b) English regional 1800s– bisn't (south-west midlands), 1900s– bistn't (Berkshire); Scottish 1800s beezna; Irish English (northern) 1900s– beesnae, 1900s– bisn't. a1669 J. Howard Eng. Mounsieur (1674) iv. iii. 51 Upon her own Peril if she be'nt.a1849 E. A. Poe X-ing a Paragrab in Wks. (1856) IV. 264 Why, sir, there beant an o in the office, neither a big un nor a little un!1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby 14/2 It beeant seea.1876 C. M. Yonge Three Brides xxv. 368 He was born in one of they vans..just like the gipsies, though he baint a gipsy neither.1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. 18/1 It beant his, an' nivver was.1887 F. T. Havergal Herefordshire Words 7/2 Ay! It binna very warm.1919 S. Weyman Great House xxx. 282 Well, I'm dommed!..It be you, Squire, bain't it?1921 H. Williamson Beautiful Years 54 A swaäm o' bees in Joo-lye Bean't worth a fly.1971 Down East Nov. 25 Beant—still exists in Maine for ‘are not’ and ‘is not’.1987 A. Puckett Blood Stains xvi. 169 ‘I want to speak to John Hill.’..‘Bain't no such person yurr.’

ζ. Now regional and nonstandard. (a) 1600s 'ent, 1600s–1700s e'nt, 1700s en't; English regional 1800s e'nt, 1800s– ent; U.S. regional (chiefly southern) 1900s– ent; (b) 1600s– an't, 1700s– aint, 1800s– ain't /eɪnt/; English regional 1800s a'nt, 1800s– eant, 1800s– een't (east midlands and East Anglian), 1800s– eint, 1800s– ein't, 1800s– yeant (south-west midlands), 1800s– yent (chiefly south-west midlands), 1800s– yeunt (south-west midlands), 1800s– yunt (chiefly south-west midlands); U.S. regional 1800s a'n't, 1800s– ain', 1800s– ain't, 1800s– yent (chiefly southern); (c) English regional 1800s– aren't, 1800s– arn't; U.S. regional 1800s aren't, 1800s arn't. In forms e'nt, en't, etc. perhaps partly representing a variant of in't, i'n't with unstressed centralized or lowered vowel (see β. forms), especially in early use.1675 T. Duffett Mock-tempest iv. ii. 37 Wee'l play heads or tails, who goes first, that's fair now, e'nt it?1684 E. Ravenscroft Dame Dobson ii. iv. 15 An't it all one if I tell you afterwards?1685 C. Cooper Grammatica Linguæ Anglicanæ xix. 79 De Barbara dialecto... Facilitatis causa dicitur. Bellis Bellows follis 'ent is not nonne est.1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 124 The politest atheist can't be sure that their e'nt a God.1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 10 Feb. (1948) I. 188 En't that right now?1771 I. Bickerstaff He wou'd if He Cou'd ii. ii. 15 Fore George it aint a word o'lie.1779 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1908) XLIX. 321 Please to inquire for him, if the tryal aint over.1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress I. 205 Come, come, this won't do; this e'nt the right go.1812 H. Smith & J. Smith Rejected Addr. 78 No, that a'nt it, says he.1835 D. Crockett Acct. Col. Crockett's Tour 114 This an't the way with private people.1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxviii. 298 There ain't any thing the matter.1860 O. W. Holmes Professor at Breakfast-table vii. 215 And marryin' a'n't for them.1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iii. 14 ‘You seem to have a good sister.’ ‘She ain't half bad.’1872 ‘Agrikler’ Rhymes 3 The moaney mun yent to be sneezed at.a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 198/2 He beint, eint, or aren't.1898 J. P. Kirk in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 198/1 There een't no sense in it.1902 J. J. H. Burgess Some Shetland Folk 86 It ain't nothin' whatsumdever to me, I tell dee.1948 Z. N. Hurston Seraph on Suwanee xvii. 154 Love ain't nothing else but compellment, honey.1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 111 Yent it?, isn't it?1977 J. Johnston Shadows on our Skin 86 Bit young, ent he, for a girl like you?1992 D. Allison Bastard out of Carolina i. 11 ‘Her’? he stammered to Earle. ‘That your sister? That pretty little white-headed thing? She an't no bigger than a girl.’2008 Independent 30 Oct. 14/3 This particular law does work. It ain't broke, so don't fix it.

(vi). With personal pronoun and negative particle affixed. Now colloquial and regional.

β. (a) 1600s– 'tisn't, 1800s 't isn't, 1900s– tisn't. Compare Forms 2b at it pron., adj., and n.¹1694 L. Echard tr. Plautus Amphitryon Prol., in tr. Plautus Comedies 4 But 'tisn't my Fathers way, to hit grateful People i' the Teeth with old Kindnesses.1739 D. Bellamy Innocence Betray'd ii. iii. 112 'Tisn't a Virtue, Lucia, but a Vice, To be so very coy! so very nice.1803 G. Colman John Bull iv. i. 56 I be but the guide, and 'tisn't for I to go first.1888 R. Kipling Under Deodars 93 Remember, Bobby, 't isn't the best drill..it's the man who knows how to handle men.1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea iii. 32 You might run across and talk to me once in a while... Tisn't far and folks ought to be neighborly.1972 P. Cleife Slick & Dead i. i. 14 Oh, come now—'tisn't always like that.1998 H. Mantel Giant, O'Brien viii. 111 'Tisn't as if we can afford to treat ourselves to tea. (b) Interrogative 1900s– innit, 1900s– intit (chiefly English regional (northern) and Scottish). Compare innit int.1954 A. Hackney Private's Progress xvi. 178 Still, innit lovely, this sail?1978 T. Frisby Seaside Postcard 6 Look at that little ship out there. Innit lovely.1983 Summer Bull. Yorks. Dial. Soc. 30 25 But intit a bi big?2005 in R. M. Millar Northern & Insular Scots (2007) 157 Intit funny, that.2013 J. White White Fence 166 Doing stuff without knowing why, innit that what gets folks in trouble?

ζ. 1800s taint, 1800s– 'taint, 1800s– 'tain't, 1900s– 't'ain't, 1900s– t'ain't. 1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 197 I don't say 'taint so.1834 W. G. Simms Guy Rivers II. xxi. 279 'Tain't so easy to find him if he don't want to be found.1859 J. A. Symonds Let. Sept. (1967) I. 206 You will think I am fallen desperately in love. Yet it taint so.1919 W. Deeping Second Youth xxiii. 194 'Tain't like 'im. 'E used to be sensible.1942 Z. N. Hurston in Amer. Mercury July 90 'T'ain't nothing to you, nohow.1974 H. R. F. Keating Underside viii. 77 ‘I'm sure whatever they say's undeserved.’ ‘No, t'ain't. You ninny.’2006 Philadelphia Apr. 78/3 T'aint New York, t'aint Washington.

d. Plural. (i).

γ. early Old English siendun, early Old English sion (Kentish), early Old English siont (Kentish), Old English sendun (Mercian), Old English seondan (rare), Old English seondon, Old English siend (rare), Old English siendan (rare), Old English siendon, Old English sient (rare), Old English sin (rare), Old English sindo (rare), Old English sindun (chiefly Anglian), Old English siond (rare), Old English siondan, Old English siondon, Old English sydun (Mercian, probably transmission error), Old English syn (rare), Old English syndas (transmission error), Old English syndo (rare), Old English syne (rare), Old English (rare)–early Middle English send, Old English (rare)–early Middle English sendon, Old English–early Middle English sind, Old English–early Middle English sindan, Old English–early Middle English sindon, Old English–early Middle English sint, Old English–early Middle English synd, Old English–early Middle English syndan, Old English–early Middle English synden, Old English–early Middle English syndon, Old English–early Middle English syndun, Old English–early Middle English synt, Old English (rare)–early Middle English synð, late Old English sent, late Old English seond, late Old English sindæn, late Old English sinðon, late Old English syd (probably transmission error), late Old English syndæn, late Old English–early Middle English sinde, late Old English–early Middle English sinden, late Old English–early Middle English sinð, late Old English–early Middle English synda, late Old English–early Middle English synde, late Old English–early Middle English synðon, early Middle English sænden, early Middle English sendde, early Middle English sendden, early Middle English sende, early Middle English senden, early Middle English sendeþ, early Middle English sendeð, early Middle English seondeð, early Middle English sinndenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English sonden, early Middle English sund, early Middle English sunde, early Middle English sunden, early Middle English sundeð, early Middle English syndde, early Middle English syndden. eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. i. 12 Be norþan him sindon Ealdseaxan.eOE (Kentish) Glosses to Proverbs of Solomon (Vesp. D.vi) in U. Kalbhen Kentische Glossen (2003) 124 Aperientur : siont ondo[ne].eOE (Kentish) Glosses to Proverbs of Solomon (Vesp. D.vi) in U. Kalbhen Kentische Glossen (2003) 150 Qui trahuntur : þe sin togene.OE Blickling Homilies 243 Hwær syndon þine word?OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) x. 2 Ðis synt [OE Lindisf. sint, OE Rushw. sindun, c1200 Hatton sende] soðlice þæra twelf apostola naman.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6293 Þa þatt sinndenn gode.a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 290 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 229 Hwu fele senden in helle.a1225 ( Rule St. Benet (Winteney) (1888) i. 13 Her seið..Benediht hu fele mynecena kynn syndan.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12358 We sunden [c1300 Otho beoþ] twælf cnihtes.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13635 Godd heo seondeð [c1300 Otho beoþ] laðe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7999 Heo tacneð kinges þa sunde [c1300 Otho beoþ] to cumene.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 8006 Sæie me of þan þinge þe me to cumen sonden [c1300 Otho beoþ].a1300 Shires & Hundreds Eng. in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 146 On wiltone schire syndon xlviii hundred hida.

ζ. (a) early Old English earan (Mercian), Old English æran (rare), Old English æron (rare), Old English ara (perhaps transmission error), Old English aro (Northumbrian, before personal pronoun), Old English aru (Northumbrian, before personal pronoun), Old English earon, Old English earun (chiefly Mercian), Old English hearan (transmission error), Old English (Northumbrian)–Middle English aron, Old English (Anglian)–Middle English arun, early Middle English arrin, early Middle English arrn ( Ormulum), Middle English aren, Middle English arene, Middle English arin, Middle English arnn, Middle English arren, Middle English arunn, Middle English arunne, Middle English aryn, Middle English eer, Middle English ere, Middle English eren, Middle English ern, Middle English erne, Middle English ernn, Middle English err, Middle English erre, Middle English eryn, Middle English har, Middle English hare, Middle English harn, Middle English her, Middle English ir, Middle English 1600s aier, Middle English (1800s Irish English (northern)) yr, Middle English–1500s arn, Middle English–1500s arne, Middle English–1500s arr, Middle English–1500s arre, Middle English–1500s er, Middle English–1600s ar, Middle English– are, 1600s air, 1900s– a (Caribbean); English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s– a'n (Shropshire), 1800s– ar, 1800s– ar', 1800s– er, 1900s– ahr, 1900s– aren (north-west midlands); U.S. regional (chiefly southern) 1700s– air, 1800s ar'; Scottish pre-1700 air, pre-1700 ar, pre-1700 arr, pre-1700 arre, pre-1700 ere, pre-1700 1700s– are, pre-1700 1800s er, 1800s yr; Irish English (northern) 1900s– er; (b) 1900s– art (western and south-western, before personal pronoun). Old English (Mercian) earun, etc., was not always understood by West Saxon copyists, who sometimes substitute (past tense) wǣron; compare quot. eOE². Compare also forms such as æran, æron, ara in a West Saxon copy of the translation of Gregory's Dialogues by Wærferð, bishop of Worcester. On Old English hearan by transmission error in Daniel 206 see J. Pope in Notes & Queries 228 (1983) 386-7.eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lxxxi. 6 Ego dixi dii estis : ic cweð godas ge earun.eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. vii. 178 Monig wundor mægena earon sægd [OE Corpus Cambr. earan sægde, OE Corpus Oxf. wæron sæde; L. narrantur].OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. v. 14 Uos estis lux mundi : gie aron uel sint leht middangeardes.OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 28 Omnes uos filii lucis estis : allo gie bearno lehtes aron gie.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6849 Ða Þatt arrn i þine walde.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 73 Swiche ben þe deules bernes þe aren cleped ortrowe.a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 61 Min heyin arrin dim & derke.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 15 Cristene men ogen ben so fagen So fueles arn.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2379 Þay aren in grete drede.1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 36 Þer-to harn þei sworon on the halidom.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4878 Yee Ne ern lickli lel men to be.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 4847 Elleuen breþer we er [Vesp. es we, Fairf. we ar, Trin. Cambr. are we] lyveand.a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xci. 5 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 226 Hou mikel..þine werkes ere þai.1401 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 382 Thir arr the sortis that arr.c1440 W. Hilton Mixed Life (Thornton) in G. G. Perry Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 44 Sum men takes, and erre safede þer-by.c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 1008 Al these Arne [1483 Caxton ar, 1532 Thynne are] set in heuene.1465 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 294 They eryn as he left hem... The place where they ern kypt.a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) l. 11606 Alle þe deuels þat in helle are, He shal make quake and eke her care.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vii. 245 All yat trawailland er For ane his sak ar welcum her.1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xviii. xix. sig. bbij^v/1 Camelles ben tothlesse aboue as oxen are.a1500 (?1382) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 169 Bodily werkis arunne more knowen.1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes ii, in Wks. 202/1 Sarasyns, whiche..arne of another flocke.1534 Bible (Tyndale rev. Joye) John x. 30 I and my father are one [ Wyclif ben oon].c1535 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 347 I parsayf ȝe air in gud heill.1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xlii. 31 We are true men; we are no spies. We be twelue brethren [Coverd. we are; Geneva we be].1655 M. Sherrard in M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family Commonwealth (1894) 256 The cavaleres aier to give 5,000l. pond bond.1657 T. Nickolas in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 302 Our hie wayes ar in sofishant repare.1701 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland 37 Pites and Turff are the ordinary fewel they use.1750 J. Wesley Let. 8 June (1931) III. 281 Are there not churches and meeting-houses enough?1777 in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1911) 6 144 You must divide this..as i think it may serve you both if you air moderate.1850 C. Brontë Let. 18 Sept. (2000) II. 470 This, however, is a presumptuous ennumeration of chickens ere the eggs are hatched.1870 in G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. (1879) p. lxxiv The peens a'n loike to goo through 'er.1889 R. L. Stevenson Master of Ballantrae i. 2 Kittle folks are the Durrisdeers, They ride wi' ower mony spears.1898 W. J. Knowles in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/1 The clocks..irr goin'.1968 H. Orton & M. F. Wakelin Surv. Eng. Dial. IV. iii. 1122 Q[uestion]. To find out whether [they] had a wife, you'd ask me:..[Somerset] Art they [married]?1974 D. W. Maurer Kentucky Moonshine 54 Air they fur hit or air they agin hit?1976 Trans. Yorks. Dial. Soc. 14 38 Mi senses ahr dazed.1996 in R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 3/2 Moutar an guitar a two differen ting.2001 Scotl. on Sunday 18 Mar. 38 Our flats are different in that I like a wee bit of everything.2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 4 Jan. (Week in Review section) 7/3 America's enemies are not confronting the United States military in air-to-air engagements or on the high seas.

