Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

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hwettan

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Wright's OE grammar
§298; §527;
Substitute: To whet, sharpen
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  • Ic hwette (hwætte,

    v. l.) acuo

    ,
      Ælfc. Gr. Z. 167, l.
to sharpen the edge of an imple-ment (lit.
or fig.)
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  • Se lǽce hýt his seax and hwete (hwæt,

    v. l.

    ),
      Past. 166, 6.

  • Þá undeádlican wyrmas hwettað hyra téð tó þon ꝥ hig. . . úrne líchoman slítan,

      Ll. Th. ii. 396, 6.

  • Hí hwetton tungan heora acuerunt linguam suam, Ps. Spl. 139, 3. ¶ hwete stán

    a stone used for whetting

    (?) :-- Tó hwettan stánes wylle; of hwættan stánes wylle,
      C. D. iii. 430, II.
to make a person keen (hwæt),
incite, excite, egg on.
absolute
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  • Swá þín sefa hwette,

      B. 490.
with acc.
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  • Þonne wín hweteð beornes breóstsefan,

      Mód. 18.

  • Óðer gást hine tyhteð . . . ýweð him earmra manna misgemynda and þurh þæt his mód hweteð,

      Sal. 495.

  • Þone síðfæt him snotere ceorlas lythwón lógon, . . . hwetton higerófne,

      B. 204. (2 a)
    where the course or action to which a person is incited is given :-- Ic dysge dwelle and dole hwette [on] unrǽdsíðas, óðrum stýre nyttre fóre

    I silly ones lead astray and stupid ones egg on to ill-advised ways, others keep back from profitable pro-ceeding,

      Rä. 12, 3.

  • Úsic lust hweteð on þá leódmearce, micel módes hiht tó þǽre mǽran byrig,

      An. 286.

  • Hweteð on [h]wælweg,

      Seef. 63.

  • Ic hig hwette tó fleánne,

      Shrn. 41, 25.
Etymology
[He whætte his særes, Laym. 14215. He wette his tossches, S. S. 911. O. H. Ger. wezzen acuere, exacuere, provocare: Icel. huetja to whet, incite.]
Similar entries
v. á-hwettan, ge-hwettan.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “hwettan.” 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/53563.

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  • hwettan,

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