Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

ge-sceaft

  • noun [ neuter ]
Dictionary links
Grammar
ge-sceaft, -scæft, -sceft, e; f: es; n.
Wright's OE grammar
§12; §240; §295; §391; §563; §574;
the creation, a created being or
thing, creature, an element; creātio, creātūra, plasma, ĕlĕmentum
Show examples

  • Eall ðeós mǽre gesceaft

    all this great creation,

    Rood
      Kmbl. 24; Kr. 12: 162; Kr. 82: Salm. Kmbl. 60; Sal. 30.

  • Gesceaft

    plasma,

      Ælfc. Gr. 9, 1; Som. 8, 22.

  • Fram fruman gesceafte

    ab inĭtio creātūræ,

      Mk. Bos. 10, 6: Cd. 9; Th. 11, 7; Gen. 171.

  • On ðisse lǽnan gesceafte

    in this perishable creation,

      Salm. Kmbl. 653; Sal. 326: 737; Sal. 368.

  • Þurh ða ilcan gesceaft

    through the same creature,

      Elen. Kmbl. 365; El. 183: 2061; El. 1032.

  • Ða wiðerweardan gesceafta betwux him winnaþ

    contrary creatures strive with each other,

      Bt. 21; Fox 74, 13: Exon. 68 a; Th. 253, 21; Jul. 183.

  • Ealle gesceafte forhte geweorþaþ

    all creatures shall tremble,

      Andr. Kmbl. 2997; An. 1501: Cd. 191; Th. 239, 11; Dan. 368: Bt. Met. Fox 11, 16; Met. 11, 8.

  • Hí wuldriaþ æðelne ordfruman ealra gesceafta

    they glorify the noble origin of all creatures,

    13 b;
      Th. 25, 18; Cri. 402: 21 b; Th. 57, 29; Cri. 926: Andr. Kmbl. 652; An. 326: Elen. Kmbl. 1785; El. 894: Bt. 21; Fox 72, 29.

  • Eallum his gesceaftum

    to all his creatures,

      21; Fox 74, 2, 21: Salm. Kmbl. 672; Sal. 335.

  • He gemetgaþ ða feówer gesceafta

    he regulates the four elements,

      Bt. 39, 8; Fox 224, 8: 33, 4; Fox 128, 29: Boutr. Scrd. 18, 20: 30, 7.

  • Ofer ealle gesceafte

    over all creatures,

      Exon. 28 a; Th. 84, 33; Cri. 1388: 43 b; Th. 147, 25; Gú. 732.

  • Biþ ðæt gesceaft swíðe nearu geþuht

    the creation will appear very narrow,

      Homl. Th. ii. 186, 7.

  • He awende ðæt gesceaft

    he changed the creature,

    ii.
      72, 10: i. 276, 8, 10, 14, 15, 20.

  • Ða gescæfta tácnedon ðæt he wæs sóþ god

    created things shewed that he was very God,

      Shrn. 67, 16.

  • Bodigaþ élce gescæfte

    prædicate omni creaturæ,

      Mk. Skt. Rush. 16, 15: Rtl. 97, 12.

  • Giscæf[t]

    sexus,

      51, 7.

  • Ðú ðe gimetgaþ gescæfta wrixla

    qui temperas rerum vices,

      164, 12.
a decree, destiny, fate, condition; destĭnāta, sors, fātum, condĭtio
Show examples

  • Ðæt is eald gesceaft

    that is the ancient fate,

      Salm. Kmbl. 772; Sal. 385.

  • Nǽni eft cymeþ hider, ðe mannum secge hwylc sý Meotodes gesceaft

    no one returns hither who may reveal to men what is the condition of the Creator,

      Menol. Fox 592; Gn. C. 65.

  • In gesceaft Godes

    by God's decree,

      Exon. 93 b; Th. 351, 3; Sch. 74.

  • He sægde him wereda gesceafte

    he told him the fates of peoples,

      Cd. 180; Th. 225, 27; Dan. 160.
Etymology
[Goth. ga-skafts creation, creature: O. Sax. gi-skefti decree of fate: O. H. Ger. ga-skaft creatura, elementum, habitus, fatum.]
Derived forms
DER. ealdor-gesceaft, eorþ-, forþ-, hand-, heáh-, land-, líf-, mǽl-, metod-, woruld-.
Linked entries
v.  ge-scæft ge-sceft ge-dælan.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “ge-sceaft.” 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/15847.

Checked: 0
Full form

Word-wheel

  • ge-sceaft, n.

Copyright

All the data provided here are free for any purpose. If you use the data for academic purposes, we ask that you kindly cite us as your source. In case you need a large portion of the dictionary data or you need it in a specific format, let us know through the contact form, we are happy to do custom database dumps for researchers.

How to cite

You can cite the entries of the online version of the dictionary, or you can cite the scanned pages of the original paper editions.

  • To cite the online version of the dictionary, click the icon right under the entry.
  • To cite the scanned paper version of the dictionary, click the "show/hide this scanned page" link under the entry, check the scan and use the citation information right above it.