Old English Online

Old English Online
Table of Contents
Jonathan Slocum and Winfred P. Lehmann
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rendered in alternate character sets are available via links (Romanized and
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Lessons
0. Introduction to Old English
1. Beowulf: Prologue
2. Bede's Account of the Poet Caedmon
3. Cynewulf and Cyneheard
4. Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan
5. Alfred's Wars with the Danes
6. The Battle of Maldon
7. Genesis A: the Flood
8. The Wanderer
9. The Seafarer
10. Beowulf: the Funeral
Grammar Points
1. The Alphabet and Sound System
2. Verb Inflection
3. The Preterite System of Verbs
4. The Anomalous Verb wesan
5. Weak Verbs in Class I
6. Personal Pronouns
7. Contractions with ne 'not'
8. Prepositions
9. Weak Verbs in Class II
10. Strong Verbs in Class I
11. The Anomalous Verb willan
12. Weak Verbs in Class III
13. Strong Verbs in Class II
14. Strong Verbs in Class III
15. Preterite-Present Verbs in Class III
16. The Anomalous Verb bēon
17. The Anomalous Verb eom/is
18. Strong Verbs in Class IV
19. Preterite-Present Verbs in Class IV
20. Strong Verbs in Class V
21. Definite/Demonstrative Articles/Pronouns
22. The Numerals
23. Preterite-Present Verbs in Class V
24. Strong Verbs in Class VI
25. Strong Verbs in Class VII
26. The Anomalous Verb gān
27. Old English, a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) language
28. Word Order in Clauses with Compound Verbs
29. The Prefix ge- Indicating Completed Action
30. Noun Inflection
31. The Root Nouns
32. The a-stem Strong Nouns
33. The o-stem Strong Nouns
34. The i-stem Strong Nouns
35. The u-stem Strong Nouns
36. The n-stem Weak Nouns
37. Feminine Abstract Nouns in -u, -o
38. The r-stem Nouns
39. The nd-stem Nouns
40. The er-stem Nouns
41. The Anomalous Verb dōn
42. Reflexive Pronouns
43. Weak Adjective Declension
44. Strong Adjective Declension
45. Spelling Variation
46. Texts
47. Dictionaries
48. Grammars
49. Translations
50. Histories
Old English Online

Series Introduction
Old English is the language of the Germanic inhabitants of England, dated from the time
of their settlement in the 5th century to the end of the 11th century. It is also referred to as
Anglo-Saxon, a name given in contrast with the Old Saxon of the inhabitants of northern
Germany; these are two of the dialects of West Germanic, along with Old Frisian, Old
Franconian, and Old High German. Sister families to West Germanic are North
Germanic, with Old Norse (a.k.a. Old Icelandic) as its chief dialect, and East Germanic,
with Gothic as its chief (and only attested) dialect. The Germanic parent language of
these three families, referred to as Proto-Germanic, is not attested but may be
reconstructed from evidence within the families, such as provided by Old English texts.
Old English itself has three dialects: West Saxon, Kentish, and Anglian. West Saxon was
the language of Alfred the Great (871-901) and therefore achieved the greatest
prominence; accordingly, the chief Old English texts have survived in this dialect. In the
course of time, Old English underwent various changes such as the loss of final syllables,
which also led to simplification of the morphology. Upon the conquest of England by the
Normans in 1066, numerous words came to be adopted from French and, subsequently,
also from Latin.
For a reconstruction of the parent language of Old English, called Proto-Germanic, see
Winfred Lehmann's book on this subject. For a sketch of the evolution of the Germanic
and other Indo-European language families, with links to online maps showing homeland
areas, see IE Maps. For access to our online version of Bosworth and Toller's dictionary
of Old English, see An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary.
Note: this page is for systems/browsers with Unicode® support and fonts spanning
the Unicode 3 character set relevant to Old English. Versions of this page
rendered in alternate character sets are available via links (Romanized and
Unicode 2) in the left margin, and at the bottom of this page.
Alphabet and Pronunciation
The alphabet used to write our Old English texts was adopted from Latin, which was
introduced by Christian missionaries. Unfortunately, for the beginning student, spelling
was never fully standardized: instead the alphabet, with continental values (sounds), was
used by scribal monks to spell words "phonetically" with the result that each dialect, with
its different sounds, was rendered differently -- and inconsistently, over time, due to
dialectal evolution and/or scribal differences. King Alfred did attempt to regularize
spelling in the 9th century, but by the 11th century continued changes in pronunciation
once again exerted their disruptive effects on spelling. In modern transcriptions such as
ours, editors often add diacritics to signal vowel pronunciation, though seldom more than
macrons (long marks).
Anglo-Saxon scribes added two consonants to the Latin alphabet to render the th sounds:
first the runic thorn (þ), and later eth (ð). However, there was never a consistent
distinction between them as their modern IPA equivalents might suggest: different
instances of the same word might use þ in one place and ð in another. We follow the
practices of our sources in our textual transcriptions, but our dictionary forms tend to
standardize on either þ or ð -- mostly the latter, though it depends on the word. To help
reduce confusion, we sort these letters indistinguishably, after T; the reader should not
infer any particular difference. Another added letter was the ligature ash (æ), used to
represent the broad vowel sound now rendered by 'a' in, e.g., the word fast. A letter wynn
was also added, to represent the English w sound, but it looks so much like thorn that
modern transcriptions replace it with the more familiar 'w' to eliminate confusion.
The nature of non-standardized Anglo-Saxon spelling does offer compensation: no letters
were "silent" (i.e., all were pronounced), and phonetic spelling helps identify and track
dialectal differences through time. While the latter is not always relevant to the beginning
student, it is nevertheless important to philologists and others interested in dialects and
the evolution of the early English language.
Vocabulary
At first glance, Old English texts may look decidedly strange to a modern English
speaker: many Old English words are no longer used in modern English, and the
inflectional structure was far more rich than is true of its modern descendant. However,
with small spelling differences and sometimes minor meaning changes, many of the most
common words in Old and modern English are the same. For example, over 50 percent of
the thousand most common words in Old English survive today -- and more than 75
percent of the top hundred. Conversely, more than 80 percent of the thousand most
common words in modern English come from Old English. A few "teaser" examples
appear below; our Master Glossary or Base-Form Dictionary may be scanned for
examples drawn from our texts, and any modern English dictionary that includes
etymologies will provide hundreds or thousands more.
·0 Nouns: cynn 'kin', hand, god, man(n), word.
·1 Pronouns: hē, ic 'I', mē, self, wē.
·2 Verbs: beran 'bear', cuman 'come', dyde 'did', sittan 'sit', wæs 'was'.
·3 Adjectives: fæst 'fast', gōd 'good', hālig 'holy', rīce 'rich', wīd 'wide'.
·4 Adverbs: ær 'ere', alle 'all', nū 'now', tō 'too', ðǣr 'there'.
·5 Prepositions: æfter 'after', for, in, on, under.
·6 Articles: ðæt 'that', ðis 'this'.
·7 Conjunctions: and, gif 'if'.
Sentence Structure
In theory, Old English was a "synthetic" language, meaning inflectional endings signalled
grammatical structure and word order was rather free, as for example in Latin; modern
English, by contrast, is an "analytic" language, meaning word order is much more
constrained (e.g., with clauses typically in Subject-Verb-Object order). But in practice,
actual word order in Old English prose is not too often very different from that of modern
English, with the chief differences being the positions of verbs (which might be moved,
e.g., to the end of a clause for emphasis) and occasionally prepositions (which might
become "postpositions"). In Old English verse, most bets are off: word order becomes
much more free, and word inflections& meaning become even more important for
deducing syntax. The same may be said, however, of modern English poetry, but in these
lessons we tend to translate Old English poetry as prose. Altogether, once a modern
English reader has mastered the common vocabulary and inflectional endings of Old
English, the barriers to text comprehension are substantially reduced.
Word Forms
As we will see, Old English words were much inflected. Over time, most of this
apparatus was lost and English became the analytic language we recognize today, but to
read early English texts one must master the conjugations of verbs and the declensions of
nouns, etc. Yet these inflectional systems had already been reduced by the time Old
English was first being written, long after it had parted ways with its Proto-Germanic
ancestor. The observation that matters "could have been worse" should serve as
consolation to any modern English student who views conjugation and declension with
trepidation.
Nouns, adjectives, and pronouns
These categories of Old English words are declined according to case (nominative,
genitive, dative, accusative, or sometimes instrumental), number (singular, plural, or [for
pronouns] dual meaning 'two'), and gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter: inherent in
nouns, but inherited by adjectives and pronouns from the nouns they associate with). In
addition, some adjectives are inflected to distinguish comparative and superlative uses.
Adjectives and regular nouns are either "strong" or "weak" in declension. In addition,
irregular nouns belong to classes that reflect their earlier Germanic or even Indo-
European roots; these classes, or more to the point their progenitors, will not be stressed
in our lessons, but descriptions are found in the handbooks.
Pronouns are typically suppletive in their declension, meaning inflectional rules do not
account for many forms so each form must be memorized (as is true of modern English
I/me, you, he/she/it/his/her, etc). Tables will be provided. Similarly, a few nouns and
adjectives are "indeclinable" and, again, some or all forms must be memorized.
Verbs
Old English verbs are conjugated according to person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), number (singular
or plural), tense (present or past/preterite), mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive or
perhaps optative), etc.
Most verbs are either "strong" or "weak" in conjugation; there are seven classes of strong
verbs and three classes of weak verbs. A few other verbs, including modals (e.g. for 'can',
'must'), belong to a special category called "preterit-present," where different rules apply,
and yet others (e.g. for 'be', 'do', 'go') are "anomalous," meaning each form must be
memorized (as is true of modern English am/are/is, do/did, go/went, etc).
Other parts of speech
The numerals may be declined, albeit with fewer distinct forms than is normal for
adjectives, and those for 'two' and 'three' may show gender. Other parts of speech are not
inflected, except for some adverbs with comparative and superlative forms.
Old English Lessons
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fonts installed on your personal computer cannot be detected by a web server!
Accordingly, we have prepared multiple versions of each lesson; this set of
lessons is for systems/browsers with Unicode support and fonts spanning the
Unicode 3 character set relevant to Old English. (You may switch to other
versions via links below.) Lessons:
1. Beowulf: Prologue
2. Bede's Account of the Poet Caedmon
3. Cynewulf and Cyneheard
4. The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan
5. Alfred's Wars with the Danes
6. The Battle of Maldon
7. Genesis A: the Flood
8. The Wanderer
9. The Seafarer
10. Beowulf: the Funeral
Old English Online

Lesson 1
Our selection is drawn from the major Old English poem Beowulf. It is the only surviving
heroic epic of its era, and the lone early manuscript dates from ca. 1000 A.D. The date of
the poem's composition is uncertain, but probably lies in the 7th or 8th century on the
basis of its language. While the story in its legendary monster aspects is not factual, it is
considered quite reliable in its historical details, for example concerning 6th century
armor, weaponry, burial customs, and the names of Germanic tribal leaders. Set in a
factual background, it might almost be considered historical fiction.
In the manuscript the work appears -- at first glance -- to be prose. However, analysis
quickly shows that it is composed in Germanic alliterative verse, where [reconstructed]
lines consist of two sections and have four major stresses, of which the third is most
important. They are marked by alliteration; the consonants must be the same to alliterate,
but the vowels may alliterate with one another as in lines 3, 6, and so on. The first half-
line may have two alliterating syllables; the second rarely does. The alliterating words are
generally substantives. The final stress is often filled by a verb, an indication that verbs
were weakly stressed and that the typical sentence intonation was like that of modern
English.
Reading and Textual Analysis
Our selection consists of the first 25 lines. This section of the poem relates the legendary
arrival of Scyld as a baby on the Danish coast, where he grows up to become king of the
Danes. He had a son whose name is assumed on the basis of metrical analysis to have
been Beow, which was changed in the manuscript to Beowulf in keeping with the name
of the hero of the poem, who does not appear until several hundred lines later; these lines
deal with the Scyldings until the arrival of the hero, who then frees them from the
monster Grendel, thereafter from Grendel's mother, and finally from a dragon who
inflicts a mortal wound on Beowulf. Much of the poem relates the situation at the court,
with its celebration of the death of monsters and Beowulf's recital of his adventures.
Our selection includes lines 1-25, found on pp. 1-2 in: Friedrich Klaeber, ed. (1950),
Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition, Boston: Heath. Our translation, as
generally in our lessons, is prose rather than poetry, and tends to be literal.
HWÆT, WĒ GĀR-DEna in gēardagum
þēodcyninga þrym gefrūnon,
hū ðā æþelingas ellen fremedon!
·8 hwæt -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hwā, hwā, hwæt>
who, what -- Lo
·9 wē -- 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of <ic> I -- we
·10 Gār-Dena -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <gār-Dene> spear-Danes
-- of Spear-Danes
·11 in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
·12 gēardagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <gēar-dæg> lit. year-day -- days
of yore
·13 þēodcyninga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ðēod-cyning> lit. people-king
-- of folk-kings'
·14 þrym -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <þrymm> glory, renown --
prowness
·15 gefrūnon -- strong verb, class III; 1st person plural preterite of <gefrīnan, gefrān,
gefrūnon, gefrūnen> learn, hear of -- have heard
·16 hū -- adverbial conjunction <hū> how -- how
·17 ðā -- definite article; nominative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
·18 æþelingas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <æðeling> nobleman,
prince -- princes
·19 ellen -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ellen> valor, courage -- deed(s) of
valor
·20 fremedon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <fremman, fremede,
fremed> do, perform -- wrought
Oft Scyld Scēfing sceaþena þrēatum,
monegum mǣgþum meodosetla oftēah,
egsode eorlas, syððan ǣrest wearð
fēasceaft funden;
·21 oft -- adverb <oft> often, frequently -- often
·22 Scyld Scēfing -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Scyld Scēfing>
Scyld Scefing -- Scyld Scefing
·23 sceaþena -- weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of <sceaða> enemy, warrior --
of enemies
·24 þrēatum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <ðrēat> band, troop -- (from) bands
·25 monegum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <monig> many -- (from) many
·26 mǣgþum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <mǣgþ> tribe, nation -- tribes
·27 meodosetla -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <medu-setl> lit. mead-seat -- mead-
benches
·28 oftēah -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <oftēon, oftēah,
oftugon, oftogen> deny, deprive -- wrested
·29 egsode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <egsian, egsode,
egsod> terrify -- terrified
·30 eorlas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior --
earls
·31 syððan -- adverb <syððan> afterwards -- since
·32 ǣrest -- adverb; superlative of <ǣr> ere, before, formerly -- first
·33 wearð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <weorðan, wearð,
wurdon, worden> become, happen -- (he) was
·34 fēasceaft -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <fēasceaft> poor,
destitute -- abandoned # as a baby
·35 funden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of <findan, fond, fundon, funden>
find -- found
hē þæs frōfre gebād,
wēox under wolcnum weorðmyndum þāh,
oð þæt him ǣghwylc ymbsittendra
ofer hronrāde hȳran scolde,
gomban gyldan;
·36 hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she,
it -- he
·37 þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that --
for that
·38 frōfre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation
-- consolation
·39 gebād -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gebīdan, gebād,
gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain -- received
·40 wēox -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <weaxan, wēox,
wēoxon, wēaxen> wax, grow -- (he) grew
·41 under -- preposition <under> under -- under
·42 wolcnum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <wolcen> sky, heaven -- the
heavens
·43 weorðmyndum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <weorðmynd> glory, honor,
reverence -- honors
·44 þāh -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ðēon, ðāh, ðigon,
ðigen> thrive, prosper -- won
·45 oð þæt -- adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until -- until
·46 him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
-- him
·47 ǣghwylc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ǣghwilc> all, every --
all
·48 ymbsittendra -- strong verb, class V; present participle; genitive plural of
<ymbsittan, ymbsæt, ymbsǣton, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round -- (of the)
peoples
·49 ofer -- preposition <ofer> over, across -- across
·50 hronrāde -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hron-rād> sea, lit. whale-road
-- the sea
·51 hȳran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <hīeran, hīerde, hīered> hear, obey;
belong -- obey
·52 scolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- had to
·53 gomban -- weak noun, feminine; accusative singular of <gombe> tribute --
tribute # "weak feminine" is speculative
·54 gyldan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <gieldan, geald, guldon, golden>
yield, pay -- pay
þæt wæs gōd cyning!
·55 þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that --
that
·56 wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be,
happen -- was
·57 gōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gōd> good, excellent -- (a)
good
·58 cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king -- king
Ðǣm eafera wæs æfter cenned
geong in geardum, þone God sende
folce tō frōfre;
·59 ðǣm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of
<sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- (to) him
·60 eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir -- a
child
·61 wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be,
happen -- was
·62 æfter -- adverb <æfter> after(wards), then -- then
·63 cenned -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget,
conceive, bring forth -- born
·64 geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young -- a young
(man)
·66 geardum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling --
the court # singular in meaning
·67 þone -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine
of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- him
·68 God -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <God> God, Deity -- God
·69 sende -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <sendan, sende,
sened> send -- sent
·70 folce -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <folc> folk, people -- the people
·71 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- to
·72 frōfre -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation --
for solace
fyrenðearfe ongeat,
þē hīe ǣr drugon aldorlēase
lange hwīle;
·73 fyrenðearfe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <fyren-ðearf> dire distress --
the dire distress
·74 ongeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <ongietan, ongeat,
ongēaton, ongieten> grasp, understand -- (he) perceived
·75 þē -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- which # Klaeber reconstructs "þē"
where MS has only "þ"
·76 hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- they
·77 ǣr -- adverb <ǣr> ere, before, formerly -- before
·78 drugon -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <drēogan, drēag,
drugon, drogen> endure, suffer -- suffered
·79 aldorlēase -- noun, masculine <ealdor> elder, parent, prince + adjective;
nominative plural masculine <lēas> without, bereft of -- lordless
·80 lange -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <lang> long -- (for a) long
·81 hwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hwīl> while, time -- time
him þæs Līffreaa,
wuldres Wealdend woroldāre forgeaf,
·82 him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
-- him
·83 þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that --
for that
·84 Līffreaa -- proper noun, weak masculine; nominative singular of <Līf-freaa> lit.
Life-lord -- the Lord of Light
·85 wuldres -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <wuldor> glory, praise -- of Glory
·86 wealdend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wealdend> wielder, ruler,
lord -- the Wielder
·87 woroldāre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <worold-ār> worldly honor --
world honor
·88 forgeaf -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <forgifan, forgeaf,
forgēafon, forgiefen> give, grant -- gave
Bēowulf wæs brēme — blǣd wīde sprang —
Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in.
·89 Bēowulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Bēo-wulf> bear, lit.
bee wolf -- Beowulf # Danish king, son of Scyld Scefing: not the hero of this poem
·90 wæs -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be,
happen -- was
·91 brēme -- adjective; nominative singular of <brēme> famous, renowned --
renowned
·92 blǣd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <blǣd> blade, leaf -- the fame
·93 wīde -- adverb <wīde> widely, far -- far
·94 sprang -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <springan, sprang,
sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread -- spread
·95 Scyldes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Scyld> Scyld -- (of)
Scyld's
·96 eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir -- son
# nominative (?) according to Klaeber
·97 Scedelandum -- proper noun, neuter; dative plural of <Scedeland> Danish land --
Danish lands
Swā sceal geong guma gōde gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde eft gewunigen
wilgesīþas, þonne wīg cume,
lēode gelǣsten;
·99 swā -- adverbial conjunction <swā> so, thus -- thus
·100 sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- should
·101 geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young --
(a) young
·102 guma -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <guma> man, hero --
man
·103 gōde -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <gōd> good, excellent -- good
# (i.e., a good outcome)
·104 gewyrcean -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <gewyrcan, geworhte,
geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish -- accomplish
·105 fromum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <from> bold, brave,
splendid -- (with) splendid
·106 feohgiftum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <feoh-gift> money-, lit.
cattle-gift -- money-gifts
·107 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- (while) in
·108 fæder -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <fæder> father -- (his)
father's
·109 bearme -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <bearm> bosom, lap --
bosom
·110 þæt -- conjunction <þæt> so/in order that -- so that
·111 hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <hē, hēo,
hit> he, she, it -- him
·112 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- ...
·113 ylde -- indeclinable noun, masculine plural; nominative of <ylde> men --
men
·114 eft -- adverb <eft> afterwards, thereupon -- afterwards
·115 gewunigen -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present optative of
<gewunian, gewunode, gewunod> remain with, stand by -- stand by
·116 wilgesīþas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wilgesīð> dear
companion -- dear companions
·117 þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- when
·118 wīg -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <wīg> war, strife -- war
·119 cume -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present optative of
<cuman, cwōm, cwōmon, cumen> come -- comes
·120 lēode -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <lēod> person, member of
tribe -- the people # Klaeber, in error, reads 'np.' (nom.pl.)
·121 gelǣsten -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present optative of
<gelǣstan, gelǣste, gelǣset> serve, stand by -- to serve
lofdǣdum sceal
in mǣgþa gehwǣre man geþeoan.
·122 lofdǣdum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <lof-dǣd>
praiseworthy deed -- (by) praiseworthy deeds
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- is sure to
·125 mǣgþa -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mǣgþ> tribe, nation -- (of
the) nations
·126 gehwǣre -- pronoun; dative singular feminine of <gehwā> each, everyone
-- all
·127 man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <monn> man,
person -- (a) man
·128 geþeoan -- strong verb, class I; infinitive <geþēon, geþāh, geþigon,
geþigen> thrive, prosper -- prosper
Lesson Text
HWÆT, WĒ GĀR-DEna in gēardagum
þēodcyninga þrym gefrūnon,
hū ðā æþelingas ellen fremedon!
Oft Scyld Scēfing sceaþena þrēatum,

monegum mǣgþum meodosetla oftēah,
egsode eorlas, syððan ǣrest wearð
fēasceaft funden; hē þæs frōfre gebād,
wēox under wolcnum weorðmyndum þāh,
oð þæt him ǣghwylc ymbsittendra
ofer hronrāde hȳran scolde,
gomban gyldan; þæt wæs gōd cyning!
Ðǣm eafera wæs æfter cenned

geong in geardum, þone God sende
folce tō frōfre; fyrenðearfe ongeat,
þē hīe ǣr drugon aldorlēase
lange hwīle; him þæs Līffreaa,
wuldres Wealdend woroldāre forgeaf,
Bēowulf wæs brēme — blǣd wīde sprang —
Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in.
Swā sceal geong guma gōde gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde eft gewunigen
wilgesīþas, þonne wīg cume,
lēode gelǣsten; lofdǣdum sceal
in mǣgþa gehwǣre man geþeoan.
Translation
Lo, we have heard of Spear-Danes in days of yore, of folk-kings' prowness, how
the princes wrought deeds of valor.
Often Scyld Scefing wrested mead-benches from bands of enemies from many
tribes -- terrified earls -- since first he was found abandoned. (He received
consolation for that.) He grew under the heavens, thrived with honors until all
peoples across the sea had to obey: pay him tribute. That was a good king!
Then a child was born to him, a young man in the court; God sent him to the
people for solace. He perceived the dire distress which they suffered before,
lordless for a long time. For that the Lord of Light, the Wielder of Glory, gave
him worldly honor. Beowulf was renowned; the fame of Scyld's son spread far in
Danish lands. Thus should a young man accomplish good with splendid money-
gifts while in his father's bosom, so that afterwards men stand by him, dear
companions to serve the people when war comes. In all nations, a man is sure to
prosper by praiseworthy deeds.
Grammar
1. The Alphabet and Sound System

As noted in the Series Introduction, spelling in Old English (OE) was never fully
standardized, but instead the "continental" sounds of the Latin alphabet determined how
words were spelled -- and this varied from one dialect and time to another. Several letters
were added to the Latin alphabet for sounds that were not covered by it, but one of them
(wynn) is generally replaced by Latin 'w' to avoid confusing it with the look-alike thorn;
further, modern editors have typically added long marks (macrons) over vowels to
distinguish their pronunciation from short vowels.
Regarding pronunciation, there are no "silent" letters in Old English.
Conso
Pronunciation Comment/Environment
nant
b like b in 'boy'
c like c in 'cold' before a consonant, or with guttural vowels;
like ch in 'chin' when word-final after i, otherwise depending on etymology.
d like d in 'did'
initially, finally, in ff/fs/ft, and in strictly medial positions
f like f in 'fin'
except...
like v in 'have' between vowels/voiced consonants (e.g., ǣfre, ofer, sealfian).
g like g in Ger. 'sagen' with guttural vowels;
like y in 'you' with palatal vowels.
h like ch in Ger. 'ach' with guttural vowels;
like ch in Ger. 'ich' with palatal vowels.
k like k in 'kite' rarely used; see c
l like l in 'land'
m like m in 'man'
n like n in 'night'
p like p in 'pin'
q like q in 'queen' rarely used; see c
like trilled r in Sp.
r [or perhaps merely flapped?]
'rueda'
s like s in 'rising' single letter between vowels;
like s in 'sing' otherwise.
t like t in 'toy'
ð like th in 'that' rarely distinguished in writing from þ
þ like th in 'thorn' rarely distinguished in writing from ð
v like v in 'viper' rarely used; see f
w like w in 'work'
x like x in 'box'
z like z in 'zephyr' rarely used (usually ts)
Some pairs of consonants (digraphs) have special pronunciation:
Digraph Pronunciation
cg like j in 'just'
gg like g in 'go'
ng like ng in 'finger'
qu like qu in 'quick' (but rarely used)
sc like sh in 'ship' (but originally like sk)
ðð like th in 'thorn' (never voiced)
The vowels have continental values:
Vowel Pronunciation
a like a in 'father'
ā like aa in 'baah'
æ like a in 'bat'
ǣ like uy in 'buy'
e like e in 'bet'
ē like a in 'hate'
i like i in 'bit'
ī like ee in 'beet'
o like o in 'pot'
ō like oa in 'boat'
u like u in 'put'
ū like oo in 'boot'
y early, like ü in Ger. 'füllen'; later, the y and i sounds merged
y early, like ü in Ger. 'fühlen'; later, the ȳ and ī sounds merged
Diphthongs are generally pronounced as the first vowel followed quickly by the second;
for long diphthongs, lengthen the first vowel sound only.
2. Verb Inflection
Verbs are classed in two conjugations, weak and strong, in accordance with their means
of producing the preterite (i.e. past) tense. This is produced by addition of a suffix -de (or
-te) in weak verbs, e.g. hīere, hīerde 'hear, heard', or by internal vowel change called
ablaut in strong verbs, e.g. binde, band 'bind, bound'. There are three classes of weak
verbs, and seven classes of strong verbs; in addition there are six classes of preterite-
present verbs, based on strong verb classes 1-6 in the present tense but incorporating
weak verb suffixes in the preterite. These verb classes will be detailed in this and
successive lessons.
As in modern English, there is only an active inflection; passives are formed with the
auxiliaries bēon 'be', wesan 'be', and also with weorðan 'become' plus the infinitive. There
are two tenses: present and preterite; three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and
imperative, each with two numbers: singular and plural; the plural in each mood has one
form throughout, except in the preterite subjunctive which may have two. There are also
three "nominal" forms: the gerund, present participle, and past participle.
N.B. A fourth mood, the optative, is occasionally noted in our glosses and other reference
works; it is quite similar to the subjunctive mood, and indicates a wish or hope. But as the
optative was in the process of being lost from Germanic languages in general, and is
seldom if ever categorically distinguished from subjunctive in OE -- older texts often use
the term "optative" exclusively, while newer texts often use the term "subjunctive"
exclusively -- it will be ignored as such in our verb conjugations and discussion.
The present indicative and subjunctive as well as the present participle are given here for
the strong verb bindan 'bind, fetter', and the weak verb hīeran 'hear, obey' from our text.
Present Strong Weak
Infinitive bindan 'bind' hīeran 'hear'
Indicative
1 Sg. binde hīere
2 Sg. bindest/bintst hīerst
3 Sg. bindeð/bint hīerð
Pl. bindað hīerað
Subjunctive
Sg. binde hīere
Pl. binden hīeren
Participle bindende hīerende
3. The Preterite System of Verbs

Verbs have preterite (past tense) forms in the indicative and the subjunctive. As is clear
from the examples below (again using bindan 'bind, fetter' and hīeran 'hear, obey'), the
number of potential forms has been greatly reduced, especially in the subjunctive.
Preterite Strong Weak
Indicative
1 Sg. band 'bound' hīerde 'heard'
2 Sg. bunde hīerdest
3 Sg. band hīerde
Pl. bunden hīerdon
Subjunctive
Sg. bunde hīerde
Pl. bunden hīerden
Participle bunden hīered
4. The Anomalous Verb wesan

So-called anomalous verbs have forms that are not always morphologically predictable
(e.g., by adding inflectional suffixes), but are instead "suppletive," and hence must be
learned ('supplied') by rote. They are, accordingly, neither weak nor strong. Modern
English was, were provides a contemporary example of suppletion, which is commonly
observed among Indo-European languages for the most basic verbs, pronouns, and a few
other parts of speech.
Old English inherited from Proto-Germanic, its ancestral tongue, three different
anomalous verbs for 'to be', none of them exhibiting [in surviving texts] a complete
repertoire of forms. OE wesan (the infinitive) survives as a verb only in the two modern
English forms was, were, although a relic is also observed in the word wassail, originally
a salutation meaning 'be healthy'.
wesan 'be' Preterite Indicative Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 Sg. wæs 'was' wǣre
2 Sg. wǣre 'were' wǣre wes
3 Sg. wæs wǣre
Pl. wǣron wǣren wesað
There are no present forms other than the participle wesende 'being'. As is often true in
OE, forms of wesan were subject to alternative spelling, which includes in lesson 3 the
3rd person plural preterite indicative forms wǣran and wǣrun 'were'.
As in modern English, forms of the auxiliary wesan are used with the past participle to
produce passives. An example in our lesson text is wæs cenned 'was born' (Beowulf 12),
where the past participle lacks the prefix ge-; examples in the lesson 3 text are wæs
geseted 'was appointed' and wæs gedēmed 'was deemed'. N.B. Passives can also be made
with the auxiliary weorðan 'become', cf. the use in German of werden for the passive, as
in Beowulf 6-7 wearð ... funden 'was found'.
The auxiliary wesan is also used as in modern English with the present participle to
indicate ongoing action, as in wæs gongende 'was going' and sprecende wæs 'was
speaking' (lesson 2).
5. Weak Verbs in Class I

As noted earlier, the weak preterite forms are produced by addition of the suffix -de (or
-te) -- akin to modern English 'lived' formed from the infinitive 'live'. Here we begin to
lay out full verb conjugations starting with Class I of the weak verbs. We use the same
verb hīeran 'hear' that was introduced above, and other verbs with minor conjugational
differences:
·129 mētan 'meet' (see text in lesson 3) because, in a devoiced context, t appears
in place of d in the preterite suffix;
·130 werian 'wear' (also in lesson 3) because, for some verbs, the stem includes
a residual -i- in certain forms;
·131 fremman 'perform' (this lesson) because, in certain forms like the
infinitive, the final stem consonant is geminated.
Barring certain verbs that are exceptional owing to their derivational history, the same
stem (e.g., hīer-) is employed in every form of a weak verb, though possibly with residual
-i- or gemination. The suffixes are all standard for their person, number, tense, mood, etc.,
with possible devoicing.
Class I Normal Devoiced Residual -i- Geminated
Infinitive hīeran 'hear' mētan 'meet' werian 'wear' fremman 'perform'
Inflected Infin. hīeranne mētanne werianne fremmanne
Imperative Sg. hīere mēte were freme
Imperative Pl. hīerað mētað weriað fremmað
Pres. Participle hīerende mētende weriende fremmende
Past Participle hīered mēted wered fremed
Gerund hīerenne mētenne werenne fremmenne
Present Indicative Normal Devoiced Residual -i- Geminated

1 Sg. hīere mēte werie fremme
2 Sg. hīerst mētst werest fremest
3 Sg. hīerð mētð wereð fremeð
Plural hīerað mētað weriað fremmað
Present Subjunctive Normal Devoiced Residual -i- Geminated

Singular hīere mēte werie fremme
Plural hīeren mēten werien fremmen
Preterite Indicative Normal Devoiced Residual Geminated

1 Sg. hīerde mētte werede fremede
2 Sg. hīerdest mēttest weredest fremedest
3 Sg. hīerde mētte werede fremede
Plural hīerdon mētton weredon fremedon
Preterite Subjunctive Normal Devoiced Residual Geminated

Singular hīerde mētte werede fremede
Plural hīerden mētten wereden fremeden
The three "principal parts" of a weak verb are always its infinitive, its 1st/3rd person
preterite singular, and its past participle. From these three forms, one may construct the
complete conjugation.
A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Weak I verbs found in our
lesson texts includes deem, greet, leave, name, seek, send, set, think, wend, and work.
N.B. While conjugation tables like the above often attempt to list "all possible" forms of a
verb, it is seldom the case that all such forms are attested in surviving OE texts. Rather,
the forms are reconstructed using rules that have been deduced by [others] studying the
verbs that are attested. Often, therefore, ignorance is being obscured. It is also true that
attested verb forms may demonstrate exceptions to the rules: real languages are never so
simple as linguists would have them be!
Old English Online

Lesson 2
Bede, 671-735, often referred to as The Venerable Bede, is highly regarded for his wide
learning and writing. He was a monk in the monastery at Jarrow, Northumbria, which is
considered the equal of those on the continent. In addition to his Historia Ecclesiastica
Gentis Anglorum, which provides a history of England from the date of Julius Caesar's
invasion in 55 B.C. to 731 A.D., he wrote numerous other works in Latin on astronomy,
mathematics, medicine, and philosophy.
In his History, Bede included accounts like that in this lesson on the poet Caedmon, for
whom we have the dates 657-680 on the basis of the period when Hild was abbess at
Streneshaelc, which he entered after his vision; otherwise, we know no more about him
than what is stated in the few pages that include the Hymn. These inform us that
Caedmon wrote many poems based on Biblical texts, on the Old Testament Genesis and
also on the New Testament gospels. Earlier it was often assumed that he was the author of
the Old English Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and others, but now it is generally
agreed that his only surviving work is the short poem included in this lesson. In Bede's
History, translated into the Anglo-Saxon [Old English] vernacular under the auspices of
Alfred in the latter 9th century, the account of Caedmon concludes with a celebrated
description of the poet's death.
Caedmon's Hymn, lines 41-49 in this transcription, is assumed to be the first Old English
poetry composed in Germanic alliterative verse. As comparison with the strictly
composed Beowulf shows, it observes the principles by which the principal alliteration is
a nominal in the second half-line (except for the emphasized adverb in line 48). The
Hymn is recorded in seventeen manuscripts; these vary in spelling, as the first line in a
Cambridge University manuscript may illustrate: Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes Uard.
That manuscript identifies the author after the last line with the words: Primo cantauit
Caedmon istud Carmen.
Our selection includes lines 20-49, found on pp. 42-43 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959),
Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon.
Caedmon's hymn alone, in its Northumbrian recension, appears on p. 166 (Onions, op
cit).
Wæs hē se mon in weoruldhāde geseted oð ðā tīde þe hē wæs gelȳfedre yldo, and hē
nǣfre ǣnig lēoð geleornade:
·132 wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of
<wesan> be, happen -- was
·133 hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit>
he, she, it -- he
·134 se -- definite article; nominative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
-- a
·135 mon -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <monn> man,
person -- man # appositive = 'he'
·136 in -- preposition <in> in, into -- to
·137 weoruldhāde -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <weorold hād> secular
life -- secular life
·138 geseted -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <gesettan, gesette,
geseted> set (out), appoint, establish -- appointed
·139 oð -- adverbial conjunction <oð> until -- up to
·140 ðā -- definite article; accusative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·141 tīde -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <tīd> time -- time
·142 þe -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- that
he, she, it -- he
·145 gelȳfedre -- adjective; genitive singular feminine of <gelyfed> advanced --
of advanced
·146 yldo -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <yldu> (old) age -- age
·147 and -- conjunction <and> and -- and
he, she, it -- he
·149 nǣfre -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + adverb <ǣfre> ever, always --
never
·150 ǣnig -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ǣnig> any -- any
·151 lēoð -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lēoð> song, poem -- poetry
·152 geleornade -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of
<geleornian, geleornode, geleornod> learn, study -- learned
and hē for þon oft in gebēorscipe, þonne þǣr wæs blisse intinga gedēmed — þæt hīe ealle
sceolden þurh endebyrdnesse be hearpan singan —
·153 and -- conjunction <and> and -- ...
he, she, it -- ...
·155 for þon -- conjunction <for þon> because, therefore -- for that reason
·157 in -- preposition <in> in, into -- at
·158 gebēorscipe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <gebēorscipe> feast,
beer party -- the feast
·160 þǣr -- adverb <þǣr> there, where -- there
·162 blisse -- strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of <bliss> bliss, joy,
happiness -- for merriment
·163 intinga -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <intinga> cause, reason
-- cause
·164 gedēmed -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <dēman, dēmde, dēmed>
deem, judge; praise -- deemed (to be)
·165 þæt -- subordinating conjunction <þæt> that -- (so) that
·166 hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
they
·167 ealle -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <eall> all -- all
·168 sceolden -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person plural
preterite subjunctive of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- should
·169 þurh -- preposition <þurh> through, by (means of) -- in
·170 endebyrdnesse -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <endebyrdnes> order,
sequence -- succession
·171 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- to # accompanied by
·172 hearpan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hearpe> harp -- the
harp
·173 singan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <singan, sang, sungon,
sungen> sing, compose -- sing
þonne hē geseah þā hearpan him nēalǣcan, þonne ārās hē for scome from þǣm symble,
and hām ēode tō his hūse.
he, she, it -- he
·176 geseah -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <gesēon,
geseah, gesǣgon, gesegen> see, observe -- saw
·177 þā -- definite article; accusative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·178 hearpan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hearpe> harp -- harp
·179 him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he,
she, it -- to him
·180 nēalǣcan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <nēalǣcan, nēalǣcte,
nēalǣced> approach, draw near -- draw near
·181 þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- ...
·182 ārās -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ārīsan, ārās,
ārison, ārisen> arise -- arose
he, she, it -- he
·184 for -- preposition <for> for, because of -- out of
·185 scome -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <scomu> shame -- shame
·186 from -- preposition <fram> from -- from
·187 þǣm -- definite article; dative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
·188 symble -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <symbel> feast -- feast
·190 hām -- adverb <hām> home, homewards -- home
·191 ēode -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <gān>
go, walk, move -- went
·193 his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit>
he, she, it -- his
·194 hūse -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <hūs> house -- abode
Þā hē þæt þā sumre tīde dyde, þæt hē forlēt þæt hūs þæs gebēorscipes, and ūt wæs
gongende tō nēata scypene, þāra heord him wæs þǣre nihte beboden,
·195 þā -- adverb <þā> then, when -- then
he, she, it -- he
·197 þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt>
that -- this
·198 þā -- adverb <þā> then, when -- ...
·199 sumre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of <sum> some, a certain --
one
·200 tīde -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <tīd> time -- time
·201 dyde -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <dōn>
do, make -- did
he, she, it -- he
·204 forlēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <forlǣtan,
forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten> leave, abandon -- left
·205 þæt -- definite article; accusative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·206 hūs -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hūs> house -- house
·207 þæs -- definite article; genitive singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
of the
·208 gebēorscipes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <gebēorscipe> feast,
beer party -- feast
·210 ūt -- adverb <ūt> out -- out
·212 gongende -- strong verb, class VII; present participle of <gongan, gēong,
gēongon, gongen> go, walk -- going
·214 nēata -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <nēat> ox, cow -- the cattle
·215 scypene -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <scypen> shed -- shed
·216 þāra -- definite article; genitive plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- their
·217 heord -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <heord> care, custody --
care
she, it -- to him
·220 þǣre -- definite article; dative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
for the
·221 nihte -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <niht> night -- night
·222 beboden -- strong verb, class II; past participle of <bebēodan, bebēad,
bebudon, beboden> command, instruct -- entrusted
ðā hē þā þǣr in gelimplicre tīde his limo on reste gesette and onslǣpte, þā stōd him sum
mon æt þurh swefn, and hine hālette and grētte, and hine be his naman nemde:
·223 ðā -- adverb <þā> then, when -- when
he, she, it -- he
·227 in -- preposition <in> in, into -- at
·228 gelimplicre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of <gelimplic> suitable
-- (a) suitable
·229 tīde -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <tīd> time -- time
·230 his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he,
she, it -- his
·231 limo -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <lim> limb -- arms and legs
·232 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- on
·233 reste -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <rest> rest, resting place -- (a)
resting place
·234 gesette -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gesettan,
gesette, geseted> set (out), appoint, establish -- arranged
·236 onslǣpte -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of
<onslǣpan, onslēp, onslēpon, onslǣpen> fall asleep -- fell asleep
·238 stōd -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of <standan,
stōd, stōdon, standen> stand -- stood
she, it -- him
·240 sum -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <sum> some, a certain
-- a
person -- man
·242 æt -- preposition <æt> at, against -- by
·243 þurh -- preposition <þurh> through, by (means of) -- in
·244 swefn -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <swefn> dream -- a dream
·247 hālette -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <hālettan,
hālette, hāleted> hail, salute -- hailed
·249 grētte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <grētan, grētte,
grēted> greet, approach -- greeted
·252 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- by
he, she, it -- ...
·254 naman -- weak noun, masculine; dative singular of <nama> name -- name
·255 nemde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <nemnan,
nemde, nemed> name, call -- called
'Cædmon, sing mē hwæthwegu.'
·256 Cædmon -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Cædmon>
Ca|edmon -- Caedmon
·257 sing -- strong verb, class III; 2nd person singular imperative of <singan,
sang, sungon, sungen> sing, compose -- sing
·258 mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of <ic> I -- for me
·259 hwæthwegu -- indefinite pronoun; accusative singular of <hwæt-hwegu>
something -- something
Þā andswarode hē and cwæð: 'Ne con ic nōht singan, and ic for þon of þyssum
gebēorscipe ūt ēode, and hider gewāt, for þon ic nōht cūðe.'
·261 andswarode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of
<andswarian, andswarode, andswarod> answer, respond -- answered
he, she, it -- he
·264 cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <cweðan,
cwæð, cwǣdon, cweden> say, speak -- said
·265 ne -- adverb <ne> not -- not
·266 con -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class III; 1st person singular present
indicative of <cunnan, cann, cunnon, cūðe> can, know how to -- can
·267 ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of <ic> I -- I
·268 nōht -- adjective <nā> no, not + noun, neuter; accusative <wiht> whit,
thing -- ... # double negative, for emphasis
·272 for þon -- conjunction <for þon> because, therefore -- because
·273 of -- preposition <of> from, of -- of
·274 þyssum -- demonstrative pronoun; dative singular neuter of <ðēs, ðēos,
ðis> this -- this
·275 gebēorscipe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <gebēorscipe> feast,
beer party -- from the feast
·279 hider -- adverb <hider> here, hither -- here
·280 gewāt -- strong verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of <gewītan,
gewāt, gewiton, gewiten> depart, go -- went
·283 nōht -- adjective <nā> no, not + noun, neuter; accusative <wiht> whit,
thing -- naught # "not a whit"
·284 cūðe -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class III; 1st person singular preterite
indicative of <cunnan, cann, cunnon, cūðe> can, know how to -- could (sing)
Eft hē cwæð sē þe mid him sprecende wæs: 'Hwæðere þū meaht mē singan.'
·285 eft -- adverb <eft> afterwards, thereupon -- again
he, she, it -- he
·288 sē -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular
masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- he
·289 þe -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- who
·290 mid -- preposition <mid> with -- with
she, it -- him
·292 sprecende -- strong verb, class V; present participle of <sprecan, spræc,
sprǣcon, sprecen> speak, say -- speaking
·294 hwæðere -- conjunction <hwæðere> but, yet, however -- but
·295 þū -- 2nd person pronoun; nominative singular of <ðū> you -- you
·296 meaht -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 2nd person singular
present indicative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- can
·297 mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of <ic> I -- to me
Cwæð hē: 'Hwæt sceal ic singan?'
he, she, it -- he
·301 hwæt -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hwā, hwā,
hwæt> who, what -- what
·302 sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 1st person singular present
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- shall
Cwæð hē: 'Sing mē frumsceaft.'
he, she, it -- he
·307 sing -- strong verb, class III; 2nd person singular imperative of <singan,
sang, sungon, sungen> sing, compose -- sing
·308 mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of <ic> I -- to me
·309 frumsceaft -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <frumsceaft> creation
-- (about) the creation # genesis
Þā hē þā þās andsware onfēng, ðā ongan hē sōna singan, in herenesse Godes Scyppendes,
þā fers and þā word þe hē nǣfre ne gehȳrde, þāra endebyrdnes þis is:
·310 þā -- adverb <þā> then, when -- when
he, she, it -- he
·313 þās -- demonstrative article; accusative singular feminine of <ðes, ðēos,
ðis> this -- this
·314 andsware -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <andswaru> answer,
response -- answer
·315 onfēng -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <onfōn,
onfēng, onfēngon, onfangen> accept, receive -- received # onfangen or onfongen
·316 ðā -- adverb <þā> then, when -- then
·317 ongan -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <onginnan,
ongonn, ongunnon, ongunnen> begin, attempt -- began
he, she, it -- he
·319 sōna -- adverb <sōna> immediately -- immediately
sungen> sing, compose -- to sing
·322 herenesse -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <herenes> praise -- praise
·323 Godes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <God> God, Deity
-- of God
·324 scyppendes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <scieppend> shaper,
creator -- the Creator
·325 þā -- demonstrative article; accusative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> that --
those
·326 fers -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <fers> sentence, verse -- verses
·328 þā -- demonstrative article; accusative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> that --
those
·329 word -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <word> word, speech -- words
·330 þe -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- which
he, she, it -- he
never
·333 ne -- adverb <ne> not -- ever # double negative
·334 gehȳrde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gehīeran,
gehīerede, gehīered> hear (of) -- (had) heard
·335 þāra -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that -- of
them
·336 endebyrdnes -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <endebyrdnes>
order, sequence -- the arrangement
·337 þis -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <ðēs, ðēos,
ðis> this -- this
·338 is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <bēon> be,
become, exist -- is
Nū wē sculan herian heofonrīces Weard,
Metodes mihte and his mōdgeþonc,
weorc Wuldorfæder; swā hē wundra gehwæs,
ēce Dryhten, ord onstealde.
·339 nū -- adverb <nū> now -- now
·340 wē -- 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of <ic> I -- we
·341 sculan -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person plural present
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- must
·342 herian -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <herian, herede, hered> praise,
extol -- praise
·343 heofonrīces -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <heofon-rīce> kingdom
of heaven -- of the kingdom of Heaven
·344 weard -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <weard> ward, guard,
keeper -- the Lord
·345 metodes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <metod> creator -- God's
·346 mihte -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <miht> might, power --
power
he, she, it -- his
·349 mōdgeþonc -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mōdgeþonc>
conception, purpose -- purpose
·350 weorc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <weorc> work, deed -- the
work
·351 wuldorfæder -- noun, neuter <wuldor> glory, praise + noun, masculine;
genitive singular <fæder> father -- of the Father of Glory
he, she, it -- he
·354 wundra -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <wundor> miracle, wonder --
wonder # singular in meaning
·355 gehwæs -- pronoun; genitive singular of <gehwā> each, everyone -- of
every
·356 ēce -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ēce> eternal,
everlasting -- eternal
·357 dryhten -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <drihten> lord, prince,
ruler -- Lord
·358 ord -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ord> source, beginning --
the beginning
·359 onstealde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <onstellan,
onstealde, onsteled> establish, institute -- established
Hē ǣrest gesceōp eorðan bearnum
heofon tō hrōfe, hālig Scyppend;
ðā middangeard, moncynnes Weard,
ēce Dryhten, æfter tēode
fīrum foldan, Frēa ælmihtig.
he, she, it -- he
·362 gesceōp -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of
<gescieppan, gescōp, gescōpon, gesceapen> shape, create -- created
·363 eorðan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <eorð> earth -- of earth
·364 bearnum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <bearn> child -- for the children
·365 heofon -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <heofon> heaven, sky --
heaven
·366 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- for
·367 hrōfe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <hrōf> roof -- (a) roof
·368 hālig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hālig> holy -- the
holy
·369 scyppend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <scieppend> shaper,
creator -- Creator
·371 middangeard -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <middan-eard>
middle-earth, world -- the earth
·372 moncynnes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <monn-cynn> mankind --
mankind's
·373 weard -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <weard> ward, guard,
keeper -- Guardian
·374 ēce -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ēce> eternal,
everlasting -- the eternal
ruler -- Lord
·376 æfter -- adverb <æfter> after(wards), then -- afterwards
·377 tēode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <tēon, tēode,
tēodod> adorn, settle -- settled
·378 fīrum -- noun, masculine plural; dative of <firas> men, people -- with
men
·379 foldan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <folde> earth, ground --
the earth
·380 frēa -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <frēa> lord, master -- the
Lord
·381 ælmihtig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ælmihtig>
almighty -- Almighty
Lesson Text
Wæs hē se mon in weoruldhāde geseted oð ðā tīde þe hē wæs gelȳfedre yldo, and
hē nǣfre ǣnig lēoð geleornade: and hē for þon oft in gebēorscipe, þonne þǣr wæs
blisse intinga gedēmed — þæt hīe ealle sceolden þurh endebyrdnesse be hearpan
singan — þonne hē geseah þā hearpan him nēalǣcan, þonne ārās hē for scome
from þǣm symble, and hām ēode tō his hūse. Þā hē þæt þā sumre tīde dyde, þæt
hē forlēt þæt hūs þæs gebēorscipes, and ūt wæs gongende tō nēata scypene, þāra
heord him wæs þǣre nihte beboden, ðā hē þā þǣr in gelimplicre tīde his limo on
reste gesette and onslǣpte, þā stōd him sum mon æt þurh swefn, and hine hālette
and grētte, and hine be his naman nemde:
'Cædmon, sing mē hwæthwegu.'
Þā andswarode hē and cwæð: 'Ne con ic nōht singan, and ic for þon of þyssum
gebēorscipe ūt ēode, and hider gewāt, for þon ic nōht cūðe.'
Eft hē cwæð sē þe mid him sprecende wæs: 'Hwæðere þū meaht mē singan.'
Cwæð hē: 'Hwæt sceal ic singan?'
Cwæð hē: 'Sing mē frumsceaft.'
Þā hē þā þās andsware onfēng, ðā ongan hē sōna singan, in herenesse Godes

Scyppendes, þā fers and þā word þe hē nǣfre ne gehȳrde, þāra endebyrdnes þis is:
Nū wē sculan herian heofonrīces Weard,

Metodes mihte and his mōdgeþonc,
weorc Wuldorfæder; swā hē wundra gehwæs,
ēce Dryhten, ord onstealde.
Hē ǣrest gesceōp eorðan bearnum
heofon tō hrōfe, hālig Scyppend;
ðā middangeard, moncynnes Weard,
ēce Dryhten, æfter tēode
fīrum foldan, Frēa ælmihtig.
Translation
He was a man appointed to secular life, up to the time that he was of advanced
age, and he never learned any poetry. For that reason, often at the feast, when
there was deemed to be cause for merriment — so that they all in succession
should sing to the harp — when he saw the harp draw near to him, he arose from
the feast out of shame and went home to his abode. Then one time he did this, so
that he left the house of the feast and was going out to the cattle shed (their care
was entrusted to him for the night). When at a suitable time he arranged his arms
and legs on a resting place there, and fell asleep, a man stood by him in a dream
and hailed and greeted him and called him by name:
"Caedmon, sing something for me."
Then answered he and said, "I can not sing, and because of this I went out from
the feast and went here because I could (sing) naught."
Again he said (he who was speaking with him): "But you can sing to me."
Said he, "What shall I sing?"
He said, "Sing to me about the creation."
When he received this answer, he then began immediately to sing, in praise of
God the Creator, those verses and those words which he had never ever heard; the
arrangement of them is this:
"Now we must praise the Lord of the kingdom of Heaven,
God's power and his purpose,
the work of the Father of Glory; thus he, of every wonder
the eternal Lord, established the beginning.
He first created, for the children of earth,
heaven for a roof, the holy Creator;
then the earth, mankind's Guardian,
the eternal Lord; afterwards settled
with men the earth, the Lord Almighty.
Grammar
6. Personal Pronouns
Old English (OE) personal pronouns, like those of modern English (e.g., 'I', 'me', 'you',
'we'), are essentially suppletive: one must memorize all the forms. There are three persons
(1st, 2nd, 3rd), three numbers (singular, dual [two], plural), and four cases (nominative,
genitive, dative, accusative).
1st Person Singular Dual Plural
Nom. ic 'I' wit 'we two' wē 'we'
Gen. mīn 'my, mine' uncer 'our two' ūser, ūre 'our'
Dat. mē 'me' unc 'us two' ūs 'us'
Acc. mec, mē uncit, unc ūsic, ūs
As can be seen from the tables above and below, the OE accusative case was merging
with the dative as the early, specifically accusative forms (listed first, above and below)
were lost. The result was our modern objective case.
2nd Person Singular Dual Plural
Nom. ðū 'thou, you' git 'you two' gē 'ye, you'
Gen. ðīn 'thine, your' incer 'your two' ēower, ēowre 'your'
Dat. ðē 'thee, you' inc 'you two' ēow 'you'
Acc. ðec, ðē incit, inc ēowic, ēow
Third person pronouns did not have dual forms, and in the Middle English period the dual
was lost in 1st and 2nd person as well. The singular 3rd person forms come in masculine,
feminine, and neuter gender; of course grammatical gender does not necessarily translate
into sex, as modern English usage and our translations below might seem to imply.
3rd Person Masc. Sg. Fem. Sg. Neut. Sg. Plural
Nom. hē 'he' hēo, hīe 'she' hit, hyt 'it' hēo, hīe, hī, hȳ 'they'
Gen. his 'his' hire 'her' his 'its' hira, heora, hiera 'their'
Dat. him 'him' hire 'her' him 'it' him, heom 'them'
Acc. hine 'him' hēo, hīe 'her' hit, hyt 'it' hēo, hīe, hī, hȳ 'them'
The tables all show that alternative spellings of personal pronouns appeared in the
literature: there are relatively few single, unambiguous forms.
When used as possessive adjectives, genitives of 1st- and 2nd-person personal pronouns
were declined like [category 2, ja- and jo-stem] strong adjectives, inflected for case and
gender to agree with the substantive they modify. The 1st person forms mīn, uncer and
ūre, and 2nd person forms ðīn, incer and ēower might be so treated. In addition, a special
3rd person singular form sīn 'his, her, its' might be so declined.
7. Contractions with ne 'not'

Modern English exhibits contractions with 'not' as a suffix, e.g. wouldn't, where the vowel
'o' is lost. Old English forms contractions with the adverbial particle ne 'not' as a prefix.
Our text contains two instances of ne contracted with the adverb ǣfre 'ever, always',
resulting in nǣfre 'never'. (In forming a contraction with a word beginning with a vowel
sound, the vowel in ne is lost.) Our text in lesson 3 adds the contraction ne + ǣnig 'any' >
nǣnig 'none, not one'.
The particle ne can also be contracted with anomalous verbs. But when such a verb
begins with a 'w' (vowel-like) sound, it too is lost along with the vowel sound from ne
and, reflected in spelling, 'n' simply replaces 'w'. Hence we will see, in lesson 3:
·382 nǣre = ne + wǣre (preterite singular of wesan, lesson 1 §4)
·383 nolde = ne + wolde (preterite singular of willan, see lesson 3 §11)
·384 noldon = ne + woldon (preterite plural of willan)
Yet more contractions using ne 'not' are encountered in later lesson texts.
8. Prepositions
Prepositions may govern either the dative case or the accusative, or both. Those
governing the dative are be 'by', beforan 'before', betweox 'between', for 'before', from,
fram 'from', mid 'with, among', of 'from', tō 'to'. Those governing the accusative are geond
'throughout', oð 'up to', þurh 'through'. Those governing both cases take the dative when
the following noun is at rest, the accusative when it is in motion, e.g. in 'in, into', ofer
'over, across', on 'on, onto', under 'under'.
9. Weak Verbs in Class II

Our text in this lesson uses the verb geleornian 'learn, study', formed from the prefix ge-
(discussed in a later lesson) plus the verb leornian 'learn'; the Beowulf text in lesson 10
uses the verb frēogan 'love' (also spelled frēogean). We conjugate these two to illustrate
the weak verbs in Class II, which exhibit variations (columns 1 and 2) due to the optional
final stem vowels -i- and, respectively, -e-, with other ancient pronunciation change
effects.
Weak II 1 2
Infinitive leornian 'learn' frēog(e)an 'love'
Inflected Infin. tō leornianne tō frēog(e)anne
Imperative Sg. leorna frēoge
Imperative Pl. leorniað frēog(e)að
Pres. Participle leorniende frēogende
Past Participle leornod frēod
Gerund leornienne frēogenne
Present Indicative 1 2
1 Sg. leornie frēoge
2 Sg. leornast frēost
3 Sg. leornað frēoð
Plural leorniað frēog(e)að
Present Subjunctive 1 2
Singular leornie frēoge
Plural leornien frēogen
Preterite Indicative 1 2
1 Sg. leornode frēode
2 Sg. leornodest frēodest
3 Sg. leornode frēode
Plural leornodon frēodon
Preterite Subjunctive 1 2
Singular leornode frēode
Plural leornoden frēoden
A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Weak II verbs found in
our lesson texts includes answer, follow, harry, look, sail, and wound.
10. Strong Verbs in Class I

Modern English includes a few hundred strong verbs, many of them used with high
frequency, wherein tense/aspect are indicated by a change in the internal stem vowel, for
example rise, rose, risen or sing, sang, sung. These forms are of course inherited, albeit
with changes, from Old English. The patterns of vowel change, called ablaut, are
reflected in the different classes of strong verbs, of which there are seven in OE. Strong
Class I verbs exhibit the four-vowel ablaut pattern -ī-, -ā-, -i-, -i-. (The reason for there
being "four" vowels, when the 3rd and 4th are here the same, will become clear in the
discussion of Strong Class II in lesson 3 §13.)
Four vowels result in there being four principal parts of every strong verb; these are
always its infinitive, its 3rd person preterite singular, its preterite plural, and its past
participle, which four use the respective vowels. From these four forms, plus a wee bit of
phonology, one may construct the complete conjugation.
We illustrate Strong Class I using a "regular" verb (column 1) having an obvious modern
descendant, a second verb (column 2) with minor pronunciation change effects, and a
third verb (column 3) that shows greater irregularity. (Again, we defer discussion of the
ancient sound changes that led to this situation.)
The text in this lesson contains the verb ārīsan 'arise', which is formed from the prefix ā-
plus the verb rīsan 'rise' illustrated in column 1; the verb snīðan 'cut' in column 2 is
chosen for convenience; the verb ðēon 'thrive' in column 3 appears in our lesson 1
Beowulf text.
Strong I 1 2 3
Infinitive rīsan 'rise' snīðan 'cut' ðēon, ðeoan 'thrive'
Inflected Infin. tō rīsanne tō snīðanne tō ðēonne
Imperative Sg. rīs snīð ðēoh
Imperative Pl. rīsað snīðað ðēað
Pres. Participle rīsende snīðende ðēonde
Past Participle risen sniden ðigen, ðungen
Gerund rīsenne snīðenne ðēenne
Present Indicative 1 2 3
1 Sg. rīse snīðe ðēe
2 Sg. rīsest snīðest ðēest
3 Sg. rīseð snīðeð ðēeð
Plural rīsað snīðað ðēað
Present Subjunctive 1 2 3
Singular rīse snīðe ðēe
Plural rīsen snīðen ðēen
Preterite Indicative 1 2 3
1 Sg. rās snāð ðāh, ðēah
2 Sg. rise snide ðige
3 Sg. rās snāð ðāh, ðēah
Plural rison snidon ðigon
Preterite Subjunctive 1 2 3
Singular rise snide ðige
Plural risen sniden ðigen
A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong I verbs found in
our lesson texts includes bide, grip (which became weak), and ride.
N.B. To repeat: while conjugation tables like the above often attempt to list "the possible"
forms of a verb, it is seldom the case that all such forms are attested in the few surviving
OE texts! Rather, the forms are reconstructed using rules that have been deduced by other
linguists. Often there are known exceptions to the rules, and/or the rules may be
incomplete. There may even be holes or question marks in these tables when the evidence
is tentative or the rules seem poorly explained.
Old English Online

