Now arch. or dial. Forms: α. Inf. 1–2 fón, 3 fo-n; pa. t. 1–4 feng, (3 fang, south. veng, venk, 4 feyng), 3–5 fong(e, (5 fone), 8 south. vung; pa. pple. 1 fangen, 3 fon, 5 fonge. β. Inf. 3 Orm. fangenn, 3–6 fong(e(n, (3 foangen), 4–6 fange, (fannge, fonnge), 5 fangyn, (6 fangue), 7 phang, south. vang, 3– fang; pa. t. and pa. pple. 4–5 fonged, -ett, -id, -it, Sc. fangit, 4– fanged. [Com. Teut.: OE. fón, redupl. str. vb. corresp. to OFris. fâ, OS. fâhan, OHG. fâhan (MHG. vâhen, mod.Ger. (poet.) fahen) ON. fá (Da. faae, Sw. få), Goth. fāhan—OTeut. *fanhan, pret. fefang-, pa. pple. fangano-. About 1200 the stem fang- of the pa. pple. appears as a present-stem (inf. fangen), and gradually supersedes the older form; a similar change has taken place independently in the other Teut. langs.: cf. Du. vangen, mod. HG. fangen, late Icel. fanga (Da. fange, Sw. fånga). The weak pa. t. and pa. pple., which are peculiar to English, appear first in 14th c.; the original strong forms seldom occur after the 15th c.]
† 1. trans. To lay hold of, grasp, hold, seize; to clasp, embrace. Obs.
c. 1200. Ormin, 3733. Mann mihhte himm fon & pinenn.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 17723 (Cott.). Symeon … iesus tuix his handes fang.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 2971. Felly fangis it [a torche] in his fist.
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gaw., 299.
| And ay, when that i wil him fang, | |
| With mi fingers, that er strang. |
a. 1450. Le Morte Arth., 1796. In hys hand a swerd he fone.
c. 1470. Henry the Minstrel, Wallace, II. 425. Sodanly in armys he coud him fang.
b. To catch (fish); to take in a snare. Also fig. Obs. exc. arch.
c. 900. trans. Bæda’s Hist., I. i. § 1. Her beoþ oft fangene seolas & hronas.
a. 1225. St. Marher., 3. As þe fuhel þe is fon i þe fuheleres grune.
a. 1450. Life of St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 5480. Of þat fysche þat þai þus fang.
c. 1450. Henryson, Mor. Fab., 69.
| No surely sir, might wee that herring fang, | |
| It would to vs be fish thir fortie dayes. |
1637. Gillespie, Eng.-Pop. Cerem., IV. viii. 36. He hath even fanged himselfe faster in the snare which he though to escape.
1850. Blackie, Æschylus, II. 185.
| May Até | |
| Fang them in her hopeless snare! | |
| Ibid. (1877), The Wise Men of Greece, 206. | |
| A little child that sits upon the brink | |
| Can fang a stickleback with pin for hook. |
† c. To seize upon (booty); to catch, apprehend, get into one’s power (a person); to capture (a city), to seize (lands, possessions). Obs.
1016. O. E. Chron. Hi fang woldon fon.
c. 1325. English Metrical Homilies, 80.
| How he might this ilk nonne fange | |
| To slake his lust that was so strange. |
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 425.
| Ffaunge the fermes in fatthe | |
| of alle þa faire rewmes. |
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 955.
| Thonkes gretly his goddis þat hym grace lent | |
| The flese for to fonge and no fay worthe. |
c. 1440. York Myst., xix. 128.
| May I þat faitour fange, | |
| Full high I schall gar hym hange. |
c. 1450. The Miroure of Mans Saluacionne, 56.
| And be the toure of Baris whilk was so verray strange | |
| That all the werld fro two men with force moght noght it fonge. |
c. 1450. Life of St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 5744. éat na thefe suld him [a horse] fang.
c. 1470. Hardyng, Chron., cxxxix. iv.
| For to assayle the citee, and haue fongid | |
| With might of menne. |
1522. Skelton, Why Come Ye not to Court, 1157.
| [He] wyll … streitly strangle us, | |
| And he may fange us. |
1570. Levins, Manip., 23. To Fangue, comprehendere.
1607. Dekker, & Webster, Northw. Hoe, I. Wks. 1873, III. 10. Hee’s in the lawes clutches, you see hee’s fangd.
1607. Shaks., Timon, IV. iii. 23. Destruction phang mankinde.
1691. Wood, Ath. Oxon., II. 327.
| But whilst he [William Prynne] this hot humour hugs, | |
| And for more length of tedder tugs, | |
| Death fang’d the remnant of his lugs. |
absol. 1638. Shirley, Mart. Soldier, in Bullen, O. Pl. (1882), I. 242. It has ever beene my profession to fang and clutch and to squeeze.
† d. To get, get at, obtain, procure. Also, to get together, collect. Obs.
1340–70. Alexander and Dindimus, 552.
| For ensample, bi my sawe · soþ mow ȝe fonge | |
| Of iubiter þe ioilese · iugged to paine. |
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 2059. Amonta þe miȝtfull his men þan he fangis.
c. 1400. Melayne, 984. Go fonnge the anoþer fere.
c. 1440. York Myst., xxvi. 16. Ther fanged I my fame.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VI. ix. 138. Furth renting all, his fude to fang full fane.
