Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

A

(prefix)
Grammar
A, A. It is not necessary to speak of the form of what are often called Anglo-Saxon letters, as all Teutonic, Celtic, and Latin manuscripts of the same age are written in letters of the same form. There is one exception: the Anglo-Saxons had, with great propriety, two different letters for the two distinct sounds of our th: the hard þ in thin and sooth, and the soft ð in thine and soo
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Sometimes the accented or long á is represented in English by oa; as Ác an oak, gád a goad, lád load, rád road, brád broad, fám foam, lám loam, sápe soap, ár oar, bár boar, hár hoar, bát boat, gát goat, áta oat, áþ oath, láþ loath.

hǽþen

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II 3 Hǽþenu godu dii gentium, Ps. Th. 95, 5. Ge sǽdon ꝥ þá hǽðnan tída wǽron beteran þonne þá crístnan, Ors. 6, 37 ; S. 296, 18. Ne swerigen gé nǽfre under hǽðene godas ( per nomen exlernorum deorum non jurabitis. Ex. 23, 13), Ll.

FEÓWER

(n.; num.; adj.)
Grammar
FEÓWER, feówere; nom. acc; gen. feówera, feówra; dat. feówerum:

FOURquătuor

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Felamódigra feówer scoldon geferian to ðæm goldsele Grendles heáfod four of those much daring ones must convey Grendel's head to the gold-hall, Beo. Th. 3279; B. 1637.

nunne

(n.)
Grammar
nunne, an ; f.

A nuna vestal

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Caperronis wæs hátenu heora goda nunne ( virgo vestalis ), Ors. 4, 4; Swt. 162, 31. Se ðe mid nunnan hǽme, gehálgodre legerstówe ne sý hé wyrðe, L. Edm. E. 3; Th. i. 246, 6. Ǽfre ne geweorðe, ðæt cristen man gewífige on gehálgodre ǽnigre nunnan, L.

Linked entry: non

be-tweonum

(prep.)
Grammar
be-tweonum, be-tweonan, be-twinum, be-twinan, be-twynan, bi-tweon, bi-tweonum; prep. I. dat. II. acc. [be, bi by, with, tweo two; dat. tweonum, twinum, tweon, twin, twyn]

BETWEEN, betwixt, among, amid, in the midstinter, in medio

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Hluton hell-cræftum, hǽðengildum teledon betwinum they cast lots, counted, with hellish arts, amid heathen gods, Andr. Kmbl. 2207; An. 1105. Gif ge habbaþ lufe eów betwynan si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem, Jn. Bos. 13, 35.

þríste

(adv.)
Grammar
þríste, adv.

Boldlyconfidentlywithout apprehension, fear, hesitation, reservewithout sense of shamepresumptuouslyaudaciously

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Boldly, in a good sense, confidently, without apprehension, fear, hesitation, reserve Hé þríste genéðde on óðre dǽlas, Apstls. Kmbl. 100; Ap. 50. Hé þríste bebeád, ðæt hié his láre, lǽston, Andr. Kmbl. 3303; An. 1654: Elen. Kmbl. 818; El. 409.

weorold-líc

(adj.)
Grammar
weorold-líc, adj.
Entry preview:

Se ðe Gode sceal þeówigan ne sceal hé hyne ná ábysgian worldlícra bysgunga qui Deo vult servire, non debet occupari mundanis negotiis, L. Ecg. P. i. 7; Th. ii. 174, 27. Bót æt woroldlícan þingan, L. Eth. v. 20; Th. i. 308, 31

á-blinnan

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S. 30, 39. with a clause Ne áblinnan wé ðæt wé Gode cwémon, Bl. H. 47, 10. with a prep. On ðám seofoðan dæge áblan Drihten fram ǽlcum weorce, Wlfst. 210, 25. Monige men nellaþ áblinnan from heora unrihtum gestreónum, Bl.