Lesson 3
Jonathan Slocum
In an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 755, King Cynewulf of Wessex battles
with Prince Cyneheard. Cynewulf had deprived Cyneheard's brother Sebright of most of
his kingdom "for unrighteous deeds," and apparently Cyneheard took exception! Hearing
that Cynewulf has gone, thinly protected, on a trip to the small town of Merton to visit a
certain lady, Cyneheard marshals his forces and rides out, surrounding Merton without
the King's attendants becoming aware of this. Cynewulf, once he grasps his predicament,
will rush out alone to confront his enemies. As events unfold, this story highlights an
aspect of Anglo-Saxon culture wherein loyalty to one's lord is paramount, taking
precedence even over loyalty to one's kin: the chronicler implies that both sides --
members of whom who are related to one another -- make the right decision.
The theme of Germanic comitatus loyalty recurs often in Old English literature; such
loyalty transcends fear of death. In The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien models his
fictional kingdom of Rohan on Anglo-Saxon culture. Of particular relevance is the
reaction by the Rohirrim to King Théoden's decision to attack the army of Mordor despite
there being little or no hope of success: "But they were a stern people, loyal to their lord...
Doom hung over them, but they faced it silently" (from The Muster of Rohan in The
Return of the King). We shall encounter this theme again, in lesson 6.
We witness in our Chronicle story the strong tendency in Anglo-Saxon storytelling to
make frequent use of a handful of connectives, like 'and', 'then', 'when', even 'and then',
where we would leave these understood or at least vary the wording. We see, as well,
common use of pronouns that often leaves us in confusion, seeking a referent; the
original audience for these stories was presumably better able to cope, or perhaps may
have benefitted from a storyteller's accompanying pantomime.
Ond þā ongeat se cyning þæt, ond hē on þā duru ēode, ond þā unhēanlīce hine werede oþ
hē on þone æþeling lōcude, ond þā ūt rǣsde on hine ond hine miclum gewundode;
·385 ond -- conjunction <and> and -- ...
·387 ongeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <ongietan,
ongeat, ongēaton, ongieten> grasp, understand -- grasped
-- the
·389 cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king --
king
that -- this
he, she, it -- he
·393 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- to
the
·395 duru -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <duru> door -- door # or
"out of doors"
·397 ond -- conjunction <and> and -- and
·399 unhēanlīce -- adverb <unhēanlīce> not disgracefully, not ignobly -- nobly
·400 hine -- 3rd person pronoun; used as reflexive; accusative singular
masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- himself
·401 werede -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <werian,
werede, wered> wear; defend, protect -- protected
·402 oþ -- adverbial conjunction <oð> until -- until
he, she, it -- he
·404 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- upon
·405 þone -- definite article; accusative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
-- the
·406 æþeling -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <æðeling>
nobleman, prince -- prince
·407 lōcude -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <locian,
locode, locod> look -- looked
·411 rǣsde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <rǣsan, rǣsde,
rǣsed> rush, hasten -- rushed
·416 miclum -- adverb <micel> much, very -- severely
·417 gewundode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of
<gewundian, gewundode, gewundod> wound -- wounded
ond hīe alle on þone cyning wǣrun feohtende oþ þæt hīe hine ofslægenne hæfdon.
·418 ond -- conjunction <and> and -- then
they # Cyneheard's retainers
·420 alle -- adjective; nominative plural of <eall> all -- all
·421 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- against
-- the
·423 cyning -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <cyning> king --
king
·424 wǣrun -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of
<wesan> be, happen -- were # continued, kept on...
·425 feohtende -- strong verb, class III; present participle of <feohtan, feaht,
fuhton, fohten> fight -- fighting
·426 oþ þæt -- adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until -- until
they
·429 ofslægenne -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh,
ofslōgon, ofslægen> slay, destroy -- slain # ofslōh or ofslōg
·430 hæfdon -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of
<habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- had
Ond þā on þæs wīfes gebǣrum onfundon þæs cyninges þegnas þā unstilnesse, ond þā
þider urnon swā hwelc swā þonne gearo wearþ, ond radost.
·434 þæs -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter
of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- his
·435 wīfes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <wīf> wife, woman -- lady's
·436 gebǣrum -- strong noun, neuter; dative plural of <gebǣre> cry, behavior --
outcries
·437 onfundon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of <onfindan,
onfond, onfundon, onfunden> find out, realize -- discovered
the
·439 cyninges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cyning> king --
king's
·440 þegnas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <þegn> thane,
warrior -- attendants
the
·442 unstilnesse -- strong noun, feminine; accusative singular of <unstilnes>
disturbance, tumult -- disturbance
·445 þider -- adverb <þider> thither -- there
·446 urnon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of <yrnan, arn,
urnon, urnen> run -- ran
·447 swā hwelc swā -- pronoun <swā hwilc swā> whosoever -- whoever
·449 gearo -- adjective; nominative singular of <gearo> prepared, ready --
ready # i.e., armed himself
·450 wearþ -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <weorðan,
wearð, wurdon, worden> become, happen -- got
·452 radost -- adjective; superlative of <hraðe> quick, hasty -- the quickest
Ond hiera se æþeling gehwelcum feoh ond feorh gebēad, ond hiera nǣnig hit geþicgean
nolde;
·454 hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
of them
-- the
·456 æþeling -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <æðeling>
·457 gehwelcum -- indefinite pronoun; dative singular masculine of <gehwylc>
each, every one -- each one
·458 feoh -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <feoh> cattle, goods,
money -- money
·460 feorh -- strong noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of <feorh> life -- life
·461 gebēad -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <gebēodan,
gebēad, gebudon, geboden> offer -- offered # i.e., if they would surrender
·462 ond -- conjunction <and> and -- but
of them
·464 nǣnig -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + adjective <ǣnig> any -- not one
·465 hit -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he,
she, it -- it
·466 geþicgean -- strong verb, class V; infinitive of <geþicgan, geþeah,
geþǣgon, geþegen> take, accept, receive -- accept
·467 nolde -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person
singular preterite indicative of <willan> wish, be willing -- would # double negative,
for emphasis
ac hīe simle feohtende wǣran oþ hīe alle lǣgon būtan ānum Bryttiscum gīsle, ond sē
swīþe gewundad wæs.
·468 ac -- conjunction <ac> and, but, however -- and
they
·470 simle -- adverb <simle> ever, always -- ...
·472 wǣran -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of
<wesan> be, happen -- went on
·473 oþ -- adverbial conjunction <oð> until -- until
they # Cynewulf's men
·476 lǣgon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of <licgan, læg,
lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated -- lay dead
·477 būtan -- preposition <būton> without, except for -- except for
·478 ānum -- indefinite article; dative singular masculine of <ān> a, an, one --
one
·479 Bryttiscum -- proper adjective; dative singular masculine of <Bryttisc>
British -- British # i.e., Celtic inhabitant of Britain...
·480 gīsle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <gīsel> hostage -- hostage #
...held in pledge by (hence beholden to) Cynewulf
·483 swīþe -- adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- severely
·484 gewundad -- weak verb, class II; past participle of <gewundian,
gewundode, gewundod> wound -- wounded
Þā on morgenne gehīerdun þæt þæs cyninges þegnas, þe him beæftan wǣrun, þæt se
cyning ofslægen wæs, þā ridon hīe þider, ond his aldormon Ōsrīc, ond Wīferþ his þegn,
ond þā men þe hē beæftan him lǣfde ǣr,
·487 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- in
·488 morgenne -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <morgen>
morning -- the morning
·489 gehīerdun -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <gehīeran,
gehīerede, gehīered> hear (of) -- heard
·490 þæt -- subordinating conjunction <þæt> that -- ... # correlative with þæt below
the
·492 cyninges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cyning> king --
king's
·493 þegnas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <þegn> thane,
warrior -- thanes
she, it -- him
·496 beæftan -- preposition <beæftan> behind -- behind # postposition (often used
by this writer)
<wesan> be, happen -- were
·498 þæt -- subordinating conjunction <þæt> that -- that # correlative with þæt
above
-- the
king
·501 ofslægen -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh,
ofslōgon, ofslægen> slay, destroy -- slain
·504 ridon -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <rīdan, rād,
ridon, riden> ride -- rode
they
·506 þider -- adverb <þider> thither -- thither
·507 ond -- conjunction <and> and -- with
he, she, it -- his
·509 aldormon -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ealdor-monn>
nobleman, lit. older man -- nobleman
·510 Ōsrīc -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ōsrīc> Osric --
Osric
·512 Wīferþ -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Wīferþ>
Wiferth -- Wiferth
he, she, it -- his
·514 þegn -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <þegn> thane,
warrior -- thane
·516 þā -- definite article; nominative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
·517 men -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <monn> man, person
-- men
he, she, it -- he
·520 beæftan -- preposition <beæftan> behind -- behind
she, it -- him
·522 lǣfde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <lǣfan, lǣfde,
lǣfed> leave, bequeath -- left
·523 ǣr -- adverb <ǣr> ere, before, formerly -- previously
ond þone æþeling on þǣre byrig mētton þǣr se cyning ofslægen læg —
-- the
·527 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- at
·528 þǣre -- definite article; dative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·529 byrig -- strong noun, feminine; dative singular of <burg> enclosure,
stonghold -- stonghold
·530 mētton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <mētan, mētte,
mēted> meet, find -- (they) met
·531 þǣr -- adverb <þǣr> there, where -- where
-- the
king
·534 ofslægen -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh,
·535 læg -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <licgan, læg,
lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated -- lay
ond þā gatu him tō belocen hæfdon — ond þā þǣrtō ēodon.
·536 ond -- conjunction <and> and -- ... # missing subject: Cyneheard & his men
·537 þā -- definite article; accusative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
·538 gatu -- strong noun, neuter; accusative plural of <geat> gate -- gates
·539 him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
them # i.e., the royal forces
·540 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- against # postposition
·541 belocen -- strong verb, class II; past participle of <belūcan, belēac,
belucon, belocen> close, lock, shut -- locked
<habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- (they) had
·544 þā -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <sē,
sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- they
·545 þǣrtō -- adverb <þǣr tō> thereto -- there
·546 ēodon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <gān>
Ond þā gebēad hē him hiera āgenne dōm fēos ond londes, gif hīe him þæs rīces ūþon;
·549 gebēad -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <gebēodan,
gebēad, gebudon, geboden> offer -- offered
he, she, it -- he # Cyneheard
·551 him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- to
them # to the royal forces (which now greatly outnumbered those of Cyneheard)
their
·553 āgenne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <āgen> own -- own
·554 dōm -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <dōm> doom,
decision; glory -- choice # i.e. a chance to "write their own tickets" for...
·555 fēos -- strong noun, neuter; genitive singular of <feoh> cattle, goods,
money -- of money
·557 londes -- strong noun, neuter; genitive singular of <lond> land, realm,
country -- (of) land
·558 gif -- conjunction <gif> if -- if
they
she, it -- to him
·561 þæs -- definite article; genitive singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
·562 rīces -- weak noun, neuter; genitive singular of <rīce> kingdom, reign --
kingdom
·563 ūþon -- preterite-present verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite
subjunctive of <unnan, ann, unnon, ūðe> grant, bestow -- granted
ond him cȳþdon þæt hiera mǣgas him mid wǣron, þā þe him from noldon.
them # the royal forces
·566 cȳþdon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <cȳðan, cȳðde,
cȳðed> reveal, make known -- they revealed # they = Cyneheard & his men
·567 þæt -- subordinating conjunction <þæt> that -- that
their # the royal forces'
·569 mǣgas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <mǣg> kinsman --
kinsmen
them # Cyneheard and his men
·571 mid -- preposition <mid> with -- with # here, a postposition
·572 wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of
from them # Cyneheard and his men
·576 from -- adverb <fram> away -- away
·577 noldon -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person
plural preterite indicative of <willan> wish, be willing -- wouldn't (go)
Ond þā cuǣdon hīe þæt him nǣnig mǣg lēofra nǣre þonne hiera hlāford, ond hīe nǣfre
his banan folgian noldon.
·580 cuǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of <cweðan,
they # the royal forces
them
·584 nǣnig -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + adjective <ǣnig> any -- no
·585 mǣg -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <mǣg> kinsman --
kinsman
·586 lēofra -- adjective; comparative of <lēof> lief, dear, beloved -- more dear
·587 nǣre -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person
singular preterite subjunctive of <wesan> be, happen -- was # double negative
·588 þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- than # (with comparative above)
their
·590 hlāford -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hlāford> lord,
master -- lord
never
he, she, it -- his
·595 banan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of <bana> bane,
slayer -- slayer
·596 folgian -- weak verb, class II; infinitive of <folgian, folgode, folgod>
follow, obey, serve -- follow
·597 noldon -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person
plural preterite indicative of <willan> wish, be willing -- would # double negative
Ond þā budon hīe hiera mǣgum þæt hīe gesunde from ēodon;
·600 budon -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <bēodan, bēad,
budon, boden> bid, command, offer -- offered
(to) their
·603 mǣgum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <mǣg> kinsman -- kinsmen
# among the prince's men
they # the kinsmen inside the gate
·606 gesunde -- adjective; nominative plural of <gesund> safe, unharmed --
unharmed
·607 from -- adverb <fram> away -- away # from Cyneheard's men
·608 ēodon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <gān>
go, walk, move -- could walk
ond hīe cuǣdon þæt tæt ilce hiera gefērum geboden wǣre þe ǣr mid þām cyninge wǣrun.
they # the kinsmen inside
·613 tæt -- definite article; nominative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·614 ilce -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ilca> same -- same (thing)
(to) their
·616 gefērum -- weak noun, masculine; dative plural of <gefēra> companion,
comrade -- comrades
·617 geboden -- strong verb, class II; past participle of <gebēodan, gebēad,
gebudon, geboden> offer -- offered
·618 wǣre -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of
<wesan> be, happen -- would be
·622 þām -- definite article; dative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·623 cyninge -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <cyning> king --
king
Þā cuǣdon hīe þæt hīe hīe þæs ne onmunden 'þon mā þe ēowre gefēran þe mid þām
cyninge ofslægene wǣrun.'
they # the kinsmen inside
they
·630 hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; used as reflexive; accusative plural of <hē, hēo,
hit> he, she, it -- themselves
·631 þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt>
that -- of this # of the offer
·633 onmunden -- preterite-present verb, class IV; 3rd person plural preterite
subjunctive of <onmunan, onman, onmunon, onmunde> esteem, remember, think
worthy -- did...think...worthy
·634 þon -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- any # (with comparative below)
·635 mā -- adjective; anomalous comparative of <micel> much, great -- more #
(idiomatic)
·636 þe -- conjunction <þe> than, where -- than # (with comparative above)
·637 ēowre -- 2nd person pronoun; used as adjective; nominative plural of <ðū>
you -- your
·638 gefēran -- weak noun, masculine; nominative plural of <gefēra>
companion, comrade -- companions
the
·642 cyninge -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <cyning> king --
king
·643 ofslægene -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh,
Ond hīe þā ymb þā gatu feohtende wǣron oþ þæt hīe þǣrinne fulgon ond þone æþeling
ofslōgon; ond þā men þe him mid wǣrun,
they # the royal forces, or both sides
·648 ymb -- preposition <ymbe> at, around -- at
·650 gatu -- strong noun, neuter; accusative plural of <geat> gate -- gates
·653 oþ þæt -- adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until -- until
·655 þǣrinne -- adverb <þǣr inne> therein -- therein
·656 fulgon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of <fēolan,
fealh, fulgon, folen> reach, penetrate -- penetrated
-- the
·660 ofslōgon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <ofslean,
ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen> slay, destroy -- slew
-- men
she, it -- him
alle būtan ānum, sē wæs þæs aldormonnes godsunu; ond hē his feorh generede, ond þēah
hē wæs oft gewundad.
·669 būtan -- preposition <būton> without, except for -- but
·670 ānum -- indefinite article; dative singular masculine of <ān> a, an, one --
one
·671 sē -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular
masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that -- who
·673 þæs -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular
masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- his
·674 aldormonnes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ealdor-monn>
nobleman, lit. older man -- nobleman's
·675 godsunu -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <godsunu>
godson -- godson
he, she, it -- he
she, it -- his
·680 generede -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <generian,
generede, genered> save, protect -- saved
·682 þēah -- adverbial conjunction <þēah> yet, though, however -- though
he, she, it -- he
·685 oft -- adverb <oft> often, frequently -- much
·686 gewundad -- weak verb, class II; past participle of <gewundian,
gewundode, gewundod> wound -- wounded
Lesson Text
Ond þā ongeat se cyning þæt, ond hē on þā duru ēode, ond þā unhēanlīce hine
werede oþ hē on þone æþeling lōcude, ond þā ūt rǣsde on hine ond hine miclum
gewundode; ond hīe alle on þone cyning wǣrun feohtende oþ þæt hīe hine
ofslægenne hæfdon. Ond þā on þæs wīfes gebǣrum onfundon þæs cyninges
þegnas þā unstilnesse, ond þā þider urnon swā hwelc swā þonne gearo wearþ, ond
radost. Ond hiera se æþeling gehwelcum feoh ond feorh gebēad, ond hiera nǣnig
hit geþicgean nolde; ac hīe simle feohtende wǣran oþ hīe alle lǣgon būtan ānum
Bryttiscum gīsle, ond sē swīþe gewundad wæs.
Þā on morgenne gehīerdun þæt þæs cyninges þegnas, þe him beæftan wǣrun, þæt
se cyning ofslægen wæs, þā ridon hīe þider, ond his aldormon Ōsrīc, ond Wīferþ
his þegn, ond þā men þe hē beæftan him lǣfde ǣr, ond þone æþeling on þǣre
byrig mētton þǣr se cyning ofslægen læg — ond þā gatu him tō belocen hæfdon
— ond þā þǣrtō ēodon. Ond þā gebēad hē him hiera āgenne dōm fēos ond londes,
gif hīe him þæs rīces ūþon; ond him cȳþdon þæt hiera mǣgas him mid wǣron, þā
þe him from noldon. Ond þā cuǣdon hīe þæt him nǣnig mǣg lēofra nǣre þonne
hiera hlāford, ond hīe nǣfre his banan folgian noldon. Ond þā budon hīe hiera
mǣgum þæt hīe gesunde from ēodon; ond hīe cuǣdon þæt tæt ilce hiera gefērum
geboden wǣre þe ǣr mid þām cyninge wǣrun. Þā cuǣdon hīe þæt hīe hīe þæs ne
onmunden 'þon mā þe ēowre gefēran þe mid þām cyninge ofslægene wǣrun.' Ond
hīe þā ymb þā gatu feohtende wǣron oþ þæt hīe þǣrinne fulgon ond þone æþeling
ofslōgon; ond þā men þe him mid wǣrun, alle būtan ānum, sē wæs þæs
aldormonnes godsunu; ond hē his feorh generede, ond þēah hē wæs oft gewundad.
Translation
When the king grasped this, he went to the door and nobly protected himself until
he looked upon the prince, and then rushed out to him and severely wounded him;
then they all were fighting against the king, until they had slain him. Then, upon
his lady's outcries, the king's attendants discovered the disturbance, and ran there,
whoever got ready the quickest. The prince offered each one of them money and
life, but not one of them would accept it; and they went on fighting until they all
lay dead except for one British hostage, and he was severely wounded.
When in the morning the king's thanes, who were behind him, heard that the king
was slain, they rode thither, with his nobleman Osric, and Wiferth his thane, and
the men who he previously left behind him; they met the prince at the stonghold
where the king lay slain -- they had locked the gates against them -- and they went
there. Then he offered to them their own choice of money and land, if they
granted the kingdom to him; they revealed to them that their kinsmen were with
them, they who wouldn't (go) away from them. But they said that no kinsman was
more dear to them than their lord, and they never would follow his slayer. Then
they offered to their kinsmen, that they could walk away unharmed; but they said
that the same thing would be offered to their comrades which were before, with
the king. Then they said that they did not think themselves worthy of this "any
more than your companions who were slain with the king." And then they were
fighting at the gates until they penetrated therein and slew the prince, and the men
who were with him, all but one, who was his nobleman's godson; and he saved his
life, though he was much wounded.
Grammar
11. The Anomalous Verb willan

A new anomalous verb found in this lesson is willan 'wish, be willing'. Its forms are
reflected in the following table:
willan Indicative Subjunctive Imperative
1 Sg. Pres. wile wile
2 Sg. Pres. wilt wile wile
3 Sg. Pres. wile wile
Pl. Pres. willað willen willað
1 Sg. Pret. wolde wolde

2 Sg. Pret. woldest wolde
3 Sg. Pret. wolde wolde
Pl. Pret. woldon wolden
From willan, wolde come modern English 'will, would'. The present participle is willende
'willing'; no past participle is attested. Spelling variations double or undouble the letter 'l',
and might replace 'i' with 'y'.
12. Weak Verbs in Class III

Our text in this lesson contains the verb habban 'have, possess'; the text in lesson 4
contains secgan (also spelled secgean) 'say'; the text in lesson 10 contains libban 'live'.
We conjugate these three to illustrate the weak verbs in Class III, which exhibit variations
(columns 1, 2, and 3). There are few other surviving examples of verbs in this class; even
in our examples, "defects" may be observed: irregularities in supposedly regular verbs! It
seems that the Anglo-Saxons were abandoning Weak III as a verb class and were using
Weak II conjugation rules instead.
Weak III 1 2 3
Infinitive habban 'have' secg(e)an 'say' libban, lifian 'live'
Inflected Infin. tō habbanne tō secg(e)anne tō libbanne
Imperative Sg. hafa sege, saga liofa
Imperative Pl. habbað secg(e)að libbað, lifiað
Pres. Participle hæbbende secgende libbende, lifigende
Past Participle hæfd sægd, sǣd lifd
Gerund habbenne secgenne lifienne
1 Sg. hæbbe secge libbe, lifge
2 Sg. hæfst, hafast segst, sægst lifast
3 Sg. hæfð, hafað segð, sægeð lifað
Plural habbað secgað libbað
Singular hæbbe secge libbe
Plural habben secgen libben
1 Sg. hæfde sægde, sǣde lifde
2 Sg. hæfdest sægdest, sǣdest lifdest
3 Sg. hæfde sægde, sǣde lifde
Plural hæfdon sægdon, sǣdon lifdon
Singular hæfde sægde, sǣde lifde
Plural hæfden sægden, sǣden lifden
13. Strong Verbs in Class II

Strong Class II verbs exhibit the four-vowel ablaut pattern -ēo-, -ēa-, -u-, -o-, although a
few verbs in this class have -ū- instead of -ēo- for reasons unknown.
Our text in this lesson contains the verbs bēodan 'bid, command, offer' and belūcan 'lock,
close, shut'; the text in lesson 9 contains bedrēosan 'bereave, deprive of'; and the text in
lesson 1 contains oftēon 'deny, deprive'. We conjugate these four to illustrate the strong
verbs in Class II, which exhibit variations (columns 1, 2, 3, and 4). Note that
reconstructing oftēon (column 4) is known to be problematic, but we do not engage in
this discussion.
Strong II 1 2 3 4
Infinitive bēodan 'bid' belūcan 'lock' bedrēosan 'bereave' oftēon 'deny'
Inflected Infin. tō bēodanne tō belūcanne tō bedrēosanne tō oftēanne
Imperative Sg. bēod belūc bedrēos oftēoh
Imperative Pl. bēodað belūcað bedrēosað oftēað
Pres. Participle bēodende belūcende bedrēosende oftēonde
Past Participle boden belocen bedroren oftogen
Gerund bēodenne belūcenne bedrēosenne oftēenne
Present Indicative 1 2 3 4
1 Sg. bēode belūce bedrēose oftēe
2 Sg. bēodest belūcest bedrēosest oftēest
3 Sg. bēodeð belūceð bedrēoseð oftēeð
Plural bēodað belūcað bedrēosað oftēað
Present Subjunctive 1 2 3 4
Singular bēode belūce bedrēose oftēe
Plural bēoden belūcen bedrēosen oftēen
Preterite Indicative 1 2 3 4
1 Sg. bēad belēac bedrēas oftēah
2 Sg. bude beluce bedrure oftuge
3 Sg. bēad belēac bedrēas oftēah
Plural budon belucon bedruron oftugon
Preterite Subjunctive 1 2 3 4
Singular bude beluce bedrure oftuge
Plural buden belucen bedruren oftugen
14. Strong Verbs in Class III
Due to the differential effects of ancient sound changes not discussed here, Strong Class
III verbs fall into four subclasses:
11. for verbs with nasal + consonant after the vowel, the ablaut pattern is -i- (or -y-),
-a- (or -o-), -u-, -u-;
12. for verbs with l + consonant after the vowel, the ablaut pattern is -(i)e-, -ea-, -u-,
-o-;
13. for verbs with r or h + consonant after the vowel, the ablaut pattern is -eo-, -ea-,
-u-, -o-;
14. otherwise, the ablaut pattern is generally -e-, -æ-, -u-, -o-.
The text in lesson 2 contains the verb singan 'sing'; the text in lesson 1 contains gieldan
'yield, pay'; our text in this lesson contains feohtan 'fight'; and for the 4th subclass, of
which no example appears in our texts, we arbitrarily select berstan 'burst'. We conjugate
these four to illustrate the strong verbs in Class III, which exhibit variations in ablaut
(columns 1, 2, 3, and 4) as described above.
Strong III 1 2 3 4
Infinitive singan 'sing' gieldan 'yield' feohtan 'fight' berstan 'burst'
Inflected Infin. tō singanne tō gieldanne tō feohtanne tō berstanne
Imperative Sg. sing gield feoht berst
Imperative Pl. singað gieldað feohtað berstað
Pres. Participle singende gieldende feohtende berstende
Past Participle sungen golden fohten borsten
Gerund singenne gieldenne feohtenne berstenne
1 Sg. singe gielde feohte berste
2 Sg. singest gieldest feohtest berstest
3 Sg. singeð gieldeð feohteð bersteð
Plural singað gieldað feohtað berstað
Singular singe gielde feohte berste
Plural singen gielden feohten bersten
1 Sg. sang, song geald feaht bærst
2 Sg. sunge gulde fuhte burste
3 Sg. sang, song geald feaht bærst
Plural sungon guldon fuhton burston
Singular sunge gulde fuhte burste
Plural sungen gulden fuhten bursten
A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong III verbs found in
our lesson texts includes begin, bind, cringe, find, spring, wind, and yell, two of which
became weak.
15. Preterite-Present Verbs in Class III

Some verbs in Old English (and other Germanic languages) underwent a regular change
in meaning with consequent morphological evolution; in particular, the preterite forms of
certain strong verbs came to have present-tense meanings, and in order to convey
preterite sense these verbs acquired new, weak past-tense inflectional endings. These are
called preterite-present verbs, and they are organized into classes depending on the ablaut
patterns of their forebears. For example, certain verbs in Strong Class III gave rise to [all
and only] Preterite-Present Class III verbs. The evolutionary change may be described as
follows:
15. the old infinitive, gerund, imperative, and all present forms were lost;
16. the old preterite singular form (with 2nd ablaut vowel intact) was then used for
the new present 1st/3rd person singular;
17. the old preterite plural stem (with 3rd ablaut vowel intact) was then used in the
new infinitive, gerund, imperative, and remaining present forms;
18. the old past participle stem (with 4th ablaut vowel intact) was then used for the
new preterite forms, which acquired weak (-d or -t) endings;
19. the old past participle, unchanged, retained its grammatical role.
N.B. By no means do we imply a strict evolutionary sequence, 1-4! It is merely simpler
to describe the end results in this way. Also the preterite-present verb paradigms, despite
the seemingly complete "rules" (above) used in reconstruction, are in practice seldom
fully attested; hence, such reconstructions must be taken with the usual grain of salt.
There are four principal parts of every preterite-present verb; these are always its
infinitive, its 3rd person present singular, its present plural, and its preterite singular; the
past participle is not included because, from these four forms, one may (in theory)
construct the complete conjugation.
The preterite > present evolution, whatever the historical details, affected certain verbs in
Strong Verb Classes I-VI; a number of these verbs became modals, exemplified by
modern English 'can', 'could', 'may', 'might', 'should', etc.
The text in lesson 2 contains the preterite-present verb cunnan 'can, be able to', which
evolved into modern English can and could; the text in this lesson contains the preterite-
present verb unnan 'grant, bestow'. We conjugate these two to illustrate the preterite-
present verbs in Class III.
Pret-Pres. III 1 2
Infinitive cunnan 'can' unnan 'grant'
Inflected Infin. tō cunnanne tō unnanne
Imperative Sg. cunn unn
Imperative Pl. cunnað unnað
Pres. Participle cunnende unnende
Past Participle cūðen ūðen
Gerund cunnenne unnenne
1 Sg. cann, conn ann
2 Sg. cunnest unnest
3 Sg. cann, conn ann
Plural cunnon unnon
Singular cunne unne
Plural cunnen unnen
1 Sg. cūðe ūðe
2 Sg. cūðest ūðest
3 Sg. cūðe ūðe
Plural cūðon ūðon
Singular cūðe ūðe
Plural cūðen ūðen
As usual, spelling variations abound in surviving texts. Another modern English verb
descended from an OE Preterite-Present III verb found in our lesson texts is dare.
Old English Online

Lesson 4
Jonathan Slocum
The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan relates certain travels attributed to Ohthere, whose
story along with that of one Wulfstan was included in King Alfred's translation from
Latin of the Compendious History of the World by Paulus Orosius (d. 420). Ohthere was a
Norwegian hunter, whaler, and trader who tells among other things of his voyages north
and east of the Scandinavian peninsula, round the Kola peninsula to the White Sea (all of
these terms being modern). Orosius' History did not include Ohthere's tale, nor that of
Wulfstan; rather, these stories were composed or copied from an unknown source and
inserted into the Anglo-Saxon translation of the History.
While their factual bases cannot be verified, both of these stories contain far less fanciful
narrative and much more apparent fact than is normally found in popular medieval
travelers' tales. Not all the places and peoples mentioned in the Voyages can be identified
with certainty, but what can be pinned down fits very well with geography and a ninth-
century setting.
Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. In it,
we read of the geography and peoples of Scandinavia, and of an apparent (?) half-
circumnavigation of the British Isles, heading west and north from Wessex, where
Ohthere is presumably located while narrating this story, past Ireland on the way around
Scotland to Norway and a port in the south thereof. (There are several other theories
concerning the route, signalling its uncertain identification.) Our selection ends with his
mention of a great sea to the east.
Hē sǣde ðæt Norðmanna land wǣre swȳþe lang and swȳðe smæl.
he, she, it -- he
·688 sǣde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <secgan,
sægde, sægd> say -- said
·689 ðæt -- subordinating conjunction <þæt> that -- that
·690 Norðmanna -- proper noun, masculine; genitive plural of <Norð-mann>
Norwegian, lit. north-man -- of the Norwegians
·691 land -- strong noun, neuter; nominative singular of <lond> land, realm,
country -- the land
·693 swȳþe -- adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- very
·694 lang -- adjective; nominative singular of <lang> long -- long
·696 swȳðe -- adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- very
·697 smæl -- adjective; nominative singular of <smæl> small, narrow --
narrow
Eal þæt his man āþer oððe ettan oððe erian mæg, þæt līð wið ðā sǣ;
·698 eal -- adjective; nominative singular of <eall> all -- all
·699 þæt -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular neuter
of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that -- that
he, she, it -- a
person -- man
·702 āþer -- correlative conjunction <āhwæþer> either -- either
·703 oððe -- correlative conjunction <oððe> or -- ...
·704 ettan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <ettan, ettede, etted> graze,
pasture -- graze
·705 oððe -- correlative conjunction <oððe> or -- or
·706 erian -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <erian, erede, ered> plow -- plow
·707 mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present
indicative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- can
·708 þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <sē, sēo,
ðæt> that -- ...
·709 līð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular present of <licgan, læg,
lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated -- extends
·710 wið -- preposition <wið> against, along -- alongside
the
·712 sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake -- sea
and þæt is þēah on sumum stōwum swȳðe clūdig;
·713 and -- conjunction <and> and -- but
ðæt> that -- it
become, exist -- is
·716 þēah -- adverb <þēah> yet, though, however -- however
·718 sumum -- adjective; dative plural of <sum> some, a certain -- certain
·719 stōwum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <stōw> place -- places
·721 clūdig -- adjective; nominative singular of <clūdig> rocky -- rocky
and licgað wilde mōras wið ēastan and wið uppon emnlange þǣm bȳnum lande.
·723 licgað -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural present of <licgan, læg,
lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated -- lie
·724 wilde -- adjective; accusative plural of <wilde> wild, untamed -- wild
·725 mōras -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <mōr> moor; mountainous
region -- moors
·726 wið ēastan -- adverb <wið ēastan> to the east -- to the east
·728 wið uppon -- adverb <wið uppan> upwards, above -- above
·729 emnlange -- preposition <emnlange> along -- beside
·731 bȳnum -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <bȳn> inhabited, occupied --
inhabited
·732 lande -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of <lond> land, realm,
country -- land
On þǣm mōrum eardiað Finnas.
·735 mōrum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <mōr> moor; mountainous
region -- moors
·736 eardiað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present of <eardian,
eardode, eardod> live, dwell -- live
·737 Finnas -- proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of <Finnas> Finns --
Finns
And þæt bȳne land is ēasteweard brādost, and symle swā norðor swā smælre.
·739 þæt -- definite article; nominative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·740 bȳne -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <bȳn> inhabited,
occupied -- inhabited
country -- land
become, exist -- is
·743 ēasteweard -- adverb <ēast-weard> eastward -- to the east
·744 brādost -- adjective; superlative of <brād> broad, open -- broadest
·746 symle -- adverb <simle> ever, always -- ever
·747 swā -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- ...
·748 norðor -- adverb; comparative of <norð> north(wards) -- further north
·749 swā -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- ...
·750 smælre -- adjective; comparative of <smæl> small, narrow -- narrower
Ēastewerd hit mæg bīon syxtig mīla brād, oþþe hwēne brādre;
·751 ēastewerd -- adverb <ēast-weard> eastward -- to the east
·752 hit -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he,
she, it -- it
indicative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- may
·754 bīon -- anomalous verb; infinitive of <bēon> be, become, exist -- be
·755 syxtig -- numeral <siextig> sixty -- sixty
·756 mīla -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mīl> mile -- miles
·757 brād -- adjective; nominative singular of <brād> broad, open -- wide
·758 oþþe -- correlative conjunction <oððe> or -- or
·759 hwēne -- adverb <hwōn> somewhat, a little -- somewhat
·760 brādre -- adjective; comparative of <brād> broad, open -- more
and middeweard þrītig oððe brādre;
·762 middeweard -- adverb <midde-weard> mid-ward, middling -- towards the
middle
·763 þrītig -- numeral <þrītig> thirty -- thirty
·764 oððe -- correlative conjunction <oððe> or -- or
·765 brādre -- adjective; comparative of <brād> broad, open -- more
and norðeweard hē cwæð, þǣr hit smalost wǣre, þæt hit mihte bēon þrēora mīla brād tō
þǣm mōre;
·767 norðeweard -- adverb <norð-weard> northward -- to the north
he, she, it -- he
she, it -- it
·772 smalost -- adjective; superlative of <smæl> small, narrow -- narrowest
she, it -- it
·776 mihte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular
preterite optative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- might
·777 bēon -- anomalous verb; infinitive of <bēon> be, become, exist -- be
·778 þrēora -- numeral; genitive plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three -- three
·779 mīla -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mīl> mile -- miles
·781 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- towards
·782 þǣm -- definite article; dative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·783 mōre -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous
region -- moor
and se mōr syðþan, on sumum stōwum, swā brād swā man mæg on twām wucum
oferfēran;
-- the
·786 mōr -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous
region -- moor
·787 syðþan -- adverb <syððan> afterwards -- afterwards
·789 sumum -- adjective; dative plural of <sum> some, a certain -- some
·791 swā -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- as
person -- one
indicative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- might
·797 twām -- numeral; feminine plural of <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two -- two
·798 wucum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <wucu> week -- weeks
·799 oferfēran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <oferfēran, oferfērde,
oferfēred> traverse -- cross
and on sumum stōwum swā brād swā man mæg on syx dagum oferfēran.
·802 sumum -- adjective; dative plural of <sum> some, a certain -- some
person -- one
·810 syx -- numeral <siex> six -- six
·811 dagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <dæg> day -- days
·812 oferfēran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <oferfēran, oferfērde,
oferfēred> traverse -- cross
Ðonne is tōemnes þǣm lande sūðeweardum, on ōðre healfe þæs mōres, Swēoland, oþ þæt
land norðeweard;
·813 ðonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- then
become, exist -- is
·815 tōemnes -- preposition <tōemnes> alongside -- alongside
·816 þǣm -- demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> that
-- that
country -- land # Norway
·818 sūðeweardum -- adjective; dative singular of <sūðe-weard> southward --
on the south
·820 ōðre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of <ōðer> other, next, second --
the other
·821 healfe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <healf> half, part, side -- side
of the
·823 mōres -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous
region -- moors
·824 Swēoland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Swēo-land>
Sweden -- Sweden
·825 oþ -- preposition <oð> until, up to, as far as -- as far as
·826 þæt -- demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt>
that -- that
·827 land -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lond> land, realm,
·828 norðeweard -- adverb <norð-weard> northward -- to the north
and tōemnes þǣm lande norðeweardum, Cwēna land.
·830 tōemnes -- preposition <tōemnes> alongside -- alongside
·831 þǣm -- definite article; dative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- that
country -- land
·833 norðeweardum -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <norð-weard>
northward -- on the north
·834 Cwēna -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <Cwēnas> Cwenas,
Cwena people -- of the Cwena people # a Finnish tribe
country -- the land
Þā Cwēnas hergiað hwīlum on ðā Norðmen ofer ðone mōr, hwīlum þā Norðmen on hȳ.
·837 Cwēnas -- proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of <Cwēnas>
Cwenas, Cwena people -- Cwenas
·838 hergiað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present of <hergian,
hergode, gehergod> harry, raid, ravage -- conduct raids
·839 hwīlum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <hwīl> while, time --
sometimes
·841 ðā -- definite article; accusative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
·842 Norðmen -- proper noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Norð-mann>
Norwegian, lit. north-man -- Norwegians
·844 ðone -- definite article; accusative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
-- the
·845 mōr -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous
region -- moor
sometimes
·848 Norðmen -- proper noun, masculine; nominative plural of <Norð-mann>
·850 hȳ -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
them
And þǣr sint swīðe micle meras fersce geond þā mōras;
·853 sint -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of <is> be,
become, exist -- are
·854 swīðe -- adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- very
·855 micle -- adjective; nominative plural of <micel> much, great -- large
·856 meras -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <mere> mere, lake, sea --
lakes
·857 fersce -- adjective; nominative plural of <fersc> fresh -- fresh-water
·858 geond -- preposition <geond> over, through(out) -- throughout
·860 mōras -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <mōr> moor; mountainous
region -- moors
and berað þā Cwēnas hyra scypu ofer land on ðā meras, and þanon hergiað on þā
Norðmen;
·862 berað -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person plural present of <beran, bær,
bǣron, boren> bear, carry -- carry
·864 Cwēnas -- proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of <Cwēnas>
Cwenas, Cwena people -- Cwenas
·865 hyra -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
their
·866 scypu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scip> ship -- ships
·867 ofer -- preposition <ofer> over, across -- over
country -- the land
·869 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- onto
·871 meras -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <mere> mere, lake, sea --
lakes
·873 þanon -- adverb <ðonan> thence, from there -- from there
·874 hergiað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present of <hergian,
hergode, gehergod> harry, raid, ravage -- raid
·877 Norðmen -- proper noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Norð-mann>
hȳ habbað swȳðe lȳtle scypa and swȳðe lēohte.
·878 hȳ -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
they
·879 habbað -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural present of <habban,
hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- have
·881 lȳtle -- adjective; accusative plural of <lȳtel> little, small -- small
·882 scypa -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scip> ship -- ships
·885 lēohte -- adjective; accusative plural of <lēoht> light, easy -- light
Ōhthere sǣde þæt sīo scīr hātte Hālgoland þe hē on būde.
·886 Ōhthere -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ōhthere>
Ohthere -- Ohthere
·887 sǣde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <secgan,
sægde, sægd> say -- said
·889 sīo -- definite article; nominative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·890 scīr -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <scīr> shire, district,
division -- district
·891 hātte -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular passive of <hātan, heht,
hēton, hāten> call, name; order -- is called # relic of medio-passive
·892 Hālgoland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Hālgo-land>
Helgeland -- Helgeland
he, she, it -- he
·896 būde -- irregular verb; 3rd person singular preterite of <būan, būde, bȳne>
dwell, live -- lived
Hē cwæð þæt nān man ne būde be norðan him.
he, she, it -- he
·900 nān -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + indefinite article <ān> a, an, one --
no
person -- one
·902 ne -- adverb <ne> not -- ... # double negative, for emphasis
·903 būde -- irregular verb; 3rd person singular preterite of <būan, būde, bȳne>
dwell, live -- lived
·904 be norðan -- adverb <be norðan> north of -- north of
she, it -- him
Þonne is ān port on sūðeweardum þǣm lande, þone man hǣt Scīringes hēal.
become, exist -- (there) is
·908 ān -- indefinite article; nominative singular of <ān> a, an, one -- a
·909 port -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <port> port, harbor -- port
·911 sūðeweardum -- adjective; dative singular of <sūðe-weard> southward --
the south of
·912 þǣm -- definite article; dative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- that
·914 þone -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; accusative singular
masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that -- which
person -- one
·916 hǣt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present of <hātan, heht,
hēton, hāten> call, name; order -- calls
·917 Scīringes hēal -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of
<Scīringes-hēal> Skiringssal -- Skiringssal
Þyder hē cwæð þæt man ne mihte geseglian on ānum mōnðe, gyf man on niht wīcode,
and ǣlce dæge hæfde ambyrne wind;
·918 þyder -- adverb <þyder> thither -- there
he, she, it -- he
person -- one
·924 mihte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular
preterite optative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- could
·925 geseglian -- weak verb, class II; infinitive of <geseglian, geseglode,
geseglod> sail -- sail
·927 ānum -- indefinite article; dative singular masculine of <ān> a, an, one -- a
·928 mōnðe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <mōnað> month -- month
·929 gyf -- conjunction <gif> if -- if
person -- one
·931 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- at
·932 niht -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <niht> night -- night
·933 wīcode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <wician,
wīcode, wīcod> camp, lodge -- anchored # (near the shore)
·935 ǣlce -- adjective; instrumental singular of <ǣlc> all, any -- each
·936 dæge -- noun, masculine; instrumental singular of <dæg> day -- day
·937 hæfde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <habban,
hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- had
·938 ambyrne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <ambyr>
favorable, fair -- (a) favorable
·939 wind -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wind> wind -- wind
and ealle ðā hwīle hē sceal seglian be lande.
·941 ealle -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <eall> all -- all
the
·943 hwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hwīl> while, time --
while
he, she, it -- he
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- shall
·946 seglian -- weak verb, class II; infinitive of <seglian, seglode, seglod> sail
-- sail
·947 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- near
country -- land
And on þæt stēorbord him bið ǣrest Īraland, and þonne ðā īgland þe synd betux Īralande
and þissum lande.
the
·952 stēorbord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <stēor-bord> starboard,
lit. stear(ing)-board -- starboard
she, it -- of him # the traveler
·954 bið -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <bēon>
be, become, exist -- is
·956 Īraland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Īra-land> Ireland --
Ireland
·958 þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- then
·960 īgland -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <īglond> island -- islands #
(Hebrides?)
·962 synd -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of <is> be,
become, exist -- are
·963 betux -- preposition <betux> between -- between
·964 Īralande -- proper noun, neuter; dative singular of <Īra-land> Ireland --
Ireland
·966 þissum -- demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of <ðes, ðēos, ðis>
this -- this
country -- land # England
Þonne is þis land oð hē cymð tō Scīrincges hēale, and ealne weg on þæt bæcbord
Norðweg.
·968 þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- then
become, exist -- continues
·970 þis -- demonstrative article; nominative singular neuter of <ðes, ðēos, ðis>
this -- this
country -- land
·972 oð -- adverbial conjunction <oð> until -- until
he, she, it -- one
·974 cymð -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present of <cuman,
cwōm, cwōmon, cumen> come -- comes
·976 Scīrincges hēale -- proper noun, masculine; dative singular of <Scīringes-
hēal> Skiringssal -- Skiringssal
·978 ealne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <eall> all -- all
·979 weg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <weg> way -- the way
the
·982 bæcbord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <bæc-bord> larboard, port
side -- port side
·983 Norðweg -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Norðweg>
Norway, lit. way leading north -- Norway
Wið sūðan þone Scīringes hēal fylð swȳðe mycel sǣ ūp in on ðæt lond;
·984 wið sūðan -- adverb <wið sūðan> to the south -- to the south of
-- the
·986 Scīringes hēal -- proper noun, masculine; accusative singular of
<Scīringes-hēal> Skiringssal -- Skiringssal
·987 fylð -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present of <feallan, fēoll,
fēollon, feallen> fall, flow -- flows
·988 swȳðe -- adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- (a) very
·989 mycel -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <micel> much, great
-- large
·990 sǣ -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake -- sea
·991 ūp -- adverb <ūp> up, upwards -- up
·994 ðæt -- demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt>
that -- that
·995 lond -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lond> land, realm,
country -- land
sēo is brādre þonne ǣnig man ofer sēon mæge.
·996 sēo -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular
feminine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- it
become, exist -- is
·998 brādre -- adjective; comparative of <brād> broad, open -- wider
·999 þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- than
·1000 ǣnig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ǣnig> any -- any
person -- man
·1003 sēon -- strong verb, class V; infinitive of <sēon, seah, sǣgon, segen> see,
look -- see # or sēon, seah, sāwon/sǣwon, sewen
·1004 mæge -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present
optative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- is able to
And is Gotland on ōðre healfe ongēan, and siððan Sillende.
become, exist -- is
·1007 Gotland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Got-land> Goth
land -- Jutland
·1009 ōðre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of <ōðer> other, next, second --
the other
·1011 ongēan -- adverb <ongēan> against, back -- opposite
·1013 siððan -- adverb <siððan> since, when, afterwards -- thereafter
·1014 Sillende -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Sillende>
Zealand -- Zealand
Sēo sǣ līð mænig hund mīla ūp in on þæt land.
·1015 sēo -- definite article; nominative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
-- the
·1016 sǣ -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake -- sea
lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated -- extends
·1018 mænig -- adjective; nominative singular of <mænig> many -- many
·1019 hund -- numeral <hund> hundred -- hundred(s)
·1020 mīla -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mīl> mile -- of miles
·1021 ūp -- adverb <ūp> up, upwards -- up
that -- that
country -- land
Lesson Text
Hē sǣde ðæt Norðmanna land wǣre swȳþe lang and swȳðe smæl. Eal þæt his
man āþer oððe ettan oððe erian mæg, þæt līð wið ðā sǣ; and þæt is þēah on
sumum stōwum swȳðe clūdig; and licgað wilde mōras wið ēastan and wið uppon
emnlange þǣm bȳnum lande. On þǣm mōrum eardiað Finnas. And þæt bȳne land
is ēasteweard brādost, and symle swā norðor swā smælre. Ēastewerd hit mæg bīon
syxtig mīla brād, oþþe hwēne brādre; and middeweard þrītig oððe brādre; and
norðeweard hē cwæð, þǣr hit smalost wǣre, þæt hit mihte bēon þrēora mīla brād
tō þǣm mōre; and se mōr syðþan, on sumum stōwum, swā brād swā man mæg on
twām wucum oferfēran; and on sumum stōwum swā brād swā man mæg on syx
dagum oferfēran.
Ðonne is tōemnes þǣm lande sūðeweardum, on ōðre healfe þæs mōres,

Swēoland, oþ þæt land norðeweard; and tōemnes þǣm lande norðeweardum,
Cwēna land. Þā Cwēnas hergiað hwīlum on ðā Norðmen ofer ðone mōr, hwīlum
þā Norðmen on hȳ. And þǣr sint swīðe micle meras fersce geond þā mōras; and
berað þā Cwēnas hyra scypu ofer land on ðā meras, and þanon hergiað on þā
Norðmen; hȳ habbað swȳðe lȳtle scypa and swȳðe lēohte.
Ōhthere sǣde þæt sīo scīr hātte Hālgoland þe hē on būde. Hē cwæð þæt nān man
ne būde be norðan him. Þonne is ān port on sūðeweardum þǣm lande, þone man
hǣt Scīringes hēal. Þyder hē cwæð þæt man ne mihte geseglian on ānum mōnðe,
gyf man on niht wīcode, and ǣlce dæge hæfde ambyrne wind; and ealle ðā hwīle
hē sceal seglian be lande. And on þæt stēorbord him bið ǣrest Īraland, and þonne
ðā īgland þe synd betux Īralande and þissum lande. Þonne is þis land oð hē cymð
tō Scīrincges hēale, and ealne weg on þæt bæcbord Norðweg. Wið sūðan þone
Scīringes hēal fylð swȳðe mycel sǣ ūp in on ðæt lond; sēo is brādre þonne ǣnig
man ofer sēon mæge. And is Gotland on ōðre healfe ongēan, and siððan Sillende.
Sēo sǣ līð mænig hund mīla ūp in on þæt land.
Translation
He said that the land of the Norwegians was very long and very narrow. All that a
man can either graze or plough extends alongside the sea; but it is however in
certain places very rocky; and wild moors lie to the east and above, beside the
inhabited land. On the moors live Finns. The inhabited land is broadest to the east,
and ever narrower further north. To the east it may be sixty miles wide, or
somewhat more; and towards the middle, thirty or more. To the north, he said,
there it was narrowest, so that it might be three miles wide towards the moor; the
moor afterwards, in some places, (is) as wide as one might cross in two weeks;
and in some places as wide as one might cross in six days.
Then alongside that land on the south, on the other side of the moors, is Sweden,
as far as that land to the north; and alongside that land on the north, the land of the
Cwena people. The Cwenas sometimes conduct raids against the Norwegians
across the moor, sometimes the Norwegians against them. There are very large
fresh-water lakes throughout the moors; the Cwenas carry their ships over the
land onto the lakes, and from there raid the Norwegians; they have very small and
very light ships.
Ohthere said that the district is called Helgeland, which he lived in. He said that
no one lived north of him. There is a port in the south of that land, which one calls
Skiringssal. He said that one could not sail there in a month, if one anchored at
night, and each day had a favorable wind; and all the while he shall sail near land.
To the starboard of him is first Ireland, and then the islands that are between
Ireland and this land. Then this land continues until one comes to Skiringssal, and
all the way on the port side (is) Norway. To the south of the Skiringssal a very
large sea flows up into that land; it is wider than any man is able to see across.
Jutland is on the other side, opposite, and thereafter Zealand. The sea extends
many hundreds of miles up into that land.
Grammar
16. The Anomalous Verb bēon

Old English bēon 'to be, become' represents another anomalous verb inherited from
Proto-Germanic; this verb survives in modern English in the forms be, been, being. As
with wesan (see lesson 1), not all potential variants are found in surviving texts.
bēon 'be' Present Indicative Present Subjunctive Imperative
1 Sg. bēo bēo
2 Sg. bist bēo bēo
3 Sg. biþ bēo
Pl. bēoþ bēon bēoþ
There are neither preterite forms nor participles. There is a so-called "inflected infinitive"
form, tō bēonne '(in order) to be', which introduces a purpose.
17. The Anomalous Verb eom/is

The third Old English 'to be' verb has no [surviving] infinitive form; some authorities
identify it by its 1st person singular form eom 'am', others by its 3rd singular form is 'is'.
There are even fewer basic forms than with the other 'to be' verbs:
ēom 'am' Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1 Sg. ēom sīe
2 Sg. eart sī
3 Sg. is sēo
Pl. sind(on) sī(e)n
The suffix -on of sindon is sometimes present, sometimes absent, in the texts; an alternate
spelling of the sind variant is sint. Variations in the subjunctive forms include sīe for both
the 2nd/3rd singular, and the e in the plural may be present or absent.
Negative contractions include nēom, neart, and nis (see lesson texts 8 and 9).
18. Strong Verbs in Class IV

Strong Class IV verbs exhibit the four-vowel ablaut pattern -e-, -æ-, -ǣ-, -o- (or -u-) --
where the ablaut vowel is followed by -l-, -r-, or -m- -- in theory. In practice, some verbs
in this class exhibit the effects of sound changes like those that affected Strong III verbs
(recall its 4 subclasses). Again we will provide 4 example conjugations.
Our text in this lesson contains the verb beran 'bear, carry' -- the theoretical standard-
bearer for this verb class, although it does exhibit an unusual vowel change in the present
indicative 2nd/3rd person singular. The text in lesson 1 contains cuman 'come', which is
truly exceptional; we arbitrarily select scieran 'shear' and, looking ahead to genumen (past
participle of geniman) in lesson 10, niman 'take', which are rather less exceptional than
cuman, to fill out the conjugation table.
Strong IV 1 2 3 4
Infinitive beran 'bear' scieran 'shear' niman 'take' cuman 'come'
Inflected Infin. tō beranne tō scieranne tō nimanne tō cumanne
Imperative Sg. ber scier nim
Imperative Pl. berað scierað nimað cumað
Pres. Participle berende scierende nimende cumende
Past Participle boren scoren numen cumen, cymen
Gerund berenne scierenne nimenne cumenne
1 Sg. bere sciere nime cume
2 Sg. birst, birest scierest nimest cumest, cymest
3 Sg. birð, bireð sciereð nimeð cumeð, cymeð
Plural berað scierað nimað cumað
Singular bere sciere nime cume
Plural beren scieren nimen cumen, cymen
1 Sg. bær scear nam cōm, cwōm
2 Sg. bǣre scēare nāme cōme
3 Sg. bær scear nam cōm, cwōm
Plural bǣron scēaron nāmon cōmon, cwōmon
Singular bǣre scēare nāme cōme, cwōme
Plural bǣren scēaren nāmen cōmen
Another modern English verb descended from an OE Strong IV verb found in our lesson
texts is break, although in OE brecan, the liquid -r- precedes the ablaut vowel -- yet
another exception to the "rules."
19. Preterite-Present Verbs in Class IV

Preterite-Present verbs were introduced and described in lesson 3, §15. Our text in this
lesson (as well as lessons 1 & 2) contains the preterite-present verb sculan 'shall, ought
to', which evolved into modern English shall and should; the text in lesson 3 contains
onmunan 'esteem, remember, think worthy', formed from the prefix on- plus the verb
munan 'remember'. We conjugate these two to illustrate the preterite-present verbs in
Class IV.
Pret-Pres. IV 1 2
Infinitive sculan 'shall' munan 'remember'
Inflected Infin. tō sculanne tō munanne
Imperative Sg. scul mun
Imperative Pl. sculað munað
Pres. Participle sculende munende
Past Participle scolen munen
Gerund sculenne munenne
1 Sg. sceal man, mon
2 Sg. sculest munest
3 Sg. sceal man, mon
Plural sculon munon
Singular scule mune
Plural sculen munen
1 Sg. scolde munde
2 Sg. scoldest mundest
3 Sg. scolde munde
Plural scoldon mundon
Singular scolde munde
Plural scolden munden
20. Strong Verbs in Class V

This class is yet another with 4 subclasses. The nominal four-vowel ablaut pattern is -e-,
-æ-, -ǣ-, -e-; however, once again, ancient sound changes not discussed here resulted in
variations that we illustrate with 4 example conjugations.
The text in lesson 2 contains the verb sprecan 'speak, say'; the texts in lessons 1 & 3
contain ongietan 'grasp, understand', formed from the prefix on- plus the verb gietan 'get';
our text in this lesson contains the verbs licgan 'lie, extend, be situated' and sēon 'see,
look'. We conjugate these four to illustrate the strong verbs in Class V; as usual, the 4th
column exhibits the greatest variability.
Strong V 1 2 3 4
Infinitive sprecan 'speak' gietan 'get' licgan 'lie' sēon, seoan 'see'
Inflected Infin. tō sprecanne tō gietanne tō licganne tō sēonne, tō sǣgon
Imperative Sg. spræc giet lige seoh
Imperative Pl. sprecað gietað licgað sēoð
Pres. Participle sprecende gietende licgende sēonde
Past Participle sprecen gieten (ongyten) legen sewen, sawen
Gerund sprecenne gietenne licgenne sēonne
1 Sg. sprece giete (ongite) licge sēo
2 Sg. sprecest gietest (ongitst) ligest, ligst siehst
3 Sg. sprceð, spricð gieteð (ongit) ligeð, lið siehð (gesyhð)
Plural sprecað gietað licgað sēoð
Singular sprece giete licge sēo
Plural sprecen gieten licgen sēon
1 Sg. spræc geat læg seah
2 Sg. sprǣce gēate lǣge sāwe
3 Sg. spræc, spæc geat læg seah
lǣgo
Plural sprǣcon, sprǣcan gēaton sāwon, sǣgon (gesāwon, gesēgan)
n
Singular sprǣce gēate lǣge sāwe
Plural sprǣcen gēaten lǣgen sāwen
N.B. Not by any means are all of the many spelling variations, found in OE texts, listed
above -- nor are they in general, in our conjugation tables.
A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong V verbs found in
our lesson texts includes bid, forgive, give, quoth ("the Raven..."), and wreak.
Old English Online

