Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

wulf

  • noun [ masculine ]
Dictionary links
Grammar
wulf, es; m.
Wright's OE grammar
§7; §37; §108; §159; §211; §212; §213; §237; §261; §295; §296; §335;
a wolf
Show examples

  • Wulf

    lupus,

    • Wrt. Voc. ii. 113, 32
      • :
    • i. 77, 77:

    licos,

      22, 61:

    lupa,

      ii. 51, 29.

  • Hwonne of heortan hunger oððe wulf sáwle and sorge somed ábregde,

      Cd. Th. 137, 20; Gen. 2276.

  • Wulf sceal on bearowe,

    • Menol. Fox 496
      • ;
    • Gn. C. 18.

  • Sceal hine wulf etan, hár hǽðstapa,

    • Exon. Th. 328, 5
      • ;
    • Vy. 12.

  • Se hára wulf,

    • 291, 15
      • ;
    • Wand. 82.

  • Wulfes gehléþan,

    • 499, 30
      • ;
    • Rä. 88, 23.

  • Reáfiende wulfas,

      Mt. Kmbl. 7, 15.

  • Ic (the shepherd) stande ofer míne sceáp mid hundum ðe læs wulfas forswelgen hig,

      Coll. Monast. Th. 20, 15.

  • Wulfa geþot

    ululatus,

      Wrt. Voc. i. 287, 24.

  • Sume wurdon tó wulfan; ða ðuton ðonne hí spræcan sceoldon,

    • Bt. 38, 1
      • ;
    • Fox 194, 36
      • :
    • Met. 26, 79.

  • Swá sceáp gemang wulfas,

      Mt. Kmbl. 10, 16.

  • Wineleás, wonsǽlig mon genimeþ wulfas tó geféran,

    • Exon. Th. 342, 25
      • ;
    • Gn. Ex. 147.
¶ in battle-scenes the wolf is a frequent figure
Show examples

  • Ne wæl wépeþ wulf se grǽga, morþorcwealm mæcga, ac hit á máre wille,

    • Exon. Th. 343, 3
      • ;
    • Gn. Ex. 151.

  • Ðæs se hlanca gefeah wulf in walde,

    • Judth. Thw. 24, 25
      • ;
    • Jud. 206.

  • Ðæt grǽge deór, wulf on wealde,

    • Chr. 937
      • ;
    • Erl. 115, 14.

  • Fyrdleóð ágól wulf on walde,

    • Elen. Kmbl. 55
      • ;
    • El. 28.

  • Wulf sang áhóf, holtes gehléða,

    • 224
      • ;
    • El. 112.

  • Wulfas sungon atol ǽfenleóð ǽtes on wénan,

    • Cd. Th. 188, 7
      • ;
    • Exod. 164.

  • Se mǽsta dǽl ðæs heriges læg, hilde gesǽged, wulfum tó willan,

    • Judth. Thw. 25, 36
      • ;
    • Jud. 296.
¶ an early admiration for the wolf seems shewn by the frequency of wulf in proper names; see e. g. Txts. 554 sqq. ; and its presence in early England is marked by the numerous place-names; see e. g. Cod. Dip. Kmbl. vi. Index.
in the phrase wulfes heáfod (
Similar entries
v. wulfheáfod-treów
), used in reference to outlaws
Show examples

  • Si postea repertus fuerit et teneri possit, vivus regi reddatur, vel caput ipsius, si se defenderit; lupinum enim caput geret a die utlagacionis sue, quod ab Anglis uuluesheuednominatur. Et hec sententia communis est de omnibus utlagis,

    • L. Ed. C. 6
      • ;
    • Th. i. 445. 4.
[
Gamelyn woluesheed was cryed and maad,
    Gam. 700.
Cf. wearg,
    and see Grmm. R. A. 734.
]
applied to a cruel person
Show examples

  • Se biscop cwæþ tó ðæm hǽþnan kásere: 'Ne gang ðú ná on Godes hús; ðú hafast besmitene handa, and ðú eart deófles wulf,'

      Shrn. 58, 9.

  • Se áwyrgda wulf

    (the devil),

    • Exon. Th. 16, 21
      • ;
    • Cri. 256.
Etymology
[
Goth. wulfs
:
O. Sax. wulf
:
O. H. Ger. wolf
:
Icel. ulfr.
]
Similar entries
v. heoru-, here-, hilde-, wæl-wulf; wylf, wylfen[n].
Linked entries
v.  wulfheáfod-treów.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “wulf.” 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/36812.

Checked: 1
Full form

Word-wheel

  • wulf, 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.