The Gerund in Old English: A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Washington and Lee University for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Abstract

Although the gerund is widely familiar to students of languages, and despite the fact that it is used perhaps more freely in Old English than in any other language, I have been unable to find any complete treatment of the subject and have noticed that what matter I could command is discussed at length in no one of the works at hand. Another noteworthy point is the lack of uniformity which obtains in the treatment of this form by the different authors. . . . A discussion of the Gerund in Old English is either entirely omitted from the grammars or is treated in only the vaguest and most general terms, while the Latin gerund demands careful treatment at the hands of every Latin grammarian. [From Introduction]