Lesson 5
Jonathan Slocum
In the year 897, King Alfred the Great decided to deal with marauding bands of Danish
Vikings, who would raid coastal areas all around the southern part of England. The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates his activities that year, and the generally satisfactory
outcome.
The Chronicle story is generally self-explanatory. After setting the stage, it notes the
events that followed Alfred's construction of new warships to counter the Vikings. He
dispatches nine of them on a mission. Six pirate ships are spotted beached on a riverbank
near the sea, with guards posted, while raiders plunder inland. When the guards spy
Alfred's vessels, they launch three of their ships to engage the English.
Our selection includes lines 159-193, found on p. 37 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959),
Ðā þæs on sumera on ðysum gēre tōfōr se here, sum on Ēastengle, sum on Norðhymbre.
·1026 ðā -- adverb <þā> then, when -- ...
·1027 þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt>
that -- ...
·1029 sumera -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <sumor> summer --
summer
·1031 ðysum -- demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of <ðes, ðēos, ðis>
this -- this
·1032 gēre -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <gēar> year -- year
·1033 tōfōr -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <tō-faran, tō-
fōr, tō-fōron, tō-faren> disperse, separate -- dispersed
-- the
·1035 here -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <here> (enemy) army --
enemy # the Danish army: the Vikings
-- some
·1037 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- into
·1038 Ēastengle -- proper noun, masculine plural; accusative of <Ēast-Engle>
East Angles, East Anglia -- East Anglia
-- some
·1041 Norðhymbre -- proper noun, masculine plural; accusative of <Norð-
hymbre> Northumbrians, Northumbria -- Northumbria
Ond þā þe feohlēase wǣron him þǣr scipu begēton, ond sūð ofer sǣ fōron tō Sigene.
·1043 þā -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that --
those
·1045 feohlēase -- adjective; nominative plural of <feoh-lēas> moneyless, lit.
without cattle -- without money
·1047 him -- 3rd person pronoun; used as reflexive; dative plural of <hē, hēo,
hit> he, she, it -- themselves
·1049 scipu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scip> ship -- ships
·1050 begēton -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of <begietan,
begeat, begēaton, begieten> get, acquire -- got
·1052 sūð -- adverb <sūð> south(wards) -- south
·1054 sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake -- the sea
·1055 fōron -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <faran, fōr,
fōron, faren> go, ride, travel -- went
·1057 Sigene -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Sigen> Seine -- the
Seine
Næfde se here, Godes þonces, Angelcyn ealles forswīðe gebrocod, ac hīe wǣron micle
swīþor gebrocede on þǣm þrim gēarum mid cēapes cwilde ond monna;
·1058 næfde -- adverb <ne> not + weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular
preterite <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- had not
-- the
·1060 here -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <here> (enemy) army --
enemy # the Danes
-- of God
·1062 þonces -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ðanc> thanks, grace,
mercy -- (by) the mercy # adverbial genitive
·1063 Angelcyn -- proper noun, neuter; accusative singular of <Angel-cynn>
English, lit. Angle kin -- the English
·1064 ealles -- adjective; genitive singular of <eall> all -- altogether # adverbial
genitive
·1065 forswīðe -- adverb <forswīðe> utterly, excessively -- entirely
·1066 gebrocod -- weak verb, class II; past participle of <gebrocian, gebrocede,
gebroced> crush; hurt, afflict -- crushed
·1067 ac -- conjunction <ac> and, but, however -- but
they
·1070 micle -- adverb <micel> much, very -- much
·1071 swīþor -- adverb; comparative of <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- more
·1072 gebrocede -- weak verb, class II; past participle; nominative plural of
<gebrocian, gebrocede, gebroced> crush; hurt, afflict -- afflicted
·1074 þǣm -- demonstrative article; dative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> that -- those
·1075 þrim -- numeral; dative plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three -- three
·1076 gēarum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <gēar> year -- years
·1077 mid -- preposition <mid> with -- by
·1078 cēapes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cēap> cattle -- of cattle
·1079 cwilde -- noun, masc/fem/neut; dative singular of <cwild> disease, plague,
pestilence -- pestilence
·1081 monna -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <monn> man, person
-- of men
ealles swīþost mid þǣm þæt manige þāra sēlestena cynges þēna þe þǣr on londe wǣron
forðfērdon on þǣm þrym gēarum.
·1082 ealles -- adjective; genitive singular of <eall> all -- of all
·1083 swīþost -- adverb; superlative of <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- most
·1084 mid -- preposition <mid> with -- among
·1085 þǣm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of <sē,
sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- them
...
·1087 manige -- adjective; nominative plural of <monig> many -- many
·1088 þāra -- definite article; genitive plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- (of) the
·1089 sēlestena -- adjective; comparative; genitive plural of <sēlla> better -- best
·1090 cynges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cyning> king -- of
the king's
·1091 þēna -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <þegn> thane,
warrior -- thanes
·1095 londe -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of <lond> land, realm,
country -- the land
·1097 forðfērdon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <forð-fēran,
forð-fērde, forð-fēred> die, depart, lit. go forth -- died
·1098 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- within
·1099 þǣm -- demonstrative article; dative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> that -- those
·1100 þrym -- numeral; dative plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three -- three
·1101 gēarum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <gēar> year -- years
Þāra wæs sum Swīðulf biscop on Hrōfesceastre, ond Cēolmund ealdormon on Cent,
·1102 þāra -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that -- of
these
·1104 sum -- adjective used as substantive; nominative singular masculine of
<sum> some, a certain -- one
·1105 Swīðulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Swīðulf>
Swithulf -- Swithulf
·1106 biscop -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <bisceop> bishop,
prelate -- bishop
·1108 Hrōfesceastre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Hrōfe-ceaster>
Rochester -- Rochester
·1110 Cēolmund -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Cēolmund>
Ceolmund -- Ceolmund
·1111 ealdormon -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ealdor-monn>
nobleman, lit. older man -- (a) nobleman
·1113 Cent -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Cent> Kent -- Kent
ond Beorhtulf ealdormon on Ēastseaxum, ond Wulfred ealdormon Hāmtūnscīre,
·1115 Beorhtulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Beorhtulf>
Bertulf -- Bertulf
·1118 Ēastseaxum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Ēast-Seaxan>
East Saxons, Essex -- Essex
·1120 Wulfred -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Wulfred>
Wulfred -- Wulfred
·1122 Hāmtūnscīre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Hāmtūn-scīr>
Hampshire -- (in) Hampshire
ond Ealhheard biscop æt Dorceceastre, ond Ēadulf cynges þegn on Sūðseaxum,
·1124 Ealhheard -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ealhheard>
Elhard -- Elhard
·1125 biscop -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <bisceop> bishop,
prelate -- bishop
·1126 æt -- preposition <æt> at, against -- at
·1127 Dorceceastre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Dorce-ceastre>
Dorchester -- Dorchester
·1129 Ēadulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ēadulf> Eadulf
-- Eadulf
·1130 cynges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cyning> king --
the king's
·1131 þegn -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <þegn> thane,
warrior -- thane
·1133 Sūðseaxum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Sūð-Seaxan>
South Saxons, Sussex -- Sussex
ond Beornulf wīcgerēfa on Winteceastre, ond Ecgulf cynges horsþegn,
·1135 Beornulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Beornulf>
Bernuff -- Bernuff
·1136 wīcgerēfa -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wīc-gerēfa> lit.
wick-reeve -- governor
·1138 Winteceastre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Winte-ceastre>
Winchester -- Winchester
·1140 Ecgulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ecgulf> Egulf
-- Egulf
·1141 cynges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cyning> king --
the king's
·1142 horsþegn -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hors-þegn>
horse-thane -- horse-thane
ond manige ēac him, þēh ic ðā geðungnestan nemde.
·1144 manige -- adjective; nominative plural of <monig> many -- many
·1145 ēac -- adverb <ēac> also, even, moreover -- also
with them
·1147 þēh -- adverbial conjunction <þēah> yet, though, however -- though
·1150 geðungnestan -- adjective used as substantive; superlative; accusative
plural of <geðungen> grown, excellent, distinguished -- most distinguished
·1151 nemde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <nemnan,
nemde, nemed> name, call -- have named
Þȳ ilcan gēare drehton þā hergas on Ēastenglum ond on Norðhymbrum Westseaxna lond
swīðe be þǣm sūðstæðe mid stælhergum, ealra swīþust mid ðǣm æscum þe hīe fela gēara
ǣr timbredon.
·1152 þȳ -- definite article; instrumental singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
(in) the
·1153 ilcan -- adjective; instrumental singular neuter of <ilca> same -- same
·1154 gēare -- noun, neuter; instrumental singular of <gēar> year -- year
·1155 drehton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <dreccan,
drehte, dreht> afflict, harass -- harassed
·1157 hergas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <here> (enemy) army --
plunderers
·1159 Ēastenglum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Ēast-Engle> East
Angles, East Anglia -- East Anglia
·1162 Norðhymbrum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Norð-hymbre>
Northumbrians, Northumbria -- Northumbria
·1163 Westseaxna -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <West-Seaxan>
West Saxons, Wessex -- of the West Saxons
·1164 lond -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lond> land, realm,
country -- the land
·1165 swīðe -- adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- greatly
·1166 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- around
·1168 sūðstæðe -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <sūð-stæð> south shore --
southern shore
·1170 stælhergum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <stæl-here> marauding
army -- marauding bands
·1171 ealra -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of <eall> all -- of all
·1172 swīþust -- adverb; superlative of <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- most
·1174 ðǣm -- definite article; dative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- ...
·1175 æscum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat,
ship -- ships
they
·1178 fela -- indeclinable adjective <fela> much, many -- many
·1179 gēara -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <gēar> year -- years
·1181 timbredon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <timbran,
timbrede, timbred> build, construct -- built
Þā hēt Ælfred cyng timbran lang scipu ongēn ðā æscas;
·1183 hēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <hātan, heht,
hēton, hāten> call, name; order -- ordered
·1184 Ælfred -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ælfred> Alfred
-- Alfred
·1185 cyng -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king --
King
·1186 timbran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <timbran, timbrede, timbred>
build, construct -- (his men) to build # subject understood
·1187 lang -- adjective; accusative plural of <lang> long -- long
·1188 scipu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scip> ship -- ships
·1189 ongēn -- preposition <ongēan> against, back -- against
·1191 æscas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <æsc> ash (tree), spear;
boat, ship -- (Danish) ships
þā wǣron fulnēah tū swā lange swā þā ōðru;
·1194 fulnēah -- adverb <fulnēah> almost, very nearly -- almost # "full nigh"
·1195 tū -- numeral; nominative plural neuter of <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two --
twice
·1197 lange -- adjective; nominative plural of <lang> long -- long
·1200 ōðru -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of <ōðer> other,
next, second -- others
sume hæfdon LX āra, sume mā;
·1201 sume -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of <sum> some, a
certain -- some
·1203 LX -- numeral <siextig> sixty -- 60
·1204 āra -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <ār> oar -- (of) oars
·1205 sume -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of <sum> some, a
certain -- some
·1206 mā -- adjective; anomalous comparative of <micel> much, great -- more
þā wǣron ǣgðer ge swiftran ge unwealtran ge ēac hīerran þonne þā ōðru;
·1209 ǣgðer -- conjunction <ǣg-hwæðer> both...and -- both
·1210 ge -- conjunction <ge> both...and, either...or -- ...
·1211 swiftran -- adjective; comparative; nominative plural of <swift> swift --
swifter
·1212 ge -- conjunction <ge> both...and, either...or -- and
·1213 unwealtran -- adjective; comparative; nominative plural of <unwealt>
steady -- steadier
·1216 hīerran -- adjective; comparative; nominative plural of <hēah> high --
higher
·1217 þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- than
·1219 ōðru -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of <ōðer> other,
next, second -- others
nǣron nāwðer ne on Frēsisc gescæpene ne on Denisc, būton swā him selfum ðūhte þæt
hīe nytwyrðoste bēon meahten.
·1220 nǣron -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person
plural preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- (they) were # double negative,
for emphasis
·1221 nāwðer -- conjunction <nā-hwæðer> neither...nor -- neither
·1222 ne -- adverb <ne> not -- ...
·1224 Frēsisc -- proper adjective; accusative singular of <Frēsisc> Frisian -- the
Frisian
·1225 gescæpene -- strong verb, class VI; past participle; plural of <gescieppan,
gescōp, gescōpon, gesceapen> shape, create -- shaped
·1226 ne -- adverb <ne> not -- nor
·1228 Denisc -- proper adjective; accusative singular of <Denisc> Danish -- the
Danish (model)
·1229 būton -- conjunction <būton> unless; except (that) -- but
·1230 swā -- adverbial conjunction <swā> so, thus -- as
she, it -- (to) he
·1232 selfum -- reflexive pronoun; dative singular of <self> self, same -- himself
·1233 ðūhte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ðyncan,
ðūhte, geðūht> seem, appear; think -- (it) seemed
·1234 þæt -- subordinating conjunction <þæt> that -- ...
they
·1236 nytwyrðoste -- adjective; superlative; nominative plural of <nyt-wyrðe>
useful -- most useful
·1237 bēon -- anomalous verb; infinitive of <bēon> be, become, exist -- be
·1238 meahten -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person plural
preterite subjunctive of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- might
Þā æt sumum cirre þæs ilcan gēares cōmon þǣr sex scipu tō Wiht, ond þǣr mycel yfel
gedydon, ǣgðer ge on Defenum ge wel hwǣr be ðǣm sǣriman.
·1241 sumum -- adjective; dative singular masculine of <sum> some, a certain --
a certain
·1242 cirre -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <cierr> occasion, time, turn --
time
·1243 þæs -- definite article; genitive singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- (of)
the
·1244 ilcan -- adjective; genitive singular neuter of <ilca> same -- same
·1245 gēares -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <gēar> year -- year
·1246 cōmon -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person plural preterite of <cuman,
cwōm, cwōmon, cumen> come -- came
·1248 sex -- numeral <siex> six -- six
·1249 scipu -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <scip> ship -- ships # i.e.,
Danish Viking ships
·1251 Wiht -- proper noun, feminine; accusative singular of <Wiht> (Isle of)
Wight -- (the Isle of) Wight
·1254 mycel -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <micel> much, great --
much
·1255 yfel -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <yfel> evil, mischief,
wickedness -- mischief
·1256 gedydon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of
<gedōn> act, do, bring to pass -- did
·1257 ǣgðer -- conjunction <ǣg-hwæðer> both...and -- both
·1258 ge -- conjunction <ge> both...and, either...or -- ...
·1260 Defenum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Defenas>
Devonians, Devonshire -- Devonshire
·1262 wel hwǣr -- adverb <wel hwǣr> almost everywhere -- almost
everywhere
·1263 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- near
·1264 ðǣm -- definite article; dative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·1265 sǣriman -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <sǣ-rima> seashore,
seacoast -- seacoast
Þā hēt se cyng faran mid nigonum tō þāra nīwena scipa;
·1267 hēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <hātan, heht,
hēton, hāten> call, name; order -- ordered
-- the
·1269 cyng -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king --
king
·1270 faran -- strong verb, class VI; infinitive of <faran, fōr, fōron, faren> go,
ride, travel -- to go
·1272 nigonum -- numeral; dative plural of <nigon> nine -- nine
·1273 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- (of)
·1274 þāra -- definite article; genitive plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- the
·1275 nīwena -- adjective; genitive plural of <nīwe> new, fresh -- new
·1276 scipa -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <scip> ship -- ships
ond forfōran him þone mūðan foran on ūtermere.
·1278 forfōran -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <for-faran,
for-fōr, for-fōron, for-faren> obstruct, get in front of -- (they) blocked
·1279 him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- ... #
the Danes' escape via...
-- the
·1281 mūðan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mūða> mouth of a
river, estuary -- mouth of the river
·1282 foran -- adverb <foran> before, in front -- in front
·1283 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- (of)
·1284 ūtermere -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ūter-mere> outer sea,
open sea -- the open sea
Þā fōron hīe mid þrim scipum ūt ongēn hīe, ond þrēo stōdon æt ufeweardum þǣm mūðan
on drȳgum;
·1286 fōron -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <faran, fōr,
fōron, faren> go, ride, travel -- rode
they # the Danes
·1289 þrim -- numeral; dative plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three -- three
·1290 scipum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <scip> ship -- ships
·1292 ongēn -- preposition <ongēan> against, back -- against
·1293 hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
them # Alfred's men
·1295 þrēo -- numeral; nominative plural neuter of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three --
three
·1296 stōdon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <standan,
stōd, stōdon, standen> stand -- remained
·1297 æt -- preposition <æt> at, against -- ...
·1298 ufeweardum -- adjective; dative singular of <ufe-weard> upward --
upwards (of)
·1300 mūðan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <mūða> mouth of a river,
estuary -- river mouth
·1302 drȳgum -- adjective; dative singular of <drȳge> dry -- dry (ground)
wǣron þā men uppe on londe of āgāne.
<wesan> be, happen -- (had)
-- men # the missing Danes
·1306 uppe -- adverb <uppe> up, above -- up
·1307 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- in-
·1308 londe -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of <lond> land, realm,
country -- land
·1309 of -- preposition <of> from, of -- ...
·1310 āgāne -- anomalous verb; past participle of <ā-gān> pass, occur, lit. away
go -- gone away
Þā gefēngon hīe þāra þrēora scipa tū æt ðǣm mūðan ūteweardum, ond þā men ofslōgon,
ond þæt ān oðwand;
·1312 gefēngon -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person plural preterite of <gefōn,
gefēng, gefēngon, gefangen> take, seize -- took # gefangen or gefongen
they
·1314 þāra -- definite article; genitive plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- of the
·1315 þrēora -- numeral; genitive plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three -- three
·1316 scipa -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <scip> ship -- ships
·1317 tū -- numeral; accusative plural neuter of <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two --
two
·1319 ðǣm -- definite article; dative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the --
the
·1320 mūðan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <mūða> mouth of a river,
estuary -- river mouth
·1321 ūteweardum -- adjective; dative singular masculine of <ūte-weard>
outward -- outer
·1324 men -- strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of <monn> man, person
-- men
·1325 ofslōgon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <ofslean,
ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen> slay, destroy -- slew # ofslōh or ofslōg
the
·1328 ān -- indefinite article; nominative singular of <ān> a, an, one -- (other)
one
·1329 oðwand -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of
<oðwindan, oðwand, oðwundon, oðwunden> escape -- escaped
on þǣm wǣron ēac þā men ofslægene būton fīfum...
·1331 þǣm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular neuter
of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- it
·1335 men -- strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of <monn> man, person
-- men
·1336 ofslægene -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh,
·1337 būton -- preposition <būton> without, except for -- except for
·1338 fīfum -- numeral; dative plural of <fīf> five -- five
Lesson Text
Ðā þæs on sumera on ðysum gēre tōfōr se here, sum on Ēastengle, sum on
Norðhymbre. Ond þā þe feohlēase wǣron him þǣr scipu begēton, ond sūð ofer sǣ
fōron tō Sigene.
Næfde se here, Godes þonces, Angelcyn ealles forswīðe gebrocod, ac hīe wǣron
micle swīþor gebrocede on þǣm þrim gēarum mid cēapes cwilde ond monna;
ealles swīþost mid þǣm þæt manige þāra sēlestena cynges þēna þe þǣr on londe
wǣron forðfērdon on þǣm þrym gēarum. Þāra wæs sum Swīðulf biscop on
Hrōfesceastre, ond Cēolmund ealdormon on Cent, ond Beorhtulf ealdormon on
Ēastseaxum, ond Wulfred ealdormon Hāmtūnscīre, ond Ealhheard biscop æt
Dorceceastre, ond Ēadulf cynges þegn on Sūðseaxum, ond Beornulf wīcgerēfa on
Winteceastre, ond Ecgulf cynges horsþegn, ond manige ēac him, þēh ic ðā
geðungnestan nemde.
Þȳ ilcan gēare drehton þā hergas on Ēastenglum ond on Norðhymbrum

Westseaxna lond swīðe be þǣm sūðstæðe mid stælhergum, ealra swīþust mid
ðǣm æscum þe hīe fela gēara ǣr timbredon. Þā hēt Ælfred cyng timbran lang
scipu ongēn ðā æscas; þā wǣron fulnēah tū swā lange swā þā ōðru; sume hæfdon
LX āra, sume mā; þā wǣron ǣgðer ge swiftran ge unwealtran ge ēac hīerran
þonne þā ōðru; nǣron nāwðer ne on Frēsisc gescæpene ne on Denisc, būton swā
him selfum ðūhte þæt hīe nytwyrðoste bēon meahten. Þā æt sumum cirre þæs
ilcan gēares cōmon þǣr sex scipu tō Wiht, ond þǣr mycel yfel gedydon, ǣgðer ge
on Defenum ge wel hwǣr be ðǣm sǣriman. Þā hēt se cyng faran mid nigonum tō
þāra nīwena scipa; ond forfōran him þone mūðan foran on ūtermere. Þā fōron hīe
mid þrim scipum ūt ongēn hīe, ond þrēo stōdon æt ufeweardum þǣm mūðan on
drȳgum; wǣron þā men uppe on londe of āgāne. Þā gefēngon hīe þāra þrēora
scipa tū æt ðǣm mūðan ūteweardum, ond þā men ofslōgon, ond þæt ān oðwand;
on þǣm wǣron ēac þā men ofslægene būton fīfum...
Translation
In summer in this year the enemy dispersed, some into East Anglia, some into
Northumbria. Those who were without money got themselves ships there, and
went south over the sea to the Seine.
The enemy had not, by the mercy of God, entirely crushed the English altogether,
but they were afflicted much more in those three years by pestilence of cattle and
of men; most of all among them many of the best of the king's thanes who were
there in the land died within those three years. One of these was Swithulf, bishop
in Rochester, and Ceolmund, a nobleman in Kent, and Bertulf, a nobleman in
Essex, and Wulfred, a nobleman in Hampshire, and Elhard, bishop at Dorchester,
and Eadulf, the king's thane in Sussex, and Bernuff, governor in Winchester,
Egulf, the king's horse-thane, and many also with them, though I have named
(only) the most distinguished.
In the same year the plunderers in East Anglia and Northumbria greatly harassed
the land of the West Saxons around the southern shore with marauding bands,
most of all with ships which they built many years before. Then King Alfred
ordered (his men) to build long ships (to be used) against the (Danish) ships; they
were almost twice as long as the others; some had 60 oars, some more. They were
both swifter and steadier and also higher than the others; they were shaped neither
on the Frisian nor on the Danish (model), but as it seemed -- to he himself -- they
might be most useful. At a certain time of the same year there came six ships to
(the Isle of) Wight, and did much mischief there, both in Devonshire and almost
everywhere near the seacoast. Then the King ordered (his men) to go (out) with
nine of the new ships; and they blocked the mouth of the river in front of the open
sea. They rode out against them with three ships, and three (others) remained
upwards of the river mouth on dry (ground); the men had gone away, up inland.
They took two of the three ships at the outer river mouth, and slew the men, and
the (other) one escaped; the men on it were also slain, except for five...
Grammar
21. Definite/Demonstrative Articles/Pronouns

The definite articles may as well be considered suppletive, as they are difficult to predict.
There are two numbers (singular, plural), three genders in the singular (masculine,
feminine, neuter), and five cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental).
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. se 'the' sēo, sīo ðæt, tæt
Gen. ðæs ðǣre ðæs
Dat. ðǣm, ðām ðǣre ðǣm, ðām
Acc. ðone ðā ðæt, tæt
Ins. ðȳ, ðē, ðon ðǣre ðȳ, ðē, ðon
The plural forms do not exhibit gender; or, alternately, one might say that all three
genders have the same form in each case:
Plural M/F/N
Nom. ðā
Gen. ðāra, ðǣra
Dat. ðǣm, ðām
Acc. ðā
Ins. ðǣm, ðām
Alternative spellings are common, including of course ð rendered as þ.
The neuter form ðæt looks familiar to a modern English speaker because it survived as
the demonstrative article/pronoun 'that'. In Old English, the definite article above also
served as the demonstrative article/pronoun 'that, those', with the difference that the
pronoun was stressed and the masculine nominative form is therefore usually spelled sē.
Corresponding to 'that, those', modern English has the demonstrative 'this, these', which is
derived from the Old English neuter demonstrative form ðis:
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. ðes 'this' ðēos ðis
Gen. ðis(s)es ðisse, ðeosse ðis(s)es
Dat. ðis(s)um ðisse, ðeosse ðis(s)um
Acc. ðisne ðās ðis
Ins. ðȳs, ðīs --- ðȳs, ðīs
Again the plural forms do not indicate distinct gender:
Plural M/F/N
Nom. ðās 'these'
Gen. ðissa, ðeossa
Dat. ðis(s)um, ðeos(s)um
Acc. ðās
Ins. ðis(s)um, ðeos(s)um
In some forms an s might be doubled or singled, as indicated; other variant spellings are
also shown.
Again, when used as a demonstrative pronoun, stress was applied and is therefore usually
indicated by spelling the masculine nominative form as ðēs.
22. The Numerals

The OE word for 'one', ān, was not well distinguished as it served also in the role of
indefinite article (for example, in this lesson text); as such it could be inflected (for
example, the [inherently singular] dative ānum in lessons 3 and 4), and combined with
the negative particle ne (for example nān in lesson 4).
In theory the OE words for 'two' and 'three', twēgen, twā, tū and þrīe, þrēo, þrēo
respectively, reflect gender -- like pronouns -- depending on what the forms referred to
(i.e., what they were counting), but only the nominative/accusative forms show distinct
gender. When nominal referents have different genders, the neuter form is normal. In
practice the use of relevant gender forms is inconsistent. Grammatical number is, of
course, inherently plural. The inflected forms for 'two' and 'three' are shown in the
following tables.
'two' Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom. twēgen twā tū, twā
Gen. twēgra twēgra twēgra
Dat. twǣm twǣm twǣm
Acc. twēgen twā tū, twā
Spelling Notes
The r in genitive twēgra is optional, or can be replaced by e; the dative can be spelled
twām as in the lesson 4 text. The pronoun bēgen 'both' (not shown) is inflected like
twēgen, twā, tū, but exhibits many variations.
'three' Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom. þrīe þrēo þrēo
Gen. þrēora þrēora þrēora
Dat. þrīm þrīm þrīm
Acc. þrīe þrēo þrēo
Spelling Notes
The dative þrīm can be spelled þrim, as in our lesson text; the long ē vowels can be long ī
(þrīo, þrīora).
Higher-Order Numerals
Higher-order numerals (above 'three', e.g. fīf 'five' and nigon 'nine' in this lesson) may
also be inflected for case, but they identify no gender; however, inflection is normally
absent when the numeral is used adjectivally to modify a noun. The inflectional case
endings, when used, were nominative/accusative -e, genitive -a, and dative -um. Some
uninflected cardinal forms are listed in the following table:
Cardinals 0 + ... 10 + ... 10 * ...
1= (ān) endlefan
2= (twā) twelf twēntig
3= (þrēo) þrēotīene þrītig
4= fēower fēowertīene fēowertig
5= fīf fīftīene fīftig
6= siex siextīene siextig
7= seofon seofontīene seofontig
8= eahta eahtatīene eahtatig
9= nigon nigontīene nigontig
10 = tīen hund
Spelling Notes
The spelling of fēower can also be fīower; of siex, six or sex or syx; of seofon, siofon; of
tīen, tȳn; of endlefan, endleofan or endlufan; of hund, hundred. The -tīene suffix is also
spelled -tēne or -tȳne. Roman numerals might also be used, as for example LX in our
lesson text.
23. Preterite-Present Verbs in Class V

Preterite-Present verbs were introduced and described in lesson 3, §15. Our text in this
lesson, as well as texts in other lessons, contains the preterite-present verb magan 'may,
be able to', which evolved into modern English may and might; we illustrate Class V with
magan and another preterite-present verb, nugan 'suffice'.
Pret-Pres. V 1 2
Infinitive magan nugan
Inflected Infin. tō maganne tō nuganne
Imperative Sg. mag nug
Imperative Pl. magað nugað
Pres. Participle magende nugende
Past Participle meahten nohten
Gerund magenne nugenne
1 Sg. mæg neah
2 Sg. magest nugest
3 Sg. mæg neah
Plural magon nugon
Singular mage nuge
Plural magen nugen
1 Sg. meahte nohte
2 Sg. meahtest nohtest
3 Sg. meahte nohte
Plural meahton nohton
Singular meahte nohte
Plural meahten nohten
24. Strong Verbs in Class VI

The nominal four-vowel ablaut pattern is -a-, -ō-, -ō-, -a-; ancient sound changes resulted
in variations that we illustrate with 3 example conjugations.
Our text in this lesson (and others) contains the verbs standan 'stand', and gescieppan
'shape, create' formed from the prefix ge- (discussed elsewhere) plus the verb scieppan
'create'; the text in lesson 3 contains the verb ofslean 'slay, destroy', formed from the
prefix of- plus the verb slean 'strike'. We conjugate these three to illustrate the strong
verbs in Class VI, which as usual exhibit spelling variations (not all listed here) due to
sound changes including dialectal differences.
Strong VI 1 2 3
Infinitive standan, stondan 'stand' scieppan, scyppan 'create' slean 'strike'
Inflected Infin. tō standanne tō scieppanne tō sleanne
Imperative Sg. stand sciepp sleah
Imperative Pl. standað scieppað sleað
Pres. Participle standende scieppende ende
Past Participle standen sceapen, scepen slagen, slægen
Gerund standenne scieppenne enne
1 Sg. stande scieppe slege (?)
2 Sg. standest scieppest slegest (?)
3 Sg. standeð, stent, stynt scieppeð slegeð (?)
Plural standað, stondað scieppað slegað (?)
Singular stande scieppe slege (?)
Plural standen scieppen slegen (?)
1 Sg. stōd scōp, scēop slōh, slōg
2 Sg. stōde scōpe slōge
3 Sg. stōd scōp, scēop slōh, slōg
Plural stōdon, stōdan scōpon, scēopon slōgon
Singular stōde scōpe slōge
Plural stōden scōpen slōgen
A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong VI verbs in our
lesson texts includes wade, withstand.
25. Strong Verbs in Class VII

Strong Class VII is the "dumping ground" for the otherwise unclassified strong verbs in
Old English. The four-vowel ablaut patterns are quite variable, except that the two
preterite vowels generally distribute the patterns into 2 subclasses:
·1339 the -ē--preterite subclass with the pattern -, -ē-, -ē-, -; and
·1340 the -ēo--preterite subclass with the pattern -, -ēo-, -ēo-, -.
In these patterns, the fourth ablaut vowel is generally the same as the first. (Naturally, our
example from this lesson violates that principle! Aside from being unusual in other
ways.)
Our text in this lesson contains the verb gefōn 'take, seize', formed from the prefix ge-
plus the verb fōn 'take, seize'; the text in lesson 4 contains feallan 'fall, flow'. We
conjugate these two to illustrate the strong verbs in Class VII.
Strong VII 1 2
Infinitive fōn 'seize' feallan 'fall'
Inflected Infin. tō fōnne tō feallanne
Imperative Sg. fōh feall
Imperative Pl. fōð feallað
Pres. Participle fōnde feallende
Past Participle fongen feallen
Gerund fōnne feallenne
1 Sg. fō fealle
2 Sg. fēhst feallest
3 Sg. fēhð fealleð
Plural fōð feallað
Singular fō fealle
Plural fōn feallen
1 Sg. fēng fēoll
2 Sg. fēnge fēolle
3 Sg. fēng fēoll
Plural fēngon fēollon
Singular fēnge fēolle
Plural fēngen fēollen
A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong VII verbs in our
lesson texts includes beat, hang, hold, sleep, and wax (grow).
Old English Online

Lesson 6
A century after Alfred the Great, Danish Vikings still controlled a substantial part of
Northumbria -- an area referred to as the Danelaw. From there and elsewhere, they
continually raided southern areas of England. In an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the
year 991, there is a simple report that Alderman Byrhtnoth was slain at Maldon; no other
details are preserved in that source. However, a surviving fragment of an epic poem
records the event and, in so doing, presents what is surely the most magnificent portrait
of Anglo-Saxon comitatus loyalty in Old English literature.
In August of that year, Danish forces had sailed to the mouth of the Panta (now
Blackwater) River in Essex, and established a garrison on an island; Byrhtnoth arrived
with an Essex levy, intending to drive the invaders away. As the tide ebbed and the
Vikings struggled to cross a narrow ford, easily defended by the English, the Danish
leader boldly asked to be allowed to advance unimpeded and establish a position on the
shore prior to resuming a proper fight. Byrhtnoth -- proud and over-confident -- acceded
to this request. It was a fatal mistake. Byrhtnoth and many noble comrades fell in battle,
and the English suffered utter defeat.
The Battle of Maldon seems to have been written not long after the engagement itself,
although the poet has no doubt put his own words into the mouths of the warriors. Those
attributed to Byrhtwold in lines 312-319, after Byrhtnoth had fallen, capture the spirit of
the brave who stayed to fight though the battle was lost: "Thought must be the sterner,
heart the bolder, mood must be the stouter, as our strength lessens. Here lies our lord all
cut down, brave on the ground; forever may he lament who thinks now to run away from
this battle. I am old in life: I will not go away, but I resolve to lie myself beside my lord,
by the man so loved."
This speech must have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien a thousand years later, though he gave
different words to the lone "Anglo-Saxon" rider of Rohan who would defend the body of
the king from the Nazgûl Lord and his fell beast: "Do what you will; but I will hinder it,
if I may. ... You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless!
For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him" (from The Battle of the
Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King).
The Battle of Maldon represents the last known Old English epic poem written before the
Norman invasion. Our selection includes lines 295-325, found on p. 120 in: Charles T.
Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition,
Oxford: Clarendon.
Ðā wearð borda gebræc; brimmen wōdon,
gūðe gegremode; gār oft þurhwōd
fǣges feorhhūs.
·1342 wearð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <weorðan,
wearð, wurdon, worden> become, happen -- (there) was
·1343 borda -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <bord> board, shield -- of shields
·1344 gebræc -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite of <gebrecan,
gebræc, gebrǣcon, gebrocen> break, destroy, subdue -- (a) breaking
·1345 brimmen -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <brim-man> sailor, lit.
sea man -- seamen
·1346 wōdon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <wadan,
wōd, wōdon, waden> wade, stride over -- advanced
·1347 gūðe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <gūð> battle -- by battle
·1348 gegremode -- weak verb, class II; past participle; nominative plural
masculine of <gegremian, gegremode, gegremod> enrage -- enraged
·1349 gār -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <gār> spear -- spear
·1351 þurhwōd -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of
<ðurhwadan, ðurhwōd, ðurhwōdon, ðurhwaden> pierce, penetrate -- pierced
·1352 fǣges -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <fǣge> doomed, fated
-- (a) doomed
·1353 feorhhūs -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <feorh-hūs> body, lit. life-
house -- body
Forð þā ēode Wīstān,
Þūrstānes sunu, wið þās secgas feaht;
·1354 forð -- adverb <forð> forth, thence -- forth
·1357 Wīstān -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Wīstān>
Wistan -- Wistan
·1358 Þūrstānes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Þūrstān>
Thurstan -- Thurstan's
·1359 sunu -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <sunu> son -- son
·1360 wið -- preposition <wið> against, along -- against
·1361 þās -- demonstrative article; accusative plural of <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this --
the
·1362 secgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <secg> man, warrior --
men
·1363 feaht -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <feohtan,
feaht, fuhton, fohten> fight -- fought
hē wæs on geþrange hyra þrēora bana,
ǣr him Wīgelmes bearn on þām wæle lǣge.
he, she, it -- he
·1367 geþrange -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <geþrang> throng, tumult
-- the throng
of them
·1369 þrēora -- numeral; genitive plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three -- of three
·1370 bana -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <bana> bane, slayer
-- the slayer
she, it -- ...
·1373 Wīgelmes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Wīgelm>
Wigelin -- Wigelin's
·1374 bearn -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <bearn> child -- son
·1375 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- among
the
·1377 wæle -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <wæl> carnage; battlefield --
dead
·1378 lǣge -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of
<licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated -- lay
Þǣr wæs stīð gemōt: stōdon fæste
wigan on gewinne;
·1381 stīð -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <stīð> stiff, stern, brave --
(a) brave
·1382 gemōt -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <gemōt> meeting, council,
assembly -- meeting
·1383 stōdon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <standan,
stōd, stōdon, standen> stand -- stood
·1384 fæste -- adverb <fæste> fast, firmly, securely -- fast
·1385 wigan -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wiga> warrior -- fighters
·1387 gewinne -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <gewinn> battle, strife,
struggle -- the strife
wīgend cruncon,
wundum wērige; wæl fēol on eorþan.
·1388 wīgend -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wīgend> warrior --
warriors
·1389 cruncon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of <cringan,
crong, crungon, crungen> cringe, yield; die -- died
·1390 wundum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <wund> wound -- (by)
wounds
·1391 wērige -- adjective; nominative plural of <wērig> weary, exhausted --
exhausted
·1392 wæl -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <wæl> carnage; battlefield --
the slain
·1393 fēol -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <feallan,
fēoll, fēollon, feallen> fall, flow -- fell
·1395 eorþan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <eorð> earth -- earth
Ōswold and Ealdwold ealle hwīle,
bēgen þā gebrōþru, beornas trymedon,
·1396 Ōswold -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ōswold>
Oswold -- Oswold
·1398 Ealdwold -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ealdwold>
Ealdwold -- Ealdwold
·1399 ealle -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <eall> all -- all
·1400 hwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hwīl> while, time -- the
while
·1401 bēgen -- pronoun; nominative dual masculine of <bēgen> both -- both
·1403 gebrōþru -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <gebrōþor> brother --
brothers
·1404 beornas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <beorn> man, nobleman
-- the men
·1405 trymedon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <trymian,
trymede, trymed> exhort, encourage -- encouraged
hyra winemāgas wordon bǣdon
þæt hī þǣr æt ðearfe þolian sceoldon,
unwāclīce wǣpna nēotan.
their
·1407 winemāgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <wine-mǣg> dear-,
lit. friend-kinsman -- kinsmen
·1408 wordon -- noun, neuter; instrumental plural of <word> word, speech -- by
words
·1409 bǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of <biddan, bæd,
bǣdon, beden> bid, beseech, urge -- beseeched
·1410 þæt -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular neuter
·1411 hī -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
they
·1413 æt -- preposition <æt> at, against -- against
·1414 ðearfe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <ðearf> need, requirement --
need
·1415 þolian -- weak verb, class II; infinitive of <ðolian, ðolade, ðolad> endure,
hold out -- endure
·1416 sceoldon -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person plural
preterite indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- should
·1417 unwāclīce -- adverb <unwāclīce> bravely, unwaveringly -- unwaveringly
·1418 wǣpna -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <wǣpen> weapon -- (their)
weapons
·1419 nēotan -- strong verb, class II; infinitive of <nēotan, nēat, nudon, noden>
use, employ -- use
Byrhtwold maþelode, bord hafenode,
sē wæs eald genēat, æsc ācwehte,
hē ful baldlīce beornas lǣrde:
·1420 Byrhtwold -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of
<Byrhtwold> Byrhtwold -- Byrhtwold
·1421 maþelode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of
<maðelian, maðelode, maðelod> speak, address, harangue -- spoke
·1422 bord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <bord> board, shield -- (his)
shield
·1423 hafenode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <hafenian,
hafenode, hafenod> raise, lift up -- raised
·1426 eald -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <eald> old -- (an) old
·1427 genēat -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <genēat> companion,
retainer -- retainer
·1428 æsc -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <æsc> ash (tree), spear;
boat, ship -- (his) ash spear
·1429 ācwehte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ācweccan,
ācwehte, ācweht> shake, brandish; quiver -- shook
he, she, it -- he
·1431 ful -- adverb <ful> fully, completely -- full
·1432 baldlīce -- adverb <bald-līce> boldly -- boldly
·1433 beornas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <beorn> man, nobleman
-- the men
·1434 lǣrde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <lǣran, lǣrde,
lǣred> teach, advise, exhort -- exhorted
'Hige sceal þē heardra, heorte þē cēnre,
mōd sceal þē māre, þē ūre mægen lȳtlað.
·1435 hige -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hyge> heart, mind, soul
-- thought
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- must be
·1437 þē -- adverb <þȳ> the -- the
·1438 heardra -- adjective; comparative of <heard> stern, strong -- sterner
·1439 heorte -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <heorte> heart -- heart
·1441 cēnre -- adjective; comparative of <cēne> bold -- bolder
·1442 mōd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <mōd> mood, mind -- mood
indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- must be
·1445 māre -- adjective; comparative of <mā> great, stout -- stouter
·1446 þē -- conjunction <ðē> as -- as
·1447 ūre -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of <ic> I -- our
·1448 mægen -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <mægen> might, strength
-- strength
·1449 lȳtlað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <lȳtlian,
lȳtlode, lȳtlod> lessen, diminish -- lessens
Hēr līð ūre ealdor eall forhēawen,
gōd on grēote;
·1450 hēr -- adverb <hēr> here -- here
lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated -- lies
·1452 ūre -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of <ic> I -- our
·1453 ealdor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ealdor> elder, parent,
prince -- lord
·1454 eall -- adverb <eall> all -- all
·1455 forhēawen -- strong verb, class VII; past participle; nominative singular
masculine of <forhēawan, forhēow, forhēowon, forhēawen> hew, cut down -- cut
down
·1456 gōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gōd> good, excellent
-- brave
·1458 grēote -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <grēot> grit, dust, earth -- the
ground
ā mæg gnornian
sē ðe nū fram þīs wīgplegan wendan þenceð.
·1459 ā -- adverb <ā> always, ever -- forever
·1461 gnornian -- weak verb, class II; infinitive of <gnornian, gnornode,
gnornod> mourn, lament -- lament
·1463 ðe -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- who
·1465 fram -- preposition <fram> from -- away from
·1466 þīs -- demonstrative article; instrumental singular masculine of <ðes, ðēos,
ðis> this -- this
·1467 wīgplegan -- noun, masculine; instrumental singular of <wīg-plega>
battle, lit. war-play -- battle
·1468 wendan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <wendan, wende, wended>
wend, turn, go -- to run
·1469 þenceð -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular present of <ðencan,
ðōhte, ðōht> think, intend, resolve -- thinks
Ic eom frōd fēores: fram ic ne wille,
ac ic mē be healfe mīnum hlāforde
be swā lēofan men licgan þence.'
·1471 eom -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular present indicative of <is> be,
become, exist -- am
·1472 frōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <frōd> old, wise,
experienced -- old
·1473 fēores -- strong noun, masc/neut; genitive singular of <feorh> life -- life
·1474 fram -- preposition <fram> from -- away
·1477 wille -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular present indicative of <willan>
wish, be willing -- will
·1478 ac -- conjunction <ac> and, but, however -- but
·1480 mē -- 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of <ic> I -- myself
·1481 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- be-
·1483 mīnum -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; dative singular masculine
of <ic> I -- my
·1484 hlāforde -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <hlāford> lord,
master -- lord
·1485 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- by
·1486 swā -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- so
·1487 lēofan -- adjective; dative singular of <lēof> lief, dear, beloved -- loved
·1488 men -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <monn> man, person --
the man
·1489 licgan -- strong verb, class V; infinitive of <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie,
extend, be situated -- to lie
·1490 þence -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular present of <ðencan, ðōhte,
ðōht> think, intend, resolve -- resolve
Swā hī Æþelgāres bearn ealle bylde
Godrīc tō gūþe:
·1491 swā -- adverbial conjunction <swā> so, thus -- so
·1492 hī -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
them
·1493 Æþelgāres -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Æþelgār>
Aethelgar -- Aethelgar's
·1494 bearn -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <bearn> child -- son
·1495 ealle -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <eall> all -- all
·1496 bylde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <byldan, bylde,
bylded> cheer, encourage -- cheered
·1497 Godrīc -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Godrīc>
Godric -- Godric
·1498 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- in
·1499 gūþe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <gūð> battle -- battle
oft hē gār forlēt,
wælspere windan on þā wīcingas,
swā hē on þām folce fyrmest ēode,
hēow and hȳnde, oð þæt hē on hilde gecranc;
he, she, it -- he
·1502 gār -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <gār> spear -- spear
·1503 forlēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <forlǣtan,
forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten> leave, abandon -- loosed
·1504 wælspere -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <wæl-spere> deadly spear
-- deadly spear
·1505 windan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <windan, wond, wundon,
wunden> wind, twist, turn -- to spin
·1508 wīcingas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <wīcing> Viking, pirate
-- Vikings
he, she, it -- he
the
·1513 folce -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <folc> folk, people -- host
·1514 fyrmest -- adjective; superlative of <forma> first -- foremost
·1516 hēow -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <hēawan,
hēow, hēowon, hēawen> hew, cut down, kill -- killed
·1518 hȳnde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <hȳnan,
hȳnde, hȳned> despise, injure, insult -- injured
·1519 oð þæt -- adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until -- until
he, she, it -- he
·1522 hilde -- strong noun, feminine; dative singular of <hild> battle, war --
battle
·1523 gecranc -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of
<gecringan, gecranc, gecrungon, gecrungen> cringe, fall, perish -- fell
næs þæt nā se Godrīc þe ðā gūðe forbēah.
·1524 næs -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular
preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- was not
ðæt> that -- that
·1526 nā -- adverb <nā> no, nor, not (at all) -- ... # double negative, for emphasis
-- the
·1528 Godrīc -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Godrīc>
Godric -- Godric
the
·1531 gūðe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <gūð> battle -- fight
·1532 forbēah -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <forbūgan,
forbēah, forbugon, forbogen> flee from -- fled from
Lesson Text
Ðā wearð borda gebræc; brimmen wōdon,
gūðe gegremode; gār oft þurhwōd
fǣges feorhhūs. Forð þā ēode Wīstān,
Þūrstānes sunu, wið þās secgas feaht;
hē wæs on geþrange hyra þrēora bana,
ǣr him Wīgelmes bearn on þām wæle lǣge.
Þǣr wæs stīð gemōt: stōdon fæste
wigan on gewinne; wīgend cruncon,
wundum wērige; wæl fēol on eorþan.
Ōswold and Ealdwold ealle hwīle,
bēgen þā gebrōþru, beornas trymedon,
hyra winemāgas wordon bǣdon
þæt hī þǣr æt ðearfe þolian sceoldon,
unwāclīce wǣpna nēotan.
Byrhtwold maþelode, bord hafenode,

sē wæs eald genēat, æsc ācwehte,
hē ful baldlīce beornas lǣrde:
'Hige sceal þē heardra, heorte þē cēnre,
mōd sceal þē māre, þē ūre mægen lȳtlað.
Hēr līð ūre ealdor eall forhēawen,
gōd on grēote; ā mæg gnornian
sē ðe nū fram þīs wīgplegan wendan þenceð.
Ic eom frōd fēores: fram ic ne wille,
ac ic mē be healfe mīnum hlāforde
be swā lēofan men licgan þence.'
Swā hī Æþelgāres bearn ealle bylde
Godrīc tō gūþe: oft hē gār forlēt,
wælspere windan on þā wīcingas,
swā hē on þām folce fyrmest ēode,
hēow and hȳnde, oð þæt hē on hilde gecranc;
næs þæt nā se Godrīc þe ðā gūðe forbēah.
Translation
Then there was a breaking of shields; seamen advanced, enraged by battle; often
spear pierced a doomed body. Then Wistan went forth, Thurstan's son, (and)
fought against the men; he was the slayer of three of them in the throng, before
Wigelin's son lay among the dead. There was a brave meeting: fighters stood fast
in the strife; warriors died, exhausted by wounds; the slain fell to earth. Oswold
and Ealdwold all the while, both the brothers, encouraged the men, beseeched
their kinsmen by words that against need they should endure there, (and)
unwaveringly use their weapons.
Byrhtwold spoke, (and) raised his shield; he was an old retainer; he shook his ash
spear (and) full boldly exhorted the men: "Thought must be the sterner, heart the
bolder, mood must be the stouter, as our strength lessens. Here lies our lord all cut
down, brave on the ground; forever may he lament who thinks now to run away
from this battle. I am old in life: I will not (go) away, but I resolve to lie myself
beside my lord, by the man so loved." So Aethelgar's son Godric cheered them all
in battle: often he loosed spear, deadly spear to spin into the Vikings, as he went
foremost into the host; he killed and injured, until he fell in battle; that was not the
Godric who fled from the fight.
Grammar
26. The Anomalous Verb gān

The text in lesson 2 introduced the suppletive 3rd person singular preterite indicative
form ēode of the anomalous verb gān 'go, walk, move', also found in this lesson text.
(Contrast with the modern English go, went, where the preterite form was borrowed from
that of the verb wend, went.) The text in lesson 3 added the plural ēodon. These and other
forms are reflected in the following table:
gān 'go' Indicative Subjunctive Imperative
1 Sg. Pres. gā gā
2 Sg. Pres. gǣst gā gā
3 Sg. Pres. gǣð gā
Pl. Pres. gāð gān gāð
1 Sg. Pret. ēode ēode

2 Sg. Pret. ēodest ēode
3 Sg. Pret. ēode ēode
Pl. Pret. ēodon ēoden
The present participle was gangende (or gānde) and the past participle was gegān (with
ge- optional: see §29 below). Of course, spelling differences might replace eth ð with
thorn þ in present indicative and imperative forms.
27. Old English, a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) language

The basic word order of Old English, a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon, came to have the subject in
first position and the verb in the second position. The order is not as consistent as in
modern English, however, but is often modified for reasons of emphasis. The structure is
clearest in prose, but also observed in verse when the poet does not modify it for
emphasizing elements or in keeping with metrical requirements. In Beowulf line 5 (lesson
1), for example, the verb oftēah is final in the verse because of the meter, but in line 6
egsode precedes the object in accordance with the basic order.
The order is more closely maintained in the less rigorous verse of Caedmon in lesson 2,
as in his first sentence (line 41), Nū wē sculan herian heofonrīces Weard 'Now we shall
praise the Lord of heaven', and in much of Bede's preceding prose, as in line 21 and
following with the sequences hē wæs 'he was', hē for 'he went', hē geseah 'he saw', but
modified for the sake of emphasis in the first two words of the passage and later as well.
From other evidence it is clear that, earlier in time, the verb was placed last in the
sentence as in the first three lines of Beowulf, but that the order was not as strict as in
modern English.
28. Word Order in Clauses with Compound Verbs

Compound verbs made up of auxiliaries and participles generally place the participle last
in the clause, as in Beowulf 12 wæs æfter cenned 'was then born' and in line 20 of Bede's
account (in lesson 2) Wæs... geseted 'was... appointed'. This order is also generally
observed for infinitives introduced by other auxiliaries, as in line 20 of Beowulf sceal...
gewyrcean 'should... accomplish' and in passages such as line 23 of Bede's account Ne
con ic nōht singan 'I can not sing', though not in line 41 cited above. As in simple clauses,
the order is more free than in modern English. Several clauses in our lesson text, poetry
though it be, bear this out.
29. The Prefix ge- Indicating Completed Action

The prefix ge- is used with verbs in the past tense to indicate completed action in contrast
with continuing action. In the passage in lesson 2, for example, geleornade 'learned'
implies 'had acquired mastery' [though of course negated in that passage by other words],
as opposed to the prefix for- in forlēt which indicates an ongoing process. Other forms
with ge- may be examined in the same way for their implication, such as geseah, gesette,
gewāt, and gesceōp in lesson 2, and numerous examples in other lesson texts; it has the
same implication when used with the past participle, e.g. gegremode in the second line of
our text.
30. Noun Inflection

Noun inflection is used to signal case and number. Six cases are reconstructed for Proto-
Germanic (PGmc): nominative, vocative, genitive, dative, accusative, and instrumental.
In Old English, the first two forms had merged into one, as had dative and instrumental
for nouns; for that matter, many OE nouns had a single form for nominative and
accusative, meaning there were but three distinct forms in the singular and three in the
plural. This is an unmistakable sign that word order was becoming an increasingly
important component of syntax, which trend continued into the modern English period.
The OE cases and their basic uses are:
·1533 Nominative, the case of the subject and the predicate noun;
·1534 Accusative, the case of the direct object, also following prepositions that
indicate direction or movement;
·1535 Genitive, the case indicating possession and relationship;
·1536 Dative, the case of the indirect object, also following certain prepositions
that indicate place or agent;
·1537 Instrumental (not distinguished from dative among nouns), the case
indicating means of action.
In Indo-European languages, noun inflection is effected through suffixes known as
endings. In Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and early PGmc, endings were attached directly
to roots. But affixes were added to roots already in late PIE to form bases, also known as
stems, and endings were then attached to these stems. When a stress accent evolved in
PGmc, it generally fell on the root; weakly stressed syllables (affixes and endings) were
then often reduced. However, the declension classes in late PGmc and, accordingly, OE
are labelled based on the earlier stems. These fall into 3 broad categories:
20. root nouns (few members);
21. vocalic stems (most common);
22. consonant stems.
Nouns are assigned to specific declension classes on the basis of their PGmc stem affixes
(as in categories 2 and 3 above) or lack thereof (as in category 1) because these left traces
-- if not always obvious to the student -- in Old English. Gender may have an effect on
the stem affixes, and therefore on inflection: nouns are not inflected to show gender, but
rather are inflected based [in part] on it. Declension classes may be strongly, even
exclusively, associated with gender. We list, here, three examples of common noun
inflections; elaboration of declension classes will follow in subsequent lessons.
Case Masc. Sg. Masc. Pl. Fem. Sg. Fem. Pl. Neut. Sg. Neut. Pl.
Nom/Acc. eorl 'earl' eorlas lufu 'love' lufu word 'word' word
Gen. eorles eorla lufe lufa wordes worda
Dat/Inst. eorle eorlum lufe lufum worde wordum
Because OE instrumental case forms of nouns (though not yet of pronouns and
adjectives) had merged with the datives, so that those forms were the same, the
instrumental case forms of nouns are not elaborated in our grammar. But while OE
accusative noun forms were merging with the nominatives, there were yet some
differences; therefore, accusative forms are listed, even though they are often the same as
the nominative forms.
Old English Online

Lesson 7
Close around the year 1000, an English monk made a copy of an older poem
paraphrasing the first half of the book of Genesis, up to the sacrifice of Isaac. No one
knows what he was copying from, but his handiwork (which includes other texts)
survives in a single bound volume now located in Oxford's Bodleian Library. The history
of the manuscript is rather obscure, up until the time it was bequeathed to the library by
Franciscus Junius in 1677, and the history of the Genesis poem in it is even less well
known.
Nowhere in these texts is authorship ascribed to anyone. Caedmon was the first
individual we know to have been posited as their author, based on Bede's description of
his talents and interests, and for a long time the texts were commonly known as -- though
not so firmly believed to be -- the poetry of Caedmon. As centuries passed this position
continually weakened, and now only part of Genesis (if even that) is thought to be
Caedmon's.
Centuries of scholarship have settled on few conclusions regarding this work, but it has
become clear that the original Genesis poem was in two parts, one of them labelled B
being a translation of an Old Saxon poem dated to the early 9th century, and the other
labelled A being a native Old English composition (perhaps originally Anglian, though
recorded in West Saxon); which of the two poems is older, and how they came to be
conflated, is much debated. A well defended position is that Genesis A dates to ca. 700,
which would likely make it older than Beowulf, and might possibly be the work of
Caedmon, though more likely it is not following the argument that the author was
probably literate. Yet it might well represent the work of a poet in Caedmon's
Northumbrian school, and with this unoriginal note we surrender all arguments to the
scholars.
Our lesson text describes Noah taking his family into the ark, and there riding out the
flood that covered even "the high mountains." Genesis A being a poetic paraphrase, there
is no direct correspondence to the Hebrew scriptures, or even to the Latin Vulgate
translation of them that the poet arguably must have studied.
Our selection includes lines 1356-1391, found on pp. 42-43 in: George P. Krapp, ed.
(1931), The Junius Manuscript, New York: Columbia University. The events portrayed
are found in Genesis chapter 7.
Him þa Noe gewat, swa hine nergend het,
under earce bord eaforan lædan,
weras on wægþæl and heora wif somed;
·1538 him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- ...
·1539 þa -- adverbial conjunction <þā> then, when -- then
·1540 Noe -- proper noun, masculine <Noe> Noah -- Noah
·1541 gewat -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gewītan,
gewāt, gewiton, gewiten> depart, go -- went
·1542 swa -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- as
·1544 nergend -- noun, masculine <nergend> preserver, savior -- the savior
·1545 het -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <hātan, heht,
hēton, hāten> call, name; order -- commanded
·1546 under -- preposition <under> under -- on
·1547 earce -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <earc> ark -- the ark
·1548 bord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <bord> board, shield -- board
·1549 eaforan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative plural of <eafora> son, heir --
(his) sons
·1550 lædan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <lǣdan, lǣde, lǣded> lead, bring
-- to bring
·1551 weras -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wer> man -- men
·1553 wægþæl -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <wæg-þel> ship, lit. wave-
planking -- the ship
·1555 heora -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
their
·1556 wif -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <wīf> wife, woman -- wives
·1557 somed -- adverb <somod> also, together -- also
and eall þæt to fæsle frea ælmihtig
habban wolde under hrof gefor
to heora ætgifan, swa him ælmihtig
weroda drihten þurh his word abead.
·1559 eall -- adjective <eall> all -- all
·1560 þæt -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; accusative singular neuter
·1561 to -- adverb <tō> as, for -- for
·1562 fæsle -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <fæsl> progeny, offspring --
progeny
·1563 frea -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <frēa> lord, master -- the
Lord
almighty -- almighty
·1565 habban -- weak verb, class III; infinitive of <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have,
possess -- have
·1566 wolde -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of
<willan> wish, be willing -- would
·1568 hrof -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hrōf> roof -- the roof
·1569 gefor -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of <gefaran,
gefōr, gefōron, gefaren> go, proceed -- (he) went
·1570 to -- adverb <tō> as, for -- as
·1571 heora -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
their
·1572 ætgifan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <æt-gifa> food-giver --
provider
·1573 swa -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- as
she, it -- him
almighty -- the almighty
·1576 weroda -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <werod> army, band, host -- of
hosts
·1577 drihten -- noun, masculine <drihten> lord, prince, ruler -- Lord
·1578 þurh -- preposition <þurh> through, by (means of) -- by
she, it -- his
·1580 word -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <word> word, speech -- word
·1581 abead -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <ābēodan,
ābēad, ābudon, āboden> bid, announce -- bade
Him on hoh beleac heofonrices weard
merehuses muð mundum sinum,
sigora waldend, and segnade
earce innan agenum spedum
nergend usser.
she, it -- him
·1583 on hoh -- preposition <on> on(to), upon + noun, masculine <hōh> heel;
promontory -- behind
·1584 beleac -- strong verb, class II; preterite singular of <belūcan, belēac,
belucon, belocen> close, lock, shut -- shut
·1585 heofonrices -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <heofon-rīce> kingdom
of heaven -- of the kingdom of heaven
·1586 weard -- noun, masculine <weard> ward, guard, keeper -- the ward
·1587 merehuses -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <mere-hūs> sea-house -- of
the ark
·1588 muð -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mūð> mouth -- the door
·1589 mundum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <mund> hand -- hands
·1590 sinum -- 3rd person pronoun; used as adjective; dative singular masculine
of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it -- with his
·1591 sigora -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <sigor> victory -- of victories
·1592 waldend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wealdend> wielder,
ruler, lord -- the Lord
·1594 segnade -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <segnian,
segnade, segnad> bless, consecrate -- blessed
·1595 earce -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <earc> ark -- the ark
·1596 innan -- preposition <innan> in, within -- within
·1597 agenum -- adjective; dative of <āgen> own -- with (his) own
·1598 spedum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <spēd> means, riches, success
-- riches
·1599 nergend -- noun, masculine <nergend> preserver, savior -- savior
·1600 usser -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of <ic> I -- our
Noe hæfde,
sunu Lameches, syxhund wintra
þa he mid bearnum under bord gestah,
gleaw mid geogoðe, be godes hæse,
dugeðum dyrum.
·1601 Noe -- proper noun, masculine <Noe> Noah -- Noah
·1602 hæfde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <habban,
hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- had
·1603 sunu -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <sunu> son -- son
·1604 Lameches -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Lamech>
Lamech -- Lamech's
·1605 syxhund -- numeral <siex-hund> six hundred -- six hundred
·1606 wintra -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <winter> winter, year -- (of)
years
·1607 þa -- adverbial conjunction <þā> then, when -- when
·1608 he -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit>
he, she, it -- he
·1610 bearnum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <bearn> child -- children
·1611 under -- preposition <under> under -- on
·1612 bord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <bord> board, shield -- board
·1613 gestah -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gestīgan,
gestāh, gestigon, gestigen> mount, ascend -- climbed
·1614 gleaw -- adjective; nominative singular of <glēaw> wise, prudent -- the
wise
·1616 geogoðe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <geogoð> youth, youngster
-- the young
·1617 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- at
-- God's
·1619 hæse -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <hǣs> behest, command --
behest
·1620 dugeðum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <duguð> host, body of
retainers; glory -- family
·1621 dyrum -- adjective; dative plural of <dȳre> dear, beloved -- with beloved
Drihten sende
regn from roderum and eac rume let
willeburnan on woruld þringan
of ædra gehwære, egorstreamas
swearte swogan.
·1622 drihten -- noun, masculine <drihten> lord, prince, ruler -- the Lord
·1623 sende -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <sendan,
sende, sened> send -- sent
·1624 regn -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <regn> rain -- rain
·1626 roderum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <rodor> sky, heaven -- the
heavens
·1628 eac -- adverb <ēac> also, even, moreover -- also
·1629 rume -- adverb <rūm> roomy, spacious -- abundantly
·1630 let -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <lǣtan, lēt,
lēton, lǣten> let, allow -- allowed
·1631 willeburnan -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <willeburne> well-
spring -- well-springs
·1633 woruld -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <woruld> world -- the
world
·1634 þringan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <þringan, þrong, þrungon,
þrungen> throng, crowd, press -- to throng
·1635 of -- preposition <of> from, of -- from
·1636 ædra -- noun, feminine <ædre> artery, channel -- channels
·1637 gehwære -- adverb <gehwær> on every side, everywhere -- everywhere
·1638 egorstreamas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <ēagor-strēam>
sea-stream, current -- currents
·1639 swearte -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <sweart> dark, black,
swarthy -- dark
·1640 swogan -- strong verb, class VII; infinitive of <swogan, swēog, swēogon,
swōgen> resound, roar -- to roar
Sæs up stigon
ofer stæðweallas.
·1641 sæs -- noun, feminine; nominative plural <sǣ> sea, lake -- seas
·1642 up -- adverb <ūp> up, upwards -- up
·1643 stigon -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <stīgan, stāh,
stigon, stigen> rise, ascend -- rose
·1645 stæðweallas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <stæð-weall> shore-
wall -- shore-walls
Strang wæs and reðe
se ðe wætrum weold;
·1646 strang -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <strang> strong --
strong
·1649 reðe -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <rēðe> fierce, cruel --
fierce
·1650 se -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular
·1651 ðe -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- who
·1652 wætrum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <wæter> water -- the waters
·1653 weold -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <wealdan,
wēold, wēoldon, wealden> wield, direct -- directed
wreah and þeahte
manfæhðu bearn middangeardes
wonnan wæge, wera eðelland;
·1654 wreah -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <wrēon,
wrāh, wrigon, wrigen> hide, cover -- covered
·1656 þeahte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ðeccan,
ðeahte, ðeaht> cover, conceal -- hid
·1657 manfæhðu -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <mānfǣhðu>
wickedness -- wickedness
·1658 bearn -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <bearn> child -- the children
·1659 middangeardes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <middan-eard>
middle-earth, world -- of the world
·1660 wonnan -- adjective; dative singular masculine of <wonn> dark -- with
dark
·1661 wæge -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <wǣg> wave, billow --
billow
·1662 wera -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <wer> man -- of men
·1663 eðelland -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ēðel-land> native land --
the land
hof hergode, hygeteonan wræc
metod on monnum.
·1664 hof -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hof> court; dwelling --
dwelling place
·1665 hergode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <hergian,
hergode, gehergod> harry, raid, ravage -- ravaged
·1666 hygeteonan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hygeteona> injury,
insult -- havoc
·1667 wræc -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <wrecan,
wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter -- wreaked
·1668 metod -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <metod> creator -- the
Creator
·1670 monnum -- strong noun, masculine; dative plural of <monn> man, person
-- men
Mere swiðe grap
on fæge folc feowertig daga,
nihta oðer swilc.
·1671 mere -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <mere> mere, lake, sea --
the sea
·1672 swiðe -- adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly -- firmly
·1673 grap -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <grīpan, grāp,
gripon, gripen> grasp, seize -- seized
·1675 fæge -- adjective; accusative singular of <fǣge> doomed, fated -- doomed
·1676 folc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <folc> folk, people -- people
·1677 feowertig -- numeral <fēowertig> forty -- forty
·1678 daga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <dæg> day -- (of) days
·1679 nihta -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <niht> night -- (of) nights
·1680 oðer -- adjective <ōðer> other, next, second -- another
·1681 swilc -- pronoun <swilc> such -- such
Nið wæs reðe,
wællgrim werum;
·1682 nið -- noun, masculine <nīð> enmity, hostility -- anger
·1684 reðe -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <rēðe> fierce, cruel --
fierce
·1685 wællgrim -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wællgrim>
fierce, cruel -- cruel
·1686 werum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <wer> man -- to men
wuldorcyninges
yða wræcon arleasra feorh
of flæschoman.
·1687 wuldorcyninges -- noun, neuter <wuldor> glory, praise + strong noun,
masculine; genitive singular <cyning> king -- of the King of Glory
·1688 yða -- strong noun, feminine; nominative plural of <ȳð> wave -- the
waves
·1689 wræcon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of <wrecan,
wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter -- drove
·1690 arleasra -- adjective <ārlēas> base, dishonorable, wicked -- wicked
·1693 flæschoman -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of <flǣsc-
homa> body -- body
Flod ealle wreah,
hreoh under heofonum hea beorgas
geond sidne grund and on sund ahof
earce from eorðan
·1694 flod -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <flōd> flood, deluge -- the
flood
·1695 ealle -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <eall> all -- all
·1696 wreah -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <wrēon,
wrāh, wrigon, wrigen> hide, cover -- covered
·1697 hreoh -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hrēo> fierce, wild,
savage -- savage
·1699 heofonum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <heofon> heaven, sky --
the heavens
·1700 hea -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <hēah> high -- the high
·1701 beorgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <beorg> hill, mountain --
mountains
·1702 geond -- preposition <geond> over, through(out) -- on
·1703 sidne -- adjective; accusative singular of <sīd> wide, extensive -- ...
·1704 grund -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <grund> ground, earth --
earth
·1707 sund -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <sund> sea, water -- the
water
·1708 ahof -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of <āhebban,
āhōf, āhōfon, āhafen> raise, lift up -- lifted up
·1709 earce -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <earc> ark -- the ark
·1711 eorðan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <eorð> earth -- the earth
and þa æðelo mid,
þa segnade selfa drihten,
scyppend usser, þa he þæt scip beleac.
·1713 þa -- demonstrative article; accusative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt>
that -- that
·1714 æðelo -- indeclinable noun, feminine; accusative singular of <æðelo>
noble race -- noble race
·1715 mid -- adverb <mid> within -- within
·1716 þa -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <sē, sēo,
ðæt> that -- that
·1717 segnade -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <segnian,
segnade, segnad> bless, consecrate -- blessed
·1718 selfa -- reflexive pronoun; nominative singular of <self> self, same --
himself
·1719 drihten -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <drihten> lord, prince,
ruler -- the Lord
·1720 scyppend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <scieppend> shaper,
creator -- Creator
·1721 usser -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of <ic> I -- our
·1722 þa -- adverbial conjunction <þā> then, when -- when
·1723 he -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit>
he, she, it -- he
that -- that
·1725 scip -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <scip> ship -- ship
·1726 beleac -- strong verb, class II; preterite singular of <belūcan, belēac,
belucon, belocen> close, lock, shut -- closed up
Lesson Text
Him þa Noe gewat, swa hine nergend het,
under earce bord eaforan lædan,
weras on wægþæl and heora wif somed;
and eall þæt to fæsle frea ælmihtig
habban wolde under hrof gefor
to heora ætgifan, swa him ælmihtig
weroda drihten þurh his word abead.
Him on hoh beleac heofonrices weard
merehuses muð mundum sinum,
sigora waldend, and segnade
earce innan agenum spedum
nergend usser. Noe hæfde,
sunu Lameches, syxhund wintra
þa he mid bearnum under bord gestah,
gleaw mid geogoðe, be godes hæse,
dugeðum dyrum. Drihten sende
regn from roderum and eac rume let
willeburnan on woruld þringan
of ædra gehwære, egorstreamas
swearte swogan. Sæs up stigon
ofer stæðweallas. Strang wæs and reðe
se ðe wætrum weold; wreah and þeahte
manfæhðu bearn middangeardes
wonnan wæge, wera eðelland;
hof hergode, hygeteonan wræc
metod on monnum. Mere swiðe grap
on fæge folc feowertig daga,
nihta oðer swilc. Nið wæs reðe,
wællgrim werum; wuldorcyninges
yða wræcon arleasra feorh
of flæschoman. Flod ealle wreah,
hreoh under heofonum hea beorgas
geond sidne grund and on sund ahof
earce from eorðan and þa æðelo mid,
þa segnade selfa drihten,
scyppend usser, þa he þæt scip beleac.
Translation
Then Noah went, as the Savior commanded him, to bring his sons on board the
ark, men into the ship and their wives also; and all that the Lord Almighty would
have for progeny. And he went under the roof as their provider, as the Almighty,
the Lord of hosts, bade him by His word. Behind him the Ward of the kingdom of
heaven shut the door of the ark with His hands, the Lord of victories, and blessed
(those) within the ark with His own riches, our Savior. Noah, Lamech's son, had
[was] six hundred years [old] when he climbed on board with (his) children, the
wise with the young, at God's behest, with (his) beloved family. The Lord sent
rain from the heavens and also abundantly allowed well-springs to throng into the
world from channels everywhere, dark currents to roar. Seas rose up over shore-
walls. Strong and fierce was He who directed the waters; covered and hid
wickedness, the children of the world with dark billow, the land of men; the
Creator ravaged dwelling place, wreaked havoc on men. The sea firmly seized
upon doomed people forty days (and) another such of nights. Anger was fierce,
cruel to men; the waves of the King of Glory drove wicked life from body. The
flood, savage under the heavens, covered all the high mountains on earth and on
the water lifted up from the earth the ark and that noble race within, that the Lord
himself blessed, our Creator, when he closed up that ship.
Grammar
31. The Root Nouns

