Maðumisc : Dictionary

achilding

Adjective: Pregnant.

aks, aksen

Verb: Ask, to ask. It may sound funny to you and it may be considered a sign of poor English, but modern ask evolved from Old English ascian, whose variant forms of ahsian, acsian and axian became Middle English axen. Also see asked and ax.

alas

Interjection: Used to express sorrow, grief, etc.

afeard

Afraid.

afield

Away, especially from home

albeit

Conjunction: Although, even if.

ambaje, ambajen

Noun: Winding pathway (ambage, ambages).

an't

Contraction: Are not. Am not. Also see my thought of the day: Ain't.

And

Conjunction: Then. Used to begin a sentence.

anight

Adverb: By night.

anon

(uh-NAHN') Adverb: In a short time; soon; at once; immediately.

asked

(ASK'-ed) Spelling reflects archaic pronunciation, for pronunciation changes with time but the printed word does not. Pronounce the -ed as a separate syllable, as was once done. Also see aks and ax.

assay

Noun: Attempt. Verb: To attempt, test, make proof of.

attend

Verb: To listen to.

atwain

In two, asunder. Also see numbers.

aught

anything

awaygoing

Noun: Departure. Also, waygoing.

ax, axen

(aks) Verb: Ask, to ask. Also see aks and asked.

baileywick, baileywyck

Noun. One's area of skill, knowledge, operation or responsibility. Maggie McMillen provided as example I would prefer not to offer an opinion on that topic, for it is not my baileywick. You would be wise to seek advise elsewhere.

bane

(bayn) Noun: Fatal injury or ruin; A cause of death, destruction, or ruin; A deadly poison.

behoof

Noun: Advantage, profit.

beck

Noun: A small stream.

bethink, beþink

Verb: To call to mind, to remember: Bethink what life was like before the Nett and email.; To cause (oneself) to call to mind, remind: He bethought himself of the importance of being on time.

betweentimes

At or during intervals.

betwixt

(bi-TWIKST') Preposition: Between. idiom: betwixt and between. In an intermediate position; neither wholly one thing nor another.

blench

Verb: To start aside, flinch.

bladher, blaðer

Verb: To talk nonsense.

blood temp

Noun. Rather like room temp, but a better standard for certain. Maggie McMillen's mother-in-law often cautioned that certain broths or potions had to be served at blood temp to get the virtue of them.

bonny

Adjective: Good looking, or of good character. Sometimes used ironically to mean the opposite!

bosk

Noun: A small wood, grove; thicket. Also see weald and wold.

bosket

Noun: A small wood, grove; thicket.

bosky

Adjective: Covered with underwood, covered with trees or shrubs.

brook

Verb: to put up with, tolerate. It may have meant to use in ancient times and is akin to the German brauchen which means to need.

But

Conjunction: However, on the contrary, etc. Used to begin a sentence.

deasil

Adverb: Sunwise, clockwise. Also see widdershins.

dell

Noun: small valley

dhee, ðee

Pronoun: you (thee)

dhine, ðine

Pronoun: yours (thine), and used in stead of thy before an initial vowel or h: Know thine enemy.

dhou, ðou

Pronoun: you (thou), akin to the German du.

dhy, ðy

Pronoun: your (thy)

divers

Numerous and various

dolven

Buried. As example, Darren Andrews quoted Tolkien in The Fellowship of The Ring, p 307: All about them as they lay hung the darkness, hollow and immense, and they were oppressed by the loneliness and vastness of the dolven halls and endlessly branching stairs and passages.

doom

Noun: fate (not necessarily bad!)

dwarmy

Adjective: refers to unwholesome weather, or to feeling unwell. Dwarmy weather is generally cold and humid, or hot and humid. It is a miserable, dwarmy day out. or I'm feeling a wee bit dwarmy today. I think I'll stay home. Also see plaguey.

elder

Adjective: Older, when speaking of people. I am one year her elder. I am the elder. I am the elder of the children.

eldest

Adjective: Oldest, when speaking of people. I am one year her elder. I am the eldest. I am the eldest of the children.

ere

Preposition: Previous to, before.

erelong

Adverb: Before long; soon.

ereyesterday

The day before yesterday. Also see overmorrow.

ergo

Therefore, hence.

eyot

Noun: A small island, especially one found in a river

faggot

Noun: A bundle of sticks used as firewood

fain

(fayn) Adverb: Preferably, rather; Happily, gladly. Also see lief.

feldhus

Noun: tent

Fie!

