Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

micel

Entry preview:

and Add: great with reference to size, bulk, stature Geseah hé swýþe mycele weorud. . . and wæs án þǽra. . . swýþe heáh and swýðe mycel ofer eal þæt oþer folc. Vis. Lfc. 14.

mann-swica

Grammar
mann-swica, mán-swica ?. [In favour of mán- it may be noted that mann- does not occur as the first part of this compound, but does occur with -slaga; in Wlfst. 55, 6 the a has the accent in two MSS. (though in one of these mán- is written in mánslagan, Wlfst. 26, 14), and at 114, 13 manswican is a v. l. for mánsworan.]
Entry preview:

In l. 2 read mannslagan, and add: a deceiver, cheat Án unlagu æt ðám ætfengan þe swicigende manswican lufedan be-westan, Ll. Lbmn, 244, 28. Swá geráde manswican (man-, v. ll. ) þe on ðá wísan swǽslíce swiciað on unriht, þæt syndan forbodan Antecrístes

mór-heald

(n.; adj.)
Grammar
mór-heald, But the word might be a noun,
Entry preview:

Wǽron land heora lyfthelme beþeaht mearchofu mórheald, Cd. 145: Th. 181, 14; Exod. 61. = placed on a mountain slope, Wrt. Voc. ii. 147, 71, (?)

Linked entry: heald

sumer-lida

(n.)
Grammar
sumer-lida, an; m. [Lida, like the equivalent Icel. liði in sumar-liði, elsewhere refers to a single object, man or ship (v. lida, sǽ-, ýð-lida), but in the passage given below from the Chronicle seems to mean a fleet. Later in the same work liþ (q. v.), which seems taken from the Scandinavians, is used in this sense, e. g. ðæt lið ðæt on Sandwíc læg, 1052; Erl. 183, 40, can sumer-lida be intended to represent Norse sumar-lið? In one other place sumer-lida occurs, in company with words relating to the sea, and it there glosses malleolus; but here perhaps sumer-loda should be read, and malleolus be taken in the sense shoot, twig (see spæc); cf. O. H. Ger. sumar-lota, -lata virgultum, palmes. v. Anglia xiii. 330.]
Entry preview:

A summer fleet, one that sets forth in summer and returns in autumn Æfter ðissum gefeohte cuom micel sumorlida (tó Reádingum, MS. E.), Chr. 871; Erl. 74, 35. [Steenstrup takes the word to mean a force moving from its quarters in England, and leaving

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.

Ever ⬩ always ⬩ semper

Entry preview:

Ever, always; semper:

módig

(adj.)
Grammar
módig, adj.

of high or noble spirit ⬩ high-spirited ⬩ noble-minded ⬩ bold ⬩ brave ⬩ courageous ⬩ proud ⬩ arrogant ⬩ hearty ⬩ earnest ⬩ impetuous ⬩ bold ⬩ headstrong ⬩ stubborn ⬩ wilful

Entry preview:

Ðæt is módig wuht it (the bull) is a high-spirited creature, Runic pm. Kmbl. 339, 12; Rún. 2: Elen. Kmbl. 2524; El. 1263. Hlóh ðá módi man ( Byrhtnoth ), Byrht. Th. 136, 6; By. 147. Se módiga (Holofernes ), Judth. 10; Thw. 22, 7; Jud. 52.

ge-writ

(n.)
Grammar
ge-writ, es; n.

Something written ⬩ writing ⬩ scripture ⬩ inscription ⬩ a writing ⬩ letter ⬩ treatise ⬩ writ ⬩ charter ⬩ book

Entry preview:

Se pápa seonde his gewrite to Engla lande the pope sent his bull to England, 615; Erl. 37, 15. Mid ðæs cynges gewrite with the king's writ, 1048; Erl. 177. 19.

Linked entries: ge-wreot writ

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.
Entry preview:

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

þreágan

(v.)
Grammar
þreágan, þreán, and þreáwian (v. þreápian); p. þreáde [in Bt. 38, 1; Fox 196, 7 a form occurs that might be a strong past of þreán, on the analogy of þweán, sleán Ðæt gewit wæs swíþe sorgiende for ðám ermþum ðe hí ðrógan; cf. the rendering of the same passage in the metres: Ðæt mód wæs swíðe sorgum gebunden for ðǽm earfoþum ðe him on sǽton,
  • Met. 26, 97.
But, perhaps, drugon should be read, as, Latin is:]; pp. þreád.