The declension class with the most ancient origins includes the root nouns, where
inflection is based on the root without an intervening affix (i.e. rather than on a stem
formed from the root). This may also be called the radical consonant declension, as the
inflectional ending is added to the [final] consonant of the radical (i.e. root); yet another
label for this class is mutation plurals, as the [nominative/accusative] plural forms often
incorporate a vowel change called umlaut. This class includes some neuter nouns, though
only masculine and feminine exemplars are listed here.
Masc. Masc. Masc. Fem. Fem.
Nom.Sg. monn 'man' fōt 'foot' tōð 'tooth' bōc 'book' burg 'borough'
Gen.Sg. monnes fōtes tōðes bōce byrig
Dat.Sg. menn fēt tēð bēc byrig
Acc.Sg. monn fōt tōð bōc burg
Nom.Pl. menn fēt tēð bēc byrig
Gen.Pl. monna fōta tōða bōca burga
Dat.Pl. monnum fōtum tōðum bōcum burgum
Acc.Pl. menn fēt tēð bēc byrig
Spelling Notes
As always, in OE, spelling variations abound in the texts; for example, monn may be
spelled mon or mann or man, menn may be spelled men, and a "weak" accusative
singular form monnan is also found. Variations are known, too, for forms of the other OE
words above.
Other root nouns with umlaut that survived into modern English include goose/geese,
louse/lice, mouse/mice, and cow/kine (the last, more prominent in Christmas carols of the
19th century and earlier).
32. The a-stem Strong Nouns

The majority of Old English masculine and neuter nouns (but no feminine nouns) fall into
the a-stem declension class; this class also includes the ja-stem and wa-stem nouns. To
illustrate where the label for this declension class originated (cf. lesson 6, §30), the
following table shows the reconstructed evolution of one masculine word, for 'day', from
Proto-Germanic (PGmc) root-affix-ending (i.e., stem + ending) to OE:
a-stem PGmc Masc. OE Masc.
Nom.Sg. *dag-a-z 'day' > dæg 'day'
Gen.Sg. *dag-a-za > dæges
Dat.Sg. *dag-a-i > dæge
Acc.Sg. *dag-a-n > dæg
Nom.Pl. *dag-a-zez > dagas
Gen.Pl. *dag-a:-n > daga
Dat.Pl. *dag-a-miz > dagum
Acc.Pl. *dag-a-nz > dagas
(N.B. The a-æ alternation illustrates a sound change called Anglo-Frisian Brightening, in
which the sound of PGmc /a/ in Anglo-Frisian dialects was "brightened" to ae unless it
preceded a nasal; later, in OE, the ae came to sound like /a/ again when the next syllable
contained one of the back vowels /a, o, u/ as in the plural forms above.)
Other a-stem, ja-stem, and wa-stem nouns are shown in the tables below, without the
evolutionary apparatus.
a-stems Masc. Masc. Neut. Neut.
Nom.Sg. weall 'wall' heofon 'heaven' scip 'ship' wæter 'water'
Gen.Sg. wealles heofones scipes wæteres
Dat.Sg. wealle heofone scipe wætere
Acc.Sg. weall heofon scip wæter
Nom.Pl. weallas heofonas scipu wæteru
Gen.Pl. wealla heofona scipa wætera
Dat.Pl. weallum heofonum scipum wæterum
Acc.Pl. weallas heofonas scipu wæteru
Spelling Notes
A nominative/accusative singular form weal is also observed. The -u ending shown in the
nominative/accusative plural form wæteru is not always present: wæter is often observed.
The ja-stem nouns had stems ending in -j- plus the vowel, resulting in modifications of
the nominative ending. The masculine and neuter ja-stems may have variant forms in
which -e- or -i- precede the ending, as in the nominative plurals secgeas of secg 'man' and
rīciu of rīce 'kingdom' (not shown), but they usually have the same endings as do the a-
stems.
ja-stems Masc. Masc. Neut. Neut.
Nom/Acc.Sg. here 'army' ǣfen 'evening' cynn 'kin' wēsten 'waste'
Gen.Sg. heriges ǣfennes cynnes wēstennes
Dat.Sg. herige ǣfenne cynne wēstenne
Nom/Acc.Pl. herigeas ǣfennas cynn wēstennu
Gen.Pl. herigea ǣfenna cynna wēstenna
Dat.Pl. herigum ǣfennum cynnum wēstennum
Spelling Notes
The -i- in all herig- forms is optional (e.g. herges), as is the -e- after -g- where it appears
in the plural forms (e.g. herigas or even hergas). The doubling of n shown in forms of
ǣfen and wēsten is optional (e.g. ǣfenes, wēstene), as is its doubling in the
nominative/accusative singular/plural forms cynn (e.g. cyn).
The few wa-stem nouns had stems ending in -w- plus the vowel, resulting in
modifications of the nominative ending. They generally have -u or -o in the
nominative/accusative singular (and, in the neuter, the nominative/accusative plural as
well), and then -w- before the ending, but otherwise they are inflected like the a-stems,
e.g. masc. bearu, gen. bearwes 'grove, woods', neut.pl. searo, gen.pl. searwa 'armor,
device' (neither shown).
wa-stems Masc. Masc/Neut. Neut.
Nom/Acc.Sg. ðēaw 'custom' hlǣw 'mound' hlēow 'protection'
Gen.Sg. ðēawes hlǣwes hlēowes
Dat.Sg. ðēawe hlǣwe hlēowe
Nom/Acc.Pl. ðēawas hlǣwas hlēowu
Gen.Pl. ðēawa hlǣwa hlēowa
Dat.Pl. ðēawum hlǣwum hlēowum
Spelling Notes
The noun hlǣw is treated as masculine in some instances, but as neuter in others; in the
latter context, the nominative/accusative plural ends in -u as opposed to -as (i.e. hlǣwu).
The -w ending after -o- is generally optional (e.g. hlēo); in conjunction with the -u ending
in the nominative/accusative plural also being optional, those forms may be spelled
without -wu (e.g. nom/acc. pl. hlēo). Some nominative/accusative singular forms may
end in either -o or -u (e.g. masc. bearo/bearu 'grove, woods', neut. searo/searu 'armor,
device').
33. The o-stem Strong Nouns
All nouns in this declension class are feminine; this class also includes the jo-stem and
wo-stem nouns. Long-vowel feminines such as ār 'honor', and nouns with two syllables
such as sāwol 'soul' (not shown), do not have -u in the nominative singular.
o-stems Fem. Fem. Fem. Fem.
Nom.Sg. giefu 'gift' ār 'honor' frōfor 'solace' costung 'temptation'
Gen.Sg. giefe āre frōfre costunga
Dat.Sg. giefe āre frōfre costunga
Acc.Sg. giefe āre frōfre costunga
Nom.Pl. giefa āra frōfra costunga
Gen.Pl. giefa āra frōfra costunga
Dat.Pl. giefum ārum frōfrum costungum
Acc.Pl. giefa āra frōfra costunga
Spelling Notes
Forms of gief- may also be spelled gif-. The ending -u in the nominative singular appears
only in words with a short root syllable (e.g. giefu or gifu); the nominative singular giefo
is also found. Genitive plural giefa may also be spelled giefena (or gifena), which
exhibits a borrowing from the weak n-declension (cf. lesson 8, §36). Middle vowel
syncopation, such as in forms of frōfor (e.g. frōfre), occurs only after a long root syllable.
Nouns ending in -ung often have the ending -a (as shown) instead of -e in the singular,
but -e forms also occur (e.g. costunge). Nominative/accusative plurals may also be
spelled with -e instead of -a (e.g. giefe or gife, frōfre, costunge).
jo-stems Fem. Fem. Fem. Fem.
Nom.Sg. bliss 'bliss' hild 'battle' milts 'mercy' wynn 'joy'
Gen/Dat/Acc.Sg. blisse hilde miltse wynne
Nom/Gen/Acc.Pl. blissa hilda miltsa wynna
Dat.Pl. blissum hildum miltsum wynnum
Spelling Notes
The noun bliss may be spelled blīðs; milts may be spelled milds; the nominative singular
wynn may be spelled wyn. The nominative/accusative plurals may also be spelled with -e
instead of -a.
wo-stems Fem. Fem. Fem. Fem.
Nom.Sg. lǣs 'pasture' mǣd 'meadow' nearu 'distress' stōw 'place'
Gen/Dat/Acc.Sg. lǣswe mǣdwe nearwe stōwe
Nom/Gen/Acc.Pl. lǣswa mǣdwa nearwa stōwa
Dat.Pl. lǣswum mǣdwum nearwum stōwum
Spelling Notes
Nominative/accusative plurals may end in -e instead of -a. The -w- in forms of lǣs and
mǣd (with long -ǣ- roots) is optional. The form mǣd may also serve as the accusative
singular. The ending -u in the nominative singular appears only in words with a short root
syllable (e.g. near-). Where -w- is preceded by a consonant, a "parasitic vowel" (e, o, or
u) may intrude (e.g. nearowe).
34. The i-stem Strong Nouns

Nouns in this class are found in all three genders, but few of them are neuter; neuters are
inflected like masculines except they have final -u rather than -e in the
nominative/accusative plural. The masculine and neuter nouns often borrow case endings
from the a-stem declension (cf. §32 above), while feminine nouns often borrow case
endings from the o-stem declension (cf. §33 above).
i-stems Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom.Sg. mere 'sea' dǣd 'deed' sife 'sieve'
Gen.Sg. meres dǣde sifes
Dat.Sg. mere dǣde sife
Acc.Sg. mere dǣd sife
Nom.Pl. mere dǣde sifu
Gen.Pl. mera dǣda sifa
Dat.Pl. merum dǣdum sifum
Acc.Pl. mere dǣde sifu
Spelling Notes
The nominative/accusative plurals of mere may be spelled meras -- borrowed from the a-
stem declension; similarly, wine 'friend' (not shown) exhibits, as its nominative &
genitive plurals, both the original forms wine & winigea and the borrowed inflections
winas & wina. The feminine noun dǣd exhibits, in addition to the forms above, the
accusative singular dǣde and the nominative/accusative plural dǣda -- both borrowed
from the o-stem declension. The same borrowing patterns are observed in other i-stem
nouns.
35. The u-stem Strong Nouns
There are few surviving members of this declension class, generally in the masculine
gender; those with long root syllables, or that are bi-syllabic like winter 'winter', do not
have final -u in the nominative/accusative singular and are comparable to a-stems so that
they may assume that inflection. Most feminine nouns that were u-stems in the earlier
languages have fallen together with the o-stems. Forms of the masculine u-stems may
have the endings -o or -a in the nominative/accusative singular, and -u or -o in the dative
singular and the nominative/accusative plural.
u-stems Masc. Masc. Fem. Fem.
Nom.Sg. medo 'mead' sunu 'son' duru 'door' hond 'hand'
Gen.Sg. meda suna dura honda
Dat.Sg. medo suna dura honda
Acc.Sg. medo sunu duru hond
Nom.Pl. meda suna dura honda
Gen.Pl. meda suna dura honda
Dat.Pl. medum sunum durum hondum
Acc.Pl. meda suna dura honda
Spelling Notes
The form medo is often spelled medu; either way, an umlaut process acting on -e- in an
accented syllable, followed by a single consonant and either -o or -u, changes -e- to -eo-
-- resulting in alternate spellings meodo or meodu. The nominative/accusative singular
forms sunu may be spelled suno or suna; the dative singular form suna may be spelled
suno or sunu; and the nominative/accusative plural forms suna may also be spelled suno
or sunu. The singular dative form dura may be spelled duru. Forms of hond- may be
spelled hand-.
Old English Online

Lesson 8
Jonathan Slocum
The Wanderer, with other poems including The Seafarer in lesson 9, falls into a category
of poetry referred to as "elegies," which describe attitudes toward life on earth and its
inevitable changes; generally the attitudes are of melancholy, if not outright lamentation
for the passing of better times as in this poem.
The author is unknown, and indeed different parts of the poem might possibly have
different authors (see below); therefore the time-frame is uncertain. However, the poem
has come to us as part of the Exeter Book, a latter 10th century volume of Anglo-Saxon
poetry, and it very probably originated in an even earlier oral tradition.
The text of The Wanderer presents problems to anyone who would analyze and interpret
it in detail -- so much so, that some scholars detect additions to and alterations of the
original while others just as strongly maintain that the poem as it has come down to us is
greatly or entirely intact. We leave such arguments to the scholars, and present the text as
we see it. A thoughtful reader will easily perceive the moving portrayal of profound
emotion that has merited centuries of literary attention.
Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. The
speaker whose words begin in line 8 has lost his lord and is adrift in a culture that, except
for the thinnest veneer of Christianity, seems to provide no guidance to living one's life
and finding one's way in a world without kindred.
Oft him ānhaga āre gebīdeð,
Metudes miltse, þēah þe hē mōdcearig
geond lagulāde longe sceolde
hrēran mid hondum hrīmcealde sǣ,
wadan wræclāstas: wyrd bið ful ārǣd.
she, it -- ...
·1729 ānhaga -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ānhaga> recluse,
wanderer -- the wanderer
·1730 āre -- strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of <ār> honor, favor --
favor
·1731 gebīdeð -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular present of <gebīdan,
gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain -- prays for
·1732 metudes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <metod> creator -- God's
·1733 miltse -- strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of <milts> mercy, favor,
kindness -- mercy
·1734 þēah þe -- conjunction <ðēah ðe> although, even if -- although
he, she, it -- he
·1736 mōdcearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <mōd-cearig>
anxious, sorrowful, lit. mood-caring -- sorrowful
·1737 geond -- preposition <geond> over, through(out) -- across
·1738 lagulāde -- strong noun, feminine; accusative singular of <lagu-lād>
water-way, ocean journey -- the water-way
·1739 longe -- adverb <longe> for long (time) -- long
·1740 sceolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular
preterite indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- had to
·1741 hrēran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <hrēran, hrērde, hrēred> move,
stir -- stir
·1743 hondum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <hond> hand -- (his) hands #
hrēran mid hondum = 'to row'
·1744 hrīmcealde -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <hrīm-ceald> ice-
cold, frosty -- the frosty
·1745 sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake -- sea
·1746 wadan -- strong verb, class VI; infinitive of <wadan, wōd, wōdon, waden>
wade, stride over -- travel
·1747 wræclāstas -- strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of <wræc-lāst>
path of exile, lit. misery track -- paths of exile
·1748 wyrd -- strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of <wyrd> fate,
destiny -- fate
·1750 ful -- adverb <ful> fully, completely -- utterly
·1751 ārǣd -- adjective <ārǣd> arranged, inexorable -- inexorable # past ptc. of
weak I ārǣdan 'read'
Swā cwæð eardstapa earfeþa gemyndig,
wrāþra wælsleahta, winemǣga hryre:
·1752 swā -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- thus
·1754 eardstapa -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eard-stapa>
wanderer, lit. earth-stepper -- the wanderer
·1755 earfeþa -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <earfeðe> hardship, suffering --
of hardships
·1756 gemyndig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gemyndig>
mindful -- mindful
·1757 wrāþra -- adjective; genitive plural of <wrāð> wroth, angry -- cruel
·1758 wælsleahta -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <wælsleaht>
slaughter, carnage -- of... carnage
·1759 winemǣga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <wine-mǣg> dear-, lit.
friend-kinsman -- of dear kinsmen
·1760 hryre -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <hryre> death, fall, ruin
-- of (the) deaths
"Oft ic sceolde āna ūhtna gehwylce
mīne ceare cwīþan:
·1763 sceolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 1st person singular
preterite indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- must
·1764 āna -- adjective <ān> alone, single -- alone
·1765 ūhtna -- weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ūhta> dawn, twilight --
morning
·1766 gehwylce -- indefinite pronoun; instrumental singular masculine of
<gehwylc> each, every one -- every
·1767 mīne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; accusative singular
feminine of <ic> I -- my
·1768 ceare -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <cear> care, sorrow --
sorrows
·1769 cwīþan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <cwīðan, cwīðe, cwīðed>
accuse; bewail, lament -- bewail
nis nū cwicra nān,
þe ic him mōdsefan mīnne durre
sweotule āsecgan.
·1770 nis -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular
present indicative of <is> be, become, exist -- is (not)
·1772 cwicra -- adjective; genitive plural of <cwic> quick, alive -- alive
·1773 nān -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + indefinite article <ān> a, an, one --
none # double negative for emphasis
·1774 þe -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- ...
she, it -- to whom
·1777 mōdsefan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mōd-sefa>
mind, spirit -- mind
·1778 mīnne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; accusative singular
masculine of <ic> I -- my
·1779 durre -- preterite-present verb, class III; 1st person singular present
optative of <durran, dearr, durron, dorste> dare -- dare
·1780 sweotule -- adverb <sweotole> clearly, plainly -- plainly
·1781 āsecgan -- weak verb, class III; infinitive of <āsecgan, āsægde, āsægd>
say, relate -- speak
Ic tō sōþe wāt
þæt biþ in eorle indryhten þēaw,
·1783 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- in
·1784 sōþe -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <sōð> truth -- truth # tō sōþe: as a
fact, "in sooth"
·1785 wāt -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular present indicative
of <witan, wāt, witon, wiste> know, observe -- know
·1787 biþ -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <bēon>
be, become, exist -- (it) is
·1789 eorle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior
-- (a) warrior
·1790 indryhten -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <indrihten>
(very) noble -- (a) noble
·1791 þēaw -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ðēaw> habit, custom --
custom
þæt hē his ferðlocan fæste binde,
healde his hordcofan, hycge swā hē wille.
he, she, it -- he
he, she, it -- his
·1795 ferðlocan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ferð-loca> breast,
heart, lit. spirit enclosure -- heart
·1796 fæste -- adverb <fæste> fast, firmly, securely -- fast
·1797 binde -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of
<bindan, bond, bundon, bunden> bind, tie -- bind
·1798 healde -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of
<healdan, hēold, hēoldon, lealden> hold, retain, preserve -- reserve
he, she, it -- his
·1800 hordcofan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hord-cofa> treasure
chamber, lit. hoard cove -- inner thought(s)
·1801 hycge -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of
<hycgan, hogode, hogod> think, resolve -- think
he, she, it -- he
·1804 wille -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of
<willan> wish, be willing -- will
Ne mæg wērigmōd wyrde wiðstondan
ne se hrēo hyge helpe gefremman:
·1807 wērigmōd -- adjective <wērig> weary, exhausted + noun, neuter;
nominative singular of <mōd> mood, mind -- the spirit-weary
·1808 wyrde -- strong noun, feminine; dative singular of <wyrd> fate, destiny --
destiny
·1809 wiðstondan -- strong verb, class VI; infinitive of <wiðstandan, wiðstōd,
wiðstōdon, wiðstanden> withstand, resist -- avoid
-- the
·1812 hrēo -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hrēo> fierce, wild,
savage -- troubled
·1813 hyge -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hyge> heart, mind, soul
-- mind
·1814 helpe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <helpe> help, aid -- aid
·1815 gefremman -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <gefremman, gefremede,
gefremed> advance, further -- offer
for ðon dōmgeorne drēorigne oft
in hyra brēostcofan bindað fæste.
·1816 for ðon -- conjunction <for þon> because, therefore -- therefore
·1817 dōmgeorne -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <dōm-georn> lit.
glory-desirous -- eager for renown # substantive
·1818 drēorigne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <drēorig> dreary,
sad -- sad(ness) # substantive
their
·1822 brēostcofan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <brēost-cofa> heart,
affections -- heart(s)
·1823 bindað -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural present of <bindan, bond,
bundon, bunden> bind, tie -- bury
·1824 fæste -- adverb <fæste> fast, firmly, securely -- deep
Swā ic mōdsefan mīnne sceolde
oft earmcearig ēðle bidǣled,
frēomǣgum feor feterum sǣlan,
siþþan geāra iū goldwine mīnne
hrūsan heolstre biwrāh
·1825 swā -- adverbial conjunction <swā> so, thus -- so
·1827 mōdsefan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mōd-sefa>
mind, spirit -- spirit
preterite indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- had to
·1831 earmcearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <earm-cearig>
miserable, lit. wretched-caring -- miserable
·1832 ēðle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <ēðel> home, native land -- of
home
·1833 bidǣled -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <bedǣlan, bidǣlde,
bidǣled> deprive, release -- deprived
·1834 frēomǣgum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <frēo-mǣg> noble (lit.
free) kinsman -- kinsmen
·1835 feor -- preposition <feor> far (from) -- far from
·1836 feterum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <fetor> fetter, shackle -- in
shackles
·1837 sǣlan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <sǣlan, sǣlde, sǣled> bind --
bind
·1838 siþþan -- adverb <siððan> since, when, afterwards -- since
·1839 geāra -- adverb <geāra> yore, long since -- years # gen. pl. of gēar 'year'
·1840 iū -- adverb <gīo> before, of old -- ago
·1841 goldwine -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <gold-wine> lit. gold-
friend -- lord
·1843 hrūsan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <hrūse> earth, ground -- of
the earth
·1844 heolstre -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <heolstor> cover,
concealment -- in the darkness # or should this be heolstor, nom.sg., subj. of biwrāh?
·1845 biwrāh -- strong verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of <bewrēon,
biwrāh, biwrigon, biwrigen> cover, conceal -- (I) covered # (subject not specified)
and ic hēan þonan
wōd wintercearig ofer waþema gebind,
sōhte sele drēorig sinces bryttan,
hwǣr ic feor oþþe nēah findan meahte
þone þe in meoduhealle (mīn) mine wisse,
oþþe mec frēondlēasne frēfran wolde,
wēman mid wynnum.
·1848 hēan -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hēan> abject,
depressed, miserable -- wretched
·1849 þonan -- adverb <ðonan> thence, from there -- away
·1850 wōd -- strong verb, class VI; 1st person singular preterite of <wadan, wōd,
wōdon, waden> wade, stride over -- went
·1851 wintercearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <winter-
cearig> sorrowful, lit. winter-caring -- sorrowful
·1853 waþema -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <waðum> wave, sea -- of
the waves
·1854 gebind -- noun, neuter <gebind> band, binding, fastening -- the band #
freezing? waþema gebind = 'ice'?
·1855 sōhte -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of <sēcan, sōhte,
sōht> seek, desire -- sought
·1856 sele -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <sele> hall, house -- (a)
hall
·1857 drēorig -- adverb <drēorig> drearily, sadly -- sadly
·1858 sinces -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <sinc> jewels, riches, treasure
-- of riches
·1859 bryttan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <brytta> giver,
distributor -- (a) giver
·1860 hwǣr -- adverbial conjunction <hwǣr> where -- where
·1862 feor -- adverb <feor> far (from) -- far
·1864 nēah -- adverb <nēah> near -- near
·1865 findan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <findan, fond, fundon,
funden> find -- find
·1866 meahte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 1st person singular
preterite indicative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- might
·1867 þone -- demonstrative used as personal pronoun; accusative singular
masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it -- him
·1870 meoduhealle -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <medu-heall> mead-hall
-- the mead hall
·1871 mīn -- 1st person pronoun; genitive singular of <ic> I -- my
·1872 mine -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mine> mind, affection --
mind
·1873 wisse -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite
indicative of <witan, wāt, witon, wiste> know, observe -- knew
·1875 mec -- 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of <ic> I -- me
·1876 frēondlēasne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <frēond-lēas>
friend-less -- friendless
·1877 frēfran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <frēfran, frēfrede, frēfred> cheer,
comfort -- comfort
·1878 wolde -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of
<willan> wish, be willing -- would
·1879 wēman -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <wēman, wēmde, wēmed>
attract, entice, treat -- treat
·1881 wynnum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <wynn> joy, delight --
kindness # plural in form
Wāt sē þe cunnað
hū slīþen bið sorg tō gefēran
þām þe him lȳt hafað lēofra geholena:
of <witan, wāt, witon, wiste> know, observe -- knows
·1885 cunnað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <cunnian,
cunnode, cunnod> seek, explore, experience -- seeks
·1887 slīþen -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <slīðen> cruel, dire,
evil -- cruel
·1889 sorg -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <sorg> sorrow, grief,
distress -- grief
·1890 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- as a
·1891 gefēran -- weak noun, masculine; nominative plural of <gefēra>
companion, comrade -- comrade
·1892 þām -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; dative singular masculine
of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that -- to him
she, it -- himself
·1895 lȳt -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lȳt> little, small number -- (a)
small number # few
·1896 hafað -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of <habban,
hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- has
·1897 lēofra -- adjective; comparative; genitive plural of <lēof> lief, dear,
beloved -- (of) dear
·1898 geholena -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <gehola> friend, confidant,
protector -- friends
warað hine wræclāst, nāles wunden gold,
ferðloca frēorig, nālæs foldan blǣd;
·1899 warað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <warian,
warode, warod> guard, protect, occupy -- preoccupies
·1901 wræclāst -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wræc-lāst>
path of exile, lit. misery track -- the path of exile
·1902 nāles -- adverb <nālæs> not at all -- not
·1903 wunden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of <windan, wond,
wundon, wunden> wind, twist, turn -- twisted
·1904 gold -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <gold> gold -- gold
·1905 ferðloca -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ferð-loca> breast,
heart, lit. spirit enclosure -- body
·1906 frēorig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <frēorig> chill, cold,
freezing -- (a) cold
·1907 nālæs -- adverb <nālæs> not at all -- not
·1908 foldan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <folde> earth, ground -- of
earth
·1909 blǣd -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <blǣd> breath, spirit, life
-- the life
gemon hē selesecgas and sincþege,
hū hine on geoguðe his goldwine
wenede tō wiste: wyn eal gedrēas. ..."
·1910 gemon -- preterite-present verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present
indicative of <gemunan, geman, gemunon, gemunde> remember, be mindful of --
thinks of
he, she, it -- he
·1912 selesecgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <sele-secg> retainer,
lit. hall hero -- retainers
·1914 sincþege -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sinc-þegu> lit. treasure
receipt -- receipt of treasure
·1918 geoguðe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <geogoð> youth, youngster
-- youth
he, she, it -- his
·1920 goldwine -- noun, masculine; nominative singular <gold-wine> lit. gold-
friend -- lord
·1921 wenede -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <wennan,
wenede, wened> accustom; entertain (joyfully) -- entertained
·1922 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- at
·1923 wiste -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <wist> feast, food, provision --
feast
·1924 wyn -- strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of <wynn> joy, delight
-- joy
·1925 eal -- adverb <eall> all, entirely -- utterly
·1926 gedrēas -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of
<gedrēosan, gedrēas, gedruron, gedroren> fall, fail -- perished
Lesson Text
Oft him ānhaga āre gebīdeð,
Metudes miltse, þēah þe hē mōdcearig
geond lagulāde longe sceolde
hrēran mid hondum hrīmcealde sǣ,
wadan wræclāstas: wyrd bið ful ārǣd.
Swā cwæð eardstapa earfeþa gemyndig,
wrāþra wælsleahta, winemǣga hryre:
"Oft ic sceolde āna ūhtna gehwylce

mīne ceare cwīþan: nis nū cwicra nān,
þe ic him mōdsefan mīnne durre
sweotule āsecgan. Ic tō sōþe wāt
þæt biþ in eorle indryhten þēaw,
þæt hē his ferðlocan fæste binde,
healde his hordcofan, hycge swā hē wille.
Ne mæg wērigmōd wyrde wiðstondan
ne se hrēo hyge helpe gefremman:
for ðon dōmgeorne drēorigne oft
in hyra brēostcofan bindað fæste.
Swā ic mōdsefan mīnne sceolde
oft earmcearig ēðle bidǣled,
frēomǣgum feor feterum sǣlan,
siþþan geāra iū goldwine mīnne
hrūsan heolstre biwrāh and ic hēan þonan
wōd wintercearig ofer waþema gebind,
sōhte sele drēorig sinces bryttan,
hwǣr ic feor oþþe nēah findan meahte
þone þe in meoduhealle (mīn) mine wisse,
oþþe mec frēondlēasne frēfran wolde,
wēman mid wynnum. Wāt sē þe cunnað
hū slīþen bið sorg tō gefēran
þām þe him lȳt hafað lēofra geholena:
warað hine wræclāst, nāles wunden gold,
ferðloca frēorig, nālæs foldan blǣd;
gemon hē selesecgas and sincþege,
hū hine on geoguðe his goldwine
wenede tō wiste: wyn eal gedrēas. ..."
Translation
Often the wanderer prays for favor, God's mercy, although sorrowful he long had
to stir with his hands the frosty sea across the water-way, travel paths of exile: fate
is utterly inexorable. Thus said the wanderer mindful of hardships, of cruel
carnage, of the deaths of dear kinsmen:
"Often I must bewail my sorrows alone every morning: none is now alive to
whom I dare plainly speak my mind. I in truth know that it is a noble custom in a
warrior, that he bind his heart fast, reserve his inner thoughts, think as he will. The
spirit-weary may not avoid destiny nor the troubled mind offer aid: therefore
(those) eager for renown often bury sadness deep in their hearts. So often,
miserable, deprived of home, far from kinsmen, I had to bind my spirit in
shackles, since years ago (I) covered my lord in the darkness of the earth and I,
wretched, went away sorrowful over the band of the waves, sadly sought a hall, a
giver of riches, where far or near I might find him who knew my mind in the
mead hall, or would comfort me, friendless, treat (me) with kindness. He knows
who seeks how cruel is grief as a comrade to him who himself has a small number
of dear friends: the path of exile preoccupies him, not twisted gold, a cold body,
not the life of earth; he thinks of retainers and receipt of treasure, how in youth his
lord entertained him at feast: joy utterly perished. ..."
Grammar
36. The n-stem Weak Nouns

Only a handful of nouns behave like the masculine frēa 'lord' in the table below; none of
the others appear in our lesson texts.
n-stems Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc.
Nom.Sg. nama 'name' sunne 'sun' ēage 'eye' frēa 'lord'
Gen.Sg. naman sunnan ēagan frēan
Dat.Sg. naman sunnan ēagan frēan
Acc.Sg. naman sunnan ēage frēan
Nom.Pl. naman sunnan ēagan frēan
Gen.Pl. namena sunnena ēagena frēana
Dat.Pl. namum sunnum ēagum frēaum
Acc.Pl. naman sunnan ēagan frēan
Spelling Notes
The forms of nam- are also spelled nom-. The dative plural frēaum is also spelled frēam.
The genitive plural ending -ena may also be spelled -ana, -ona, or -una, or it may be
reduced to -na or -a; the endings -an may be spelled -on.
37. Feminine Abstract Nouns in -u, -o

Few nouns belong to this class, and their forms are so variable that they may be classified
as "indeclinable" in dictionaries. Frequently, a single form is used for all cases except the
genitive/dative plurals, which end in -a and -um respectively; that other form, however,
may end in -u in some sources, or -o in others; sometimes the nominative/accusative
plural ends in -e or -a. The following table serves only as a partial sketch, as the term
indeclinable cannot be ignored: forms are selected to illustrate variability rather than
suggest a non-existent "inflectional pattern," and spelling notes are accordingly
irrelevant.
Fem. Abstracts 'pride' 'strength'
Nom.Sg. wlencu strengð
Gen.Sg. wlenco strenge
Dat.Sg. wlence strengu
Acc.Sg. wlenco strengðo
Nom.Pl. wlenca strengðe
Gen.Pl. wlencea strenga
Dat.Pl. wlencum strengðum
Acc.Pl. wlencu strengu
38. The r-stem Nouns

These nouns indicate relationships (father, mother, brother, sister, daughter).
r-stems Masc. Fem. Masc. Fem. Fem.
Nom.S mōdor
fæder 'father' brōðor 'brother' sweostor 'sister' dohtor 'daughter'
g. 'mother'
Gen.Sg
fæder mōdor brōðor sweostor dohtor
.
Dat.Sg. fæder mēder brēðer sweostor dohtor
Acc.Sg
fæder mōdor brōðor sweostor dohtor
.
Nom.P
fæderas mōdru brōðor sweostor dohtor
l.
Gen.Pl
fædera mōdra brōðra sweostra dohtra
.
Dat.Pl. fæderum mōdrum brōðrum sweostrum dohtrum
Acc.Pl. fæderas mōdru brōðor sweostor dohtor
Spelling Notes
The genitive singular fæder may be spelled fæderes or fædres; the -e- in the plural forms
of fæder is optional. All nominative singular forms ending in -or may be spelled with the
ending -ur or -er instead. Umlaut may be applied to the genitive singular mōdor to yield
mēder; the nominative/accusative plurals mōdru may be spelled mōdra. The
nominative/accusative plurals brōðor may be spelled brōðru. The nominative/accusative
plurals sweostor, dohtor may be spelled sweostru or sweostra, dohtru or dohtra. The
genitive/dative singulars dohtor may be spelled dehter. Collective plurals of brōðor,
sweostor have a prefix ge- (e.g. gebrōðor, gesweostor).
39. The nd-stem Nouns

These masculine nouns are derived from present participle forms of verbs. In addition to
forms shown below, our lesson texts include forms of wīgend 'warrior' and scieppend
'creator', which are declined like nergend and wealdend.
nd-stems Masc. Masc. Masc.
Nom.Sg. frēond 'friend' nergend 'savior' wealdend 'ruler'
Gen.Sg. frēondes nergendes wealdendes
Dat.Sg. frēonde nergende wealdende
Acc.Sg. frēond nergend wealdend
Nom.Pl. frēondas nergendas wealdendas
Gen.Pl. frēonda nergendra wealdendra
Dat.Pl. frēondum nergendum wealdendum
Acc.Pl. frēondas nergendas wealdendas
Spelling Notes
The dative singular frēonde may be spelled frīend; the nominative/accusative plurals
frēondas may be spelled frīend or frēond. The nominative/accusative plurals nergendas,
wealdendas may be spelled nergend or nergende, wealdend or wealdende. Forms of
wealdend- may be spelled waldend-. (And forms of scieppend- may be spelled
scyppend-.)
40. The er-stem Nouns

The nouns in this declension are all neuter; however, by OE times most of the er-stems
had migrated to other declensions, even if this required a change of gender. Few
remained, and none of them appear in our lesson texts.
er-stems Neut. Neut. Neut.
Nom.Sg. ǣg 'egg' cealf 'calf' lomb 'lamb'
Gen.Sg. ǣges cealfes lombes
Dat.Sg. ǣge cealfe lombe
Acc.Sg. ǣg cealf lomb
Nom.Pl. ǣgru cealfru lombru
Gen.Pl. ǣgra cealfra lombra
Dat.Pl. ǣgrum cealfrum lombrum
Acc.Pl. ǣgru cealfru lombru
Spelling Notes
The forms of lomb- can also be spelled lamb-. The nominative/accusative plurals lombru
may be spelled lomber or lomb; in accordance with the last the genitive plural may be
spelled lomba, and the dative plural, lombum.
Old English Online

Lesson 9
Jonathan Slocum
The Seafarer, with other poems including The Wanderer in lesson 8, is found in the
Exeter Book, a latter 10th century volume of Anglo-Saxon poetry. The poem is an elegy,
characterized by an attitude of melancholy toward earthly life while, perhaps in allegory,
looking forward to the life to come.
As with The Wanderer, authorship of The Seafarer is unknown and the time-frame is
uncertain; it may have originated a half century before the Exeter Book was compiled, but
much clumsy modification is apparent. This is not due to problems with the book itself,
as it is undamaged and the penmanship is clear. Whether some corruption is due to
secondary Christian influence is not known, though it seems quite possible.
Whether a dialogue or a monologue, the poem presents two views of life at sea. Gordon,
in his Anglo-Saxon Poetry (op. cit., p. 84), characterizes the debate on one side as "a
dialogue in which an old sailor tells of the lonely sufferings of life at sea, and is answered
by a youth who urges that it is the hardness of the life which makes it attractive," vs. the
other side as "a monologue in which the speaker tells of his sufferings, but also admits
the fascination of the sea." Either way, the transcendant message exposes "the fleeting
nature of earthly pomps and joys."
Various parts of this poem, some included in our selection, display signs of textual
corruption, disturbing the grammar and poetic structure and making some sections quite
difficult to understand. Our selection includes lines 1-43, found on pp. 152-153 in:
Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th
edition, Oxford: Clarendon.
Mæg ic be mē sylfum sōðgied wrecan,
sīþas secgan, hū ic geswincdagum
earfoðhwīle oft þrōwade,
bitre brēostceare gebiden hæbbe,
gecunnad in cēole cearselda fela,
atol ȳþa gewealc.
·1927 mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 1st person singular present
indicative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- can
·1929 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- about
·1930 mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of <ic> I -- my-
·1931 sylfum -- reflexive pronoun; dative singular of <self> self, same -- self
·1932 sōðgied -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <sōð-gied> lit. true tale --
(a) true tale
·1933 wrecan -- strong verb, class V; infinitive of <wrecan, wræc, wræcon,
wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter -- tell
·1934 sīþas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <sīð> journey, voyage -- (of)
voyages
·1935 secgan -- weak verb, class III; infinitive of <secgan, sægde, sægd> say --
speak
·1938 geswincdagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <geswinc-dæg> day of
toil -- (in) days of toil
·1939 earfoðhwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <earfoð-hwīl> lit.
hardship-time -- a time of hardship
·1941 þrōwade -- weak verb, class II; 1st person singular preterite of <ðrōwian,
ðrōwade, ðrōwad> endure, suffer -- endured
·1942 bitre -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <bitre> bitter, sharp --
bitter
·1943 brēostceare -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <brēost-cearu>
anxiety, heart-care -- sadness
·1944 gebiden -- strong verb, class I; past participle of <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon,
gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain -- experienced
·1945 hæbbe -- weak verb, class III; 1st person singular present of <habban,
hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- have
·1946 gecunnad -- weak verb, class II; past participle of <gecunnian, gecunnade,
gecunnad> know; try, test, make trial of -- known
·1947 in -- preposition <in> in, into -- on
·1948 cēole -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <cēol> keel (of a ship) -- a
ship
·1949 cearselda -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <cear-seld> place of sorrow,
care-place -- places of sorrow
·1950 fela -- indeclinable adjective <fela> much, many -- much
·1951 atol -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <atol> dire, repulsive -- dire
·1952 ȳþa -- strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of <ȳð> wave -- of the waves
·1953 gewealc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gewealc> rolling, tossing
-- tossing
Þǣr mec oft bigeat
nearo nihtwaco æt nacan stefnan,
þonne hē be clifum cnossað.
·1955 mec -- 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of <ic> I -- me
·1957 bigeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <begietan,
begeat, begēaton, begieten> get, acquire -- kept
·1958 nearo -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <nearu> narrow; full of
hardship -- an anxious
·1959 nihtwaco -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <niht-waco> night-
watch -- night-watch
·1960 æt -- preposition <æt> at, against -- on
·1961 nacan -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <naca> boat, ship -- of a
ship
·1962 stefnan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <stefn> stem; prow, stern --
the prow
he, she, it -- it
·1965 be -- preposition <be> at, by, near -- beneath
·1966 clifum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <clif> cliff -- the cliffs
·1967 cnossað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <cnossian,
cnossode, cnossod> drive, pitch -- drives
Calde geþrungen
wǣron fēt mīne forste gebunden,
caldum clommum; þǣr þā ceare seofedun
hāt(e) ymb heortan; hungor innan slāt
merewērges mōd.
·1968 calde -- adjective; dative singular masculine of <ceald> cold -- cold
·1969 geþrungen -- strong verb, class III; past participle of <þringan, þrong,
þrungon, þrungen> throng, crowd, press -- pressed
·1971 fēt -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <fōt> foot -- feet
·1972 mīne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; nominative plural
·1973 forste -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <forst> frost -- by the frost
·1974 gebunden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of <bindan, bond,
bundon, bunden> bind, tie -- bound
·1975 caldum -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <ceald> cold -- (in) frigid
·1976 clommum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <clom> bond, fetter; grasp
-- fetters
·1978 þā -- definite article; nominative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the -- ...
·1979 ceare -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <cearu> care, grief, sorrow
-- sorrows
·1980 seofedun -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <seofian,
seofade, seofad> sigh, lament -- sighed
·1981 hāte -- adjective; nominative plural feminine of <hāt> hot, fervid -- hot
·1982 ymb -- preposition <ymbe> at, around -- around
·1983 heortan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <heorte> heart -- (my)
heart
·1984 hungor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hungor> hunger --
hunger
·1985 innan -- preposition used as adverb <innan> in, within -- within
·1986 slāt -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <slītan, slāt,
sliton, sliten> slit, tear -- gnawed
·1987 merewērges -- adjective <mere-wērig> sea-weary -- a sea-weary
·1988 mōd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <mōd> mood, mind -- mood
Þæt se mon ne wāt,
þe him on foldan fægrost limpeð,
hū ic earmcearig īscealdne sǣ
winter wunade wræccan lāstum
winemǣgum bidroren ...
that -- ...
-- the
person -- man
of <witan, wāt, witon, wiste> know, observe -- does ... know
·1994 þe -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- ...
she, it -- to whom
·1997 foldan -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <folde> earth, ground -- earth
·1998 fægrost -- adverb; superlative of <fæger> fairly, beautifully -- most
happily
·1999 limpeð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of <limpan,
lamp, lumpon, lumpen> befall, happen -- (everything) happens
·2000 hū -- conjunction <hū> how -- how
·2002 earmcearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <earm-cearig>
miserable, lit. wretched-caring -- wretched
·2003 īscealdne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <īs-ceald> ice-
cold -- an ice-cold
·2004 sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake -- at sea
·2005 winter -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <winter> winter, year --
winter
·2006 wunade -- weak verb, class II; 1st person singular preterite of <wunian,
wunode, wunod> dwell, live, remain -- spent
·2007 wræccan -- weak noun, masculine; genitive singular of <wrecca> wretch,
exile -- of exile
·2008 lāstum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <lāst> track, footprint -- in the
paths
·2009 winemǣgum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <wine-mǣg> dear-, lit.
friend-kinsman -- kinsmen
·2010 bidroren -- strong verb, class II; past participle of <bedrēosan, bedrēas,
bedruron, bedroren> bereave, deprive of -- bereft of
bihongen hrīmgicelum: hægl scūrum flēag.
·2011 bihongen -- strong verb, class VII; past participle of <behōn, behēng,
behēngon, behongen> hang round -- behung
·2012 hrīmgicelum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <hrīm-gicel> icicle --
with icicles
·2013 hægl -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hagol> hail -- the hail
·2014 scūrum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <scūr> shower -- in showers
·2015 flēag -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <flēogan,
flēag, flugon, flogen> flee, fly -- flew
Þǣr ic ne gehȳrde būtan hlimman sǣ,
īscaldne wǣg, hwīlum ylfete song:
·2018 ne -- adverb <ne> not -- no(thing)
·2019 gehȳrde -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of <gehīeran,
gehīerede, gehīered> hear (of) -- heard
·2020 būtan -- preposition <būton> without, except for -- but
·2021 hlimman -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <hlimman, hlamm, hlumon,
hlummen> roar, resound -- roar
·2022 sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake -- the sea
·2023 īscaldne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <īs-ceald> ice-cold
-- ice-cold
·2024 wǣg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wǣg> wave, billow --
billow
sometimes
·2026 ylfete -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <ilfetu> swan -- of a swan
·2027 song -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <song> song -- the song
dyde ic mē tō gomene ganetes hlēoþor
and huilpan swēg fore hleahtor wera,
mǣw singende fore medodrince.
·2028 dyde -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of <dōn>
do, make -- made
·2030 mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of <ic> I -- my own # "for myself"
·2031 tō -- preposition <tō> (in)to -- for
·2032 gomene -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <gomen> pastime, pleasure,
entertainment -- amusement
·2033 ganetes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ganot> gannet, goose --
the gannet's
·2034 hlēoþor -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hlēoðor> song, sound --
song
·2036 huilpan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <hwilpe> curlew? water-
bird -- the water-bird's
·2037 swēg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <swēg> noise, sound --
call
·2038 fore -- preposition <fore> for, before -- for
·2039 hleahtor -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hleahtor> laughter,
jubilation -- the laughter
·2040 wera -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <wer> man -- of men
·2041 mǣw -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mǣw> mew, sea-gull --
mew
·2042 singende -- strong verb, class III; present participle of <singan, sang,
sungon, sungen> sing, compose -- singing
·2043 fore -- preposition <fore> for, before -- for
·2044 medodrince -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <medu-drinc>
mead-drink -- mead-drink(ing)
Stormas þǣr stānclifu bēotan, þǣr him stearn oncwæð
īsigfeþera; ful oft þæt earn bigeal
ūrigfeþra.
·2045 stormas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <storm> storm, tempest;
attack -- storms
·2047 stānclifu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <stān-clif> stony cliff --
stony cliffs
·2048 bēotan -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person plural preterite of <bēatan,
bēot, bēoton, bēaten> beat, pound, strike -- pounded
them
·2051 stearn -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <stearn> tern, sea-
swallow -- sea-swallow
·2052 oncwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of
<oncweðan, oncwæð, oncwǣdon, oncweden> answer, reply to -- replied
·2053 īsigfeþera -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <īsig-feðera> lit.
icy-feathered -- with frosted wings
·2054 ful -- adverb <ful> fully, completely -- ...
that -- ... # the referent is highly uncertain
·2057 earn -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <earn> eagle -- the eagle
·2058 bigeal -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <begiellan,
begeall, begullon, begollen> yell, scream, screech -- screamed
·2059 ūrigfeþra -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ūrig-feðera> lit.
dewey-feathered -- dewey-winged
Nǣnig hlēomǣga
fēasceaftig ferð frēfran meahte.
·2060 nǣnig -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + adjective <ǣnig> any -- no
·2061 hlēomǣga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <hlēo-mǣg> lit.
protector-kinsman -- protective kinsmen # corrupt text?
·2062 fēasceaftig -- adjective <fēasceaftig> poor, destitute -- the poor
·2063 ferð -- noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of <ferð> mind, soul, spirit --
in spirit
·2064 frēfran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <frēfran, frēfrede, frēfred> cheer,
comfort -- cheer
·2065 meahte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular
preterite indicative of <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to -- might
For þon him gelȳfeð lȳt sē þe āh līfes wyn
gebiden in burgum, bealosīþa hwōn,
wlonc and wīngāl, hū ic wērig oft
in brimlāde bīdan sceolde.
she, it -- ...
·2068 gelȳfeð -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular present of <gelīefan,
gelīefde, gelīefed> grant; believe, trust -- trusts
·2069 lȳt -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lȳt> little, small number --
little
·2072 āh -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite indicative
of <āgan, āh, āgon, āhte> have, possess -- has
·2073 līfes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <līf> life -- life's
·2074 wyn -- strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of <wynn> joy, delight
-- joy
·2075 gebiden -- strong verb, class I; past participle of <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon,
gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain -- experienced
·2077 burgum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <burg> enclosure,
stonghold -- cities
·2078 bealosīþa -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <bealu-sīð> peril,
calamity. lit. harm-journey -- (with) perils
·2079 hwōn -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hwōn> trifle -- few
·2080 wlonc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wlonc> proud --
proud
·2082 wīngāl -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wīn-gāl>
intoxicated, lit. wine-gay -- intoxicated
·2083 hū -- conjunction <hū> how -- how
·2085 wērig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wērig> weary,
exhausted -- exhausted
·2088 brimlāde -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <brim-lād> path of the sea,
lit. sea lane -- the sea lane
·2089 bīdan -- strong verb, class I; infinitive of <bīdan, bād, bidon, biden> bide,
endure, remain -- remain
preterite indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- must
Nāp nihtscua, norþan snīwde,
hrīm hrūsan bond; hægl fēol on eorþan,
corna caldast.
·2091 nāp -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <nīpan, nāp,
nipon, nipen> grow dark, obscure -- grew dark
·2092 nihtscua -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <nihts-cūa> night's
cover -- night's shadow
·2093 norþan -- adverb <norðan> from the north -- from the north
·2094 snīwde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <snīwan,
snīwde, snīwed> snow -- it snowed
·2095 hrīm -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hrīm> rime, hoar-frost --
hoar-frost
·2096 hrūsan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <hrūse> earth, ground -- the
soil
·2097 bond -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <bindan,
bond, bundon, bunden> bind, tie -- bound
·2098 hægl -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hagol> hail -- hail
·2099 fēol -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <feallan,
fēoll, fēollon, feallen> fall, flow -- fell
·2102 corna -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <corn> corn, grain -- of grains
·2103 caldast -- adjective; superlative of <ceald> cold -- the coldest
For þon cnyssað nū
heortan geþōhtas, þæt ic hēan strēamas,
sealtȳþa gelāc sylf cunnige;
·2104 for þon -- conjunction <for þon> because, therefore -- therefore
·2105 cnyssað -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present of <cnyssan,
cnysede, cnysed> beat, strike -- it strikes
·2107 heortan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <heorte> heart -- of the
heart
·2108 geþōhtas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <geðōht> thought -- the
thoughts
·2111 hēan -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <hēan> abject, depressed,
miserable -- the humble
·2112 strēamas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <strēam> stream --
streams
·2113 sealtȳþa -- strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of <sealt-ȳð> lit. salt-
wave -- of sea waves
·2114 gelāc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gelāc> tumult, commotion --
the tumult
·2115 sylf -- reflexive pronoun <self> self, same -- (my)self
·2116 cunnige -- weak verb, class II; 1st person singular present subjunctive of
<cunnian, cunnode, cunnod> seek, explore, experience -- (should) test
monað mōdes lust mǣla gehwylce
ferð tō fēran, þæt ic feor heonan
elþēodigra eard gesēce.
·2117 monað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <manian,
manode, manod> warn, exhort, admonish -- urges
·2118 mōdes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <mōd> mood, mind -- the
mind's
·2119 lust -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <lust> lust, desire, pleasure
-- desire
·2120 mǣla -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <mǣl> time, occasion -- times
·2121 gehwylce -- indefinite pronoun; instrumental singular masculine of
<gehwylc> each, every one -- at all
·2122 ferð -- noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of <ferð> mind, soul, spirit --
the spirit
·2124 fēran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <fēran, fērde, fēred> go, travel --
travel
·2127 feor -- adverb <feor> far (from) -- far
·2128 heonan -- adverb <heonon> hence -- hence
·2129 elþēodigra -- adjective used as noun <elðēodig> alien, foreign, strange --
of foreigners
·2130 eard -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <eard> home, land -- the
land
·2131 gesēce -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular present of <gesēcan,
gesōhte, gesōht> seek, desire -- seek
For þon nis þæs mōdwlonc mon ofer eorþan,
ne his gifena þæs gōd, ne in geoguþe tō þæs hwæt,
ne in his dǣdum tō þæs dēor,
·2133 nis -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular
present indicative of <is> be, become, exist -- is not
·2134 þæs -- adverb <þæs> so -- so
·2135 mōdwlonc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <mōd-wlonc>
haughty, lit. mood-proud -- proud
person -- a man
·2137 ofer -- preposition <ofer> over, across -- on
he, she, it -- his
·2141 gifena -- strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of <giefu> gift, favor --
of ... gifts
·2142 þæs -- adverb <þæs> so -- so
·2143 gōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gōd> good, excellent
-- generous
·2146 geoguþe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <geogoð> youth, youngster
-- youth
·2147 tō þæs -- adverb <tō þæs> so -- quite so
·2148 hwæt -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hwætt> bold, valiant
-- bold
he, she, it -- his
·2152 dǣdum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <dǣd> deed, action -- deeds
·2154 dēor -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <dēor> brave, valiant
-- valiant
ne him his dryhten tō þæs hold,
þæt hē ā his sǣfōre sorge næbbe,
tō hwon hine Dryhten gedōn wille.
she, it -- to him
he, she, it -- his
ruler -- lord
·2160 hold -- adjective <hold> gracious, favorable -- gracious
he, she, it -- he
·2163 ā -- adverb <ā> always, ever -- never # negative sense from næbbe, below
he, she, it -- his
·2165 sǣfōre -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <sǣ-fōr> sea-voyage -- sea
travel
·2166 sorge -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <sorg> sorrow, grief, distress --
anxiety
·2167 næbbe -- contraction; adverb <ne> not + weak verb, class III; 3rd person
singular present subjunctive <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess -- has #
negative used above
·2168 tō hwon -- interrogative pronoun; instrumental singular of <tō hwon> why
-- to what end
ruler -- the Lord
·2171 gedōn -- anomalous verb; past participle of <gedōn> act, do, bring to pass
-- bring
·2172 wille -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of
<willan> wish, be willing -- will
Lesson Text
Mæg ic be mē sylfum sōðgied wrecan,
sīþas secgan, hū ic geswincdagum
earfoðhwīle oft þrōwade,
bitre brēostceare gebiden hæbbe,
gecunnad in cēole cearselda fela,
atol ȳþa gewealc. Þǣr mec oft bigeat
nearo nihtwaco æt nacan stefnan,
þonne hē be clifum cnossað. Calde geþrungen
wǣron fēt mīne forste gebunden,
caldum clommum; þǣr þā ceare seofedun
hāt(e) ymb heortan; hungor innan slāt
merewērges mōd. Þæt se mon ne wāt,
þe him on foldan fægrost limpeð,
hū ic earmcearig īscealdne sǣ
winter wunade wræccan lāstum
winemǣgum bidroren ...
bihongen hrīmgicelum: hægl scūrum flēag.
Þǣr ic ne gehȳrde būtan hlimman sǣ,
īscaldne wǣg, hwīlum ylfete song:
dyde ic mē tō gomene ganetes hlēoþor
and huilpan swēg fore hleahtor wera,
mǣw singende fore medodrince.
Stormas þǣr stānclifu bēotan, þǣr him stearn oncwæð
īsigfeþera; ful oft þæt earn bigeal
ūrigfeþra. Nǣnig hlēomǣga
fēasceaftig ferð frēfran meahte.
For þon him gelȳfeð lȳt sē þe āh līfes wyn
gebiden in burgum, bealosīþa hwōn,
wlonc and wīngāl, hū ic wērig oft
in brimlāde bīdan sceolde.
Nāp nihtscua, norþan snīwde,
hrīm hrūsan bond; hægl fēol on eorþan,
corna caldast. For þon cnyssað nū
heortan geþōhtas, þæt ic hēan strēamas,
sealtȳþa gelāc sylf cunnige;
monað mōdes lust mǣla gehwylce
ferð tō fēran, þæt ic feor heonan
elþēodigra eard gesēce.
For þon nis þæs mōdwlonc mon ofer eorþan,
ne his gifena þæs gōd, ne in geoguþe tō þæs hwæt,
ne in his dǣdum tō þæs dēor, ne him his dryhten tō þæs hold,
þæt hē ā his sǣfōre sorge næbbe,
tō hwon hine Dryhten gedōn wille.
Translation
I can tell a true tale about myself, of voyages speak, how in days of toil I
often endured a time of hardship, experienced bitter sadness, have known
on a ship places of sorrow, much dire tossing of the waves. Where an
anxious night-watch often kept me on the prow of a ship when it drives
beneath the cliffs. My feet were pressed cold, bound in frigid fetters by the
frost; where sorrows sighed hot around my heart; hunger gnawed within, a
sea-weary mood. The man does not know, to whom everything happens
most happily on earth, how wretched I spent an ice-cold winter at sea in
the paths of exile bereft of kinsmen... behung with icicles: the hail flew in
showers. There I heard nothing but the sea roar, ice-cold billow,
sometimes the song of a swan: I made for my own amusement the gannet's
song and the water-bird's call for the laughter of men, mew singing for
mead-drinking. Storms there pounded stony cliffs, where sea-swallow
replied to them with frosted wings; often the eagle screamed dewey-
winged. No protective kinsmen might cheer the poor in spirit. Because he
trusts little who has experienced life's joy in cities, with perils few, proud
and intoxicated, how often I must remain exhausted in the sea lane.
Night's shadow grew dark, from the north it snowed, hoar-frost bound the
soil; hail fell upon earth, the coldest of grains. Therefore it strikes now the
thoughts of the heart, that I the humble streams, the tumult of sea waves
myself should test; the mind's desire urges at all times the spirit to travel,
so that I seek far hence the land of foreigners. Because (there) is not a man
on earth so proud, nor of his gifts so generous, nor in youth quite so bold,
nor in his deeds quite so valiant, nor to him his lord quite so gracious, that
he never has anxiety (about) his sea travel, (or) to what end the Lord will
bring him.
Grammar
41. The Anomalous Verb dōn

The text in lesson 2 introduced the 3rd person singular preterite indicative form dyde
of the anomalous verb dōn 'do, make'. The preterite dyde is found also in this lesson
text, along with the related infinitive gedōn 'act, do, bring to pass', and the plural
preterite dydon is found in the following lesson. Forms of dōn are reflected in the
following table:
dōn Indicative Subjunctive Imperative
1 Sg. Pres. dō dō
2 Sg. Pres. dēst dō dō
3 Sg. Pres. dēð dō
Pl. Pres. dōð dōn dōð
1 Sg. Pret. dyde dyde

2 Sg. Pret. dydest dyde
3 Sg. Pret. dyde dyde
Pl. Pret. dydon dyden
The present participle is dōnde, and the past participle is gedōn. The modern English
forms do, did, and the so-called "King James English" forms dost, doth, are
descended from forms of dōn.
42. Reflexive Pronouns

