Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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beorgan

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Wright's OE grammar
§85; §320; §500;
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to protect,
to prevent the happening of evil (acc.) to an object (dat. )
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  • Ic mé his hete berh,

      Bd. 2, 12; Sch. 155, 5.
with dat. of object alone,
to protect, save, guard
:--
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  • Hé bewand his heáfod mid ánum cláðe, and bearh him sylfum swíðe georne,

      Hml. S. 23, 526.

  • Beorh ðé sylfum,

      Hml. Th. i. 418, 34. ꝥ
to protect an object (dat. ) against (wið) evil
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  • Wið hete bearh ic mé,

      Bd. 2, 12; Sch. 155, 5.

  • Þæt hí beorgan heom silfum wið Godes yrre,

      Wlfst. 190, 10.
  • Beorgian Ll. Th. i. 364, 12.
  • Wið helle bryne beorhgan his sáwle, 30.

  • Hí fleón woldon and heom beorgan wið þone here,

      Hml. S. 25, 658.
to abstain from injury to an object (dat.), to spare
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  • Þæt mód ongiet ðæt him mon birgð

    mentes parci sibi sentiunt,

      Past. 297, 17.

  • Wé beorgað ðínre ylde,

      Hml. Th. i. 418, 31.
to prevent the doing of ill (acc. or clause) by a person (dat. )
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  • Hé him slǽp beorge

    let him take care not to sleep,

      Lch. ii. 270, II. Bútan wé ús beorgan ꝥ wé him ne ábelgan, Ll. Th. ii. 332, 7.
  • IIIa. without dat. of person,
with acc. or clause,
to guard against, avoid
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  • Beorge hé ꝥ hé áwóh ne befó,

      Ll. Th. i. 290, 7.

  • Beorge man georne ꝥ man þá sáwla ne forfare,

      304, 16.
with prep.
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  • Wið ǽlc wóh gestreón beorge man georne,

      Wlfst. 70, 2.
absolute, to abstain from wrongdoing
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  • Nis on ǽnigne tíman unriht álýfed, and þeáh man sceal on freólsstówan georn-lícost beorgan,

      398, 19.

  • Gelíce þám dwǽsan þe for heora prýtan léwe nellað beorgan, ǽr hý ná ne magan,

      Wlfst. 165, 10.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “beorgan.” 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/39978.

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  • beorgan,

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