Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

a-lýsan

(v.)
Grammar
a-lýsan, to alýsanne; p. de; impert. -lýs, -lís; pp. ed; v. a;

To let loose ⬩ free ⬩ deliver ⬩ liberate ⬩ to pay for loosing ⬩ to pay ⬩ redeem ⬩ ransom ⬩ liberare ⬩ redimere

Entry preview:

To let loose, free, deliver, liberate, to pay for loosing, to pay, redeem, ransom; liberare, redimere Helias wylle hine alýsan Elias vult liberare eum, Mt. Bos. 27, 49. Fæsten alýsan jejunium solvere, Bd. 5, 4; S. 617, 13.

Linked entries: a-lésan aliésan a-lís

ge-nerian

(v.)
Grammar
ge-nerian, -nergan, -nerigan; p. ede, ode; pp. ed, od

To save, deliver, take away, set free, preserve, defend ⬩ servare, redimere, liberare, eripere, salvum facere, defendere

Entry preview:

To save, deliver, take away, set free, preserve, defend; servare, redimere, liberare, eripere, salvum facere, defendere Se mec wile wiþ ðám níðum genergan he will protect me against that malice, Exon. 36 a; Th. 116, 24; Gú. 212.

Linked entry: nerian

gífre

(n.; adj.)
Grammar
gífre, adj.

Greedy ⬩ covetous ⬩ voracious ⬩ eager ⬩ desirous ⬩ avidus

Entry preview:

Gífere vel frec ambro, Ælfc. Gl. 88; Som. 74, 83; Wrt. Voc. 50, 63. Tantalus se cyning ðe ungemetlíce gífre wæs Tantalus the king who was immoderately greedy, Bt. 35, 6; Fox 170, 1. Ða faraséi ða ðe gífre wǽron pharasæi qui erant avari, Lk.

Linked entry: gífer

stelan

(v.)
Grammar
stelan, p. stæl, pl. stǽlon; pp. stolen
Entry preview:

Gif frigman fréum stelþ, L. Ethb. 9; Th. i. 6, 2. Se ðeo steoþ on ðone dæg, ne geáhsaþ hit manna, Lchdm. iii. 178, 5. Stæl conpilabat, Wrt. Voc. ii. 22, 32. Wénst ðú, ðæt wé ðínes hláfordes gold stǽlon, Gen. 44, 8. Ne stel ðú, Ex. 20, 15: Mt.

Linked entry: a-stælan

un-wéne

(adj.)
Grammar
un-wéne, adj.

hopeless ⬩ not having hope or expectation ⬩ not hoped for ⬩ unexpected

Entry preview:

Hé fond hlingendne, fúsne on forðsíþ, freán unwénne, Exon. Th. 171, 4; Gú. 1121. not hoped for, unexpected Gyf him þince ðæt hé æt forðgewitenum men áhtes onfó, of unwénum ( ex improvise; v. ungewéned) hym cymeþ gestreón, Lchdm. iii, 170, 7.

spiweþa

(n.)
Grammar
spiweþa, an;m.

vomiting ⬩ vomit, what is vomited

Entry preview:

Gif hund ðone spiweðan frete si canis vomitum illum devoraverit L. Ecg. P. iv. 47; Th. ii. 218, 5. Hund eft hwyrfde tó his spiwðan, Shrn. 37, 16

Linked entry: speowþa

endleofan

(n.; num.; adj.)
Grammar
endleofan, endlufon, endlyfun, inflected cases of endleof, endluf, endlyf [end = an one; unus; leof=lif, from lífan to leave; relinquĕre, Grm. ii. 947, or end = án one; lif ten; dĕcem; existing in Teutonic languages only in the words for 11 and 12; A. Sax. end-lif and twé-lf = twá-lf= twá-lif, Grm. Gsch. §246] ELEVEN ; undĕcim = ἕνδεκα
Entry preview:

Ósréd ðæt rice hæfde endleofan wintra Osred held the kingdom for eleven years, Bd. 5, 18; S. 635, 20. Mid híra endlufon sunum cum undecim filiis, Gen. 32, 22. Endleofan steorran eleven stars, Gen. 37, 9: Chr. 71; Th. 13, 3, col. 3