Various forms of the pronoun self appear in our lesson texts, including sylf and
sylfum in this lesson and other forms in lessons 5 and 7. However, reflexive pronouns
equivalent to modern English 'myself', 'yourself', etc., had not yet developed in Old
English. Instead, forms of the personal pronouns ic, ðū, and hē, hēo, hit might be used
without self in a reflexive sense (for example mē in dyde ic mē in this lesson text); or
in some instances one of these might be followed by a form of the [separate] pronoun
self (for example mē sylfum in this lesson text); or sometimes a form of self appears
alone (for example sylf in this lesson text), leaving the question of "who?" up to the
hearer/reader of the text.
43. Weak Adjective Declension
The declension of an OE adjective can be either weak (a.k.a. definite) or strong (a.k.a.
indefinite), depending on context. This is unlike noun inflection, in which a noun
itself belongs to either a weak or a strong declension category. Weak adjective
declension rules, which employ fewer distinct inflectional endings, tend to be used in
the following situations:
23. the adjective follows a demonstrative or possessive pronoun; or
24. it is in the vocative case (used for direct address); or
25. it is a comparative or superlative form; or
26. it is used in poetry.
These rules are not applied with absolute consistency, but they do represent strong
tendencies. The gender, case, and number of an adjective depend on those of the
noun it modifies. (Adjectives have no inherent grammatical gender.) Verb
participles are declined like adjectives; and ordinal numerals, in particular, are
inflected using weak adjective declension with but two exceptions.
The following table illustrates weak adjective declension using OE gōd 'good,
excellent', which appears in our lesson text; the endings in this declension can be
seen to parallel those in the n-stem weak noun declension (lesson 8, §36) where,
among other things, plural forms do not vary with gender.
Weak Sg.Masc. Sg.Fem. Sg.Neut. Plural
Nom/Voc. gōda gōde gōde gōdan
Gen. gōdan gōdan gōdan gōdena
Dat. gōdan gōdan gōdan gōdum
Acc. gōdan gōdan gōde gōdan
Spelling Notes
Adjectives ending in -h (e.g. hēah 'high', wōh 'wrong', not shown) are inflected
with contraction, including but not limited to loss of -h (e.g. hēan, genitive plural
wōna). The ending -an may be spelled -on; the genitive plural ending -ena may be
spelled -ra; the dative plural ending -um may be spelled -un or -on.
44. Strong Adjective Declension

When the "rules" for weak adjective declension (1-4 in §43) do not apply, strong
declension is used. The forms again depend on the gender, case, and number of
the noun being modified; however, they also depend on the stem-vowel of the
adjective itself (review §32 in lesson 7 for the meaning of "stem"). There are only
two strong declension categories to which an adjective stem can be assigned:
27. a-stems, o-stems, and some u-stems; or
28. ja-stems, jo-stems, wa-stems, wo-stems, i-stems, and the remaining u-
stems.
The adjective gōd 'good, excellent', which appears in our lesson text, belongs to
the first category; we use it to illustrate the 1st strong adjective declension. The
adjective gearo (also spelled gearu) 'prepared, ready', which appears in the text for
lesson 3, is used to illustrate the 2nd strong adjective declension.
Strong 1 Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom.Sg. gōd gōd gōd
Gen.Sg. gōdes gōdre gōdes
Dat.Sg. gōdum gōdre gōdum
Acc.Sg. gōdne gōde gōd
Ins.Sg. gōde gōde
Nom.Pl. gōde gōda gōd
Gen.Pl. gōdra gōdra gōdra
Dat.Pl. gōdum gōdum gōdum
Acc.Pl. gōde gōda gōd
Ins.Pl. gōdum gōdum gōdum
Spelling Notes
The ending -re may be spelled -ere; the ending -um may be spelled -on or -an. The
nominative/accusative plural, either feminine or neuter, may be spelled gōde. The
ending -ra may be spelled -era.
Strong 2 Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom.Sg. gearo gearo gearo
Gen.Sg. gearwes gearore gearwes
Dat.Sg. gearwum gearore gearwum
Acc.Sg. gearone gearwe gearo
Ins.Sg. gearwe gearwe
Nom.Pl. gearwe gearwa gearwe
Gen.Pl. gearora gearora gearora
Dat.Pl. gearwum gearwum gearwum
Acc.Pl. gearora gearora gearora
Ins.Pl. gearwum gearwum gearwum
Spelling Notes
The feminine forms gearore may be spelled gearre; similarly, the genitive plural
forms gearora may be spelled gearra.
45. Spelling Variation

As noted previously, several times, OE spelling was never fully standardized --
although King Alfred did make an attempt to do so. Rather, words were spelled as
they sounded, which presents both benefits and drawbacks to those studying the
language. We present a table below that may help the reader find an unknown
word if it doesn't appear, as originally spelled, in a dictionary. This table does not
attempt to help the reader parse & remove inflectional endings, other affixes, or
ablaut effects -- that task is addressed throughout these lessons. Instead, the table
below suggests "equivalent spellings" -- letter sequences that may be substituted
for one another because OE scribes made such substitutions based on fine details
of the sounds they heard.
Each row lists, left to right, "equivalent spellings." There is no significance to the
order of elements right of the '=' sign; the rows are alphabetized, top to bottom.
The entries in this table are drawn, with augmentation, from Henry Sweet (1896,
op. cit.) who notes, "unaccented vowels are disregarded."
a = æ ea
æ = a æg e ea
æi = æig æg
æo = ea
b = f
c = g h
ce = c
ch = c h
ci = c
cs = sc x
ct = ht
d = ð þ
dd = ðd þd
ds = ts
e = æ ea eg eo ie y
ea = æ a eo gea i
ei = e eg
eo = e ea geo i ie oe
eu = eo eow
ew = eow
f = w
fn = mn
g = h w x
ge = g
gg = cg
gi = g
gu = geo
h = c g
hs = sc x
i = eo g ie ig ige y
ia = eo
ig = i
io = eo
iu = eo geo
iw = eow
k = c
m = mn n
nc = cen cn ng
ng = gen gn
o = a og
oe = e æ
ps = sp
pt = ft
qu = cw
sc = s
sce = sc
sci = sc
sð = st sþ
sþ = st sð
t = ð þ
th = ð þ
ð = þ
þ = ð
u = f ug v w
uu = ū w
v = f
weo = wo wu
wi = wu
wo = weo
wu = w weo wo wy
wy = weo wi
x = cs hs sc
y = e i ie yg
Old English Online
Lesson 10
Jonathan Slocum
In lesson 1 of this series, we glossed the opening lines to the major Old English poem
Beowulf, the only surviving heroic epic of its era. The issues of authorship, text genre,
time frame, and historical background were dealt with in the introduction to that lesson,
to which the reader is referred for discussion. Notable with respect to the text for this
lesson is its description of burial customs of the time, which agree strikingly well with
those inferred from modern archaeological digs.
In this lesson we gloss the closing lines of Beowulf, which describe the beloved hero's
funeral. Our selection includes lines 3156-3182, found on pp. 119-120 in: Friedrich
Klaeber, ed. (1950), Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition, Boston: Heath. This
section immediately follows the description of the funeral pyre: the flames have died out,
the smoke has thinned and disappeared, and the women have sung their last dirge. The
people of the Weder tribe then proceed to build a mound encompassed by a wall, visible
from the sea, and lay inside the burial offerings. The warrior Geats sing his praises and
depart, and the poet closes with a final comment befitting the occasion.
Geworhton ðā Wedra lēode
hlǣw on hliðe, sē wæs hēah ond brād,
wæglīðendum wīde gesȳne,
·2173 geworhton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <gewyrcan,
geworhte, geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish -- built
·2175 Wedra -- proper noun, neuter; genitive plural of <Weder> Weder -- of the
Weders
·2176 lēode -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <lēod> person, member of
tribe -- people
·2177 hlǣw -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hlǣw> mound --
a mound
·2179 hliðe -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <hlið> cliff, hill -- the hill
·2180 sē -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular
masculine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that -- which
·2182 hēah -- adjective; nominative singular of <hēah> high -- high
·2185 wæglīðendum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <wæg-līðend> lit.
wave-traveler -- to seafarers
·2186 wīde -- adverb <wīde> widely, far -- from afar
·2187 gesȳne -- strong verb, class V; past participle of <gesēon, geseah,
gesǣgon, gesegen> see, observe -- visible
ond betimbredon on tȳn dagum
beadurōfes bēcn, bronda lāfe
wealle beworhton, swā hyt weorðlīcost
foresnotre men findan mihton.
·2189 betimbredon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of
<betimbran, betimbrede, betimbred> build, construct -- they constructed
·2191 tȳn -- numeral <tīen> ten -- ten
·2192 dagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <dæg> day -- days
·2193 beadurōfes -- adjective <beadurōf> bold, heroic -- the hero's
·2194 bēcn -- noun, neuter <bēcn> beacon, sign -- beacon
·2195 bronda -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <brand> fire, flame -- from
the flames
·2196 lāfe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <lāf> remnant, what is left --
the ash(es)
·2197 wealle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <weall> wall, rampart --
with a wall
·2198 beworhton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <bewyrcan,
beworhte, beworht> work, construct, cover -- they enclosed
·2200 hyt -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he,
she, it -- it
·2201 weorðlīcost -- adverb; superlative of <weorðlīc> worthily, honorably --
most worthily
·2202 foresnotre -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <fore-snotor>
clever, prudent -- prudent
-- men
·2204 findan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <findan, fond, fundon,
funden> find -- devise
·2205 mihton -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite
Hī on beorg dydon bēg ond siglu,
eall swylce hyrsta, swylce on horde ǣr
nīðhēdige men genumen hæfdon;
·2206 hī -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it --
they
·2208 beorg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <beorg> hill, mountain --
the barrow
·2209 dydon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <dōn>
do, make -- placed
·2210 bēg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <bēag> ring, crown -- a
crown
·2212 siglu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <sigle> brooch, jewel, necklace
-- jewels
·2213 eall -- adverb <eall> all -- all
·2214 swylce -- adverb <swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise -- such # with
swylce below
·2215 hyrsta -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <hyrst> armor, ornament --
accoutrements
·2216 swylce -- adverb <swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise -- as # with swylce
above
·2217 on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- from
·2218 horde -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <hord> hoard, treasure -- the
treasure
·2219 ǣr -- adverb <ǣr> ere, before, formerly -- earlier
·2220 nīðhēdige -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <nīð-hēdig> lit.
battle-resolved -- hostile
-- men
·2222 genumen -- strong verb, class IV; past participle of <geniman, genam,
genāmon, genumen> seize, take -- seized
forlēton eorla gestrēon eorðan healdan,
gold on grēote, þær hit nū gēn lifað
eldum swā unnyt, swā hit ǣror wæs.
·2224 forlēton -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person plural preterite of <forlǣtan,
forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten> leave, abandon -- they let
·2225 eorla -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior
-- of noblemen
·2226 gestrēon -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gestrēon> wealth,
treasure -- the wealth
·2227 eorðan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <eorð> earth -- the earth
·2228 healdan -- strong verb, class VII; infinitive of <healdan, hēold, hēoldon,
lealden> hold, retain, preserve -- hold
·2229 gold -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gold> gold -- gold
·2231 grēote -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <grēot> grit, dust, earth -- the
dust
·2232 þær -- adverb <þǣr> there, where -- where
she, it -- it
·2234 nū -- adverb <nū> now -- ...
·2235 gēn -- adverb <gēn> still, yet, further -- still
·2236 lifað -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of <libban, lifde,
lifd> live -- remains
·2237 eldum -- indeclinable noun, masculine plural; dative of <ylde> men -- to
men
·2239 unnyt -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <unnyt> useless --
useless
she, it -- it
·2242 ǣror -- adverb; comparative of <ǣr> ere, before, formerly -- ere
Þā ymbe hlǣw riodan hildedēore,
æþelinga bearn, ealra twelfe,
·2244 þā -- adverbial conjunction <þā> then, when -- then
·2245 ymbe -- preposition <ymbe> at, around -- around
·2246 hlǣw -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hlǣw> mound --
the mound
·2247 riodan -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <rīdan, rād,
ridon, riden> ride -- rode
·2248 hildedēore -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <hilde-dēor> lit.
battle-bold -- brave in battle
·2249 æþelinga -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <æðeling>
nobleman, prince -- of noblemen
·2250 bearn -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <bearn> child -- the sons
·2251 ealra -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of <eall> all -- in all
·2252 twelfe -- numeral <twelf> twelve -- twelve
woldon care cwīðan, ond kyning mǣnan,
wordgyd wrecan, ond ymb wer sprecan;
·2253 woldon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of
<willan> wish, be willing -- they wished
·2254 care -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <cearu> care, grief, sorrow
-- grief
·2255 cwīðan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <cwīðan, cwīðe, cwīðed>
accuse; bewail, lament -- to voice
·2257 kyning -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <cyning> king --
the king
·2258 mǣnan -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <mǣnan, mǣnde, mǣned>
moan, relate, speak of -- bemoan
·2259 wordgyd -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <wordgyd> lay,
elegy -- an elegy
·2260 wrecan -- strong verb, class V; infinitive of <wrecan, wræc, wræcon,
wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter -- to recite
·2262 ymb -- preposition <ymbe> at, around -- about
·2263 wer -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wer> man -- the man
·2264 sprecan -- strong verb, class V; infinitive of <sprecan, spræc, sprǣcon,
sprecen> speak, say -- speak
eahtodan eorlscipe ond his ellenweorc
duguðum dēmdon,
·2265 eahtodan -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <eahtian,
eahtode, eahtod> praise, esteem -- they exalted
·2266 eorlscipe -- indeclinable noun, masculine; accusative singular of
<eorlscipe> nobility, heroic deeds -- nobility
he, she, it -- his
·2269 ellenweorc -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <ellen-weorc> work of
courage -- courageous deeds
·2270 duguðum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <duguð> host, body of
retainers; glory -- highly
·2271 dēmdon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <dēman,
dēmde, dēmed> deem, judge; praise -- praised
— swā hit gedēfe bið,
þæt mon his winedryhten wordum herge,
ferhðum frēoge, þonne hē forð scile
of lichaman lǣded weorðan.
she, it -- it
·2274 gedēfe -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <gedēfe> fitting, seemly
-- fitting
person -- one
he, she, it -- his
·2279 winedryhten -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wine-dryhten>
lit. friend-lord -- lord
·2280 wordum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <word> word, speech -- in words
·2281 herge -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular present optative of
<herian, herede, hered> praise, extol -- should honor
·2282 ferhðum -- noun, masc/neut; dative plural of <ferð> mind, soul, spirit -- in
spirit
·2283 frēoge -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present optative of
<frēogan, frēoge, frēog> love -- should love
he, she, it -- he
·2286 forð -- adverb <forð> forth, thence -- forth
·2287 scile -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present
optative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- shall
·2289 lichaman -- weak noun, masculine; dative singular of <līc-homa> body,
flesh -- the body
·2290 lǣded -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <lǣdan, lǣde, lǣded> lead,
bring -- led
·2291 weorðan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <weorðan, wearð, wurdon,
worden> become, happen -- be
Swā begnornodon Gēata lēode
hlāfordes hryre, heorðgenēatas;
·2292 swā -- adverb <swā> so, thus -- thus
·2293 begnornodon -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of
<begnornian, begnornode, begnornod> mourn, lament -- mourned
·2294 Gēata -- proper noun, masculine; genitive plural of <Gēat> Geat -- of the
Geats
·2295 lēode -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <lēod> person, member of
tribe -- the people
·2296 hlāfordes -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <hlāford> lord,
master -- of their lord
·2297 hryre -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hryre> death, fall,
ruin -- the death
·2298 heorðgenēatas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <heorð-genēat>
lit. hearth-companion -- friends
cwǣdon þæt hē wǣre wyruldcyninga
manna mildust ond monðwǣrust,
lēodum līðost ond lofgeornost.
·2299 cwǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of <cweðan,
cwæð, cwǣdon, cweden> say, speak -- they said
he, she, it -- he
·2303 wyruldcyninga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <worold-cyning>
earthly king -- of earthly kings
·2304 manna -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <monn> man, person
-- of men
·2305 mildust -- adjective; superlative of <milde> mild, gentle -- the gentlest
·2307 monðwǣrust -- adjective; superlative of <monðwǣre> kind, gentle --
kindest
·2308 lēodum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <lēod> person, member of
tribe -- to people
·2309 līðost -- adjective; superlative of <līðe> kind, gracious -- the most
gracious
·2311 lofgeornost -- adjective; superlative of <lof-georn> eager for praise -- the
most eager for praise
Lesson Text
Geworhton ðā Wedra lēode
hlǣw on hliðe, sē wæs hēah ond brād,
wæglīðendum wīde gesȳne,
ond betimbredon on tȳn dagum
beadurōfes bēcn, bronda lāfe
wealle beworhton, swā hyt weorðlīcost
foresnotre men findan mihton.
Hī on beorg dydon bēg ond siglu,
eall swylce hyrsta, swylce on horde ǣr
nīðhēdige men genumen hæfdon;
forlēton eorla gestrēon eorðan healdan,
gold on grēote, þær hit nū gēn lifað
eldum swā unnyt, swā hit ǣror wæs.
Þā ymbe hlǣw riodan hildedēore,

æþelinga bearn, ealra twelfe,
woldon care cwīðan, ond kyning mǣnan,
wordgyd wrecan, ond ymb wer sprecan;
eahtodan eorlscipe ond his ellenweorc
duguðum dēmdon, — swā hit gedēfe bið,
þæt mon his winedryhten wordum herge,
ferhðum frēoge, þonne hē forð scile
of lichaman lǣded weorðan.
Swā begnornodon Gēata lēode
hlāfordes hryre, heorðgenēatas;
cwǣdon þæt hē wǣre wyruldcyninga
manna mildust ond monðwǣrust,
lēodum līðost ond lofgeornost.
Translation
The people of the Weders built upon the hill a mound, which was high and wide,
visible to seafarers from afar, and they constructed in ten days the hero's beacon;
they enclosed the ashes from the flames with a wall, as prudent men might most
worthily devise it. They placed on the barrow a crown and jewels, all such
accoutrements as hostile men had earlier seized; they let the earth hold the wealth
of noblemen, gold in the dust, where it still remains as useless to men as it ere
was.
Then around the mound rode (those) brave in battle, the sons of noblemen, twelve
in all; they wished to voice (their) grief, and bemoan the king, to recite an elegy,
and speak about the man; they exalted (his) nobility and highly praised his
courageous deeds, -- thus it is fitting, that one should honor his lord in words,
should love (him) in spirit, when he shall be led forth from the body. Thus the
people of the Geats mourned the death of their lord, (his) friends; they said that he
was of earthly kings of men the gentlest and kindest, to (his) people the most
gracious and the most eager for praise.
References
Old English reference works often serve single functions (e.g. as dictionaries, or
translations); however, OE text collections may be combined with dictionaries,
sometimes with grammar notes, and occasionally though rarely with translations.
Sections 46-49 below categorize reference works, listed alphabetically by author/editor,
according to their primary use by this author during the preparation of these lessons.
46. Texts
·2312 Klaeber, Friedrich, ed. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition.
Boston: Heath, 1950.
·2313 Krapp, George P., ed. The Junius Manuscript. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1931.
·2314 Onions, Charles T., ed. Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse,
14th edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959.
47. Dictionaries
·2315 Borden, Arthur R. A Comprehensive Old-English Dictionary. Washington,
DC: University Press of America, 1982.
·2316 Bosworth, Joseph. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Edited and enlarged by T.
Northcote Toller. London: Oxford University Press, 1898 (repr. 1972).
·2317 Hall, J.R. Clark. A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th edition.
Cambridge: University Press, 1960.
·2318 Sweet, Henry. The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1896.
48. Grammars
·2319 Bright, James W. An Anglo-Saxon Reader, 4th edition. New York: Holt,
1929.
·2320 Cassidy, Frederic G., and Richard N. Ringler, eds. Bright's Old English
Grammar & Reader, 3rd edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971.
49. Translations
·2321 Gordon, Robert K. Anglo-Saxon Poetry. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1926.
·2322 Greenfield, Stanley B. A Readable Beowulf. Carbondale and Edwardsville:
Southern Illinois University Press, 1982.
·2323 Kennedy, Charles W. An Anthology of Old English Poetry. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1960.
·2324 Lehmann, Ruth P.M. Beowulf: an Imitative Translation. Austin: University
of Texas Press, 1988.
·2325 McCallum, James D., ed. English Literature: The Beginnings to 1500.
New York: Scribner, 1960.
·2326 Swanton, Michael. Beowulf. Manchester: University Press, 1978.
·2327 Wells, David M. A Critical Edition of the Old English Genesis A with a
Translation. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1970.
50. Histories
·2328 Baugh, Albert C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language,
3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1978.
·2329 Bourcier, Georges. An Introduction to the History of the English
Language. Cheltenham, England: Stanley Thornes, 1981.
·2330 Gneuss, Helmut. Language and History in Early England. Aldershot,
Great Britain; Brookfield, Vermont: Variorum, 1996.
·2331 Swanton, Michael. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, rev. ed. London:
Phoenix, 2000.
Old English Online

Master Glossary
Jonathan Slocum
This Master Glossary page lists, in an alphabetical order suitable to the language and the
script employed for it, every unique word form that appears in lesson texts and, for each
word, its unique glosses. In addition to the gloss information, sans contextual translation,
links are provided to every appearance, in every numbered lesson, of the word/gloss in
question. With this index one may perform a quick "word look-up" and, in addition, study
how words are used in context by clicking on their links.
ā: adverb <ā> always, ever
abead: strong v., class II; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <ābēodan, ābēad, ābudon, āboden>
bid, announce
ac: conjunction <ac> and, but, however
ācwehte: weak v., class I; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <ācweccan, ācwehte, ācweht> shake,
brandish; quiver
ædra: noun, feminine <ædre> artery, channel
æfter: adverb <æfter> after(wards), then
ǣghwylc: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ǣghwilc> all, every
ǣgðer: conjunction <ǣg-hwæðer> both...and
ǣlce: adjective; instrumental singular of <ǣlc> all, any
Ælfred: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ælfred> Alfred
ælmihtig: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ælmihtig> almighty
ǣnig: adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ǣnig> any
ǣnig: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ǣnig> any
ǣr: adverb <ǣr> ere, before, formerly
ǣrest: adverb; superlative of <ǣr> ere, before, formerly
ǣror: adverb; comparative of <ǣr> ere, before, formerly
æsc: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
æscas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
æscum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
æt: preposition <æt> at, against
ætgifan: noun, masculine; dative singular of <æt-gifa> food-giver
Æþelgāres: proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Æþelgār> Aethelgar
æþeling: strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <æðeling> nobleman, prince
æþeling: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <æðeling> nobleman, prince
æþelinga: strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <æðeling> nobleman, prince
æþelingas: strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <æðeling> nobleman, prince
æðelo: indeclinable noun, feminine; accusative singular of <æðelo> noble race
āgāne: anomalous verb; past participle of <ā-gān> pass, occur, lit. away go
āgenne: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <āgen> own
agenum: adjective; dative of <āgen> own
āh: preterite-pres. verb, class I; 3rd pers. sing. preterite indicative of <āgan, āh, āgon,
āhte> have, possess
ahof: strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of <āhebban, āhōf, āhōfon,
āhafen> raise, lift up
aldorlēase: noun, m. <ealdor> elder, parent, prince + adj.; nom. pl. m. <lēas> without,
bereft of
aldormon: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ealdor-monn> nobleman, lit. older
man
aldormonnes: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ealdor-monn> nobleman, lit. older
man
alle: adjective; nominative plural of <eall> all
ambyrne: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <ambyr> favorable, fair
ān: indefinite article; nominative singular of <ān> a, an, one
āna: adjective <ān> alone, single
and: conjunction <and> and
andsware: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <andswaru> answer, response
andswarode: weak v., class II; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <andswarian, andswarode,
andswarod> answer, respond
Angelcyn: proper noun, neuter; accusative singular of <Angel-cynn> English, lit. Angle
kin
ānhaga: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ānhaga> recluse, wanderer
ānum: indefinite article; dative singular masculine of <ān> a, an, one
āra: noun, feminine; genitive plural of <ār> oar
ārǣd: adjective <ārǣd> arranged, inexorable
ārās: strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ārīsan, ārās, ārison, ārisen>
arise
āre: strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of <ār> honor, favor
arleasra: adjective <ārlēas> base, dishonorable, wicked
āsecgan: weak verb, class III; infinitive of <āsecgan, āsægde, āsægd> say, relate
atol: adjective; accusative singular neuter of <atol> dire, repulsive
āþer: correlative conjunction <āhwæþer> either
bæcbord: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <bæc-bord> larboard, port side
bǣdon: strong v., class V; 3rd pers. pl. preterite of <biddan, bæd, bǣdon, beden> bid,
beseech, urge
baldlīce: adverb <bald-līce> boldly
bana: weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <bana> bane, slayer
banan: weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of <bana> bane, slayer
be: preposition <be> at, by, near
be norðan: adverb <be norðan> north of
beadurōfes: adjective <beadurōf> bold, heroic
beæftan: preposition <beæftan> behind
bealosīþa: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <bealu-sīð> peril, calamity. lit. harm-
journey
bearme: noun, masculine; dative singular of <bearm> bosom, lap
bearn: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <bearn> child
bearn: noun, neuter; nominative plural of <bearn> child
bearn: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <bearn> child
bearnum: noun, neuter; dative plural of <bearn> child
beboden: strong v., class II; past participle of <bebēodan, bebēad, bebudon, beboden>
command, instruct
bēcn: noun, neuter <bēcn> beacon, sign
bēg: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <bēag> ring, crown
bēgen: pronoun; nominative dual masculine of <bēgen> both
begēton: strong v., class V; 3rd pers. pl. preterite of <begietan, begeat, begēaton,
begieten> get, acquire
begnornodon: weak v., cl. II; 3rd prs. pl. pret. of <begnornian, begnornode, begnornod>
mourn, lament
beleac: strong verb, class II; preterite singular of <belūcan, belēac, belucon, belocen>
close, lock, shut
belocen: strong verb, class II; past participle of <belūcan, belēac, belucon, belocen>
close, lock, shut
bēon: anomalous verb; infinitive of <bēon> be, become, exist
beorg: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <beorg> hill, mountain
beorgas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <beorg> hill, mountain
Beorhtulf: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Beorhtulf> Bertulf
beornas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <beorn> man, nobleman
Beornulf: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Beornulf> Bernuff
bēotan: strong v., class VII; 3rd pers. pl. preterite of <bēatan, bēot, bēoton, bēaten> beat,
pound, strike
Bēowulf: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Bēo-wulf> bear, lit. bee wolf
berað: strong verb, class IV; 3rd person plural present of <beran, bær, bǣron, boren>
bear, carry
betimbredon: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <betimbran, betimbrede,
betimbred> build, construct
betux: preposition <betux> between
beworhton: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <bewyrcan, beworhte,
beworht> work, construct, cover
bidǣled: weak verb, class I; past participle of <bedǣlan, bidǣlde, bidǣled> deprive,
release
bīdan: strong verb, class I; infinitive of <bīdan, bād, bidon, biden> bide, endure, remain
bidroren: strong v., class II; past part. of <bedrēosan, bedrēas, bedruron, bedroren>
bereave, deprive of
bigeal: strong v., cl. III; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <begiellan, begeall, begullon, begollen>
yell, scream, screech
bigeat: strong v., class V; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <begietan, begeat, begēaton,
begieten> get, acquire
bihongen: strong verb, class VII; past participle of <behōn, behēng, behēngon,
behongen> hang round
bindað: strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural present of <bindan, bond, bundon,
bunden> bind, tie
binde: strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <bindan, bond,
bundon, bunden> bind, tie
bīon: anomalous verb; infinitive of <bēon> be, become, exist
biscop: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <bisceop> bishop, prelate
bitre: adjective; accusative singular feminine of <bitre> bitter, sharp
bið: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <bēon> be, become, exist
biþ: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <bēon> be, become, exist
biwrāh: strong verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of <bewrēon, biwrāh, biwrigon,
biwrigen> cover, conceal
blǣd: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <blǣd> breath, spirit, life
blǣd: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <blǣd> blade, leaf
blisse: strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of <bliss> bliss, joy, happiness
bond: strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <bindan, bond, bundon,
bunden> bind, tie
bord: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <bord> board, shield
borda: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <bord> board, shield
brād: adjective; nominative singular of <brād> broad, open
brādost: adjective; superlative of <brād> broad, open
brādre: adjective; comparative of <brād> broad, open
brēme: adjective; nominative singular of <brēme> famous, renowned
brēostceare: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <brēost-cearu> anxiety, heart-care
brēostcofan: noun, masculine; dative singular of <brēost-cofa> heart, affections
brimlāde: noun, feminine; dative singular of <brim-lād> path of the sea, lit. sea lane
brimmen: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <brim-man> sailor, lit. sea man
bronda: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <brand> fire, flame
bryttan: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <brytta> giver, distributor
Bryttiscum: proper adjective; dative singular masculine of <Bryttisc> British
būde: irregular verb; 3rd person singular preterite of <būan, būde, bȳne> dwell, live
budon: strong v., class II; 3rd pers. pl. preterite of <bēodan, bēad, budon, boden> bid,
command, offer
burgum: strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <burg> enclosure, stonghold
būtan: preposition <būton> without, except for
būton: conjunction <būton> unless; except (that)
būton: preposition <būton> without, except for
bylde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <byldan, bylde, bylded> cheer,
encourage
bȳne: adjective; nominative singular neuter of <bȳn> inhabited, occupied
bȳnum: adjective; dative singular neuter of <bȳn> inhabited, occupied
Byrhtwold: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Byrhtwold> Byrhtwold
byrig: strong noun, feminine; dative singular of <burg> enclosure, stonghold
Cædmon: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Cædmon> Cædmon
caldast: adjective; superlative of <ceald> cold
calde: adjective; dative singular masculine of <ceald> cold
caldum: adjective; dative plural masculine of <ceald> cold
care: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <cearu> care, grief, sorrow
cēapes: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cēap> cattle
ceare: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <cear> care, sorrow
ceare: noun, feminine; nominative plural of <cearu> care, grief, sorrow
cearselda: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <cear-seld> place of sorrow, care-place
cenned: weak verb, class I; past participle of <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive,
bring forth
cēnre: adjective; comparative of <cēne> bold
Cent: proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Cent> Kent
cēole: noun, masculine; dative singular of <cēol> keel (of a ship)
Cēolmund: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Cēolmund> Ceolmund
cirre: noun, masculine; dative singular of <cierr> occasion, time, turn
clifum: noun, neuter; dative plural of <clif> cliff
clommum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <clom> bond, fetter; grasp
clūdig: adjective; nominative singular of <clūdig> rocky
cnossað: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <cnossian, cnossode,
cnossod> drive, pitch
cnyssað: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present of <cnyssan, cnysede, cnysed>
beat, strike
cōmon: strong verb, class IV; 3rd person plural preterite of <cuman, cwōm, cwōmon,
cumen> come
con: modal (pret.-pres.) v., class III; 1st pers. sing. pres. ind. of <cunnan, cann, cunnon,
cūðe> can, know how to
corna: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <corn> corn, grain
cruncon: strong v., class III; 3rd pers. pl. pret. of <cringan, crong, crungon, crungen>
cringe, yield; die
cuǣdon: strong v., class V; 3rd pers. pl. pret. of <cweðan, cwæð, cwǣdon, cweden> say,
speak
cume: strong v., class IV; 3rd pers. sing. present optative of <cuman, cwōm, cwōmon,
cumen> come
cunnað: weak v., class II; 3rd pers. sing. pres. of <cunnian, cunnode, cunnod> seek,
explore, experience
cunnige: weak v., cl. II; 1st pers. sing. pres. subj. of <cunnian, cunnode, cunnod> seek,
explore, experience
cūðe: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. III; 1st pers. sing. pret. ind. of <cunnan, cann, cunnon,
cūðe> can, know how to
cwǣdon: strong v., class V; 3rd pers. pl. preterite of <cweðan, cwæð, cwǣdon, cweden>
say, speak
cwæð: strong v., class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <cweðan, cwæð, cwǣdon,
cweden> say, speak
Cwēna: proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <Cwēnas> Cwenas, Cwena people
Cwēnas: proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of <Cwēnas> Cwenas, Cwena people
cwicra: adjective; genitive plural of <cwic> quick, alive
cwilde: noun, masc/fem/neut; dative singular of <cwild> disease, plague, pestilence
cwīðan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <cwīðan, cwīðe, cwīðed> accuse; bewail, lament
cwīþan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <cwīðan, cwīðe, cwīðed> accuse; bewail, lament
cymð: strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present of <cuman, cwōm, cwōmon,
cumen> come
cyng: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king
cynges: strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cyning> king
cyning: strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <cyning> king
cyning: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king
cyninge: strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <cyning> king
cyninges: strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <cyning> king
cȳþdon: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <cȳðan, cȳðde, cȳðed> reveal,
make known
dǣdum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <dǣd> deed, action
dæge: noun, masculine; instrumental singular of <dæg> day
daga: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <dæg> day
dagum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <dæg> day
Defenum: proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Defenas> Devonians, Devonshire
dēmdon: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <dēman, dēmde, dēmed> deem,
judge; praise
Denisc: proper adjective; accusative singular of <Denisc> Danish
dēor: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <dēor> brave, valiant
dōm: strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <dōm> doom, decision; glory
dōmgeorne: adjective; nominative plural masculine of <dōm-georn> lit. glory-desirous
Dorceceastre: proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Dorce-ceastre> Dorchester
drehton: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <dreccan, drehte, dreht> afflict,
harass
drēorig: adverb <drēorig> drearily, sadly
drēorigne: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <drēorig> dreary, sad
drihten: noun, masculine <drihten> lord, prince, ruler
drihten: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <drihten> lord, prince, ruler
drugon: strong v., class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <drēogan, drēag, drugon,
drogen> endure, suffer
drȳgum: adjective; dative singular of <drȳge> dry
dryhten: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <drihten> lord, prince, ruler
dugeðum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <duguð> host, body of retainers; glory
duguðum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <duguð> host, body of retainers; glory
durre: pret.-pres. v., class III; 1st person singular present optative of <durran, dearr,
durron, dorste> dare
duru: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <duru> door
dyde; anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of <dōn> do, make
dyde: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <dōn> do, make
dydon: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <dōn> do, make
dyrum: adjective; dative plural of <dȳre> dear, beloved
eac: adverb <ēac> also, even, moreover
ēac: adverb <ēac> also, even, moreover
Ēadulf: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ēadulf> Eadulf
eafera: weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir
eaforan: weak noun, masculine; accusative plural of <eafora> son, heir
eahtodan: weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <eahtian, eahtode, eahtod>
praise, esteem
eal: adjective; nominative singular of <eall> all
eal: adverb <eall> all, entirely
eald: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <eald> old
ealdor: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ealdor> elder, parent, prince
ealdormon: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ealdor-monn> nobleman, lit. older
man
Ealdwold: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ealdwold> Ealdwold
Ealhheard: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ealhheard> Elhard
eall: adjective <eall> all
eall: adverb <eall> all
ealle: adjective; accusative plural masculine of <eall> all
ealle: adjective; accusative singular feminine of <eall> all
ealle: adjective; nominative plural masculine of <eall> all
ealles: adjective; genitive singular of <eall> all
ealne: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <eall> all
ealra: adjective; genitive plural masculine of <eall> all
earce: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <earc> ark
earce: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <earc> ark
eard: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <eard> home, land
eardiað: weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present of <eardian, eardode, eardod> live,
dwell
eardstapa: weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eard-stapa> wanderer, lit.
earth-stepper
earfeþa: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <earfeðe> hardship, suffering
earfoðhwīle: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <earfoð-hwīl> lit. hardship-time
earmcearig: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <earm-cearig> miserable, lit.
wretched-caring
earn: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <earn> eagle
Ēastengle: proper noun, masculine plural; accusative of <Ēast-Engle> East Angles, East
Anglia
Ēastenglum: proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Ēast-Engle> East Angles, East
Anglia
ēasteweard: adverb <ēast-weard> eastward
ēastewerd: adverb <ēast-weard> eastward
Ēastseaxum: proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Ēast-Seaxan> East Saxons, Essex
ēce: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ēce> eternal, everlasting
Ecgulf: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ecgulf> Egulf
eft; adverb <eft> afterwards, thereupon
egorstreamas: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <ēagor-strēam> sea-stream, current
egsode: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <egsian, egsode, egsod>
terrify
eldum: indeclinable noun, masculine plural; dative of <ylde> men
ellen: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ellen> valor, courage
ellenweorc: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <ellen-weorc> work of courage
elþēodigra: adjective used as noun <elðēodig> alien, foreign, strange
emnlange: preposition <emnlange> along
endebyrdnes: noun, feminine; nominative singular of <endebyrdnes> order, sequence
endebyrdnesse: noun, feminine; dative singular of <endebyrdnes> order, sequence
ēode: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <gān> go, walk, move
ēodon: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <gān> go, walk, move
eom: anomalous verb; 1st person singular present indicative of <is> be, become, exist
eorla: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior
eorlas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior
eorle: noun, masculine; dative singular of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior
eorlscipe: indeclinable noun, masculine; accusative singular of <eorlscipe> nobility,
heroic deeds
eorðan: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <eorð> earth
eorþan: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <eorð> earth
ēowre: 2nd person pronoun; used as adjective; nominative plural of <ðū> you
erian: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <erian, erede, ered> plow
ettan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <ettan, ettede, etted> graze, pasture
eðelland: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ēðel-land> native land
ēðle: noun, masculine; dative singular of <ēðel> home, native land
fæder: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <fæder> father
fæge: adjective; accusative singular of <fǣge> doomed, fated
fǣges: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <fǣge> doomed, fated
fægrost: adverb; superlative of <fæger> fairly, beautifully
fæsle: noun, neuter; dative singular of <fæsl> progeny, offspring
fæste: adverb <fæste> fast, firmly, securely
faran: strong verb, class VI; infinitive of <faran, fōr, fōron, faren> go, ride, travel
feaht: strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <feohtan, feaht, fuhton,
fohten> fight
fēasceaft: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <fēasceaft> poor, destitute
fēasceaftig: adjective <fēasceaftig> poor, destitute
fela: indeclinable adjective <fela> much, many
feoh: strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <feoh> cattle, goods, money
feohgiftum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <feoh-gift> money-, lit. cattle-gift
feohlēase: adjective; nominative plural of <feoh-lēas> moneyless, lit. without cattle
feohtende: strong verb, class III; present participle of <feohtan, feaht, fuhton, fohten>
fight
fēol: strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <feallan, fēoll, fēollon,
feallen> fall, flow
feor: adverb <feor> far (from)
feor: preposition <feor> far (from)
fēores: strong noun, masc/neut; genitive singular of <feorh> life
feorh: strong noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of <feorh> life
feorhhūs: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <feorh-hūs> body, lit. life-house
fēos: strong noun, neuter; genitive singular of <feoh> cattle, goods, money
feowertig: numeral <fēowertig> forty
fēran: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <fēran, fērde, fēred> go, travel
ferhðum: noun, masc/neut; dative plural of <ferð> mind, soul, spirit
fers: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <fers> sentence, verse
fersce: adjective; nominative plural of <fersc> fresh
ferð: noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of <ferð> mind, soul, spirit
ferðloca: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ferð-loca> breast, heart, lit. spirit
enclosure
ferðlocan: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ferð-loca> breast, heart, lit. spirit
enclosure
fēt: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <fōt> foot
feterum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <fetor> fetter, shackle
fīfum: numeral; dative plural of <fīf> five
findan: strong verb, class III; infinitive of <findan, fond, fundon, funden> find
Finnas: proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of <Finnas> Finns
fīrum: noun, masculine plural; dative of <firas> men, people
flæschoman: weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of <flǣsc-homa> body
flēag: strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <flēogan, flēag, flugon,
flogen> flee, fly
flod: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <flōd> flood, deluge
folc: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <folc> folk, people
folce: noun, neuter; dative singular of <folc> folk, people
foldan: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <folde> earth, ground
foldan: noun, feminine; dative singular of <folde> earth, ground
foldan: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <folde> earth, ground
folgian: weak verb, class II; infinitive of <folgian, folgode, folgod> follow, obey, serve
for: preposition <for> for, because of
for ðon: conjunction <for þon> because, therefore
for þon: conjunction <for þon> because, therefore
foran: adverb <foran> before, in front
forbēah: strong v., class II; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <forbūgan, forbēah, forbugon,
forbogen> flee from
fore: preposition <fore> for, before
foresnotre: adjective; nominative plural masculine of <fore-snotor> clever, prudent
forfōran: strong v., cl. VI; 3rd pers. pl. pret. of <for-faran, for-fōr, for-fōron, for-faren>
obstruct, get in front of
forgeaf: strong v., cl. V; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <forgifan, forgeaf, forgēafon, forgiefen>
give, grant
forhēawen: strong v., cl. VII; past part.; nom. sing. m. of <forhēawan, forhēow,
forhēowon, forhēawen> hew, cut down
forlēt: strong v., cl. VII; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <forlǣtan, forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten>
leave, abandon
forlēton: strong v., cl. VII; 3rd pers. pl. preterite of <forlǣtan, forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten>
leave, abandon
fōron: strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <faran, fōr, fōron, faren> go,
ride, travel
forste: noun, masculine; dative singular of <forst> frost
forswīðe: adverb <forswīðe> utterly, excessively
forð: adverb <forð> forth, thence
forðfērdon: weak v., cl. I; 3rd prs. pl. pret. of <forð-fēran, forð-fērde, forð-fēred> die,
depart, lit. go forth
fram: preposition <fram> from
frea: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <frēa> lord, master
frēa: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <frēa> lord, master
frēfran: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <frēfran, frēfrede, frēfred> cheer, comfort
fremedon: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <fremman, fremede, fremed>
do, perform
frēoge: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present optative of <frēogan, frēoge,
frēog> love
frēomǣgum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <frēo-mǣg> noble (lit. free) kinsman
frēondlēasne: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <frēond-lēas> friend-less
frēorig: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <frēorig> chill, cold, freezing
Frēsisc: proper adjective; accusative singular of <Frēsisc> Frisian
frōd: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <frōd> old, wise, experienced
frōfre: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation
frōfre: noun, feminine; dative singular of <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation
from: adverb <fram> away
from: preposition <fram> from
fromum: adjective; dative plural feminine of <from> bold, brave, splendid
frumsceaft: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <frumsceaft> creation
ful: adverb <ful> fully, completely
fulgon: strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of <fēolan, fealh, fulgon, folen>
reach, penetrate
fulnēah: adverb <fulnēah> almost, very nearly
funden: strong verb, class III; past participle of <findan, fond, fundon, funden> find
fylð: strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present of <feallan, fēoll, fēollon,
feallen> fall, flow
fyrenðearfe: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <fyren-ðearf> dire distress
fyrmest: adjective; superlative of <forma> first
ganetes: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ganot> gannet, goose
gār: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <gār> spear
gār: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <gār> spear
Gār-Dena: proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <gār-Dene> spear-Danes
gatu: strong noun, neuter; accusative plural of <geat> gate
ge: conjunction <ge> both...and, either...or
geāra: adverb <geāra> yore, long since
gēara: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <gēar> year
gēardagum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <gēar-dæg> lit. year-day
geardum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling
gēare: noun, neuter; instrumental singular of <gēar> year
gēares: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <gēar> year
gearo: adjective; nominative singular of <gearo> prepared, ready
gēarum: noun, neuter; dative plural of <gēar> year
Gēata: proper noun, masculine; genitive plural of <Gēat> Geat
gebād: strong v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain;
await; experience; attain
gebǣrum: strong noun, neuter; dative plural of <gebǣre> cry, behavior
gebēad: strong v., class II; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <gebēodan, gebēad, gebudon,
geboden> offer
gebēorscipe: noun, masculine; dative singular of <gebēorscipe> feast, beer party
gebēorscipes; noun, masculine; genitive singular of <gebēorscipe> feast, beer party
gebiden: strong v., cl. I; past part. of <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await;
experience; attain
gebīdeð: strong v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pres. of <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon, gebiden>
remain; await; experience; attain
gebind: noun, neuter <gebind> band, binding, fastening
geboden: strong verb, class II; past participle of <gebēodan, gebēad, gebudon, geboden>
offer
gebræc: strong v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. sing. pret. of <gebrecan, gebræc, gebrǣcon, gebrocen>
break, destroy, subdue
gebrocede: weak v., cl. II; past part.; nom. pl. of <gebrocian, gebrocede, gebroced> crush;
hurt, afflict
gebrocod: weak verb, class II; past participle of <gebrocian, gebrocede, gebroced> crush;
hurt, afflict
gebrōþru: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <gebrōþor> brother
gebunden: strong verb, class III; past participle of <bindan, bond, bundon, bunden> bind,
tie
gecranc: strong v., cl. III; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <gecringan, gecranc, gecrungon,
gecrungen> cringe, fall, perish
gecunnad: weak v., cl. II; past part. of <gecunnian, gecunnade, gecunnad> know; try, test,
make trial of
gedēfe: adjective; nominative singular neuter of <gedēfe> fitting, seemly
gedēmed: weak verb, class I; past participle of <dēman, dēmde, dēmed> deem, judge;
praise
gedōn: anomalous verb; past participle of <gedōn> act, do, bring to pass
gedrēas: strong v., cl. II; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <gedrēosan, gedrēas, gedruron,
gedroren> fall, fail
gedydon: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <gedōn> act, do, bring
to pass
gefēngon: strong v., cl. VII; 3rd pers. pl. preterite of <gefōn, gefēng, gefēngon,
gefangen> take, seize
gefēran: weak noun, masculine; nominative plural of <gefēra> companion, comrade
gefērum: weak noun, masculine; dative plural of <gefēra> companion, comrade
gefor: strong v., cl. VI; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <gefaran, gefōr, gefōron, gefaren> go,
proceed
gefremman: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <gefremman, gefremede, gefremed>
advance, further
gefrūnon: strong v., cl. III; 1st pers. pl. pret. of <gefrīnan, gefrān, gefrūnon, gefrūnen>
learn, hear of
gegremode: weak v., cl. II; past part.; nom. pl. m. of <gegremian, gegremode, gegremod>
enrage
gehīerdun: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <gehīeran, gehīerede,
gehīered> hear (of)
geholena: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <gehola> friend, confidant, protector
gehwære: adverb <gehwær> on every side, everywhere
gehwǣre: pronoun; dative singular feminine of <gehwā> each, everyone
gehwæs: pronoun; genitive singular of <gehwā> each, everyone
gehwelcum: indefinite pronoun; dative singular masculine of <gehwylc> each, every one
gehwylce: indefinite pronoun; instrumental singular masculine of <gehwylc> each, every
one
gehȳrde: weak verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of <gehīeran, gehīerede,
gehȳrde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gehīeran, gehīerede,
gelāc: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gelāc> tumult, commotion
gelǣsten: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present optative of <gelǣstan, gelǣste,
gelǣset> serve, stand by
geleornade: weak v., cl. II; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <geleornian, geleornode,
geleornod> learn, study
gelimplicre: adjective; dative singular feminine of <gelimplic> suitable
gelȳfedre: adjective; genitive singular feminine of <gelyfed> advanced
gelȳfeð: weak v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pres. of <gelīefan, gelīefde, gelīefed> grant;
believe, trust
gemon: pret.-pres. v., cl. IV; 3rd pers. sing. pres. ind. of <gemunan, geman, gemunon,
gemunde> remember, be mindful of
gemōt: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <gemōt> meeting, council, assembly
gemyndig: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gemyndig> mindful
gēn: adverb <gēn> still, yet, further
genēat: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <genēat> companion, retainer
generede: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <generian, generede,
genered> save, protect
genumen: strong verb, class IV; past participle of <geniman, genam, genāmon, genumen>
seize, take
geogoðe: noun, feminine; dative singular of <geogoð> youth, youngster
geoguðe: noun, feminine; dative singular of <geogoð> youth, youngster
geoguþe: noun, feminine; dative singular of <geogoð> youth, youngster
geond: preposition <geond> over, through(out)
geong: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young
gēre: noun, neuter; dative singular of <gēar> year
gescæpene: strong v., cl. VI; past part.; pl. of <gescieppan, gescōp, gescōpon, gesceapen>
shape, create
gesceōp: strong v., cl. VI; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <gescieppan, gescōp, gescōpon,
gesceapen> shape, create
geseah: strong v., cl. V; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <gesēon, geseah, gesǣgon, gesegen>
see, observe
gesēce: weak verb, class I; 1st person singular present of <gesēcan, gesōhte, gesōht>
seek, desire
geseglian: weak verb, class II; infinitive of <geseglian, geseglode, geseglod> sail
geseted: weak verb, class I; past participle of <gesettan, gesette, geseted> set (out),
appoint, establish
gesette: weak v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <gesettan, gesette, geseted> set (out),
appoint, establish
gestah: strong v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <gestīgan, gestāh, gestigon, gestigen>
mount, ascend
gestrēon: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gestrēon> wealth, treasure
gesunde: adjective; nominative plural of <gesund> safe, unharmed
geswincdagum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <geswinc-dæg> day of toil
gesȳne: strong verb, class V; past participle of <gesēon, geseah, gesǣgon, gesegen> see,
observe
geþeoan: strong verb, class I; infinitive <geþēon, geþāh, geþigon, geþigen> thrive, prosper
geþicgean: strong v., cl. V; inf. of <geþicgan, geþeah, geþǣgon, geþegen> take, accept,
receive
geþōhtas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <geðōht> thought
geþrange: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <geþrang> throng, tumult
geþrungen: strong v., cl. III; past part. of <þringan, þrong, þrungon, þrungen> throng,
crowd, press
geðungnestan: adj. used as substantive; sprltive; acc. pl. of <geðungen> grown, excellent,
distinguished
gewat: strong v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <gewītan, gewāt, gewiton, gewiten>
depart, go
gewāt: strong v., cl. I; 1st pers. sing. preterite of <gewītan, gewāt, gewiton, gewiten>
depart, go
gewealc: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gewealc> rolling, tossing
gewinne: noun, neuter; dative singular of <gewinn> battle, strife, struggle
geworhton: weak v., cl. I; 3rd prs. pl. pret. of <gewyrcan, geworhte, geworht> perform,
achieve, accomplish
gewundad: weak verb, class II; past participle of <gewundian, gewundode, gewundod>
wound
gewundode: weak v., cl. II; 3rd person singular preterite of <gewundian, gewundode,
gewundod> wound
gewunigen: weak v., cl. II; 3rd pers. pl. pres. optative of <gewunian, gewunode,
gewunod> remain with, stand by
gewyrcean: weak v., cl. I; infinitive of <gewyrcan, geworhte, geworht> perform, achieve,
accomplish
gif: conjunction <gif> if
gifena: strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of <giefu> gift, favor
gīsle: noun, masculine; dative singular of <gīsel> hostage
gleaw: adjective; nominative singular of <glēaw> wise, prudent
gnornian: weak verb, class II; infinitive of <gnornian, gnornode, gnornod> mourn, lament
God: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <God> God, Deity
gōd: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gōd> good, excellent
gōde: adjective; dative singular neuter of <gōd> good, excellent
Godes: proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <God> God, Deity
Godrīc: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Godrīc> Godric
godsunu: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <godsunu> godson
gold: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <gold> gold
gold: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <gold> gold
goldwine: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <gold-wine> lit. gold-friend
goldwine: noun, masculine; nominative singular <gold-wine> lit. gold-friend
gomban: weak noun, feminine; accusative singular of <gombe> tribute
gomene: noun, neuter; dative singular of <gomen> pastime, pleasure, entertainment
gongende: strong verb, class VII; present participle of <gongan, gēong, gēongon,
gongen> go, walk
Gotland: proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Got-land> Goth land
grap: strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <grīpan, grāp, gripon, gripen>
grasp, seize
grēote: noun, neuter; dative singular of <grēot> grit, dust, earth
grētte: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <grētan, grētte, grēted> greet,
approach
grund: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <grund> ground, earth
guma: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <guma> man, hero
gūðe: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <gūð> battle
gūðe: noun, feminine; dative singular of <gūð> battle
gūþe: noun, feminine; dative singular of <gūð> battle
gyf: conjunction <gif> if
gyldan: strong verb, class III; infinitive of <gieldan, geald, guldon, golden> yield, pay
habban: weak verb, class III; infinitive of <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess
