Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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swǽfan

  • verb [ uncertain ]
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  • Sió gítsung ðe nǽnne grund hafaþ swearte swǽfeþ (swǽleþ ? v. swǽlan) sumes onlíce efne ðam munte ðe nú monna bearn Etne hátaþ se swefle byrneþ,

      Met. 8, 46-50.

  • The Latin original has: Saevior ignibus Aetnae fervens amor ardet habendi, which is rendered in the prose version: Manna gítsung is swá byrnende swá ðæt fýr on ðære helle seó is on ðam munte de Ætne hátte,

      Bt. 15; Fox 48, 29.

  • From comparison of these three passages, it seems that

    swǽfeþ should mean burns, while the form of the word suggests comparison with O. L. Ger. suévón in berg suévót mons coagulatus, with O. H. Ger. sweibón volvere, ferri, and later English swayne in :-- He (the whale that swallowed Jonah )

    swengeȝ and swaynes to þe se boþem,
      Allit. Pm. 99, 253.
  • All these verbs denote movement, a meaning which does not seem to suit swǽfan in the passage where it occurs.
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Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “swǽfan.” In An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online, edited by Thomas Northcote Toller, Christ Sean, and Ondřej Tichy. Prague: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2014. https://bosworthtoller.com/29496.

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  • swǽfan, v.

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