Old English–English Dictionary

Look up Old English words and get English translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Browse the common-word table below or type a Old English word into the lookup tool.

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Browse common Old English vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
ic	pronoun	I	Ic eom her nu. I am here now.
þu	pronoun	you	Þu eart swiðe wis. You are very wise.
he	pronoun	he	He gæð to þam huse. He walks to the house.
heo	pronoun	she	Heo lufað hire cild. She loves her child.
we	pronoun	we	We wyrcað ælce dæg. We work every day.
hie	pronoun	they	Hie cumað of þære byrig. They come from the city.
hwæt	pronoun	what	Hwæt is þis word? What is this word?
hwær	adverb	where	Hwær is þin hus? Where is your house?
hwænne	adverb	when	Hwænne cymst þu? When do you come?
hwa	pronoun	who	Hwa is se mann? Who is that man?
for hwon	adverb	why	For hwon eart þu unrot? Why are you sad?
hu	adverb	how	Hu wast þu? How do you know?
beon	verb	to be	We synd gearwe nu. We are ready now.
habban	verb	to have	Ic hæbbe god hlaf. I have good bread.
don	verb	to do	Hie doð heard weorc. They do hard work.
gan	verb	to go	Ic ga ham nu. I go home now.
cuman	verb	to come	Hie cumað to morgenne. They come tomorrow morning.
geseon	verb	to see	Ic geseo þone monan. I see the moon.
witan	verb	to know	We witon þa spell. We know the story.
þencan	verb	to think	Ic þence be life. I think about life.
willan	verb	to want	Ic wille ma wæteres. I want more water.
beþurfan	verb	to need	We beþurfon ma mete. We need more food.
wyrcan	verb	to make	Hie wyrcað niwe mæsan. They make a new table.
niman	verb	to take	Nim þa boc ham. Take the book home.
giefan	verb	to give	Ic gife þe hlaf. I give you bread.
secgan	verb	to say	He segð an word. He says one word.
tellan	verb	to tell	Telle me þa soðfæstnesse. Tell me the truth.
ascian	verb	to ask	Ic asciige ane axunge. I ask one question.
findan	verb	to find	We findað þone weg. We find the way.
locian	verb	to look	Loca to þam heofone. Look at the sky.
brucan	verb	to use	We brucað þisses mæsan. We use this table.
wyrcan	verb	to work	Hie wyrcað ælce wucan. They work every week.
etan	verb	to eat	We etað hlaf dæghwamlice. We eat bread daily.
drincan	verb	to drink	Ic drince ceald wæter. I drink cold water.
slæpan	verb	to sleep	Þæt cild slæpð nu. The child sleeps now.
gangan	verb	to walk	We gæð on þære stræte. We walk on the street.
rinnan	verb	to run	Se cnafa rint hrædlice. The boy runs fast.
rædan	verb	to read	Ic ræde þas boc. I read this book.
writan	verb	to write	Heo writ an word. She writes one word.
sprecan	verb	to speak	Hie sprecað ure gereord. They speak our language.
hlystan	verb	to listen	Hlyst minum wordum. Listen to my words.
hieran	verb	to hear	Ic hiere þone wind. I hear the wind.
bycgan	verb	to buy	We bycgað godne hlaf. We buy good bread.
sellan	verb	to sell	Hie sellað fisc þær. They sell fish there.
gieldan	verb	to pay	Ic gielde þam menn. I pay the man.
helpan	verb	to help	Help þinum freonde nu. Help your friend now.
lufian	verb	to love	Ic lufie minne hired. I love my family.
libban	verb	to live	We libbað on þære byrig. We live in the city.
sweltan	verb	to die	Ealle menn sculon sweltan. All men must die.
leornian	verb	to learn	Cild leorniað ælce dæg. Children learn every day.
læran	verb	to teach	Modru lærað geonge cild. Mothers teach young children.
openian	verb	to open	Opena þa duru nu. Open the door now.
belucan	verb	to close	Beluc þa duru sliðe. Close the door gently.
mann	noun	person	Ælc mann hæfð nama. Each person has a name.
wer	noun	man	Se wer is strang. The man is strong.
