Æ
æðele, adj., noble: nom. sg., of Bēowulf, 198, 1313; of Bēowulf’s father, 263, where it can be understood as well in a moral as in a genealogical sense; the latter prevails decidedly in the gen. sg. æðelan cynnes, 2235.
æðeling, st. m., nobleman, man of noble descent, especially the appellation of a man of royal birth; so of the kings of the Danes, 3; of Scyld, 33; of Hrōðgār, 130; of Sigemund, 889; of Bēowulf, 1226, 1245, 1597, 1816, 2189, 2343, 2375, 2425, 2716, 3136; perhaps also of Dæghrefn, 2507;—then, in a broader sense, also denoting other noble-born men: Æschere, 1295; Hrōðgār’s courtiers, 118, 983; Heremōd’s courtiers, 907; Hengest’s warriors, 1113; Bēowulf’s retinue, 1805, 1921, 3172; noble-born in general, 2889. —Comp. sib-æðeling.
æðelu, st. n., only in the pl., noble descent, nobility, in the sense of noble lineage: acc. pl. æðelu, 392; dat. pl. cyning æðelum gōd, the king, of noble birth, 1871; æðelum dīore, worthy on account of noble lineage, 1950; æðelum (hǣleþum, MS.), 332.—Comp. fæder-æðelu.
æfnan, w. v. w. acc., to perform, to carry out, to accomplish: inf. ellen-weorc æfnan, to do a heroic deed, 1465; pret. unriht æfnde, perpetrated wrong, 1255.
ge-æfnan, 1) to carry out, to do, to accomplish: pret. pl. þæt geæfndon swā, so carried that out, 538; pret. part. āð wæs geæfned, the oath was sworn, 1108.—2) get ready, prepare: pret. part. geæfned, 3107. See efnan.
æfter (comparative of af, Ags. of, which see; hence it expresses the idea of forth, away, from, back), a) adv., thereupon, afterwards, 12, 341, 1390, 2155.—ic him æfter sceal, I shall go after them, 2817; in word æfter cwæð, 315, the sense seems to be, spoke back, having turned; b) prep. w. dat., 1) (temporal) after, 119, 128, 187, 825, 1939, etc.; æfter beorne, after the (death of) the hero, 2261, so 2262; æfter māððum-welan, after (obtaining) the treasure, 2751.—2) (causal) as proceeding from something, denoting result and purpose, hence, in consequence of, conformably to: æfter rihte, in accordance with right, 1050, 2111; æfter faroðe, with the current, 580; so 1321, 1721, 1944, 2180, etc., æfter heaðo-swāte, in consequence of the blood of battle, 1607; æfter wælnīðe, in consequence of mortal enmity, 85; in accordance with, on account of, after, about: æfter æðelum (hǣleþum, MS.)frægn, asked about the descent, 332; ne frīn þū æfter sǣlum, ask not after my welfare, 1323; æfter sincgyfan grēoteð, weeps for the giver of treasure, 1343; him æfter dēorum men dyrne langað, longs in secret for the dear man, 1880; ān æfter ānum, one for the other, 2462, etc.—3) (local), along: æfter gumcynnum, throughout the races of men, among men, 945; sōhte bed æfter būrum, sought a bed among the rooms of the castle (the castle was fortified, the hall was not), 140; æfter recede wlāt, looked along the hall, 1573; stone æfter stāne, smelt along the rocks, 2289; æfter lyfte, along the air through the air, 2833; similarly, 996, 1068, 1317, etc.
æf-þunca, w. m., anger, chagrin, vexatious affair: nom., 502.
ge-æhtan, w. v., to prize, to speak in praise of: pret. part. geæhted, 1866.
ge-æhtla, w. m., or ge-æhtle, w. f., a speaking of with praise, high esteem: gen. sg. hȳ... wyrðe þinceað eorla geæhtlan, seem worthy of the high esteem of the noble-born, 369.
æglǣcea. See āglǣcea.
æl-fylce (from æl-, Goth. ali-s, ἄλλος, and fylce, O.N. fylki, collective form from folc), st. n., other folk, hostile army: dat. pl. wið ælfylcum, 2372.
æl-mihtig (for eal-m.), adj., almighty: nom. sg. m., of the weak form, se æl-mihtiga, 92.
æl-wiht, st. m., being of another species, monster: gen. pl. æl-wihta eard, of the dwelling-place of Grendel’s kindred, 1501.
æppel-fealu, adj., dappled sorrel, or apple-yellow: nom. pl. æppel-fealuwe mēaras, apple-yellow steeds, 2166.
ærn, st. n., house, in the compounds heal-, hord-, medo-, þrȳð-, win-ærn.
æsc, st. m., ash (does not occur in Bēowulf in this sense), lance, spear, because the shaft consists of ash wood: dat. pl. (quā instr.) æscum and ecgum, with spears and swords, 1773.
æsc-holt, st. n., ash wood, ashen shaft: nom. pl. æsc-holt ufan grǣg, the ashen shafts gray above (spears with iron points), 330.
æsc-wiga, w. m., spear-fighter, warrior armed with the spear: nom. sg., 2043.
æt, prep. w. dat., with the fundamental meaning of nearness to something, hence 1) local, a) with, near, at, on, in (rest): æt hȳðe, in harbor, 32; æt symle, at the meal, 81, æt āde, on the funeral-pile, 1111, 1115; æt þē ānum, with thee alone, 1378; æt wīge, in the fight, 1338; æt hilde, 1660, 2682; æt ǣte, in eating, 3027, etc. b) to, towards, at, on (motion to): dēaðes wylm hrān æt heortan, seized upon the heart, 2271; gehēton æt hærgtrafum, vowed at (or to) the temples of the gods, 175. c) with verbs of taking away, away from (as starting from near an object): geþeah þæt ful æt Wealhþēon, took the cup from W., 630; fela ic gebād grynna æt Grendle, from Grendel, 931; æt mīnum fæder genam, took me from my father to himself, 2430.—2) temporal, at, in, at the time of: æt frumsceafte, in the beginning, 45; æt ende, at an end, 224; fand sīnne dryhten ealdres æt ende, at the end of life, dying, 2791; similarly, 2823; æt feohgyftum, in giving gifts, 1090; æt sīðestan, finally, 3014.
æt-grǣpe, adj., laying hold of, prehendens, 1270.
æt-rihte, adv., almost, 1658.