Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

lác

Grammar
lác, [If ðínne in Hml. S. 7, 119 is correct, lác is there masculine, but perhaps ðíne should be read.]
Entry preview:

Dele: in tie instances given here lác = lácnung. Add: to compounds ælmes-lác (Nap. 5), bríw-lác, drý-lác, sib-lác, word-lác, wróht-lác, wund-lác

ceaster

(n.)
Grammar
ceaster, cæster, cester; ceastre; ceastre, ceaster, ceastra; f. The names of places ending in caster and -chester were probably sites of a castrum

a fortress ⬩ A city, fort, castle, town ⬩ urbs, civitas, castellum ⬩ the city ⬩ hæc civitas

Entry preview:

On ðære heán ceastre in the high city, Bt. 39, 5; Fox. 218, 18. Ðá cómon ða weardas on ða ceastre then the keepers came into the city, Mt. Bos. 28, 11. Ðú in ða ceastre gong go thou into the city, Andr. Kmbl. 1878; An. 941.

Linked entries: cæster Exan ceaster cester

éstum

(adv.)
Grammar
éstum, adv. [dat. or inst. pl. of ést, q.v.]

Willingly, gladly, kindly, bounteously ⬩ lĭbenter, bĕnigne, mūnĭfĭcenter

Entry preview:

Willingly, gladly, kindly, bounteously; lĭbenter, bĕnigne, mūnĭfĭcenter He Freán hýrde éstum he obeyed the Lord willingly, Cd. 92; Th. 117, 11; Gen. 1952: Ps. Th. 140, 3. Him wæs wunden gold éstum ge-eáwed twisted gold was kindly offered to him. Beo.

sǽt

(n.)
Grammar
sǽt, To judge by the former of the two passages given here the word in the latter of them should mean a place of concealment for the hunter where he lies in wait for the game which is driven towards him. Such driving of game is described by the hunter in Ælfric's Colloquy, Th. An. 21, 13-22, 18.
Entry preview:

Sǽte haldan would mean to keep the game from avoiding the ambush into which it was being driven. Cf. ge-sǽte

efne-

(prefix)
Grammar
efne-, This form is used in the Northern specimens to render the prefix con- in many Latin verbs, e. g. efne-árísa con-surgere, efne-ceiga con-vocare, efne-fornioma com-prehendere, efne-senda
Entry preview:

com-mittere. For other compounds

rignan

(v.)
Grammar
rignan, rínan; p. rínde. [A strong preterite occurs in the Blickling Gloss, rán pluit.
  • Cf.
In Elyes tyme heuene was yclosed þat no reyne ne rone (roon, MS. W.: roen, MS. R.: ron, MS. B.: raynade, MS. C.),
  • Piers P. 14, 62.
]

to rain, to cause rain to fall ⬩ to rain, to fall (of rain)

Entry preview:

to rain, to cause rain to fall, with the agent expressed Ic ríne pluo, Ælfc. Gr. 28; Som. 30, 53. Hé rýnde ofer synfullan grin, Ps. Spl. 10, 7. Hit ágan rínan xl. daga and xl. nihta tósomne ðæm mǽstan réne, and seó eorþe rínde ealswá swíðe of hire eásprencgum

Linked entries: regnian regnan rínan

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
Entry preview:

The remarks in are of great importance in declining words, for monosyllables, ending in a single consonant, in st or sc, change the æ into a, whenever the consonant or consonants are followed by a, o, u in nouns, and a, o, u, e in adjectives, vide Æ.

þenedness

(n.)
Grammar
þenedness, þeneness, þénest, þénestre, þeng. v. tó-þenedness, á-þeneness (ðenenis is given in Ps. Surt. ii. p. 194, 15, but áðenenes
Entry preview:

in Txts. 411, 48), þegnest, þegnestre, þegen

ge-byrd

(n.)
Grammar
ge-byrd, gen. dat. -byrde; acc. -byrde, -byrd; pl. nom. gen. acc. a; dat. um; f : ge -byrdo; indecl. in s; f : found in both s. and pl. without any apparent difference of meaning.

birth ⬩ origin ⬩ beginning ⬩ parentage ⬩ family ⬩ lineage ⬩ nativitas ⬩ origo ⬩ stirps ⬩ genus ⬩ nature ⬩ quality ⬩ state ⬩ condition ⬩ lot ⬩ fate ⬩ natura ⬩ qualitas ⬩ conditio ⬩ sors ⬩ fatum

Entry preview:

Or in the last two instances may 'gebyrd' be referred to 'gebyrian' to happen?

