verb
- Second person singular past tense of 'can'; archaic or biblical form meaning 'were able to' or 'had the ability to'.
Usage: archaic; biblical; used with 'thou' in Early Modern English and King James Bible
Examples
- Thou couldest do all things if thou believest.
- Couldest thou help me with this task?
- If thou couldest see what I see, thou wouldst understand.
- Couldest thou have known the truth from the beginning?
- He asked if she couldest forgive him.