lēaþor

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Hana Videen

lēaþor, n.n: lather; washing soda (glossing Latin nitrum). (LAY-ah-thor / ˈleːa-θɔɹ)

This week’s Wordhord Wednesday post is on the sounds we make (with a short digression on cat sneezes). Read it on Patreon.

blencan

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Hana Videen

blencan, wk.v: to deceive, cheat. (BLEN-kahn / ˈblɛn-kan)

Medieval manuscript illustration of a fox playing dead with birds flying down around it, followed by a second panel with the fox on its feet with a bird in its mouth. — Fox playing dead in the Rochester Bestiary. England, 13th century. British Library, MS Royal 12 F XIII, f. 26v. [bl.uk]

ā-dwellan

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Hana Videen

ā-dwellan, wk.v: to lead astray, seduce; to impede, obstruct, hinder. (ah-DWELL-ahn / a-ˈdwɛl-lan)

a-teorigendlīc

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Hana Videen

a-teorigendlīc, adj: failing, fleeting, perishable. (ah-TEH-oh-rih-yend-LEECH / a-ˈtɛɔ-ɹɪ-jɛnd-ˌliːtʃ)

un-sceþþig

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Hana Videen

un-sceþþig, adj: innocent, harmless. (UN-SHEH-thee / ˈʌn-ˌʃɛ-θɪj)

þenning

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Hana Videen

þenning, f.n: stretching, extension. (THEN-ning / ˈθɛn-nɪŋ)

Medieval manuscript image of a horse stretching its neck up to the roof of a shelter, causing some bread, cheese and a cloth to fall down beside a kneeling man. — St Cuthbert’s horse finding bread and cheese in the roof, in Bede’s Life of St Cuthbert. England (Durham), 12th century. British Library, Yates Thompson MS 26, f. 14r. [blogs.bl.uk]

a-dīligian

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Hana Videen

a-dīligian, wk.v: to destroy, annihilate, obliterate; to blot out, annul (something, especially sins, guilt, etc). (ah-DEE-lih-yih-ahn / a-ˈdiː-lɪ-jɪ-an)

un-swēte

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Hana Videen

un-swēte, adj: (of taste) bitter, sour; (of smell) offensive, fetid. (UN-SWAY-tuh / ˈʌn-ˌsweː-tə)

ymb-clyppan

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Hana Videen

ymb-clyppan, wk.v: to embrace. (umb-KLUP-pahn / ɝmb-ˈklɝp-pan)

Happy Hug a Medievalist Day! Send virtual hugs to your favourite medievalists.

You can show this medievalist some love by becoming a patron on Patreon, for as little as $1 a month. This week’s Wordhord Wednesday post (for $5+ subscribers) is about Bede’s sparrow.

Medieval manuscript image of two monkeys embracing. — Fieschi Psalter. Flemish, late 13th century. The Walters Art Museum, W.45, f. 68v. [thedigitalwalters.org]

æpsen

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Hana Videen

æpsen, f.n: impudence, foulness. (APP-sen / ˈæp-sɛn)