befon

Hungarian

Etymology

be- +‎ fon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɛfon]
• Hyphenation: be‧fon
• Rhymes: -on

Verb

befon

1. (transitive) to plait, to braid

   Irén befonta a haját. ― Irén braided her hair.

Conjugation

conjugation of befon

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indica­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	befonok	befonsz	befon	befonunk	befontok	befonnak
		Def.	befonom	befonod	befonja	befonjuk	befonjátok	befonják
		2nd-p. o.	befonlak	―
	Past	Indef.	befontam	befontál	befont	befontunk	befontatok	befontak
		Def.	befontam	befontad	befonta	befontuk	befontátok	befonták
		2nd-p. o.	befontalak	―
	Future		Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. be fog fonni.
	Archaic Preterit	Indef.	befonék	befonál	befona	befonánk	befonátok	befonának
		Def.	befonám	befonád	befoná	befonánk	befonátok	befonák
		2nd-p. o.	befonálak	―
	Archaic Past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. befon vala, befont vala/volt.
	Archaic Future	Indef.	befonandok	befonandasz	befonand	befonandunk	befonandotok	befonandanak
		Def.	befonandom	befonandod	befonandja	befonandjuk	befonandjátok	befonandják
		2nd-p. o.	befonandalak	―
Condi­tional mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	befonnék	befonnál	befonna	befonnánk	befonnátok	befonnának
		Def.	befonnám	befonnád	befonná	befonnánk (or befonnók)	befonnátok	befonnák
		2nd-p. o.	befonnálak	―
	Past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. befont volna
Sub­junc­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	befonjak	befonj or befonjál	befonjon	befonjunk	befonjatok	befonjanak
		Def.	befonjam	befond or befonjad	befonja	befonjuk	befonjátok	befonják
		2nd-p. o.	befonjalak	―
	(Archaic) Past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. befont légyen
Infinitive	befonni		befonnom	befonnod	befonnia	befonnunk	befonnotok	befonniuk
Other forms	Verbal noun		Present part.	Past part.	Future part.	Adverbial participle		Causative
	befonás		befonó	befont	befonandó	befonva (befonván)		befonat
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular (and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs).
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g. nem fon be or be is fon.

potential conjugation of befon

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indica­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	befonhatok	befonhatsz	befonhat	befonhatunk	befonhattok	befonhatnak
		Def.	befonhatom	befonhatod	befonhatja	befonhatjuk	befonhatjátok	befonhatják
		2nd-p. o.	befonhatlak	―
	Past	Indef.	befonhattam	befonhattál	befonhatott	befonhattunk	befonhattatok	befonhattak
		Def.	befonhattam	befonhattad	befonhatta	befonhattuk	befonhattátok	befonhatták
		2nd-p. o.	befonhattalak	―
	Archaic Preterit	Indef.	befonhaték	befonhatál	befonhata	befonhatánk	befonhatátok	befonhatának
		Def.	befonhatám	befonhatád	befonhatá	befonhatánk	befonhatátok	befonhaták
		2nd-p. o.	befonhatálak	―
	Archaic Past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala, e.g. befonhat vala, befonhatott vala/volt.
	Archaic Future	Indef.	befonhatandok or befonandhatok	befonhatandasz or befonandhatsz	befonhatand or befonandhat	befonhatandunk or befonandhatunk	befonhatandotok or befonandhattok	befonhatandanak or befonandhatnak
		Def.	befonhatandom or befonandhatom	befonhatandod or befonandhatod	befonhatandja or befonandhatja	befonhatandjuk or befonandhatjuk	befonhatandjátok or befonandhatjátok	befonhatandják or befonandhatják
		2nd-p. o.	befonhatandalak or befonandhatlak	―
Condi­tional mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	befonhatnék	befonhatnál	befonhatna	befonhatnánk	befonhatnátok	befonhatnának
		Def.	befonhatnám	befonhatnád	befonhatná	befonhatnánk (or befonhatnók)	befonhatnátok	befonhatnák
		2nd-p. o.	befonhatnálak	―
	Past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. befonhatott volna
Sub­junc­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	befonhassak	befonhass or befonhassál	befonhasson	befonhassunk	befonhassatok	befonhassanak
		Def.	befonhassam	befonhasd or befonhassad	befonhassa	befonhassuk	befonhassátok	befonhassák
		2nd-p. o.	befonhassalak	―
	(Archaic) Past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. befonhatott légyen
Inf.	(befonhatni)		(befonhatnom)	(befonhatnod)	(befonhatnia)	(befonhatnunk)	(befonhatnotok)	(befonhatniuk)
Positive adjective			befonható	Neg. adj.	befonhatatlan	Adv. part.	(befonhatva / befonhatván)
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g. nem fonhat be or be is fonhat.

Derived terms

• befonás

Further reading

• befon in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• befon in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Old English

Etymology

From be- +‎ fōn. Cognate with Old Saxon bifāhan, Old High German bifāhan, Old Frisian bifā. See fang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beˈfoːn/

Verb

befōn

1. to comprehend, grasp; begrip, take hold of, catch
2. to surround, encompass; beset, encircle, enwrap, clothe, receive, conceive, inhold
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     Asia is befangen mid...þǣm gārseċġe sūþan ⁊ norþan ⁊ eastan...

     Asia is surrounded by...the southern and northern and eastern sea...

Conjugation

Conjugation of befōn (strong class 7)

infinitive	befōn	befōnne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	befō	befēng
second person singular	befēhst	befēnge
third person singular	befēhþ	befēng
plural	befōþ	befēngon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	befō	befēnge
plural	befōn	befēngen
imperative
singular	befōh
plural	befōþ
participle	present	past
	befōnde	befangen

Descendants

• Middle English: bifon, befon, *befangen
  • English: befang