A DICTIONARY OF THE FIRST, OR
OLDEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

A DICTIONARY

OF THE FIRST, OR

OLDEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE:

FROM THE

SEMI-SAXON PERIOD OF A.D. 1250 TO 1300.

CONSISTING OF

An Alphabetical Inventory of

EVERY WORD FOUND IN THE PRINTED ENGLISH
LITERATURE OF THE 13TH CENTURY.

BY THE LATE
HERBERT COLERIDGE,
SECRETARY TO THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

LONDON:
JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, PICCADILLY.
M DCCC LXII.

PREFACE.

The present publication may be considered as the foundation-stone of the Historical and Literary portion of the Philological Society’s proposed English Dictionary. Its appearance in a separate form has been necessitated by the nature of the scheme, on which that work is being constructed. Without entering into details, which will be found in the Society’s published Prospectus,[1] it will be sufficient for the present purpose to mention, that the raw material of the Dictionary, the words and authorities, are being brought together by a number of independent collectors, for whom it is consequently necessary to provide some common standard of comparison, whereby each may ascertain what he is to extract, and what to reject, from the author, or work, he has undertaken. This standard for works of earlier date than 1526 is furnished by the following pages, which contain an alphabetical inventory of every word found in the printed English literature of the 13th century. As, however, a mere index verborum would but inadequately fulfil its object, a certain amount of explanatory and etymological matter has been added, which it is hoped may render the work more generally interesting and useful than could otherwise have been the case. It is only proper to add that English literature, as distinguished from Semi-Saxon, is assumed to commence about the middle of the 13th century.

[1] London, Trübner and Co., Paternoster Row, price 6d.

All words are arranged under their modern forms, where such exist, but the older forms, except where utterly unimportant, are always noticed. The more remarkable of these older forms are also entered in the Glossary in their alphabetical order, with cross references to that under which the word is discussed. Thus under ‘Hymn’ and ‘Isle’ will be found the forms ‘ympne’ and ‘ydle;’ but ‘ympne’ and ‘ydle’ appear also in their proper places in the Glossary. Obsolete words are of course entered as they are spelt in the passage whence they are taken, a rule which applies as much to different forms of the same word, as to different words. As to the etymological matter, nothing further as a general rule has been attempted than to indicate the nearest cognate, or cognates, of the particular word; but it has not been thought necessary, or desirable, to load the Glossary with illustrations of this nature in very simple cases. I have to thank Hensleigh Wedgwood, Esq., for many kind and valuable suggestions in this part of my work.

My best thanks are also due to the Rev. J. Eastwood, the Rev. W. H. Herford, to my colleague Mr F. J. Furnivall, and to Messrs M’Ewan and Harrison, for their valuable assistance in the formation of separate indexes to several of the works comprised in this Glossary. Their respective shares in the work are pointed out in the List of Books and Editions, which will be found in page v.

And I cannot terminate this brief preface without expressing my deep sense of the obligations I am under to Sir F. Madden, not merely for the help of his invaluable editions of Laȝamon and Havelok, without which this work would have been far less complete than it now is, but also for much kind personal advice and assistance, which probably few, if any, living philologists beside himself would have been competent to bestow. It only remains for me to add that, although no pains have been spared to render the book as complete as possible, I cannot but expect that some omissions and errors will be discovered, more especially as the largest and most laborious portion of the work was carried on during a long period of ill health. I shall feel very grateful to those who discover any addenda, if they will kindly communicate them to me for insertion hereafter in the Dictionary itself.

HERBERT COLERIDGE.

10, Chester Place, Regent’s Park,
June 13th, 1859

LIST OF BOOKS AND EDITIONS REFERRED TO.

⁂ All the following pieces are cited by the number of the verse, except where the contrary is expressly mentioned.

Havelok the Dane. Edited by Sir F. Madden, for the Roxburgh Club. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

Geste of Kyng Horn. Edited by M. Michel, for the Bannatyne Club. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

(N.B. The text of this poem in the second vol. of Ritson’s Metrical Romances is taken from a later MS., and differs considerably from the Bannatyne text.)