η. (a) early Old English biodh (Kentish), early Old English (probably transmission error)–early Middle English bið, Old English beoþan (Mercian), Old English beoðan (Mercian), Old English beoþun (Mercian), Old English beow (probably transmission error), Old English biað (Anglian), Old English bieoþ (rare), Old English bioþ, Old English bioðo (Northumbrian), Old English bioðon (Northumbrian), Old English bioðun (Northumbrian), Old English biðo (Northumbrian), Old English biðon (Anglian), Old English biððon (Northumbrian), Old English–early Middle English beoð, Old English–early Middle English bioð, Old English (perhaps transmission error)–early Middle English boð, Old English (rare)–early Middle English byoð, Old English (rare)–early Middle English byð, Old English–Middle English beoþ, late Old English–Middle English biþ, early Middle English bæð, early Middle English beað, early Middle English behet, early Middle English beod, early Middle English beoh, early Middle English beoit, early Middle English beothþ, early Middle English beothz, early Middle English beoz (south-western), early Middle English berð (transmission error), early Middle English beð, early Middle English bez (south-western), early Middle English bied, early Middle English biedh, early Middle English bieþ, early Middle English bieð, early Middle English bieth, early Middle English bod, early Middle English boeit, early Middle English boit, early Middle English both, early Middle English bud, early Middle English bued, early Middle English buh, early Middle English buod, early Middle English buoð, early Middle English buð, Middle English bed, Middle English beet, Middle English beeþ, Middle English beeþe, Middle English beȝ, Middle English beht, Middle English beid, Middle English beit, Middle English beot, Middle English beoþe, Middle English beoth, Middle English bet, Middle English beþ, Middle English beþe, Middle English betȝ, Middle English beþo, Middle English betthe, Middle English beuþ, Middle English bey, Middle English beyt, Middle English beyth, Middle English beythe, Middle English bith, Middle English bitth, Middle English boet, Middle English boeþ, Middle English boeth, Middle English boþ, Middle English budd (Welsh English), Middle English bueþ, Middle English buith, Middle English but, Middle English buþ, Middle English buþe, Middle English buth, Middle English buthe, Middle English byet, Middle English byeþ, Middle English byeth, Middle English byt, Middle English byþ, Middle English byth, Middle English bythe, Middle English–1500s bethe, Middle English–1600s beth, Middle English–1800s beeth (English regional in later use), late Middle English buþþen; (b) Old English bio (before personal pronoun), Old English (before personal pronoun)–early Middle English beo, early Middle English bienn, Middle English benne, Middle English beon, Middle English beyn, Middle English bi, Middle English bie, Middle English bien, Middle English boen, Middle English buen (chiefly south-western), Middle English bun (west midlands and Welsh English), Middle English bune, Middle English by, Middle English byen, Middle English byn, Middle English bynne, Middle English–1500s beene, Middle English–1500s bene, Middle English–1500s (1800s Welsh English) ben, Middle English–1600s bee, Middle English–1600s been, Middle English–1600s bin, Middle English– be (now regional and archaic); English regional (chiefly west midlands) 1800s– bin, 1800s– bun (Shropshire); Scottish pre-1700 beine, pre-1700 bene, pre-1700 beyn, pre-1700 1700s– be; (c) Middle English beis, Middle English bese, Middle English bez, Middle English (1900s– U.S. regional (southern)) bes, 1900s– bees (English regional (Hertfordshire)), 1900s– be's (Irish English (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 beis, pre-1700 beyis; (d) English regional (Worcestershire) 1900s bist. Early Middle English forms such as beoz, bez listed at (a) reflect occasional use of the letter form z by certain scribes to indicate the dental fricative. In a number of regional varieties be or bees is used as a habitual form (contrasting with other forms of the verb such as are, is, etc. or zero copula); compare quots. 1937, 1997.eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xci. 13 (15) Adhuc multiplicabuntur in senecta uberi : nu get bioð gemonigfaldade in aeldu genyhtsumre.eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xv. 97 Ðurh ða earan ða word bioð onfangen [L. concipitur], & on ðæm mode hie beoð acennedu ðurh ðæt ondgiet [L. generatur].OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xxiv. 3 Dic nobis quando haec erunt : cueð us hoenne ðas biðon.OE Crist III 1224 Ðonne beoð gesomnad on þa swiþran hond þa clænan folc.., þa ær sinne cwide georne lustum læstun on hyra lifdagum.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xxiv. 3 Dic nobis quando haec erunt : sæge us hwanne þas beoþ.OE Blickling Homilies 33 Gif us hwa abylgþ, þonne beo we sona yrre.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 39 Þo bin þe gode word of holi boc.?a1200 ( tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Harl. 6258B) cxxiii. 108 Man seȝþ..þat hi beon botan miltan.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 219 Her beoð [OE Royal sindon] niȝen anglen hapes.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily In Die Sancto Pentecosten (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 89 La hu ne beað [OE Royal sind] þa þet here specað galileisce?a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 83 We boð forwunded.a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 239 A domes dȝei alle godes fend simle fram his ȝesecðe abroden bienn.a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 33 Þis beit godis bodis ten.a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 47 Wer boit þine ponewes?c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1527 Sone heo bið [c1300 Otho hi beoþ] ilaȝed.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2223 Whær beo ȝe mine cnihtes.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1523 We buoð swiþe isibbe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2068 Beiene beoh [c1300 Otho beoþ] for-swornne.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2098 Alle heo buh [c1300 Otho beoþ] fæi.c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 220 Wee bie ye idel.c1300 Vision St. Paul (Laud) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1874) 52 35 Þe sunfole soules..beoz in helle pines þicke.c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 232 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 113 Swuche prelatus al-to fewe beoth nouþe In office i-do!a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 107 Watres ben her ðer-under suuen.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7582 Þe mestedel of heyemen, þat in engelond beþ, Beþ icome of þe normans.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 1 Þise byeþ þe capiteles.a1350 (c1307) in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 23 Oure baners, þat bueþ broht to grounde. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 321 Þere by gracious tymes.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 22368 Þe iuus sal convert..All þat funden bes [Trin. Cambr. be, Fairf. ar].a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 388 Sum beyn [a1425 Dulwich arn] to beleue, sum beyn to lete.c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 4956 From þe brest to þe grounde Men hij ben.c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 6484 Faire wymmen it beeþ [a1425 Linc. Inn heo buþ] of prijs.1415 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 20 Halfe to the pores nedy folk that bun yn Marcle paryssh.1415 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 24 The londe rentes that ȝe bun feoffed In.?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 33 Þei been enemys.a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1932) III. l. 20758 They bien riht here.a1450 York Plays (1885) 501 Oure dedis beis oure dampnacioune.c1450 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Fairf. 16) (1879) l. 1031 We..Be now disclaundred.c1450 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Arms) (1927) l. 1954 Wan ȝe but ynne.c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 130 Know þoo þat Bene now and to Be that I..ȝafe and grauntid..j litull parte of my mede. ▸ a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 111 Thes ij princes bith of egal estate. ▸ a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 112 Wich lawes ben right gode.c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 46 Alle the men that come with me, For-sothe, thai bynne away.1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 14 Knyghtes and barons that been here.a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 150 By Purveyaunce a man aymeth aftyr reyson thynges that byth to com. ▸ ?a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Wolf & Wether l. 2468 in Poems (1981) 92 Weryit beis all my scheip. ▸ ?a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 221 I be not clappit, As cursouris that in silk beine trappit.a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) i. Prol. l. 232 Quhilk mony hundreth mylis syndry be.1534 Bible (Tyndale rev. Joye) Rom. xiii. 1 The powers that be, are ordeyned of God.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. i. 19 What be these?1547 Queen Katherine Parr Lamentacion of Synner sig. E.iii^v They be neuer offended at anye thyng.1548 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Rom. II. 40 And what thinges bene they?1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour 1756 in Wks. (1931) I. 251 The gret God Omnipotent,To quhom al thingis bene present.1557 Malory's Story Noble & Worthy Kynge Arthur (Copland) Table of Contents The chapytres that ben conteyned in this present volume.c1571 E. Campion Two Bks. Hist. Ireland (1963) ii. vii. 107 The Irish bin false by kinde.1576 G. Gascoigne Complaynt of Phylomene in Steele Glas sig. K.ij^v Such as true, and stedfast louers bene.1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. B2 Surely they are as all other countries and nations be.1584 G. Peele Araygnem. Paris Prol. sig. Aij Th'unpartiall daughters of Necessitie Bin aydes in her sute.1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 71 You zay zomewhat well vor vs that we beene the most necessary men.1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iv. 92 Where is thy husband now, where be thy brothers?1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles v. 28 To Seas; Where when men been, there's seldome ease.1611 Bible (King James) 2 Kings vi. 16 They that be with vs are moe then they that be with them.1640 R. Brome Antipodes sig. E3^v We be none of your father, so we beant.1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 136 Blushes, that bin The burnish of no sin.1651 Bp. J. Taylor Rule & Exercises Holy Dying iv. §9. 233 Widows be slothfull, and children beth unkind [margin Written upon a wall in S. Edmunds Church in Lombarde Street].1669 J. Milton Accedence 15 Ego, tu, sui, be of the First Declension.a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. (1691) v. 87 There be Three distinct Legislative Powers.1765 I. Bickerstaff Maid of Mill iii. ix. 68 I see nothing but ill blood and quarrels, among folk, when they be married.1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) v. i. 137 And who be they?1842 W. Barnes Rhymes Dorset Dial. I. 136 The carpets they do use, Ben't fit to tread..An' chairs an' couches be so neat, You mussen teäke em vor a seat.1842 F. Marryat Percival Keene III. vii 121 Gemmen, I dare say you all very sorry; you be more sorry by-and-by.1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges ii. 103 Where be your painted houris?1865 A. C. Swinburne Masque Queen Bersabe 367 If thou be keen To note things amiss that been.1872 T. Chapman Widder Bagshaw's Visit 7 Kollectin' sitch feaw hannimals as they bin.1879 T. H. S. Escott England I. 242 No alarming sound for the powers that be.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxxix Plural..Yo' be, or bin, or bun.1930 P. O'Donnell Knife 102 There's people be's like that.1936 K. M. Morehouse Rain on Just 128 We be saved, I reckon.1937 Amer. Speech 12 268 Which ever one they bes.1977 Sci. Amer. Apr. 141/1 There be monsters!1990 J. Gribbin & M. Rees Cosmic Coincidences (1991) xi. 284 Rather than simply fill the edges of the cosmological map with the legend ‘here be dragons’.1994 C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. 494/2 [Worcs.] They bist.1997 Nature 27 Mar. 321/2 A special habitual aspect that standard English lacks, and for this be is used and must never be omitted: they be sayin' means ‘they habitually say’.

θ. Old English wesaþ, Old English wesað. OE Blickling Homilies 153 Aræce þine handa & cweþ þæt þu gelyfe on ures Hælendes Cristes naman.., þonne wesaþ þine handa sona geedneowode.OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxix. 4 Strele beoð scearpe.., syððan of gledon wesað gearwe ahyrde.

β. Middle English es (northern), Middle English esse (northern), Middle English isse (northern), Middle English ys, Middle English (chiefly northern) 1800s– (regional) is, 1800s yiz (U.S. regional (southern)); English regional 1800s– es (Cornwall), 1800s– iss (Yorkshire), 1800s– iz; Scottish pre-1700 1700s– is. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4847 Elleuen breþer es we liuand, An at ham, ten in þis land.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 317 We..is ay in sic trawailling.c1523 Earl of Northumberland Let. Dec. in Camden Misc. (1992) XXXI. 93 All the crowners in this country is bound to certifie to the kinges counsaile of all the owtlawries in this country.1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xiii. 211 Rune is thair glas, and gone now is thair graces.1574 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. 107^v Hys heires is in by dyscent.1578 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 133 Our fais that bisie is.1603 Philotus clvi. sig. F2^v Auld men is twyse bairnis.a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iii. ii. 20 Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word.a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iii. ii. 75 He does smile his face into more lynes, then is in the new Mappe.1726 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 35 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 The foresaid patrimonies is and shall be in full contentatione.1817 A. Royall Let. 24 Dec. (1830) 39 My witnesses is come.1875 E. Tweddell Rhymes Cleveland Dial. 17 John's hands is hard.1888 C. C. Jones Negro Myths Georgia Coast 157 Me could pint dem out an tell you who dem yiz.1897 E. W. B. Nicholson Golspie 97 Three saucers, one with clean water, another with dirty water, and a third empty, is put on a table.1951 Scots Mag. Nov. 115 They gang oot an' study the herrin', watch whit way they're shiftin', an' tell ye whaur the best grounds is.2002 M. McGrath Silvertown (2003) v. 48 We is that [sc. respectable], Janey. We is that an' all.

α. regional 1800s– am, 1900s– em (U.S. regional (in African-American usage)). 1802 G. Colman Poor Gentleman (new ed.) i. i. 10 We am all in the rough, Sir; farmer-like.1863 D. D. Emmett Black Brigade (sheet music) 5 We am de snolly-gosters, An' lubs Jim Ribber oysters.1876 G. L. Gower Surrey Provincialisms in W. W. Skeat Orig. Gloss. III. 80 We am..They am.1903 Dial. Notes 2 292 Em we? em yi? em they?1945 B. A. Botkin Lay My Burden Down 36 There am lots of folks..what says we-uns believes in superstition.1973 P. Smith Witt ii, in Early Work, 1970–79 (1994) 36 Look at this land where we am.

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms of we pron. and Forms 2 at they pron.

ζ. (a) 1600s–1700s w'are; (b) 1600s th'are. 1593 A. Chute Beawtie Dishonoured 24 It proues at last that then w'are knowne the most.1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. B3 Good things are most cheape, when th'are most deere.c1620 Convert Soule in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign James I (1847) 91 Then w'are agreed.c1625 Partiall Law (1908) iv. v. 91 What Twone w'are neerest to, and which way leads unto it?1700 P. Motteux in A. Boyer Achilles 16 Yes, 'tis Achilles Who makes you so uneasie till w'are gone.

(iii). Contracted.

ζ. 1500s–1600s 1800s– -r, 1500s–1800s -'r, 1500s– -'re, 1800s -re (Scottish), 1800s– -'n (English regional (west midlands)). With 'n compare English regional (west midlands) aren, a'n at 2d(i)ζ. and see discussion in the etymology (3.3). The form yer may in some instances represent a reduced form of you’re rather than a contraction of ye and are.?1577 Misogonus ii. iv, in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 231 Their all come.1594 J. Ogle Lament. Troy sig. E3 Swelling with fome through Aeolus puffing pride, So do they yell when they're by Hectors side.a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. iv. 44 O, 'tis the curse in love, and still approv'd, When women cannot love where they're belov'd.1636 W. Sampson Vow Breaker iv. ii. 174 Their all asleepe.a1653 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 97 On their stowks thats seene, Snow-coverd tops, below they're grass-growne greene.1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode iv. i. 56 The Women indeed are little beholding to the young Men of this Age, they're generally only dull admirers Of themselves.1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 2 I hope, you're never the worse. But where's your Manners?1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) 74 I'll be a Brig when ye're a shapeless cairn!1796 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1956) I. 182 As Harwood's form possesses such lubric & fugacious qualities, I presume you must thumb him , before you can safely exclaim, ‘You're him !’1817 in Gentleman's Mag. (1836) 2 589 Dwyne yun fasin, gin hit beena da vyldest itt ivver dere faen apun yit.1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) ii. 12 ‘They're beginning up stairs,’ said the stranger—‘hear the..fiddles tuning.’1859 Harper's Mag. Feb. 421/1 You're the most splendid instance of a rose growing out of a dunghill I ever saw.1865 J. R. Dennett South as It Is (2010) 114 ‘Yer all so d—n lazy,’ says I, ‘since ye call yerselves free,..that I don't want none o' ye.’1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxiii They'n, or they bin.1897 W. S. Maugham Liza of Lambeth ix. 153 Bli' me if I know wot yer all talkin' abaht.1926 People's Home Jrnl. Feb. 14/1 If we're blonde and utterly feminine, we sometimes wish we were dark and could wear high collars. And if we're dark and tailored, we sigh to trail about in chiffons and flowing sleeves.1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) i. 39 Whoever the hell you are, you're the best thing I've seen today.2005 Gardenlife Oct. 13/3 Our picture researcher tracked down this photo of a white squirrel—they're actually albino greys.

α. regional 1700s -m (English regional (Kent)), 1700s– -'m. c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) at Them Them all well.1783 Double Conspiracy ii. i. 30 They'm very good Neighbours.1824 M. Hawkins Saw-mill ii. iii. 35 Once think how we'm been trickt.1895 ‘C. Hare’ Down Village Street 203 They'm middlin geed children most times.1903 J. Davidson Knight of Maypole iii. 66 We'm only beginning, Humphrey.1996 M. Syal Anita & Me (1997) vii. 177 Even Beatties is sold out, they'm having to send down to London for more supplies!

β. regional 1800s– -'s. 1858 D. W. Wainwright Wheat & Chaff v. i. 73 They's all right—fust-rate!a1960 R. Wright Lawd Today! (1963) iii. i. 171 We's the official bed inspectors.2001 Sat. Night (Toronto) 25 Aug. 32/3 They's always late, runnin' on Indian time.

(iv). With negative particle affixed.

