wast
〜であった（古語）
解説 Definition
英語の古語でbe動詞の二人称単数過去形。「thou wast」の形で使われた。
Wast is the archaic second-person singular past-tense form of be, used with thou. It corresponds to modern “were” in expressions such as “thou wast,” and now occurs mainly in older literature, biblical language, historical imitation, and deliberately archaic style.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
wast は be の古い二人称単数過去形で、必ず基本形 be と thou wast の組で覚えます。現代英語の you were に相当し、規則的な -ed 形ではありません。発音はおおむね /wɒst/ または /wɑːst/ で、弱く発音されやすい was /wəz/ とも区別します。聖書・詩・古い劇の直接呼びかけが典型場面です。
Learn wast as a fixed part of the old pattern thou wast, corresponding to modern you were. Its base verb is be, but its form is irregular; it was not created by adding the ordinary past ending -ed. Depending on dialect and reading tradition, wast is pronounced roughly /wɒst/ or /wɑːst/, unlike the commonly weak pronunciation /wəz/ of was. Expect it in biblical passages, poetry, Shakespearean dialogue, and modern writing that deliberately imitates older English. Pairing thou art for the present with thou wast for the past makes the historical contrast easier to retain.
例文
"Thou wast my dearest friend," the poet wrote in the old manuscript.
「汝はわが最も親しき友であった」と詩人は古い写本に書いた。
In Shakespeare's plays, characters often say "thou wast" when addressing someone directly.
シェイクスピアの劇では、登場人物が誰かに直接語りかけるとき「thou wast」とよく言う。
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" is a famous biblical passage.
「われ地の基を据えしとき、汝はいずこにありしや」は有名な聖書の一節である。
wast の類義語・関連語
wast の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語 wǣre に由来し、動詞 wesan（存在する）の二人称単数過去形。ゲルマン祖語 *wesaną から。thou wast =「汝は〜であった」の形で聖書や詩に頻出。関連語：was、were。be動詞の複雑な活用体系の一部。
Wast belongs to the historically irregular paradigm of the verb be. Its history involves Old English forms of the verbs wesan and bēon, whose forms merged into the modern be paradigm, and it ultimately reflects the Germanic root reconstructed as wes-. The final -t marked the second-person singular used with thou. Related surviving past forms include was and were, but modern standard English replaced thou wast with you were in ordinary usage.
同じレベルの語彙をもっと
外部辞書で調べる
この英単語をクイズで覚えよう