v. (wk.)
Pe pp. layned
'to conceal, remain silent'
(Modern English lain)PGmc *laugnjan- is represented by OIcel leyna ‘to hide, conceal’, and in the sense 'to deny' by Go laugnjan', OE (rare, poetic) līgnan, lȳgnan, OHG louganen and OFris leina ‘to refuse to take an oath’, OS lōgnian ‘to lie’. ME leinen could be derived formally from the OE (Angl. *lēgnan); but its sense ‘ to hide’ strongly indicates ON input (Bj, followed by OED, MED, TGD, GDS, McGee 339 etc.), as the meaning ‘conceal’ is attested otherwise only for ON. A native sense development from ‘deny’ to ‘deny something to somebody’, ‘deny by concealing’, ‘conceal’ is not impossible, but it is much more unlikely: there is no remnant of the original native sense in ME and the OE word is recorded only twice in verse.
PGmc Ancestor
*laugnjan
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
leyna ‘to hide, conceal’
(ONP leyna (1) (vb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far loyna, Icel leyna, Norw løyna, ODan løne, Dan løne, OSw löna, Sw löna
OE Cognate
līgnan, lȳgnan (Angl. *lēgnan) 'to deny'
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
C3c
(C5)
MED shows a number of citations, from as early as a1250 Ancr.(Tit D.18); predominantly N and E, with the occasional late exception (the Winchester Malory, Hoccleve).
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Gaw 1786, 1863, 2124; Pe 244; Erk 179