Kyng Alysaunder. In Weber’s Metrical Romances, vol. I. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

The Land of Cokaygne. In Hickes’s Thesaurus, vol. I. p. 231. (By Mr Furnivall.)

The Owl and Nightingale. Edited by Mr Wright for the Percy Society. (By Mr Furnivall and Mr H. Coleridge.)

Fragment on Popular Science, from the Early English Metrical Lives of Saints, in Mr Wright’s ‘Popular Treatises on Science.’ (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

Specimens of Lyric Poetry, temp. Edw. I. Edited by Mr Wright, for the Percy Society. (By Mr M’Ewan.)

Various Pieces in the Reliquiæ Antiquæ (cited by volume and page). (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

Political Songs, temp. Hen. III. and Edw. I. Edited by Mr Wright, for the Camden Society. (By the Rev. W. H. Herford.)

Ritson’s Ancient Songs, Class I. Most of these songs, however, are contained in the Specimens of Lyric Poetry, temp. Ed. I., and are quoted from that collection. (By Mr Harrison.)

Religious Songs, printed at the end of the Percy Society’s edition of the Owl and Nightingale. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

Dialogue between the Soul and Body. In the Appendix to Mapes’s Poems, edited by Mr Wright, for the Camden Society, p. 334. (By the Rev. J. Eastwood.)

The Early English Psalter. Edited by the Rev. J. Stevenson, for the Surtees’ Society. Cited by the psalm and verse. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

Robert of Gloucester’s Chronicle. Ed. Hearne (2nd ed., 1810). Cited by the page. (By Mr. H. Coleridge.)

The Legend of St Brandan. Edited by Mr Wright, for the Percy Society. (By the Rev. J. Eastwood.)

The Life and Martyrdom of Thomas Beket. Edited by Mr Black, for the Percy Society. (By the Rev. J. Eastwood.)

(Owing to the gross inaccuracy of the marginal numbering in the printed edition of this poem, it has been found necessary to go over the whole afresh, and to cite according to the amended reckoning. The following data will assist the reader:—The first error occurs in page 64, where the line numbered 1280 should be 1282. The second occurs in page 100, where ten lines are dropped, and 1961 is printed for 1973, the true number. The third will be found in page 110, where 2049 is made to succeed 2139, and after this, of course, the confusion is hopeless. The exact number of lines in the poem is 2515, while the printed numbers give only 2398. Readers are therefore requested to renumber their copies from page 64 onwards, before attempting to verify the references in the Glossary.)

The following pieces will be printed in the second part of the Philological Society’s Transactions for 1858, and are therefore included in the Glossary. I am indebted to the kindness of my friend and colleague, Mr Furnivall, for the loan of his transcripts.

A Moral Ode. MS. Egerton, 613. Cited by stanzas.

(Hickes printed Extracts from this Ode, in his Thesaurus, vol. I. p. 222, from one of the Digby MSS.; but his text is somewhat different from that of the Egerton MS., and omits nine stanzas contained in the latter.)

A few references will also be found to the Manuel des Pecches of Robert Brunne, now being edited by Mr Furnivall, for the Roxburgh Club, but the proof-sheets came into my hands too late to allow of anything like a complete analysis of the language of the poem.

OTHER WORKS REFERRED TO IN THE GLOSSARY.

Burguy’s Grammaire de la Langue d’Oïl. 3 vols. 8vo. Berlin, 1856. The third volume contains an excellent Glossary.

Cotgrave’s French and English Dictionary, by Howell. 1650.

Egilsson’s Lexicon Poeticum Antiquæ Linguæ Septemtrionalis. Hafniæ, 1854-1859. One part is still wanting to complete the work.

Halliwell’s Provincial and Archaic Dictionary. 2 vols. 8vo. 1855.

Kilian’s Lexicon Teutonicum. Ed. Hasselt. 2 vols. 4to. 1777.