15[?]. Childe of Bristowe, 33, Hazl., E. P. P. (1864), 112.
| He rought not whom he begiled, | |
| worly good to fong. |
1560. Rolland, The Court of Venus, II. 3.
| He him bethocht for to fang sum defence, | |
| And for to get sum Aduocat expert. |
a. 1605. Montgomerie, Natur Passis Nuriture, 34.
| The falconis folouit vhair he fleu; | |
| To fang his friendship they war fane, | |
| Quharof so glorious he greu, | |
| That he thair offers did disdane. |
† e. To fang up: ‘to pluck up’ (the heart); to ‘take up,’ interrupt sharply. Obs.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 988. Fange vp ȝour hertis. Ibid., 2197. Þan fangis him vp þe fell kyng a fuyll feyned laȝtir.
2. To receive, accept. a. To receive as a gift, or as one’s due; to earn as wages; also, to accept as one’s lot. Obs. exc. dial.
Beowulf, 2989. He þam frætwum feng.
c. 1000. Sal. & Sat., 686 (Gr.). Foh hider to me burh and breotone bold to ȝewealde rodora rices.
c. 1200. Ormin, 5390.
| Seoffne ȝifess þatt man foþ | |
| Off Haliȝ Gastess hellpe. |
c. 1205. Lay., 6240. Ah eower monradene ic wulle fon.
1258. Proclam. Hen. III. Riȝt for to done and to foangen.
c. 1325. E. E. Allit. P., B. 540. Þe fowre frekez of þe folde fongez þe empyre.
c. 1394. P. Pl. Crede, 836.
| It mot ben a man of also mek an herte, | |
| Þat myȝte wiþ his good lijf þat Holly Gost fongen. |
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gawin, 2642.
| And said, Wha juges men with wrang, | |
| The same jugement sal thai fang. |
c. 1475. The Romans of Partenay, 2423.
| When thes Barons thys Answere had fong, | |
| To our lorde thankes yeldyng full hyly, | |
| And to oure lady in thar hertes strong, | |
| Ther thay perceued hym strong, large, And hy. |
1482. in Eng. Gilds (1870), 313. Euery seruaunt that ffangyth wagys, schalle pay vj.d. to the forsayde ffeste.
1846. Spec. Cornish Dial., 27. But ded’st fang any money? as a body may say.
† b. To fang cristendom: to receive baptism, become Christian. Also, of Christ, To fang mennishe or mankind: to assume human nature. Obs.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 133. God fundede from heuene to eorðe to fongen mennisshe.
1297. R. Glouc. (1724), 73. He willede anon in hys herte to fonge Cristendom.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, Magdalena, 242. Howe mane-kynd þat he can fange.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Man of Law’s T., 279.
| And seyd him, that sche wold reney hir lay, | |
| And cristendam of prestes handes fonge, | |
| Repentyng hir sche hethen was so longe. |
† c. To receive as a guest; to welcome, lit. and fig. Obs.
c. 1275. Lay., 13378.
| He … hehte þe beste cnihtes … | |
| þreo hundred him come to | |
| and he ȝam wolde wel fon. |
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 366. He fongid þo freikes with a fine chere.
c. 1418. Political Poems (Rolls), II. 247.
| That Fals beleve is fayn to fonge | |
| The lewde lust of lollardie. |
c. 1430. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866), 209. Þe modir þat wolde deeþ fong.
1578. Scot. Poems 16th c. (1801), 130.
| All my hart ay this is my sang, | |
| With doubil mirth and ioy amang; | |
| Sa blyth as bird my God to fang. |
3. = TAKE in various uses; esp. with obj. arms, counsel, leave, a name, one’s way; to undertake (battle). Also const. to, unto, to be: To take (a person or thing) for (a purpose).
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Gen., 287 (Gr.). Mid swilcum mæȝ man ræd ȝeþencean fon.
c. 1205. Lay., 22878. Elc þer feng water & clæd.
1290. Beket, 7, in S. Eng. Leg., I. 106.
| Gilbert Bekat … him bi-þouȝte: þe Croiz for-to fo | |
| In-to þe holie lond. |
c. 1314. Guy Warw. (A.), 1122. Armes y fenge for loue of [þe].
c. 1330. Amis and Amiloun, 970.
| Pray him, as he is hendi knight, | |
| And of gret bountè, | |
| That he the batail for ous fong, | |
| Ogain the steward, that, with wrong, | |
| Wil stroie ous alle thre. |
c. 1340. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 1556. Hir leue fayre con scho fonge.
