Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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á-bycgan

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Substitute: To abye. v. N. E. D.
to buy off, redeem a person
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  • Drihten ús mid his blóde ábohte of helle hæftnéde,

    • Bl. H. 91, 12
      • .
to pay for, atone for wrong-doing
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  • Gif frí man wið fríes mannes wíf geligeð, his wergelde ábicge,

    • Ll. Th. i. 10, 7
      • .
  • [

    Mid here micele fals ꝥ hi ealle abohton,

    • Chr. 1125
      • ;
    • P. 255, 16
      • .

  • Þu me smite . . . ah sare þu it salt abuggen,

    • Lay. 8158
      • .

  • Bute ȝif he abugge þe sunne þet he wrouhte,

    • A. R. 306
      • .
    ]
to perform what was necessary for the discharge of a legal obligation
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  • Cliroc feówra sum hine clǽnsie, and áne his hand on wiófode; óðre ætstanden áð ábycgan, i. e.

    the principal, with one hand on the altar, made oath; the compurgators stood by and by their oaths redeemed him from the obligation under which, so long as his oath was unsupported, he lay

      (cf.
    • Ll. Th. i. 180, 17-19
      • ),
    • Ll. Th. i. 40, 18
      • .
[If byrgan (cf. borg) could be read for bycgan, the function of the compurgators would be made more evident.] Cf. á-ceápian.
Linked entries
v.  á-bicgan á-ceápian.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “á-bycgan.” 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/37399.

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  • á-bycgan,

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