Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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be-sprecan

  • verb
Dictionary links
Substitute:
to speak about, mention. Cf. be-secgan, I:
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  • Hit is ús swíþor bismre gelíc þæt wé þæt besprecað

    erubescant de recordatione praeteritorum,

    • Ors. 3, 11
      • ;
    • S. 152, 30
      • .

  • Hé begeat sumne ðe hine bespræc tó ðám cásere,

    • Hml. Th. i. 374, 13
      • .
of legal proceedings,
to claim
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  • Sette hé borh ꝥ hé bringe his geteáman in þǽr hit besprecen bið

    (where the recovered property will be claimed),

    • Ll. Th. i. 288, 17
      • .
in an unfavourable sense,
trans.
To complain of, blame, speak ill of
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  • Fram stefne besprecendre

    a voce obloquentis.

    • Ps. L. 43, 17
      • .
with acc.
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  • For hwí besprecað nú men þás crístnan tída, and secgað þæt nú wyrsan tída sién ?,

    • Ors. 1, 12
      • ;
    • S. 54, 33.
with clause
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  • Úre crístne Róma bespricð þæt hiere weallas for ealdunge brosnien

    nostri incircumspecta anxietate causantur, si Romanae reipublicae moles imbecilliíate senectutis contremiscunt.

    • Ors. 2, 4
      • ;
    • S. 74, 34
      • .
intrans.
To complain, mate complaint
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  • Hú unge*-*metlíce gé bemurciað and besprecað, ꝥ eów nú wyrs

    sié,

    • Ors. 1, 10
      • ;
    • S. 48, 18
      • ,
Etymology
[
O. Sax. bi-sprekan to complain of, blame
:
O. Frs. bi-spreka
:
O. H. Ger. pi-sprehhan obloqui, detrahere, vituperare.
]
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “be-sprecan.” 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/40160.

Checked: 1
Full form

Word-wheel

  • be-sprecan, v.

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