Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

Bederices weorþ

(n.)
Grammar
Bederices weorþ, es ; m. [Bederices Bederic's, weorþ worth, town, or residence]

Bederic's worth or town ⬩ Eádmundes burh ⬩ St. Edmund's bury

Entry preview:

Bederic's worth or town, so called because the manor formerly belonged to Bederic, who bequeathed it to Edmund the king and martyr, hence it was subsequently called Eádmundes burh, St. Edmund's bury On Bedericeswyrþe at Bedericsworth, Will 23 ; Th.

heáfod-stocc

(n.)
Grammar
heáfod-stocc, es; m. This word, which occurs several times in charters that describe the boundaries of land, seems from the following passage to mean
Entry preview:

A stock or post on which the head of a criminal was fixed after beheading Heora lima man ealle tóbrǽd ǽlc fram óðrum . . . and ðá heáfodleásan man héngc on ðá portweallas, and man sette heora heáfda swilce óþra ðeófa búton ðám portweallon on ðám heáfodstoccum

on-wendan

(v.)

to turn, change ⬩ to change one thing for another, to exchange ⬩ to turn, change a direction, to avert, divert, turn aside ⬩ to change the position of a thing, to invert, turn upside down, ⬩ to subvert, disturb, upset ⬩ to cause to change for the worse, to give a wrong direction, pervert ⬩ To return

Entry preview:

Ðis is ðæt mennisc ðe ealle míne dǽda mid heora wordum ( destroyed by their words the effect that my actions should produce ), ðæt hié mé ne gelyfdon, Blickl. Homl. 175, 25.

Linked entries: and-wendan aweg-onwendan on-wendness

brim-wylf

(n.)
Grammar
brim-wylf, e; f. [brim, wylf
a she-wolf
]

a she-wolf ⬩ A sea-wolf ⬩ marina lupa

Entry preview:

A sea-wolf; marina lupa. An epithet applied to Grendel's mother Hine seó brimwylf abroten hæfde the sea-wolf had destroyed him, Beo. Th. 3202; B. 1599

Linked entry: wylf

ecg-lást

(n.)
Grammar
ecg-lást, [The gender is doubtful, the word occurring both m. and f. in the only passage where it is found: lást a track is m.]
Entry preview:

A sword's edge On ðæs Paternosters ðǽre swíðran handa is gyldenes sweordes onlícnis . . . and ðæs dryhtenlican wǽpnes seó swíðre ecglást (gender influenced by that of ecg?) hé ( the true gender of -lást?) is mildra ðonne middangeardes swétnissa

háw

(n.; suffix)
Grammar
háw, Kemble says, ' In all probability, a look out, or prospect'; Middendorff compares the word with -hau in German place-names, and takes it to mean a clearing, a place where trees are cut down (cf. heáwan). But perhaps in the one passage where the word occurs
Entry preview:

hlawe should be read Haec sunt supradictarum uocabula terrarum, aet Uuineshauue (cf. scuccanhlau, 196, 1), C. D. i. 195, 30

ful-wyrcan

(v.)
Grammar
ful-wyrcan, full-wyrcan; p. -worhte; pp. -worht

To do fully ⬩ accomplish ⬩ commit ⬩ perfĭcĕre

Entry preview:

To do fully, accomplish, commit; perfĭcĕre Gif hwá griþbryce fulwyrce if anyone commit a breach of the peace, L. C. S. 62; Th. i. 408, 22

Linked entry: full-wyrcan

awóh

(adv.)
Grammar
awóh, adv. [a, wóh crooked]

AWRY ⬩ unjustly ⬩ wrongfully ⬩ badly ⬩ tortè ⬩ obliquè ⬩ malè

Entry preview:

AWRY, unjustly, wrongfully, badly; the same as mid wóge with injustice, or unjustly; tortè, obliquè, malè Gif mon ðæt trod awóh drife if one wrongfully pursue the footstep [tread], L. O. D. 1; Th. i. 352, 10. Ðæt man ǽr awóh tosomne gedydon which they

be-wyrcan

(v.)
Grammar
be-wyrcan, -weorcean, bi-wyrcan; p. -worhte, pl. -worhton; pp. -worht

To work, work in, insert, make, build, cover, adorn ⬩ elaborare, immittere, facere, ædificare, inducere, exornare

Entry preview:

To work, work in, insert, make, build, cover, adorn; elaborare, immittere, facere, ædificare, inducere, exornare Bewyrc us on heortan Háligne Gást work the Holy Ghost into our hearts, Hy. 7, 79; Hy. Grn. ii. 288, 79.

