With pred. noun or adj. or with prep. phrase functioning as pred. adj.: (a) to present the appearance of (sth.); seem to be (blissful, insufficient, etc.); also with acc. pron. as subj. [quot. a1425]; ben iþucht; (b) to seem unrealistically, uncharacteristically, or erroneously (great, small, sweet, etc.); seem falsely to be (a friend, etc.); (c) ~ hoker, to seem insulting; ~ long, seem long in duration; ~ shame (scorn), seem shameful; ~ wonder (selcouth), seem marvelous [a few quots. in (c) in which a clause or inf. preceding the verb furnishes the logical subject and could function as the grammatical subject could also be construed as impers. and belong to sense 4.].

(a) To seem fitting or proper; seem good;—usu. with indirect obj.; also, with as: as thinketh, as seems appropriate; (b) ~ god (dere, etc.), to seem best (good, fitting, appropriate, etc.).

Impers. hit) thinketh, it seems, it appears: (a) with clause introduced by as though or that or with that unexpressed; also, with pred. noun and though clause: it appears to be (a marvel if sth. occurs); with prep. phrase followed by ther clause: it seems (like sth. where sth. is) [quot. a1400]; ben iþucht; (b) in parenthetical constructions: as) hit thinketh, as) it seems.

Impers., with indirect obj. and pred. noun or adj.;—sometimes with clause or inf. phrase following: (a) hit you (the) thinketh, him (hem, hire, etc.) thinketh, it seems to you (him, them, etc.) to be (tedious, loathsome, a cause of shame, a matter of pride, etc.); hem thought thriti fother, it appeared to them to be in the amount of thirty cartloads; (b) hit us thinketh wonder, the thinketh selcouth, hit hire thinketh selli, etc., it is a cause of wonder to us (you, etc.), it seems remarkable to her, etc.; (c) him (hire, etc.) thinketh long, hit us thinketh long, etc., it seems to him (her, us, etc.) a long time; also in pl. by attraction to a pl. indirect obj.: hem thinken long, it seems to them a long time; (d) him (hem) thinketh (al) to, hit men thinketh to, etc., it seems to him (them, men, etc.) excessively (long, wretched, etc.).

Impers., with indirect obj.: (a) to seem fitting or proper (to sb.), seem good (to sb.); also, with inf.: seem good (to sb. to do sth. or to be done), behoove (sb. to do sth.); hou thinketh the (you)?, what seems right to you?; (b) hem (him, etc.) thinketh best (due, god, etc.); me dere (lef) thinketh.

Impers., with indirect obj.: (a) him (hire) thought, it seemed to him (her) in a dream or vision (that sth. happened); him thinketh, it seems to him as he dreams (that sth. is happening); also, in parenthetic constructions: as hire thought, as (that) him thought, etc.; (b) me thought, it seemed to me in a dream (that sth. happened); also, in parenthetic construction: as me thought.

Impers., with indirect obj. and that clauses (freq. with that unexpressed) or occas. other clauses: hit thinketh the that, thinketh him (the, etc.) that, him (hem) thinketh that, thinketh me, etc., it seems to me (you, him, etc.) that;—equivalent to: (a) he (you, they, etc.) believe(s that (sth. is so, etc.); also in pl. by attraction to a pl. indirect obj.: hem thinken that, it seems to them that, they believe that; (b) I (we, you, etc.) conclude that (sth. is so, etc.), I (we, you, etc.) deem that, I (we, you, etc.) judge that, I (we, you, etc.) determine that; (c) he (she, etc.) senses that (sth. is so, etc.), he (she, etc.) perceives that, he (she, etc.) imagines that.

Impers., preceded by me indirect obj. and followed by that clause (freq. with that unexpressed): me thinketh (thinkes) (that, me think (that [form me think by attraction of verb to the person of the indirect obj. pron.], it seems to me that;—equivalent to: (a) I believe that (sth. is so, etc.), I am of the opinion that (sth. is the case, etc.); also, with redundant me: me think me [quot. c1450(?a1400)]; (b) I deduce that (sth. is so, etc.), I conclude that (sth. is so, etc.); (c) I sense that (sth. is so, etc.), I perceive that (sth. is so, etc.), I imagine that (sth. is so, etc.); also in elliptical constructions [1st & last quots.]; ben iþucht.

Impers., with indirect obj. in parenthetic constructions: (a) as thinketh him (us, etc.), as thinketh (to) me, as hit thinketh me (to thin manhede), so (thus) thinketh me, as to mi-self thinketh, as (so sum) hem thinketh, etc., as it seems to him (us, me, etc.); (b) him (the, etc.) thinketh, thinketh me (us), etc., it seems to him (you, me, us, etc.); (c) as) me think(eth, as) it seems to me.

In quasi-impers. constructions, with the logical subj. appearing as the obj. in a prep. phrase and with indirect obj.: him (hem, etc.) thinketh of (o): (a) him thinketh of a dai, a day seems to him (a thousand years); him thought of his arrai, his garb seemed to him (outlandish); etc.; (b) hem shal ~ wonder of thin wisdom, your wisdom shall be to them a cause of wonder; me thinketh ferli o you, you are a cause of wonder to me; etc.