ζ. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English naro (Northumbrian, before personal pronoun), Old English naron (Northumbrian), Old English nearan (rare), Middle English nar, Middle English nare, Middle English narn, Middle English ner. In Old English in West Saxon copies of apparently originally Anglian material nǣron (properly past tense: see ι. forms at 6c(iii)) is occasionally substituted for this form; compare quot. OE².OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John x. 26 Quia non estis ex ouibus meis : forðon naro gie of scipum minum.OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Otho) (1900) ii. xxxviii. 177 Þa martyras þær in heora lichoman ne licgaþ & þ[o]n hwæðre nearan [OE Corpus Cambr. næron] wona from þære gehyrnesse.a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Titus) (1963) 37 Þise narn nawt ilich to þe leane pellican.c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) l. 597 Kinges sones & emperour Nar non [v.r. Were noon] to gode to þe.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 16501 Þat we nar [?a1400 Petyt ne are] worþy a-geyn be cald To penaunce.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 7656 In al Saxoyne nar [?a1400 Petyt ere] non þem lyk.c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 824 Al ner but pilgrymes. (b) With enclitic negative particle. (i). 1600s are'nt, 1600s are nt, 1600s arn't, 1700s–1800s are n't, 1700s–1800s ar'n't, 1700s– aren't; English regional 1800s a'dent (Lincolnshire), 1800s– arnna (Shropshire), 1800s– arn't, 1800s– erent (north-western), 1800s– errant (north-western), 1800s– urrent (north-western), 1900s– artna (west midlands); also Scottish 1800s– arna, 1900s– arenae, 1900s– arnae, 1900s– urnae; Irish English (northern) 1800s arn't, 1800s irnae, 1900s– urnae; (ii). 1600s–1700s an't, 1700s a'n't, 1800s– ain't /eɪnt/ (regional and nonstandard); English regional 1800s– ahnt, 1800s– aint, 1800s– annut (Yorkshire), 1800s– an't, 1800s– eint, 1800s– ein't, 1800s– yeunt (south-west midlands), 1900s– anna (west midlands); U.S. regional (chiefly southern) 1700s aint, 1800s– yent, 1900s– ain', 1900s– ent, 1900s– enty; Irish English 1700s an't. 1654 T. Washbourne Divine Poems 43 Such petty toyes Are nt for boyes.1705 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus I. i. 20 But if our Eyes a'n't quick of Motion, They'll play the Rogue that gave the Caution.1735 H. Fielding Old Man taught Wisdom 9 Ha, ha, ha! an't we? no! How Ignorant it is!1763 R. Jago in R. Dodsley Coll. of Poems V. 80 The roads, they say, are n't much the better for't.1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xxi. 142 Those you are engaged to, a'n't half so near related to you as we are.1825 T. Hood Friendly Epist. to Mrs. Fry in Odes & Addr. Great People 31 O come and teach our children—that ar'n't ours—That heaven's straight pathway is a narrow way.1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham II. xxv. 260 A'n't we behind hand?1856 H. S. Riddell Gospel St. Matthew x. 29 Arna twa sparras sauld for ae faerden?1857 C. Thaxter Let. 18 Jan. (1895) 6 Are n't we very happy to be able to hear Theodore Parker?1866 J. E. Brogden Provinc. Words Lincs. 12 The eggs a'dent there.1898 W. J. Knowles in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 198/1 We irnae.1898 I. Wilkinson in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 198/1 [N. Yorks.] They annut as good as they war.1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist ii. 79 And they're a very rich order, aren't they, Simon?1922 A. E. Gonzales Black Border 283 [Gullah glossary] ‘Enty’, ‘ent’, ‘yent’, sometimes ‘ain'’, serve for isn't, aren't, didn't, don't, doesn't.1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby vii. 143 Aren't we going to let any one smoke a cigarette first?1971 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. iii. 1041 Q[uestion]. If you saw [them] wheeling a pram and then gathered from our conversation that [they were] not married, you might ask me in some surprise: But..married?..[Derbyshire] Artna they?1982 N.Y. Times 9 June b1/6 But these young men aren't fighting for mere real estate.1992 in K. Jamie Queen of Sheba (1995) 40 They arenae lettin oan.1999 Herald (Glasgow) 28 Aug. 2 Cows are biggish and jaggyish in places but they just aren't eight miles long.2000 D. Kerr Puckle Poems 12 Maist o us arnae miners ataa.2006 G. Malkani Londonstani xiv. 168 We ain't sayin we don't want to do some dealings, make some bucks.2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 Jan. d1/2 And that—the expectations gap—means houses aren't selling.

η. (a) 1600s beant, 1600s bent, 1600s–1700s ben't; English regional 1800s baan't, 1800s ban't (south-western), 1800s– baint, 1800s– bain't /beɪnt/, 1800s– bant (south-western), 1800s– baynt, 1800s– bean't, 1800s– beant, 1800s– be-ant, 1800s– beean't (Yorkshire), 1800s– beint, 1800s– bent (south-west midlands and southern), 1800s– ben't (south-west midlands and southern), 1800s– binna (west midlands), 1800s– binnad (west midlands, before personal pronoun), 1800s– bunna (Shropshire), 1800s– byent, 1800s– byunt (south-west midlands), 1900s– b'ent (south-west midlands), 1900s– beyunt (south-west midlands), 1900s– bin (Gloucestershire, before personal pronoun); U.S. regional (chiefly New England) 1800s bain't, 1800s ban't, 1800s bant, 1800s ben't, 1800s– beant; Welsh English 1800s be'na, 1800s ben't, 1800s be'nt, 1900s– bain't; (b) English regional (south-west midlands and southern) 1800s– bisn't. c1630 Soddered Citizen (1936) iii. xi. 72 But their heads bent a made vpp zoo.1640 R. Brome Antipodes sig. E3^v We be none of your father, so we beant.1657 N. Billingsley Brachy-martyrologia xxv. 88 Good people ben't offended To hear the clamour of this Her'ticks song.1757 S. Foote Author ii. 27 We ben't enough for Hunt the Whistle, nor Blind-Man's Buff.1810 M. van H. Dwight Jrnl. 20 Oct. in Journey to Ohio (1912) 2 Well! Gals where are you going?..You bant tho—To New Connecticut?1836 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. x. 64 They beant good saddle horses, and they beant good draft beasts.1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words I. 23 They baan't a gooing.1857 C. M. Yonge Dynevor Terr. I. iii. 29 The candles baint so good as they used, and I can't get no spectacles to suit me.1867 W. F. Rock Jim an' Nell 34 Ban't us thieves?1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. 41 Him an' me beean't no ways kin.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lvii Binnad-a? Binna they?1971 Down East Nov. 25 Beant—still exists in Maine for ‘are not’ and ‘is not’.2005 S. Elmes Talking for Brit. ii. 31 There's piskies up to Dartymoor, and tidden good ye zay there baint.

β. (a) regional 1800s–1800s isn't, 1800s– izn't (English regional); (b) English regional 1800s– inna (west midlands), 1900s– in't; U.S. regional 1900s– 'in't. 1818 J. Ebers & C. Fellows Kaleidoscopiana Wiltoniensia 289 Madam's traps and gewgaws must fly for't, if they isn't gone already.1838 J. F. Cooper Homeward Bound I. xii. 173 Well, I think, Mr. Saunders, they isn't alike as much as they might be nother.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxxi They inna, or binna.1898 M. C. F. Morris in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/1 Isn't t'hooses?1921 J. Russell Where Pavement Ends 189 They're always 'avin' a feast and they don't care who comes—they 'in't proud.1973 K. Brathwaite Arrivants 67 An' if you hear people shout!..how they isn't have shelter.1973 J. Kett Tha's Rum'un, Bor! 12 Y'know bor, them ole taales in't often wrong.2007 R. Wilson Short Stories for Long Journeys 311 They isn't here man.

3. Present subjunctive. a. Singular. (i).

δ. early Old English sia (Kentish), early Old English siem (Mercian, 1st singular), early Old English sion (Mercian, 1st singular), Old English see (Northumbrian), Old English siae (Mercian), Old English siæ (Anglian), Old English się (non-West Saxon), Old English sieo (in a late copy), Old English sio, Old English syæ (Mercian), Old English syg (rare), Old English syge (rare), Old English (chiefly Anglian)–early Middle English se, Old English–early Middle English seo, Old English–early Middle English si, Old English–early Middle English sie, Old English–early Middle English sig, Old English–early Middle English sy, Old English (rare)–early Middle English sye, Old English (rare)–early Middle English syo, early Middle English seie, early Middle English siȝ, early Middle English sige, early Middle English syȝ. eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xxvi . 6 (4) Ut uideam uoluntatem domini et protegar a templo sancto eius : ðæt ic gese willan dryht' & ic siem gescilded from tempe ðæm halga[n].eOE (Northumbrian) Bede's Death Song (St. Gallen) 2 Naenig uuiurthit thoncsnotturra, than him tharf sie.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. x. 26 Nihil enim opertum quod non reuelabitur : nowiht forðon gedegled þæt ne se unwrigen.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) v. 13 Buton þæt hit [sc. þæt sealt] sy [OE Cambr. Univ. Libr. sig, c1200 Hatton sye] utaworpen & sy [OE Cambr. Univ. Libr. sig, c1200 Hatton syo] fram mannum fortreden.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxiv. 3 Sege us..hwylc tacn si þines tocymys.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 91 Silof [L. Osanna] dauiðes bern, blesced bie he.?a1200 ( tr. Medicina de Quadrupedibus (Harl. 6258B) (1984) 241 Gif þu wylle þæt wif ȝeclansod sy..wyrc hyre sealfe.?a1200 ( tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Harl. 6258B) cxxxv. 135 Leȝe to þara wunde, oðþat heo hal siȝ.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12356 Hal seo [c1300 Otho beo] þu Arður king.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7431 Alre king si [c1300 Otho beo] he ærmest.

η. (a) Old English bia (Northumbrian), Old English bio, Old English deo (transmission error), Old English–early Middle English beo, Old English (rare)–Middle English bi, Old English (Northumbrian)–Middle English bie, late Old English–early Middle English byo, late Old English– be, early Middle English been, early Middle English ben, early Middle English bene, early Middle English beon, early Middle English beyn, early Middle English bo, early Middle English boe, early Middle English bu, early Middle English bue, Middle English by, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) bee; Scottish pre-1700 bee, pre-1700 bie, pre-1700 1700s– be, 1800s bey. eOE Metres of Boethius (partly from transcript of damaged MS) x. 65 Hwæt iow æfre þy bet bio oððe þince?OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) iii. 205 Ne beo se rihtwisa gymeleas on his anginne.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 656 Ðus ic wille freon þis mynstre þet hit ne be underþed buton Rome ane.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 107 Be swo it beo.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 91 Blesced bie he þe cumeð a godes name.a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 32 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 161 Bo [a1200 Trin. Cambr. be, ?c1250 Egerton bue, a1300 Jesus Oxf. beo; v.r. bi] for him solue ech Mon.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1968 Ær ich þe slæ mid mine spere. ar þu hit sule aȝen; þa while ich beon on liue.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 566 Þu gredest suich þu bo wod.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 219 By hit to þe bodie, by hit to þe zaule. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxvii. 21 Wheþer þou be [a1425 L.V. art] my sonn Esau or none [1611 King James Whether thou bee my very sonne Esau, or not].c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. vi. l. 207 Be þow went þei wil worche ful ille.c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 776 Er I be deed yet wol I kisse thee.c1450 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Fairf. 16) (1879) l. 1852 Be as be may quod she.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) x. 581 Giff a man on ye wall may get He sall defend & it be ned Quhill ye remanand wp yaim sped.1548 Princess Elizabeth & J. Bale tr. Queen Margaret of Angoulême Godly Medytacyon Christen Sowle f. 15^v If thu be my father.1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) iv. 97 Gif this bie.1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xvii. 5 Cursed be the man that trusteth in man.1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 32 Mitre..is..an Angle that is just 45 degrees, or half a right one; and if it be a quarter of a Right Angle, they call it a Half Mitre.1746 Duke of Perth in W. Fraser Earls of Cromartie (1876) II. 207 Before it be two days, if they do not send us other orders, they will hear tell of our having done something.1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women lxx, in Poems (new ed.) 139 I am that Rosamond, whom men call fair, If what I was I be.1873 J. A. H. Murray Dial. S. Counties Scotl. 242 The Loard bey guid tui-ye.1887 A. Wardrop Mid-Cauther Fair 238 I'll..see what the inside be like.1919 G. Rae 'Tween Clyde & Tweed 55 Some said that Paitrick meddled wi' a dram, But be this sae he maun hae wrocht wi' care.1991 E. S. Connell Alchymist's Jrnl. (1992) 23 I respond by asking how he could catalogue the structure of rainbows, or if he be employed with Nilotic darkness.1998 Scotl. on Sunday 4 Jan. T14 No matter how many are seriously injured playing rugby, we don't hear the medical profession demanding it be banned. (b) beest forms (2nd singular). 1500s–1600s beest, 1600s bee'st. Historically, these continue indicative forms, but apparently at least some early modern English texts prefer beest (rather than art) in syntactic environments that otherwise favour use of the subjunctive such as conditional clauses, as illustrated here. Similar use in conditional clauses is found later in south-western English regional varieties, but these also use beest regularly in the indicative.1546 S. Gardiner Detection Deuils Sophistrie f. iii If thou beest hungry for knowledge, take hede thou fallest not on euery careyn.c1600 Rob. Hood (Ritson) ii. ii. 38 Although thou beest in haste.a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. v. 58 Bee'st thou sad, or merrie, The violence of either thee becomes.1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 84 If thou beest he; But O how fall'n!1678 R. Cudworth tr. in True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 463 Whether thou beest a certain Divine Force and Soul. (c) Irish English (northern) 1900s– bees, 1900s– beez, 1900s– biz. The forms bees, beez, biz are recorded as functioning as 3rd singular present subjunctive as well as habitual present in current Ulster Scots by the Ulster-Scots Language Society.1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. Beez, see Be.

θ. Old English wese. OE Maxims I 49 Þy sceal [geong mon] on þeode geþeon, þæt he wese þristhycgende.OE Paris Psalter (1932) cv. 37 Wese swa, wese swa þurh eall wide ferhð.

γ. early Middle English sunde (perhaps transmission error). The form sunde in Laȝamon shows uncertainty and confusion (on the part of either the scribe or the poet) as to mood and number.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12115 Þæt is wel isene, soð þat hit sunde.

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2a at it pron., adj., and n.¹

η. 1600s beet, 1600s be't. 1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster West-ward Hoe ii.ii sig. D3 Par. And then you may..take Boate at Bridewell Dock most priuately. Omni. Beet so: a good place?1658 A. Cokayne Trappolin 459 Be't for what it will.1696 T. Dilke Lover's Luck sig. A4 Those tame unthinking Animals, the Beaux..are Satyr-Proof, be't ne're so keen.

(iii). With negative particle affixed.

η. (a) 1600s been't, 1600s–1700s ben't; English regional 1800s beean't (Yorkshire), 1800s binnot (Yorkshire), 1800s– baint, 1800s– baynt, 1800s– bean't, 1800s– ben't, 1800s– binna (Northumberland); Scottish 1800s bena, 1800s binna, 1800s binnae; Irish English 1800s beant, 1900s– baint; (b) Irish English (northern) 1800s bisna, 1800s bissent, 1900s– beesna, 1900s– beesnae, 1900s– bisn't. 1650 R. Heath Satyrs ii. 6 in Clarastella Whether that Bigamie been't as lawful now As 'twas 'tofore?1655 W. Rider Twins iii. i. 27 Pray heaven that the knaves plague ben't in these clothes.1716 J. Addison Drummer v. 57 Look you there, if he ben't with my Lady.1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) (at cited word) I wish ye binnot bown to cheeat me.1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb vi. 38 An' gin there binna herrin'..ye cud get a gweed chape skate.1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down 8 If it bisna the right thing, we canny work wi' it..I can carry it, if it bissent too weighty.1893 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister 62 I had spoken to nobody bena the servant lass frae Aberdeen.1898 M. J. Bacon in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/1 If thee bistnt.1898 W. H. Hills & Dr. Just in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/1 I wish thoo baint wrang.c1935 B. L. Coombes in B. Jones & C. Williams With Dust still in his Throat (1999) 72 If this bean't the luckiest cup I ever seed!1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake 285 Cat my dogs, if I baint dingbushed like everything!1952 H. F. M. Prescott Man on Donkey i. 27 If I bain't a fool not to tell your Ladyships the biggest bit of news of all.2001 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 27 Aug. 8 By eck, my lovelies, smatter my gronyels if it bain't toim for groat smeddling!

b. Plural. (i).

