Old English Dictionary

1. but, however
2. but rather, on the contrary

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "ac" · Wiktionary, “ac” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled ond

1. and

Spelled ond just as often in the manuscripts.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "and" · Wiktionary, “and” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. to come
2. to arrive; to come about, happen

Past tense cōm, plural cōmon.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "cuman" · Wiktionary, “cuman” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. queen
2. woman of high rank; wife

A related word, cwene, meant a woman of lower standing.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "cwen" · Wiktionary, “cwen” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. king

Plural cyningas.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "cyning" · Wiktionary, “cyning” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. day
2. daylight
3. lifetime (usually plural: dagas)

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "dæg" · Wiktionary, “dæg” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled ald

1. old, aged
2. ancient, long-standing

Comparative ieldra, superlative ieldest — the source of elder/eldest.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "eald" · Wiktionary, “eald” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. peace
2. protection, sanctuary

Breaking a lord’s or king’s friþ was a legal offence.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "friþ" · Wiktionary, “friþ” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. fire

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "fȳr" · Wiktionary, “fȳr” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. to go
2. to walk, move

The past tense is another word altogether: ēode — compare go/went.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "gān" · Wiktionary, “gān” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled gyf

1. if
2. whether

The g was soft here — pronounce it ‘yif’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "gif" · Wiktionary, “gif” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. good
2. brave, virtuous
3. fine, excellent (of things)

Comparative betera, superlative betst — the same leap as good/better/best.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "gōd" · Wiktionary, “gōd” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. he; it (masculine)

Gender is grammatical: hēo is ‘she’, hit is ‘it’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "hē" · Wiktionary, “hē” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. hall
2. mead-hall — the centre of a lord’s household

Beowulf’s great hall is called Heorot.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "heall" · Wiktionary, “heall” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. lord, master
2. husband (as head of a household)

From hlāf-weard, ‘loaf-ward’ — the one who guards the bread.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "hlāford" · Wiktionary, “hlāford” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled hwat

1. lo! behold! — calls the audience to attention
2. what? (neuter of hwā, ‘who’)

Famously the first word of Beowulf.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "hwæt" · Wiktionary, “hwæt” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. I (first person singular)

Always written lower-case in manuscripts; the -c sounded like modern ‘ch’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "ic" · Wiktionary, “ic” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled lifgan

1. to live, be alive
2. to dwell

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "libban" · Wiktionary, “libban” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. love

The verb is lufian, ‘to love’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "lufu" · Wiktionary, “lufu” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled monn, mon

1. human being, person (of either sex)
2. man; vassal, liegeman

Also an indefinite pronoun: man cwæþ = ‘one said, it was said’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "mann" · Wiktionary, “mann” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled mycel

1. great, large, big
2. much, a lot of

Comparative māra, superlative mǣst — the source of more/most.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "micel" · Wiktionary, “micel” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. moon

Grammatically masculine; the sun (sunne) is feminine.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "mōna" · Wiktionary, “mōna” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. night

Time was counted in nights — compare ‘fortnight’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "niht" · Wiktionary, “niht” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled nu

1. now, at this time
2. now that, since

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "nū" · Wiktionary, “nū” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. sea
2. lake, large pool

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "sǣ" · Wiktionary, “sǣ” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. truth, what is true
2. (as adjective) true

‘Forsooth’ comes from for sōþ — ‘for truth’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "sōþ" · Wiktionary, “sōþ” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. sun

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "sunne" · Wiktionary, “sunne” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. son

An old u-noun — the plural is suna.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "sunu" · Wiktionary, “sunu” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled swa

1. so, in this or that way
2. as, like — swā … swā = as … as
3. also, likewise

Doubled for comparisons: swā lang swā = ‘as long as’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "swā" · Wiktionary, “swā” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled swurd, sword

1. sword

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "sweord" · Wiktionary, “sweord” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled þa

1. then, at that time
2. when, after (a single past event)
3. the, those (plural of sē)

One spelling, several words: the adverb ‘then’ and the plural of ‘the’ look identical — context decides.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "þā" · Wiktionary, “þā” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. thane — a warrior holding land from a lord
2. servant, retainer

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "þegn" · Wiktionary, “þegn” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. then, at that time
2. when, whenever (repeated or future events)
3. than (after a comparative)

Overlaps with þā; as a rule of thumb, þonne goes with general or future statements.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "þonne" · Wiktionary, “þonne” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

Also spelled þu

1. thou — you, one person

Strictly singular; the plural is ġē (compare archaic ‘ye’).

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "þū" · Wiktionary, “þū” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. we (first person plural)

A dual form, wit — ‘we two’ — also existed.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "wē" · Wiktionary, “wē” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. man, male human
2. husband

Survives in ‘werewolf’ — literally ‘man-wolf’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "wer" · Wiktionary, “wer” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. woman
2. wife

Grammatically neuter, despite its meaning; wīfmann (‘woman’) became modern ‘woman’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "wīf" · Wiktionary, “wīf” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. word
2. speech, utterance

The plural is unchanged: word.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "word" · Wiktionary, “word” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. fate, destiny
2. what happens; an event

From weorþan, ‘to become, happen’.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "wyrd" · Wiktionary, “wyrd” · Reviewed 2026-09-24

1. worm
2. serpent, snake
3. dragon (in heroic poetry)

The monster the hero fights in Beowulf is called a wyrm.

Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. "wyrm" · Wiktionary, “wyrm” · Reviewed 2026-09-24