Laȝamon’s Brut. Ed. Sir F. Madden. 3 vols. 8vo. 1847. (Cited by volume and page.)

The Ormulum. Ed. White. 2 vols. 8vo. 1852.

The Philological Society’s Transactions, from 1842-1856. 9 vols. 8vo.

Roquefort’s Glossaire de la Langue Romane. 2 vols. 8vo. 1808.

A Volume of Vocabularies, forming vol. I. of a Library of National Antiquities. Edited by Wright. 1857. (Privately printed.)

Warton’s History of English Poetry. 3 vols. 8vo. Ed. 1840.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS MADE USE OF IN THE GLOSSARY.

GLOSSARIAL INDEX.

A

A, indef. art. RG. 367

—— == on. O. and N. 20

—— == he. Alys. 7809

—— == and. HD. 359

—— == one. Ps. liv. 14

Aback, adv. RG. 131

Abash, v. a. Alys. 224

Abate, v. a. == put an end to, make to cease. RG. 54. Fr. abattre

—— v. n. == cease from doing a thing. RG. 447

Abay, v. a. == drive to bay. Alys. 3882

Abbess, sb. RG. 370

Abbey, sb. RG. 369

Abbot, sb. RG. 376, 447

Abece, == ABC. RG. 266

Abed, adv. RG. 547

Abelde, v. n. == become bold. Alys. 2442

Abenche, == on a bench. St. Kath. 91

Abide, v. n. == remain, tarry. RG. 382. AS. bidan

—— v. a. == wait for, hence receive. RG. 265, and 302, pret. ‘abade.’ Ps. xxxix. 2

Abie, v. a. == pay for, pay the penalty for. [abigge] 1624. B. pret. ‘abouȝte.’ 58 B. ‘abid.’ O. and N. 1775. AS. a-bicgan. See Phil. Soc. Proc. vol. v. p. 33

Abite, v. a. == bite. Alys. 7096

Ablende, v. a. == make blind. RG. 208

Aboht, part. == bought. Wright’s L. P. p. 103

About, adv. == round about (of locality). RG. 369; ‘ȝeode aboute’ 76 B.

—— ‘about to,’ with a verb, as a future part. 1593 B.

—— == nearly. RG. 247

—— prep. == around, circum. RG. 467; [obout]. Ps. lxxvii. 28

—— == near (of time), ‘aboute noon.’ Wright’s L. P. p. 34

Above, adv. 266 B.

—— prep. O. and N. 1492

Abow, v. a. == make to bend. RG. 46. pret. ‘abuyde.’ RG. 476

—— v. n. == bow, 3s pres. ‘abueth.’ RG. 193. part. ‘abouynde.’ RG. 302

Abowes, sb. == patron saints. RG. 475. Fr. avoués

Abraid, v. a. == open. O. and N. 1042. AS. abredan

Abroad, adv. RG. 542

Abrode, adv. == breeding, lit. ‘on brood.’ O. and N. 518. Fragm. on Seven Sins, v. 34

Abusse, v. a. == ambush, conceal. 1382 B.

Abuten, prep. == without (sine). M. Ode, st. 43

Ac, conj. == and, but. RG. 367

Acast, part. == disappointed. Pol. S. 149

Accord, v. a. == reconcile. RG. 388

—— v. n. == agree. RG. 388

—— sb. == agreement. RG. 388, 447

Account, v. n. == render an account or reckoning. Pilate 86

—— sb. == reckoning. 164 B. Sermon, st. 24

Accurse, v. a. RG. 296, 474

Accuse, v. a. RG. 523. part. ‘acoysing,’ == accusing or accusation. Alys. 3973

Acele, v. a. == seal. RG. 510. See Asele

Ache, sb. == smallage or water-parsley. Wright’s L. P. p. 26. Fr. ache

Ache, v. n. RG. 240 pret. ‘ok.’ RG. 208

Acoled, == cooled. O. and N. 215

Acomber, v. a. == encumber. Alys. 8025

Acopede, == accused. See Aculp

Acore, v. a. == make sorry, grieve. RG. 75. part. ‘acorye,’ == chastened, punished. RG. 390

Acost, adv. == at the side. Alys. 2443, 3547

Acquaint, v. a. RG. 15, 465

Acquit, v. a. RG. 565

Acton, sb. == a leathern jacket worn under the armour. Alys. 2153. Fr. acoton. See Burguy s. v.