δ. Old English sæ (Northumbrian), Old English se (Northumbrian), Old English see (Northumbrian), Old English siæ (Mercian), Old English sie (chiefly Anglian), Old English sien, Old English sięn (Mercian), Old English sin, Old English sion, Old English sy (rare), Old English–early Middle English seon, Old English (rare)–early Middle English syen, Old English–early Middle English syn, late Old English sian, early Middle English seoð (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English syo, early Middle English syon. The form seoð in Laȝamon shows uncertainty and confusion (on the part of either the scribe or the poet) as to mood.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. vi. 1 Ut uideamini ab eis : þæt gie se geseno from him.OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) ii. 64 Sien we snotre & soðfæste & mildheorte.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. vi. 1 Ut uidiamini ab eis : þæt ge sie geseanę from heom from him.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 1 Þæt ge sin [c1175 Royal syn, c1200 Hatton syen] geherede fram him.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6905 Whæt cnihten ȝe seon [c1300 Otho beo].c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6909 Ich þe wullen cuðen..whanene we icumen seoð.

η. Old English–early Middle English bion, Old English (rare)–Middle English beo, Old English–Middle English beon, Old English (in a late copy)–Middle English bien, late Old English–early Middle English byon, early Middle English beoð (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English bie, early Middle English bienn, early Middle English bo, early Middle English bon, Middle English been, Middle English beien, Middle English ben, Middle English bene, Middle English beyn, Middle English bi, Middle English boe, Middle English by, Middle English byn, Middle English– be, 1700s bin (English regional (Lancashire)), 1800s bes (Irish English (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 beis, pre-1700 1700s– be. OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) 84 Beon þær symble bedd genihtsumlice ofersprædde.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 133 Þat hie ne bien to swiðe gawrinde hider and ȝeond.a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 73 Þeh alle men beon of hore sunnen iclensed.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 85 God almihtin iscilde us þet we ne bo noht of þe smalcheue.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 471 Þat we beon iquemed.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6909 Ich þe wullen cuðen What cnihtes we beoð & whanene we icumen seoð.c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 219 Þe ye ne bie deseuerd fram þe felarede.a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 16 Wele..and worshype boe to crist.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 9 Þaȝ þer by zome bronches þet ne byeþ naȝt dyadlich zenne.1399 in W. Fraser Melvilles & Leslies (1890) III. 15 Gif the landis beis distroyit.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 14784 But of o þing in were be we.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. l. 418 Tyl matynes and masse be do.a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch. 3) (1967) 16 Werkis of penaunce, but þei ben wrouȝt wiþ loue & in charite, þei ne are noȝt medeful.1483 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 115*/1 That summondis be gevin apon him.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 150 Loke now that ye be larger.c1565 R. Copland Seuen Sorowes Women Prol. sig. A.i^v Wandryng braynes, that seke for thynges new And do not reche if they be fals or trew.1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. xxiii. 21 Blessed be yee of the Lord.1632 R. Sanderson 12 Serm. 96 If we be of the Spiritualtie.1728 T. Sheridan in tr. Persius Satyrs Ded. p. viii Although You be now removed to another Soil.1744 Ayr Presbytery Reg. MS 6 June To Inspect the Manse and Officehouses of Riccarton To see if they be in a sufficient and Lodgeable condition.a1763 J. Byrom Misc. Poems (1773) I. 34 So 'tis all one to me, bin they easy or hard.1823 M. R. Mitford Julian iii. 45 We, feeble though we be, woman and boy, We'll save thee.1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxvii. 162 Fowk 't's been there'll be able to gi'e 's..the benefit o' their prayers gin we be likely to gae owre the bows.1898 R. O. Heslop in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/1 If the hoozes beez.1901 J. Davidson Self's the Man ii. 78 That [sc. ambition] is the end of all men, whether they be Of wood or adamant.2006 S. Johnson Ghost Map 164 Examine also the back yards..Note if they be flagged or filthy.

θ. Old English wesan, Old English wesen, late Old English wese. OE Paris Psalter (1932) lxvii. 5 Þa þe wydewum syn wraðe æt dome oþþe steopcildum wesen strange fæderas.lOE Canterbury Psalter cxxviii. 6 Fiant sicut foenum edificiorum : wese swæ heg getymbriendræ.

(ii). With negative particle affixed.

η. 1600s been't, 1600s–1700s (1800s U.S. regional) ben't; English regional (chiefly southern and midlands) 1800s– baint, 1800s– baynt, 1800s– bean't, 1800s– ben't, 1800s– binna (Northumberland). 1650 R. Heath Satyrs ii. 8 in Clarastella Who though they been't all sanctifi'd alike, Yet are as right.1678 J. Phillips Maronides vi. 15 Can't she speak sense, tho words ben't free?1702 S. Centlivre Beau's Duel i. i. 4 She makes Assignations with me, and keeps them..and if these ben't signs she likes me, the Devil's in't.1830 Morning Visitors ii. ii. 33 Well, I vow, if they ben't going a gunning about my daughter.1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxi. 228 And [the sheep] will all die as dead as nits, if they bain't got out and cured!1898 R. O. Heslop in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/1 If the hoozes binna.1998 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 2 Sept. 22 He hollers ‘Are you there?’.. If they bain't there they say ‘No’.

4. Imperative. a. Singular. (i).

η. early Old English bia (Mercian), Old English bio, Old English (probably transmission error) Middle English– be, Old English (rare)–early Middle English byo, Old English–Middle English beo, Middle English beon (polite form), Middle English bes (polite form), Middle English beth (polite form), Middle English bethe (polite form), Middle English bi, Middle English bie, Middle English bo, Middle English boe, Middle English bue, Middle English buo, Middle English by, 1500s–1600s bee, 1800s– bist (English regional (Oxfordshire)); Scottish pre-1700 beis, pre-1700 1700s– be. OE Christ & Satan 729 La, þus beo nu on yfele!OE Hymns (Julius A.vi) lvii. 3 in H. Gneuss Hymnar u. Hymnen im englischen Mittelalter (1968) 337 Adesto ęcclesię nunc : ætbe [read ætbeo?] þu gelaðunge nu.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 261 Bo nu stille & lat me speke.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1669 Lauerd, beo þeu stille, let me al iwurþen.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1341 Sire emperour..ne be ȝe no so bolde.a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 20 Boe by þy sones trone.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11161 Bi þou ful traist.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10454 Be still, or ga me heiþen fra.c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 142 Be thou a man of prayer.a1450 Long Charter of Christ, A Text (Harl. 2346) (1914) l. 230a Pay þi rente; bue noȝt by-hinde.a1450 Partonope of Blois (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1912) l. 2616 Beth [a1500 BL Add. Bethe] of goode comforte.a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) i. vi. l. 44 Maistres of woddis, beis to ws happy and kynd.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 12^v Bes wakond and warly.1604 in T. Greaves Songes of Sundrie Kindes sig. B3 Flora sweete wanton bee not ouer coy.a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 38 Obey and be attentiue.1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron II. vii. ix. 146 Alciphron, be not amused by Terms, lay aside the word Force.1838 H. W. Longfellow Psalm of Life in Knickerbocker Sept. 189 Be not like dumb driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!1898 in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/2 [Oxfordshire] Bist, bisn't.1993 M. Leigh Naked & Other Screenplays (1995) 50 Be good. If you can't be good, be careful!

θ. Old English uæs (Northumbrian), Old English ues (Northumbrian), Old English uoæs (Northumbrian), Old English uoes (Northumbrian), Old English woes (Northumbrian), Old English (chiefly Northumbrian)–early Middle English wæs, Old English (before preceding pronoun)–early Middle English wes, late Old English węs, early Middle English wæsse, early Middle English weos, early Middle English weosse. In early Middle English only in copies of Old English material and in phrase wæs hail! in Laȝamon (see wassail n.).OE Andreas (1932) 540 Wes ðu gebledsod, brego mancynnes, dryhten hælend!OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) i. 28 Hal wes ðu!c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Hatton) i. 28 Hal wæsse [a1175 Royal wes] þu.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7469 Lauerd king wæs hail [c1300 Otho Louerd king wassail].

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2a at thou pron.

η. Old English beoðo. OE Glosses to Lorica of Laidcenn (Harl. 585) in E. Pettit Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, & Prayers (2001) I. 46 Meo..uertice galea salutis esto capite : minum..hneccan helm hælo beo ðo westo heafde.

θ. Old English westo, Old English–early Middle English westu. OE Glosses to Lorica of Laidcenn (Harl. 585) in E. Pettit Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, & Prayers (2001) I. 46 Meo..uertice galea salutis esto capite : minum..hneccan helm hælo beo ðo westo heafde.c1175 ( Homily (Cambr. Ii.1.33) in A. M. Luiselli Fadda Nuove Omelie Anglosassoni (1977) 151 Hal westu [L. bene sis], min se leofa freond.

(iii). With negative particle affixed.

η. (a) 1600s ben't, 1600s–1700s been't; Scottish 1700s– binna, 1800s bynna; (b) English regional (southern) 1800s– bissent, 1800s– bistn't. a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) iv. iii. 64 Nay ben't afraid: here's none shall doe you harm.1691 T. Heyrick Misc. Poems 51 Yet been't too sparing.a1774 R. Fergusson Poems Var. Subj. (1779) 90 Unyoke then, man, an' binna swear To ding a hole in ill-haind gear.1816 W. Scott Old Mortality i, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. III. 8 She says to me, Binna cast doun, but gird yoursel up to the great task o' the day.a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 201/2 Don't ee be, beintee, or bissent.1898 Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/2 [Oxfordshire] Bist, bisn't.1983 W. L. Lorimer & R. L. C. Lorimer New Test. in Scots Acts xviii. 236 Ae nicht the Lord said tae Paul in a vision, ‘Binna feared, but haud on at your preachin.’

(iv). With negative particle and personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2b at ye pron.

η. 1800s– beintee. a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 201/2 Don't ee be, beintee, or bissent.

b. Plural. (i).

η. Old English bio (before personal pronoun, rare), Old English bioþ (Mercian), Old English bioð, Old English–early Middle English beoþ, Old English–early Middle English beoð, Old English–Middle English beo (before personal pronoun), early Middle English beod, early Middle English beos, early Middle English beothþ, early Middle English beð, early Middle English bieþ, early Middle English bieð, early Middle English buð, Middle English beeȝ, Middle English bees, Middle English beese, Middle English beeth, Middle English beis (northern), Middle English ben, Middle English beoth, Middle English bes, Middle English bese, Middle English beþ, Middle English beth, Middle English bethe, Middle English byeþ, Middle English– be; Scottish pre-1700 beis, pre-1700 beys, pre-1700 1700s– be. Now formally merged with the singular in all standard varieties of modern English.eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) ii. 10 Et nunc reges intellegite, erudimini omnes qui iudicatis terram : & nu cyningas ongeotað bioð gelærde alle ða ðe doemað eordan.OE Andreas (1932) 1609 Ne beoð ge to forhte.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 49 Buð [L. Estote] admode alse duue.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 89 Ne bieð ȝelich ðe horse.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 133 Nebeo ȝe naut semey ach beoð ester.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9567 Beoð stille beoð stille cnihtes inne halle. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2246 Bes of him ful glad and bliþe. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. i. 16 Be ȝee washen, beth clene [a1425 be ȝe clene].a1425 (?a1350) Seven Sages (Galba) (1907) l. 4232 Bese meri, and mase gude chere.c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 2856 Bees noghte baiste of ȝone boyes, ne of þaire bryghte wedis!1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. cxcvii. 175 Bethe ware sirs.c1480 (a1400) St. Thomas Apostle l. 326 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 138 Beis baptiste but delay.?a1500 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Harl. 7334) (1885) l. 3578 Beoth [c1405 Hengwrt be] merye for the flood passeþ a-non.c1520 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1901) I. Matt. xvi. 11 Be ye war of the sourdauche of Phariseis.1611 Bible (King James) Matt. vi. 16 When yee fast, be not as the hypocrites.1794 J. Grahame Poems 76 Be sure pull on your silken hose.1832 F. Marryat Newton Forster I. xi. 148 Be smart, my lads, for she has the heels of us.1989 J. Trollope Village Affair i. 2 ‘Be quiet!’ she shouted. ‘You beastly, beastly children.’

θ. Old English wesaþ, Old English wesað, Old English wosas (Northumbrian), Old English wosað (Northumbrian), Old English wossað (Northumbrian), Old English–early Middle English wese (before personal pronoun), late Old English wesæþ. OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. x. 16 Estote ergo prudentes sicut serpentes : bioþ uel wesaþ [OE Lindisf. wosas ge] forþon snottre swa swa nedra.OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxiii. 23 Wesað ge fram gode geara gebletsade.c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Hatton) xxviii. 9 Hale wese ge [OE Lindisf. wosað gie hal, OE Rushw. beoþ hale].

(ii). With negative particle affixed.

η. Scottish 1800s– binna. 1832 A. Beattie Poems 138 Till Meg cried,—‘Hosta—binna fools’.1983 W. L. Lorimer & R. L. C. Lorimer New Test. in Scots Matt. xxviii. 59 But the angel said tae the weimen, ‘Binna feared. I ken ye ar seekin Jesus, at wis crucifíed. He isna here: he hes risen, een as he said he wad.’

5. Past indicative. a. 1st and 3rd singular. (i).

θ. early Old English uues, Old English uæs (chiefly Northumbrian), Old English uæss (Northumbrian), Old English uuæs (rare), Old English wæ (probably transmission error), Old English wæss (Anglian), Old English węs, Old English–early Middle English wæs, Old English (rare)–early Middle English 1600s waes, Old English–1500s wes, Old English– was, late Old English–early Middle English weas, early Middle English w (transmission error), early Middle English wa (probably transmission error), early Middle English wal (transmission error), early Middle English we (probably transmission error), early Middle English weis, early Middle English weos, Middle English qwas, Middle English uas, Middle English ues, Middle English uuas, Middle English vas, Middle English ves, Middle English vhos, Middle English vos, Middle English waas, Middle English wace, Middle English waȝ, Middle English wasce, Middle English watȝ, Middle English wees, Middle English wese, Middle English wesse, Middle English whes, Middle English whos, Middle English whosse, Middle English woos, Middle English wosse, Middle English ws, Middle English wys (perhaps transmission error), Middle English 1600s wass, Middle English–1500s wasse, Middle English–1500s whas, Middle English–1600s wase, Middle English–1600s wos, Middle English–1600s wose, late Middle English wast (transmission error), late Middle English wat (transmission error), 1500s woas, 1600s werst (perhaps transmission error); English regional 1700s– wus, 1800s– wez, 1800s– wiz, 1800s– wuz, 2000s– wo' (Yorkshire); U.S. regional 1800s wiz (southern), 1800s wus, 1800s– wuz, 1900s– uz (chiefly southern); Scottish pre-1700 uas, pre-1700 ues, pre-1700 ves, pre-1700 vesz, pre-1700 wace, pre-1700 wase, pre-1700 wese, pre-1700 wos, pre-1700 1700s vas, pre-1700 1700s– was, pre-1700 1700s– wes, pre-1700 1800s– wis, 1800s– wass, 1800s– wus, 1800s– wuz, 1900s– wiz; also Irish English 1800s 'as (Wexford), 1800s waas (Wexford), 1800s wus (northern), 1800s– wuz (northern). eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 855 Ęþelwulf cyning..ferde to Rome mid micelre weorþnesse & þær was xii monaþ wuniende.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John i. 1 In principio erat uerbum : in fruma uæs uord.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxv. 36 Ic wæs nacud.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 1 On frymðe wæs word.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1122 On þis geare wæs se king Heanri on Cristesmæssan on Norhtwic, & on Pasches he weas on Norhthamtune.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 67 Al mankin, þe was..and nu is.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 17 Þet he wes iboren of ure lefdi.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 965 Þat [sc. þat clif] weos [c1300 Otho his] Geomagoges lupe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1490 Þat wæs þe olde king.c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) l. 811 Rouland..wos þe gladdeste man vnder sonne.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l.421 Þat al þe feld y-strawed wace.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12695 Sco was wit barn.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 1074 Wid þ[e] cheke bon of ane asse Men say þat abel slain wasse.c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1 Þe assaut watȝ sesed at Troye.c1420 Chron. Vilod. 90 A lytill child y bore þere wys.c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 76 Whas neuer syche noblay.1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 6284 Whan furth passyd þe soule waas [rhyme plaas].c1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert (1910) 103 Thei saide þe north wynd wast best, if it wold blowe.1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 7 There was grete nombre of speeres broken.1478 W. Maryon Let. 8 Nov. in Cely Lett. (1975) 35 All youre letterys, wyt the wyche he wosse ryght well plesed.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) xi. 38 That wes wnwisly doyn perfay.1504 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 289 [Presentment, Essex] They acced hem wossarwante [= whose servant] he wase.1517 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 101 [Deposition, Cambridgeshire] The Letter..that woas send them fro London.1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay sig. Hviii Ane of thaime vesz awand ane thowsand pennis to hime.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. viii. 2 I was in a greate gelousy ouer Sion.c1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 15 He vas estemed the grettest man.1611 Bible (King James) John i. 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.1613 W. Adams Let. 1 Dec. in A. Farrington Eng. Factory in Japan (1991) I. 106 I wass poour, for w'ch cass I wass dessirouss to get soumthing.1624 in H. Paton Rep. MSS Earl of Mar & Kellie (1904) 123 He wos sory your lordships halks..were so misgeydit.c1650 J. Spalding Memorialls Trubles Scotl. & Eng. (1851) II. 34 The King wes said to be dealling ernestlie with the lordis.1697 E. Ravenscroft Anatomist iii. i. 35 The German Doctor, that wase her this morning.1700 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1846) III. 184 At St. Ruffus' Fair wes nyne years.1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 53 I was this morning to buy silk for a night-cap.1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 226 Issabel a painted harlot, that vas thrown out of a vindore.1848 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 1st Ser. ii. 14 A Yung feller of our town that wuz cussed fool enuff to goe atrottin..arter a Drum and fife.1867 W. Barnes in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 35 'Chas, for Ich waas, I was.1882 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. at Mother-Law I toud 'im..to lave me w'eer I wuz.1898 R. O. Heslop in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 Aa wiz or wez.1898 W. R. Eaton in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 202/1 [Norfolk] Lizzie comed last Wednesday wus a week.1906 ‘H. Foulis’ Vital Spark 28 I wass feared the wean would sterve.1956 C. M. Costie Benjie's Bodle 187 He wis been i' Sooth America, teu.1958 W. Humphrey Home from Hill 80 Hit uz Monday a week when I uz running mah line.1987 Toronto Star 28 Nov. f1 He was always there for me.2004 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 7 Aug. 26 A wus oot earlie tae cetch a bus.