wif	noun	woman	Þæt wif spricð wislice. The woman speaks wisely.
cild	noun	child	Þæt cild is bliðe. The child is happy.
cnafa	noun	boy	Se cnafa hæfð hlaf. The boy has bread.
mægden	noun	girl	Þæt mægden ræt wel. The girl reads well.
hired	noun	family	Min hired lið her. My family lives here.
modor	noun	mother	Min modor is cystig. My mother is kind.
fæder	noun	father	His fæder wyrcð dæghwamlice. His father works daily.
freond	noun	friend	Freond helpt hrædlice. A friend helps quickly.
hus	noun	house	Þæt hus is eald. The house is old.
ham	noun	home	We gæð ham nu. We go home now.
burh	noun	city	Seo burh is micel. The city is large.
rice	noun	country	Þæt rice hæfð sibbe. The country has peace.
woruld	noun	world	Seo woruld is wid. The world is wide.
stræt	noun	street	Þæt stræt is lang. The street is long.
tid	noun	time	Tid gewit swiðe hrædlice. Time passes very quickly.
dæg	noun	day	Se dæg is hat. The day is warm.
niht	noun	night	Seo niht is deorc. The night is dark.
morgen	noun	morning	Se morgen is ceald. The morning is cold.
æfen	noun	evening	Se æfen is stille. The evening is quiet.
wucu	noun	week	Wucu hæfð seofon dagas. A week has seven days.
monað	noun	month	Þes monað is lang. This month is long.
gear	noun	year	Þæt gear is niwe. The year is new.
todæg	adverb	today	Ic wyrce todæg her. I work today here.
tō morgen	adverb	tomorrow	We cumað tō morgenne. We come tomorrow morning.
giestrandæg	adverb	yesterday	He com giestrandæg her. He came yesterday here.
nu	adverb	now	Nu sculon we gan. Now we must go.
sunne	noun	sun	Seo sunne is beorht. The sun is bright.
mona	noun	moon	Se mona scinð to niht. The moon shines tonight.
steorra	noun	star	Se steorra is beorht. That star is bright.
heofon	noun	sky	Se heofon is blæwen. The sky is blue.
eorþe	noun	earth	Seo eorþe is wid. The earth is wide.
fyr	noun	fire	Þæt fyr is hat. The fire is hot.
wæter	noun	water	Þæt wæter is ceald. The water is cold.
ren	noun	rain	Se ren fealleð softe. The rain falls softly.
wind	noun	wind	Se wind is strang. The wind is strong.
treow	noun	tree	Þæt treow is heah. The tree is high.
blostm	noun	flower	Se blostm is fæger. The flower is beautiful.
beorg	noun	mountain	Se beorg is heah. The mountain is high.
ea	noun	river	Seo ea is lang. The river is long.
sæ	noun	sea	Seo sæ is ceald. The sea is cold.
mete	noun	food	Se mete is god. The food is good.
hlaf	noun	bread	Þes hlaf is fersc. This bread is fresh.
flæsc	noun	meat	Þæt flæsc is hat. The meat is hot.
fisc	noun	fish	Se fisc is fersc. The fish is fresh.
æg	noun	egg	Þæt æg is lytel. The egg is small.
meolc	noun	milk	Þæt meolc is wearm. The milk is warm.
wæstm	noun	fruit	Se wæstm is swete. The fruit is sweet.
heafod	noun	head	Min heafod sareð nu. My head hurts now.
eage	noun	eye	Hire eage is blæwen. Her eye is blue.
eare	noun	ear	Min eare hiereð wel. My ear hears well.
muð	noun	mouth	Opena þinne muð nu. Open your mouth now.
nosu	noun	nose	Min nosu is ceald. My nose is cold.
hand	noun	hand	Þin hand is wearm. Your hand is warm.
fot	noun	foot	Min fot is sar. My foot is hurt.
heorte	noun	heart	Min heorte is bliðe. My heart is happy.
nama	noun	name	Min nama is sceort. My name is short.
boc	noun	book	Seo boc is niwe. The book is new.
word	noun	word	Þæt word is soð. That word is true.
gereord	noun	language	Þis gereord is eald. This language is old.
feoh	noun	money	Ic hæbbe lytel feoh. I have little money.
weorc	noun	work	Þis weorc is heard. This work is hard.
lufu	noun	love	Lufu is swiðe strang. Love is very strong.
dream	noun	music	Se dream is fæger. The music is beautiful.
spell	noun	story	Þæt spell is soð. The story is true.
weg	noun	way	Þes weg is lang. This way is long.
