Ge-hnesctun

According to the Old English Dictionary:

ge-hnesctun

Substitute: ge-hnescan, -hnescian; p. -hnescte, -hnescode To make nesh. I. in a physical sense. (1) to soften hard material :-- ꝥ hearde hyt gelīdigad and gehnesceaþ. Lch. i. 368, 2. Gehnescige mon mid þȳ ꝥ forsetene yfel . . . hē þone forheardodan swile gehnesce . . . wird se swile swā heard swā stān, and ne mæg hine mon gehnescian, ii. 212, 15-22. Hū mon mæg gehnescan þā heardnesse, 168, 8. Oþ ꝥ dā corn þurh done wǣtan gehnehsode sȳn, i. 92, 14. Wurdon þā gyrda gehnexode swilce hit fædera wǣron, Hml. S. 35, 190. (I a) figurative :-- Ðǣr wǣron gehnescode hiera breóst . . . beód hira breóst gehnescod ibi subacta sunt ubera earum . . . ubera subiguntur, Past. 403, 34-405, 2. (2) to alleviate, relieve pain :-- Oft hearda wunda beód mid līdum bedengum gehnescode and gehǣlede plerumque dura vulnera per lenia fomenta mollescunt, Past. 183, 21. II. to make gentle or tender. (1) of persons :-- Genehxa þā heardheortnysse mīnre þǣre stǣnenan heortan, Angl. xii. 500, 14. Ðæt mon dā heardan heortan gehnescige, Past. 154, 3. (2) of speech :-- Gehnistun word heora mollierunt sermones suos, Ps. Srt. 54, 22. Genexode synt his sprǣcu molliti sunt sermones eius, Ps. L. 54, 22. III. to weaken, enfeeble, (i) to relax the vigour of :-- Ðonne mon lǣt tōslūpan done ege and dā lāre suīdur donne hit dearf sié for wācmōdnesse, donne wierd gehnescad donone sió ðreánng dæs anwaldes, Past. 289, 3. (a) to cause to be yielding (cf. hnesce tō lustum, Hml. Th. ii. 220, 4) :-- Ðing de heora hlāford þurh oferflōwednysse tō unlustum gehnexad, Hml. Th. ii. 92, 19. Odre mid lyffetungum tō leahtrum gehnexian, Hml. S. 16, 174. ge-hnesctun