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.

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Full form

Word-wheel

  • hlǽw, n.

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