v.
Gaw infin. layt, layte; Cl imper. pl. layteʒ, pp. layted; Pat pres. 2, 3 sg. laytes; Erk pp. *laitid; WA laite, layte imp. pl. laite
'to seek, search, wish to know'
(Modern English lait)cp. OIcel leita ‘to seek, search’ < PGmc *wlaitō(j)an-; cp. OE wlātian ‘to gaze, look (at)’, Go wláitōn.
PGmc Ancestor
*wlaitō(j)an-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
leita ‘to seek, search’
(ONP leita (vb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far leita, Icel leita, Norw leita, Dan lede, Sw lete
OE Cognate
wlātian ‘to gaze, look (at)’
Phonological and morphological markers
ON /ei/ < PGmc */ai/
ON loss of initial */w/ before /l/
Summary category
A1*c
ME from Orrm onwards, N and E only (see also Thorson 35); MnE N dial.
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Gaw 355, 411, 449; Cl 97, 1768; Pat 180, 201, 277; Erk 155; WA 152, 372, 2341 etc.
All editors emend MS <lattid> to (and Horstmann reads) laitid at Erk 155 (see further McGee 438).