shapen

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈʃeɪpən/ UK /ˈʃeɪpən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to give form to, or formed into a particular shape (archaic)

The clay was shapen by hand into a rough bowl.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to give form to, or formed... form shape fashion mold

Opposites

deform

Word family

Related forms shape misshapen shapely

Etymology

Archaic past participle of shape, from Old English sceapen, gesceapen, the past participle of scieppan ('to create, form'), from Proto-Germanic *skapjaną.

gesceapen Old English *skapjaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# shapen

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈʃeɪpən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈʃeɪpən/

## Meanings
1. to give form to, or formed into a particular shape (archaic)

## Examples
- The clay was shapen by hand into a rough bowl.

## Synonyms
- form
- shape
- fashion
- mold

## Antonyms
- deform

## Related Forms
- shape
- misshapen
- shapely

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gesceapen
- Root: *skapjaną

## Etymology
Archaic past participle of shape, from Old English sceapen, gesceapen, the past participle of scieppan ('to create, form'), from Proto-Germanic *skapjaną.

## AI Etymology
Shapen is from archaic past participle of shape, from Old English sceapen, gesceapen, the past participle of scieppan ('to create, form'), from Proto-Germanic *skapjaną. The historical chain includes Old English gesceapen and Proto-Germanic *skapjaną. Older glosses in the chain include "to create, form", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, shapen is best read as borrowing, yielding an English verb and adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb and adjective, with the sense "to give form to, or formed into a particular shape (archaic)". related forms include shape, misshapen, and shapely. The result is an English verb and adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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