Acue, adv. == on his rump. Fr. au cul. Marg. 67

Aculp, v. a. == accuse. RG. 544. pret. ‘acopede.’ 773 B.

Adaunt, v. a. RG. 61, 372

Aday, adv. == by day. O. and N. 219

—— == of the day, ‘aȝen eve aday,’ ‘on the evening of the day.’ RG. 289

Adder, sb. Alys. 5262

Addle, adj. == rotten. O. and N. 133

Adiȝte, v. a. == adapt, prepare. O. and N. 326

Admiral, sb. [amyrayl.] RG. 409. [admirald.] K. Horn 95

Admonishment, sb. [amonestement]. Alys. 6974

Adown, prep. [adun]. O. and N. 1452

—— adv. RG. 376.

Adownward, adv. RG. 362. Fragm. Sci. 321

Adraw, v. a. == draw (as a sword). RG. 361, pret. ‘adrou.’ == drew. RG. 400

Adread, v. n. == fear, be in dread. O. and N. 1264

—— adj. == in fear. Rel. S. iv. 2. part. ‘adrad.’ 44 B.

Adrench, v. a. == to drown, pret. ‘adrentte.’ RG. 384

—— v. n. == be drowned, pret. ‘adrent.’ RG. 401. part. ‘adrencte.’ RG. 437. ‘adronke.’ RG. 430

Adriȝe, v. a. == endure. K. Horn, 1068. AS. a-dreogan

Adun, v. a. == stun. O. and N. 337

Adun, adv. == adown, q. v.

Advance, v. a. == set forward, promote. RG. 503; to advance a girl in marriage. RG. 431

Advancement, sb. Alys. 2570

Advent, sb. == the season of Advent. 1849 B.

Advice, sb. 101 B.

Advowson, sb. [vowson]. RG. 471

Adwole, adv. == in error. O. and N. 177. AS. dwelian, dwola

Ae, adv. for ‘aȝe,’ == against. 1456 B.

Afaitment, sb. == address, skill. Alys. 661

Afare, part. == gone away. St Kath. 176

Afaytye, v. a. == manage, reduce to subjection. RG. 177

—— 3 s pret. ‘afighteth.’ Alys. 6583. Fr. afaiter

Afar, adv. 1226 B.

Afaunce, == affiance? Weber. Gl. ad Alys. 732

Afear, v. a. == frighten. RG. 504, 22

Afeard, adj. RG. 388

Afell, v. a. == fell, cut down. Alys. 5240

Afeng, v. a. == take up, receive, pret. afong. RG. 368

Aferd, part. == affaired, i.e. charged with an affair to be executed. Alys. 1813

Affair, sb. Alys. 410

Affie, v. a. == give confidence to a person. Alys. 4753

Affirm, v. a. Alys. 7356

Afighteth. See Afaytye

Afiled, == defiled. Alys. 1064

Afind, v. a. == find. O. and N. 527

Afingred, part. == hungered. 416 β. Cf. ‘fyrst’ for ‘thirst,’ ‘frefownd’ for ‘greyhound;’ and see Wright’s Vocab. pp. 250, 259, note

Afire, adv. RG. 380, 541, 546

Afoled, part. == befooled, made a fool of. O. and N. 206

Afoot, adv. RG. 378

Aforce, v. a. == force, compel. RG. 121. Alys. 789

Aforeward, adv. == foremost, foreward. 492 B.; first of all. RG. 567

Aforth, adv. == forwards. O. and N. 822

Afretie, v. a. == devour. Pol. S. 237, 240. AS. fretan

Afte, sb. == folly? Pol. S. 210

After, prep. == in expectation of, ‘after betere wynde hii moste þere at stonde.’ RG. 367

—— == of time, ‘after Mydsomer.’ RG. 407

—— == like. Alys. 5418

—— == in; ‘after eche strete.’ M. Ode, st. 117

—— == ‘behind,’ of place. RG. 398

Afterblismed, == pregnant. Ps. lxxvii. 70. AS. blósma == a bud

Afterward, adv. == in the after part (of a book). RG. 6

—— == next in order, afterwards. Wright’s L. P. p. 24

Aftertale, sb. == postscript. 627 B.

