hlæw
Old English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw, from Proto-Germanic *hlaiwą, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱloy-wo-m, from *ḱley- (“shelter, cover”). Cognate with Proto-Norse ᚺᛚᚨᛁᚹᚨ (hlaiwa).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /xlæːw/, [l̥æːw]
- Rhymes: -æːw
Noun
hlǣw m or f
Usage notes
- This noun is usually masculine; the feminine gender is restricted to Hampshire, Berkshire, and Wiltshire, though it may take masculine agreement while inflecting as a feminine ō-stem elsewhere. There is also a single neuter form (ðæt hlēw) attested in Wiltshire.
Declension
Strong i-stem:
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | hlǣw | hlǣwas |
| accusative | hlǣw | hlǣwas |
| genitive | hlǣwes | hlǣwa |
| dative | hlǣwe | hlǣwum |
Occasionally a strong ō-stem:
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | hlǣw | hlǣwa, hlǣwe |
| accusative | hlǣwe | hlǣwa, hlǣwe |
| genitive | hlǣwe | hlǣwa |
| dative | hlǣwe | hlǣwum |
Derived terms
Descendants
- Middle English: lowe, lawe (Northern / North Midland), low (Late Middle English), law (Early Scots)
- ⇒ English: Lewes (placename)
References
- Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “hlǽw”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Kitson, Peter (1990), “On old English nouns of more than one gender”, in English Studies, volume 71, number 3, Taylor & Francis, , →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 192-193.