Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

æ
þ

un-sýferness

(n.)
Grammar
un-sýferness, e; f.

Impurity ⬩ uncleanness

Entry preview:

Rush. 23, 27. Monige wiþsócan ðære unsýfernysse deófolgylda abrenunciata sorde idolatriae, Bd. 3, 21; S. 551, 21. Fram unsýfernyssum ðara árrena mána, 3, 23; S. 554, 27.

Linked entry: sýferness

erian

(v.)
Entry preview:

Þeáh him mon erigan scyle ǽghwelce dæg æcera ðúsend quamvis rura centeno scindat opima bove, Met. 14, 4. Man mæg on wintra erian, Angl. ix. 261, 22. Ǽlce dæg ic (the ploughman) sceal erian fulne æcer oþþe máre, Coll. M. 19, 21.

on-innan

Entry preview:

Wel bið þám eorle þe him oninnan hafað rúme heortan, Alm. 1. Hit him oninnan cóm, Gen. 723. Burgum oninnan, B. 1968 : Jul. 691 : Gú. 1341: El. 1057

widuwe

(n.)
Grammar
widuwe, widewe, weoduwe, weodewe, wuduwe, wudewe, wydewe, widwe, an; f. A widow, v. wíf, <b>III a</b>
Entry preview:

.: widuwe, Rush. : widiua, Lind.) vidua, Lk. Skt. 18, 3. Widewe, Wrt. Voc. i. 73, 15. Weodewe, Gen. 38, 11. Wydewe (wudewe, Ps. Spl. : weoduwa, Ps. Lamb.: widwe, Ps. Surt.), Ps. Th. 108, 9. Widwe, Lk. Skt. Rush. 2, 37 : 18, 5.

Linked entries: weodewe weoduwe

dryht-scipe

(n.)
Grammar
dryht-scipe, driht-scipe, es; m. [-scipe termination]

Rulership, lordship, domination, dignity ⬩ domĭnātus, dignĭtas

Entry preview:

Ne lǽt ðín dryhtscipp feallan let not thy mighty rule fall, Wald. 12; Vald. 1, 7

Linked entry: driht-scipe

lah-bryce

(n.)
Grammar
lah-bryce, es; m.
Entry preview:

A breach of the law Ðæt wæs geworden ðæs ðe hé sǽde þurh gelǽredra regolbryce and þurh lǽwedra lahbryce that happened, according to him [Gildas], through the violation of their rule by ecclesiastics, and through the breaking of the law by laymen, Swt

myrþra

(n.)
Grammar
myrþra, an; m.

A murderer ⬩ homicide

Entry preview:

Rush. 22, 7

stihtian

(v.)
Grammar
stihtian, p. ode
Entry preview:

To dispose, arrange, order, ordain, rule Stihtaþ word his in dóme disponet sermones suos in judicio, Ps. Surt. 111, 5.

Linked entry: in-stihtian

súcan

(v.)
Grammar
súcan, p. seác, pl. sucon; pp. socen
Entry preview:

Rush. 21, 16

Linked entries: a-súcan socian

temian

(v.)
Grammar
temian, p. ede, ode
Entry preview:

Rush. 5, 4

Linked entries: tymian un-temed ge-temian

COT

(n.)
Grammar
COT, cott, es; pl. nom. acc. cotu; gen. cota; dat. cotum, cottum; n.

A COT ⬩ cottage ⬩ house ⬩ bed-chamber ⬩ den ⬩ casa ⬩ domus ⬩ cubiculum ⬩ cubile ⬩ spelunca

Entry preview:

Rush. 12, 3; 11, 7. Ge worhton ðæt to þeófa cote fecistis illam speluncam latronum Mt. Bos. 21, 13

Linked entries: eald-cot cott

swát

(n.)
Grammar
swát, es; n. [The passages in which the gender is marked are doubtful. Ðæt swót. Lchdm. iii. 98, 17, occurs in a late MS.; ísen swát, ii. 296, 18, may be a compound; ða swát, iii. 72, 28, may be a mistake for spátl, v. ii. 56, 15. Dutch has a neuter, German and Scandinavian have masculines.]
Entry preview:

Rush. 9, 39. blood Saga mé hwæt ðæs lifigendan mannes gleng sý. Ic ðé secge ðæs deádan swát, Salm. Kmbl. 200, 10. Geseoh seolfes swæðe, swá ðín swát ágeát, blódige stíge, Andr. Kmbl. 2881; An. 1443: 2552; An. 1277: Beo. Th. 5380; B. 2693.

