Third person singular or plural of hent, an archaic verb meaning to seize, grasp, or obtain.
From Old English 'hentan', meaning to seize or grasp. This verb survived in Middle English dialects but became archaic by the Early Modern period, preserved mainly in literary texts.
The verb 'hent' is one of those wonderful archaic words that appeared in medieval romances and poetry—'he hents the sword'—and it shows how English loses verbs over time as simpler synonyms like 'seize' or 'grab' take over, leaving words frozen in historical texts.
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