to reprove ⬩ rebuke ⬩ reproach ⬩ to punish one who deserves punishment ⬩ to chastise by way of discipline, with a view to amend ⬩ to chasten ⬩ correct ⬩ to torture ⬩ torment ⬩ afflict ⬩ distress ⬩ vex ⬩ oppress

Entry preview:

to reprove, rebuke, reproach Ic hine þreáge (ðreá, Lind.: ðriá, Rush.) and forlǽte corripiam illum et dimittam, Lk. Skt. 23, 22. Ne þreáge (drégu, Surt.: þreá, Spl. C.: þrǽwie, Spl. T.) ic eów non arguam te, Ps. Th. 49, 9. Þreáge (ðréu, Surt.: ðreáge

Linked entries: þreán þreiga ðrogan

MAGAN

(v.)
Grammar
MAGAN, (the infin. does not occur in W. S. but mæge glosses posse,
  • Mk. Skt. p. 3, 1
    • ;
and <b>magende</b>
(cf. Icel. megandi) = quiens,
  • Ælfc. Gr. 41
    • ;
  • Som. 44, 21.

to be strong ⬩ efficacious ⬩ to avail ⬩ prevail ⬩ be sufficient ⬩ to be strong ⬩ be in good health ⬩ to be able ⬩ may ⬩ may

Entry preview:

Megende valens, Kent. Gl. 189: to be strong, efficacious, to avail, prevail, be sufficient Gif ðú meht si vales, Kent. Gl. 52. Wel mæg ðæm dæg wérignise his sufficit diei malitia sua, Mt. Kmbl. Lind. 6, 34: Mk. Skt. Lind. Rush. 14, 41. Ne meg mon non

Linked entry: mæg

ge-blandan

(v.)
Grammar
ge-blandan, ge-blandan; pp. ge-blanden, -blonden [In the two instances where the past tense occurs the forms are ge-blond,
    Wrt. Voc. ii. 94, 16,
ge-blondan,
    An. 33.
Under blandan is given blénde as apast subjunctive, but this form might be placed as a present (or past) under blendan. v. ge-blendan. Cf. gang as a past tense of gangan.]
Entry preview:

Substitute: To mix, blend Geblonden infectum, Wrt. Voc. ii. 111, 77. Geblanden, 45, 17: confectum, 14, 49. to mix with :-- Is him þæt heáfod hindan gréne, wrǽtlíce wrixled wurman geblonden, Ph. 294. to mix things that should be kept separate :-- Ðona

búende

(n.; v.; adj.; part.)
Grammar
búende, part. búend, es; m.

Inhabiting or dwelling ⬩ inhabitans ⬩ inhabitants, thus used as a noun,

Entry preview:

Inhabiting or dwelling; inhabitans Búendra leás void of those inhabiting, [Cd. 5; Th. 6, 16; Gen. 89] or inhabitants, thus used as a noun, Mid búendum cum habitantibus, Ps. Lamb. 82, 8

Linked entries: búend bunda

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

geáp

(n.; adj.)
Grammar
geáp, glosses cornas, Wrt. Voc. i. 287, 39 : ii. 16, 76. [Sievers, Angl. xiii. 325, would read coruas=curuas; but the list of words in which the first example occurs contains no other instance of an adjective, and the second example occurs among a group of words very similar to that in which the first is found: so that cornas seems meant for a noun. Perhaps geáp might be the same form as in earn-geáp; or could it be connected with Icel. gaupa a lynx ?]

stregdan

(v.)
Grammar
stregdan, [There are two verbs of this form, a strong and a weak. The conjugation is further complicated by the frequent loss of g, so that forms of the strong verb are found (?) belonging to two classes (cf. bregdan): while in the Northern Gospels strong and weak inflections are combined in the same word. The two verbs are here put together] ; ic stregde, strigde, stréde, hé stregdeþ, strigdeþ, strét; p. (strong) strægd, pl. strugdon and strǽdon (v. strédun, Mk. 11, 8: but the form may be weak = strægdon) : (weak) stregde, strédde, strugde (North.); pp. (strong) strogden : (weak) stregd, stréded, stréd
Entry preview:

To strew, spread, scatter, sprinkle. to strew something Se ðe ne somnigas streigdæs que non congregat, spargit. Mt. Kmbl. 12, 30. Geswerc swé swé eascan strigdeþ (spargit), Ps. Surt. 147, 16. Monige ðæt wæter on ádlige men strédaþ. Bd. 3, 2; S. 524,