Interjection: For shame! 14th century, from Latin via French fi. And now I know the origin of Esperanto's fi, used freestanding or as a prefix.

fingerlik

Adjective: Digital.

fit

Noun: A section of a poem or ballad; a canto or division of a song. Modern meaning: A block of code in a program.

forfend

Verb: To prevent, avert, fend off: A study found that eating tomatoes may help forfend cancer.

forsooth

Interjection: In truth, indeed.

forstraught

Very much perplexed.

fortnight

(FORT'night) Noun: Two weeks. Fourteen nights. Adverb: fortnightly, once every two weeks. Also see sennight.

gainsay

Verb: To deny, to contradict.

garth

Noun: An enclosed yard, garden, or paddock. Johannes Spielmann noted that garth is likely related to German der Garten (the garden).

gemynd

Noun: Memory, mind. Levi Tooker suggested that it be used to describe computer storage: I'd do the full install, but it would take up a lot of gemynd. Also see orthenkung.

gloam

Noun: Twilight.

greened

Made green from the mosses and lichens on a tree's trunk. Very Esperantish!

grot

Old form of 'grotto'; an ornamental or picturesque cavern

han't

Contraction: have not.

handbook

Noun: Manual.

happen

Perhaps. General Northern England dialect.

hearken

Verb/intransitive: To give ear, to hear attentively.

hense

From this place. Originally hence.

henseforward

Onward from this time or place. Originally henceforward.

highnys

Noun: Height. Adapted from the Old English heanes.

hight

Verb/transitive: Called, named. Also see klepe.

hither, hiðer

To this place.

hord

Hoard, a hidden store or accumulation.

ich, ik

Pronoun: I.

in-

In. Can stand alone or be used as a prefix. Also see ut-.

klepe, klept, ykleped, yklept

(i-KLEPT') Verb/transitive: To call by the name of, name, called, named. Also see hight.

kneeve

Noun: 1) Fist. 2) Elbow. Also used as a verb, as in to kneeve somebody in the ribs. Also see neive.

kob

Noun: Spider, surviving today in cobweb

kopse

Noun: Thicket, a dense local growth of bushes or small trees.

kwicken

Verb: To stimulate, to cause to become enlivened: The professor kwickened the students' interest with kolored chalk and praktikal demonstrations.

lake

To play. Old Yorkshire dialect. (Hense the saying, "Nobbut wa'penny twixt' worker a't' laker i't' wake." - Andrew Hardie)

lass

Girl, sweetheart, wife.

lee

Shelter, especially from wind and weather

lief

(leef) Adverb: Readily, willingly. Adjective: ready, willing. I would as lief go now as later. Johannes Spielmann noted that lief corresponds to German lieber (like better), as in Ich würde lieber gleich gehen (I'd better like to go now). Also see fain.

lightmote

Noun: Light particle, photon. Also see mote.

longnys

Noun: Length. Adapted from the Old English langnys.

maiden's pooley

Noun: a virgin's pee. Perhaps of Scottish origin. The typical response of Maggie McMillen's father-in-law whenever he was served an unfamiliar libation: Ach, Nora, that is as fine as maiden's pooley.

maðum, maðm, maððum, madhum, mathom

Noun: A treasured object of value received as a gift. In the deeper sense, the value of the gift is primarily sentimental and was given either by a child or by a beloved adult who did not realize that the item would be treasured. Also see the aepnotes for further information.

mattock

A primitive weapon, originally a farming tool, perhaps best described as a double-headed battle-hoe

mayhap

Perhaps

meet

Adjective: Suitable, proper.

mote

Noun: A small particle. Also see lightmote.

napper

Noun: Head.

nary

From Old and Middle English næfre (ne æfre). 1. Adjective: Not one, not a single. Nary (a) word was spoken. 2. Adverb: never. If they are not so old, and not so interesting, nary ye mind.

ne

Not.

neive

Noun: 1) Fist. 2) Elbow. Also see kneeve.

nett

Noun: network.