1393. Gower, Conf., I. 245. Straught unto Kaire his wey he fongeth.
c. 1394. P. Pl. Crede, 786. Þei schulden … mene-mong corn bred · to her mete fongen.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 805* (Dublin MS.). Frist of my faire foles · fang þe a hundreth. Ibid., 3186. Þe name of an Emperoure · ne wald he neuire fange.
a. 1420. Hoccleve, De Regimine Principum, 3831.
| Yf that a man outrageousli hem [wynes] fonge, | |
| They birien witte. |
1420. Siege Rouen, in Archæol., XXI. 67. As they satte here mete to fonge.
c. 1440. Bone Flor., 1830.
| All men that to the schypp can longe, | |
| They went Florence to leman have fonge. |
c. 1460. Towneley Myst., 133. Let us fownde a slepe to fang.
1567. Sempill, Ballates, i. (1872), 2.
| Zit neuer did sho se his maik in France, | |
| Off royall bluid to fang to be hir feir. |
4. intr. To seize, lay hold, take hold on; to take to, betake oneself to, turn to, proceed to or against; to set upon, attack.
Beowulf, 1542. Heo … him toȝeanes feng.
855. O. E. Chron. And þa fengon his ii sunu to rice.
a. 1000. Byrhtnoth, 10 (Gr.). Þa he to wæpnum feng.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 181. Ðe honde foð to … alle þinge þe hire beð biheue.
c. 1205. Lay., 659.
| Þe mete forð iwat | |
| for þer fengen feole to. | |
| Ibid., 1707. | |
| [Heo] fusden to þa Freinscan | |
| & heo hem to ȝan fengen. | |
| Ibid., 5909. | |
| Þa odere a foten | |
| and fengen heom to-ȝæinenes. | |
| Ibid., 27176. | |
| Þæt whenne Rom-leoden | |
| þer comen riden | |
| þat heo uengen heom on. | |
| Ibid., 31785. | |
| Þeos feng to his riche | |
| after his fader daiȝe. |
c. 1320. Cast. Love, 895. Wiþ-outen eny meþ on me heo foþ.
c. 1325. E. E. Allit. P., B. 457. He [þe rauen] fongeȝ to þe flyȝt, & fanneȝ on þe wyndeȝ.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 3309. He fongede faste one þe feleyghes [of a wheel].
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 1990. Fyne, fole, of þi fare · & fange to þi kythes.
c. 1420. Metr. St. Kath. (Halliw.). Yonge to Cryste sche can to fonge.
1880. W. Cornwall Gloss., s.v. ‘I don’t fang to your notions.’
5. To engage on, set about, begin on; to begin, commence to do (something).
c. 888. K. Ælfred, Boeth., xxxix. § 4. Ic ȝetiohhod hæfde on oðer weorc to fonne.
a. 1000. Ælfric, Interr. Sigewulfi (Mac Lean), xxi. We foð nu on þa axunge þar we hi ær forleton.
a. 1225. St. Marher., 22. Þe feondes … fengen to ȝeien Margarete meiden … leowse ure bondes.
c. 1275. Woman of Samaria, 4, in O. E. Misc. (1872), 84. He venk to prechie.
c. 1306. Song on the Execution of Sir Simon Fraser, 89. in Pol. Songs (Camden), 216.
| Nou ichulle fonge ther ich er let, | |
| Ant tellen ou of Frisel, ase ich ou byhet. |
b. With on adv.: To begin. Cf. ONFANG v. = Ger. anfangen. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 31415.
| Þet ich þe suggen wulle | |
| ane sunder rune | |
| hu þu mihte fon on | |
| þat hit ne buð nauere undon. |
a. 1225. St. Marher., 5. Þe edle meiden … feng on þeos bone.
a. 1225. Juliana, 10. He feng on to tellen him hu his dohter droh him from deie to deie.
a. 1250. Owl & Night., 179. And fo we on mid riȝte dome.
† 6. To promise, resolve, undertake. Const. with inf. (or its equivalent). Obs.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 61.
| God us ȝefe in horte to fon | |
| Þet we ne þenchen ufel to don. |
a. 1400. Cov. Myst. (1841), 243. To do penawns loke that ȝe ffonge.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 599. I shall fonge you to forther, & my faith holde.
b. To fang to: to be sponsor for. dial.
[994. O. E. Chron. Se cyning Æþelræd his onfeng æt bisceopes handa.]
c. 1420. Chron. Vilod., 558.
| That Seynt Ede hurre self was redy þo þer, | |
| To fonge to þe child as he had y teyȝt. |
1674. Ray, S. & E. C. Words, 80. He vangd to me at the Vant.
1746. Exmoor Scolding, 8. Whan tha vung’st to … Rabbin.
1888. Elworthy, W. Som. Word-bk., 797. When the paa’sn come there wad-n nobody vor to vang to un.
† 7. intr. To take one’s way, go, proceed; also, to swerve from. Obs.
c. 1400. Song Roland, 577. In Cristis name let us furthe fonge.
c. 1456. Turnament of Tottenham, 193, in Percy, Reliq. He saw Tyrry away wyth Tyb fang.
1522. The World and the Child, in Hazl., Dodsley, I. 257.
| Conscience. Manhood, will ye by this word stand? | |
| Manhood. Yea, Conscience, here my hand. | |
| I will never from it fong, | |
| Neither loud ne still. |
1536. Bellenden, Cron. Scot., I. Proheme (1821), 13. The fatall hors did throw thair wallis fang.