Afterwending, sb. == following. Alys. 7280

Again, adv. == iterum, a second time. RG. 36

—— == back again [aȝé]. 147 B.

Againbuy, v. a. == redeem, pret. ‘agaynboghte.’ Ps. lxxiii. 2

Againbuying, sb. == redemption. Ps. xlviii. 9

Againcall, v. a. Ps. ci. 25

Againlook, v. a. == look back upon. Ps. xxxiv. 3

Againres, sb. == meeting. Ps. lviii. 6. [ogain raas]. Ps. xviii. 7

Againsaw, sb. == contradiction. Ps. lxxx. 8

Againsaying, sb. == contradiction. Ps. cv. 32

Against, prep. == contra, [aȝe]. 54 B. [aȝen]. RG. 367. [ogaines] Ps. lxxxii. 4

—— == opposite to, of place, [aȝeyn]. RG. 6

—— == by the time that. Wright’s L. P. p. 23

—— == in comparison with, [aȝeynes]. Wright’s L. P. p. 68

Againstand, v. n. Ps. lxxv. 8

Againturn, v. n. == return. Ps. lxxvii. 39

Againward, adv. Ps. lxxvii. 57

Againwend, v. n. == retreat, part, ‘aȝenwendand.’ Ps. lxxvii. 9

Agast, v. a. == frighten. RG. 387

—— adj. == frightened. RG. 402. Alys. 3912. MG. us-gaisjan.

Age, sb. == sæculum. RG. 9

Agesse, vb. == calculate on, expect. K. Horn, 1219

Agin, v. n. == begin. O. and N. 1287

Ago, v. n. == go. O. and N. 1451. part. ‘agonne.’ == proceeded. RG. 561

Ago, == gone, neglected. Pol. S. 197

Agrame, v. a. == make angry. Alys. 3309

Agrief, v. a. Alys. 3785

Agrill, v. a. == annoy. [a-grulle]. O. and N. 1108. AS. grillan

Agrise, v. a. == terrify. RG. 463. pret. ‘agros.’ RG. 549. part. ‘agrise,’ == frightened. RG. 539. ‘To agrise him,’ == become furious. K. Horn, 895. AS. agrýsan

Aground, or ‘alaground,’ == on the ground. RG. 378

Ahen, adj. == own. O. and N. 1284. AS. ágen

Aheve, v. a. == lit. lift up; hence, bring up, educate. Marg. 5. AS. a-hefan

Ahte, sb. == property, goods. Wright’s L. P. p. 46. AS. æht

Ahwene, v. a. == vex, trouble. O. and N. 1562. AS. a-hwænan

Ainoȝe, adj. == anew. RG. 397

Air, sb. 697 β

—— == airs, pride, vaunting. RG. 51, 397

Aither, == either. 434 β

Aiware—Aihwar, == everywhere. O. and N. 216. Moral Ode, st. 42, ed. Hickes, but the Egerton MS. reads the verse “eiðer he mai him finde”

Akelde, vb. a. pret. == cooled. The other reading is ‘acoled,’ q. v. RG. 442

Aken, v. a. == reconnoitre. Alys. 3468

Aknee, adv. == on the knee’s. 993 B. [aknawe]. Alys. 3540

Alaboute, adv. 2258 B. Many other compounds of ‘all’ are thus written as one word, where they are now generally disjoined, thus—‘alaground.’ RG. 378

