The Dictionary of Old English

1. The Dictionary of Old English Common Compounds

2. Feld • feld: open field wilderness • feldwēstene: desert • feldhūsa: tent, literally “house on a plain” • feldbēo: bumble-bee feld survived into Modern English as “field”

3. Bān • bān: bone • used to form many compound words, in part due to its common use as a raw material • Words for body: • bāncofa: literally “bone-chamber” • bānfæt: literally “vessel of bones” • bānhūs: literally “bone-house” • bāsele: literally “bone-hall” • all replaced by “bodig”, which referred to the torso

4. Other compounds containing “bān”: • bānfag: decorated with bones • bānrift: armour • bānwyrt: group of plants used in medicine • bān has servived in Modern English as “bone” although many of the compounds have become archaic

5. Burh • burh: fortification, fortified town or city • came to be used in many compound words regarding different aspects of the city or of personal dwellings • burhbryce: forcible entry into a city or dwelling • burhealdor: mayor or governor • burglage: civil law • burhlēod: citizen • burhgemōt: town meeting

6. Burh in Modern English • many of the words containing “burh” were replaced by borrowed italic words such as city, citizen, and governor • Borough: fortified town or city, court, or incorporated village

7. Common Prefixes • fela-: a great number, much, very • felaæte: given to biting, eating much • replaced by Latin “mordox” in ME • felameahtig: very mighty • meahtig = mighty • “fela” survived into ME but eventually fell out of use (but slang “hella” is eerily similar)

8. More Prefixes • arce-: chief, principal • arcebisceop: archbishop • borrowed from Latin “arch” which has again replaced it in Modern English • ele-: foreign, strange • elhygd: abnormal state of mind • eventually replaced by borrowed words

9. Common Suffixes • -cund: derived from • engelcunde: angelic • cognate of Modern English “kind” • -ede: possessing, having • gebeardede: bearded • equivalent to “-ed” in Modern English

10. Any questions?