A Dictionary of the First or Oldest Words in the English Language From the Semi-Saxon Period of A.D. 1250 to 1300 — Reading Companion

A DICTIONARY OF THE FIRST, OR

OLDEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

FROM THE SEMI-SAXON PERIOD OF A.D. 1250 TO 1300.

An Alphabetical Inventory of

EVERY WORD FOUND IN THE PRINTED ENGLISH LITERATURE OF THE 13TH CENTURY.

BY THE LATE HERBERT COLERIDGE, SECRETARY TO THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

LONDON: JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, PICCADILLY. M DCCC LXII.

The present publication may be considered as the foundation-stone of the Historical and Literary portion of the Philological Society’s proposed English Dictionary. Its appearance in a separate form has been necessitated by the nature of the scheme, on which that work is being constructed. Without entering into details, which will be found in the Society’s published Prospectus,[1] it will be sufficient for the present purpose to mention, that the raw material of the Dictionary, the words and authorities, are being brought together by a number of independent collectors, for whom it is consequently necessary to provide some common standard of comparison, whereby each may ascertain what he is to extract, and what to reject, from the author, or work, he has undertaken. This standard for works of earlier date than 1526 is furnished by the following pages, which contain an alphabetical inventory of every word found in the printed English literature of the 13th century. As, however, a mere index verborum would but inadequately fulfil its object, a certain amount of explanatory and etymological matter has been added, which it is hoped may render the work more generally interesting and useful than could otherwise have been the case. It is only proper to add that English literature, as distinguished from Semi-Saxon, is assumed to commence about the middle of the 13th century.

[1] London, Trübner and Co., Paternoster Row, price 6d.

All words are arranged under their modern forms, where such exist, but the older forms, except where utterly unimportant, are always noticed. The more remarkable of these older forms are also entered in the Glossary in their alphabetical order, with cross references to that under which the word is discussed. Thus under ‘Hymn’ and ‘Isle’ will be found the forms ‘ympne’ and ‘ydle;’ but ‘ympne’ and ‘ydle’ appear also in their proper places in the Glossary. Obsolete words are of course entered as they are spelt in the passage whence they are taken, a rule which applies as much to different forms of the same word, as to different words. As to the etymological matter, nothing further as a general rule has been attempted than to indicate the nearest cognate, or cognates, of the particular word; but it has not been thought necessary, or desirable, to load the Glossary with illustrations of this nature in very simple cases. I have to thank Hensleigh Wedgwood, Esq., for many kind and valuable suggestions in this part of my work.

My best thanks are also due to the Rev. J. Eastwood, the Rev. W. H. Herford, to my colleague Mr F. J. Furnivall, and to Messrs M’Ewan and Harrison, for their valuable assistance in the formation of separate indexes to several of the works comprised in this Glossary. Their respective shares in the work are pointed out in the List of Books and Editions, which will be found in page v.

And I cannot terminate this brief preface without expressing my deep sense of the obligations I am under to Sir F. Madden, not merely for the help of his invaluable editions of Laȝamon and Havelok, without which this work would have been far less complete than it now is, but also for much kind personal advice and assistance, which probably few, if any, living philologists beside himself would have been competent to bestow. It only remains for me to add that, although no pains have been spared to render the book as complete as possible, I cannot but expect that some omissions and errors will be discovered, more especially as the largest and most laborious portion of the work was carried on during a long period of ill health. I shall feel very grateful to those who discover any addenda, if they will kindly communicate them to me for insertion hereafter in the Dictionary itself.

10, Chester Place, Regent’s Park, June 13th, 1859

LIST OF BOOKS AND EDITIONS REFERRED TO.

⁂ All the following pieces are cited by the number of the verse, except where the contrary is expressly mentioned.

_Havelok the Dane._ Edited by Sir F. Madden, for the Roxburgh Club. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

_Geste of Kyng Horn._ Edited by M. Michel, for the Bannatyne Club. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)

(N.B. The text of this poem in the second vol. of Ritson’s Metrical Romances is taken from a later MS., and differs considerably from the Bannatyne text.)

_Kyng Alysaunder._ In Weber’s Metrical Romances, vol. I. (By Mr H. Coleridge.)