habbað: weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural present of <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have,
possess
hæbbe: weak verb, class III; 1st person singular present of <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have,
possess
hæfde: weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have,
possess
hæfdon: weak v., class III; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <habban, hæfde,
hæfd> have, possess
hægl: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hagol> hail
hæse: noun, feminine; dative singular of <hǣs> behest, command
hǣt: strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present of <hātan, heht, hēton, hāten>
call, name; order
hafað: weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have,
possess
hafenode: weak v., class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <hafenian, hafenode,
hafenod> raise, lift up
hālette: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <hālettan, hālette, hāleted>
hail, salute
Hālgoland: proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Hālgo-land> Helgeland
hālig: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hālig> holy
hām: adverb <hām> home, homewards
Hāmtūnscīre: proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Hāmtūn-scīr> Hampshire
hāte: adjective; nominative plural feminine of <hāt> hot, fervid
hātte: strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular passive of <hātan, heht, hēton, hāten>
call, name; order
he: 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hē: 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hea: adjective; accusative plural masculine of <hēah> high
hēah: adjective; nominative singular of <hēah> high
healdan: strong verb, class VII; infinitive of <healdan, hēold, hēoldon, lealden> hold,
retain, preserve
healde: str. v., cl. VII; 3rd prs. sng. pres. subj. of <healdan, hēold, hēoldon, lealden> hold,
retain, preserve
healfe: noun, feminine; dative singular of <healf> half, part, side
hēan: adjective; accusative plural masculine of <hēan> abject, depressed, miserable
hēan: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hēan> abject, depressed, miserable
heardra: adjective; comparative of <heard> stern, strong
hearpan: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hearpe> harp
helpe: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <helpe> help, aid
heofon: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <heofon> heaven, sky
heofonrices: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <heofon-rīce> kingdom of heaven
heofonrīces: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <heofon-rīce> kingdom of heaven
heofonum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <heofon> heaven, sky
heolstre: noun, masculine; dative singular of <heolstor> cover, concealment
heonan: adverb <heonon> hence
heora: 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
heord: noun, feminine; nominative singular of <heord> care, custody
heortan: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <heorte> heart
heortan: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <heorte> heart
heorte: noun, feminine; nominative singular of <heorte> heart
heorðgenēatas: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <heorð-genēat> lit. hearth-
companion
hēow: str. v., cl. VII; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <hēawan, hēow, hēowon, hēawen> hew, cut
down, kill
hēr: adverb <hēr> here
here: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <here> (enemy) army
herenesse: noun, feminine; dative singular of <herenes> praise
hergas: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <here> (enemy) army
herge: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular present optative of <herian, herede, hered>
praise, extol
hergiað: weak v., class II; 3rd person plural present of <hergian, hergode, gehergod>
harry, raid, ravage
hergode: weak verb, class II; 3rd person sing. pret. of <hergian, hergode, gehergod>
harry, raid, ravage
herian: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <herian, herede, hered> praise, extol
het: strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <hātan, heht, hēton, hāten>
call, name; order
hēt: strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <hātan, heht, hēton, hāten>
call, name; order
hī: 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hī: 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hider: adverb <hider> here, hither
hīe: 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hīe: 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hīe: 3rd person pronoun; used as reflexive; accusative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hiera: 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hīerran: adjective; comparative; nominative plural of <hēah> high
hige: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hyge> heart, mind, soul
hilde: strong noun, feminine; dative singular of <hild> battle, war
hildedēore: adjective; nominative plural masculine of <hilde-dēor> lit. battle-bold
him: 3rd person pronoun; dative of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
him: 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
him: 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
him: 3rd person pronoun; used as reflexive; dative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hine: 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hine: 3rd person pronoun; used as reflexive; accusative singular masculine of <hē, hēo,
hit> he, she, it
his: 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
his: 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hit: 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hit: 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hlǣw: strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hlǣw> mound
hlāford: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hlāford> lord, master
hlāforde: strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <hlāford> lord, master
hlāfordes: strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of <hlāford> lord, master
hleahtor: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hleahtor> laughter, jubilation
hlēomǣga: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <hlēo-mǣg> lit. protector-kinsman
hlēoþor: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hlēoðor> song, sound
hlimman: strong verb, class III; infinitive of <hlimman, hlamm, hlumon, hlummen> roar,
resound
hliðe: noun, neuter; dative singular of <hlið> cliff, hill
hof: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hof> court; dwelling
hold: adjective <hold> gracious, favorable
hondum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <hond> hand
hordcofan: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hord-cofa> treasure chamber, lit.
hoard cove
horde: noun, neuter; dative singular of <hord> hoard, treasure
horsþegn: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hors-þegn> horse-thane
hrēo: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hrēo> fierce, wild, savage
hreoh: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hrēo> fierce, wild, savage
hrēran: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <hrēran, hrērde, hrēred> move, stir
hrīm: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hrīm> rime, hoar-frost
hrīmcealde: adjective; accusative singular feminine of <hrīm-ceald> ice-cold, frosty
hrīmgicelum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <hrīm-gicel> icicle
hrof: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hrōf> roof
hrōfe: noun, masculine; dative singular of <hrōf> roof
Hrōfesceastre: proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Hrōfe-ceaster> Rochester
hronrāde: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hron-rād> sea, lit. whale-road
hrūsan: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <hrūse> earth, ground
hryre: strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hryre> death, fall, ruin
hryre: strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <hryre> death, fall, ruin
hū: adverbial conjunction <hū> how
hū: conjunction <hū> how
huilpan: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <hwilpe> curlew? water-bird
hund: numeral <hund> hundred
hungor: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hungor> hunger
hūs: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hūs> house
hūse: noun, neuter; dative singular of <hūs> house
hwǣr: adverbial conjunction <hwǣr> where
hwæt: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <hwætt> bold, valiant
hwæt: interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hwā, hwā, hwæt> who, what
hwæthwegu: indefinite pronoun; accusative singular of <hwæt-hwegu> something
hwæðere: conjunction <hwæðere> but, yet, however
hwēne: adverb <hwōn> somewhat, a little
hwīle: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hwīl> while, time
hwīlum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <hwīl> while, time
hwōn: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <hwōn> trifle
hȳ: 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hȳ: 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hycge: weak v., cl. III; 3rd prs. sing. pres. subjunctive of <hycgan, hogode, hogod> think,
resolve
hyge: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hyge> heart, mind, soul
hygeteonan: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hygeteona> injury, insult
hȳnde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <hȳnan, hȳnde, hȳned>
despise, injure, insult
hyra: 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
hȳran: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <hīeran, hīerde, hīered> hear, obey; belong
hyrsta: noun, feminine; accusative plural of <hyrst> armor, ornament
hyt: 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it
ic: 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of <ic> I
īgland: noun, neuter; nominative plural of <īglond> island
ilcan: adjective; genitive singular neuter of <ilca> same
ilcan: adjective; instrumental singular neuter of <ilca> same
ilce: adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ilca> same
in: preposition <in> in, into
indryhten: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <indrihten> (very) noble
innan: preposition <innan> in, within
innan: preposition used as adverb <innan> in, within
intinga: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <intinga> cause, reason
Īraland: proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Īra-land> Ireland
Īralande: proper noun, neuter; dative singular of <Īra-land> Ireland
is: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <bēon> be, become, exist
īscaldne: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <īs-ceald> ice-cold
īscealdne: adjective; accusative singular masculine of <īs-ceald> ice-cold
īsigfeþera: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <īsig-feðera> lit. icy-feathered
iū: adverb <gīo> before, of old
kyning: strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of <cyning> king
lædan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <lǣdan, lǣde, lǣded> lead, bring
lǣded: weak verb, class I; past participle of <lǣdan, lǣde, lǣded> lead, bring
lǣfde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <lǣfan, lǣfde, lǣfed> leave,
bequeath
læg: str. v., cl. V; 3rd person singular preterite of <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend,
be situated
lǣge: str. v., cl. V; 3rd prs. sng. pret. subjunctive of <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie,
extend, be situated
lǣgon: str. v., class V; 3rd person plural preterite of <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie,
extend, be situated
lǣrde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <lǣran, lǣrde, lǣred> teach,
advise, exhort
lāfe: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <lāf> remnant, what is left
lagulāde: strong noun, feminine; accusative singular of <lagu-lād> water-way, ocean
journey
Lameches: proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Lamech> Lamech
land: strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lond> land, realm, country
land: strong noun, neuter; nominative singular of <lond> land, realm, country
lande: strong noun, neuter; dative singular of <lond> land, realm, country
lang: adjective; accusative plural of <lang> long
lang: adjective; nominative singular of <lang> long
lange: adjective; accusative singular feminine of <lang> long
lange: adjective; nominative plural of <lang> long
lāstum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <lāst> track, footprint
lēode: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <lēod> person, member of tribe
lēode: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <lēod> person, member of tribe
lēodum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <lēod> person, member of tribe
lēofan: adjective; dative singular of <lēof> lief, dear, beloved
lēofra: adjective; comparative of <lēof> lief, dear, beloved
lēofra: adjective; comparative; genitive plural of <lēof> lief, dear, beloved
lēohte: adjective; accusative plural of <lēoht> light, easy
lēoð: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lēoð> song, poem
let: strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <lǣtan, lēt, lēton, lǣten> let,
allow
licgan: strong verb, class V; infinitive of <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be
situated
licgað: str. v., class V; 3rd person plural present of <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie,
extend, be situated
lichaman: weak noun, masculine; dative singular of <līc-homa> body, flesh
lifað: weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of <libban, lifde, lifd> live
līfes: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <līf> life
Līffreaa: proper noun, weak masculine; nominative singular of <Līf-freaa> lit. Life-lord
limo: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <lim> limb
limpeð: str. v., cl. III; 3rd pers. singular present of <limpan, lamp, lumpon, lumpen>
befall, happen
līð: str. v., cl. V; 3rd person singular present of <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be
situated
līðost: adjective; superlative of <līðe> kind, gracious
lōcude: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <locian, locode, locod> look
lofdǣdum: strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <lof-dǣd> praiseworthy deed
lofgeornost: adjective; superlative of <lof-georn> eager for praise
lond: strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lond> land, realm, country
londe: strong noun, neuter; dative singular of <lond> land, realm, country
londes: strong noun, neuter; genitive singular of <lond> land, realm, country
longe: adverb <longe> for long (time)
lust: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <lust> lust, desire, pleasure
LX: numeral <siextig> sixty
lȳt: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <lȳt> little, small number
lȳtlað: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <lȳtlian, lȳtlode, lȳtlod> lessen,
diminish
lȳtle: adjective; accusative plural of <lȳtel> little, small
mā: adjective; anomalous comparative of <micel> much, great
mæg: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. V; 1st prs. sing. pres. ind. of <magan, mæg, magon,
meahte> may, be able to
mæg: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. V; 3rd prs. sng. pres. ind. of <magan, mæg, magon,
mǣg: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <mǣg> kinsman
mǣgas: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <mǣg> kinsman
mæge: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. V; 3rd prs. sng. pres. optative of <magan, mæg, magon,
mægen: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <mægen> might, strength
mǣgþa: noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mǣgþ> tribe, nation
mǣgþum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <mǣgþ> tribe, nation
mǣgum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <mǣg> kinsman
mǣla: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <mǣl> time, occasion
mǣnan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <mǣnan, mǣnde, mǣned> moan, relate, speak of
mænig: adjective; nominative singular of <mænig> many
mǣw: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mǣw> mew, sea-gull
man: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <monn> man, person
manfæhðu: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <mānfǣhðu> wickedness
manige: adjective; nominative plural of <monig> many
manna: strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <monn> man, person
māre: adjective; comparative of <mā> great, stout
maþelode: wk. v., cl. II; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <maðelian, maðelode, maðelod> speak,
address, harangue
mē: 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of <ic> I
mē: 1st person pronoun; dative singular of <ic> I
meaht: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. V; 2nd prs. sng. pres. indicative of <magan, mæg,
magon, meahte> may, be able to
meahte: modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 1st person singular preterite indicative of
<magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to
meahte: modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of
meahten: modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite subjunctive of
mec: 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of <ic> I
medodrince: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <medu-drinc> mead-drink
men: strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of <monn> man, person
men: strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <monn> man, person
men: strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <monn> man, person
meodosetla: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <medu-setl> lit. mead-seat
meoduhealle: noun, feminine; dative singular of <medu-heall> mead-hall
meras: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <mere> mere, lake, sea
meras: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <mere> mere, lake, sea
mere: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <mere> mere, lake, sea
merehuses: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <mere-hūs> sea-house
merewērges: adjective <mere-wērig> sea-weary
metod: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <metod> creator
metodes: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <metod> creator
mētton: weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <mētan, mētte, mēted> meet,
find
metudes: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <metod> creator
micle: adjective; nominative plural of <micel> much, great
micle: adverb <micel> much, very
miclum: adverb <micel> much, very
mid: adverb <mid> within
mid: preposition <mid> with
middangeard: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <middan-eard> middle-earth,
world
middangeardes: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <middan-eard> middle-earth,
world
middeweard: adverb <midde-weard> mid-ward, middling
mihte: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. V; 3rd prs. sing. pret. optative of <magan, mæg, magon,
mihte: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <miht> might, power
mihton: modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of
mīla: noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mīl> mile
mildust: adjective; superlative of <milde> mild, gentle
miltse: strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of <milts> mercy, favor, kindness
mīn: 1st person pronoun; genitive singular of <ic> I
mine: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mine> mind, affection
mīne: 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; accusative singular feminine of <ic> I
mīne: 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; nominative plural masculine of <ic> I
mīnne: 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; accusative singular masculine of <ic> I
mīnum: 1st person pronoun; used as adjective; dative singular masculine of <ic> I
mōd: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <mōd> mood, mind
mōdcearig: adj.; nom. sing. m. of <mōd-cearig> anxious, sorrowful, lit. mood-caring
mōdes: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <mōd> mood, mind
mōdgeþonc: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mōdgeþonc> conception, purpose
mōdsefan: weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mōd-sefa> mind, spirit
mōdwlonc: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <mōd-wlonc> haughty, lit.
mood-proud
mon: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <monn> man, person
monað: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of <manian, manode, manod>
warn, exhort, admonish
moncynnes: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <monn-cynn> mankind
monegum: adjective; dative plural feminine of <monig> many
monna: strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <monn> man, person
monnum: strong noun, masculine; dative plural of <monn> man, person
mōnðe: noun, masculine; dative singular of <mōnað> month
monðwǣrust: adjective; superlative of <monðwǣre> kind, gentle
mōr: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous region
mōr: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous region
mōras: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <mōr> moor; mountainous region
mōre: noun, masculine; dative singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous region
mōres: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <mōr> moor; mountainous region
morgenne: strong noun, masculine; dative singular of <morgen> morning
mōrum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <mōr> moor; mountainous region
mundum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <mund> hand
muð: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mūð> mouth
mūðan: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mūða> mouth of a river, estuary
mūðan: noun, masculine; dative singular of <mūða> mouth of a river, estuary
mycel: adjective; accusative singular neuter of <micel> much, great
mycel: adjective; nominative singular feminine of <micel> much, great
nā: adverb <nā> no, nor, not (at all)
nacan: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <naca> boat, ship
næbbe: contraction; adv. <ne> not + wk. v., cl. III; 3rd pers. sing. pres. subj. <habban,
hæfde, hæfd> have, possess
næfde: adv. <ne> not + wk. v., cl. III; 3rd pers. sing. pret. <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have,
possess
nǣfre: contraction; adverb <ne> not + adverb <ǣfre> ever, always
nǣnig: contraction; adverb <ne> not + adjective <ǣnig> any
nǣre: contraction; adv. <ne> not + anom. v.; 3rd pers. sing. pret. subjunctive of <wesan>
be, happen
nǣron: contraction; adv. <ne> not + anom. v.; 3rd pers. pl. pret. indicative of <wesan> be,
happen
næs: contraction; adv. <ne> not + anom. v.; 3rd pers. sing. pret. indicative of <wesan> be,
happen
nālæs: adverb <nālæs> not at all
nāles: adverb <nālæs> not at all
naman: weak noun, masculine; dative singular of <nama> name
nān: contraction; adverb <ne> not + indefinite article <ān> a, an, one
nāp: strong v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <nīpan, nāp, nipon, nipen> grow dark, obscure
nāwðer: conjunction <nā-hwæðer> neither...nor
ne: adverb <ne> not
nēah: adverb <nēah> near
nēalǣcan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <nēalǣcan, nēalǣcte, nēalǣced> approach,
draw near
nearo: adjective; accusative singular feminine of <nearu> narrow; full of hardship
nēata: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <nēat> ox, cow
nemde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <nemnan, nemde, nemed>
name, call
nēotan: strong verb, class II; infinitive of <nēotan, nēat, nudon, noden> use, employ
nergend: noun, masculine <nergend> preserver, savior
nigonum: numeral; dative plural of <nigon> nine
niht: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <niht> night
nihta: noun, feminine; genitive plural of <niht> night
nihte: noun, feminine; dative singular of <niht> night
nihtscua: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <nihts-cūa> night's cover
nihtwaco: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <niht-waco> night-watch
nis: contraction; adv. <ne> not + anom. v.; 3rd pers. sing. pres. indicative of <is> be,
become, exist
nið: noun, masculine <nīð> enmity, hostility
nīðhēdige: adjective; nominative plural masculine of <nīð-hēdig> lit. battle-resolved
nīwena: adjective; genitive plural of <nīwe> new, fresh
Noe: proper noun, masculine <Noe> Noah
nōht: adjective <nā> no, not + noun, neuter; accusative <wiht> whit, thing
nolde: contraction; adv. <ne> not + anom. v.; 3rd pers. sing. pret. indic. of <willan> wish,
be willing
noldon: contraction; adv. <ne> not + anom. v.; 3rd pers. pl. pret. indic. of <willan> wish,
be willing
norþan: adverb <norðan> from the north
norðeweard: adverb <norð-weard> northward
norðeweardum: adjective; dative singular neuter of <norð-weard> northward
Norðhymbre: proper noun, m. pl.; acc. of <Norð-hymbre> Northumbrians, Northumbria
Norðhymbrum: proper noun, m. pl.; dat. of <Norð-hymbre> Northumbrians,
Northumbria
Norðmanna: proper noun, masculine; genitive plural of <Norð-mann> Norwegian, lit.
north-man
Norðmen: proper noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Norð-mann> Norwegian, lit.
north-man
Norðmen: proper noun, masculine; nominative plural of <Norð-mann> Norwegian, lit.
north-man
norðor: adverb; comparative of <norð> north(wards)
Norðweg: proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Norðweg> Norway, lit. way
leading north
nū: adverb <nū> now
nytwyrðoste: adjective; superlative; nominative plural of <nyt-wyrðe> useful
of: preposition <of> from, of
ofer: preposition <ofer> over, across
oferfēran: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <oferfēran, oferfērde, oferfēred> traverse
ofslægen: strong verb, class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen>
slay, destroy
ofslægene: strong verb, class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen>
slay, destroy
ofslægenne: strong v., class VI; past participle of <ofslean, ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen>
slay, destroy
ofslōgon: strong v., class VI; 3rd pers. pl. pret. of <ofslean, ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen>
slay, destroy
oft: adverb <oft> often, frequently
oftēah: strong v., class II; 3rd pers. sing. preterite of <oftēon, oftēah, oftugon, oftogen>
deny, deprive
Ōhthere: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ōhthere> Ohthere
on: preposition <on> on(to), upon
on hoh: preposition <on> on(to), upon + noun, masculine <hōh> heel; promontory
oncwæð: str. v., cl. V; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <oncweðan, oncwæð, oncwǣdon, oncweden>
answer, reply to
ond: conjunction <and> and
onfēng: str. v., cl. VII; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <onfōn, onfēng, onfēngon, onfangen>
accept, receive
onfundon: str. v., cl. III; 3rd prs. pl. pret. of <onfindan, onfond, onfundon, onfunden> find
out, realize
ongan: str. v., cl. III; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <onginnan, ongonn, ongunnon, ongunnen>
begin, attempt
ongēan: adverb <ongēan> against, back
ongeat: str. v., cl. V; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <ongietan, ongeat, ongēaton, ongieten> grasp,
understand
ongēn: preposition <ongēan> against, back
onmunden: pret.-pres. v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. pl. pret. subjunctive of <onmunan, onman,
onmunon, onmunde> esteem, remember, think worthy
onslǣpte: str. v., cl. VII; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <onslǣpan, onslēp, onslēpon, onslǣpen>
fall asleep
onstealde: weak v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <onstellan, onstealde, onsteled> establish,
institute
ord: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ord> source, beginning
Ōsrīc: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ōsrīc> Osric
Ōswold: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ōswold> Oswold
oð: adverbial conjunction <oð> until
oþ: adverbial conjunction <oð> until
oþ: preposition <oð> until, up to, as far as
oð þæt: adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until
oþ þæt: adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until
oðer: adjective <ōðer> other, next, second
ōðre: adjective; dative singular feminine of <ōðer> other, next, second
ōðru: adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of <ōðer> other, next, second
oððe: correlative conjunction <oððe> or
oþþe: correlative conjunction <oððe> or
oðwand: str. v., cl. III; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <oðwindan, oðwand, oðwundon, oðwunden>
escape
port: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <port> port, harbor
radost: adjective; superlative of <hraðe> quick, hasty
rǣsde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <rǣsan, rǣsde, rǣsed> rush,
hasten
regn: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <regn> rain
reste: noun, feminine; dative singular of <rest> rest, resting place
reðe: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <rēðe> fierce, cruel
rīces: weak noun, neuter; genitive singular of <rīce> kingdom, reign
ridon: strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <rīdan, rād, ridon, riden> ride
riodan: strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <rīdan, rād, ridon, riden> ride
roderum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <rodor> sky, heaven
rume: adverb <rūm> roomy, spacious
sǣ: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake
sǣ: noun, feminine; nominative singular of <sǣ> sea, lake
sǣde: weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <secgan, sægde, sægd> say
sǣfōre: noun, feminine; dative singular of <sǣ-fōr> sea-voyage
sǣlan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <sǣlan, sǣlde, sǣled> bind
sǣriman: noun, masculine; dative singular of <sǣ-rima> seashore, seacoast
sæs: noun, feminine; nominative plural <sǣ> sea, lake
sceal: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 1st prs. sng. pres. ind. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
scolde> shall, ought to
sceal: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. sng pres. ind. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
sceaþena: weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of <sceaða> enemy, warrior
Scedelandum: proper noun, neuter; dative plural of <Scedeland> Danish land
sceolde: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 1st prs. sng. pret. ind. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
sceolde: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. sng. pret. ind. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
sceolden: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. pl. pret. subj. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
sceoldon: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 3rd prs; pl. pret. ind. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
scile: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. sng. pres. optative of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
scip: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <scip> ship
scipa: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <scip> ship
scipu: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scip> ship
scipu: noun, neuter; nominative plural of <scip> ship
scipum: noun, neuter; dative plural of <scip> ship
scīr: noun, feminine; nominative singular of <scīr> shire, district, division
Scīrincges hēale: proper noun, masculine; dative singular of <Scīringes-hēal> Skiringssal
Scīringes hēal: proper noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Scīringes-hēal>
Skiringssal
Scīringes hēal: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Scīringes-hēal>
Skiringssal
scolde: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. sng. pret. ind. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
scome: noun, feminine; dative singular of <scomu> shame
sculan: modal (pret.-pres.) v., cl. IV; 3rd prs. pl. pres. ind. of <sculan, sceal, sculon,
scūrum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <scūr> shower
Scyld Scēfing: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Scyld Scēfing> Scyld
Scefing
Scyldes: proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Scyld> Scyld
scypa: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scip> ship
scypene: noun, neuter; dative singular of <scypen> shed
scyppend: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <scieppend> shaper, creator
scyppendes: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <scieppend> shaper, creator
scypu: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scip> ship
se: definite article; nominative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
se: demonstrative used as 3rd prs. pron.; nom. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
sē: demonstrative used as 3rd prs. pron.; nom. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
sē: demonstrative used as relative pron.; nom. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that
sē: demonstrative used as relative pron.; nom. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that
sealtȳþa: strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of <sealt-ȳð> lit. salt-wave
secgan: weak verb, class III; infinitive of <secgan, sægde, sægd> say
secgas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <secg> man, warrior
seglian: weak verb, class II; infinitive of <seglian, seglode, seglod> sail
segnade: weak v., cl. II; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <segnian, segnade, segnad> bless,
consecrate
sele: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <sele> hall, house
selesecgas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <sele-secg> retainer, lit. hall hero
sēlestena: adjective; comparative; genitive plural of <sēlla> better
selfa: reflexive pronoun; nominative singular of <self> self, same
selfum: reflexive pronoun; dative singular of <self> self, same
sende: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <sendan, sende, sened> send
sēo: definite article; nominative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
sēo: demonstrative used as 3rd pers. pron.; nom. sing. f. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
seofedun: weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <seofian, seofade, seofad>
sigh, lament
sēon: strong verb, class V; infinitive of <sēon, seah, sǣgon, segen> see, look
sex: numeral <siex> six
sidne: adjective; accusative singular of <sīd> wide, extensive
Sigene: proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Sigen> Seine
siglu: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <sigle> brooch, jewel, necklace
sigora: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <sigor> victory
Sillende: proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Sillende> Zealand
simle: adverb <simle> ever, always
sinces: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <sinc> jewels, riches, treasure
sincþege: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sinc-þegu> lit. treasure receipt
sing: strong v., cl. III; 2nd pers. sing. imperative of <singan, sang, sungon, sungen> sing,
compose
singan: strong verb, class III; infinitive of <singan, sang, sungon, sungen> sing, compose
singende: strong verb, class III; present participle of <singan, sang, sungon, sungen>
sing, compose
sint: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of <is> be, become, exist
sinum: 3rd person pronoun; used as adjective; dative singular masculine of <hē, hēo, hit>
he, she, it
sīo: definite article; nominative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
sīþas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <sīð> journey, voyage
siððan: adverb <siððan> since, when, afterwards
siþþan: adverb <siððan> since, when, afterwards
slāt: strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <slītan, slāt, sliton, sliten> slit,
tear
slīþen: adjective; nominative singular feminine of <slīðen> cruel, dire, evil
smæl: adjective; nominative singular of <smæl> small, narrow
smælre: adjective; comparative of <smæl> small, narrow
smalost: adjective; superlative of <smæl> small, narrow
snīwde: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <snīwan, snīwde, snīwed>
snow
sōhte: weak verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of <sēcan, sōhte, sōht> seek, desire
somed: adverb <somod> also, together
sōna: adverb <sōna> immediately
song: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <song> song
sorg: noun, feminine; nominative singular of <sorg> sorrow, grief, distress
sorge: noun, feminine; dative singular of <sorg> sorrow, grief, distress
sōþe: noun, neuter; dative singular of <sōð> truth
sōðgied: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <sōð-gied> lit. true tale
spedum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <spēd> means, riches, success
sprang: str. v., cl. III; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <springan, sprang, sprungon, sprungen>
spring, burst forth, spread
sprecan: strong verb, class V; infinitive of <sprecan, spræc, sprǣcon, sprecen> speak, say
sprecende: strong verb, class V; present participle of <sprecan, spræc, sprǣcon, sprecen>
speak, say
stælhergum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <stæl-here> marauding army
stæðweallas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <stæð-weall> shore-wall
stānclifu: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <stān-clif> stony cliff
stearn: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <stearn> tern, sea-swallow
stefnan: noun, masculine; dative singular of <stefn> stem; prow, stern
stēorbord: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <stēor-bord> starboard, lit. stear(ing)-
board
stigon: strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <stīgan, stāh, stigon, stigen>
rise, ascend
stīð: adjective; nominative singular neuter of <stīð> stiff, stern, brave
stōd: strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of <standan, stōd, stōdon,
standen> stand
stōdon: strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <standan, stōd, stōdon,
standen> stand
stormas: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <storm> storm, tempest; attack
stōwum: strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <stōw> place
strang: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <strang> strong
strēamas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <strēam> stream
sum: adjective used as substantive; nominative singular masculine of <sum> some, a
certain
sum: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <sum> some, a certain
sume: adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of <sum> some, a certain
sumera: noun, masculine; dative singular of <sumor> summer
sumre: adjective; dative singular feminine of <sum> some, a certain
sumum: adjective; dative plural of <sum> some, a certain
sumum: adjective; dative singular masculine of <sum> some, a certain
sund: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <sund> sea, water
sunu: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <sunu> son
sūð: adverb <sūð> south(wards)
sūðeweardum: adjective; dative singular of <sūðe-weard> southward
Sūðseaxum: proper noun, masculine plural; dative of <Sūð-Seaxan> South Saxons,
Sussex
sūðstæðe: noun, neuter; dative singular of <sūð-stæð> south shore
swa: adverb <swā> so, thus
swā: adverb <swā> so, thus
swā: adverbial conjunction <swā> so, thus
swā hwelc swā: pronoun <swā hwilc swā> whosoever
swearte: adjective; nominative plural masculine of <sweart> dark, black, swarthy
swefn: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <swefn> dream
swēg: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <swēg> noise, sound
Swēoland: proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of <Swēo-land> Sweden
sweotule: adverb <sweotole> clearly, plainly
swiftran: adjective; comparative; nominative plural of <swift> swift
swilc: pronoun <swilc> such
swiðe: adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly
swīðe: adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly
swīþe: adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly
swīþor: adverb; comparative of <swīðe> very, exceedingly
swīþost: adverb; superlative of <swīðe> very, exceedingly
Swīðulf: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Swīðulf> Swithulf
swīþust: adverb; superlative of <swīðe> very, exceedingly
swogan: strong verb, class VII; infinitive of <swogan, swēog, swēogon, swōgen>
resound, roar
swylce: adverb <swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise
swȳðe: adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly
swȳþe: adverb <swīðe> very, exceedingly
sylf: reflexive pronoun <self> self, same
sylfum: reflexive pronoun; dative singular of <self> self, same
symble: noun, neuter; dative singular of <symbel> feast
symle: adverb <simle> ever, always
synd: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of <is> be, become, exist
syððan: adverb <syððan> afterwards
syðþan: adverb <syððan> afterwards
syx: numeral <siex> six
syxhund: numeral <siex-hund> six hundred
syxtig: numeral <siextig> sixty
tæt: definite article; nominative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
tēode: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <tēon, tēode, tēodod> adorn,
settle
tīde: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <tīd> time
tīde: noun, feminine; dative singular of <tīd> time
timbran: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <timbran, timbrede, timbred> build, construct
timbredon: weak v., class I; 3rd pers. pl. pret. of <timbran, timbrede, timbred> build,
construct
to: adverb <tō> as, for
tō: preposition <tō> (in)to
tō hwon: interrogative pronoun; instrumental singular of <tō hwon> why
tō þæs: adverb <tō þæs> so
tōemnes: preposition <tōemnes> alongside
tōfōr: strong v., cl. VI; 3rd person pl. pret. of <tō-faran, tō-fōr, tō-fōron, tō-faren>
disperse, separate
trymedon: weak v., cl. I; 3rd person plural preterite of <trymian, trymede, trymed>
exhort, encourage
tū: numeral; accusative plural neuter of <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two
tū: numeral; nominative plural neuter of <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two
twām: numeral; feminine plural of <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two
twelfe: numeral <twelf> twelve
tȳn: numeral <tīen> ten
ðā: adverb <þā> then, when
ðā: definite article; accusative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
ðā: definite article; accusative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
ðā: definite article; nominative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þa: adverbial conjunction <þā> then, when
þa: demonstrative article; accusative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> that
þa: demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that
þā: adverb <þā> then, when
þā: adverbial conjunction <þā> then, when
þā: definite article; accusative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þā: definite article; accusative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þā: definite article; nominative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þā: demonstrative article; accusative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> that
þā: demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that
þā: demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he,
she, it
ðǣm: definite article; dative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
ðǣm: definite article; dative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
ðǣm: demonstrative used as 3rd person pron.; dat. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
þǣm: definite article; dative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þǣm: definite article; dative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þǣm: demonstrative article; dative plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> that
þǣm: demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> that
þǣm: demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she,
it
þǣm: demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt>
he, she, it
þær: adverb <þǣr> there, where
þǣr: adverb <þǣr> there, where
þǣre: definite article; dative singular feminine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þǣrinne: adverb <þǣr inne> therein
þǣrtō: adverb <þǣr tō> thereto
þæs: adverb <þæs> so
þæs: definite article; genitive singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þæs: definite article; genitive singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þæs: demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that
þæs: demonstrative used as 3rd pers. pron.; gen. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
þæs: demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sē, sēo,
ðæt> he, she, it
ðæt: demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> that
ðæt: subordinating conjunction <þæt> that
þæt: conjunction <þæt> so/in order that
þæt: definite article; accusative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þæt: definite article; nominative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þæt: demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> that
þæt: demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that
þæt: demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that
þæt: demonstrative used as relative pron.; acc. sing. n. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that
þæt: demonstrative used as relative pron.; nom. sing. n. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which,
that
þæt: subordinating conjunction <þæt> that
þāh: strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ðēon, ðāh, ðigon, ðigen>
thrive, prosper
þām: definite article; dative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þām: demonstrative used as relative pron.; dat. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which,
that
þanon: adverb <ðonan> thence, from there
þāra: definite article; genitive plural of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þāra: demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural of <sē, sēo, ðæt> that
þās: demonstrative article; accusative plural of <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this
þās: demonstrative article; accusative singular feminine of <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this
ðe: relative particle <þe> that, which, who
þe: conjunction <þe> than, where
þe: relative particle <þe> that, which, who
þē: adverb <þȳ> the
þē: conjunction <ðē> as
þē: relative particle <þe> that, which, who
þēah: adverb <þēah> yet, though, however
þēah: adverbial conjunction <þēah> yet, though, however
þēah þe: conjunction <ðēah ðe> although, even if
þeahte: weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ðeccan, ðeahte, ðeaht> cover,
conceal
ðearfe: noun, feminine; dative singular of <ðearf> need, requirement
þēaw: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <ðēaw> habit, custom
þegn: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <þegn> thane, warrior
þegnas: strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <þegn> thane, warrior
þēh: adverbial conjunction <þēah> yet, though, however
þēna: strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <þegn> thane, warrior
þence: weak verb, class I; 1st person singular present of <ðencan, ðōhte, ðōht> think,
intend, resolve
þenceð: weak v., class I; 3rd person singular present of <ðencan, ðōhte, ðōht> think,
intend, resolve
þēodcyninga: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ðēod-cyning> lit. people-king
þider: adverb <þider> thither
þis: demonstrative article; nominative singular neuter of <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this
þis: demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <ðēs, ðēos, ðis> this
þīs: demonstrative article; instrumental singular masculine of <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this
þissum: demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this
þolian: weak verb, class II; infinitive of <ðolian, ðolade, ðolad> endure, hold out
þon: adverb <þonne> then, when
þonan: adverb <ðonan> thence, from there
þonces: noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ðanc> thanks, grace, mercy
ðone: definite article; accusative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þone: definite article; accusative singular masculine of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þone: demonstrative used as 3rd person pron.; acc. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
þone: demonstrative used as personal pron.; acc. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
þone: demonstrative used as relative pron.; acc. sing. m. of <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which,
that
ðonne: adverb <þonne> then, when
þonne: adverb <þonne> then, when
þrēatum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <ðrēat> band, troop
þrēo: numeral; nominative plural neuter of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three
þrēora: numeral; genitive plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three
þrim: numeral; dative plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three
þringan: strong verb, class III; infinitive of <þringan, þrong, þrungon, þrungen> throng,
crowd, press
þrītig: numeral <þrītig> thirty
þrōwade: weak verb, class II; 1st person sing. pret. of <ðrōwian, ðrōwade, ðrōwad>
endure, suffer
þrym: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <þrymm> glory, renown
þrym: numeral; dative plural of <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three
þū: 2nd person pronoun; nominative singular of <ðū> you
ðūhte: weak verb, class I; 3rd person sing. pret. of <ðyncan, ðūhte, geðūht> seem, appear;
think
þurh: preposition <þurh> through, by (means of)
þurhwōd: str. v., cl. VI; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <ðurhwadan, ðurhwōd, ðurhwōdon,
ðurhwaden> pierce, penetrate
Þūrstānes: proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Þūrstān> Thurstan
þȳ: definite article; instrumental singular neuter of <se, sēo, ðæt> the
þyder: adverb <þyder> thither
þyssum: demonstrative pronoun; dative singular neuter of <ðēs, ðēos, ðis> this
ðysum: demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this
ufeweardum: adjective; dative singular of <ufe-weard> upward
ūhtna: weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ūhta> dawn, twilight
under: preposition <under> under
unhēanlīce: adverb <unhēanlīce> not disgracefully, not ignobly
unnyt: adjective; nominative singular neuter of <unnyt> useless
unstilnesse: strong noun, feminine; accusative singular of <unstilnes> disturbance, tumult
unwāclīce: adverb <unwāclīce> bravely, unwaveringly
unwealtran: adjective; comparative; nominative plural of <unwealt> steady
up: adverb <ūp> up, upwards
ūp: adverb <ūp> up, upwards
uppe: adverb <uppe> up, above
ūre: 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of <ic> I
ūrigfeþra: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <ūrig-feðera> lit. dewey-feathered
urnon: strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of <yrnan, arn, urnon, urnen> run
usser: 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of <ic> I
ūt: adverb <ūt> out
ūtermere: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ūter-mere> outer sea, open sea
ūteweardum: adjective; dative singular masculine of <ūte-weard> outward
ūþon: pret.-pres. v., cl. III; 3rd prs. pl. pret. subjunctive of <unnan, ann, unnon, ūðe>
grant, bestow
wadan: strong verb, class VI; infinitive of <wadan, wōd, wōdon, waden> wade, stride
over
wǣg: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wǣg> wave, billow
wæge: noun, masculine; dative singular of <wǣg> wave, billow
wæglīðendum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <wæg-līðend> lit. wave-traveler
wægþæl: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <wæg-þel> ship, lit. wave-planking
wæl: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <wæl> carnage; battlefield
wæle: noun, neuter; dative singular of <wæl> carnage; battlefield
wællgrim: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wællgrim> fierce, cruel
wælsleahta: strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of <wælsleaht> slaughter, carnage
wælspere: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <wæl-spere> deadly spear
wǣpna: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <wǣpen> weapon
wǣran: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen
wǣre: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of <wesan> be, happen
wǣron: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen
wǣrun: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen
wæs: anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen
wæs: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen
wætrum: noun, neuter; dative plural of <wæter> water
waldend: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord
warað: weak v., cl. II; 3rd prs. sng. pres. of <warian, warode, warod> guard, protect,
occupy
wāt: pret.-pres. v., cl. I; 3rd prs. sng. pres. indicative of <witan, wāt, witon, wiste> know,
observe
waþema: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <waðum> wave, sea
wē: 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of <ic> I
wealdend: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord
wealle: noun, masculine; dative singular of <weall> wall, rampart
weard; noun, masculine <weard> ward, guard, keeper
weard: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <weard> ward, guard, keeper
weard: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <weard> ward, guard, keeper
wearð: strong v., cl. III; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <weorðan, wearð, wurdon, worden>
become, happen
wearþ: strong v., cl. III; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <weorðan, wearð, wurdon, worden>
become, happen
Wedra: proper noun, neuter; genitive plural of <Weder> Weder
weg: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <weg> way
wel hwǣr: adverb <wel hwǣr> almost everywhere
wēman: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <wēman, wēmde, wēmed> attract, entice, treat
wendan: weak verb, class I; infinitive of <wendan, wende, wended> wend, turn, go
wenede: weak v., cl. I; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <wennan, wenede, wened> accustom;
entertain (joyfully)
weold: str. v., cl. VII; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <wealdan, wēold, wēoldon, wealden> wield,
direct
weorc: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <weorc> work, deed
weorðan: strong verb, class III; infinitive of <weorðan, wearð, wurdon, worden> become,
happen
weorðlīcost: adverb; superlative of <weorðlīc> worthily, honorably
weorðmyndum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <weorðmynd> glory, honor, reverence
weoruldhāde: noun, masculine; dative singular of <weorold hād> secular life
wēox: strong v., cl. VII; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <weaxan, wēox, wēoxon, wēaxen> wax,
grow
wer: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wer> man
wera: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <wer> man
weras: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wer> man
werede: weak v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pret. of <werian, werede, wered> wear; defend,
protect
wērig: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wērig> weary, exhausted
wērige: adjective; nominative plural of <wērig> weary, exhausted
wērigmōd: adj. <wērig> weary, exhausted + noun, n.; nom. sing. of <mōd> mood, mind
weroda: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <werod> army, band, host
werum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <wer> man
Westseaxna: proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <West-Seaxan> West Saxons,
Wessex
wīcgerēfa: noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wīc-gerēfa> lit. wick-reeve
wīcingas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <wīcing> Viking, pirate
wīcode: weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <wician, wīcode, wīcod>
camp, lodge
wīde: adverb <wīde> widely, far
wif: noun, neuter; nominative plural of <wīf> wife, woman
Wīferþ: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Wīferþ> Wiferth
wīfes: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <wīf> wife, woman
wīg: noun, neuter; nominative singular of <wīg> war, strife
wigan: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wiga> warrior
Wīgelmes: proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Wīgelm> Wigelin
wīgend: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wīgend> warrior
wīgplegan: noun, masculine; instrumental singular of <wīg-plega> battle, lit. war-play
Wiht: proper noun, feminine; accusative singular of <Wiht> (Isle of) Wight
wilde: adjective; accusative plural of <wilde> wild, untamed
wilgesīþas: noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wilgesīð> dear companion
wille: anomalous verb; 1st person singular present indicative of <willan> wish, be willing
wille: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <willan> wish, be
willing
wille: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <willan> wish, be
willing
willeburnan: noun, feminine; nominative plural of <willeburne> well-spring
wind: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wind> wind
windan: strong verb, class III; infinitive of <windan, wond, wundon, wunden> wind,
twist, turn
winedryhten: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <wine-dryhten> lit. friend-lord
winemǣga: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <wine-mǣg> dear-, lit. friend-kinsman
winemǣgum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <wine-mǣg> dear-, lit. friend-kinsman
winemāgas: noun, masculine; accusative plural of <wine-mǣg> dear-, lit. friend-kinsman
wīngāl: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wīn-gāl> intoxicated, lit. wine-gay
Winteceastre: proper noun, feminine; dative singular of <Winte-ceastre> Winchester
winter: noun, masculine; accusative singular of <winter> winter, year
wintercearig: adj.; nom. sing. m. of <winter-cearig> sorrowful, lit. winter-caring
wintra: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <winter> winter, year
wisse: pret.-pres. v., cl. I; 3rd pers. sing. pret. indicative of <witan, wāt, witon, wiste>
know, observe
Wīstān: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Wīstān> Wistan
wiste: noun, feminine; dative singular of <wist> feast, food, provision
wið: preposition <wið> against, along
wið ēastan: adverb <wið ēastan> to the east
wið sūðan: adverb <wið sūðan> to the south
wið uppon: adverb <wið uppan> upwards, above
wiðstondan: str. v., cl. VI; inf. of <wiðstandan, wiðstōd, wiðstōdon, wiðstanden>
withstand, resist
wlonc: adjective; nominative singular masculine of <wlonc> proud
wōd: str. v., cl. VI; 1st pers. sing. pret. of <wadan, wōd, wōdon, waden> wade, stride over
wōdon: str. v., cl. VI; 3rd person plural preterite of <wadan, wōd, wōdon, waden> wade,
stride over
wolcnum: noun, masculine; dative plural of <wolcen> sky, heaven
wolde: anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <willan> wish, be
willing
woldon: anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of <willan> wish, be
willing
wonnan: adjective; dative singular masculine of <wonn> dark
word: noun, neuter; accusative plural of <word> word, speech
wordgyd: strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of <wordgyd> lay, elegy
wordon: noun, neuter; instrumental plural of <word> word, speech
wordum: noun, neuter; dative plural of <word> word, speech
woroldāre: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <worold-ār> worldly honor
woruld: noun, feminine; accusative singular of <woruld> world
wræc: str. v., cl. V; 3rd prs. sng. pret. of <wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force;
tell, utter
wræccan: weak noun, masculine; genitive singular of <wrecca> wretch, exile
wræclāst: strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wræc-lāst> path of exile, lit.
misery track
wræclāstas: strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of <wræc-lāst> path of exile, lit.
misery track
wræcon: str. v., cl. V; 3rd prs. pl. pret. of <wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force;
tell, utter
wrāþra: adjective; genitive plural of <wrāð> wroth, angry
wreah: strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <wrēon, wrāh, wrigon,
wrigen> hide, cover
wrecan: strong verb, class V; infinitive of <wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak,
force; tell, utter
wucum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <wucu> week
wuldorcyninges: noun, n. <wuldor> glory, praise + strong noun, m.; gen. sing. <cyning>
king
wuldorfæder: noun, n. <wuldor> glory, praise + noun, masculine; genitive singular
<fæder> father
wuldres: noun, neuter; genitive singular of <wuldor> glory, praise
Wulfred: proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Wulfred> Wulfred
wunade: weak v., cl. II; 1st pers. sing. pret. of <wunian, wunode, wunod> dwell, live,
remain
wunden: strong verb, class III; past participle of <windan, wond, wundon, wunden>
wind, twist, turn
wundra: noun, neuter; genitive plural of <wundor> miracle, wonder
wundum: noun, feminine; dative plural of <wund> wound
wyn: strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of <wynn> joy, delight
wynnum: strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <wynn> joy, delight
wyrd: strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of <wyrd> fate, destiny
wyrde: strong noun, feminine; dative singular of <wyrd> fate, destiny
wyruldcyninga: noun, masculine; genitive plural of <worold-cyning> earthly king
yfel: noun, neuter; accusative singular of <yfel> evil, mischief, wickedness
ylde: indeclinable noun, masculine plural; nominative of <ylde> men
yldo: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <yldu> (old) age
ylfete: noun, feminine; genitive singular of <ilfetu> swan
ymb: preposition <ymbe> at, around
ymbe: preposition <ymbe> at, around
ymbsittendra: str. v., cl. V; pres. part.; gen. pl. of <ymbsittan, ymbsæt, ymbsǣton,
ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round
yða: strong noun, feminine; nominative plural of <ȳð> wave
ȳþa: strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of <ȳð> wave
Old English Online

