Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

witan

(v.)
Grammar
witan, prs. ic, hé wát, ðú wást, wǽst, pl.witon; p. wiste; pp. witen.

to witknowhave knowledgebe aware,to knowhave knowledge of, be aware ofto be wisebe in one's sensesto be conscious ofto knowto feelshew

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to wit, know, have knowledge, be aware, Grammar witan, absolute Noui ic can oððe ic wát, noui ic wiste, Ælfc. Gr. 33; Zup. 205, 8. Oft wé oferswiðdon swá swá ðú sylf wistest, Homl. Skt. i. 11, 27. Ne meahte hire Iudas, ne ful gere wiste, sweotole gecýðan

Linked entries: weotan wietan

bed-reda

(n.)
Grammar
bed-reda, -rids, an; m. [bed a bed, reda = rida from riden ridden, pp. of rídan to ride, hence the def. adj. bedreda bedridden, and the noun bedreda, bedrida one bedridden]

One BEDRIDDENclinicus

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One BEDRIDDEN; clinicus Ðǽr læg be ðam wege án bedreda there lay by the way one bedridden, Homl. Th. ii. 422, 4. Arás se bedreda, and arn blissigende the bedridden arose, and ran rejoicing, ii. 422, 9. Ðá ðá se sunderhálga Iosias ðæt tácn geseah on ðam

dulmúnus

(n.)
Grammar
dulmúnus, gen. pl. dulmúna; m. The war-ship of the Greeks, which king Alfred assures us would hold a thousand men; longa nāvis. These ships were the μακρὰ πλοῖα or νῆες μακραί, generally called in Greek ὁ δρόμων, ωνος, m. the light war-vessel of the Greeks. They were the longæ nāves the long war-ships of the Romans, which had often more than fifty rowers. The Romans called their vessel drŏmo, ōnis, defining it as a fast rowing vessel, evidently deriving their word from the Greek δρόμων, Cod. Just. 1, 27, 1, § 8; Cassiod. Var. 5, 17, init. where it is described as 'trĭrēme vehĭcŭlum rēmōrum tantum nŭmĕrum prōdens, sed hŏmĭnum făcies dīlĭgenter abscondens.' Some suppose that Alfred derived his word dulmúnus from the Icel. drómundr, m. which Egilsson, in his Lexĭcon Poëtĭcum, Hafniæ, 8vo. 1860, explains 'nāves grandior, cūjus gĕnĕris tantum extra regiōnes septemtrionāles, ut in mări mediterrāneo, mentio fit,' S.E. i. 582, 3, Orkn. 82, 1, 3. Vigfusson, in his Icelandic-English Dictionary, 4to. Oxford, 1869-1874, in drómundr gives only the Latin and Greek, and O. H. Ger. drahemond as cognates. What Orosius, calls longas nāves, Alfred translates dulmúnus in Anglo-Saxon. As we read in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of A.D. 897; Th. i. 174, 4, Hét Ælfréd cyng timþrian lang-scipu ongén ða æscas king Alfred commanded to build long-ships against-, those ships, v. ÆSC IV.-Alfred, in his translation of Orosius, says
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Ǽr he [Ercol] ongan mid Creáca scypum, ðe mon dulmúnus hǽt, ðe man segþ ðæt in scip mǽge in þúsend manna before he [Hercules] began with Grecian ships, which are called dulmunus, of which it is said that one ship can hold a thousand men, Ors. 1, 10; Bos

æppel

(n.)
Grammar
æppel, nom. ac. pl. æp(p)la, ap(p)la, æpplas (apples of eye); gen. pl. appla, æpplena; m.: appla (-u, v. finger-æppel), æppel (? æppel mala, Wrt. Voc. ii. 54, 40); n.

an apple (in a special and in a general sense as in oak-apple)an apple-shaped objectan eye-ball

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Add: an apple (in a special and in a general sense as in oak-apple) Æppel pomum, Ælfc. Gr. 31, 4. Ęppel malum, Kent. Gl. 962. Scoldon hangigan reáde apla mala punica Hwæt is getácnod ðurh ðá reádan apla (appla, l. 13)? Se æppel bið betogen mid rinde,

ǽg-

(prefix)
Grammar
ǽg-, either a contraction of the prefixes á, ǽ, with a g added, as ǽg, or derived from aa = á, áwa, ǽw. It is used in compound pronouns and adverbs, as ǽg-hwá, ǽg-hwǽr, ǽg-hwilc, etc; but, in its place, we also find the prefix á as,—á-hwǽr, á-hwilc, etc. Both ǽg- and á- impart to their compounds a sense of universality.