Nett

Noun: The Net.

nettweork

Noun: network.

nigh

Adverb: near in time, place or relationship (also nigher, nighest). Evening draws nigh. Adjective: being near in time, place or relationship (also nigher, nighest); being on the left side of an animal or vehicle, or being the animal or the vehicle on the left. pulling hard on the nigh rein, the nigh horse. Verb, transitive or intransitive: to come near or to draw near (also nighed, nighing, nighs). Springtime nighs.

nobbut

Only (nothing but?). Nobbut a Cockstride Away.

nonse

Noun: For this occasion only, for the nonse, corrupted from for then once; nonceword; originally nonce.

oft

Often. As in German! (And Esperanto!)

or

Noun: Beginning, origin. Also used as a prefix meaning ancient or old. Related to ur.

orthenkung, orþenkung

Noun: A memory. Also see or and thenkung, and gemynd.

ort

Noun. Leaving, refuse. Also interesting to me because quite some time before I came across this word, my daughter Hillary participated in a recycling project at school involving ORT, Organic Recyclable Trash! On the other hand, German der Ort means place. Someday I'll have to figure out whether there really is a connection between ORT and Anglo-Saxon ort and German Ort! In addition, I've read that the German phrase das stille Örtchen (the small quiet place) is an alias for die Toilette, which does kind of tie together both concepts!

overmorrow

The day after tomorrow. Also see ereyesterday.

oxter

Noun. Armpit. A Scots word, of Anglo-Saxon origin. I was up to my oxters in relatives (or water or mud or work...).

passing

Adjective. Originally had the meaning of today's surpassing: to go beyond in excellence or achievement. Maggie McMillen noted that it has come to mean just getting by as opposed to the original meaning of above and beyond, and gave as example the sentence She was indeed passing fair, and all, to a man, remarked on the fact.

pinchknees

Noun. Knee high stockings. Noah, Sharon C.'s three year old nephew, is fond of this word! According to him, pinchknees are the things Santa Claus wears under his boots.

plaguey

Adjective: refers to unwholesome weather. It is a plaguey day. We will all have mildew by high tea. Also see dwarmy.

prithee, priðee

Please, I pray thee.

rune

Noun. Mystery, magic.

sans

Without. From the French, really, but it did enter English at some point, and then pretty much leave at another.

selfhood

Noun. Individuality.

sennight

(SEN'ight) Noun: A week. Seven nights. Adverb: sennightly, once a week. Also see numbers and fortnight.

sertes

(SER'teez) Adverb: Certainly; truly. Originally certes.

simmit

Noun: A large undershirt. Maggie McMillen suggested that it would be a perfect word to use instead of t-shirt for those huge t-shirts everyone is so fond of wearing now.

spek, sprek

Noun: Modern English speech or language

spekan, sprekan

Verb: Just like to speak in modern English

stede

Noun: The place, position, or function properly or customarily occupied by another. Seldom used nowadays, except in the word instead, which I prefer to write as in stead or in stede.

take shank's mare

Verb: to walk, to go by the power of one's own shanks. I donned my Sisters of Mercy simmit, put my hands in both pockets, and with my knieves out at either side, I took shank's mare to the closest publican to whom I was in the least arears. - Maggie McMillen

tarn

Mountain lake

thenkung, þenkung

Noun: A thought. Also see orthenkung.

thense, þense

From that place. Originally thence.

thenseforward, þenseforward

Onward from that time or place. Originally thenceforward.

thither, þiðer

(THITH'uhr) Adverb: To or toward that place; in that direction; there: running hither and thither; To or toward that end or result. Adjective: thither, located or being on the more distant side, far, the thither side of the pond

today night

Tonight. Also see the grammatical note.

trencher

Noun: A wooden platter for serving food.

tunge

Noun: Modern tongue, akin to German Zunge

ugsome

(UHG'suhm) Adjective: Disgusting; loathsome.

umbraje

(UHM'brij) Noun: Something that affords shade; shadow or shade (umbrage).

unwonted

(uhn-WAWN'tid) Adjective: Not habitual or ordinary; unusual. Not accustomed; unused to. Adverb: unwontedly. Noun: unwontednys. Also see wont.

ur-

A Germanic prefix meaning original, primeval, first. Related to or.