Base Form Dictionary
Jonathan Slocum
This Base Form Dictionary index lists, in an alphabetical order suitable to the language
and the script employed for it, every unique base form underlying one or more surface
(word) forms in lesson texts. For each base form a general meaning (if any) is shown,
along with links to every usage, in every numbered lesson, of the associated surface
forms. With this index, one may click on any link to perform a quick "usage look-up,"
and thereby study how surface forms in texts are constructed from base forms.
A new, experimental feature is being introduced to these EIEOL lessons, namely the
addition of pointers to Proto-Indo-European roots identified by Julius Pokorny in his
monumental work, Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (2 vols. Bern: Franke,
1959-1969; reprinted in 1989). Because Pokorny is becoming increasingly outdated, we
may revise these links in the future; however, for the time being, this information might
prove interesting to those who are curious about Indo-European etymology. Notice of
potential error is always welcome.
<ā> always, ever [Pokorny aiuu-, aiu u- :: vitality, life force]

<ābēodan, ābēad, ābudon, āboden> bid, announce
<ac> and, but, however [Pokorny agg- :: to lead, drive, agitate]
<ācweccan, ācwehte, ācweht> shake, brandish; quiver
<ædre> artery, channel [Pokorny ēter- :: intestines]
<ǣfre> ever, always
<æfter> after(wards), then [Pokorny apo-, pōō, ap-u, pu :: off, out of, away from]
<ǣg-hwæðer> both...and
<ǣghwilc> all, every
<ǣlc> all, any
<Ælfred> Alfred
<ælmihtig> almighty
<ǣnig> any [Pokorny oi-no-, oi-uuo- :: (demonstrative particle: one, this, etc.)]
<ǣr> ere, before, formerly [Pokorny āōier-, āōien- :: day(light), morning]
<æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship [Pokorny *ōs, ōs-i-s, ōōs-en-, os-k- :: ash (tree)]
<æt> at, against [Pokorny 1. ad- :: at, by, to]
<æt-gifa> food-giver [Pokorny ghabh- :: to take, grab, seize]
<Æþelgār> Aethelgar
<æðeling> nobleman, prince
<æðelo> noble race
<ā-gān> pass, occur, lit. away go
<āgan, āh, āgon, āhte> have, possess [Pokorny ēik- :: to own, possess, be capable]
<āgen> own [Pokorny ēik- :: to own, possess, be capable]
<āhebban, āhōf, āhōfon, āhafen> raise, lift up
<āhwæþer> either
<ambyr> favorable, fair
<ān> a, an, one [Pokorny oi-no-, oi-uuo- :: (demonstrative particle: one, this, etc.)]
<ān> alone, single [Pokorny oi-no-, oi-uuo- :: (demonstrative particle: one, this, etc.)]
<and> and [Pokorny 1. en :: in]
<andswarian, andswarode, andswarod> answer, respond
<andswaru> answer, response [Pokorny 1. suuer-, also ser-? :: to speak, swear, answer]
<Angel-cynn> English, lit. Angle kin [Pokorny 2. ank-, ang- :: to flex, bend, angle]
<ānhaga> recluse, wanderer
<ār> honor, favor
<ār> oar [Pokorny 4. ei- : oi- :: pole, stake]
<ārǣd> arranged, inexorable
<ārīsan, ārās, ārison, ārisen> arise
<ārlēas> base, dishonorable, wicked
<āsecgan, āsægde, āsægd> say, relate
<atol> dire, repulsive [Pokorny 2. od- :: hatred, disgust, odium, aversion]
<bæc-bord> larboard, port side
<bald-līce> boldly
<bana> bane, slayer [Pokorny bhen- :: to hit, wound]
<be> at, by, near [Pokorny ambhi, mmbhi :: around, at both sides]
<be norðan> north of [Pokorny ambhi, mmbhi :: around, at both sides]
<beadurōf> bold, heroic
<beæftan> behind
<bēag> ring, crown
<bealu-sīð> peril, calamity. lit. harm-journey [Pokorny bheleu- :: to hit, weaken; ill,
weak]
<bearm> bosom, lap [Pokorny 1. bher- :: to bear, bring, carry]
<bearn> child [Pokorny 1. bher- :: to bear, bring, carry]
<bēatan, bēot, bēoton, bēaten> beat, pound, strike [Pokorny 1. bhāōu- : bhūō- :: to hit,
beat]
<bebēodan, bebēad, bebudon, beboden> command, instruct [Pokorny bheudh-, nasalized
bhu-n-dh- :: to awaken, be aware]
<bēcn> beacon, sign
<bedǣlan, bidǣlde, bidǣled> deprive, release [Pokorny dā : də-, and dāi- : dəi-, dīō- :: to
share, divide]
<bedrēosan, bedrēas, bedruron, bedroren> bereave, deprive of [Pokorny dhreu- :: to
grind, crumble]
<bēgen> both
<begiellan, begeall, begullon, begollen> yell, scream, screech [Pokorny ghel- :: to yell,
call, cry]
<begietan, begeat, begēaton, begieten> get, acquire
<begnornian, begnornode, begnornod> mourn, lament [Pokorny ghou-ro-s :: frightened,
frightening]
<behōn, behēng, behēngon, behongen> hang round
<belūcan, belēac, belucon, belocen> close, lock, shut [Pokorny 1. leug- :: to bend]
<bēodan, bēad, budon, boden> bid, command, offer [Pokorny bheudh-, nasalized bhu-n-
dh- :: to awaken, be aware]
<bēon> be, become, exist
<beorg> hill, mountain [Pokorny bhereggh-, bhergghos- :: high, noble; barrow, mountain]
<Beorhtulf> Bertulf
<beorn> man, nobleman [Pokorny 5. bher- :: shining; bright brown]
<Beornulf> Bernuff
<Bēo-wulf> bear, lit. bee wolf [Pokorny bhei- :: bee (insect)]
<beran, bær, bǣron, boren> bear, carry [Pokorny 1. bher- :: to bear, bring, carry]
<betimbran, betimbrede, betimbred> build, construct
<betux> between
<bewrēon, biwrāh, biwrigon, biwrigen> cover, conceal [Pokorny 3i. uuer-, uur-ei- :: to
clench the teeth; wroth, confused]
<bewyrcan, beworhte, beworht> work, construct, cover [Pokorny 2. uuergg-, uuregg- :: to do,
work, be effective]
<bīdan, bād, bidon, biden> bide, endure, remain [Pokorny 1. bheidh- :: to force; advise,
confide, encourage]
<biddan, bæd, bǣdon, beden> bid, beseech, urge [Pokorny 2. bhedh- :: to flex, bend,
crook]
<bindan, bond, bundon, bunden> bind, tie [Pokorny bhendh- :: to tie, bind]
<bisceop> bishop, prelate
<bitre> bitter, sharp
<blǣd> blade, leaf [Pokorny 4. bhel-, and bhlē-, bhlō-, bhlə- :: leaf, foil, blade; bloom]
<blǣd> breath, spirit, life [Pokorny 4. bhel-, and bhlē-, bhlō-, bhlə- :: leaf, foil, blade;
bloom]
<bliss> bliss, joy, happiness
<bord> board, shield [Pokorny bheredh-, bhṛdho- :: to cut; board]
<brād> broad, open
<brand> fire, flame
<brēme> famous, renowned [Pokorny 2. kar-, karə- :: to glorify, praise aloud]
<brēost-cearu> anxiety, heart-care [Pokorny 1. bhreu-s- :: to swell, sprout]
<brēost-cofa> heart, affections [Pokorny 1. bhreu-s- :: to swell, sprout]
<brim-lād> path of the sea, lit. sea lane [Pokorny 2. leit(h)- :: to die, go away]
<brim-man> sailor, lit. sea man [Pokorny 2. bher- :: to boil, swell, well up]
<brytta> giver, distributor [Pokorny 1. bhrēōu-, bhrūō- :: to break, cut, pierce]
<Bryttisc> British
<būan, būde, bȳne> dwell, live [Pokorny bheu-, bheuuə-, bhuuā-, bhuuē- : bhōōu- : bhū- :: to
be, exist; grow, prosper]
<burg> enclosure, stonghold
<būton> unless; except (that)
<būton> without, except for
<byldan, bylde, bylded> cheer, encourage
<bȳn> inhabited, occupied
<Byrhtwold> Byrhtwold
<Cædmon> Ca|edmon
<ceald> cold
<cēap> cattle
<cear> care, sorrow [Pokorny ggāōr- :: to call, cry]
<cear-seld> place of sorrow, care-place [Pokorny 1. sel- :: salon, dwelling place]
<cearu> care, grief, sorrow [Pokorny ggāōr- :: to call, cry]
<cēne> bold [Pokorny 2. ggen-, ggenə-, ggnē-, ggnō- :: to ken, know, recognize]
<cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth [Pokorny 1. ggen-, ggenə-, ggnē-,
ggnō- :: to bear, produce, generate]
<Cent> Kent
<cēol> keel (of a ship) [Pokorny gēu-, gəu-, gū- :: to bend, curl; cup, vessel]
<Cēolmund> Ceolmund
<cierr> occasion, time, turn [Pokorny ggers- :: to bend, turn]
<clif> cliff [Pokorny 1. gel- :: to curl, form into ball; round]
<clom> bond, fetter; grasp
<clūdig> rocky
<cnossian, cnossode, cnossod> drive, pitch
<cnyssan, cnysede, cnysed> beat, strike [Pokorny gen- :: to pinch, press together, etc.]
<corn> corn, grain [Pokorny gger-, ggerə-, ggrē- :: to rub; rotten; to age, ripen; grain]
<cringan, crong, crungon, crungen> cringe, yield; die [Pokorny 3. ger- :: to turn, wind,
curl]
<cuman, cwōm, cwōmon, cumen> come [Pokorny guuā-, guuem- :: to come, go]
<cunnan, cann, cunnon, cūðe> can, know how to
<cunnian, cunnode, cunnod> seek, explore, experience
<Cwēnas> Cwenas, Cwena people
<cweðan, cwæð, cwǣdon, cweden> say, speak [Pokorny 2. guuet- :: to speak, talk]
<cwic> quick, alive
<cwild> disease, plague, pestilence
<cwīðan, cwīðe, cwīðed> accuse; bewail, lament [Pokorny 1. guuei- :: to cry, weep,
complain]
<cyning> king
<cȳðan, cȳðde, cȳðed> reveal, make known
<dǣd> deed, action [Pokorny 2. dhē- :: to do, put, place, set]
<dæg> day [Pokorny āōggher-, āōgghen-, āōgghes-, or ōōggher etc. :: day, dawn]
<Defenas> Devonians, Devonshire
<dēman, dēmde, dēmed> deem, judge; praise
<Denisc> Danish
<dēor> brave, valiant
<dōm> doom, decision; glory [Pokorny 2. dhē- :: to do, put, place, set]
<dōm-georn> lit. glory-desirous [Pokorny 1. ggher- :: to desire, yearn for]
<dōn> do, make [Pokorny 2. dhē- :: to do, put, place, set]
<Dorce-ceastre> Dorchester
<dreccan, drehte, dreht> afflict, harass [Pokorny 2. dhregh- :: to hurt, torment]
<drēogan, drēag, drugon, drogen> endure, suffer [Pokorny 2. dher-, dherə- :: to hold,
support]
<drēorig> drearily, sadly [Pokorny dhreu- :: to grind, crumble]
<drēorig> dreary, sad [Pokorny dhreu- :: to grind, crumble]
<drihten> lord, prince, ruler [Pokorny 2. dher-, dherə- :: to hold, support]
<drȳge> dry [Pokorny 2. dher-, dherə- :: to hold, support]
<duguð> host, body of retainers; glory
<durran, dearr, durron, dorste> dare [Pokorny dhers- :: to dare, be bold]
<duru> door [Pokorny dhuuēōr-, dhuuōōr-, dhur-, dhuurm- :: door]
<dȳre> dear, beloved
<ēac> also, even, moreover [Pokorny 4. au-, u- : uuēō-, uuo- :: other; that (one)]
<Ēadulf> Eadulf
<eafora> son, heir [Pokorny apo-, pōō, ap-u, pu :: off, out of, away from]
<ēagor-strēam> sea-stream, current [Pokorny akuuā-, more accurately əkuuā, ēkuu- :: aqua,
water, river]
<eahtian, eahtode, eahtod> praise, esteem [Pokorny ok- :: to consider]
<eald> old [Pokorny 2. al- :: to grow, nourish, enhance]
<ealdor> elder, parent, prince [Pokorny 2. al- :: to grow, nourish, enhance]
<ealdor-monn> nobleman, lit. older man [Pokorny 2. al- :: to grow, nourish, enhance]
<Ealdwold> Ealdwold
<Ealhheard> Elhard
<eall> all [Pokorny 1. al-, ol- :: beyond; other, alien]
<eall> all, entirely [Pokorny 1. al-, ol- :: beyond; other, alien]
<earc> ark
<eard> home, land
<eardian, eardode, eardod> live, dwell
<eard-stapa> wanderer, lit. earth-stepper
<earfeðe> hardship, suffering [Pokorny orbho- :: weak, abandoned; slave, orphan]
<earfoð-hwīl> lit. hardship-time [Pokorny orbho- :: weak, abandoned; slave, orphan]
<earm-cearig> miserable, lit. wretched-caring [Pokorny orbho- :: weak, abandoned;
slave, orphan]
<earn> eagle [Pokorny 1. er-, or- :: erne, eagle]
<Ēast-Engle> East Angles, East Anglia [Pokorny auues- :: to shine]
<Ēast-Seaxan> East Saxons, Essex [Pokorny auues- :: to shine]
<ēast-weard> eastward [Pokorny auues- :: to shine]
<ēce> eternal, everlasting [Pokorny aiuu-, aiu u- :: vitality, life force]
<Ecgulf> Egulf
<eft> afterwards, thereupon [Pokorny apo-, pōō, ap-u, pu :: off, out of, away from]
<egsian, egsode, egsod> terrify
<ellen> valor, courage
<ellen-weorc> work of courage
<elðēodig> alien, foreign, strange
<emnlange> along
<endebyrdnes> order, sequence
<eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior [Pokorny 3. er- : or- : r- :: to move, set in motion]
<eorlscipe> nobility, heroic deeds [Pokorny 3. er- : or- : r- :: to move, set in motion]
<eorð> earth
<erian, erede, ered> plow [Pokorny ar(ə)- :: to ear, plow]
<ettan, ettede, etted> graze, pasture [Pokorny ed- :: to eat]
<ēðel> home, native land [Pokorny āōtos, atta :: daddy, mommy (nursery word)]
<ēðel-land> native land [Pokorny āōtos, atta :: daddy, mommy (nursery word)]
<fæder> father [Pokorny pətḗ(r), genitive pətr-és :: father]
<fǣge> doomed, fated [Pokorny 2. peigg-, and peikg- :: to be hostile]
<fæger> fairly, beautifully [Pokorny 1. pekg-, pēkg-, pōkg- :: to be joyful, make pretty]
<fæsl> progeny, offspring [Pokorny 3. pes-, pesos :: penis]
<fæste> fast, firmly, securely [Pokorny pasto- :: firm, fast, solid]
<faran, fōr, fōron, faren> go, ride, travel [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə- :: to fare, ferry,
transport, go/carry over]
<feallan, fēoll, fēollon, feallen> fall, flow
<fēasceaft> poor, destitute
<fēasceaftig> poor, destitute
<fela> much, many [Pokorny 1. pel-, pelə-, plē- :: to pour, fill; full, plenary; town?]
<feoh> cattle, goods, money [Pokorny 2. pekg- :: to fleece; fee, cattle]
<feoh-gift> money-, lit. cattle-gift [Pokorny 2. pekg- :: to fleece; fee, cattle]
<feoh-lēas> moneyless, lit. without cattle [Pokorny 2. pekg- :: to fleece; fee, cattle]
<feohtan, feaht, fuhton, fohten> fight [Pokorny 2. pekg- :: to fleece; fee, cattle]
<fēolan, fealh, fulgon, folen> reach, penetrate [Pokorny 3b. pel-, pelə-, plē- :: to wrap,
cover; cloth; fell, pelt]
<feor> far (from) [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<feorh> life [Pokorny perkuuu-s :: oak]
<feorh-hūs> body, lit. life-house [Pokorny perkuuu-s :: oak]
<fēowertig> forty [Pokorny kuuetuuer-, kuuetuuōōr-, kuuetur- (masc.), kuuetes(o)r- (fem.) :: four,
fourth]
<fēran, fērde, fēred> go, travel [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə- :: to fare, ferry, transport,
go/carry over]
<fers> sentence, verse
<fersc> fresh
<ferð> mind, soul, spirit
<ferð-loca> breast, heart, lit. spirit enclosure
<fetor> fetter, shackle
<fīf> five [Pokorny penkuue :: five, fifth]
<findan, fond, fundon, funden> find [Pokorny pent- :: to go, walk, pad, tread; way,
path]
<Finnas> Finns
<firas> men, people
<flǣsc-homa> body [Pokorny plēkg-, pləkg-, and plēikg-, plīkg- :: to flay, peel, rip, tear off]
<flēogan, flēag, flugon, flogen> flee, fly [Pokorny pleu- :: to flee, fly, run; flow, swim]
<flōd> flood, deluge
<folc> folk, people [Pokorny 1. pel-, pelə-, plē- :: to pour, fill; full, plenary; town?]
<folde> earth, ground [Pokorny pelə-, plā- :: plane, flat, wide, broad]
<folgian, folgode, folgod> follow, obey, serve
<for> for, because of
<for þon> because, therefore
<foran> before, in front
<forbūgan, forbēah, forbugon, forbogen> flee from [Pokorny 3. bheug-, bheugh- :: to
bow, flex, bend, crook]
<fore> for, before [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<fore-snotor> clever, prudent [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<for-faran, for-fōr, for-fōron, for-faren> obstruct, get in front of [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə-
:: to fare, ferry, transport, go/carry over]
<forgifan, forgeaf, forgēafon, forgiefen> give, grant [Pokorny ghabh- :: to take, grab,
seize]
<forhēawan, forhēow, forhēowon, forhēawen> hew, cut down [Pokorny kāu-, kəu- :: to
hew, cut, hit]
<forlǣtan, forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten> leave, abandon [Pokorny 3. lē(i)- :: to weaken,
leave behind; feeble]
<forma> first [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<forst> frost [Pokorny preus- :: to burn, freeze]
<forswīðe> utterly, excessively [Pokorny suuento-, sunto- :: sound, active, healthy,
vigorous]
<forð> forth, thence [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<forð-fēran, forð-fērde, forð-fēred> die, depart, lit. go forth [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə- :: to
fare, ferry, transport, go/carry over]
<fōt> foot [Pokorny 2. pēōd-, pōōd- :: foot]
<fram> away [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<fram> from [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<frēa> lord, master [Pokorny 2a. per- :: to pass over/beyond]
<frēfran, frēfrede, frēfred> cheer, comfort
<fremman, fremede, fremed> do, perform
<frēogan, frēoge, frēog> love
<frēo-mǣg> noble (lit. free) kinsman [Pokorny prāi-, prəi-, prī-, pri- :: to like, feel
friendly/well-disposed]
<frēond-lēas> friend-less
<frēorig> chill, cold, freezing [Pokorny preus- :: to burn, freeze]
<Frēsisc> Frisian
<frōd> old, wise, experienced [Pokorny pret-, prōōt- :: to understand]
<frōfor> relief, solace, consolation
<from> bold, brave, splendid
<frumsceaft> creation
<ful> fully, completely
<fulnēah> almost, very nearly [Pokorny enekg-, nekg-, enkg-, nmkg- :: to reach, obtain]
<fyren-ðearf> dire distress [Pokorny terp-, trep- :: to enjoy, satisfy oneself]
<gān> go, walk, move [Pokorny 1. gghē-, gghēi- :: to lack, be empty; leave, go out]
<ganot> gannet, goose [Pokorny gghan-s- :: goose]
<gār> spear [Pokorny gghaiso-, or gghəiso- : gghēiso- :: dart; staff, stick]
<gār-Dene> spear-Danes [Pokorny gghaiso-, or gghəiso- : gghēiso- :: dart; staff, stick]
<ge> both...and, either...or
<gēar> year [Pokorny 1. ei- :: to go, exit]
<geāra> yore, long since
<geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling [Pokorny ggherdh-, and gherdh- :: to gird, enclose,
encompass]
<gēar-dæg> lit. year-day [Pokorny 1. ei- :: to go, exit]
<gearo> prepared, ready
<geat> gate [Pokorny ghed- :: to defecate; hole, opening]
<Gēat> Geat
<gebǣre> cry, behavior
<gebēodan, gebēad, gebudon, geboden> offer [Pokorny bheudh-, nasalized bhu-n-dh- ::
to awaken, be aware]
<gebēorscipe> feast, beer party
<gebīdan, gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain [Pokorny 1.
bheidh- :: to force; advise, confide, encourage]
<gebind> band, binding, fastening [Pokorny bhendh- :: to tie, bind]
<gebrecan, gebræc, gebrǣcon, gebrocen> break, destroy, subdue [Pokorny 1. bhregg- :: to
break]
<gebrocian, gebrocede, gebroced> crush; hurt, afflict [Pokorny 1. bhregg- :: to break]
<gebrōþor> brother [Pokorny bhrāā ter- :: brother, family member]
<gecringan, gecranc, gecrungon, gecrungen> cringe, fall, perish [Pokorny 3. ger- :: to
turn, wind, curl]
<gecunnian, gecunnade, gecunnad> know; try, test, make trial of
<gedēfe> fitting, seemly [Pokorny 2. dhabh- :: to fix, suit; proper]
<gedōn> act, do, bring to pass
<gedrēosan, gedrēas, gedruron, gedroren> fall, fail
<gefaran, gefōr, gefōron, gefaren> go, proceed [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə- :: to fare, ferry,
<gefēra> companion, comrade
<gefōn, gefēng, gefēngon, gefangen> take, seize [Pokorny pāōkg-, and pāōgg- :: to repair,
strengthen]
<gefremman, gefremede, gefremed> advance, further
<gefrīnan, gefrān, gefrūnon, gefrūnen> learn, hear of [Pokorny 4. perkg-, prekg-, prmkg- :: to
request, ask/pray for]
<gegremian, gegremode, gegremod> enrage
<gehīeran, gehīerede, gehīered> hear (of) [Pokorny 1. keu-, skeu-, lengthened grade kēu-
:: to see, hear, observe, hearken, attend to]
<gehola> friend, confidant, protector
<gehwā> each, everyone
<gehwær> on every side, everywhere
<gehwylc> each, every one
<gelāc> tumult, commotion
<gelǣstan, gelǣste, gelǣset> serve, stand by
<geleornian, geleornode, geleornod> learn, study [Pokorny leis- :: to furrow; learn]
<gelīefan, gelīefde, gelīefed> grant; believe, trust [Pokorny leubh- :: to love, like, care
for]
<gelimplic> suitable [Pokorny lēōb-, lōōb-, lāb-, leb- :: lip; to slump, hang down slackly]
<gelyfed> advanced
<gemōt> meeting, council, assembly [Pokorny mōd- : məd-, or mād- : məd- :: to meet,
approach]
<gemunan, geman, gemunon, gemunde> remember, be mindful of
<gemyndig> mindful [Pokorny 3. men- :: to think; mind, spiritual activity]
<gēn> still, yet, further
<genēat> companion, retainer [Pokorny neu-d- :: to grasp, make use of]
<generian, generede, genered> save, protect
<geniman, genam, genāmon, genumen> seize, take [Pokorny 1. nem- :: to nim, take,
give, count, apportion]
<geogoð> youth, youngster
<geond> over, through(out)
<geong> young [Pokorny 3. iu eu- :: young]
<gescieppan, gescōp, gescōpon, gesceapen> shape, create [Pokorny 2. (s)kēōp-, (s)kōōp-,
and (s)kāōp-, (s)kēōb(h)-, skob(h)-, and skāōb(h)- :: to cut, shave, split with sharp tool]
<gesēcan, gesōhte, gesōht> seek, desire
<geseglian, geseglode, geseglod> sail
<gesēon, geseah, gesǣgon, gesegen> see, observe [Pokorny 2. sekuu- :: to see, notice;
show, say, speak]
<gesettan, gesette, geseted> set (out), appoint, establish
<gestīgan, gestāh, gestigon, gestigen> mount, ascend [Pokorny steigh- :: to climb,
ascend; stride, march]
<gestrēon> wealth, treasure
<gesund> safe, unharmed [Pokorny suuento-, sunto- :: sound, active, healthy, vigorous]
<geswinc-dæg> day of toil [Pokorny āōggher-, āōgghen-, āōgghes-, or ōōggher etc. :: day, dawn]
<geþēon, geþāh, geþigon, geþigen> thrive, prosper [Pokorny 2. tenk- :: to clot, thicken,
contract; tight, solid]
<geþicgan, geþeah, geþǣgon, geþegen> take, accept, receive [Pokorny 2. tek- :: to
reach, stretch out (hand) for]
<geðōht> thought
<geþrang> throng, tumult [Pokorny 1. trenk- :: to throng, push, press together]
<geðungen> grown, excellent, distinguished [Pokorny 2. tenk- :: to clot, thicken,
contract; tight, solid]
<gewealc> rolling, tossing [Pokorny 7. uuel-, uuelə-, uulē- :: to turn, wind; round, voluble]
<gewinn> battle, strife, struggle
<gewītan, gewāt, gewiton, gewiten> depart, go [Pokorny 2. uu(e)id- :: to vide, see, wit,
know]
<gewundian, gewundode, gewundod> wound [Pokorny uuen- :: to hit, wound]
<gewunian, gewunode, gewunod> remain with, stand by
<gewyrcan, geworhte, geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish [Pokorny 2. uuergg-, uuregg-
:: to do, work, be effective]
<giefu> gift, favor [Pokorny ghabh- :: to take, grab, seize]
<gieldan, geald, guldon, golden> yield, pay [Pokorny ghel-tō, Germanic and ghel-dhō
Slavic :: to cost, pay, be worth]
<gif> if [Pokorny 3. e-, ei-, i-, fem. ī- :: (demonstrative particle: one, this, etc.)]
<gīo> before, of old
<gīsel> hostage [Pokorny gheidh- :: to desire, yearn for]
<glēaw> wise, prudent [Pokorny 1. gghel-, and ghel-?, also as i-, u-, or n-stem; gghelə-,
gghlē-, gghlō-, gghlə- :: to shine, glare, glow; gold, yellow, bright color]
<gnornian, gnornode, gnornod> mourn, lament [Pokorny ghou-ro-s :: frightened,
frightening]
<God> God, Deity [Pokorny gghau-, gghauuə- :: to call]
<gōd> good, excellent [Pokorny ghedh-, ghodh- :: to join, unite, gather, make a bond]
<Godrīc> Godric
<godsunu> godson [Pokorny gghau-, gghauuə- :: to call]
<gold> gold [Pokorny 1. gghel-, and ghel-?, also as i-, u-, or n-stem; gghelə-, gghlē-, gghlō-,
gghlə- :: to shine, glare, glow; gold, yellow, bright color]
<gold-wine> lit. gold-friend [Pokorny 1. gghel-, and ghel-?, also as i-, u-, or n-stem;
gghelə-, gghlē-, gghlō-, gghlə- :: to shine, glare, glow; gold, yellow, bright color]
<gombe> tribute
<gomen> pastime, pleasure, entertainment
<gongan, gēong, gēongon, gongen> go, walk [Pokorny gghengh- :: to step, stride, march]
<Got-land> Goth land [Pokorny 3. lendh- :: heath, steppe, open land]
<grēot> grit, dust, earth [Pokorny 2. ghrēu- : ghrəu- : ghrū- :: to crush, rub sharply]
<grētan, grētte, grēted> greet, approach
<grīpan, grāp, gripon, gripen> grasp, seize [Pokorny ghreib- :: to grip, grab]
<grund> ground, earth [Pokorny ghren- :: to grind, rub, stroke hard]
<guma> man, hero [Pokorny gghðem-, gghðom-, genitive-ablative ggh(ð)m-és :: earth,
ground, soil, humus]
<gūð> battle
<habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess [Pokorny kap- :: to cop, grab, grasp; have?]
<hǣs> behest, command
<hafenian, hafenode, hafenod> raise, lift up
<hagol> hail [Pokorny kaghlo- :: chalk, pebble]
<hālettan, hālette, hāleted> hail, salute [Pokorny kai-lo-, kai-lu- :: bright; hale, whole,
healthy]
<Hālgo-land> Helgeland [Pokorny 3. lendh- :: heath, steppe, open land]
<hālig> holy [Pokorny kai-lo-, kai-lu- :: bright; hale, whole, healthy]
<hām> home, homewards [Pokorny 1. kgei- :: to lie, recline; camp, home]
<Hāmtūn-scīr> Hampshire [Pokorny skgāi-, skgəi- : skgī- :: to shine/shimmer dully;
shadow]
<hāt> hot, fervid [Pokorny 3. kāōi-, kīō- :: heat]
<hātan, heht, hēton, hāten> call, name; order [Pokorny kēi- :: to move, set in motion]
<hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it [Pokorny kgo-, kge-, with the particle kge, kg(e)i-, kg(i)iu o- :: this;
here]
<hēah> high [Pokorny 2. keu-, keuuə- :: to bend]
<healdan, hēold, hēoldon, lealden> hold, retain, preserve [Pokorny 5. kel- :: to drive,
compel, accelerate, move quickly]
<healf> half, part, side [Pokorny 1. (s)kel- :: to cut, halve]
<hēan> abject, depressed, miserable [Pokorny kau- :: to humble, discourage]
<heard> stern, strong [Pokorny 3. kar-, reduplicated karkar- :: hard]
<hearpe> harp [Pokorny (s)kerb(h)-, (s)kreb(h)-, nasalized (s)kremb- :: to curve, turn]
<hēawan, hēow, hēowon, hēawen> hew, cut down, kill [Pokorny kāu-, kəu- :: to hew,
cut, hit]
<helpe> help, aid [Pokorny kgelb-, kgelp- :: to help]
<heofon> heaven, sky [Pokorny 3. kgem- :: to wrap, cover, conceal]
<heofon-rīce> kingdom of heaven [Pokorny 3. kgem- :: to wrap, cover, conceal]
<heolstor> cover, concealment [Pokorny 4. kgel- :: to hide, conceal]
<heonon> hence
<heord> care, custody
<heorte> heart [Pokorny kgered- : kgerd-, kgērd-, kgrmd-, kgred- :: heart]
<heorð-genēat> lit. hearth-companion [Pokorny 3. ker(ə)- :: to burn]
<hēr> here [Pokorny kgo-, kge-, with the particle kge, kg(e)i-, kg(i)iu o- :: this; here]
<here> (enemy) army [Pokorny koro-s, koriu o-s :: war, army, warrior]
<herenes> praise
<hergian, hergode, gehergod> harry, raid, ravage
<herian, herede, hered> praise, extol
<hider> here, hither [Pokorny kgo-, kge-, with the particle kge, kg(e)i-, kg(i)iu o- :: this; here]
<hīeran, hīerde, hīered> hear, obey; belong [Pokorny 1. keu-, skeu-, lengthened grade
kēu- :: to see, hear, observe, hearken, attend to]
<hild> battle, war [Pokorny 3. kel-, kelə-, klā-, extended klād- :: to hit, hew, cut down]
<hilde-dēor> lit. battle-bold [Pokorny 3. kel-, kelə-, klā-, extended klād- :: to hit, hew,
cut down]
<hlǣw> mound [Pokorny kglei- :: to lean, incline, tip (over)]
<hlāford> lord, master
<hleahtor> laughter, jubilation [Pokorny klēg-, klōg-, kləg-, klang-, kleg-, klōg-, kleig-,
kleik- :: to cry, shout, scream]
<hlēo-mǣg> lit. protector-kinsman [Pokorny 1. kgel- :: cold; warm, caloric]
<hlēoðor> song, sound [Pokorny 1. kgleu-, kgleuuə- : kglū- :: to hear, listen]
<hlimman, hlamm, hlumon, hlummen> roar, resound [Pokorny 6. kel-, k(e)lē-, k(e)lā-, or
klml -? :: to call, cry]
<hlið> cliff, hill [Pokorny kglei- :: to lean, incline, tip (over)]
<hof> court; dwelling [Pokorny 2. keu-, keuuə- :: to bend]
<hōh> heel; promontory [Pokorny 3. kenk- :: heel, hock, back of knee]
<hold> gracious, favorable [Pokorny 2. kgel- :: to bow, lean, incline]
<hond> hand
<hord> hoard, treasure [Pokorny 2. (s)keu-, (s)keuuə : (s)kū- :: to hide, wrap, cover]
<hord-cofa> treasure chamber, lit. hoard cove [Pokorny gēu-, gəu-, gū- :: to bend, curl;
cup, vessel]
<hors-þegn> horse-thane [Pokorny 2. kgers- :: to run, course]
<hraðe> quick, hasty
<hrēo> fierce, wild, savage
<hrēran, hrērde, hrēred> move, stir [Pokorny kgerə-, kgrā- :: to cook]
<hrīm> rime, hoar-frost [Pokorny 1. krei- :: to brush, stroke, touch]
<hrīm-ceald> ice-cold, frosty [Pokorny 1. krei- :: to brush, stroke, touch]
<hrīm-gicel> icicle [Pokorny 1. krei- :: to brush, stroke, touch]
<hrōf> roof [Pokorny kgrāōpo-, kgrōōpo-? :: roof]
<Hrōfe-ceaster> Rochester
<hron-rād> sea, lit. whale-road [Pokorny reidh- :: to ride, go (in vehicle)]
<hrūse> earth, ground [Pokorny 1. kreu-, kreuə- : krū-, kreus-, krus- :: raw flesh,
thick/clotting blood; ice, crust]
<hryre> death, fall, ruin
<hū> how [Pokorny kuuo-, kuue-, fem. kuuā, kuuei- :: (indefinite/interrogative pronoun)]
<hund> hundred [Pokorny dekgmm, dekgmm-t, dekgu- :: ten, decade]
<hungor> hunger [Pokorny 2. kenk- :: to burn, hurt; dry feeling: thirst, hunger]
<hūs> house [Pokorny 2. (s)keu-, (s)keuuə : (s)kū- :: to hide, wrap, cover]
<hwā, hwā, hwæt> who, what [Pokorny kuuo-, kuue-, fem. kuuā, kuuei- ::
(indefinite/interrogative pronoun)]
<hwǣr> where [Pokorny kuuo-, kuue-, fem. kuuā, kuuei- :: (indefinite/interrogative pronoun)]
<hwæt-hwegu> something [Pokorny kuuo-, kuue-, fem. kuuā, kuuei- :: (indefinite/interrogative
pronoun)]
<hwætt> bold, valiant
<hwæðere> but, yet, however [Pokorny kuuo-, kuue-, fem. kuuā, kuuei- ::
(indefinite/interrogative pronoun)]
<hwīl> while, time [Pokorny kuueiu ə-, kuuiiu ē- :: to rest comfortably; quiet, peaceful,
tranquil]
<hwilpe> curlew? water-bird
<hwōn> somewhat, a little
<hwōn> trifle
<hycgan, hogode, hogod> think, resolve
<hyge> heart, mind, soul
<hygeteona> injury, insult
<hȳnan, hȳnde, hȳned> despise, injure, insult [Pokorny kau- :: to humble, discourage]
<hyrst> armor, ornament [Pokorny krā[u]- : krəu- : krūō- :: to heap up, pile together;
heap; roof]
<ic> I [Pokorny egg-, egg(h)om, eggō :: ego, I (pronoun)]
<īglond> island
<ilca> same [Pokorny 3. e-, ei-, i-, fem. ī- :: (demonstrative particle: one, this, etc.)]
<ilfetu> swan
<in> in, into [Pokorny 1. en :: in]
<indrihten> (very) noble [Pokorny 2. dher-, dherə- :: to hold, support]
<innan> in, within [Pokorny 1. en :: in]
<intinga> cause, reason [Pokorny denkg- :: to bite]
<Īra-land> Ireland [Pokorny 3. lendh- :: heath, steppe, open land]
<is> be, become, exist [Pokorny es- :: is, to be]
<īs-ceald> ice-cold [Pokorny 2. ei-s-, ei-n- :: ice, frost]
<īsig-feðera> lit. icy-feathered [Pokorny 2. pet-, petə- : ptē-, ptō-, Hellenic ptā- :: to fall,
tumble down]
<lǣdan, lǣde, lǣded> lead, bring [Pokorny 2. leit(h)- :: to die, go away]
<lǣfan, lǣfde, lǣfed> leave, bequeath [Pokorny 1. leip- :: to smear (with fat), stick]
<lǣran, lǣrde, lǣred> teach, advise, exhort [Pokorny leis- :: to furrow; learn]
<lǣtan, lēt, lēton, lǣten> let, allow [Pokorny 3. lē(i)- :: to weaken, leave behind; feeble]
<lāf> remnant, what is left [Pokorny 1. leip- :: to smear (with fat), stick]
<lagu-lād> water-way, ocean journey [Pokorny laku- :: (water in) lake, pond, ditch, etc.]
<Lamech> Lamech
<lang> long [Pokorny 5. del- :: long]
<lāst> track, footprint [Pokorny leis- :: to furrow; learn]
<lēas> without, bereft of [Pokorny 2. leu- :: to free, cut off, separate]
<lēod> person, member of tribe [Pokorny 1. leudh- :: to grow up; free; people]
<lēof> lief, dear, beloved [Pokorny leubh- :: to love, like, care for]
<lēoht> light, easy [Pokorny leguuh- :: to move easily]
<lēoð> song, poem
<libban, lifde, lifd> live [Pokorny 1. leip- :: to smear (with fat), stick]
<licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated [Pokorny legh- :: to lie, recline, set
down]
<līc-homa> body, flesh [Pokorny 2. lēōig-, līg- :: form, appearance; like, similar]
<līf> life [Pokorny 1. leip- :: to smear (with fat), stick]
<Līf-freaa> lit. Life-lord [Pokorny 1. leip- :: to smear (with fat), stick]
<lim> limb [Pokorny 8. el-, elēōi-, lēōi-, olīōnā :: to bend; elbow]
<limpan, lamp, lumpon, lumpen> befall, happen [Pokorny lēōb-, lōōb-, lāb-, leb- :: lip; to
slump, hang down slackly]
<līðe> kind, gracious [Pokorny lento- :: lithe, flexible, pliable]
<locian, locode, locod> look
<lof-dǣd> praiseworthy deed [Pokorny leubh- :: to love, like, care for]
<lof-georn> eager for praise [Pokorny 1. ggher- :: to desire, yearn for]
<lond> land, realm, country [Pokorny 3. lendh- :: heath, steppe, open land]
<longe> for long (time)
<lust> lust, desire, pleasure [Pokorny las- :: greedy, covetous]
<lȳt> little, small number [Pokorny leud- :: to lout, bend over, duck down; bent, little,
etc.]
<lȳtel> little, small [Pokorny leud- :: to lout, bend over, duck down; bent, little, etc.]
<lȳtlian, lȳtlode, lȳtlod> lessen, diminish [Pokorny leud- :: to lout, bend over, duck
down; bent, little, etc.]
<mā> great, stout
<mǣg> kinsman [Pokorny mēōgh- :: friendly, well-disposed]
<mægen> might, strength [Pokorny magh- : māgh- :: to help, be able; might, power]
<mǣgþ> tribe, nation
<mǣl> time, occasion [Pokorny 3. mē-, m-e-t- :: to measure]
<mǣnan, mǣnde, mǣned> moan, relate, speak of [Pokorny mei-no- :: view, opinion,
intention]
<mænig> many
<mǣw> mew, sea-gull [Pokorny 1. mūō- :: (onomatopoeic: to moo, hum, etc.)]
<magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to [Pokorny magh- : māgh- :: to help, be
able; might, power]
<mānfǣhðu> wickedness
<manian, manode, manod> warn, exhort, admonish [Pokorny 3. men- :: to think; mind,
spiritual activity]
<maðelian, maðelode, maðelod> speak, address, harangue [Pokorny mōd- : məd-, or
mād- : məd- :: to meet, approach]
<medu-drinc> mead-drink [Pokorny dhregg- :: to pull]
<medu-heall> mead-hall [Pokorny 4. kgel- :: to hide, conceal]
<medu-setl> lit. mead-seat [Pokorny sed- :: to sit, set, settle]
<mere> mere, lake, sea [Pokorny mori, mōri :: mere, sea]
<mere-hūs> sea-house [Pokorny mori, mōri :: mere, sea]
<mere-wērig> sea-weary [Pokorny uuōro- :: madness; dizziness, weariness]
<mētan, mētte, mēted> meet, find [Pokorny mōd- : məd-, or mād- : məd- :: to meet,
approach]
<metod> creator [Pokorny 1. med- :: to mete, allot; medicate, give advice]
<micel> much, great [Pokorny megg(h)- : megg(h)- :: big, much, great, major, mega-]
<micel> much, very [Pokorny megg(h)- : megg(h)- :: big, much, great, major, mega-]
<mid> with
<mid> within
<middan-eard> middle-earth, world [Pokorny medhi-, medhiu o- :: middle]
<midde-weard> mid-ward, middling [Pokorny medhi-, medhiu o- :: middle]
<miht> might, power
<mīl> mile
<milde> mild, gentle [Pokorny 1. mel-, also smel-, melə- : mlē-, mel-d- : ml-ed-, mel-
dh-, ml-ēi- : mlīō-, melə-k- : mlā-k-, mlēu- : mlūō- :: to mill, grind; fine, ground]
<milts> mercy, favor, kindness
<mine> mind, affection
<mōd> mood, mind [Pokorny 5. mē-, mō-, mə- :: to be intent; of strong will]
<mōd-cearig> anxious, sorrowful, lit. mood-caring [Pokorny 5. mē-, mō-, mə- :: to be
intent; of strong will]
<mōdgeþonc> conception, purpose
<mōd-sefa> mind, spirit [Pokorny sap-, sab- :: to taste, savvy, perceive]
<mōd-wlonc> haughty, lit. mood-proud [Pokorny 5. mē-, mō-, mə- :: to be intent; of
strong will]
<mōnað> month [Pokorny mēnōt, genitive mēneses, from which mēnes-, mēns-, mēs-,
mēn- :: month; moon]
<monig> many
<monn> man, person [Pokorny manu-s, or monu-s :: man, human being]
<monn-cynn> mankind [Pokorny manu-s, or monu-s :: man, human being]
<monðwǣre> kind, gentle
<mōr> moor; mountainous region [Pokorny mori, mōri :: mere, sea]
<morgen> morning
<mund> hand [Pokorny mə-r, genitive mə-n-és, mnmtós :: hand]
<mūð> mouth [Pokorny 2. menth- :: to chew, eat]
<mūða> mouth of a river, estuary [Pokorny 2. menth- :: to chew, eat]
<nā> no, nor, not (at all) [Pokorny 1. nĕ, nē, nei :: (negative particle: no, etc.)]
<nā> no, not [Pokorny 1. nĕ, nē, nei :: (negative particle: no, etc.)]
<naca> boat, ship [Pokorny noguuo-, or naguuo- :: tree]
<nā-hwæðer> neither...nor [Pokorny 1. nĕ, nē, nei :: (negative particle: no, etc.)]
<nālæs> not at all [Pokorny 1. nĕ, nē, nei :: (negative particle: no, etc.)]
<nama> name [Pokorny en(o)mnm-, (o)nomnm, nōmnm :: name]
<ne> not [Pokorny 1. nĕ, nē, nei :: (negative particle: no, etc.)]
<nēah> near [Pokorny enekg-, nekg-, enkg-, nmkg- :: to reach, obtain]
<nēalǣcan, nēalǣcte, nēalǣced> approach, draw near
<nearu> narrow; full of hardship [Pokorny 2. (s)ner- :: to turn, wind, etc.]
<nēat> ox, cow [Pokorny neu-d- :: to grasp, make use of]
<nemnan, nemde, nemed> name, call [Pokorny en(o)mnm-, (o)nomnm, nōmnm :: name]
<nēotan, nēat, nudon, noden> use, employ [Pokorny neu-d- :: to grasp, make use of]
<nergend> preserver, savior
<nigon> nine [Pokorny e-neuuen, neuunm, enuunm :: nine]
<niht> night [Pokorny nekuu-(t-), nokuu-t-s :: night]
<nihts-cūa> night's cover [Pokorny nekuu-(t-), nokuu-t-s :: night]
<niht-waco> night-watch [Pokorny nekuu-(t-), nokuu-t-s :: night]
<nīpan, nāp, nipon, nipen> grow dark, obscure
<nīð> enmity, hostility [Pokorny 2. nei-, neiə-, nī- :: to be moved, excited; to shine]
<nīð-hēdig> lit. battle-resolved [Pokorny 2. nei-, neiə-, nī- :: to be moved, excited; to
shine]
<nīwe> new, fresh [Pokorny neuuos, neuuiu os :: new]
<Noe> Noah
<norð> north(wards) [Pokorny 2. ner- :: below, under]
<norðan> from the north [Pokorny 2. ner- :: below, under]
<Norð-hymbre> Northumbrians, Northumbria [Pokorny 2. ner- :: below, under]
<Norð-mann> Norwegian, lit. north-man [Pokorny 2. ner- :: below, under]
<norð-weard> northward [Pokorny 2. ner- :: below, under]
<Norðweg> Norway, lit. way leading north [Pokorny 2. ner- :: below, under]
<nū> now [Pokorny nūō- :: now]
<nyt-wyrðe> useful [Pokorny neu-d- :: to grasp, make use of]
<of> from, of [Pokorny apo-, pōō, ap-u, pu :: off, out of, away from]
<ofer> over, across
<oferfēran, oferfērde, oferfēred> traverse [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə- :: to fare, ferry,
<ofslean, ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen> slay, destroy [Pokorny slak- :: to hit, hammer]
<oft> often, frequently
<oftēon, oftēah, oftugon, oftogen> deny, deprive
<Ōhthere> Ohthere
<on> on(to), upon [Pokorny 4. an-, anu, anō, nō :: on, along, over there]
<oncweðan, oncwæð, oncwǣdon, oncweden> answer, reply to [Pokorny 2. guuet- :: to
speak, talk]
<onfindan, onfond, onfundon, onfunden> find out, realize [Pokorny pent- :: to go, walk,
pad, tread; way, path]
<onfōn, onfēng, onfēngon, onfangen> accept, receive
<ongēan> against, back
<ongietan, ongeat, ongēaton, ongieten> grasp, understand
<onginnan, ongonn, ongunnon, ongunnen> begin, attempt [Pokorny ghend-, and ghed- ::
to get, grasp, seize]
<onmunan, onman, onmunon, onmunde> esteem, remember, think worthy
<onslǣpan, onslēp, onslēpon, onslǣpen> fall asleep
<onstellan, onstealde, onsteled> establish, institute
<ord> source, beginning
<Ōsrīc> Osric
<Ōswold> Oswold
<oð> until
<oð> until, up to, as far as
<oð þæt> until
<ōðer> other, next, second
<oððe> or
<oðwindan, oðwand, oðwundon, oðwunden> escape [Pokorny 1. uuendh- :: to turn, wind,
wend]
<port> port, harbor
<rǣsan, rǣsde, rǣsed> rush, hasten [Pokorny 2. ere-s-, ers-, rms-, eres-, and rēōs-, rōōs- :: to
flow]
<regn> rain [Pokorny 2. regg-, rekg-, rek-? :: damp; rain]
<rest> rest, resting place [Pokorny 2. erə-, rē- :: to rest, be still]
<rēðe> fierce, cruel [Pokorny 3. rei-, rē(i)- :: to cry, scream, bellow, etc.]
<rīce> kingdom, reign [Pokorny 1. regg- :: to regulate, make just/right; king, reign]
<rīdan, rād, ridon, riden> ride [Pokorny reidh- :: to ride, go (in vehicle)]
<rodor> sky, heaven [Pokorny ret(h)- :: to run, roll, rotate]
<rūm> roomy, spacious [Pokorny reuuə- : rū- :: to ream, open; wide, roomy]
<sǣ> sea, lake [Pokorny sāi- :: pain, illness; sore]
<sǣ-fōr> sea-voyage [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə- :: to fare, ferry, transport, go/carry over]
<sǣlan, sǣlde, sǣled> bind
<sǣ-rima> seashore, seacoast [Pokorny rem-, remə- :: to rest; to support]
<sceaða> enemy, warrior [Pokorny skēth-, skəth- :: to scold, scathe, injure, damage]
<Scedeland> Danish land [Pokorny 3. lendh- :: heath, steppe, open land]
<scieppend> shaper, creator [Pokorny 2. (s)kēōp-, (s)kōōp-, and (s)kāōp-, (s)kēōb(h)-,
skob(h)-, and skāōb(h)- :: to cut, shave, split with sharp tool]
<scip> ship [Pokorny skēōi- :: to cut, skive, exscind, separate]
<scīr> shire, district, division [Pokorny skgāi-, skgəi- : skgī- :: to shine/shimmer dully;
shadow]
<Scīringes-hēal> Skiringssal
<scomu> shame
<sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to [Pokorny 2. (s)kel- :: to owe, be guilty]
<scūr> shower [Pokorny kgēuuero-, kgōuuero-, also skgūro-? :: north (wind)]
<Scyld> Scyld
<Scyld Scēfing> Scyld Scefing
<scypen> shed [Pokorny (s)keup-, skeub(h)- :: sheaf, bunch, flock, etc.]
<se, sēo, ðæt> that [Pokorny so(s), sā :: (nom. sg. demonstrative stem: he, she)]
<se, sēo, ðæt> the [Pokorny so(s), sā :: (nom. sg. demonstrative stem: he, she)]
<sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it [Pokorny so(s), sā :: (nom. sg. demonstrative stem: he, she)]
<sē, sēo, ðæt> that [Pokorny so(s), sā :: (nom. sg. demonstrative stem: he, she)]
<sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that [Pokorny so(s), sā :: (nom. sg. demonstrative stem: he,
she)]
<sealt-ȳð> lit. salt-wave [Pokorny 1. sal- :: sal, salt; brackish water]
<sēcan, sōhte, sōht> seek, desire
<secg> man, warrior [Pokorny 1. sekuu- :: to segue, follow]
<secgan, sægde, sægd> say [Pokorny 2. sekuu- :: to see, notice; show, say, speak]
<seglian, seglode, seglod> sail [Pokorny 2. sēōk- :: to cut, section, dissect]
<segnian, segnade, segnad> bless, consecrate
<sele> hall, house [Pokorny 1. sel- :: salon, dwelling place]
<sele-secg> retainer, lit. hall hero [Pokorny 1. sekuu- :: to segue, follow]
<self> self, same [Pokorny se- :: self, one's own]
<sēlla> better
<sendan, sende, sened> send [Pokorny sent- :: to send, go, choose direction; to sense]
<seofian, seofade, seofad> sigh, lament
<sēon, seah, sǣgon, segen> see, look [Pokorny 2. sekuu- :: to see, notice; show, say,
speak]
<sīd> wide, extensive [Pokorny 2. sē(i)- : səi- : sī-, sē- : sə-, and sei- : si- :: to sow,
dispatch, disseminate, let fall]
<siex> six [Pokorny suuekgs, sekgs, ksekgs, ksuuekgs, uuekgs : ukgs :: six]
<siex-hund> six hundred [Pokorny dekgmm, dekgmm-t, dekgu- :: ten, decade]
<siextig> sixty [Pokorny suuekgs, sekgs, ksekgs, ksuuekgs, uuekgs : ukgs :: six]
<Sigen> Seine
<sigle> brooch, jewel, necklace
<sigor> victory [Pokorny seggh-, segghi-, segghu- :: to possess, hold fast, persevere,
overcome; victory]
<Sillende> Zealand
<simle> ever, always [Pokorny 2. sem- :: one, some, together]
<sinc> jewels, riches, treasure
<sinc-þegu> lit. treasure receipt
<singan, sang, sungon, sungen> sing, compose [Pokorny senguuh- :: to sing]
<sīð> journey, voyage [Pokorny sent- :: to send, go, choose direction; to sense]
<siððan> since, when, afterwards
<slītan, slāt, sliton, sliten> slit, tear [Pokorny 1. (s)kel- :: to cut, halve]
<slīðen> cruel, dire, evil [Pokorny 1. leit- :: to loathe, detest, abhor; violate]
<smæl> small, narrow [Pokorny mēlo-, smēlo- :: small animal]
<snīwan, snīwde, snīwed> snow
<somod> also, together
<sōna> immediately
<song> song [Pokorny senguuh- :: to sing]
<sorg> sorrow, grief, distress [Pokorny suuergh- :: to be ill; to sorrow, care for]
<sōð> truth [Pokorny es- :: is, to be]
<sōð-gied> lit. true tale [Pokorny es- :: is, to be]
<spēd> means, riches, success [Pokorny 3. sp(h)ē(i)-, spī-, and sphē- : sphə- :: to fatten,
prosper, succeed, etc.]
<sprecan, spræc, sprǣcon, sprecen> speak, say [Pokorny *(s)p(h)ereg-, (s)p(h)erəg-,
(s)p(h)rēg-, nasalized spreng- :: to rush, hurry; strew, sprinkle, disperse]
<springan, sprang, sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread [Pokorny sperggh-,
spreggh-, nasalized sprenggh- :: to rush, hurry, spring, jump]
<stæl-here> marauding army [Pokorny koro-s, koriu o-s :: war, army, warrior]
<stæð-weall> shore-wall [Pokorny 7. uuel-, uuelə-, uulē- :: to turn, wind; round, voluble]
<stān-clif> stony cliff [Pokorny stāi-, stīō-, stiu -ā- :: to condense, press together; stiff;
stone]
<standan, stōd, stōdon, standen> stand
<stearn> tern, sea-swallow [Pokorny storos, stornos, strmnos? :: starling, songbird]
<stefn> stem; prow, stern [Pokorny steb(h)-, and stēb(h)- : stəbh-, nasalized stemb(h)-,
step-, also stēp-?, nasalized stemp-, nominal stəbho-s, stemb(h)ro-s, stomb(h)o-s ::
stump, post, pillar; to support, etc.]
<stēor-bord> starboard, lit. stear(ing)-board [Pokorny stā- : stə- :: to stand]
<stīgan, stāh, stigon, stigen> rise, ascend [Pokorny steigh- :: to climb, ascend; stride,
march]
<stīð> stiff, stern, brave [Pokorny 2. sten- :: to narrow, hem in]
<storm> storm, tempest; attack [Pokorny 1. tuuer- : tur-, and tuurm- :: to twirl, turn]
<stōw> place [Pokorny stā- : stə- :: to stand]
<strang> strong [Pokorny strenk-, streng- :: tight, cramped; cord, string]
<strēam> stream [Pokorny sreu- :: to stream, flow]
<sum> some, a certain [Pokorny 2. sem- :: one, some, together]
<sumor> summer [Pokorny 3. sem- :: summer]
<sund> sea, water [Pokorny suuem- :: to swim, move]
<sunu> son [Pokorny 2. seu-, seuuə-, sūō- :: to bear (a child); son]
<sūð> south(wards) [Pokorny sāā uuel-, sāuuol-, suuuél-, suuel-, sūl- :: Sol, sun]
<sūðe-weard> southward [Pokorny sāā uuel-, sāuuol-, suuuél-, suuel-, sūl- :: Sol, sun]
<Sūð-Seaxan> South Saxons, Sussex [Pokorny sāā uuel-, sāuuol-, suuuél-, suuel-, sūl- :: Sol,
sun]
<sūð-stæð> south shore [Pokorny sāā uuel-, sāuuol-, suuuél-, suuel-, sūl- :: Sol, sun]
<swā> so, thus [Pokorny se- :: self, one's own]
<swā hwilc swā> whosoever
<sweart> dark, black, swarthy [Pokorny suuordo-s :: black, swarthy; dark/dirty color]
<swefn> dream [Pokorny 1. suuep-, sup- :: to sleep]
<swēg> noise, sound [Pokorny uuāōgh-, suāōgh- :: to cry, shriek, sough]
<Swēo-land> Sweden [Pokorny 3. lendh- :: heath, steppe, open land]
<sweotole> clearly, plainly
<swift> swift
<swilc> such [Pokorny se- :: self, one's own]
<swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise [Pokorny se- :: self, one's own]
<swīðe> very, exceedingly [Pokorny suuento-, sunto- :: sound, active, healthy, vigorous]
<Swīðulf> Swithulf
<swogan, swēog, swēogon, swōgen> resound, roar [Pokorny uuāōgh-, suāōgh- :: to cry,
shriek, sough]
<symbel> feast
<syððan> afterwards
<tēon, tēode, tēodod> adorn, settle
<tīd> time [Pokorny dā : də-, and dāi- : dəi-, dīō- :: to share, divide]
<tīen> ten [Pokorny dekgmm, dekgmm-t, dekgu- :: ten, decade]
<timbran, timbrede, timbred> build, construct [Pokorny dem-, demə- :: to build, timber;
house, domicile]
<tō> (in)to [Pokorny de-, do- :: I-deictic; here]
<tō> as, for
<tō hwon> why
<tō þæs> so
<tōemnes> alongside
<tō-faran, tō-fōr, tō-fōron, tō-faren> disperse, separate [Pokorny 2b. per-, perə- :: to
fare, ferry, transport, go/carry over]
<trymian, trymede, trymed> exhort, encourage
<twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two [Pokorny duuō(u) :: two, duo]
<twelf> twelve
<þā> then, when [Pokorny 1. to-, tā-, tiu o- :: that, him (neut. or non-nom. demonstrative
stem)]
<þǣr> there, where [Pokorny 1. to-, tā-, tiu o- :: that, him (neut. or non-nom.
demonstrative stem)]
<þǣr inne> therein
<þǣr tō> thereto
<þæs> so
<þæt> so/in order that
<þæt> that
<ðanc> thanks, grace, mercy [Pokorny 1. tong-, *teng- :: to think, feel]
<ðē> as
<þe> than, where
<þe> that, which, who
<þēah> yet, though, however
<ðēah ðe> although, even if
<ðearf> need, requirement [Pokorny terp-, trep- :: to enjoy, satisfy oneself]
<ðēaw> habit, custom [Pokorny 2. teu- :: to notice, observe, listen to]
<ðeccan, ðeahte, ðeaht> cover, conceal [Pokorny 1. (s)teg- :: to deck, thatch, cover;
house, roof]
<þegn> thane, warrior [Pokorny 1. tek- :: to bear, produce]
<ðencan, ðōhte, ðōht> think, intend, resolve [Pokorny 1. tong-, *teng- :: to think, feel]
<ðēod-cyning> lit. people-king [Pokorny tēu-, təu-, teuuə-, tuuō-, tūō- :: to swell,
intumesce]
<ðēon, ðāh, ðigon, ðigen> thrive, prosper
<ðes, ðēos, ðis> this
<ðēs, ðēos, ðis> this
<þider> thither
<ðolian, ðolade, ðolad> endure, hold out [Pokorny 1. tel-, telə-, tlē(i)-, tlā- :: to bear,
carry; weigh, lift up]
<ðonan> thence, from there
<þonne> then, when
<ðrēat> band, troop [Pokorny tr-eu-d- :: to thrust, push, press, squash]
<þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three [Pokorny trei- :: three, trio]
<þringan, þrong, þrungon, þrungen> throng, crowd, press [Pokorny 1. trenk- :: to
throng, push, press together]
<þrītig> thirty [Pokorny trei- :: three, trio]
<ðrōwian, ðrōwade, ðrōwad> endure, suffer [Pokorny 3. ter-, terə-, and teri-, trēi-, trī-,
also teru- : treu- :: to bore, drill, rub, thresh]
<þrymm> glory, renown [Pokorny 1. tuuer- : tur-, and tuurm- :: to twirl, turn]
<ðū> you
<þurh> through, by (means of) [Pokorny 5. ter- :: through, over, etc.]
<ðurhwadan, ðurhwōd, ðurhwōdon, ðurhwaden> pierce, penetrate [Pokorny 5. ter- ::
through, over, etc.]
<Þūrstān> Thurstan
<þȳ> the
<þyder> thither
<ðyncan, ðūhte, geðūht> seem, appear; think [Pokorny 1. tong-, *teng- :: to think, feel]
<ufe-weard> upward [Pokorny upo, up, eup, (e)up-s- :: under, (from) below, etc.]
<ūhta> dawn, twilight
<under> under
<unhēanlīce> not disgracefully, not ignobly
<unnan, ann, unnon, ūðe> grant, bestow [Pokorny ans- :: favorable, well inclined]
<unnyt> useless
<unstilnes> disturbance, tumult
<unwāclīce> bravely, unwaveringly
<unwealt> steady
<ūp> up, upwards [Pokorny upo, up, eup, (e)up-s- :: under, (from) below, etc.]
<uppe> up, above [Pokorny upo, up, eup, (e)up-s- :: under, (from) below, etc.]
<ūrig-feðera> lit. dewey-feathered [Pokorny 9. auu(e)-, auued-, auuer- :: to wet, flow,
sprinkle; water, river, etc.]
<ūt> out [Pokorny ūōd- :: out, away, up(wards)]
<ūter-mere> outer sea, open sea [Pokorny ūōd- :: out, away, up(wards)]
<ūte-weard> outward [Pokorny ūōd- :: out, away, up(wards)]
<wadan, wōd, wōdon, waden> wade, stride over [Pokorny uuādh-, uuədh- :: to go, wade,
stride, march]
<wǣg> wave, billow [Pokorny uueggh- :: to move, drive, carry, convey]
<wæg-līðend> lit. wave-traveler [Pokorny uueggh- :: to move, drive, carry, convey]
<wæg-þel> ship, lit. wave-planking [Pokorny uueggh- :: to move, drive, carry, convey]
<wæl> carnage; battlefield [Pokorny 8. uuel- :: to steal; to wound, tear, avulse]
<wællgrim> fierce, cruel [Pokorny 8. uuel- :: to steal; to wound, tear, avulse]
<wælsleaht> slaughter, carnage [Pokorny 8. uuel- :: to steal; to wound, tear, avulse]
<wæl-spere> deadly spear [Pokorny 1. (s)per- :: pole, spar, rafter]
<wǣpen> weapon
<wæter> water [Pokorny 9. auu(e)-, auued-, auuer- :: to wet, flow, sprinkle; water, river,
etc.]
<warian, warode, warod> guard, protect, occupy [Pokorny 8. uuer- :: to notice, observe,
attend, be aware]
<waðum> wave, sea [Pokorny 9. auu(e)-, auued-, auuer- :: to wet, flow, sprinkle; water,
river, etc.]
<wealdan, wēold, wēoldon, wealden> wield, direct
<wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord
<weall> wall, rampart [Pokorny 7. uuel-, uuelə-, uulē- :: to turn, wind; round, voluble]
<weard> ward, guard, keeper
<weaxan, wēox, wēoxon, wēaxen> wax, grow [Pokorny uuokso- :: wax]
<Weder> Weder
<weg> way [Pokorny uueggh- :: to move, drive, carry, convey]
<wel hwǣr> almost everywhere
<wēman, wēmde, wēmed> attract, entice, treat
<wendan, wende, wended> wend, turn, go
<wennan, wenede, wened> accustom; entertain (joyfully) [Pokorny 1. uuen-, uuenə- :: to
love, venerate, strive/wish for]
<weorc> work, deed [Pokorny 2. uuergg-, uuregg- :: to do, work, be effective]
<weorold hād> secular life
<weorðan, wearð, wurdon, worden> become, happen
<weorðlīc> worthily, honorably
<weorðmynd> glory, honor, reverence
<wer> man [Pokorny uuīōro-s :: man, warrior]
<werian, werede, wered> wear; defend, protect [Pokorny 5. uuer- :: to shut, close, cover;
guard, warn, save]
<wērig> weary, exhausted [Pokorny uuōro- :: madness; dizziness, weariness]
<werod> army, band, host
<wesan> be, happen [Pokorny 1. uues- :: to live, stay overnight]
<West-Seaxan> West Saxons, Wessex
<wīc-gerēfa> lit. wick-reeve
<wician, wīcode, wīcod> camp, lodge
<wīcing> Viking, pirate
<wīde> widely, far [Pokorny 1. ei- :: to go, exit]
<wīf> wife, woman [Pokorny uueip-, uueib- :: to turn, whip, sway, vibrate]
<Wīferþ> Wiferth
<wīg> war, strife [Pokorny 2. uueik- :: force, energy (in battle, victory, etc.)]
<wiga> warrior
<Wīgelm> Wigelin
<wīgend> warrior [Pokorny 2. uueik- :: force, energy (in battle, victory, etc.)]
<wīg-plega> battle, lit. war-play [Pokorny 2. uueik- :: force, energy (in battle, victory,
etc.)]
<Wiht> (Isle of) Wight
<wiht> whit, thing [Pokorny uuek-ti- :: whit, thing]
<wilde> wild, untamed [Pokorny 4. uuel-, uuelə- :: wool, hair; grass, wold, forest]
<wilgesīð> dear companion
<willan> wish, be willing
<willeburne> well-spring
<wind> wind
<windan, wond, wundon, wunden> wind, twist, turn [Pokorny 1. uuendh- :: to turn, wind,
wend]
<wine-dryhten> lit. friend-lord [Pokorny 1. uuen-, uuenə- :: to love, venerate, strive/wish
for]
<wine-mǣg> dear-, lit. friend-kinsman [Pokorny 1. uuen-, uuenə- :: to love, venerate,
strive/wish for]
<wīn-gāl> intoxicated, lit. wine-gay [Pokorny 1. uuei-, uueiu ə- : uuīō- :: to bend, turn, wind]
<Winte-ceastre> Winchester
<winter> winter, year [Pokorny 9. auu(e)-, auued-, auuer- :: to wet, flow, sprinkle; water,
river, etc.]
<winter-cearig> sorrowful, lit. winter-caring [Pokorny 9. auu(e)-, auued-, auuer- :: to wet,
flow, sprinkle; water, river, etc.]
<wist> feast, food, provision [Pokorny 2. uues- :: to feast]
<Wīstān> Wistan
<witan, wāt, witon, wiste> know, observe [Pokorny 2. uu(e)id- :: to vide, see, wit, know]
<wið> against, along [Pokorny 1. uuīō- :: apart, separate from, in two; both]
<wið ēastan> to the east
<wið sūðan> to the south
<wið uppan> upwards, above
<wiðstandan, wiðstōd, wiðstōdon, wiðstanden> withstand, resist
<wlonc> proud
<wolcen> sky, heaven
<wonn> dark
<word> word, speech [Pokorny 6. uuer- :: to speak, talk formally]
<wordgyd> lay, elegy
<worold-ār> worldly honor
<worold-cyning> earthly king
<woruld> world
<wræc-lāst> path of exile, lit. misery track [Pokorny uureg-, and uuerg-? :: to drag, push,
drive, thrust]
<wrāð> wroth, angry [Pokorny 3i. uuer-, uur-ei- :: to clench the teeth; wroth, confused]
<wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter [Pokorny uureg-, and uuerg-? ::
to drag, push, drive, thrust]
<wrecca> wretch, exile [Pokorny uureg-, and uuerg-? :: to drag, push, drive, thrust]
<wrēon, wrāh, wrigon, wrigen> hide, cover [Pokorny 3i. uuer-, uur-ei- :: to clench the
teeth; wroth, confused]
<wucu> week [Pokorny 4. uueik-, uueig-, extended form of uuei- :: to bend, curve;
exchange, pass around]
<wuldor> glory, praise [Pokorny 1. uuel- :: to see]
<Wulfred> Wulfred [Pokorny uulm kuuos :: wolf, lobo]
<wund> wound [Pokorny uuen- :: to hit, wound]
<wundor> miracle, wonder
<wunian, wunode, wunod> dwell, live, remain
<wynn> joy, delight [Pokorny 1. uuen-, uuenə- :: to love, venerate, strive/wish for]
<wyrd> fate, destiny
<yfel> evil, mischief, wickedness [Pokorny upo, up, eup, (e)up-s- :: under, (from) below,
etc.]
<ylde> men
<yldu> (old) age
<ymbe> at, around [Pokorny ambhi, mmbhi :: around, at both sides]
<ymbsittan, ymbsæt, ymbsǣton, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round [Pokorny ambhi, mmbhi
:: around, at both sides]
<yrnan, arn, urnon, urnen> run
<ȳð> wave [Pokorny 9. auu(e)-, auued-, auuer- :: to wet, flow, sprinkle; water, river, etc.]
Old English Online