Linked entries: be-smiþian be-weorcean be-worht bi-wyrcan

wilder

(n.)
Grammar
wilder, (-or ? cf. wildor-líc. v. next word) (and wild ? cf. O. H. Ger. wild; dat. pl. wildiran ; and the declensions of lamb, cild), es; n.

A wild beast

Entry preview:

A wild beast þan deoren,and duden of þan wilden al heora willa, Laym. 1129. At þe fyrst quethe of þe quest quaked þe wylde, Gaw. 1150. Went we to wod the wilde for to cacchne. Destr. Tr. 2347. Þurh ðæs wildres ( the panther's ) mflð, Exon. Th. 358, 10

Linked entry: wildor

fadian

(v.)
Grammar
fadian, p. ode; pp. od

To set in order, dispose, direct, guide ⬩ ordĭnāre, dispōnĕre, dirĭgĕre

Entry preview:

To set in order, dispose, direct, guide; ordĭnāre, dispōnĕre, dirĭgĕre Word and weorc freónda gehwylc fadige mid rihte let every friend guide his works and words aright, L. C. E. 19; Th. i. 372, 1

middan-sumor

(n.)
Grammar
middan-sumor, v. under midd, II, where perhaps in the instances in which middan occurs that word is to be taken as the first part of a compound.

This might be a link to, a part of or a variant of another entry.

Q

Grammar
Q, This letter occurs but seldom in Anglo-Saxon; in those native words where qu is now found, e. g. quick, quoth, cw or cu was written, cwic, cuic, cwæþ, cuæþ. In the glossary (belonging to the eighth century) given in Wrt. Voc. ii. 98 sqq. are six instances of words beginning with qu, and four others occur in the same volume; in the Blickling Gloss the form quémde glosses complacebam, and the foreign word
Entry preview:

reliquias retained its original form

witon

Grammar
witon, wuton (-an, -un), uton (-an, -un);

let us

Entry preview:

Grammar witon, ¶ the word was originally a tense of the verb wítan, and its verbal character is occasionally still marked by the use of the pronoun Wuton wé ðæt gemunan, Blickl. Homl. 125, 2. Uutun ué geonga (uton gan, W.

Linked entries: utan uton

dolg-ben

(n.)
Grammar
dolg-ben, -benn,e ; f. [ben a wound]
Entry preview:

A wound; vulnus Dolgbennum þurhdrifen pierced through with wounds, Andr. Kmbl. 2793; An. 1399

Linked entry: dolh-ben

twelf

(n.; num.; adj.)
Grammar
twelf, generally indeclinable if used adjectivally and preceding the noun, but generally in other cases declined; nom. acc. twelfe; gen. twelfa; dat. twelfum.
Entry preview:

In the following instance the word is inflected Án ðæra twelfa Drihtnes ðegena, Homl. Th. ii. 242, 15. <b>I a.

Linked entry: endleofan

wíngeard-hocgas

(n.)
Grammar
wíngeard-hocgas, (for wíngeard-bógas, v. preceding word; or wíngeard-hócas, cf. wíngearda hócas capreoli,
  • Wrt. Voc. i. 38, 59
)

caprioli dicti quod capiant arbores,

Entry preview:

caprioli dicti quod capiant arbores, Wrt. Voc. ii. 129, 61

stic-wyrt

(n.)
Grammar
stic-wyrt, e; f.
Entry preview:

Stitch-wort; stellaria holostea; but the word glosses agrimonia, Wrt. Voc. i. 32, 2

bennian

(v.)
Grammar
bennian, bennegean; p. ode, ade; pp. od, ad [ben a wound]

To wound ⬩ vulnerare

Entry preview:

To wound; vulnerare Mec ísern bennade iron wounded me Exon. 130 a; Th. 499, 7; Rä. 88, 12. Ic geseah winnende wiht wído bennegean [benne gean, Th.] I saw a block [wood] wound [lit. to wound = wounding] a striving creature 114 a; Th. 438, 4; Rä. 57, 2

meldan

(v.)
Grammar
meldan, p. ede

To announce ⬩ declare

Entry preview:

To announce, declare Ús frunon fǽcnum wordum meldedan they questioned us, with crafty words declared, Ps. Th. 136, 3. Ic ne mæg word sprecan, moldan for monnum, Exon. 105 a; Th. 399, 18; Rä. 19, 2. Meldan, 109 b; Th. 411, 13; Rä. 29, 12

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.