þing	noun	thing	Þæt þing is fremde. That thing is strange.
lif	noun	life	Lif is swiðe sceort. Life is very short.
duru	noun	door	Seo duru is open. The door is open.
mæs	noun	table	Seo mæs is full. The table is full.
stol	noun	chair	Se stol is eald. The chair is old.
god	adjective	good	Se hlaf is god. The bread is good.
yfel	adjective	bad	Þæt weorc is yfel. That work is bad.
micel	adjective	big	Þæt hus is micel. The house is big.
lytel	adjective	small	Þæt cild is lytel. The child is small.
niwe	adjective	new	Ic hæbbe niwe boc. I have a new book.
eald	adjective	old	Þæt hus is eald. The house is old.
lang	adjective	long	Se weg is lang. The road is long.
sceort	adjective	short	Þæt spell is sceort. The story is short.
heah	adjective	high	Se beorg is heah. The mountain is high.
niðer	adjective	low	Se weall is niðer. The wall is low.
hat	adjective	hot	Þæt fyr is hat. The fire is hot.
ceald	adjective	cold	Þæt wæter is ceald. The water is cold.
bliðe	adjective	happy	Þæt cild is bliðe. The child is happy.
unrot	adjective	sad	Heo is unrot todæg. She is sad today.
fæger	adjective	beautiful	Se blostm is fæger. The flower is beautiful.
eaðe	adjective	easy	Þis weorc is eaðe. This work is easy.
heard	adjective	hard	Þæt weorc is heard. That work is hard.
hræd	adjective	fast	Se hors is hræd. The horse is fast.
slaw	adjective	slow	Se mann is slaw. The man is slow.
riht	adjective	right	Þin andswaru is riht. Your answer is right.
unriht	adjective	wrong	Þæt word is unriht. That word is wrong.
micel	adjective	important	Þis weorc is micel. This work is important.
soð	adjective	true	Þis spell is soð. This story is true.
freo	adjective	free	Se mann is freo. The man is free.
full	adjective	full	Þæt cupp is full. The cup is full.
æmtig	adjective	empty	Þæt hus is æmtig. The house is empty.
geong	adjective	young	Se cnafa is geong. The boy is young.
strang	adjective	strong	Se mann is strang. The man is strong.
wac	adjective	weak	Þæt cild is wac. The child is weak.
read	adjective	red	Se blostm is read. The flower is red.
blæwen	adjective	blue	Se heofon is blæwen. The sky is blue.
grene	adjective	green	Þæt treow is grene. The tree is green.
geolu	adjective	yellow	Se blostm is geolu. The flower is yellow.
sweart	adjective	black	Seo niht is sweart. The night is black.
hwit	adjective	white	Þæt meolc is hwit. The milk is white.
gea	interjection	yes	Gea, ic wat þæt. Yes, I know that.
na	interjection	no	Na, ic nelle. No, I do not.
ne	adverb	not	Ic ne wat. I do not know.
and	conjunction	and	Hlaf and wæter synd genoh. Bread and water are enough.
oððe	conjunction	or
ac	conjunction	but	He is earm ac bliðe. He is poor but happy.
gif	conjunction	if	Gif þu cymst, ic abide. If you come, I stay.
for þam	conjunction	because	Ic reste for þam þe ic eom gewæht. I rest because I am tired.
mid	preposition	with	Ic cume mid minum freonde. I come with my friend.
butan	preposition	without	He gæð butan feo. He goes without money.
for	preposition	for	Þes hlaf is for þe. This bread is for you.
of	preposition	from	We cumað of hame. We come from home.
to	preposition	to	Ic ga to þam huse. I go to the house.