Etymology

From , from . Cognate with Old Frisian hebba, Old Saxon hebbian (Dutch hebben), Old High German habēn (German haben), Old Norse hafa (Swedish ha, hava), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽. The IE root is also the source of Latin capere, Old Irish cacht (Welsh caeth ‘slave’, Breton keaz ‘poor’), Albanian kap ‘grip’, Slavic *xopītī- (Old Church Slavonic хапѭште, Russian хапать), Baltic *kap- (Lithuanian kàpteleti, Latvian kàmpt ‘bite’).

Verb

habban

1. to have, to possess

   Ic hæbbe geweald micel. I have much power.

2. have (used with a participle to express the perfect tense)

   Ðas þing we habbaþ be him gewritene. We have written these things about him.

Conjugation