English Meaning Index
Jonathan Slocum
This English Index lists, in alphabetical order, seemingly significant words used in the
"general meaning" glosses of Base Forms underlying one or more surface (word) forms
in lesson texts. For each English word, base forms having that word in their general
meanings are shown, along with links to every usage, in every numbered lesson, of the
associated surface forms. With this index, one may click on any link to perform a quick
"usage look-up," and thereby study how surface forms in texts are constructed from base
forms sharing a general English meaning word. In order to reduce clutter in this index,
certain high-frequency English "function" words are ignored unless there are no
"content" words in the meaning.
This index was created by software, not by human hand, using lesson materials authored
with very few constraints on the expression of "meaning" other than it being in English.
Selecting significant words from free-form text via software is a notoriously difficult
task. For example, while most meanings in these lessons are expressed as "glosses," some
or parts may be comments directed toward the human reader, who is expected to discern
the difference. Computer software cannot yet make such subtle linguistic distinctions, so
all words in a meaning are treated alike. With few exceptions, then, all words are
indexed. The results are neither produced nor presented with any claims to superior
linguistic sensitivity, but at least the full meaning texts are shown for your inspection and
judgment. Modest effort was invested in tuning the software to ignore [apparently]
superfluous, high-frequency words (e.g., the preposition "of") that, in the presence of
[apparently] more important words, contribute little or no useful information to an index;
unfortunately this may result in some words, in some contexts, being unfairly omitted.
ABANDON : <forlǣtan, forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten> leave, abandon
ABJECT : <hēan> abject, depressed, miserable
ABLE : <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to
ABOVE : <uppe> up, above : <wið uppan> upwards, above
ACCEPT : <geþicgan, geþeah, geþǣgon, geþegen> take, accept, receive : <onfōn,
onfēng, onfēngon, onfangen> accept, receive
ACCOMPLISH : <gewyrcan, geworhte, geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish
ACCUSE : <cwīðan, cwīðe, cwīðed> accuse; bewail, lament
ACCUSTOM : <wennan, wenede, wened> accustom; entertain (joyfully)
ACHIEVE : <gewyrcan, geworhte, geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish
ACQUIRE : <begietan, begeat, begēaton, begieten> get, acquire
ACROSS : <ofer> over, across
ACT : <gedōn> act, do, bring to pass
ACTION : <dǣd> deed, action
ADDRESS : <maðelian, maðelode, maðelod> speak, address, harangue
ADMONISH : <manian, manode, manod> warn, exhort, admonish
ADORN : <tēon, tēode, tēodod> adorn, settle
ADVANCE : <gefremman, gefremede, gefremed> advance, further
ADVANCED : <gelyfed> advanced
ADVISE : <lǣran, lǣrde, lǣred> teach, advise, exhort
AETHELGAR : <Æþelgār> Aethelgar
AFFECTION : <mine> mind, affection
AFFECTIONS : <brēost-cofa> heart, affections
AFFLICT : <dreccan, drehte, dreht> afflict, harass : <gebrocian, gebrocede, gebroced>
crush; hurt, afflict
AFTER : <æfter> after(wards), then
AFTERWARDS : <eft> afterwards, thereupon : <siððan> since, when, afterwards :
<syððan> afterwards
AGAINST : <ongēan> against, back : <wið> against, along : <æt> at, against
AGE : <yldu> (old) age
AID : <helpe> help, aid
ALFRED : <Ælfred> Alfred
ALIEN : <elðēodig> alien, foreign, strange
ALIVE : <cwic> quick, alive
ALL : <eall> all : <eall> all, entirely : <nā> no, nor, not (at all) : <nālæs> not at all :
<ǣghwilc> all, every : <ǣlc> all, any
ALLOW : <lǣtan, lēt, lēton, lǣten> let, allow
ALMIGHTY : <ælmihtig> almighty
ALMOST : <fulnēah> almost, very nearly : <wel hwǣr> almost everywhere
ALONE : <ān> alone, single
ALONG : <emnlange> along : <wið> against, along
ALONGSIDE : <tōemnes> alongside
ALSO : <somod> also, together : <ēac> also, even, moreover
ALTHOUGH : <ðēah ðe> although, even if
ALWAYS : <simle> ever, always : <ā> always, ever : <ǣfre> ever, always
AND : <and> and
ANGLE : <Angel-cynn> English, lit. Angle kin
ANGLES : <Ēast-Engle> East Angles, East Anglia
ANGLIA : <Ēast-Engle> East Angles, East Anglia
ANGRY : <wrāð> wroth, angry
ANNOUNCE : <ābēodan, ābēad, ābudon, āboden> bid, announce
ANSWER : <andswarian, andswarode, andswarod> answer, respond : <andswaru>
answer, response : <oncweðan, oncwæð, oncwǣdon, oncweden> answer, reply to
ANXIETY : <brēost-cearu> anxiety, heart-care
ANXIOUS : <mōd-cearig> anxious, sorrowful, lit. mood-caring
ANY : <ǣlc> all, any : <ǣnig> any
APPEAR : <ðyncan, ðūhte, geðūht> seem, appear; think
APPOINT : <gesettan, gesette, geseted> set (out), appoint, establish
APPROACH : <grētan, grētte, grēted> greet, approach : <nēalǣcan, nēalǣcte,
nēalǣced> approach, draw near
ARISE : <ārīsan, ārās, ārison, ārisen> arise
ARK : <earc> ark
ARMOR : <hyrst> armor, ornament
ARMY : <here> (enemy) army : <stæl-here> marauding army : <werod> army, band,
host
AROUND : <ymbe> at, around
ARRANGED : <ārǣd> arranged, inexorable
ARTERY : <ædre> artery, channel
AS : <tō> as, for : <ðē> as
ASCEND : <gestīgan, gestāh, gestigon, gestigen> mount, ascend : <stīgan, stāh, stigon,
stigen> rise, ascend
ASH : <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
ASLEEP : <onslǣpan, onslēp, onslēpon, onslǣpen> fall asleep
ASSEMBLY : <gemōt> meeting, council, assembly
ATTACK : <storm> storm, tempest; attack
ATTAIN : <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain
ATTEMPT : <onginnan, ongonn, ongunnon, ongunnen> begin, attempt
ATTRACT : <wēman, wēmde, wēmed> attract, entice, treat
AWAIT : <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain
AWAY : <fram> away : <ā-gān> pass, occur, lit. away go
BACK : <ongēan> against, back
BAND : <gebind> band, binding, fastening : <werod> army, band, host : <ðrēat> band,
troop
BANE : <bana> bane, slayer
BASE : <ārlēas> base, dishonorable, wicked
BATTLE : <gewinn> battle, strife, struggle : <gūð> battle : <hild> battle, war : <wīg-
plega> battle, lit. war-play
BATTLE-BOLD : <hilde-dēor> lit. battle-bold
BATTLE-RESOLVED : <nīð-hēdig> lit. battle-resolved
BATTLEFIELD : <wæl> carnage; battlefield
BEACON : <bēcn> beacon, sign
BEAR : <Bēo-wulf> bear, lit. bee wolf : <beran, bær, bǣron, boren> bear, carry
BEAT : <bēatan, bēot, bēoton, bēaten> beat, pound, strike : <cnyssan, cnysede, cnysed>
beat, strike
BEAUTIFULLY : <fæger> fairly, beautifully
BECAUSE : <for> for, because of : <for þon> because, therefore
BECOME : <bēon> be, become, exist : <is> be, become, exist : <weorðan, wearð,
wurdon, worden> become, happen
BEE : <Bēo-wulf> bear, lit. bee wolf
BEER : <gebēorscipe> feast, beer party
BEFALL : <limpan, lamp, lumpon, lumpen> befall, happen
BEFORE : <foran> before, in front : <fore> for, before : <gīo> before, of old : <ǣr>
ere, before, formerly
BEGET : <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth
BEGIN : <onginnan, ongonn, ongunnon, ongunnen> begin, attempt
BEGINNING : <ord> source, beginning
BEHAVIOR : <gebǣre> cry, behavior
BEHEST : <hǣs> behest, command
BEHIND : <beæftan> behind
BELIEVE : <gelīefan, gelīefde, gelīefed> grant; believe, trust
BELONG : <hīeran, hīerde, hīered> hear, obey; belong
BELOVED : <dȳre> dear, beloved : <lēof> lief, dear, beloved
BEQUEATH : <lǣfan, lǣfde, lǣfed> leave, bequeath
BEREAVE : <bedrēosan, bedrēas, bedruron, bedroren> bereave, deprive of
BEREFT : <lēas> without, bereft of
BERNUFF : <Beornulf> Bernuff
BERTULF : <Beorhtulf> Bertulf
BESEECH : <biddan, bæd, bǣdon, beden> bid, beseech, urge
BESIEGE : <ymbsittan, ymbsæt, ymbsǣton, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round
BESTOW : <unnan, ann, unnon, ūðe> grant, bestow
BETTER : <sēlla> better
BETWEEN : <betux> between
BEWAIL : <cwīðan, cwīðe, cwīðed> accuse; bewail, lament
BID : <biddan, bæd, bǣdon, beden> bid, beseech, urge : <bēodan, bēad, budon, boden>
bid, command, offer : <ābēodan, ābēad, ābudon, āboden> bid, announce
BIDE : <bīdan, bād, bidon, biden> bide, endure, remain
BILLOW : <wǣg> wave, billow
BIND : <bindan, bond, bundon, bunden> bind, tie : <sǣlan, sǣlde, sǣled> bind
BINDING : <gebind> band, binding, fastening
BISHOP : <bisceop> bishop, prelate
BITTER : <bitre> bitter, sharp
BLACK : <sweart> dark, black, swarthy
BLADE : <blǣd> blade, leaf
BLESS : <segnian, segnade, segnad> bless, consecrate
BLISS : <bliss> bliss, joy, happiness
BOARD : <bord> board, shield : <stēor-bord> starboard, lit. stear(ing)-board
BOAT : <naca> boat, ship : <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
BODY : <duguð> host, body of retainers; glory : <feorh-hūs> body, lit. life-house :
<flǣsc-homa> body
BODY : <līc-homa> body, flesh
BOLD : <beadurōf> bold, heroic : <cēne> bold : <from> bold, brave, splendid :
<hwætt> bold, valiant
BOLDLY : <bald-līce> boldly
BOND : <clom> bond, fetter; grasp
BOSOM : <bearm> bosom, lap
BOTH : <bēgen> both : <ge> both...and, either...or : <ǣg-hwæðer> both...and
BRANDISH : <ācweccan, ācwehte, ācweht> shake, brandish; quiver
BRAVE : <dēor> brave, valiant : <from> bold, brave, splendid : <stīð> stiff, stern, brave
BRAVELY : <unwāclīce> bravely, unwaveringly
BREAK : <gebrecan, gebræc, gebrǣcon, gebrocen> break, destroy, subdue
BREAST : <ferð-loca> breast, heart, lit. spirit enclosure
BREATH : <blǣd> breath, spirit, life
BRING : <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth : <gedōn> act, do,
bring to pass : <lǣdan, lǣde, lǣded> lead, bring
BRITISH : <Bryttisc> British
BROAD : <brād> broad, open
BROOCH : <sigle> brooch, jewel, necklace
BROTHER : <gebrōþor> brother
BUILD : <betimbran, betimbrede, betimbred> build, construct : <timbran, timbrede,
timbred> build, construct
BURST : <springan, sprang, sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread
BUT : <ac> and, but, however : <hwæðere> but, yet, however
BY : <be> at, by, near : <gelǣstan, gelǣste, gelǣset> serve, stand by : <gewunian,
gewunode, gewunod> remain with, stand by : <þurh> through, by (means of)
BYRHTWOLD : <Byrhtwold> Byrhtwold
CA : <Cædmon> Ca|edmon
CALAMITY. : <bealu-sīð> peril, calamity. lit. harm-journey
CALL : <hātan, heht, hēton, hāten> call, name; order : <nemnan, nemde, nemed> name,
call
CAMP : <wician, wīcode, wīcod> camp, lodge
CAN : <cunnan, cann, cunnon, cūðe> can, know how to
CARE : <cear> care, sorrow : <cearu> care, grief, sorrow : <heord> care, custody
CARE-PLACE : <cear-seld> place of sorrow, care-place
CARNAGE : <wæl> carnage; battlefield : <wælsleaht> slaughter, carnage
CARRY : <beran, bær, bǣron, boren> bear, carry
CATTLE : <cēap> cattle : <feoh> cattle, goods, money : <feoh-lēas> moneyless, lit.
without cattle
CATTLE-GIFT : <feoh-gift> money-, lit. cattle-gift
CAUSE : <intinga> cause, reason
CEOLMUND : <Cēolmund> Ceolmund
CERTAIN : <sum> some, a certain
CHAMBER : <hord-cofa> treasure chamber, lit. hoard cove
CHANNEL : <ædre> artery, channel
CHEER : <byldan, bylde, bylded> cheer, encourage : <frēfran, frēfrede, frēfred> cheer,
comfort
CHILD : <bearn> child
CHILL : <frēorig> chill, cold, freezing
CLEARLY : <sweotole> clearly, plainly
CLEVER : <fore-snotor> clever, prudent
CLIFF : <clif> cliff : <hlið> cliff, hill : <stān-clif> stony cliff
CLOSE : <belūcan, belēac, belucon, belocen> close, lock, shut
COLD : <ceald> cold : <frēorig> chill, cold, freezing
COME : <cuman, cwōm, cwōmon, cumen> come
COMFORT : <frēfran, frēfrede, frēfred> cheer, comfort
COMMAND : <bebēodan, bebēad, bebudon, beboden> command, instruct : <bēodan,
bēad, budon, boden> bid, command, offer : <hǣs> behest, command
COMMOTION : <gelāc> tumult, commotion
COMPANION : <gefēra> companion, comrade : <genēat> companion, retainer :
<wilgesīð> dear companion
COMPLETELY : <ful> fully, completely
COMPOSE : <singan, sang, sungon, sungen> sing, compose
COMRADE : <gefēra> companion, comrade
CONCEAL : <bewrēon, biwrāh, biwrigon, biwrigen> cover, conceal : <ðeccan, ðeahte,
ðeaht> cover, conceal
CONCEALMENT : <heolstor> cover, concealment
CONCEIVE : <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth
CONCEPTION : <mōdgeþonc> conception, purpose
CONFIDANT : <gehola> friend, confidant, protector
CONSECRATE : <segnian, segnade, segnad> bless, consecrate
CONSOLATION : <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation
CONSTRUCT : <betimbran, betimbrede, betimbred> build, construct : <bewyrcan,
beworhte, beworht> work, construct, cover : <timbran, timbrede, timbred> build,
construct
CORN : <corn> corn, grain
COUNCIL : <gemōt> meeting, council, assembly
COUNTRY : <lond> land, realm, country
COURAGE : <ellen> valor, courage : <ellen-weorc> work of courage
COURT : <hof> court; dwelling
COVE : <hord-cofa> treasure chamber, lit. hoard cove
COVER : <bewrēon, biwrāh, biwrigon, biwrigen> cover, conceal : <bewyrcan,
beworhte, beworht> work, construct, cover : <heolstor> cover, concealment : <nihts-
cūa> night's cover : <wrēon, wrāh, wrigon, wrigen> hide, cover : <ðeccan, ðeahte,
ðeaht> cover, conceal
COW : <nēat> ox, cow
CREATE : <gescieppan, gescōp, gescōpon, gesceapen> shape, create
CREATION : <frumsceaft> creation
CREATOR : <metod> creator : <scieppend> shaper, creator
CRINGE : <cringan, crong, crungon, crungen> cringe, yield; die
CRINGE : <gecringan, gecranc, gecrungon, gecrungen> cringe, fall, perish
CROWD : <þringan, þrong, þrungon, þrungen> throng, crowd, press
CROWN : <bēag> ring, crown
CRUEL : <rēðe> fierce, cruel : <slīðen> cruel, dire, evil : <wællgrim> fierce, cruel
CRUSH : <gebrocian, gebrocede, gebroced> crush; hurt, afflict
CRY : <gebǣre> cry, behavior
CURLEW : <hwilpe> curlew? water-bird
CURRENT : <ēagor-strēam> sea-stream, current
CUSTODY : <heord> care, custody
CUSTOM : <ðēaw> habit, custom
CUT : <forhēawan, forhēow, forhēowon, forhēawen> hew, cut down : <hēawan, hēow,
hēowon, hēawen> hew, cut down, kill
CWENA : <Cwēnas> Cwenas, Cwena people
CWENAS : <Cwēnas> Cwenas, Cwena people
DANISH : <Denisc> Danish : <Scedeland> Danish land
DARE : <durran, dearr, durron, dorste> dare
DARK : <nīpan, nāp, nipon, nipen> grow dark, obscure : <sweart> dark, black, swarthy
: <wonn> dark
DAWN : <ūhta> dawn, twilight
DAY : <dæg> day : <geswinc-dæg> day of toil
DEADLY : <wæl-spere> deadly spear
DEAR : <dȳre> dear, beloved : <lēof> lief, dear, beloved : <wilgesīð> dear companion :
<wine-mǣg> dear-, lit. friend-kinsman
DEATH : <hryre> death, fall, ruin
DECISION : <dōm> doom, decision; glory
DEED : <dǣd> deed, action : <lof-dǣd> praiseworthy deed : <weorc> work, deed
DEEDS : <eorlscipe> nobility, heroic deeds
DEEM : <dēman, dēmde, dēmed> deem, judge; praise
DEFEND : <werian, werede, wered> wear; defend, protect
DEITY : <God> God, Deity
DELIGHT : <wynn> joy, delight
DELUGE : <flōd> flood, deluge
DENY : <oftēon, oftēah, oftugon, oftogen> deny, deprive
DEPART : <forð-fēran, forð-fērde, forð-fēred> die, depart, lit. go forth : <gewītan,
gewāt, gewiton, gewiten> depart, go
DEPRESSED : <hēan> abject, depressed, miserable
DEPRIVE : <bedrēosan, bedrēas, bedruron, bedroren> bereave, deprive of : <bedǣlan,
bidǣlde, bidǣled> deprive, release : <oftēon, oftēah, oftugon, oftogen> deny, deprive
DESIRE : <gesēcan, gesōhte, gesōht> seek, desire : <lust> lust, desire, pleasure :
<sēcan, sōhte, sōht> seek, desire
DESPISE : <hȳnan, hȳnde, hȳned> despise, injure, insult
DESTINY : <wyrd> fate, destiny
DESTITUTE : <fēasceaft> poor, destitute : <fēasceaftig> poor, destitute
DESTROY : <gebrecan, gebræc, gebrǣcon, gebrocen> break, destroy, subdue :
<ofslean, ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen> slay, destroy
DEVONIANS : <Defenas> Devonians, Devonshire
DEVONSHIRE : <Defenas> Devonians, Devonshire
DEWEY-FEATHERED : <ūrig-feðera> lit. dewey-feathered
DIE : <cringan, crong, crungon, crungen> cringe, yield; die : <forð-fēran, forð-fērde,
forð-fēred> die, depart, lit. go forth
DIMINISH : <lȳtlian, lȳtlode, lȳtlod> lessen, diminish
DIRE : <atol> dire, repulsive : <fyren-ðearf> dire distress : <slīðen> cruel, dire, evil
DIRECT : <wealdan, wēold, wēoldon, wealden> wield, direct
DISEASE : <cwild> disease, plague, pestilence
DISGRACEFULLY : <unhēanlīce> not disgracefully, not ignobly
DISHONORABLE : <ārlēas> base, dishonorable, wicked
DISPERSE : <tō-faran, tō-fōr, tō-fōron, tō-faren> disperse, separate
DISTINGUISHED : <geðungen> grown, excellent, distinguished
DISTRESS : <fyren-ðearf> dire distress : <sorg> sorrow, grief, distress
DISTRIBUTOR : <brytta> giver, distributor
DISTRICT : <scīr> shire, district, division
DISTURBANCE : <unstilnes> disturbance, tumult
DIVISION : <scīr> shire, district, division
DO : <dōn> do, make : <fremman, fremede, fremed> do, perform : <gedōn> act, do,
bring to pass
DOOM : <dōm> doom, decision; glory
DOOMED : <fǣge> doomed, fated
DOOR : <duru> door
DORCHESTER : <Dorce-ceastre> Dorchester
DOWN : <forhēawan, forhēow, forhēowon, forhēawen> hew, cut down : <hēawan,
hēow, hēowon, hēawen> hew, cut down, kill
DRAW : <nēalǣcan, nēalǣcte, nēalǣced> approach, draw near
DREAM : <swefn> dream
DREARILY : <drēorig> drearily, sadly
DREARY : <drēorig> dreary, sad
DRIVE : <cnossian, cnossode, cnossod> drive, pitch
DRY : <drȳge> dry
DUST : <grēot> grit, dust, earth
DWELL : <būan, būde, bȳne> dwell, live : <eardian, eardode, eardod> live, dwell :
<wunian, wunode, wunod> dwell, live, remain
DWELLING : <geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling : <hof> court; dwelling
EACH : <gehwylc> each, every one : <gehwā> each, everyone
EADULF : <Ēadulf> Eadulf
EAGER : <lof-georn> eager for praise
EAGLE : <earn> eagle
EALDWOLD : <Ealdwold> Ealdwold
EARL : <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior
EARTH : <eorð> earth : <folde> earth, ground : <grund> ground, earth : <grēot> grit,
dust, earth : <hrūse> earth, ground
EARTH-STEPPER : <eard-stapa> wanderer, lit. earth-stepper
EARTHLY : <worold-cyning> earthly king
EAST : <wið ēastan> to the east : <Ēast-Engle> East Angles, East Anglia : <Ēast-
Seaxan> East Saxons, Essex
EASTWARD : <ēast-weard> eastward
EASY : <lēoht> light, easy
EDMON : <Cædmon> Ca|edmon
EGULF : <Ecgulf> Egulf
EITHER : <ge> both...and, either...or : <āhwæþer> either
ELDER : <ealdor> elder, parent, prince
ELEGY : <wordgyd> lay, elegy
ELHARD : <Ealhheard> Elhard
EMPLOY : <nēotan, nēat, nudon, noden> use, employ
ENCLOSURE : <burg> enclosure, stonghold : <ferð-loca> breast, heart, lit. spirit
enclosure : <geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling
ENCOURAGE : <byldan, bylde, bylded> cheer, encourage : <trymian, trymede,
trymed> exhort, encourage
ENDURE : <bīdan, bād, bidon, biden> bide, endure, remain : <drēogan, drēag, drugon,
drogen> endure, suffer : <ðolian, ðolade, ðolad> endure, hold out : <ðrōwian, ðrōwade,
ðrōwad> endure, suffer
ENEMY : <here> (enemy) army : <sceaða> enemy, warrior
ENGLISH : <Angel-cynn> English, lit. Angle kin
ENMITY : <nīð> enmity, hostility
ENRAGE : <gegremian, gegremode, gegremod> enrage
ENTERTAIN : <wennan, wenede, wened> accustom; entertain (joyfully)
ENTERTAINMENT : <gomen> pastime, pleasure, entertainment
ENTICE : <wēman, wēmde, wēmed> attract, entice, treat
ENTIRELY : <eall> all, entirely
ERE : <ǣr> ere, before, formerly
ESCAPE : <oðwindan, oðwand, oðwundon, oðwunden> escape
ESSEX : <Ēast-Seaxan> East Saxons, Essex
ESTABLISH : <gesettan, gesette, geseted> set (out), appoint, establish : <onstellan,
onstealde, onsteled> establish, institute
ESTEEM : <eahtian, eahtode, eahtod> praise, esteem : <onmunan, onman, onmunon,
onmunde> esteem, remember, think worthy
ESTUARY : <mūða> mouth of a river, estuary
ETERNAL : <ēce> eternal, everlasting
EVEN : <ðēah ðe> although, even if : <ēac> also, even, moreover
EVER : <simle> ever, always : <ā> always, ever : <ǣfre> ever, always
EVERLASTING : <ēce> eternal, everlasting
EVERY : <gehwylc> each, every one : <gehwær> on every side, everywhere :
<ǣghwilc> all, every
EVERYONE : <gehwā> each, everyone
EVERYWHERE : <gehwær> on every side, everywhere : <wel hwǣr> almost
everywhere
EVIL : <slīðen> cruel, dire, evil : <yfel> evil, mischief, wickedness
EXCEEDINGLY : <swīðe> very, exceedingly
EXCELLENT : <geðungen> grown, excellent, distinguished : <gōd> good, excellent
EXCEPT : <būton> unless; except (that) : <būton> without, except for
EXCESSIVELY : <forswīðe> utterly, excessively
EXHAUSTED : <wērig> weary, exhausted
EXHORT : <lǣran, lǣrde, lǣred> teach, advise, exhort : <manian, manode, manod>
warn, exhort, admonish : <trymian, trymede, trymed> exhort, encourage
EXILE : <wrecca> wretch, exile : <wræc-lāst> path of exile, lit. misery track : <bēon>
be, become, exist : <is> be, become, exist
EXPERIENCE : <cunnian, cunnode, cunnod> seek, explore, experience : <gebīdan,
gebād, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain
EXPERIENCED : <frōd> old, wise, experienced
EXPLORE : <cunnian, cunnode, cunnod> seek, explore, experience
EXTEND : <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated
EXTENSIVE : <sīd> wide, extensive
EXTOL : <herian, herede, hered> praise, extol
FAIL : <gedrēosan, gedrēas, gedruron, gedroren> fall, fail
FAIR : <ambyr> favorable, fair
FAIRLY : <fæger> fairly, beautifully
FALL : <feallan, fēoll, fēollon, feallen> fall, flow : <gecringan, gecranc, gecrungon,
gecrungen> cringe, fall, perish : <gedrēosan, gedrēas, gedruron, gedroren> fall, fail :
<hryre> death, fall, ruin : <onslǣpan, onslēp, onslēpon, onslǣpen> fall asleep
FAMOUS : <brēme> famous, renowned
FAR : <feor> far (from) : <oð> until, up to, as far as : <wīde> widely, far
FAST : <fæste> fast, firmly, securely
FASTENING : <gebind> band, binding, fastening
FATE : <wyrd> fate, destiny
FATED : <fǣge> doomed, fated
FATHER : <fæder> father
FAVOR : <giefu> gift, favor : <milts> mercy, favor, kindness : <ār> honor, favor
FAVORABLE : <ambyr> favorable, fair : <hold> gracious, favorable
FEAST : <gebēorscipe> feast, beer party : <symbel> feast : <wist> feast, food, provision
FERVID : <hāt> hot, fervid
FETTER : <clom> bond, fetter; grasp : <fetor> fetter, shackle
FIERCE : <hrēo> fierce, wild, savage : <rēðe> fierce, cruel : <wællgrim> fierce, cruel
FIGHT : <feohtan, feaht, fuhton, fohten> fight
FIND : <findan, fond, fundon, funden> find : <mētan, mētte, mēted> meet, find :
<onfindan, onfond, onfundon, onfunden> find out, realize
FINNS : <Finnas> Finns
FIRE : <brand> fire, flame
FIRMLY : <fæste> fast, firmly, securely
FIRST : <forma> first
FITTING : <gedēfe> fitting, seemly
FIVE : <fīf> five
FLAME : <brand> fire, flame
FLEE : <flēogan, flēag, flugon, flogen> flee, fly : <forbūgan, forbēah, forbugon,
forbogen> flee from
FLESH : <līc-homa> body, flesh
FLOOD : <flōd> flood, deluge
FLOW : <feallan, fēoll, fēollon, feallen> fall, flow
FLY : <flēogan, flēag, flugon, flogen> flee, fly
FOLK : <folc> folk, people
FOLLOW : <folgian, folgode, folgod> follow, obey, serve
FOOD : <wist> feast, food, provision
FOOD-GIVER : <æt-gifa> food-giver
FOOT : <fōt> foot
FOOTPRINT : <lāst> track, footprint
FOR : <tō> as, for
FORCE : <wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter
FOREIGN : <elðēodig> alien, foreign, strange
FORMERLY : <ǣr> ere, before, formerly
FORTH : <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth : <forð> forth, thence
: <forð-fēran, forð-fērde, forð-fēred> die, depart, lit. go forth : <springan, sprang,
sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread
FORTY : <fēowertig> forty
FREE : <frēo-mǣg> noble (lit. free) kinsman
FREEZING : <frēorig> chill, cold, freezing
FREQUENTLY : <oft> often, frequently
FRESH : <fersc> fresh : <nīwe> new, fresh
FRIEND : <gehola> friend, confidant, protector
FRIEND-KINSMAN : <wine-mǣg> dear-, lit. friend-kinsman
FRIEND-LESS : <frēond-lēas> friend-less
FRIEND-LORD : <wine-dryhten> lit. friend-lord
FRISIAN : <Frēsisc> Frisian
FROM : <fram> from : <of> from, of
FRONT : <for-faran, for-fōr, for-fōron, for-faren> obstruct, get in front of : <foran>
before, in front
FROST : <forst> frost
FROSTY : <hrīm-ceald> ice-cold, frosty
FULL : <nearu> narrow; full of hardship
FULLY : <ful> fully, completely
FURTHER : <gefremman, gefremede, gefremed> advance, further
FURTHER : <gēn> still, yet, further
GANNET : <ganot> gannet, goose
GATE : <geat> gate
GEAT : <Gēat> Geat
GENTLE : <milde> mild, gentle : <monðwǣre> kind, gentle
GET : <begietan, begeat, begēaton, begieten> get, acquire
GET : <for-faran, for-fōr, for-fōron, for-faren> obstruct, get in front of
GIFT : <giefu> gift, favor
GIVE : <forgifan, forgeaf, forgēafon, forgiefen> give, grant
GIVER : <brytta> giver, distributor
GLORY : <duguð> host, body of retainers; glory
GLORY : <dōm> doom, decision; glory : <weorðmynd> glory, honor, reverence :
<wuldor> glory, praise : <þrymm> glory, renown
GLORY-DESIROUS : <dōm-georn> lit. glory-desirous
GO : <faran, fōr, fōron, faren> go, ride, travel : <forð-fēran, forð-fērde, forð-fēred> die,
depart, lit. go forth : <fēran, fērde, fēred> go, travel : <gefaran, gefōr, gefōron, gefaren>
go, proceed : <gewītan, gewāt, gewiton, gewiten> depart, go : <gongan, gēong, gēongon,
gongen> go, walk : <gān> go, walk, move : <wendan, wende, wended> wend, turn, go :
<ā-gān> pass, occur, lit. away go
GOD : <God> God, Deity
GODRIC : <Godrīc> Godric
GODSON : <godsunu> godson
GOLD : <gold> gold
GOLD-FRIEND : <gold-wine> lit. gold-friend
GOOD : <gōd> good, excellent
GOODS : <feoh> cattle, goods, money
GOOSE : <ganot> gannet, goose
GOTH : <Got-land> Goth land
GRACE : <ðanc> thanks, grace, mercy
GRACIOUS : <hold> gracious, favorable : <līðe> kind, gracious
GRAIN : <corn> corn, grain
GRANT : <forgifan, forgeaf, forgēafon, forgiefen> give, grant : <gelīefan, gelīefde,
gelīefed> grant; believe, trust : <unnan, ann, unnon, ūðe> grant, bestow
GRASP : <clom> bond, fetter; grasp : <grīpan, grāp, gripon, gripen> grasp, seize :
<ongietan, ongeat, ongēaton, ongieten> grasp, understand
GRAZE : <ettan, ettede, etted> graze, pasture
GREAT : <micel> much, great : <mā> great, stout
GREET : <grētan, grētte, grēted> greet, approach
GRIEF : <cearu> care, grief, sorrow : <sorg> sorrow, grief, distress
GRIT : <grēot> grit, dust, earth
GROUND : <folde> earth, ground : <grund> ground, earth : <hrūse> earth, ground
GROW : <nīpan, nāp, nipon, nipen> grow dark, obscure : <weaxan, wēox, wēoxon,
wēaxen> wax, grow
GROWN : <geðungen> grown, excellent, distinguished
GUARD : <warian, warode, warod> guard, protect, occupy : <weard> ward, guard,
keeper
HABIT : <ðēaw> habit, custom
HAIL : <hagol> hail : <hālettan, hālette, hāleted> hail, salute
HALF : <healf> half, part, side
HALL : <sele> hall, house : <sele-secg> retainer, lit. hall hero
HAMPSHIRE : <Hāmtūn-scīr> Hampshire
HAND : <hond> hand : <mund> hand
HANG : <behōn, behēng, behēngon, behongen> hang round
HAPPEN : <limpan, lamp, lumpon, lumpen> befall, happen : <weorðan, wearð, wurdon,
worden> become, happen : <wesan> be, happen
HAPPINESS : <bliss> bliss, joy, happiness
HARANGUE : <maðelian, maðelode, maðelod> speak, address, harangue
HARASS : <dreccan, drehte, dreht> afflict, harass
HARBOR : <port> port, harbor
HARDSHIP : <earfeðe> hardship, suffering : <nearu> narrow; full of hardship
HARDSHIP-TIME : <earfoð-hwīl> lit. hardship-time
HARM-JOURNEY : <bealu-sīð> peril, calamity. lit. harm-journey
HARP : <hearpe> harp
HARRY : <hergian, hergode, gehergod> harry, raid, ravage
HASTEN : <rǣsan, rǣsde, rǣsed> rush, hasten
HASTY : <hraðe> quick, hasty
HAUGHTY : <mōd-wlonc> haughty, lit. mood-proud
HAVE : <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess : <āgan, āh, āgon, āhte> have, possess
HE : <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it : <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
HEAR : <gefrīnan, gefrān, gefrūnon, gefrūnen> learn, hear of : <gehīeran, gehīerede,
gehīered> hear (of) : <hīeran, hīerde, hīered> hear, obey; belong
HEART : <brēost-cofa> heart, affections : <ferð-loca> breast, heart, lit. spirit enclosure :
<heorte> heart : <hyge> heart, mind, soul
HEART-CARE : <brēost-cearu> anxiety, heart-care
HEARTH-COMPANION : <heorð-genēat> lit. hearth-companion
HEAVEN : <heofon> heaven, sky : <heofon-rīce> kingdom of heaven : <rodor> sky,
heaven : <wolcen> sky, heaven
HEEL : <hōh> heel; promontory
HEIR : <eafora> son, heir
HELGELAND : <Hālgo-land> Helgeland
HELP : <helpe> help, aid
HENCE : <heonon> hence
HERE : <hider> here, hither : <hēr> here
HERO : <guma> man, hero : <sele-secg> retainer, lit. hall hero
HEROIC : <beadurōf> bold, heroic : <eorlscipe> nobility, heroic deeds
HEW : <forhēawan, forhēow, forhēowon, forhēawen> hew, cut down : <hēawan, hēow,
hēowon, hēawen> hew, cut down, kill
HIDE : <wrēon, wrāh, wrigon, wrigen> hide, cover
HIGH : <hēah> high
HILL : <beorg> hill, mountain : <hlið> cliff, hill
HITHER : <hider> here, hither
HOAR-FROST : <hrīm> rime, hoar-frost
HOARD : <hord> hoard, treasure : <hord-cofa> treasure chamber, lit. hoard cove
HOLD : <healdan, hēold, hēoldon, lealden> hold, retain, preserve : <ðolian, ðolade,
ðolad> endure, hold out
HOLY : <hālig> holy
HOME : <eard> home, land : <hām> home, homewards : <ēðel> home, native land
HOMEWARDS : <hām> home, homewards
HONOR : <weorðmynd> glory, honor, reverence : <worold-ār> worldly honor : <ār>
honor, favor
HONORABLY : <weorðlīc> worthily, honorably
HORSE-THANE : <hors-þegn> horse-thane
HOST : <duguð> host, body of retainers; glory : <werod> army, band, host
HOSTAGE : <gīsel> hostage
HOSTILITY : <nīð> enmity, hostility
HOT : <hāt> hot, fervid
HOUSE : <hūs> house
HOUSE : <sele> hall, house
HOW : <cunnan, cann, cunnon, cūðe> can, know how to : <hū> how
HOWEVER : <ac> and, but, however : <hwæðere> but, yet, however : <þēah> yet,
though, however
HUNDRED : <hund> hundred : <siex-hund> six hundred
HUNGER : <hungor> hunger
HURT : <gebrocian, gebrocede, gebroced> crush; hurt, afflict
ICE-COLD : <hrīm-ceald> ice-cold, frosty : <īs-ceald> ice-cold
ICICLE : <hrīm-gicel> icicle
ICY-FEATHERED : <īsig-feðera> lit. icy-feathered
IF : <gif> if : <ðēah ðe> although, even if
IGNOBLY : <unhēanlīce> not disgracefully, not ignobly
IMMEDIATELY : <sōna> immediately
INEXORABLE : <ārǣd> arranged, inexorable
INHABITED : <bȳn> inhabited, occupied
INJURE : <hȳnan, hȳnde, hȳned> despise, injure, insult
INJURY : <hygeteona> injury, insult
INSTITUTE : <onstellan, onstealde, onsteled> establish, institute
INSTRUCT : <bebēodan, bebēad, bebudon, beboden> command, instruct
INSULT : <hygeteona> injury, insult : <hȳnan, hȳnde, hȳned> despise, injure, insult
INTEND : <ðencan, ðōhte, ðōht> think, intend, resolve
INTO : <in> in, into
INTOXICATED : <wīn-gāl> intoxicated, lit. wine-gay
IRELAND : <Īra-land> Ireland
ISLAND : <īglond> island
ISLE : <Wiht> (Isle of) Wight
IT : <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it : <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
JEWEL : <sigle> brooch, jewel, necklace
JEWELS : <sinc> jewels, riches, treasure
JOURNEY : <lagu-lād> water-way, ocean journey : <sīð> journey, voyage
JOY : <bliss> bliss, joy, happiness : <wynn> joy, delight
JOYFULLY : <wennan, wenede, wened> accustom; entertain (joyfully)
JUBILATION : <hleahtor> laughter, jubilation
JUDGE : <dēman, dēmde, dēmed> deem, judge; praise
KEEL : <cēol> keel (of a ship)
KEEPER : <weard> ward, guard, keeper
KENT : <Cent> Kent
KILL : <hēawan, hēow, hēowon, hēawen> hew, cut down, kill
KIN : <Angel-cynn> English, lit. Angle kin
KIND : <līðe> kind, gracious : <monðwǣre> kind, gentle
KINDNESS : <milts> mercy, favor, kindness
KING : <cyning> king : <worold-cyning> earthly king
KINGDOM : <heofon-rīce> kingdom of heaven : <rīce> kingdom, reign
KINSMAN : <frēo-mǣg> noble (lit. free) kinsman : <mǣg> kinsman
KNOW : <cunnan, cann, cunnon, cūðe> can, know how to : <gecunnian, gecunnade,
gecunnad> know; try, test, make trial of : <witan, wāt, witon, wiste> know, observe
KNOWN : <cȳðan, cȳðde, cȳðed> reveal, make known
LAKE : <mere> mere, lake, sea : <sǣ> sea, lake
LAMECH : <Lamech> Lamech
LAMENT : <begnornian, begnornode, begnornod> mourn, lament : <cwīðan, cwīðe,
cwīðed> accuse; bewail, lament : <gnornian, gnornode, gnornod> mourn, lament :
<seofian, seofade, seofad> sigh, lament
LAND : <Got-land> Goth land : <Scedeland> Danish land : <eard> home, land : <lond>
land, realm, country : <ēðel> home, native land : <ēðel-land> native land
LANE : <brim-lād> path of the sea, lit. sea lane
LAP : <bearm> bosom, lap
LARBOARD : <bæc-bord> larboard, port side
LAUGHTER : <hleahtor> laughter, jubilation
LAY : <wordgyd> lay, elegy
LEAD : <lǣdan, lǣde, lǣded> lead, bring
LEADING : <Norðweg> Norway, lit. way leading north
LEAF : <blǣd> blade, leaf
LEARN : <gefrīnan, gefrān, gefrūnon, gefrūnen> learn, hear of : <geleornian,
geleornode, geleornod> learn, study
LEAVE : <forlǣtan, forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten> leave, abandon : <lǣfan, lǣfde, lǣfed>
leave, bequeath
LEFT : <lāf> remnant, what is left
LESSEN : <lȳtlian, lȳtlode, lȳtlod> lessen, diminish
LET : <lǣtan, lēt, lēton, lǣten> let, allow
LIE : <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated
LIEF : <lēof> lief, dear, beloved
LIFE : <blǣd> breath, spirit, life : <feorh> life : <līf> life : <weorold hād> secular life
LIFE-HOUSE : <feorh-hūs> body, lit. life-house
LIFE-LORD : <Līf-freaa> lit. Life-lord
LIFT : <hafenian, hafenode, hafenod> raise, lift up : <āhebban, āhōf, āhōfon, āhafen>
raise, lift up
LIGHT : <lēoht> light, easy
LIKEWISE : <swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise
LIMB : <lim> limb
LITTLE : <hwōn> somewhat, a little : <lȳt> little, small number : <lȳtel> little, small
LIVE : <būan, būde, bȳne> dwell, live : <eardian, eardode, eardod> live, dwell :
<libban, lifde, lifd> live : <wunian, wunode, wunod> dwell, live, remain
LOCK : <belūcan, belēac, belucon, belocen> close, lock, shut
LODGE : <wician, wīcode, wīcod> camp, lodge
LONG : <geāra> yore, long since : <lang> long : <longe> for long (time)
LOOK : <locian, locode, locod> look : <sēon, seah, sǣgon, segen> see, look
LORD : <drihten> lord, prince, ruler : <frēa> lord, master : <hlāford> lord, master :
<wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord
LOVE : <frēogan, frēoge, frēog> love
LUST : <lust> lust, desire, pleasure
MAKE : <cȳðan, cȳðde, cȳðed> reveal, make known : <dōn> do, make : <gecunnian,
gecunnade, gecunnad> know; try, test, make trial of
MAN : <beorn> man, nobleman : <brim-man> sailor, lit. sea man : <ealdor-monn>
nobleman, lit. older man : <guma> man, hero : <monn> man, person : <secg> man,
warrior : <wer> man
MANKIND : <monn-cynn> mankind
MANNER : <swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise
MANY : <fela> much, many : <monig> many : <mænig> many
MARAUDING : <stæl-here> marauding army
MASTER : <frēa> lord, master : <hlāford> lord, master
MAY : <magan, mæg, magon, meahte> may, be able to
MEAD-DRINK : <medu-drinc> mead-drink
MEAD-HALL : <medu-heall> mead-hall
MEAD-SEAT : <medu-setl> lit. mead-seat
MEANS : <spēd> means, riches, success : <þurh> through, by (means of)
MEET : <mētan, mētte, mēted> meet, find
MEETING : <gemōt> meeting, council, assembly
MEMBER : <lēod> person, member of tribe
MEN : <firas> men, people : <ylde> men
MERCY : <milts> mercy, favor, kindness : <ðanc> thanks, grace, mercy
MERE : <mere> mere, lake, sea
MEW : <mǣw> mew, sea-gull
MID-WARD : <midde-weard> mid-ward, middling
MIDDLE-EARTH : <middan-eard> middle-earth, world
MIDDLING : <midde-weard> mid-ward, middling
MIGHT : <miht> might, power : <mægen> might, strength
MILD : <milde> mild, gentle
MILE : <mīl> mile
MIND : <ferð> mind, soul, spirit : <hyge> heart, mind, soul : <mine> mind, affection :
<mōd> mood, mind : <mōd-sefa> mind, spirit
MINDFUL : <gemunan, geman, gemunon, gemunde> remember, be mindful of :
<gemyndig> mindful
MIRACLE : <wundor> miracle, wonder
MISCHIEF : <yfel> evil, mischief, wickedness
MISERABLE : <earm-cearig> miserable, lit. wretched-caring : <hēan> abject,
depressed, miserable
MISERY : <wræc-lāst> path of exile, lit. misery track
MOAN : <mǣnan, mǣnde, mǣned> moan, relate, speak of
MONEY : <feoh> cattle, goods, money : <feoh-gift> money-, lit. cattle-gift
MONEYLESS : <feoh-lēas> moneyless, lit. without cattle
MONTH : <mōnað> month
MOOD : <mōd> mood, mind
MOOD-CARING : <mōd-cearig> anxious, sorrowful, lit. mood-caring
MOOD-PROUD : <mōd-wlonc> haughty, lit. mood-proud
MOOR : <mōr> moor; mountainous region
MOREOVER : <ēac> also, even, moreover
MORNING : <morgen> morning
MOUND : <hlǣw> mound
MOUNT : <gestīgan, gestāh, gestigon, gestigen> mount, ascend
MOUNTAIN : <beorg> hill, mountain
MOUNTAINOUS : <mōr> moor; mountainous region
MOURN : <begnornian, begnornode, begnornod> mourn, lament : <gnornian, gnornode,
gnornod> mourn, lament
MOUTH : <mūð> mouth : <mūða> mouth of a river, estuary
MOVE : <gān> go, walk, move : <hrēran, hrērde, hrēred> move, stir
MUCH : <fela> much, many : <micel> much, great : <micel> much, very
NAME : <hātan, heht, hēton, hāten> call, name; order : <nama> name : <nemnan,
nemde, nemed> name, call
NARROW : <nearu> narrow; full of hardship : <smæl> small, narrow
NATION : <mǣgþ> tribe, nation
NATIVE : <ēðel> home, native land : <ēðel-land> native land
NEAR : <be> at, by, near : <nēah> near : <nēalǣcan, nēalǣcte, nēalǣced> approach,
draw near
NEARLY : <fulnēah> almost, very nearly
NECKLACE : <sigle> brooch, jewel, necklace
NEED : <ðearf> need, requirement
NEITHER : <nā-hwæðer> neither...nor
NEW : <nīwe> new, fresh
NEXT : <ōðer> other, next, second
NIGHT : <niht> night : <nihts-cūa> night's cover
NIGHT-WATCH : <niht-waco> night-watch
NINE : <nigon> nine
NO : <nā> no, nor, not (at all) : <nā> no, not
NOAH : <Noe> Noah
NOBILITY : <eorlscipe> nobility, heroic deeds
NOBLE : <frēo-mǣg> noble (lit. free) kinsman : <indrihten> (very) noble : <æðelo>
noble race
NOBLEMAN : <beorn> man, nobleman : <ealdor-monn> nobleman, lit. older man :
<eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior : <æðeling> nobleman, prince
NOISE : <swēg> noise, sound
NOR : <nā> no, nor, not (at all)
NOR : <nā-hwæðer> neither...nor
NORTH : <Norðweg> Norway, lit. way leading north : <be norðan> north of : <norð>
north(wards) : <norðan> from the north
NORTH-MAN : <Norð-mann> Norwegian, lit. north-man
NORTHUMBRIA : <Norð-hymbre> Northumbrians, Northumbria
NORTHUMBRIANS : <Norð-hymbre> Northumbrians, Northumbria
NORTHWARD : <norð-weard> northward
NORWAY : <Norðweg> Norway, lit. way leading north
NORWEGIAN : <Norð-mann> Norwegian, lit. north-man
NOT : <ne> not : <nā> no, nor, not (at all) : <nā> no, not : <nālæs> not at all :
<unhēanlīce> not disgracefully, not ignobly
NOW : <nū> now
NUMBER : <lȳt> little, small number
OAR : <ār> oar
OBEY : <folgian, folgode, folgod> follow, obey, serve : <hīeran, hīerde, hīered> hear,
obey; belong
OBSCURE : <nīpan, nāp, nipon, nipen> grow dark, obscure
OBSERVE : <gesēon, geseah, gesǣgon, gesegen> see, observe : <witan, wāt, witon,
wiste> know, observe
OBSTRUCT : <for-faran, for-fōr, for-fōron, for-faren> obstruct, get in front of
OCCASION : <cierr> occasion, time, turn : <mǣl> time, occasion
OCCUPIED : <bȳn> inhabited, occupied
OCCUPY : <warian, warode, warod> guard, protect, occupy
OCCUR : <ā-gān> pass, occur, lit. away go
OCEAN : <lagu-lād> water-way, ocean journey
OF : <of> from, of
OFFER : <bēodan, bēad, budon, boden> bid, command, offer : <gebēodan, gebēad,
gebudon, geboden> offer
OFFSPRING : <fæsl> progeny, offspring
OFTEN : <oft> often, frequently
OHTHERE : <Ōhthere> Ohthere
OLD : <eald> old : <frōd> old, wise, experienced : <gīo> before, of old : <yldu> (old)
age
OLDER : <ealdor-monn> nobleman, lit. older man
ONE : <gehwylc> each, every one : <ān> a, an, one
OPEN : <brād> broad, open : <ūter-mere> outer sea, open sea
OR : <oððe> or
ORDER : <endebyrdnes> order, sequence : <hātan, heht, hēton, hāten> call, name; order
: <þæt> so/in order that
ORNAMENT : <hyrst> armor, ornament
OSRIC : <Ōsrīc> Osric
OSWOLD : <Ōswold> Oswold
OTHER : <ōðer> other, next, second
OUGHT : <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to
OUT : <ūt> out
OUTER : <ūter-mere> outer sea, open sea
OUTWARD : <ūte-weard> outward
OVER : <geond> over, through(out) : <ofer> over, across : <wadan, wōd, wōdon,
waden> wade, stride over
OWN : <āgen> own
OX : <nēat> ox, cow
PARENT : <ealdor> elder, parent, prince
PART : <healf> half, part, side
PARTY : <gebēorscipe> feast, beer party
PASS : <gedōn> act, do, bring to pass : <ā-gān> pass, occur, lit. away go
PASTIME : <gomen> pastime, pleasure, entertainment
PASTURE : <ettan, ettede, etted> graze, pasture
PATH : <brim-lād> path of the sea, lit. sea lane : <wræc-lāst> path of exile, lit. misery
track
PAY : <gieldan, geald, guldon, golden> yield, pay
PENETRATE : <fēolan, fealh, fulgon, folen> reach, penetrate : <ðurhwadan, ðurhwōd,
ðurhwōdon, ðurhwaden> pierce, penetrate
PEOPLE : <Cwēnas> Cwenas, Cwena people : <firas> men, people : <folc> folk,
people
PEOPLE-KING : <ðēod-cyning> lit. people-king
PERFORM : <fremman, fremede, fremed> do, perform : <gewyrcan, geworhte,
geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish
PERIL : <bealu-sīð> peril, calamity. lit. harm-journey
PERISH : <gecringan, gecranc, gecrungon, gecrungen> cringe, fall, perish
PERSON : <lēod> person, member of tribe : <monn> man, person
PESTILENCE : <cwild> disease, plague, pestilence
PIERCE : <ðurhwadan, ðurhwōd, ðurhwōdon, ðurhwaden> pierce, penetrate
PIRATE : <wīcing> Viking, pirate
PITCH : <cnossian, cnossode, cnossod> drive, pitch
PLACE : <cear-seld> place of sorrow, care-place : <rest> rest, resting place : <stōw>
place
PLAGUE : <cwild> disease, plague, pestilence
PLAINLY : <sweotole> clearly, plainly
PLEASURE : <gomen> pastime, pleasure, entertainment : <lust> lust, desire, pleasure
PLOW : <erian, erede, ered> plow
POEM : <lēoð> song, poem
POOR : <fēasceaft> poor, destitute : <fēasceaftig> poor, destitute
PORT : <bæc-bord> larboard, port side : <port> port, harbor
POSSESS : <habban, hæfde, hæfd> have, possess : <āgan, āh, āgon, āhte> have, possess
POUND : <bēatan, bēot, bēoton, bēaten> beat, pound, strike
POWER : <miht> might, power
PRAISE : <dēman, dēmde, dēmed> deem, judge; praise : <eahtian, eahtode, eahtod>
praise, esteem : <herenes> praise : <herian, herede, hered> praise, extol : <lof-georn>
eager for praise : <wuldor> glory, praise
PRAISEWORTHY : <lof-dǣd> praiseworthy deed
PRELATE : <bisceop> bishop, prelate
PREPARED : <gearo> prepared, ready
PRESERVE : <healdan, hēold, hēoldon, lealden> hold, retain, preserve
PRESERVER : <nergend> preserver, savior
PRESS : <þringan, þrong, þrungon, þrungen> throng, crowd, press
PRINCE : <drihten> lord, prince, ruler : <ealdor> elder, parent, prince : <æðeling>
nobleman, prince
PROCEED : <gefaran, gefōr, gefōron, gefaren> go, proceed
PROGENY : <fæsl> progeny, offspring
PROMONTORY : <hōh> heel; promontory
PROSPER : <geþēon, geþāh, geþigon, geþigen> thrive, prosper : <ðēon, ðāh, ðigon,
ðigen> thrive, prosper
PROTECT : <generian, generede, genered> save, protect : <warian, warode, warod>
guard, protect, occupy : <werian, werede, wered> wear; defend, protect
PROTECTOR : <gehola> friend, confidant, protector
PROTECTOR-KINSMAN : <hlēo-mǣg> lit. protector-kinsman
PROUD : <wlonc> proud
PROVISION : <wist> feast, food, provision
PROW : <stefn> stem; prow, stern
PRUDENT : <fore-snotor> clever, prudent : <glēaw> wise, prudent
PURPOSE : <mōdgeþonc> conception, purpose
QUICK : <cwic> quick, alive : <hraðe> quick, hasty
QUIVER : <ācweccan, ācwehte, ācweht> shake, brandish; quiver
RACE : <æðelo> noble race
RAID : <hergian, hergode, gehergod> harry, raid, ravage
RAIN : <regn> rain
RAISE : <hafenian, hafenode, hafenod> raise, lift up : <āhebban, āhōf, āhōfon, āhafen>
raise, lift up
RAMPART : <weall> wall, rampart
RAVAGE : <hergian, hergode, gehergod> harry, raid, ravage
REACH : <fēolan, fealh, fulgon, folen> reach, penetrate
READY : <gearo> prepared, ready
REALIZE : <onfindan, onfond, onfundon, onfunden> find out, realize
REALM : <lond> land, realm, country
REASON : <intinga> cause, reason
RECEIPT : <sinc-þegu> lit. treasure receipt
RECEIVE : <geþicgan, geþeah, geþǣgon, geþegen> take, accept, receive : <onfōn,
onfēng, onfēngon, onfangen> accept, receive
RECLUSE : <ānhaga> recluse, wanderer
REGION : <mōr> moor; mountainous region
REIGN : <rīce> kingdom, reign
RELATE : <mǣnan, mǣnde, mǣned> moan, relate, speak of : <āsecgan, āsægde,
āsægd> say, relate
RELEASE : <bedǣlan, bidǣlde, bidǣled> deprive, release
RELIEF : <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation
REMAIN : <bīdan, bād, bidon, biden> bide, endure, remain : <gebīdan, gebād, gebidon,
gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain : <gewunian, gewunode, gewunod> remain
with, stand by : <wunian, wunode, wunod> dwell, live, remain
REMEMBER : <gemunan, geman, gemunon, gemunde> remember, be mindful of :
<onmunan, onman, onmunon, onmunde> esteem, remember, think worthy
REMNANT : <lāf> remnant, what is left
RENOWN : <þrymm> glory, renown
RENOWNED : <brēme> famous, renowned
REPLY : <oncweðan, oncwæð, oncwǣdon, oncweden> answer, reply to
REPULSIVE : <atol> dire, repulsive
REQUIREMENT : <ðearf> need, requirement
RESIST : <wiðstandan, wiðstōd, wiðstōdon, wiðstanden> withstand, resist
RESOLVE : <hycgan, hogode, hogod> think, resolve : <ðencan, ðōhte, ðōht> think,
intend, resolve
RESOUND : <hlimman, hlamm, hlumon, hlummen> roar, resound : <swogan, swēog,
swēogon, swōgen> resound, roar
RESPOND : <andswarian, andswarode, andswarod> answer, respond
RESPONSE : <andswaru> answer, response
REST : <rest> rest, resting place
RESTING : <rest> rest, resting place
RETAIN : <healdan, hēold, hēoldon, lealden> hold, retain, preserve
RETAINER : <genēat> companion, retainer : <sele-secg> retainer, lit. hall hero
RETAINERS : <duguð> host, body of retainers; glory
REVEAL : <cȳðan, cȳðde, cȳðed> reveal, make known
REVERENCE : <weorðmynd> glory, honor, reverence
RICHES : <sinc> jewels, riches, treasure : <spēd> means, riches, success
RIDE : <faran, fōr, fōron, faren> go, ride, travel : <rīdan, rād, ridon, riden> ride
RIME : <hrīm> rime, hoar-frost
RING : <bēag> ring, crown
RISE : <stīgan, stāh, stigon, stigen> rise, ascend
RIVER : <mūða> mouth of a river, estuary
ROAR : <hlimman, hlamm, hlumon, hlummen> roar, resound : <swogan, swēog,
swēogon, swōgen> resound, roar
ROCHESTER : <Hrōfe-ceaster> Rochester
ROCKY : <clūdig> rocky
ROLLING : <gewealc> rolling, tossing
ROOF : <hrōf> roof
ROOMY : <rūm> roomy, spacious
ROUND : <behōn, behēng, behēngon, behongen> hang round : <ymbsittan, ymbsæt,
ymbsǣton, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round
RUIN : <hryre> death, fall, ruin
RULER : <drihten> lord, prince, ruler : <wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord
RUN : <yrnan, arn, urnon, urnen> run
RUSH : <rǣsan, rǣsde, rǣsed> rush, hasten
SAD : <drēorig> dreary, sad
SADLY : <drēorig> drearily, sadly
SAFE : <gesund> safe, unharmed
SAIL : <geseglian, geseglode, geseglod> sail : <seglian, seglode, seglod> sail
SAILOR : <brim-man> sailor, lit. sea man
SALT-WAVE : <sealt-ȳð> lit. salt-wave
SALUTE : <hālettan, hālette, hāleted> hail, salute
SAME : <ilca> same : <self> self, same
SAVAGE : <hrēo> fierce, wild, savage
SAVE : <generian, generede, genered> save, protect
SAVIOR : <nergend> preserver, savior
SAXONS : <Sūð-Seaxan> South Saxons, Sussex : <West-Seaxan> West Saxons, Wessex
: <Ēast-Seaxan> East Saxons, Essex
SAY : <cweðan, cwæð, cwǣdon, cweden> say, speak : <secgan, sægde, sægd> say :
<sprecan, spræc, sprǣcon, sprecen> speak, say : <āsecgan, āsægde, āsægd> say, relate
SCEFING : <Scyld Scēfing> Scyld Scefing
SCREAM : <begiellan, begeall, begullon, begollen> yell, scream, screech
SCREECH : <begiellan, begeall, begullon, begollen> yell, scream, screech
SCYLD : <Scyld> Scyld : <Scyld Scēfing> Scyld Scefing
SEA : <brim-lād> path of the sea, lit. sea lane : <brim-man> sailor, lit. sea man : <hron-
rād> sea, lit. whale-road : <mere> mere, lake, sea : <sund> sea, water : <sǣ> sea, lake :
<waðum> wave, sea : <ūter-mere> outer sea, open sea
SEA-GULL : <mǣw> mew, sea-gull
SEA-HOUSE : <mere-hūs> sea-house
SEA-STREAM : <ēagor-strēam> sea-stream, current
SEA-SWALLOW : <stearn> tern, sea-swallow
SEA-VOYAGE : <sǣ-fōr> sea-voyage
SEA-WEARY : <mere-wērig> sea-weary
SEACOAST : <sǣ-rima> seashore, seacoast
SEASHORE : <sǣ-rima> seashore, seacoast
SECOND : <ōðer> other, next, second
SECULAR : <weorold hād> secular life
SECURELY : <fæste> fast, firmly, securely
SEE : <gesēon, geseah, gesǣgon, gesegen> see, observe : <sēon, seah, sǣgon, segen>
see, look
SEEK : <cunnian, cunnode, cunnod> seek, explore, experience : <gesēcan, gesōhte,
gesōht> seek, desire : <sēcan, sōhte, sōht> seek, desire
SEEM : <ðyncan, ðūhte, geðūht> seem, appear; think
SEEMLY : <gedēfe> fitting, seemly
SEINE : <Sigen> Seine
SEIZE : <gefōn, gefēng, gefēngon, gefangen> take, seize : <geniman, genam, genāmon,
genumen> seize, take : <grīpan, grāp, gripon, gripen> grasp, seize
SELF : <self> self, same
SEND : <sendan, sende, sened> send
SENTENCE : <fers> sentence, verse
SEPARATE : <tō-faran, tō-fōr, tō-fōron, tō-faren> disperse, separate
SEQUENCE : <endebyrdnes> order, sequence
SERVE : <folgian, folgode, folgod> follow, obey, serve : <gelǣstan, gelǣste, gelǣset>
serve, stand by
SET : <gesettan, gesette, geseted> set (out), appoint, establish
SETTLE : <tēon, tēode, tēodod> adorn, settle
SHACKLE : <fetor> fetter, shackle
SHAKE : <ācweccan, ācwehte, ācweht> shake, brandish; quiver
SHALL : <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to
SHAME : <scomu> shame
SHAPE : <gescieppan, gescōp, gescōpon, gesceapen> shape, create
SHAPER : <scieppend> shaper, creator
SHARP : <bitre> bitter, sharp
SHE : <hē, hēo, hit> he, she, it : <sē, sēo, ðæt> he, she, it
SHED : <scypen> shed
SHIELD : <bord> board, shield
SHIP : <cēol> keel (of a ship) : <naca> boat, ship : <scip> ship : <wæg-þel> ship, lit.
wave-planking : <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
SHIRE : <scīr> shire, district, division
SHORE : <sūð-stæð> south shore
SHORE-WALL : <stæð-weall> shore-wall
SHOWER : <scūr> shower
SHUT : <belūcan, belēac, belucon, belocen> close, lock, shut
SIDE : <bæc-bord> larboard, port side : <gehwær> on every side, everywhere : <healf>
half, part, side
SIGH : <seofian, seofade, seofad> sigh, lament
SIGN : <bēcn> beacon, sign
SINCE : <geāra> yore, long since : <siððan> since, when, afterwards
SING : <singan, sang, sungon, sungen> sing, compose
SINGLE : <ān> alone, single
SIT : <ymbsittan, ymbsæt, ymbsǣton, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round
SITUATED : <licgan, læg, lǣgon, legen> lie, extend, be situated
SIX : <siex> six
SIXTY : <siextig> sixty
SKIRINGSSAL : <Scīringes-hēal> Skiringssal
SKY : <heofon> heaven, sky : <rodor> sky, heaven : <wolcen> sky, heaven
SLAUGHTER : <wælsleaht> slaughter, carnage
SLAY : <ofslean, ofslōh, ofslōgon, ofslægen> slay, destroy
SLAYER : <bana> bane, slayer
SLIT : <slītan, slāt, sliton, sliten> slit, tear
SMALL : <lȳt> little, small number : <lȳtel> little, small : <smæl> small, narrow
SNOW : <snīwan, snīwde, snīwed> snow
SO : <swā> so, thus : <tō þæs> so : <þæs> so : <þæt> so/in order that
SOLACE : <frōfor> relief, solace, consolation
SOME : <sum> some, a certain
SOMETHING : <hwæt-hwegu> something
SOMEWHAT : <hwōn> somewhat, a little
SON : <eafora> son, heir : <sunu> son
SONG : <hlēoðor> song, sound : <lēoð> song, poem : <song> song
SORROW : <cear> care, sorrow : <cear-seld> place of sorrow, care-place : <cearu>
care, grief, sorrow : <sorg> sorrow, grief, distress
SORROWFUL : <mōd-cearig> anxious, sorrowful, lit. mood-caring : <winter-cearig>
sorrowful, lit. winter-caring
SOUL : <ferð> mind, soul, spirit : <hyge> heart, mind, soul
SOUND : <hlēoðor> song, sound : <swēg> noise, sound
SOURCE : <ord> source, beginning
SOUTH : <Sūð-Seaxan> South Saxons, Sussex : <sūð> south(wards) : <sūð-stæð> south
shore : <wið sūðan> to the south
SOUTHWARD : <sūðe-weard> southward
SPACIOUS : <rūm> roomy, spacious
SPEAK : <cweðan, cwæð, cwǣdon, cweden> say, speak : <maðelian, maðelode,
maðelod> speak, address, harangue : <mǣnan, mǣnde, mǣned> moan, relate, speak of :
<sprecan, spræc, sprǣcon, sprecen> speak, say
SPEAR : <gār> spear : <wæl-spere> deadly spear : <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
SPEAR-DANES : <gār-Dene> spear-Danes
SPEECH : <word> word, speech
SPIRIT : <blǣd> breath, spirit, life : <ferð> mind, soul, spirit : <ferð-loca> breast, heart,
lit. spirit enclosure : <mōd-sefa> mind, spirit
SPLENDID : <from> bold, brave, splendid
SPREAD : <springan, sprang, sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread
SPRING : <springan, sprang, sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread
STAND : <gelǣstan, gelǣste, gelǣset> serve, stand by : <gewunian, gewunode,
gewunod> remain with, stand by : <standan, stōd, stōdon, standen> stand
STARBOARD : <stēor-bord> starboard, lit. stear(ing)-board
STEADY : <unwealt> steady
STEAR : <stēor-bord> starboard, lit. stear(ing)-board
STEM : <stefn> stem; prow, stern
STERN : <heard> stern, strong : <stefn> stem; prow, stern : <stīð> stiff, stern, brave
STIFF : <stīð> stiff, stern, brave
STILL : <gēn> still, yet, further
STIR : <hrēran, hrērde, hrēred> move, stir
STONGHOLD : <burg> enclosure, stonghold
STONY : <stān-clif> stony cliff
STORM : <storm> storm, tempest; attack
STOUT : <mā> great, stout
STRANGE : <elðēodig> alien, foreign, strange
STREAM : <strēam> stream
STRENGTH : <mægen> might, strength
STRIDE : <wadan, wōd, wōdon, waden> wade, stride over
STRIFE : <gewinn> battle, strife, struggle : <wīg> war, strife
STRIKE : <bēatan, bēot, bēoton, bēaten> beat, pound, strike : <cnyssan, cnysede,
cnysed> beat, strike
STRONG : <heard> stern, strong : <strang> strong
STRUGGLE : <gewinn> battle, strife, struggle
STUDY : <geleornian, geleornode, geleornod> learn, study
SUBDUE : <gebrecan, gebræc, gebrǣcon, gebrocen> break, destroy, subdue
SUCCESS : <spēd> means, riches, success
SUCH : <swilc> such : <swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise
SUFFER : <drēogan, drēag, drugon, drogen> endure, suffer : <ðrōwian, ðrōwade,
ðrōwad> endure, suffer
SUFFERING : <earfeðe> hardship, suffering
SUITABLE : <gelimplic> suitable
SUMMER : <sumor> summer
SUSSEX : <Sūð-Seaxan> South Saxons, Sussex
SWAN : <ilfetu> swan
SWARTHY : <sweart> dark, black, swarthy
SWEDEN : <Swēo-land> Sweden
SWIFT : <swift> swift
SWITHULF : <Swīðulf> Swithulf
TAKE : <gefōn, gefēng, gefēngon, gefangen> take, seize : <geniman, genam, genāmon,
genumen> seize, take : <geþicgan, geþeah, geþǣgon, geþegen> take, accept, receive
TALE : <sōð-gied> lit. true tale
TEACH : <lǣran, lǣrde, lǣred> teach, advise, exhort
TEAR : <slītan, slāt, sliton, sliten> slit, tear
TELL : <wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter
TEMPEST : <storm> storm, tempest; attack
TEN : <tīen> ten
TERN : <stearn> tern, sea-swallow
TERRIFY : <egsian, egsode, egsod> terrify
TEST : <gecunnian, gecunnade, gecunnad> know; try, test, make trial of
THAN : <þe> than, where
THANE : <þegn> thane, warrior
THANKS : <ðanc> thanks, grace, mercy
THAT : <būton> unless; except (that) : <se, sēo, ðæt> that : <sē, sēo, ðæt> that : <sē,
sēo, ðæt> who, which, that : <þe> that, which, who : <þæt> so/in order that : <þæt> that
THE : <se, sēo, ðæt> the : <þȳ> the
THEN : <æfter> after(wards), then : <þonne> then, when : <þā> then, when
THENCE : <forð> forth, thence : <ðonan> thence, from there
THERE : <ðonan> thence, from there : <þǣr> there, where
THEREFORE : <for þon> because, therefore
THEREIN : <þǣr inne> therein
THERETO : <þǣr tō> thereto
THEREUPON : <eft> afterwards, thereupon
THING : <wiht> whit, thing
THINK : <hycgan, hogode, hogod> think, resolve : <onmunan, onman, onmunon,
onmunde> esteem, remember, think worthy : <ðencan, ðōhte, ðōht> think, intend, resolve
: <ðyncan, ðūhte, geðūht> seem, appear; think
THIRTY : <þrītig> thirty
THIS : <ðes, ðēos, ðis> this : <ðēs, ðēos, ðis> this
THITHER : <þider> thither : <þyder> thither
THOUGH : <þēah> yet, though, however
THOUGHT : <geðōht> thought
THREE : <þrīe, þrēo, þrēo> three
THRIVE : <geþēon, geþāh, geþigon, geþigen> thrive, prosper
THRIVE : <ðēon, ðāh, ðigon, ðigen> thrive, prosper
THRONG : <geþrang> throng, tumult : <þringan, þrong, þrungon, þrungen> throng,
crowd, press
THROUGH : <geond> over, through(out) : <þurh> through, by (means of)
THURSTAN : <Þūrstān> Thurstan
THUS : <swilce> such (manner), thus, likewise : <swā> so, thus
TIE : <bindan, bond, bundon, bunden> bind, tie
TIME : <cierr> occasion, time, turn : <hwīl> while, time : <longe> for long (time) :
<mǣl> time, occasion : <tīd> time
TO : <tō> (in)to
TOGETHER : <somod> also, together
TOIL : <geswinc-dæg> day of toil
TOSSING : <gewealc> rolling, tossing
TRACK : <lāst> track, footprint : <wræc-lāst> path of exile, lit. misery track
TRAVEL : <faran, fōr, fōron, faren> go, ride, travel : <fēran, fērde, fēred> go, travel
TRAVERSE : <oferfēran, oferfērde, oferfēred> traverse
TREASURE : <gestrēon> wealth, treasure : <hord> hoard, treasure : <hord-cofa>
treasure chamber, lit. hoard cove : <sinc> jewels, riches, treasure : <sinc-þegu> lit.
treasure receipt
TREAT : <wēman, wēmde, wēmed> attract, entice, treat
TREE : <æsc> ash (tree), spear; boat, ship
TRIAL : <gecunnian, gecunnade, gecunnad> know; try, test, make trial of
TRIBE : <lēod> person, member of tribe : <mǣgþ> tribe, nation
TRIBUTE : <gombe> tribute
TRIFLE : <hwōn> trifle
TROOP : <ðrēat> band, troop
TRUE : <sōð-gied> lit. true tale
TRUST : <gelīefan, gelīefde, gelīefed> grant; believe, trust
TRUTH : <sōð> truth
TRY : <gecunnian, gecunnade, gecunnad> know; try, test, make trial of
TUMULT : <gelāc> tumult, commotion : <geþrang> throng, tumult : <unstilnes>
disturbance, tumult
TURN : <cierr> occasion, time, turn : <wendan, wende, wended> wend, turn, go :
<windan, wond, wundon, wunden> wind, twist, turn
TWAIN : <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two
TWELVE : <twelf> twelve
TWILIGHT : <ūhta> dawn, twilight
TWIST : <windan, wond, wundon, wunden> wind, twist, turn
TWO : <twēgen, twā, tū> twain, two
UNDER : <under> under
UNDERSTAND : <ongietan, ongeat, ongēaton, ongieten> grasp, understand
UNHARMED : <gesund> safe, unharmed
UNLESS : <būton> unless; except (that)
UNTAMED : <wilde> wild, untamed
UNTIL : <oð> until : <oð> until, up to, as far as : <oð þæt> until
UNWAVERINGLY : <unwāclīce> bravely, unwaveringly
UP : <hafenian, hafenode, hafenod> raise, lift up : <oð> until, up to, as far as : <uppe>
up, above : <āhebban, āhōf, āhōfon, āhafen> raise, lift up : <ūp> up, upwards
UPON : <on> on(to), upon
UPWARD : <ufe-weard> upward
UPWARDS : <wið uppan> upwards, above : <ūp> up, upwards
URGE : <biddan, bæd, bǣdon, beden> bid, beseech, urge
USE : <nēotan, nēat, nudon, noden> use, employ
USEFUL : <nyt-wyrðe> useful
USELESS : <unnyt> useless
UTTER : <wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter
UTTERLY : <forswīðe> utterly, excessively
VALIANT : <dēor> brave, valiant : <hwætt> bold, valiant
VALOR : <ellen> valor, courage
VERSE : <fers> sentence, verse
VERY : <fulnēah> almost, very nearly : <indrihten> (very) noble : <micel> much, very :
<swīðe> very, exceedingly
VICTORY : <sigor> victory
VIKING : <wīcing> Viking, pirate
VOYAGE : <sīð> journey, voyage
WADE : <wadan, wōd, wōdon, waden> wade, stride over
WALK : <gongan, gēong, gēongon, gongen> go, walk : <gān> go, walk, move
WALL : <weall> wall, rampart
WANDERER : <eard-stapa> wanderer, lit. earth-stepper : <ānhaga> recluse, wanderer
WAR : <hild> battle, war : <wīg> war, strife
WAR-PLAY : <wīg-plega> battle, lit. war-play
WARD : <weard> ward, guard, keeper
WARDS : <norð> north(wards) : <sūð> south(wards) : <æfter> after(wards), then
WARN : <manian, manode, manod> warn, exhort, admonish
WARRIOR : <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior : <sceaða> enemy, warrior : <secg> man,
warrior : <wiga> warrior : <wīgend> warrior : <þegn> thane, warrior
WATER : <sund> sea, water : <wæter> water
WATER-BIRD : <hwilpe> curlew? water-bird
WATER-WAY : <lagu-lād> water-way, ocean journey
WAVE : <waðum> wave, sea : <wǣg> wave, billow : <ȳð> wave
WAVE-PLANKING : <wæg-þel> ship, lit. wave-planking
WAVE-TRAVELER : <wæg-līðend> lit. wave-traveler
WAX : <weaxan, wēox, wēoxon, wēaxen> wax, grow
WAY : <Norðweg> Norway, lit. way leading north : <weg> way
WEALTH : <gestrēon> wealth, treasure
WEAPON : <wǣpen> weapon
WEAR : <werian, werede, wered> wear; defend, protect
WEARY : <wērig> weary, exhausted
WEDER : <Weder> Weder
WEEK : <wucu> week
WELL-SPRING : <willeburne> well-spring
WEND : <wendan, wende, wended> wend, turn, go
WESSEX : <West-Seaxan> West Saxons, Wessex
WEST : <West-Seaxan> West Saxons, Wessex
WHALE-ROAD : <hron-rād> sea, lit. whale-road
WHAT : <hwā, hwā, hwæt> who, what : <lāf> remnant, what is left
WHEN : <siððan> since, when, afterwards : <þonne> then, when : <þā> then, when
WHERE : <hwǣr> where : <þe> than, where : <þǣr> there, where
WHICH : <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that : <þe> that, which, who
WHILE : <hwīl> while, time
WHIT : <wiht> whit, thing
WHO : <hwā, hwā, hwæt> who, what : <sē, sēo, ðæt> who, which, that : <þe> that,
which, who
WHOSOEVER : <swā hwilc swā> whosoever
WHY : <tō hwon> why
WICK-REEVE : <wīc-gerēfa> lit. wick-reeve
WICKED : <ārlēas> base, dishonorable, wicked
WICKEDNESS : <mānfǣhðu> wickedness : <yfel> evil, mischief, wickedness
WIDE : <sīd> wide, extensive
WIDELY : <wīde> widely, far
WIELD : <wealdan, wēold, wēoldon, wealden> wield, direct
WIELDER : <wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord
WIFE : <wīf> wife, woman
WIFERTH : <Wīferþ> Wiferth
WIGELIN : <Wīgelm> Wigelin
WIGHT : <Wiht> (Isle of) Wight
WILD : <hrēo> fierce, wild, savage : <wilde> wild, untamed
WILLING : <willan> wish, be willing
WINCHESTER : <Winte-ceastre> Winchester
WIND : <wind> wind : <windan, wond, wundon, wunden> wind, twist, turn
WINE-GAY : <wīn-gāl> intoxicated, lit. wine-gay
WINTER : <winter> winter, year
WINTER-CARING : <winter-cearig> sorrowful, lit. winter-caring
WISE : <frōd> old, wise, experienced : <glēaw> wise, prudent
WISH : <willan> wish, be willing
WISTAN : <Wīstān> Wistan
WITH : <mid> with
WITHIN : <innan> in, within : <mid> within
WITHOUT : <būton> without, except for : <feoh-lēas> moneyless, lit. without cattle :
<lēas> without, bereft of
WITHSTAND : <wiðstandan, wiðstōd, wiðstōdon, wiðstanden> withstand, resist
WOLF : <Bēo-wulf> bear, lit. bee wolf
WOMAN : <wīf> wife, woman
WONDER : <wundor> miracle, wonder
WORD : <word> word, speech
WORK : <bewyrcan, beworhte, beworht> work, construct, cover : <ellen-weorc> work
of courage : <weorc> work, deed
WORLD : <middan-eard> middle-earth, world : <woruld> world
WORLDLY : <worold-ār> worldly honor
WORTHILY : <weorðlīc> worthily, honorably
WORTHY : <onmunan, onman, onmunon, onmunde> esteem, remember, think worthy
WOUND : <gewundian, gewundode, gewundod> wound : <wund> wound
WREAK : <wrecan, wræc, wræcon, wrecen> wreak, force; tell, utter
WRETCH : <wrecca> wretch, exile
WRETCHED-CARING : <earm-cearig> miserable, lit. wretched-caring
WROTH : <wrāð> wroth, angry
WULFRED : <Wulfred> Wulfred
YARD : <geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling
YEAR : <gēar> year : <winter> winter, year
YEAR-DAY : <gēar-dæg> lit. year-day
YELL : <begiellan, begeall, begullon, begollen> yell, scream, screech
YET : <gēn> still, yet, further : <hwæðere> but, yet, however : <þēah> yet, though,
however
YIELD : <cringan, crong, crungon, crungen> cringe, yield; die : <gieldan, geald, guldon,
golden> yield, pay
YORE : <geāra> yore, long since
YOU : <ðū> you
YOUNG : <geong> young
YOUNGSTER : <geogoð> youth, youngster
YOUTH : <geogoð> youth, youngster
ZEALAND : <Sillende> Zealand
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