ι. Middle English war, Middle English ware, Middle English–1500s wher, 1800s– were (Welsh English); English regional 1700s– wor, 1700s– wur, 1800s– war, 1800s– wer, 1800s– were, 1800s– wore, 1800s– wun (Shropshire, 3rd singular), 1900s– weren (Shropshire); U.S. regional (chiefly southern and Midland) 1800s– war, 1800s– wur, 1900s– were; Scottish 1800s– war, 1800s– wir (Shetland), 1800s– wur. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14353 At his bidding he ras on-nan, he þat ligand þar war in stan.c1440 Prose Life Alexander (Thornton) (1913) 76 It ware aboute þe xj houre of þe day.1481 R. Cely Let. 16 Oct. in Cely Lett. (1975) 114 Send me whorde ȝefe Twesylton sellyd hony of my brothers hors whyll he wher heyr or not.1535 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 126 My rynge whych wher my wyffys.1632 R. Brome Northern Lasse ii. ii He sed I were a deaft Lasse.?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. 22 I steart like o Wil-cat on wur welly gawmless.1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 14 Ivver sen I wor wed.1829 S. Kirkham Eng. Gram. 193 I war thar.1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxiii. 361 Was one of those voices Mr. Pickwick's? ‘Yes, it were, sir.’1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb x He war a wee thing better.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxx [Ludlow] 'E wuz, or wun, or were.1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge II. xxii. 307 He was kind-like to mother when she wer here below.1898 E. Douglas in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 [Pembrokeshire] I were, he were.1933 M. K. Rawlings South Moon Under 77 I were jest crossin' the river..when a raft o' logs passed me.1967 M. A. Scott Island Saga 99 The' wur too little watter for ventering that wey.1979 Bull. Yorks. Dial. Soc. Summer 5 Ther wor a varry weel knawn..Bishop.2000 F. Keane Stranger's Eye 110 It slipped into his routine of..me doin' everythin'. I were knackered.

α. U.S. regional 1900s– am, 1900s– -'m. 1884 L. W. Baldwin Yankee School-teacher in Virginia xxv. 177 She [sc. a mule] am de catty-corneres' sort ob beast dat eber I wur 'flicted ter own, dat she am.1969 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1985) I. 177/1 [Central western New Jersey] Alfalfa didn't come to our country when I'm a boy.

η. (a) Irish English (northern) 1900s– be, 1900s– beet (before to). Apparently only in the phrase to be to ‘to have to’.1926 P. O'Donnell Storm x. 71 I beet to sit down, for my legs couldn't hould me.1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 18/1 He saw a light moving through the trees—it be to be a ghost. (b) U.S. (chiefly African-American usage), Caribbean, and Australian. (Aboriginal usage). 1900s– been. Apparently sometimes rendering the past tense marker bin, which is a feature of Gullah and Caribbean, Australian, and Pacific creoles. This section covers the use of been in environments where past tense is expected; this is distinct from the omission of have in the present perfect, for which see discussion in the etymology (3.7).1927 E. C. L. Adams Congaree Sketches xxix. 69 He been los' on de bee-tree track.1971 in R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage (1996) at Been At two o'clock I been on Accra beach, a girl and I. (c) U.S. (in African-American usage) 1900s– be, 1900s– bees. Chiefly habitual.1953 J. M. Brewer Word on Brazos 4 We was all listenin' to de preachuh... Evuhbody wonder what de trouble be.1985 in Amer. Speech 60 209 I be living in Bryan and traveled by trolley to College Station.1985 in Amer. Speech 60 208 The parents had more sense than we had; they bees to the door.

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2 at it pron., adj., and n.¹ and Forms 2bγ at I pron. and n.²

θ. (a) With enclitic pronoun Middle English 1600s wast, late Middle English waste, 1500s– was't (now archaic). a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1957 Get wast bettre he ðus was sold.a1450 York Plays (1885) 509 Whanne waste þat we þe clothes brought??1570 E. Elviden Hist. Pesistratus & Catanea sig. Cii Alas alas, ambition was't that kindled al this fire?a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 121 Clo... Was't not at Hallowmas Master Froth? Fro. Allhallond-Eue.1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian v, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 106 Where was't that Robertson and you were used to howff thegither?1960 J. Barth Sot-weed Factor i. ix. 89 Was't haply your desire to spend quietly the evening of life! (b) With proclitic pronoun. (i). Middle English– twas (now nonstandard and regional), 1500s– 'twas (now archaic and regional), 1600s t'was; (ii). 1600s chwas (apparently only in representations of nonstandard speech). a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Pilgrim of St. James (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Hien Twas a man..That til sain Iamis hit the way.1560 T. Churchyard Contention betwyxte Churchyeard & Camell sig. E.i/2 But twas vnleudly dooe, and after an homly sord.a1593 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta (1633) iii. sig. G2 'Twas told me in shrift, Thou know'st 'tis death and if it be reueal'd.a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 163 Twas mine, tis his, and has bin slaue to thousands.1658 W. Chamberlayne Loves Victory i. i. 206 Chwas nere thus hampered before, cham afeard tont come ofe.1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xxi. 125 'Twas a right Answer of the Physician to his Patient, that had sore Eyes.1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxxi. 175 'Twas a Thing to be lamented.1774 G. G. Beekman Let. 11 Nov. in J. Judd Corr. Van Cortlandt Family (1977) 13 Twas this morning informed there were two Man of war & four cutters Coming here.1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám xlii. 9 He bid me taste of it; and 'twas—the Grape!1880 M. A. Courtney W. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words Cornwall 37/2 'Twas a misment on my part.1967 J. B. Keane Lett. of Successful TD (1968) ii. 19 'Twas then that Razzy and I decided to go on hunger-strike.1982 W. Goyen Had I Hundred Mouths (1986) 10 Leander was different, twas in his eyes.2005 Nation 15 Aug. 23/1 US authorities have done a lot, inside Iraq, to exacerbate the differences between Shiites and Sunnis... 'Twas ever thus with colonial ventures.

ι. 1500s twore, 1900s twere (historical); English regional 1800s– 'twar, 1800s– 'twer, 1800s– 'twere. ?1577 Misogonus ii. iii, in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 93 Twore he that before put my master to flighte.1803 G. Coleman Love Laughs at Locksmiths i. i. 15 He married his sister..to our rich hump-backed potter-carrier—and considering miss were nigh fifty fat and bandy, 'twere reckoned a tightish match.1866 J. E. Brogden Provinc. Words Lincs. 229 We'd six little mouths ta fill…'twer a-bit-on-a-pill [pull].1893 T. G. Jackson Hist. Wadham Coll. 31 [Somerset] 'Twere Varmer Mowdy's plough runned away, and 'twere fauch'nate they hadn't a hitched on the zull.1901 Longman's Mag. Feb. 363 'Twere [sc. the sloe wine was] made o' nought but the snags what grows in the hedges.1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton ix. 198 She do claps I to her breast though she be that poorly bag o' bones as twere like bein clapsed by a sparrer.

(iii). Contracted.

θ. U.S. regional (1st singular) 1800s -ze, 1800s– -'se, 1900s– -'s, 1900s– -'uz (chiefly southern). 1829 S. Kirkham Eng. Gram. 192 He sade no; and then ize up a stump.1941 J. Stuart Men of Mountains 95 I'll never forget how I felt when I's shot.1972 Foxfire Bk. 23 I's studyin' about it th'other day.

ι. English regional (northern) 1800s– -'re. 1867 B. Brierley Marlocks of Merriton 79 When aw're agate o' snootin' after wenches.1898 R. Dottie Rambles & Recoll. 26 As aw're pegginmi way to th' train.

(iv). With negative particle affixed.

θ. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English–early Middle English næs, Old English–Middle English nas, Old English (rare)–Middle English nes, early Middle English mes (transmission error), early Middle English nass ( Ormulum), early Middle English neas, early Middle English nies (perhaps transmission error), Middle English nace, Middle English nasse. OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) ii. 5 Mann næs, ðe ða eorðan worhte.lOE St. Chad (Hatton) (1953) 174 Nes þet naht wunderlic þet he þone deaþes deg swa unforht abad.lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) v. 11 He..næs nauht gedrefed.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8105 Acc whatt forr þi nass þatt nohht don.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 81 In þisse world nas na laȝe.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 43 Elmesȝeorn nes heo nefre.c1275 Lutel Soth Serm. (Calig.) l. 16 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 186 So reusful dede idon neuer non nas.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1731 And ihc nas na wurdra. þenne ich nes weldinde.c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2215 Sore him greued his vene, As it no wonder nes.c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 161 Nas neuer non fairer fedde.?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) i. pr. vi. l. 654 I nas nat deceiued quod sche. ▸ ?1440 tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iv. l. 906 Gentiler in kynde neuer nasse.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 220 Ther nas noon that was wounded to deth.?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Av So paynted and so coloured..Nas Floras land. (b) With enclitic negative particle. (i.) 1600s– wa'n't (now nonstandard), 1600s– wan't (now nonstandard); English regional 1800s wa'n't, 1800s– want (Berkshire), 1800s– waun't, 1800s– wunna (Shropshire), 1800s– wunnad (Shropshire, before personal pronoun), 1900s– wan' (before personal pronoun), 1900s– wanna (west midlands), 1900s– wanner (west midlands); U.S. regional 1700s– want, 1800s– wa'n't, 1800s– wa'nt, 1800s– wan't, 1900s– won't, 1900s– wun't, 2000s– wan' (southern, before personal pronoun); (ii.) 1600s– wasn't, 1700s– was'nt; English regional 1800s– wadden (southern), 1800s– waddn' (southern), 1800s– wadd'n't (southern), 1800s– wad'n (southern), 1800s– wadn' (southern), 1800s– was'n (Devon), 1800s– wasna (west midlands), 1800s– wazn't, 1800s– woddent (southern), 1800s– wussent, 1800s– wuzna (west midlands), 1800s– wuzn't, 1800s– wuznut, 1800s– wuzzent, 1900s– wadn't; U.S. regional 1800s– wuzn't, 1900s– wad'n (southern), 1900s– wadn't (chiefly southern and Midland), 1900s– wusn't; Scottish 1700s– wasna, 1800s was-n', 1800s– wasnae, 1800s– wasn't, 1800s– wesna, 1800s– wisna, 1800s– wusna, 1900s– wesnae, 1900s– wisnae, 1900s– wisn't, 1900s– wiznae; also Irish English (northern) 1800s wussin't, 1800s– wusnae, 1900s– wasnae, 1900s– wuznae. Forms such as wan't, wan't, wan' probably partly represent ι. forms; see discussion in the etymology (2.1).1624 J. Vicars tr. G. Goodwin Babels Balm 101 Peters Conclaue, long after him wan't knowne.1674 C. F. Wit at Venture 57 Venus wasn't Goddess for her face.1702 J. Vanbrugh False Friend v. i Who did you let in then? it wan't your Master, sure?1770 R. Cumberland Brothers v. i. 58 Wasn't this poor hut thrown open to your use?1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals i. ii. 14 It wa'n't fit for a Christian to read.1779 C. Macklin Love a-al-a-Mode ii. 20 Ha! was'nt I right.1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 213 John o' pipe-skill wasna scant.1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple III. v. 68 I wasn't going to blow the gaff.1847 ‘N. Hogg’ Lett. in Devonshire Dial. 25 Thare wis dresses all vorrin, an hair powder'd white, I be dang'd if it wadden a mosk komikal zight.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxx [Worthen, Cherbury] Wunnad-I?.. Wunnad-'e?1898 R. P. Chope in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 200/1 [Devon] I wad'n,..he wad'n or was'n, 'twad'n.1898 I. Wilkinson in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 [North Yorks.] Ă wuznut or ah wazn't.1939 These are our Lives i. 6 He found out that they won't going to be a cent left atter the bills was paid.1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 144 Ah went to yo house last night, but you want dar.1980 A. Tyler Morgan's Passing iv. i. 98 Bonny wasn't much of a cook.1984 C. Kightly Country Voices i. 32 Bloody hard life, wanner it?1993 G. F. Newman Law & Order (rev. ed.) 109 Was a good boy, Jack, wan' I?2000 I. Welsh in N. Hornby Speaking with Angel 185 This is your penance. I wasnae having this.

ι. English regional 1800s werden (south-western), 1800s wor'nt, 1800s worrant (Yorkshire), 1800s– warnt, 1800s– warn't, 1800s– werena (west midlands), 1800s– weren't, 1800s– wer'na (west midlands), 1800s– wern't, 1800s– worna (west midlands), 1800s– wornt, 1800s– wurden (south-western), 1800s– wurdent (south-western), 1800s– wurn't, 1800s– wurnt, 1900s– wart (Staffordshire, before personal pronoun), 1900s– weredn't (chiefly south-western), 1900s– werenad (Shropshire, before personal pronoun), 1900s– worn't; U.S. regional 1800s– warn't, 1900s– wahrn't, 1900s– waran't, 1900s– werdn't (Midland), 1900s– weren't. 1806 R. Bloomfield Wild Flowers 47 There wor'nt a bit of sorrow.1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase I. xix. 171 I'll be doggd if thare warnt a wild cat jist goin to spring.1844 W. Barnes Poems Rural Life in Dorset Dial. 77 That werden any harm.1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds & Neighbourhood at Worrant It worrant me mother!1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xii. 117 Warn't I troubled!1976 A. Garber Mountain-ese 99 There wahrn't no water in the well.2006 G. Malkani Londonstani viii. 82 He..weren't exactly a proper rudeboy.., but he weren't a coconut either.

(v). With personal pronoun and negative particle affixed.Compare Forms 2b at it pron., adj., and n.¹

θ. English regional 1800s 'twadd'n, 1800s– 'twad'n. 1842 G. P. R. Pulman Rustic Sketches 20 One zummer's night zum furns an' I Made up our minds ta zee Wh'er 'twadd'n possible ta haa A midnight vishin' spree.1898 R. P. Chope in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 200/1 [Devon] I wad'n,..he wad'n or was'n, 'twad'n.

b. 2nd singular. (i).