Linked entries: ændlefen ellefne

twelf-hynde

(adj.)
Grammar
twelf-hynde, adj. As applied to a person, of the rank for which the wergild was twelve hundred shillings; applied to the wergild, that must be paid for a person of such rank. As will be seen from the passages given below, the twelfhynde man was a þegn, and his importance, as marked by the wergild and otherwise, was six times that of the
Entry preview:

ceorl Ǽnig mǽgð, xii-hynde oþþe twyhynde, L. Ath. v. 8, 2; Th. i. 236, 10. Be xii-hyndum men. Gif hé sié twelfhynde, L. Alf. pol. 31; Th. i. 80, 14. Gif hió sié cirlisc mid .lx. sciłł. gebéte . . . Gif hió sié xii-hyndu .cxx. sciłł. gebéte, 18; Th. i

Linked entry: six-hynde

fágian

(v.)

to vary

Entry preview:

L. 16, 3. to vary Swá hit nú fágað, Freán eald geweorc þætte winnende wiðerweard gesceaft fæste sibbe forð anhealdað (cf. swá hí hit fágiaþ ꝥ . . .

ge-swerian

(v.)
Grammar
ge-swerian, ic -swerige, -swerge; p. -swór, -sweór, pl. -swóron; pp. -sworen [swerian to swear]

To swear ⬩ take an oath ⬩ jūrāre

Entry preview:

He befóran his fæder gesweór, ðæt he nǽfre ne wurde Rómána freónd he swore before his father that he would never become a friend of the Romans, Ors. 4, 8; Bos. 89, 25.

treówe

(adj.)
Grammar
treówe, triéwe, trýwe; adj.
Entry preview:

His freónd se treówesta (getreówesta, Bd. M. 126, 30) fidissimus atnicus illius, Bd. 2, 12; S. 513, 17. [Goth. triggws true, faithful: O. Sax. triuwi: O. Frs. triuwe: O. H. Ger. gi-triuwi: Icel. tryggr-] v- ge-, or-treówe (-triéwe, -trýwe)

Linked entry: trýwe

be-gitan

Grammar
be-gitan, (I a)
Entry preview:

Mec wráðe begeat fromsíð freán, Kl. 32. Hine wíg begeat, B. 2872. Mec bigeat nearo nihtwaco, Seef. 6. Begeáte, B. 2130

FRÉCNE

(adj.)
Grammar
FRÉCNE, frǽcne; adj.

Horrible ⬩ savage ⬩ audacious ⬩ wicked ⬩ daring ⬩ dangerous ⬩ perilous ⬩ dīrus ⬩ asper ⬩ austērus ⬩ atrox ⬩ audax ⬩ perīcŭlōsus

Entry preview:

Hwonne him Freá frécenra síþa reste ageáfe when the Lord should give him rest from his perilous journeyings, Cd. 71; Th. 86, 8; Gen. 1427: Ps. Th. 143, 8. To frécnum þingum for daring things, Lchdm. iii. 158, 16.

Linked entries: frǽcne frǽcne ge-frécnod

ge-werian

(v.)
Grammar
ge-werian, p. ede, ode; pp. ed, od.

to defend ⬩ protect ⬩ take care of ⬩ make [land] free from claims ⬩ defendĕre ⬩ procurare ⬩ to associate with for the cause of defence ⬩ to make a treaty with ⬩ assŏciāre defensiōnis causa ⬩ jungere fœdĕre

Entry preview:

to defend, protect, take care of, make [land] free from claims; defendĕre, procurare Ic gewerige defendo, Ælfc. Gr. 28, 6; Som. 32, 29. Se ðe land gewerod hæbbe he who has defended land, L. C. S. 80; Th. i. 420, 19.

weorold-þing

(n.)
Grammar
weorold-þing, es; n.
Entry preview:

Freom in weoroldðingum in saeculi rebus strenuus, Bd. 4,2; S. 566, 18. On woruldþingan, L. I. P. 14; Th. ii. 322, 17. Of wurðfulre mǽgðe æfter woruldþingum of a family honourable from a worldly point of view, Homl. Skt. ii. 31, 14.

ge-hát

Entry preview:

Hé bád sóðra geháta, hwonne him Freá reste ágeáfe, Gen. 1425: Cri. 541: Gú. 913. a promise to a deity, a vow Gehát oððe wirgnes devotatio, Wrt. Voc. ii. 26, 2: i. 29, 1.

Linked entry: hát

of-þryccan

Entry preview:

Frec wasend ofþrihte gulosa ingluvies compressa, 3571. to subdue Hé þone deófol on helle mid his weágesíðum ofþrihte, Wlfst. 145, 4

æt-berstan

Entry preview:

Þá hé ne ætburste on wætere, Chr. 1050 ; P. 167, 34. fig. to escape, be free from the power of a person (dat.) Ic ne mæg þám Almihtigan ætberstan on lífe oþþe on deáðe, Hml. S. 25, 100. to escape, be safe from danger, evil, &c. with dat.

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:

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.