Alamed, part. == lamed. O. and N. 1602

Alas! interj. RG. 443

Alast, adv. == at last. Pol. S. 216

Alb, sb. == clothing, lit. a white robe. RG. 347. AS. albe

Albidene, adv. == by and by. HD. 730. Wright’s L. P. p. 61

Albysi, adv. == about, scarcely. RG. 81. The V. L. gives ‘unnethe’

Alday, adv. == all the day. RG. 197

—— == continually. RG. 92

Aldeman, sb. == elder. Ps. civ. 22

Aldest, == oldest. RG. 232

Alderelde, sb. == extreme old age. Ps. lxx. 18

Ale, sb. HD. 14

Alegge, v. a. == to lay down, put down. 1928 B. part, ‘aleyd.’ == quelled, subdued. Wright’s L. P. p. 105

—— (of laws) == to annul. RG. 422. part. ‘aleyd.’ RG. 144 == ‘to confute.’ O. and N. 394. AS. a-lecgan

Alesen, v. a. == loose. Marg. 24

Alight, v. a. == descend, alight. 1897 B. RG. 468. part, ‘alight.’ RG. 433. AS. a-lihtan

Alighting, sb. RG. 430

Alisaundre, sb. == the herb alexander, or horse-parsley. Wright’s L. P. p. 26. See the Prompt. Parv. s. v.

Alive, adv. 67 B. See Gloss. Rem. to Laȝamon, p. 442

Alike, adj. [iliche]. 1894 B.

—— adv. 714 β

Alinlaz. See Anlace

All, adj. RG. 373, == the whole

—— RG. 371, == every one of a number gen. s. ‘alles,’ used adverbially, == very, entirely. RG. 17; 73 B. gen. pl. ‘alre,’ 1332 B. ‘aller,’ RG. 135

All, adv. RG. 367, et passim

Allerfurst, == first of all. Alys. 1569

Allermost, adv. RG. 44

Alliance, sb. RG. 89, 295; [enlyance]. RG. 12

Allong, == during the whole of; ‘al longe day.’ 403 B. ‘allonge niȝt.’ 595 β

Allout, adv. == entirely. 1940 B.

Ally, v. a. RG. 65

Allyng, adv. == entirely. RG. 48. AS. eallunga

Almatour, sb. == almoner. Alys. 3042

Almesse, sb. == alms. RG. 330

Almightand, == almighty. Creed. 33

Almighty, adj. 1041 B.

Almost, adv. RG. 389. Ps. cxviii. 87

Almsdeed, sb. Rel. S. iv. 39

Almsful, adj. 1676. B.

Almshede, sb. RG. 498

Alnil, == and only? Pol. S. 201

Alond, adv. == on the land. RG. 389

Alone, adj. 59 B.

Along, adv. == straight on, ‘to go along.’ Alys. 3410

—— == lengthwise [o lonke]. Pol. S. 156

Alothe, v. n. == become loathsome. O. and N. 1275

Alour, sb. == corridor. Alys. 7210. pl. ‘alurs.’ RG. 192. Fr. aller

Alout, v. n. == bow. RG. 476

Alre, gen. pl. of ‘all,’ forms numerous compounds with adjj. in the superlative degree,—thus ‘alre-hecst,’ == highest of all. O. and N. 687; ‘alre-mest,’ ib. 684; ‘alre-necst,’ ib. 685; ‘alre-wrste,’ ib. 121; &c. &c.

Als, == as. HD. 306, == as if. HD. 508

Alsauf, adv. == without fail. RG. 391

Also, == besides. RG. 369

—— == as. RG. 561. HD. 1872

—— == as if. HD. 468

Alswa, adv. == also, in like manner. O. and N. 237

—— == as if. O. and N. 146

Altar, sb. 2215 B.

Altherbest, == best of all. HD. 182

Alto, adv. 99 B.

Alumere, adj. == bright. Wright’s L. P. p. 68

Alȝare, adv. == already. 917 B.

Am, == them. Ps. v. 12

Am, vb. == 1s pret. of ‘be.’ 337 RG.