Linked entries: strédan strégan

twégen

(n.; num.; adj.)
Grammar
twégen, (twegen? In the later MSS. of the Gospels tweigen and twegen are found, but ei may represent earlier e, e. g. weig, Lk. 1, 79, eige, 2, 9; or é, e. g. wreigende, 23, 10, wreigeð, 23, 14: Layamon has tweiȝe, tweien: in the Ormulum the form is tweȝȝen); m.: twá, twuá; f.: tú, tuu, twá; n.: gen. twéga, twégea, tweágea, twíga, twégera, twégra (later Gospels have tweigre, tweire); dat. twám, twǽm. Besides these West Saxon are the following forms, nom. acc. twǽgen, twœgen, tuoegi, tuoege, tuóge, tuoe, tué; m.: f. tuoege: gen. tuoega, tuoe, twégen, tuoegara,twoegra, tuoera.
Entry preview:

Two. used adjectivally Tuégen stridi passus, Txts. 85, 1510. Twégen (twǽgen, MS. E.) aldormen, Chr. 822; Erl. 62, 12. Twégen englas, Gen. 19, 1. Óþre twégen sealmas, R. Ben. 37, 11. Twǽgen míne mégas, Cod. Dip. Kmbl. i. 310, 23. Twoegen gibróþæra, Txts

Linked entries: tú tuu twá

-anne

(suffix)
Grammar
-anne, -enne, -ende the termination of the declinable infinitive in the dat. governed by to, as, = Ondréd to faranne timuit ire, Mt. Jun. and Th. 2, 22, but the B. MS. of A. D. 995 has farende, also Foxe, Bos. and the Rl. MS. about A. D. 1145. The Lind., about A. D. 957, has farenne [MS. færenne]. Alýfe me to farenne permitte me ire, Mt. Bos. 8, 21, and B. MS. about A. D. 995. Sometimes -ende is found, because -enne = ende, as in the preceding example farende about A. D. 995. Themost usual form is -anne, from the infin. -an; g. -annes; dat. -anne.

Linked entries: -an -ende -enne

tó-slítan

(v.)
Grammar
tó-slítan, p. -slát, pl. -sliton; pp. -sliten

To tear in two, ⬩ tear to pieces, ⬩ tear asunder ⬩ to tear in two, ⬩ in pieces, ⬩ rend material, ⬩ to give a torn appearance to anything ⬩ to serrate ⬩ to rend, ⬩ cleave, ⬩ break asunder that which is hard or bulky ⬩ to tear the flesh, ⬩ rend, ⬩ bite, ⬩ wound ⬩ lacerate ⬩ to tear asunder ⬩ part ⬩ separate what has been joined ⬩ sever ⬩ to pull to pieces ⬩ destroy the existence of an object, abstract or concrete ⬩ to destroy ⬩ dissipate ⬩ to distract the mind ⬩ To be different

Entry preview:

Lchdm. i. 328, 2. to rend, cleave, break asunder that which is hard or bulky Ðú tóslite wyllas and burnan tu dirupisti fontes et torrentes; thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood (A. V.), Ps. Spl. 73, 16.

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
Entry preview:

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

sulung

(n.)
Grammar
sulung, e; f. A Kentish word for a certain quantity of land, derived, like carrucata, from a name of the plough; from its origin it might mean, so much land as could be cultivated by one plough. From the first two passages given below it would seem that the sulung was equivalent to two hides (manentes), and later a solanda, which is probably the same word, is said 'per se habere duas hidas.' v. Seebohm, Vill. Comm., p. 54. But perhaps it may be inferred that both hide and sulung were considered as on the same footing as regards the plough. Thus to the gebúr with his gyrd landes, i. e. one quarter of a hide, are to be given two oxen, L. R. S. 4; Th. i. 434, 23, while a gift of half a sulung is accompanied by the further gift of four oxen, Chart. Th. 470, 9-14. v. Seebohm, pp. 138-9, and generally. In the Domesday Survey of Kent the assessment was given by solins, and the word remained in use. v. Pegge's Kenticisms, s.v.
Entry preview:

sulling Aliquam terrae partiunculam, hoc est duarum manentium ... ritu Cantiae án sulung dictum, Cod. Dip. Kmbl. i. 249, 19. Terrae particula duarum manentium, id est, án sulung, 250, 8. Yc gean intó Cristes cyrican on Cantwarabyrig ðæs landes æt Holungaburnan

Linked entry: swulung

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.