ι. (a) Old English uere (Northumbrian), Old English uoere (Northumbrian), Old English wær (before personal pronoun, rare), Old English wære, Old English– were, late Old English wæræ, early Middle English weoren (see note below), early Middle English werere (transmission error), early Middle English wore, Middle English vere, Middle English ware, Middle English weer, Middle English weore, Middle English wer, Middle English weren, Middle English wern, Middle English–1500s war, 1500s warre; English regional 1800s– war (northern and midlands), 1800s– wor, 1800s– wore, 1800s– wur; also Scottish pre-1700 (1900s– Orkney) war, 1900s– wur; Irish English (northern) 1900s– war, 1900s– wur; (b) late Middle English– wert (now archaic, poetic, and regional), 1500s–1600s weart, 1500s–1600s werst, 1500s–1700s wart, 1600s wertst, 1600s–1700s wer't, 1800s werest (archaic); English regional 1800s werst (south-western), 1800s wurt, 1800s– wart (northern), 1800s– wurst (south-western); Scottish 1700s–1800s wert. Middle English forms with final -n such as weren typically represent the polite form (with ye), with the exception of early Middle English forms in the Caligula MS of Laȝamon's Brut (e.g. weoren) which show nunnation, a very common feature of the language of this text in this MS, which has not been satisfactorily explained. With thou or thee:OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 48 Ic geseah þe þa þu wære [OE Lindisf. uere, OE Rushw. were; L. esses] under þam fictreowe.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 145 Þu art nu to daiȝ alswa ðu ware ðas daiȝes.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7820 Whar weoren þu iboren? ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 684 Cherl, als thou er wore. ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John i. 48 Whanne thou were vndir the fyge tree [1534 Tyndale When thou wast].c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 3049 And wher weer þow I-bore?a1475 Visio Philiberti (Brogyntyn) in J. O. Halliwell Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 15 Wer is now that mayne, thou stynkyng and abjecte, That thou wert wont so ryally to fede?1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 178 Thou O vyrgyn..that were souerayne delyte to god hymselfe..were ioye to aungels.1599 R. Roche Eustathia sig. G8 Thou bewitch'd with beautie, weart beguiled, When thy misleading lust, thine heart defiled.a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 176 Thou wer't borne a foole.a1617 S. Hieron Wks. (1628) II. 122 Why did I forget that thou wart an Observer?1627 G. Hakewill Apologie ii. i. 77 Thou who werst a Christian before.1737 R. Glover Leonidas iii. 105 Thou, who once wert Lacedæmon's chief.1747 S. Richardson Clarissa II. xxxi. 178 Wert thou bid to come up?1820 P. B. Shelley To Skylark in Prometheus Unbound 201 Hail to thee, blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert.1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk II. vii. 160 Thou wert damned.1864 B. Brierley Layrock of Langley-side vi. 85 What wurt doin' theere?1896 J. Curtin tr. H. Sienkiewicz Quo Vadis xxxv. 280 Thou art to-day as thou wert when wearing the golden bulla on thy neck.1898 C. V. Goddard in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 [S. Wilts.] Thee wurst. With ye or you:a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2341 I wold..ȝe were fro þis quarrere quitly a-schaped.a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1904) I. l. 6779 Lo, Sire, merlyne Js comen to ȝow here, That ȝe Weren Wonted to loven so Wel.a1529 J. Skelton Poems against Garnesche in Poet Wks. (1843) I. 120 Ye war a kechyn page, A dyshewasher.a1625 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Honest Mans Fortune iv. i, in Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Vuuuu4v/2 Good sir..you were wont to be a curious avoyder of womens company.1793 J. Boswell Principal Corrections Life Johnson 34/1 Sir, you were a COD surrounded by smelts [quoting Johnson, an. 1784].1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xx. 197 Still, Tony, you were on the wrong side of the post then.1889 W. Westall Birch Dene I. xxii. 304 Wor you ever in a cotton factory afore?1985 G. R. R. Martin in Isaac Asimov's Sci. Fiction Nov. 165 You were born old. You're a watcher, not a liver.2001 H. Collins No Smoke ii. 36 Your Maureen wid hit the fuckin roof if she found oot ye wur pumpin big Karen.

θ. (a) early Middle English wass ( Ormulum), Middle English wace, Middle English watȝ, Middle English wes, Middle English 1800s wos, Middle English– was (now regional and nonstandard), 1900s– waz (nonstandard); English regional 1800s– wass (Yorkshire, before personal pronoun), 1800s– wez (Northumberland), 1800s– wiz (Northumberland), 1800s– wuz; U.S. regional 1800s wuz; also Scottish pre-1700 wes, 1800s– wiz, 1900s– wuz; Irish English (northern) 1900s– wuz; (b) Middle English– wast (now archaic and poetic), 1600s wa'st; English regional 1800s– wast, 1800s– wust. For a discussion of early modern standard English you was see etymology (2.12). With thou or thee:c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 12804 Þu wass unnderr an fic-tre.c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 759 Mi sone y seyd þou wes.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6248 Ta þat wand þat þou was [Trin. Cambr. þou were] wont ber in þi hand. ▸ c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 51 Þou wast nayld apon þe rood.a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) l. 288 I..faylid þi laghes, þat ever þou, Lord, wos lovyd in.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xxxviii. A Where wast thou when the mornynge starres gaue me prayse.1611 Second Maiden's Trag. (1909) i. i. 1 Ther was but one In whome my hart tooke pleasure..and in her yo^u darde to be my ryvall; wa'st not bould??1614 W. Drummond Poems My Lute be as thou was when thou did grow..in some shadie Groue,..And Birds their ramage on thee did bestow.1657 J. Watts Scribe, Pharisee Ep. to Rdr. sig. A3^v Thou Histiæus wast the Shoemaker.1790 R. Burns Tam o' Shanter 19 in Poems & Songs (1968) II. 558 She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum.1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. xviii. 419 Now, wherefore liv'st, and why wast ever born Thou mountain-mass of earth!1875 R. Browning Aristophanes' Apol. 232 Thou wast less friendly far than thou didst seem.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxx [Ludlow] Thou wust.1898 R. O. Heslop in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 Thoo wiz or wez.1931 J. Masefield Minnie Maylow's Story 19 Thou wast so wlatsom, so abhominable, And eke so mordrous without any nay. With ye or you:1573 J. Davidson in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlii. 298 Thocht ȝe wes skar, Me think that now ȝe cum ouir nar.1590 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) I. ii. 203 Ye was partaker of wichcraft.1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants Pref. sig. A2 You was very happy in the choice of this Subject.1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. 74 I suppose you was in a Dream?1735 H. Walpole Corr. (1820) I. 3 When you was at Eton.1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. vi. v. 254 Shew me..what you was reading when I came in.1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility II. i. 20 I felt sure that you was angry with me.1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxii. 340 You wos to come to him at six o'clock.1971 It 2–16 June 8/2 I wanted to find out whether you waz a hippie or a werewolf!!1993 E. A. Proulx Shipping News xx. 162 Thought you was going to be a big, wild booger.

(ii). Contracted.

θ. English regional 1800s– -'st (Devon); U.S. regional 1900s– -'s. 1892 S. Hewett Peasant Speech Devon 3 Thee'st.1966 Amer. Speech 41 77 Corresponding interrogative forms, such as 's I? and 's you? [for was I?, was you?].

(iii). With negative particle affixed.

ι. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English–early Middle English nære, early Middle English neir, early Middle English nere, early Middle English nerre. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxix. 426 La hu nære ðu geornful biggenga ura goda.c1175 (?OE) Writ of Brother Edwin (Sawyer 1428) in S. Miller Charters of New Minster, Winchester (2001) 164 Ac þu nære æt ham.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 771 Nere þu icoren kempa. (b) With enclitic negative particle. (i). 1700s– weren't; English regional 1800s warna, 1800s– warnt, 1800s– warn't, 1800s– werena (west midlands), 1800s– wer'na (west midlands), 1800s– wern't, 1800s– worn't, 1800s– wornt, 1800s– wurden (southern), 1800s– wurdent (southern), 1800s– wurnt, 1800s– wurn't, 1800s– wursn't, 1800s– wurstn't (south-western), 1900s– weredestn't (Somerset), 1900s– weredn't (Somerset), 1900s– wertn't (Derbyshire), 1900s– wertst na (Staffordshire), 1900s– wertstnot (south-western), 1900s– wertstn't (Wiltshire); Scottish 1800s werna, 1800s– warna, 1800s– werena, 1800s– werenae, 1900s– weren't, 1900s– wirna, 1900s– wirnae, 1900s– wurna, 1900s– wurnae; Irish English (northern) 1900s– werna, 1900s– wurnae; (ii.) English regional 1800s– want, 1800s– waun't, 1800s– wunna (west midlands), 1900s– wanna (west midlands). Forms such as want, waun't may partly represent θ. forms; see discussion in the etymology (2.1). With ye or you:1746 Exmoor Courtship 22 Yow weren't zo skittesh..up to Daraty Vuzz's Up-zetting.1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals ii. ii I guessed you weren't come empty-handed.1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. x. 206 I daresay ye warna franzy, for ye look as if ye'd ne'er been angered i' your life.1881 G. H. Gibson in Bulletin (Sydney) 16 Mar. 8 You weren't quite the cleanly potato, Sam Holt.1902 A. McIlroy Druid's Island 116 Ye werna married properly, Tam,..he wasna a minister that tied ye..he was just an auld buckle-the-beggars.1918 T. Manson Humours of Peat Comm. I. 47–48 Come awa, my jewel; da men here is aboot ready ta binnd, tinkin ye wirna comin ava.1955 ‘D. Cory’ Phoenix Sings iv. 73 You weren't a Commie in those days.2001 J. Coe Rotters' Club (2002) 294 You really are a prize prannet, Ben. Anyone could see you weren't cut out to be a member of the Special Branch. With thou or thee:1882 E. L. Chamberlain Gloss. W. Worcs. Words p. xxv Thee wasna, wuzna, or wornt... Werena thee?a1895 H. Walker MS Coll. Notts. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 200/1 Wornt thou?1994 C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. 497/1 I was late wasn't I... [You were late,...] Wertstn't thee? [Wilts.]

θ. 1800s– wasn't (regional); English regional 1800s– wadn' (southern), 1800s– wasna (west midlands), 1800s– wast'n (south-western), 1800s– wastn't (south-western), 1800s– wazzent, 1800s– wus'na (west midlands), 1800s– wusnt, 1800s– wussent, 1800s– wustna (west midlands), 1800s– wuz'nst (Oxfordshire), 1800s– wuzn't, 1800s– wuzzent, 1900s– wasn'tst (south-western and south midlands). With thou or thee:1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p. lxx [Worthen, Cherbury] Wustna thee?1898 R. P. Chope in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 200/1 [Devon] Thee wast'n.1898 M. C. F. Morris in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 200/1 Yorks. Wasn't thoo?1971 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. iii. 1046 Q[uestion]. We could say: We were late, weren't we? You could say of [me]: [You were] late... [Derbyshire] Wasna?1993 W. Woodruff Billy Boy xiv. 179 Look,..tha's got a mash. That's because tha wasn't watchin'. With ye or you:1901 S. E. White Westerners i. 7 Thought you wasn't no tenderfoot. Ever hit the trail?1965–70 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1985) I. 178/1 [Kentucky] You wasn't born in a minute.2001 J. Murphy Kings of Kilburn High Road ii, in Two Plays 52 You wasn't there Jap, hear me, you wasn't there!

c. Plural. (i).

ι. early Old English uuærun, early Old English–early Middle English wære (before personal pronoun), Old English ueron (Northumbrian), Old English uerun (Northumbrian), Old English uoeron (Northumbrian), Old English waeron (rare), Old English wærum (rare), Old English wærun, Old English wæryn (rare), Old English wero (Northumbrian), Old English węron, Old English woero (Northumbrian), Old English woeron (Northumbrian), Old English woeson (Northumbrian, transmission error), Old English–early Middle English wæran, Old English (chiefly late)–early Middle English wæren, Old English–early Middle English wæron, Old English (Northumbrian)–early Middle English weoron, Old English–early Middle English weran, Old English–Middle English weron, Old English (chiefly Anglian)–Middle English werun, Old English (rare)–Middle English (1500s–1600s archaic) weren, late Old English wæro, late Old English wearen, late Old English weræn, early Middle English hwæron, early Middle English þeren (transmission error), early Middle English uuæren, early Middle English uuaren, early Middle English uueren, early Middle English uueron, early Middle English verren, early Middle English verrin, early Middle English wæræn, early Middle English wærenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English waron, early Middle English we (transmission error), early Middle English weoran, early Middle English werein, early Middle English werent (transmission error), early Middle English wereren (transmission error), early Middle English whæren, early Middle English wuren, Middle English qwere, Middle English ver, Middle English vere, Middle English veren, Middle English wa (transmission error), Middle English waer, Middle English wair, Middle English waren, Middle English warr, Middle English warre, Middle English wat (transmission error), Middle English weeren, Middle English weore, Middle English weoren, Middle English weorn, Middle English weorne, Middle English werene, Middle English werin, Middle English werr, Middle English werre, Middle English werren, Middle English weryn, Middle English weryne, Middle English whare, Middle English wheryn, Middle English whor, Middle English whore, Middle English wor, Middle English wore, Middle English woren, Middle English worn, Middle English worne, Middle English woryn, Middle English 1600s uere, Middle English–1500s warn, Middle English–1500s wer, Middle English–1500s wern, Middle English–1500s werne, Middle English–1500s whar, Middle English–1500s wher, Middle English–1600s weer, Middle English–1600s weere, Middle English–1600s 1900s– where (Caribbean), Middle English–1700s war, Middle English–1700s ware, Middle English– were, late Middle English wayere, late Middle English wyre (probably transmission error), 1500s weir, 1500s–1600s wear, 1500s–1600s weare; English regional 1800s warr (northern), 1800s were'n (Lancashire), 1800s– war (chiefly northern and midlands), 1800s– wer, 1800s– weren (west midlands), 1800s– wern (north-west midlands and Lancashire), 1800s– wor, 1800s– wore, 1800s– wun (north-west midlands), 1800s– wur; U.S. regional 1800s whare, 1800s– ware, 1900s– wahr, 1900s– war, 2000s– wore; Scottish pre-1700 var, pre-1700 vare, pre-1700 veir, pre-1700 ver, pre-1700 vere, pre-1700 veryng, pre-1700 vore, pre-1700 wair, pre-1700 waren, pre-1700 warin, pre-1700 warre, pre-1700 warren, pre-1700 warryn, pre-1700 warryne, pre-1700 wayre, pre-1700 weare, pre-1700 weir, pre-1700 weire, pre-1700 weren, pre-1700 werre, pre-1700 werren, pre-1700 wor, pre-1700 1700s 1900s– warr, pre-1700 1700s– war, pre-1700 1700s– ware, pre-1700 1700s– wer, pre-1700 1700s– were, 1800s– waur, 1800s– wir, 1800s– wur, 1900s– waar (Orkney); also Irish English (northern) 1900s– war, 1900s– wur; N.E.D. (1887) also records a form Middle English quar. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke xvii. 17 Nonne decem mundati sunt : ahne teno geclænsad woeron.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 24 Þa wæron [c1200 Hatton wæren] of sundorhalgon.?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 For hi uueron al forcursæd & forsuoren & forloren.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 55 Þær wærenn fele gode menn Biforenn cristess come.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 143 Seuen awergede gostes ware on hire ȝeherbereȝede.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 31 Hie waren swiðe..ofdredde.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 15 Þas laȝen weren from Moyses.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1805 Þa forð wuren agan feuwerti daȝene. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 717 Hise two doutres, þat faire wore.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2446 Swilc woren egipte lages.c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) 75 Þer weore Pope-iayes prest.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 11490 Þar iesu and his moder warn [Vesp. wern, Laud werne].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 388 Boþe were [Vesp. ware, Fairf. was, Gött. war] made sonne & mone.c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 41 And eek in what array þ^t they weere Inne.c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 29 And wel we weeren esed at the beste.c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 65 Thei that weren so noble.c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 149 Þabbot and..þe foresaide person where to haue rate and sure.1462 R. Calle in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 372 Your brother and Debenham were at wordes.?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) l. 528 in Shorter Poems (1967) 40 In euery key thay werren sa expert.c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1925) I. i. 158 His helme and lance baith hewin wair.1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 207 Riuers and Dorset you were standers by..when my sonne Was stabd.1599 T. Dallam in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 264 We..weare sodenly wonderfully Tormented w^th varmen.1611 Bible (King James) Num. xiii. 33 Wee were in our owne sight as grashoppers, and so wee were in their sight.1654 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 370 Sex commissioneris..ver appointed to meit with the heritouris.1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 6 Terrible Apprehensions were among the People.1776 J. Greenman Jrnl. Feb. in Diary of Common Soldier (1978) 25 They ware all sent to the aspital ware they was used very kindly.1868 C. M. Yonge Cameos 1st Ser. ix. 58 His parents were grown old.1887 in D. C. Murray Novelist's Note Bk. 53 [Staffs.] We wun burried once for welly a hour.1898 I. Wilkinson in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 198/1 [N. Yorks.] They annut as good as they war.1999 Daily Tel. 7 Jan. 3/4 They were to be found playing deck tennis on board Britannia.