Linked entries: byrd byrde byrdnys weorold-gebyrd ge-bærd beorþ ge-bird ge-byrdo

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

lác

(n.)
Grammar
lác, generally neuter, but occasionally feminine
  • [v. Shrn. pp. 3-4],
or masculine, as in the compound lyb-lác q. v.

battle ⬩ struggle ⬩ an offering ⬩ sacrifice ⬩ oblation ⬩ a gift ⬩ present ⬩ grace ⬩ favour ⬩ service ⬩ a present ⬩ offering of words ⬩ a message ⬩ medicine

Entry preview:

And just as plega is used, by itself or in its compounds, of war and battle, so in the Icelandic poetry we have Hildar leikr, sverða leikr = battle (see Cl. and Vig. Dict. p. 382, col. 2), and in English lác could be applied in the same way.

Linked entries: freó-lác lácan lǽc

be-cnáwe

(adj.)
Grammar
be-cnáwe, in the phrase beón becnáwe (v. to be beknown = to avow, confess, N. E. D. s.
Similar entries
v. be-know
)
Entry preview:

Ic ne am bicnówe ðat ic (printed it; but cf. ic ne eom ge-cnáwe ꝥ ic ǽnigean menn geáfe þá sócne þanon ut, 222, 27) áni man úðe ðenen út . . . hámsócne, C. D. iv. 226, 4

wer-gild

(n.)
Grammar
wer-gild, were-gild, es; n. [The word seems interchangeable with wer (q. v.), which in the later laws is the more frequent form.]
Entry preview:

In 687 Mul, Ceadwalla's brother, was burnt in Kent : in 694 'Cantware geþingodon wiþ Íne, and him gesaldon xxx m., for ðon ðe híe ǽr Mul forbærndon, Chr. 694; Erl. 42, 15. [O. Frs. wer-geld, -ield : O. H. Ger. wer-, weri-gelt fiscus, pretium. Cf.

mór

Grammar
mór, I. add: — Hí eardiað an þæs gedwildes móre and meoxe (in luto heresis), Chrd. 96, 31. Móras salebras, i. loca lutosa, An. Ox. 17, 63. The word occurs often in charters, v. Midd. Flur.

gold-hord

Grammar
gold-hord, [In Wrt. Voc. i. 58, 63 the MS. has gold-hold. v. Wülck. Gl. 187, 17.]
Entry preview:

On þám þe wæs behýdd se heofonlica goldhord, Ælfc. T. Grn. 13, 2. Se goldhord þe þú geméttest, Hml. S. 23, 603. Swíðe ealdne goldhord, 570. Unárímedlicu goldhord innumeri thesauri, Nar. 5, 10. Hér Rómáne gesomnodón al þá goldhord þe on Bretene wǽron,

D

(n.)
Grammar
D, is sometimes changed into ð, as Ic wurde, or Ic wurðe: snídan, sníðan

to cut

Entry preview:

contracted into dyppd, dyppt, and dypt dipped. the Rune ᛞ not only represents the letter d, but stands for dæg a day

þeód-

(prefix)
Grammar
þeód-, As the first part of several compounds (see below) þeód has the force of general, great; a similar use is found in
Entry preview:

The form is also found in proper names, e.g. Ðeód-bald, Bd. 1, 34; S. 499, 33. Ðeód-ríc, Bt. 1; Fox 2, 5. Þeód-Scyldingas, Beo. Th. 2042; B. 1019. Cf. regn-

-es

(suffix)
Grammar
-es, is the termination of the genitive case singular, in the greater part of Anglo-Saxon nouns. — Cyninges botl a king's palace. — Abrahames God

Abraham's God

Entry preview:

In English e is omitted, but its place is denoted by an apostrophe

hrýscung

(n.)
Grammar
hrýscung, (?) a wheezing, whistling, hissing sound. See the passage given in Dict. under hristung, where read(?) hríscung. Cf.
Entry preview:

first passage under hrýscan

Linked entry: hristung

un-andergilde

(adj.)
Grammar
un-andergilde, In the passage given this word seems intended to render ' quod non vilescat', and so should mean (?)
Entry preview:

valuable

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.