Everalwayssemper

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Ever, always; semper:

-estre

(suffix)
Grammar
-estre, -istre, -ystre, an; f. are the feminine terminations of nouns of action, same as the Latin -ix and English -ess; as Fiðelestre a female fiddler. Wrt. Voc. 73, 62: hleápestre a female dancer, 73, 71: lǽrestre an instructress: myltestre meretrix vel scortum, Wrt. Voc. 86, 72: rǽdistre a female reader, Wrt. Voc. 72, 7: sangestre [MS. sangystre] a songstress, Wrt. Voc. 72, 5: seámestre

a seamstress

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a seamstress, 74, 13

Linked entries: -istre berþ-estre

drían

(n.)
Grammar
drían, = dríum = drýum with sorcerers, Glostr. Frag. 10, 30: as fisceran and fugeleran = fiscerum and fugelerum, Ors. 1, 1; Bos. 20, 5; the dative plural of dri, drý, fiscere, and fugelere, q. v.

Linked entry: drí

-feald

(suffix)
Grammar
-feald, the termination of numerals, as án-feald one-fold, single; twí-feald or twý-feald two-fold, double; þreó-feald or þrý-feald three-fold, treble; seofon-feald seven-fold; manig-feald

manifold

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manifold

Íra-land

(n.)
Grammar
Íra-land, For argument in favour of taking Iceland to be the country intended where this word is used in Ohthere's narrative see Dr. Craigie's note in Mod. Lang. Rev. vol. xii, p. 200.

bræc

(v.; part.)
Grammar
bræc, ðú brǽce, pl. brǽcon
broke, didst break,
  • Mt. Bos. 14, 19
  • :
  • Exon. 28 a
  • ;
  • Th. 85, 20
  • ;
  • Cri. 1394
  • :
  • Cd. 32
  • ;
  • Th. 43, 5
  • ;
  • Gen. 686
; p. of brecan.

broke, didst break,

Linked entry: hrǽc-gebræc

dráf

(n.)
Grammar
dráf, <b>. I.</b> driving. Take here Hml. Th. i. 502, 10 in Dict., and Bl. H. 199, 7. &para; the phrase dráfe drífan, C.D. iii. 450, 33, seems to refer to the transport of the lord&#39;s goods by vehicle which the geneát had to &#39;drive&#39;. Cf. drífan;
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III. and see lád. a drove [v. N.E.D. drove; I 3.] a road Of ðám hlince andlang dráfæ, C.D. v. 217, 6

min

Grammar
min, [For another explanation of this word see N. E. D. min, where minne is taken as the nominative form : but the word may be taken as belonging to the same declension as mid[d]
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; pl. midde, so min[n]; pl. minne. Holthausen rejects the word altogether, v. Beiblatt, xvi. 228.] add(?) On minnan linche, C. D. B. iii. 494, 31. Add Wið feóndes hond and . . wið malscrunge minra wihta, Lch. iii. 36, 14

wiþ

(prep.; adv.)
Grammar
wiþ, prep. (adv. conj. ).

towardstoin the direction oftowardstoatwithtowardstoatagainstover againstopposite toagainstfrombynearagainstbesideuntoatagainstwithagainst onover againstoppositeagainstin the way ofwith.withpart withfromforin return foras payment forforin consideration offorin exchange forforfor in reward ofin return forin answer toforas compensation forin consideration ofin return foron condition ofagainstagainstas a set-offby the side ofcompared within contrast withwithtowithwithagainstto.withforagainstfromforagainstcontrary toin opposition to.withatagainstbeside by,atbyagainstatuntowithfromforwithagainstto weigh one thing with or against anotherin comparison withwithtowith a personwithtowardswith in respect towithwith againsttowithto.againstfromforagainst contrary toagainstbythrough,to rest on the armtill.till tountil

