Wente

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A historical past tense form used to indicate movement from one place to another in earlier versions of English ; an archaic verb form denoting the act of going or traveling ; a past action term reflecting progression or journey in Middle English contexts
2. An old or obsolete past tense verb expressing the action of leaving or proceeding ; a former linguistic variant used to describe passage or transition in time or place ; a dated verbal form representing movement undertaken in the past
3. A non-modern past tense word signifying departure or motion from one location to another ; a linguistic relic serving as a past expression of going ; a historical verbal usage documenting movement in antiquated English speech

Etymology: Wente is simply an older spelling of went, and the surprise is that went was once a different verb altogether. Its ancestor was wend, meaning to turn or to make one's way, and went began as the simple past and past participle of that verb. Over the centuries, the past of wend gradually became the past of go, a process linguists call suppletion, in which unrelated forms are pressed into service as one verb's conjugation. Wend is related to wind, the verb meaning to twist or coil, so the idea underneath both is of following a winding course. Russian offers a loose parallel: verbs such as "smotátʹsja" and "smátyvatʹsja" mean to clear off or wrap up and leave, and they arise from a root meaning to wind or twist, much as the English pair does.