Shooten

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An old-fashioned past participle of the verb shoot, meaning having been fired, propelled, or sent forth
2. Archaic form of the past participle of shoot, used to describe something that has been discharged or launched
3. A dated variant past participle of shoot, indicating an action of firing, darting, or projecting already completed

Etymology: "Shooten" is an older past participle of "shoot," the verb descended from Old English "sċēotan," which meant to shoot, dart, or rush forward. The "-en" ending belongs to the same class of strong verbs as "broken" and "taken," which kept participle endings that modern English mostly dropped. Over time English settled on "shot" as the participle, so "shooten" survives mainly in older texts, dialect, and deliberate archaism. The related Dutch verb "schieten" shows the same ancient root for the sense of hurling or propelling something quickly.