Linked entry: on-blinnan

fæstan

to fastto abstain

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Gode ac him sylfum gehwylc fæst (jejunat), Scint. 53, 9. Ðonne wé fæstað oððe ælmessan sellaþ, Bt. 41, 2; F. 246, 22. Hwí fæste wé . . . sóðlíce þíne leorningcnihtas ne fæstað, Mt. 9, 14. Fæstest þú on foldan, Seel. 144.

for-cuman

to seizeget hold ofto overcomeconquerto consumedestroyto reject

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Goth. fra-kwiman Ne mæg hit (fire) náne þára gesceafta eallunga [f]orcuman (cf. hit waldan ne mót ꝥ hit ǽnige eallunga fordó, Met. 20, 130), Bt. 33, 4; F. 130, 18.

ge-brúcan

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D. 145, 11. to have or possess what gives pleasure, profit, &c. to enjoy Gangað gé and þæs horses mid góde gebrúcað, forþon ic his þearfe næbbe, Gr. D. 15, 24.

geap

Grammar
geap, geáp, geápes.
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On geápan gáran westeweardne, v. 173, 6. of a surface, vaulted (of the roof of a house) Ræced hlifade geáp and goldfáh the hall towered up with roof vaulted and gay with gold B. 1800: Ruin. 11.

heord-rǽden

Grammar
heord-rǽden, heord-rǽdenn.

watching overa guardwatch

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gálfulle fzstna heordrǽdene (keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter, Ecclus. 42, II), 177, 3. watching over animals, care of a herdsman Hire hyrdeman ðurh holdrǽdene sume ác ástáh and his orf lǽswode . . . and hé hearde feóll gewát of worulde tó Gode

Linked entries: hird-ness hird-ræden

wefan

(v.)
Grammar
wefan, p. , pl. ; pp.

to weave a webto weave, construct, put together, arrange, plan, contrive

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Ðá sprǽcon hí: 'þú eart úre gingast, ðe miht wefan ðæt hwíte gode*-*web,' Homl. Ass. 132, 550. Wefen wæs ordiretur (colobium de stuppae stamine, Ald. 51), Wrt. Voc. ii. 83, 18. From ðæm weofendan a texente, Ps. Surt. ii. p. 184, 34.

on-sittan

(v.)

to occupy to oppress (cf. colloquial to sit on a person)to fear (taking like ondrǽdan a reflexive dative)

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Ger. int-sizzen metuere: Goth. and-sitan to regard) to fear (taking like ondrǽdan a reflexive dative) Nó ic mé onsitte non vereor, Wrt. Voc. ii. 61, 46. Ne ic mé herehlóþe helle þegna swíðe onsitte, Exon. Th. 166, 15; Gú. 1043.

ǽfen-steorra

(n.)
Grammar
ǽfen-steorra, an; m.

The evening starHesperus

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It then goes after the sun into the earth's shade, till it runs off behind the sun, and comes up before the sun, then we call it the morning star, because it comes up in the east, and announces the sun's approach, Bt. 39, 13; Fox 232, 34.

Linked entry: morgen-steorra

ildra

(n.)
Grammar
ildra, an [but the singular rarely occurs] ; m.

A parentancestorfatherforefatherpredecessorelder

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Úre yldran swultan and swíðe oft ús from wendan our parents have died and very often gone from us, Blickl. Homl. 195, 26. Wǽron his yldran fæder and módor hǽðne his parents, father and mother, were heathens, 211, 19 : 213, 2.

Linked entries: ældran ildra

ge-wuna

(n.; adj.)
Grammar
ge-wuna, an; m.

A customwontmanneruseriteconsuetudo

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Is nú geworden to full yfelum gewunan ðæt menn swíðor scamaþ nú for góddǽdum ðonne for misdǽdum it has now become the very bad custom for men to be more ashamed of good deeds than of bad ones, Swt. A. S. Rdr. 109, 161.

Linked entries: -wuna ge-wun

streng

(n.)
Grammar
streng, es; m.
Entry preview:

Ðú scealt gefastnian ðone streng on Gode, ðæt ðæt scyp healdan sceal ðínes módes, Shrn. 175, 21-31. Windas weóxon, strengas gurron, Andr.

á-búgan

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Ðæt folc nolde Gode ábúgan Deo non cesserant. Ors. 1. 7; S. 38, 17: Hml. S. 25, 170: Hml. Th. ii. 304, 20: Wlfst. 197, 9.