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Grammar wiþ, with gen. determining the direction of motion or action, Grammar wiþ, marking an object towards which motion is directed, towards, to, in the direction of Wende hé hine west wið Exanceastres, Chr. 894; Erl. 91, 10. Rád út wið Lygtúnes, 917

þúsend

(n.; num.; adj.)

a thousand

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Grammar þúsend, as a numeral noun, neuter and fem. (v. Ps. Th. 118, 72, and cf. cognates), Grammar þúsend, gen. þúsendes, pl. þúsendu (-o, -a,-e); also þúsend sometimes in the multiples, though, perhaps, in these cases the whole number is to be considered

tucian

(v.)
Grammar
tucian, (or túcian ?; in Piers P. (v. infra) touked occurs, but the form of the noun is tokkere as well as touker, Prol. 100 A-text, and Halliwell gives tucker = fuller as a western word); p. ode
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To treat ill, to afflict, harass, vex Unrihtwíse cyningas ðe ðis wérige folc wyrst tuciaþ (quos miseri torvos populi timent tyrannos; ða unrihtwísan cyningas . . . ðe ðis earme folc heardost ondrǽt, Bt. 36, 2; Fox 174, 26-29), Met. 24, 60. Hé heora fela

Linked entry: ge-tucian

láþettan

Grammar
láþettan, [In the last two passages láþettan translates infestare, which however is for infestari. The original Latin of the two translations is: Canes latrantes uiderit vel eis infestare, and: Camelos uidere et ab eis se uiderit infestare.]
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For 'To be odious . . . hate' substitute: to abhor, execrate, hate, hold in detestation Þíne goda ic láðette and him teónan dó ego diis tuis abominationem feci Angl. xvii. 116, 4. Man tó forð láþet þæt man scolde lufian, Wlfst. 165, 3 [: 168, 13: Wrt

Linked entry: lǽþettan

-hád

(suffix)
Grammar
-hád, a suffix forming abstract nouns, e. g. bisceop-, cild-, man-, wer-hid, etc. In the oldest English it is found combined only with nouns, while in the later stages of the language, as in O. Sax. O. Frs. O. H. Ger. words are formed with it from adjectives. An early instance occurs in the Land MS. of the Chronicle 'druncenhed,'
  • 1070
  • ;
  • Erl. 209, 35
. In later English it takes two forms, -hode, -hede; in modern times, -hood, -head.

-ere

(suffix)
Grammar
-ere, -er, es; m. as the termination of many nouns, signifies a person or agent, v. fulwer and fullere a fuller, bleacher, Mk. Bos. 9, 3: from wer a man; plegere a player; sǽdere a sower; wrítere a writer.

wíc

(n.)
Grammar
wíc, The word is generally neuter, but as it is often used in the plural where a singular might express the meaning, the similarity of neuter plural and feminine singular accusatives seems to have caused the word to be taken sometimes as feminine, e. g. tó ánre wíc, Homl. Th. i. 402, 22. A weak form also seems to be used, Chart. Th. 446, 29.
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a dwelling-place, abode, habitation, residence, lodging, quarters Hé tó him wilniende wæs ðætte heó him funden swylce londáre swylce hé mid árum on beón mehte, and his wíc ðaer on byrig beón mihte on his lífe, Chart. Erl. 69, 23. In locum qui dicitur

íg

(n.)
Grammar
íg, [Besides íg there seems to be a form íge; m. e. g. on Meldaníge eástewerdne, C. D. v. 303, 2. Of eallum Lindesíge (v. Lindes), Bd. 3, 11; Sch. 237, 10. In insula quae dicitur Seolesíge, C. D. v. 41, 27: 52, 10. Moreover there are instances of íg in the accusative, e. g. Wið-westan hunddes-íg (cf. tó hu[u]ddes-íge, 5), C. D. v. 298, 7. On swannes-íg, vi. 108, I : such forms seem to belong neither to íg; f. nor to íge; m., jó-, ja- stems respectively.]
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The word occurs in place-names Locum qui apud Anglos nuncupatur Ceroteég, id est Cirotis insula,C. D. ii. 122, 27. Hengestes-íg, v. 401, 26. On Beferíge; ðonne on Fyrsíge, 300, 17. On meldaníge . . . tó Ceólesíge, 303, 2-3. Ðis sind ðá landgemǽra tó Gósíge