Linked entry: swǽtan

rihtan

(v.)
Grammar
rihtan, p. te

to right, to restore to a proper position that which is displaced, erect, direct ⬩ to right a person, ⬩ replace a person in the rights of which he is wrongfully deprived ⬩ to make right that which is faulty, set right, rectify, correct, amend ⬩ to keep right, direct, rule

Entry preview:

Kmbl. p. 2, 12. to keep right, direct, rule Angelþeóde ðe hé rihte gens Anglorum quam regebat, Bd. 3, 3; S. 525, 29. Hé ða circan heóld and rihte rexit ecclesiam, 3, 20; S. 550, 32 : 1, 23; S. 485, 23.

rihte

(adv.)
Grammar
rihte, adv.

right, due, directly, straight ⬩ directly, straightway ⬩ ⬩ rightly, well, in a manner suited to the circumstances of a case, fittingly, properly, duly ⬩ correctly, in the proper manner, exactly, accurately, truly

Entry preview:

of direction, right, due, directly, straight Swá oft ǽspringc út áwealleþ of clife hárum, and gereclíce, rihte flóweþ, irneþ wið his eardes runs straight on in its course Met. 5, 14.

FRETAN

(v.)
Grammar
FRETAN, ic frete, ðú fritest, fritst, he freteþ, friteþ, fritt, fryt, pl. fretaþ; p. ic, he fræt, ðú frǽte. pl. frǽton; pp. freten [for-, etan to eat?].

to eat up ⬩ gnaw ⬩ FRET ⬩ devour ⬩ consume ⬩ devŏrāre ⬩ consūmĕre ⬩ comĕdĕre ⬩ to break ⬩ burst ⬩ frangĕre ⬩ rumpĕre

Entry preview:

Bos. 4, 4; frétun, Rush.: fréton, Mt. Lind. 13, 4: Gen. 37, 20. We hine frǽton obsorbuĭmus eum, Ps. Th. 34, 23: 104, 30.

Linked entry: gefrett

nán-wiht

(n.; adv.; pronoun.)
Grammar
nán-wiht, nán-uht.

nothing ⬩ nothing ⬩ not at all ⬩ no whit

Entry preview:

Rush. 6, 8. Náneht ł ne óht (nǽniht ł nóht, Rush.) nullam, Lk. Skt. Lind. 23, 22. Grammar nán-wiht, as an adverb, nothing, not at all, no whit Hé his godcundnesse nánwiht ne gewanode he no whit diminished his divinity, Blickl. Homl. 91, 9.

Linked entries: nǽnig-wiht nǽniht

smirwan

(v.)
Grammar
smirwan, smerwan, smirewan, smeruwan, smirian, smerian, smyrian; p. smirede, ode

To smear, anoint ⬩ unctus ⬩ to anoint

Entry preview:

Heó com tó smyrianne (smiriane, Lind.: smiranne, Rush.) mínne líchaman Mk. Skt. 14, 8

Linked entries: smerian smerwan smirian smyrian

irnan

(v.)
Entry preview:

Ðæt hé ierne ðreátigende from ðára unðeáwa ǽlcum tó óðrum, Past. 383, 8. to run for a prize Mon héhþ ǽnne heáfodbeáh gyldenne æt sumes ærneweges ende.

wiþer-weard

(adj.)
Grammar
wiþer-weard, (-word, -wurd), and -wierde; adj.

contrary ⬩ adverse ⬩ hostile ⬩ adversary ⬩ enemy ⬩ opponent ⬩ fiend ⬩ hostile to rightful authority ⬩ rebel ⬩ opposed to what is right ⬩ arrogant ⬩ perverse ⬩ depraved ⬩ reprobate ⬩ false ⬩ heretic ⬩ apocryphal ⬩ opposed to the good or pleasure of anything ⬩ unfavourable ⬩ adverse ⬩ hurtful ⬩ pernicious ⬩ disagreeable ⬩ contrary ⬩ opposite

Entry preview:

Rush. 1, 13. Mid wiðerweardum cum emulo, Wrt. Voc. ii. 74, 63: 17, 61. Beó ðú gemód ðínum ðæm wiþerwearde (adversaria tuo ), ðý læs se wiðerwearde ðec selle doeme, Mt. Kmbl. Rush. 5, 25. Mið wiðerworde ðínum (wiðerwordne ðínne, Rush.), Lk. Skt.

Linked entries: wiþer-word wiþerweard-líc wiþerweard-ness wiþer-wierde wiþer-word

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 Runes are chiefly formed by straight lines to be easily carved on wood or stone. For instance, the Rune ᚪ ác is not only found in inscriptions on wood and stone, but in Anglo-Saxon MSS. and printed books.

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.