Withførte

Withførte is an obsolete Scandinavian verb form historically found in Danish and Norwegian texts. It functions as a past-tense or past-participle form of a compound verb built from a with-/withh- prefix and a stem related to føre (to lead, bring), and is generally glossed as "brought with" or "accompanied by." The form is primarily of interest in historical linguistics and in the study of older administrative, legal, and ecclesiastical records.

Etymology links the prefix with- to Old Norse við (with, against) and the verb stem to fær- / føra (to carry, lead). Spelling variants appear in manuscript and early print sources, including withførde, vidførte and similar orthographies reflecting prestandardized spelling. In meaning and use it overlaps with other constructions that indicate accompaniment or causation, such as modern Danish medførte or Norwegian førte med.

Grammatically, withførte behaves as a regular past form in the contexts where it occurs, agreeing with the subject in constructions typical of older Scandinavian prose. Its use declined with the standardization of modern Norwegian and Danish and with the adoption of alternative periphrastic forms; today it is chiefly encountered in edited historical texts, dictionaries of archaic words, and studies of historical morphology and syntax.