θ. Now regional and nonstandard. Middle English wass, Middle English wasse, Middle English watȝ, Middle English wesse, Middle English wos, Middle English 1600s wase, Middle English– was; English regional 1800s– waz, 1800s– wez, 1800s– wiz (Northumberland), 1800s– wuz; U.S. regional 1800s– wuz; Scottish pre-1700 vas, pre-1700 ves, pre-1700 wes, pre-1700 1700s wase, pre-1700 1700s– was, 1700s– wis, 1800s waz, 1800s– wiz, 1800s– wus. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5547 Þis midwimmen for godd was radd And did noght als þe king þam badd.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 944 Into þe world þere þei made was.c1400 (?c1380) Pearl 1065 Þe ȝateȝ stoken watȝ neuer ȝet, Bot euermore vpen at vche a lone.a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) l. 5674 Traitoures was him euer loothe.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvi. 335 He gert get vrichtis that ves sle.?a1500 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 15th Cent. (1939) 191 Alle good confessors þat euer wasse, Pray for me.1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. l. sig. M ii/1 And than he wolde put in agayn y^e guttys, and they was so sore swollen y^t they cowde nat be handelyd.c1600 D. Moysie Mem. Affairs Scotl. (1830) 13 The erles of Ergyle and Athole wes that same day agaitward to return to thair awin duellingis.1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. ii. 38 We was talking of thee.1776 J. Greenman Jrnl. Feb. in Diary of Common Soldier (1978) 25 They ware all sent to the aspital ware they was used very kindly.1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 204 The young lady denied having formed any such engagements at all—she couldn't abear the men, they was such deceivers.1882 E. L. Chamberlain Gloss. W. Worcs. Words p. xxv Us wuz, or were... Thaay wuz.1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 99/1 It's taam t'cooran berries wez pulled.1940 R. Wright Native Son ii. 212 ‘Whut in hell he run off fer then?’‘Mabbe he thought they wuz gonna blame the murder on him !’1991 P. Marshall Daughters (1992) ii. i. 120 They was no use atall.

η. Irish English (northern) 1800s bes. 1898 S. A. Brenan in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 [Antrim] pl. Bēs.

(ii). Contracted.

ι. English regional (Lancashire) 1800s– -'rn. 1819 ‘P. Bobbin’ Sequel to Lancs. Dial. 34 I durst no begin cose I knew they'rn aw in o' bant.1898 S. Warburton in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 199/2 [Lancs.] We'rn, yo'rn, they'rn.1901 F. E. Taylor Folk-speech S. Lancs. at Stir It wur his birthday, so they'rn havin' a bit ov a stir.

(iii). With negative particle affixed.

ι. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English næran, Old English næren (rare), Old English–early Middle English næron, Old English (rare)–Middle English neron, early Middle English nære, early Middle English nærenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English neore, early Middle English neoren, early Middle English neouren, Middle English nar, Middle English nare, Middle English naren, Middle English nere, Middle English neren. OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 1070 Ða oþre ðe þær næron..atiwdon hwi hi ðær beon ne mihton.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily In Die Sancto Pentecosten (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 97 Hi neren aferede of nane licamliche pinunge.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 223 Nare [OE Cambr. Gg.3.28 næron] hio blinde ȝescapene.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 562 Leode nere þar nane.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 271 Þa Grickes neoren noht warre of heore wensiðe.c1330 Sir Tristrem 2464 So bliþe al bi dene Nar þai neuer are.c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 6137 Þo nar þo wiþ king Arthour Bot to & fourti.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 80 Falslyche to for-swere hem þey nere neuer wery.c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) l. 316 Þei nere encline to no king, hur kiþ for too gye. (b) With enclitic negative particle. (i). 1600s–1800s wa'n't; English regional 1800s– wahnt, 1800s– waun't, 1800s– wunna (west midlands), 1800s– wunt, 1900s– wanna (west midlands); U.S. regional 1800s want, 1800s– wa'n't, 1900s– won't; (ii.) 1600s– weren't; English regional 1800s werden (south-western), 1800s– warnt, 1800s– warn't, 1800s– warrent (north-western), 1800s– werena (west midlands), 1800s– wer'na (west midlands), 1800s– wern't, 1800s– worna (west midlands), 1800s– worn't (midlands), 1800s– wornt (midlands), 1800s– worrant (north-western), 1800s– wurden (south-western), 1800s– wurdent (south-western), 1800s– wurn't, 1800s– wurnt, 1900s– weredn't (south-western), 1900s– wereno' (midlands); Scottish 1800s war-n', 1800s warna', 1800s werna, 1800s– warna, 1800s– werena, 1800s– werena', 1800s– wurna, 1900s– werenae, 1900s– weren't, 1900s– wernie, 1900s– wirna, 1900s– wirnae, 1900s– wurnae; also Irish English (northern) 1800s wurrint, 1800s wurrin't, 1800s– wurnae, 1900s– warnae, 1900s– werna. Forms such as want, wa'n't apparently partly represent θ. forms, especially in later use.1691 W. Mountfort Greenwich-Park Prol. Since they depend so on their own Commanders, Why weren't the Royal Regiment sent for Flanders?1692 Glorious Victory in H. E. Rollins Pepys Ballads (1931) VI. ccclxxxvii. 180 He gave them to know we wa'n't in Iest.1723 S. Centlivre Artifice iv. 62 There warn't two Hundred, at Dinner in the great Hall, one Plough-Monday.1775 H. B. Dudley Rival Candidates ii. vii. 30 So I think we wa'n't troubled to chair your fine gingerbread carcase.1808 A. Scott Poems (ed. 2) 121 This put the dame in perfect wrath; Her words they werena sneith.a1841 W. G. Clark Ollapodiana (1844) xx. 215 ‘Well, Josh, I seen them rackets!’ ‘Wa' n't they almighty bright?’ was the inquisitive reply.1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 431/2 I was the first who hawked ‘Congreves’..; they weren't called ‘lucifers’ for a good while after.1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. p.lxix [Worthen, Cherbury] We wunna. Yo' wunna. They wunna.1883 T. Clarke et al. Specimens Westmorland Dial. iii. 7 Thae worrant kent rooads.1897 C. R. Dunning Folk-lore 4 Thae brownies warna to prat wi'!1999 Y. M. Murray What it takes to get to Vegas viii. 119 It was hard to be superhappy when we weren't getting along.

θ. Now regional and nonstandard 1800s– wasn't, 1800s– wusna (Scottish); English regional 1800s– wadd'n't (southern), 1800s– wadn' (southern), 1800s– wasna (west midlands), 1800s– waznt, 1800s– wazn't, 1800s– wussent, 1800s– wuzna (west midlands), 1800s– wuzn't, 1800s– wuzzent, 1900s– wadn't (northern). 1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 104 ‘Ye wasn't skeered, nor nothin' was ye tho'?’ ‘Scared!—We!’1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb vi We wusna jist seer.1880 Ld. Tennyson Village Wife xviii Hugger-mugger they lived, but they wasn't that eäsy to pleäse.1901 R. De B. Trotter Galloway Gossip Eighty Years Ago 131 Than the fairies wusna able to cheinge't.1993 S. Stewart Ramlin Rose ii. 9 They wasn't truly girls they was growed-oop twins.

6. Past subjunctive. a. 1st and 3rd singular. (i).

ι. Old English uoere (Northumbrian), Old English wæræ (rare), Old English woere (Northumbrian), Old English (Northumbrian)–early Middle English uere, Old English–early Middle English wære, Old English– were, late Old English weræ, early Middle English hware, early Middle English uuare, early Middle English vare, early Middle English vere, early Middle English verin, early Middle English verre, early Middle English weora, early Middle English weren, early Middle English werren, early Middle English wuere, Middle English vher, Middle English wair, Middle English warre, Middle English we (transmission error), Middle English weer, Middle English weore, Middle English weoren, Middle English werere (transmission error), Middle English wern (perhaps transmission error), Middle English whar, Middle English wher, Middle English where, Middle English whor, Middle English wor, Middle English wore, Middle English–1600s war, Middle English–1600s ware, Middle English–1600s weere, Middle English–1600s wer, 1500s whare, 1500s–1600s wear, 1500s–1600s weare; English regional 1800s– war (northern), 1800s– wor (northern), 1900s– weren (Shropshire); Scottish pre-1700 uaire, pre-1700 var, pre-1700 vare, pre-1700 ver, pre-1700 wair, pre-1700 weir, pre-1700 1700s wer, pre-1700 1700s–1800s ware, pre-1700 1700s– were, pre-1700 1800s– war, pre-1700 1800s– wur, 1800s waur, 1900s– wir. OE Blickling Homilies 7 Þæt heo Maria..swigende ðohte hwæt seo halettung wære.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 5 Er þis were.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1310 Þu askedest ȝef ich were A bisemere to preost ihoded. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 1938 Me wore leuere i wore lame.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 1599 Þou he war [Trin. Cambr. were] wrath it was na wrang.a1450 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Yale) x. 25 As he were a pore man.c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 2617 And therfor wisdom weer..Nevir to dele with hem.1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. aiiij As it ware the mawe of a pegeon.1529 T. More in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 12 What way wer best to take.1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis xi. 118 There are many that drink without the moving of Transglutition; but that which they drink descends as if it were poured into a Tankerd.1790 R. Burns in Scots Musical Museum III. 264 (title of poem) O, were I on Parnassus Hill.1814 C. I. Johnstone Saxon & Gaël I. vi If I war at your lug I sud gar ye laugh the laugh o' Bamullo.1852 C. M. Yonge Cameos xii, in Monthly Packet Jan. 20 By my faith, it were treason.1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. x. 177 If I were only a Theocritus.1995 Independent on Sunday 24 Dec. 15/1 His mother..has just started writing letters to him again, as if he were still a homesick new bug at Cheam.

(ii). With personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2 at it pron., adj., and n.¹ and Forms 2bγ at I pron. and n.²

ι. (a) With proclitic pronoun. (i). 1500s–1600s twere, 1600s tweare, 1600s 'twer, 1600s twer, 1600s t'were, 1600s 1800s– 'twere (now archaic and poetic), 1800s– 'twar (British regional), 1800s– twar (British regional); (ii). apparently only in representations of nonstandard speech 1500s chware, 1500s chwere. 1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 278/1 By my fayth maysters quod he..by the masse cholde twere a faire fish pole.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. E1^v Chould I were hanged as hie as a tree, & chware as false as thou art.?1589 Whip for an Ape 5 ‘Oh that,’ quoth Martin, ‘chwere a Noble man!’1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iv. 9 And twere [1623 t'were] my cause, I should goe hang my selfe.1614 A. Gorges tr. Lucan Pharsalia x. 448 Thus doubtfull musing whether tweare Fitter to die or basely feare.a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vii. 1 If it were done,..then 'twer well, It were done quickly.a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. iv. 15 Friends..who Twin (as 'twere) in Loue, Vnseparable.1700 W. Congreve Way of World i. i. 4 Sir, there's such Coupling at Pancras, that they stand behind one another, as 'twere in a Country Dance.1808 W. Scott Marmion v. xii. 260 And the bride-maidens whispered, ‘'Twere better by far To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar.’1832 Ld. Tennyson To J. S. 66 'Twere better I should cease.1987 S. Blackhall in Chapman 46 57 Twar better sic a thing war niver born! (b) With enclitic pronoun 1500s–1600s wert, 1600s– were't (now archaic and poetic), 1600s– wer't; also Scottish pre-1700 ward, pre-1700 wart. 1592 Arden of Feversham iii. ii Wert not a serious thing we go about, It should be slipt til I had fought with thee.c1600 A. Montgomerie Poems (2000) 76 Weill ward thou weep o ou'r audacious ee!1607 F. Beaumont Woman Hater iv. ii. sig. G2^v Were't not for my smooth, soft, silken Citizen, I would quit this transitorie trade, get mee an euerlasting robe, seare vp my conscience, and turne Serieant.1609 A. Gardyne Garden Grave & Godlie Flowres sig. A4 Ile doe it in thy sight, Wart but to len, a luster to thy light.1798 D. Crawford Poems 5 I wad nae car'd for life a hair, Wer't no' in Reekie I did find Gude friends who prov'd exceeding kind.1865 T. Taylor tr. T. Hersart de la Villemarqué Ballads & Songs Brittany 13 What gown..were't best to wear,—My gown of grain, or of watchet fair?1964 M. L. Rosenthal Blue Boy on Skates (1968) 22 The Mikado's men would be mooching there yet Were't not for the tenth one, the diver, the thin blade.

(iii). Contracted.

ι. early Middle English -ere. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) 1250 She wende she were bi-swike þat shere yeuen un-kyndelike.

(iv). With negative particle affixed.

ι. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English nęre (Northumbrian), Old English–early Middle English nære, Old English–Middle English nere, early Middle English nær, early Middle English neare, early Middle English neo (transmission error), early Middle English neora, early Middle English niere, Middle English nar, Middle English nare, Middle English neer, Middle English neore, Middle English neoren, Middle English–1500s ner. OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) lii. 281 And gif reafes pryto synn nære.a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 201 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 226 Alle unhalðe Þurh deað cam in þis middeneard... Nare noman elles dead.?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 123 He nold þat aliue nere None so riche, as he were.c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 21 Nif he nere scoymus and skyg..Hit were a mervayl.?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) i. pr. iii. l. 176 Certis it nar [?c1425 Cambr. Ii.3.21 nere] not leueful ne sittyng to philosophie [etc.].c1450 (c1385) G. Chaucer Complaint of Mars (Fairf. 16) (1871) l. 35 Commaundynge him that neuere in her seruise He ner [a1450 Tanner were] so bolde no louer to dispise.a1500 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Lansd.) l. 112 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 544 The besi marchant..Nar shippis & hors, coude make no cariage.?1504 S. Hawes Example of Vertu sig. ee.v^v Unto your grace fayne wolde I go Ner lettynge of this water blo. (b) With enclitic negative particle (i.) 1600s–1700s wan't; (ii.) 1600s–1800s wern't, 1700s– weren't, 1800s warn't (U.S. regional); English regional 1800s– warn't, 1800s– worn't, 1800s– wornt, 1800s– wurden (Wiltshire); also Scottish 1800s warna, 1800s werena. It is not certain that forms such as wan't always represent subjunctive (= warn't), rather than modal preterite (= wasn't).1661 S. Pordage Mundorum Explicatio i. 11 What difference is there 'twixt a man and beast,..If't wan't for Reason, and an immortal spark.1665 J. Wilson Projectors v. 54 Impossible,—or if it wern't, the Neighbours have smoak'd it.1767 B. Thornton tr. Plautus Shipwreck ii. iv, in B. Thornton et al. tr. Plautus Comedies II. 293 Pshaw! As though he weren't within there.1888 W. E. Norris Rogue ix There wouldn't be much excuse for me if I weren't up to the mark.1898 C. V. Goddard in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/2 If I wurden.2000 Independent 7 Feb. ii. 1/2 My big brother..would look quite threatening if he weren't so pathetically speccy and puny.

(v). With negative particle and personal pronoun affixed.Compare Forms 2b at it pron., adj., and n.¹

ι. 1800s 'tweren't; Scottish 1800s 'twerna, 1900s– 'twarna. 1870 F. P. Verney Lettice Lisle xxviii. 305 He always said he [sc. the horse] were only playsome, and that 'tweren't vice.1909 J. Tennant Jeannie Jaffray 223 To inquiries for her health, her usual reply was—‘Oh, brawly, gin 'twarna for the “win's”.’

b. 2nd singular. (i).

