Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

heáfod-weard

  • noun [ feminine ]
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Grammar
heáfod-weard, e; f.
A guarding of the [lord's] head, attendance as a guard upon the king. The word occurs in an enumeration of the services required of the thane and the 'geneat,'
    Th. i. 432, 8, 17.
So in Beowulf it is said of Wiglaf that he 'healdeþ heáfodwearde,' keeps guard over the dead king, Beo. Th. 5811; B. 2909.
Etymology
[Cf. Icel. höfuðvörðr a body-guard.]
Full form

Word-wheel

  • heáfod-weard, n.