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adesa

Posted on October 17, 2026 by Hana Videen

adesa, m.n: adze. (AH-deh-za / ˈa-dɛ-za)

In a margin of a medieval manuscript, a hybrid man, his lower half resembling that of a cat, raises an adze behind his back with both hands, looking toward an overturned pitcher before him.
Book of Hours; France (Paris), c. 1420-1425; Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.1004, f. 173r. [ica.themorgan.org]

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a-īdlian

Posted on October 16, 2026 by Hana Videen

a-īdlian, wk.v: to make useless, vain, to empty, annul, profane. (ah-EED-li-ahn / a-ˈiːd-lɪ-an)

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heard-līcness

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Hana Videen

heard-līcness, f.n: hardness, severity, strictness. (HEH-ard-leek-ness / ˈhɛard-liːk-nɛs)

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be-tragan

Posted on October 14, 2026 by Hana Videen

be-tragan, wk.v: to betray. (beh-TRAH-ghan / bɛ-ˈtrax-an)

Medieval manuscript illustration of Judas drawing his lips close to a haloed Christ; around them are armed men, one of whom grabs Christ’s collar and prepares to hit him with a cudgel.
Betrayal of Christ, from a Royal Psalter; England, c. 1270; Metropolitan Museum of Art, manuscript leaf, object 22.24.4. [metmuseum.org]

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hindema

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Hana Videen

hindema, adj: last (in time). (HIN-deh-ma / ˈhɪn-dɛ-ma)

Posted in time + seasons Leave a comment

rīpness

Posted on October 12, 2026 by Hana Videen

rīpness, f.n: ripeness, maturity, season of ripeness, harvest. (REEP-ness / ˈriːp-nɛs)

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sealt

Posted on October 11, 2026 by Hana Videen

sealt, n.n: salt (literally and figuratively). (SEH-alt / ˈsɛalt)

Medieval manuscript illustration of a man with his hands out in a gesture of dismay as he looks at a blurry figure to the left; on the right two women sit in a building, one doing a face palm.
Lot’s wife is turned into a pillar of salt in the Old English Hexateuch; England (Canterbury), 11th century; British Library, Cotton Claudius B IV, f. 33r. [en.wikipedia.org]
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un-getogen

Posted on October 10, 2026 by Hana Videen

un-getogen, adj: uneducated. (UN-yeh-TAW-yen / ˌʌn-jɛ-ˈtɔ-jɛn)

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brēost-gehygd

Posted on October 9, 2026 by Hana Videen

brēost-gehygd, f/n.n: thought of the breast, innermost thought. (BRAY-ost-yeh-HUEGD / ˈbreːɔst-jɛ-ˌhygd)

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beadu-scearp

Posted on October 8, 2026 by Hana Videen

beadu-scearp, adj: sharp in or for battle. (BEH-ah-duh-SHEH-arp / ˈbɛa-dʌ-ˌʃɛarp)

Medieval manuscript image of a hairy creature with a long tail, two large feet, a long neck and two sharp horns.
Cornutis (a ‘horned serpent’) in Jacob van Maerlant’s Der Naturen Bloeme; Flanders, c. 1350; Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, KA 16, f. 123r. [bestiary.ca]

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