ut-

Out. Can stand alone or be used as a prefix. Also ute, out, without, aside, abroad. Also see in- and vowels.

uzcury

(YOO'zhuh-ree) Noun: Interest charged or paid on a loan. The lending of money for interest was once a Bad Thing all by itself; now it's just a question of how much. I prefer the old way... and it's great fun to see the reactions when you refer to somebody's interest rate as usury!

vale

The valley of a river

waif

Homeless person

wain

Noun: Wagon; The constellation of the Plough or Big Dipper

wane

Verb: Grow weaker; decrease. Also see wax.

wax

Verb: Grow stronger; increase. Also see wane.

waygoing

Noun: Departure. Also, awaygoing.

weald

Noun: Forest, wood, grove, but also bushes or foliage. Similar to German Der Wald, a forest or woodland. Also see wold and bosk.

Webb

Noun: The Web.

webba

Noun: male webmaster [Middle English webster = a weaver of cloth, from Old English webbestre, feminine of webba, weaver, from webb, web.].

webbestre

Noun: female webmaster [Middle English webster = a weaver of cloth, from Old English webbestre, feminine of webba, weaver, from webb, web.].

webbmaister

Noun: webmaster.

welkin, wolken

Noun: Sky, clouds, heaven. Adjective: skyblue, azure, cerulean. Johannes Spielmann pointed out the correspondence to German die Wolke (cloud), and its plural, die Wolken.

welter

Noun: Turmoil, confusion.

whenas

(wen-AZ') Conjunction: When. Whereas.

whense

From what place? Originally whence.

whereat

At or upon which.

wherefore

For which cause or reason. For what?

wherefrom

From which.

wherein

In which. In what way or respect?

whereof

Of what: I know whereof I speak; Of which: ancient pottery whereof many examples are lost; Of whom.

whereon

On which or what. On what?

wheresoever

In, to, or from whatever place at all; wherever.

whereto

To which. To what end or purpose?

whither, whiðer

To what place?

widdershins

Adverb: Counterclockwise. In a wrong or contrary direction. The accident was caused by a van driving widdershins on the one-way street. (My Webster's Third New International Unabridged Dictionary gives the definition as "in a left-handed or contrary direction: contrarily, counterclockwise --- used esp. of ritual circumambulation" So, it's "especially" used to mean going in a circle the wrong way --- ah, but not exclusively. Of course we both know the word in practice isn't used at all, so it's all academic hair-splitting. But note the synonym "contrarily" right next to "counterclockwise". Looking up the definition of "contrarily", I get "in a contrary way: contrariwise", which already loses the circumnavigational connotation. Looking up "contrary", we come basically to "opposite in direction / the other way". So why not a linear sense? It seems nowise forbidden. - Joe Erickson) Also see deasil.

wight

Noun: a living being, creature, person.

wold

Noun: Forest, wood, grove, but also bushes or foliage. Also used to describe an upland region of moorland. Similar to German Der Wald, a forest or woodland, and probably also related to veld and veldt, though I don't usually think of treeness in that context. (Ah, as I suspected! I tweaked the sounds a little bit, in the usual ways that sounds can change with time, and came up with wild. That guess prompted a bit of research, culminating in the discovery of a theory that all these words do indeed spring from a common ancestor, Indo-European weidh (separate - also the source of divide and widow), and referred to land separate or remote, the sort of land which is usually (in Germanic countries, anyway!) wooded.) Also see weald and bosk.

wont

(wunt) Noun: Habit, custom, usage. Adjective: accustomed, habituated: followed by an infinitive. Yes, it is pronounced wunt, though I have a difficult time forcing myself to do this. Also see unwonted.

worrit

worry

wyrd

(weerd) Noun: Fate.

wyrt

(weert) Noun: Herb, plant.

yesternight

The night of yesterday. The yester- of yesterday (and of yesteryear, coined by Dante Gabriel Rossetti) was originally a freestanding word meaning "yesterday", but by the time records of it in Old English begin it was already locked into a collocation with day. Its ultimate source is the Indo-European *ghes, which also produced Latin heri (source of French hier, Italian and Rumanian ieri, and Spanish ayer), Welsh doe, German gestern and Dutch gisteren. (My daughter Allison, three years old, created this word in April of 1997. Also see the grammatical note.)