berstan

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *brestaną (with e-r metathesis in West Germanic), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to burst, break, crack, split, separate”).

Cognate with Old Frisian bersta (West Frisian boarste), Old Saxon brestan (Low German basten), Dutch bersten, barsten, Old High German brestan German bersten), Old Norse bresta (Danish briste, Norwegian Bokmål briste, Swedish brista).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈber.stɑn/, [ˈberˠ.stɑn]

Verb

berstan

1. to break, shatter, burst

Conjugation

Conjugation of berstan (strong class 3)

infinitive	berstan	berstenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	berste	bærst
second person singular	birst	burste
third person singular	birst	bærst
plural	berstaþ	burston
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	berste	burste
plural	bersten	bursten
imperative
singular	berst
plural	berstaþ
participle	present	past
	berstende	borsten

Derived terms

• forberstan
• tōberstan

Descendants

• Middle English: bresten, bersten
  • English: burst, bust
  • Scots: brist, bryst