Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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hlǽw

  • noun [ masculine ]
Dictionary links
Grammar
hlǽw, hláw, hláu, hléw, es; m.
Wright's OE grammar
§134; §419;
a low or law [occurring in names of places], a rising ground, an artificial as well as a natural mound, a funeral mound; tumulus
Show examples

  • Wæs ðǽr on ðam eálande sum hláw mycel ofer eorþan geworht, ðone ylcan men for feós wilnunga gedulfon and brǽcon

    there was on the island a great mound made upon the earth, which same from the desire of treasure men had dug into and broken up,

    • Guthl. 4;
    • Gdwin. 26, 5, 7:
    • Bec. Th. 2244;
    • B. 1120.

  • Dá hý ofer ðone hlǽw ridan

    when they rode over the hill,

    • Lchdm. iii. 52, 14.

  • Hátaþ hlǽw gewyrcean se sceal tó gemyndum mínum leódum heáh hlifian on Hrones næsse, ðæt hit sǽlíðend syððan hátan Biówulfes biorh

    bid them make a mound; it shall as a memorial to my people tower high on Hronesness, so that hereafter may seafarers call it Beowulf's mount,

    • Beo. Th. 5597;
    • B. 2802: 6295;
    • B. 3158: 6319;
    • B. 3170.

  • Geworpene on wídne hlǽw

    projecti in monumentis,

    • Ps. Th. 87, 5.

  • On hwelcum hlǽwa hrusan þeccen bán Wélandes

    in what tomb do Weland's bones cover the ground?

    • Bt. Met. Fox 10, 85;
    • Met. 10, 43.

  • Beorgas ðǽr ne muntas steápe ne stondeþ, ne stánclifu heáh hlifiaþ ne dene ne daiu ne dúnscrafu hlǽwas ne hlincas

    nec tumulus crescit, nec cava vallis hiat,

    • Exon. 56 a;
    • Th. 199, 13;
    • Ph. 25.
The word is found in local names, e.g. Cwicchelmes hlǽw.
  • Chr. 1006;
  • Erl. 140, 21
    • [for other examples see Cod. Dipl. Kmbl. iii. xxxi]
, and exists still in the forms -low, as Ludlow, Hounslow; and -law, frequently applied to hills in Scotland.
[Cf. Icel. haugr a mound, funeral mound;
how in local names.]
the interior of a mound, a cave
Show examples

  • Draca sceal on hlǽwe

    a serpent shall dwell in a cave,

    • Menol. Fox 512;
    • Gn. C. 26:
    • Beo. Th. 5539;
    • B. 2773.

  • Eorþsele hlǽw under hrusan

    an earth-hall, a cave under ground,

    • 4813;
    • B. 2411.
Etymology
[Orm. illc an lawe & illc an hill:
Havel. lowe:
Goth. hlaiw a grave, tomb;
hlaiwasna grave, sepulchre:
O. Sax. hléwe (dat.) grave:
O. H. Ger. hlaeo mausoleum;
laeo acervus;
hléo agger;
léuua aggeres.]
Linked entries
v.  hláw.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “hlǽw.” 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/19169.

Checked: 2
Full form

Word-wheel

  • hlǽw, n.

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