ι. (a) Old English uoere (Northumbrian), Old English–early Middle English wære, Old English– were, Middle English ware, Middle English whor, 1500s weare, 1800s wor (Irish English); also Scottish pre-1700 ware, pre-1700 wer; (b) 1500s weart, 1500s werte, 1500s–1600s werest, 1500s–1600s werst, 1500s– wert (now archaic and poetic), 1600s were't. In Old English the 2nd singular past subjunctive of this verb (in common with all strong verbs) is not formally distinct from either the 2nd singular past indicative (as it would be for a weak verb) or from the 1st and 3rd singular past subjunctive; in its later history it continues to be problematic as a formal category. This section illustrates use of the 2nd singular in syntactic environments that typically trigger use of the past subjunctive; it is not entirely certain to what extent these should be regarded as subjunctive forms. The same is true of the following subsection on forms with negative particle. With thou or thee:OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) viii. 246 Drihten, gif þu her andwerd wære, nære ure broþer forþfaren.a1350 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Harl.) (1907) l. 131 Were þou among men, þou woldest me reuen moni of hem.a1450 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 15th Cent. (1939) 30 If synne ne were, Goddes moder ware þou noght.1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Esdras v. 30 Though thou werest enemye.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xxviii. 6 As though thou werst God.1611 Bible (King James) Rev. iii. 15 I would thou wert cold or hot [Wycliffite, Coverdale, Cranmer, Rhem. were, Geneva werest].a1796 R. Burns Wks. (1800) IV. 381 Oh wert thou in the cauld blast.1854 J. S. Bigg Night & Soul xii. 176 If thou wert here..I should feel little happy motionings,—Hand clappings, looks of love, and tones of bliss!1879 E. Waugh Chimney Corner 17 Thou walks as if thou were hop-shackle't.1949 F. P. Adams Innocent Merriment 178 Oh, that thou Wert Carbon, and myself were Hydrogen; We would unite to form olefiant gas. With ye or you:c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) ii. l. 1211 We supposed..That ye had come of that gentyl blood Of youre moder..And of your fader..And if ye were, ye cowde not sece and blyn To folwe þe steppes of youre olderis be-forn.1480 R. Cely Let. 30 June in Cely Lett. (1975) 85 I wolde fayne that ȝe whor her tyll he be better mendyt.1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered ii. 8 As if you were borne at Nonesuch, you are not contented to be accompted..a great Diuine, but..the I per se I, and the belweather of Diuines.c1626 Dick of Devonshire (1955) 1288 What a buzzing you make? as if you were a fly at Bartholomew tyde at a Butchers stall.1772 S. Johnson in J. Boswell Life Johnson (1904) I. 455 Why, Sir, if you were to read Richardson for the story, your impatience would be so much fretted that you would hang yourself.1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well I. xiii. 292 ‘By my faith, Captain MacTurk,’ said the Doctor, ‘you speak as if you were graduated!’1829 G. Griffin Collegians xii. 97 An' you singen' now as if you wor comen' from a jig-house.1988 W. Russell One for the Road (rev. ed.) i, in Shirley Valentine & One for the Road (1993) 53 You're not a youth anymore. But you're still acting as if you were. Dennis you've got responsibilities.

(ii). With negative particle affixed.

ι. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English nære, Middle English nere. OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) lvi. 336 Memento quoniam nisi per illos non fuisses : gemun þu þæt þu butan þurh hi þu nære.c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) l. 207 Sarasin, nere þou messager, Wroþer hele come þou her. (b) With enclitic negative particle. (i.) 1600s (1700s North American) wan't; (ii.) 1600s– weren't; also Scottish 1800s warna, 1800s– werena, 1900s– werenae. It is not certain that forms such as wan't always represent subjunctive (= weren't), rather than modal preterite (= wasn't).1698 Unnatural Mother iv. 36 If you wan't my Faather,..I'd crack your Conundrum for you.1699 tr. Terence Heautont. iv, in Terence's Comedies Made Eng. 156 As if you weren't able to slip your Neck out o' the Collar, when you please.1783 Double Conspiracy ii. 21 If you wan't scart to death.1819 J. Rennie St. Patrick III. i. 31 I'm sure an ye warna a fish or something war, ye could never a' keepit ae fluff o' breath in the body o' ye in aneath the loch.1875 A. Trollope Way we live Now I. l. 319 If you weren't such a fool you'd believe me.1934 J. M. Caie Kindly North 28 Gin ye werena jist sae forcey ye'd win a' the seener free.1992 S. King Gerald's Game (1993) i. 25 If you weren't as thick as a brick, you would have realized it!

c. Plural. (i).

ι. Old English uere (Northumbrian), Old English (Anglian) Middle English– were, Old English (Mercian)–early Middle English wære, Old English–Middle English wæren, Old English (Anglian)–Middle English weren, early Middle English wærenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English wæron, early Middle English weoren, early Middle English weoreren (transmission error), early Middle English wre, Middle English war, Middle English ware, Middle English waren, Middle English weere, Middle English weore, Middle English wern, Middle English weryn, Middle English wore, Middle English woren, Middle English–1500s wer, 1500s–1600s where, 1600s weare; English regional 1800s– wor (northern), 1900s– weren (west midlands); Scottish pre-1700 var, pre-1700 wair, pre-1700 ware, pre-1700 wer, pre-1700 wor, pre-1700 1700s– were, pre-1700 1800s– war, 1800s waur, 1800s– wir. The formal distinction between past subjunctive and past indicative is lost towards the end of the Old English period, although apparently retained longer in spelling than in pronunciation. From Middle English onwards, this section illustrates use of the plural past tense form in syntactic environments that typically trigger use of the past subjunctive; it is not entirely certain to what extent these should be regarded as subjunctive forms. The same is true of the following subsections on contracted forms and forms with negative particle.eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) Pref. 5 Ðone naman anne we lufodon ðæt[te] we Cristne wæren, & swiðe feawe ða ðeawas.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xi. 23 Si in sodomis factæ fuissent uirtutes quae factae sunt in te : þær in sodomingum worht were mægen þa worht werun in ðe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 183 Out of þeowedome freo þat heo weoren [c1300 Otho were]. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2661 He..fouhten so þei woren wode.1478 Charter Edinb. Reg. House No. 471 To delyuer..to the said Thomas in our name lyke as we mycht do and we var present in propir personys.c1500 Lyfe Roberte Deuyll l. 205 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 227 Ye were better lette me a lone.a1586 Lindsay MS f. 27^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Swoun v Swownand lyk as thai war bot life.c1600 in G. Stevenson Poems A. Montgomerie (1910) xxxiv. 67 Thy tuik thair lust, as thai wor wod.1611 Bible (King James) John xv. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would loue his owne .1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. viii. 50 Were those extinguished, what were this world?1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 294 It's time ye waur working, sirs.1866 R. Hallam Wadsley Jack xvi. 84 Me an' twoathry moare wor rowl'd it't tilt as toight as if we wor goain' under a mangle.1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. I. ii. 135 Were they verily the lady's own..she must be the fondest of the frail.1971 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. iii. 1049 Talking about being well-off, we could say: We'd all buy lots of things, if we..rich... [Cheshire] Weren.1997 Victorian Soc. Ann. 1996 19/1 Were we to follow him.., there would be several clear and immediate benefits.

(ii). Contracted.

ι. English regional (Lancashire) 1800s– -'rn. 1864 O. Ormerod Full True un Pertikler Okeawnt Greyte Eggshibishun e' 1862 v. 56 E kares no moore fur his woife un childer, nur hauve us mich us E wod e' they'rn us monny bandyhewits ur kitlins.1898 S. Warburton in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/2 [Lancs.] If we'rn, yo'rn, they'rn.

(iii). With negative particle affixed.

ι. (a) With proclitic negative particle Old English næren, Old English (Northumbrian) Middle English–1600s nere, Old English (non-West Saxon)–Middle English neren, early Middle English neoren, Middle English nare, Middle English naren, Middle English ner. eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. vi. 50 Hiera an..him wæs on teonde ealdordom ofer þa oþere, þeh hie him þæs geþafiende næren.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John xviii. 28 Ipsi non introierunt in praetorium ut non contaminarentur : ða uel hia ne ineodon in ðæm sprecern þætte hia nere gewidlæd uel besmitten.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 171 Ðe rihtwise shulle ben seuefeald brihtere þane þe sunne, and elles naren hie naht bicumeliche to wunien in heuene.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 9528 Þenne weore us beteren; þat we iboren neoren.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 52 Hi ham wolden loki yef þer nere kueade uelaȝes.a1450 Seven Sages (Cambr. Dd.1.17) (1845) l. 2058 None ther nas, That thay nere al at on.c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) 975 Swych twenty ner worȝt a slo Wyth me to fyȝt.1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne xii. lxxxi. 229 He trembled so, that nere his squires beside To hold him vp, he had sunke downe. (b) With enclitic negative particle 1700s– weren't; English regional 1800s– warn't, 1800s– wurden (Wiltshire); Scottish 1800s– werena, 1800s– wirna (northern). 1792 G. Colman Poor Old Hay Market i, in Plays (1981) I. 2 They'll speak as..natural as if they weren't Acting at all.1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross (new ed.) lxxii. 519 They wouldn't be fit for wives if they weren't [shy].1918 T. Manson Humours of Peat Comm. I. 201 Betty wants ta go, an of coorse da lass an da boy..wid be at dir greetin een if dey wirna dere.1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair xiii. 140 As if we weren't coping with enough!1998 H. Strachan Way Up Way Out vi. 108 Then it starts to sleet, as if we weren't wretched enough.

7. Present participle.

η. (a) Old English–Middle English beonde, Middle English beand (chiefly northern and north midlands), Middle English beende, 1800s– be'an (English regional (Cumberland)); Scottish pre-1700 beand, pre-1700 beande, pre-1700 beaund, pre-1700 been, pre-1700 bien, 1800s beyan', 1800s beyand, 1900s– bean; (b) Middle English beeng, Middle English–1500s beyng, Middle English–1500s beynge, Middle English–1600s beeinge, Middle English–1600s beinge, Middle English– being, late Middle English byinge, late Middle English–1500s beyinge, 1500s beeying, 1500s beeyng, 1500s beying, 1500s bieng, 1500s bying, 1500s–1800s beeing, 1600s beenge, 1600s b'ing, 1600s bing, 1600s byeng, 1800s– bein' (regional and nonstandard), 1800s– bein (regional and nonstandard); Scottish pre-1700 beine, pre-1700 beinge, pre-1700 beying, pre-1700 beyng, pre-1700 beynge, pre-1700 1700s– being, 1800s– bein, 1800s– bein'. eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 181 Existentibus, wesendum, beondum. ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (N.Y. Publ. Lib.) (1850) Rom. Prol. 298 New causes beende, also questiounes to comen aftir.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 15312 In my blisse beonde.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 4080 His breder mast in wildrenes beand.1449 in J. A. Kingdon Arch. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1886) I. 124 The Wardenes for the tyme beynge shalle yerly suffre the grapis..to hange Stylle and rype.c1460 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Laud) l. 9428 To Adam being in paradice.1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 92 Kyng Philitenus and his men..supposing neuer more to haue seen none of them beyng in the Arke retourned into their houses.1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings xvi. 4 Who so beynge of him dyeth in the felde.a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 105 Some bying to grete & some to lytyl.1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 115 The buildings now being, are meane and few.1627 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 241 The commissioners of borrowis beand convenit, and recensing the daylie hurt sustenit be the inhabitants.1659–60 T. Rugge Jrnl. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 171 And hee beeing disired by one of the Company how a pistoll might be charged.1671 in W. Fraser Mem. Maxwells of Pollok (1863) II. 218 The King of Suedin beine leading on his oune ermie.1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison III. vii. 46 To sit up late, either reading, or being read to.1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 158 Bein' afeerd he might ryle my blood.1884 Law Times 3 May 1/2 The incumbents, for the time being, of the various coronerships.1898 J. Hawell in Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 201/2 [S. Cumberland] Be'an.1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker i. iii. 50 He..spent hours being gondolaed around Venice.2007 New Yorker 4 June 80/1 True, for the time being it exists only on paper, as a vague promise.2008 New Yorker 9 June 89/3 He didn't tell us where they was sendin him... He said he was bein deployed to Eye-rack.

θ. early Old English weosende, Old English uoesenum (Northumbrian, dative plural, transmission error), Old English wesende. Chiefly attested in prefixed forms and compounds.eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 65/2 Inminente, aetweosendre.eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 181 Existentibus, wesendum, beondum.OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 178 Pro fratribus nostris absentibus : f'e broðrum usum fromuoesen[d]um.OE Beowulf (2008) 372 Ic hine cuðe cnihtwesende.

8. Past participle.

η. (a) late Old English gebeon, early Middle English buen, early Middle English geben, early Middle English ibi, early Middle English ibie, early Middle English ibien, early Middle English ibon, early Middle English ibye, early Middle English ybeo, early Middle English yby, Middle English bee, Middle English beo, Middle English beon, Middle English bi, Middle English biene, Middle English bon, Middle English by, Middle English byen, Middle English bynne, Middle English ibe, Middle English iben, Middle English ibeo, Middle English ibeon, Middle English ybe, Middle English ybee, Middle English ybeen, Middle English yben, Middle English ybene, Middle English–1500s be, Middle English–1500s beyn, Middle English–1500s bien, Middle English–1600s ben, Middle English–1600s bene, Middle English–1600s benne, Middle English–1600s bine, Middle English–1600s byn, Middle English–1600s byne, Middle English–1800s beene (archaic and poetic in later use), Middle English– been, late Middle English beeyn, late Middle English beyne, 1500s–1600s beine, 1500s–1600s binne, 1500s– bin (now regional and nonstandard), 1600s bein, 1600s benn, 1600s binn, 1800s ba (Irish English (Wexford)); English regional 1800s a be (Devon), 1800s abean (Lincolnshire), 1800s bean (Lincolnshire), 1800s– abin (south-western), 1800s– a-bin (south-western), 1800s– be (south-western), 1800s– beean (northern), 1800s– ben (south-western), 1800s– bian (Yorkshire); U.S. regional 1700s– ben, 1800s a ben (chiefly New England), 1800s be'n, 1900s– bane (chiefly New England), 1900s– bean; Scottish pre-1700 be, pre-1700 bean, pre-1700 beene, pre-1700 bein, pre-1700 beine, pre-1700 ben, pre-1700 bene, pre-1700 beyn, pre-1700 beyne, pre-1700 ybe, pre-1700 1700s– been; (b) English regional (Devon) 1800s– beed; U.S. regional 1900s– beed (in African-American usage). In quot. 1969 beed is used contrastively with been, perhaps to connote intensified stativity.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1096 Þet he heafde gebeon on þes cynges swicdome.?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Þe kinges dohter Henries, þe hefde ben Emperic[e].c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8399 Haffde he beon.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2311 Haffde ben.a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 239 Þus hit hað ibi and is.a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 3 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 159 Wel longe ich habbe child ibon [v.rr. iben, ibeon, ibien, ibeo] a worde and a dede.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4152 Þu hafuest i-beon [c1300 Otho beon] ouer-cummen.?a1300 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Digby) (1907) l. 161 Longe hauen we ben [a1350 Harl. buen] herinne.c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 133 Lute we habbeth to gadere ibeo.c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 1203 Sche..sleiȝest had y bene.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 239 Þe þridde..com uram ane cite huer he hedde y-by at ane bredale.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14638 War yemed haf I ben [Gött. bene].c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1157 A man that longe hath blynd ybe [v.r. ibe, blynde be].c1415 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Lansd.) (1868) l. 61 Att Mortel Batailles had he be [c1405 Hengwrt been, c1410 Harl. 7334 ben] fiftene.a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 346 Trespassours, þat wolden..have be ever wantoun.a1475 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Harl.) (1927) l. 1919 Noman wist where þey had benne.c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 43 A mon that hase alle way bynne kynde.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 527 Yai mycht nocht haiff beyn tane.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 239 Ther the bataile hadde I be.1526 Bible (Tyndale) John v. f. cxxv^v Which had bene [1582 Rheims been] disieased.1526 Bible (Tyndale) John xiv. f. cxlij^v Have I bene [1611 King James bin] so longe time with you?c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 136^v Þat any dede has be don.1560 J. Jewel Serm. Matt. ix. 37–8 As if they had byn a flock of sheepe.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eii^v Had my hens be stolne, eche one.1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 34^v Had it not bene better for thee?1640 E. Gorges Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 247 The two bakers haue bine hire againe to know what to doe.1643 in J. Stuart Extracts Presbytery Bk. Strathbogie (1843) 43 Tuo commissiones that he had bein vpon.1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ i. ii. 8 Having bin so rocked and shaken at Sea.1688 W. Scot True Hist. Families 50 I have been through Scotland, Holland, and Sweden.1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 254 Have you been here with them?1775 R. Dodge Let. 21 Aug. in G. Washington Papers (1985) Revolutionary War Ser. I. 342 I have Bin Doun to Pottrin Pint.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 38 Ba, be, been.1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 24 You have been as God's good angel in our house.1864 Ld. Tennyson Northern Farmer: Old Style i, in Enoch Arden, etc. 128 Wheer 'asta beän saw long and meä liggin' 'ere aloän?1867 W. F. Rock Jim an' Nell i. 10 I've beed a quarter be tha watch.1884 S. O. Jewett Mate of Daylight 203 There'd be'n trouble about the property.1894 W. Raymond Love & Quiet Life 98 What have 'ee a-bin up to?1969 Black World 17 xi. 16 Black Poetry is becoming what it has always been but has not quite beed.1995 D. Crane et al. I'll be there for You (song, perf. ‘The Rembrandts’) 5 I'll be there for you like I've been there before.2002 R. Williams Sing yer Heart out for Lads i. 6 I don't suppose that arsehole of a dad of his has bin to see him.