compassen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• compasse, cumpasse, cumpassen, conpassen, cumpasen

Etymology

From Old French compasser; equivalent to compass +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkumpasən/

Verb

compassen

1. To make a plan or scheme; especially with secrecy or for ill ends.
2. To launch an endeavor or enterprise; to act or take action.
   • a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Psalms 108:1-3”, in Wycliffe's Bible:

     The title of the hundrid and eiȝtthe ſalm. To victorye, the ſalm of Dauid. / God, holde thou not ſtille my preiſyng; for the mouth of the ſynner, and the mouth of the gileful man is openyd on me. / Thei ſpaken ayens me with a gileful tunge, and thei cumpassiden me with wordis of hatrede; and fouȝten ayens me with out cauſe.

     The title of the one hundred and eighth psalm: "To Victory; the Psalm of David". / God; don't hold still my praising, as the mouths of the sinners and the mouths of the guilty have opened against me. / They spoke against me with a guilty tongue, they acted against me with words of hatred, and they fought against me without justification.

3. To create, formulate or invent something (e.g. literature, buildings, etc.)
4. To encompass or border completely; to have inside or within.
5. To blanket, overwhelm or cover; to totally suffuse or spread.
6. To travel or move about within in an area or region; to tour a location.
7. To think about or think of; to explore or consider something in one's mind:
   1. (rare) To attain knowledge or comprehension of something.
   2. (rare) To decide or select; to reach a decision or course of action.
   3. (rare) To bear in mind or remember; to be mindful of something
   4. (rare) To make an assumption or postulate.
8. (rare) To avoid, bypass or dodge when traveling.
9. (rare) To travel across or through the extent of a region.
10. (rare) To use a compass (tool for drawing a circle)

Conjugation

Conjugation of compassen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) compassen, compasse
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	compasse	compassed
2nd-person singular	compassest	compassedest
3rd-person singular	compasseth	compassed
subjunctive singular	compasse
imperative singular		—
plural1	compassen, compasse	compasseden, compassede
imperative plural	compasseth, compasse	—
participles	compassynge, compassende	compassed, ycompassed

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: compass

References

• “compassen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-01-22.