The Old English Vocabulary

The vocabulary of OE consisted of common IE and specifically Gc words.

Common IE words reflected the most important notions and phenomena of life. Here belong:

(1) nouns denoting members of the family: fæder, mōdor, dōhtor, sweostor, sunu;

(2) parts of the human body: heorte, nosu, tōþ;

(3) plants, celestial bodies: treow (tree), mōna (moon);

(4) adjectives denoting basic colours, size, different qualities: rēad, mycel (large), nīwe (new),

(5) numerals from 1 to 100,

(6) pronouns: ic(I), þū(you), wē(we), se (the), hwā (who),

(7) verbs denoting basic actions and states: bēon (be), dōn (do), standan (stand), sittan (sit), etan (eat), licʒan (lie).

Common Gc words are typical only of Gc languages. They also denote basic notions. Here belong:

(1) nouns denoting parts of the body: hēafod, hand, finʒer:

(2) animals: fox, cealf;

(3) time, natural phenomena: ʒear (year), wicu (week), tima (time), dæʒ, sumor (summer), winter;

(4) dwelling: hūs (house), rum (room);

(5) adjectives denoting colour, size: ʒrēne, bleo(blue), lytel, hēah;

(6) verbs of sense perception: hīeran (hear), sēon (see);

(7) verbs of speaking: sprēcan (speak), andswarian (answer);

(8) specifically English words not found in other Gc languages: wimman (wīf + man), hlāford (hlāf + weard), ealne weʒ (all the way)

The extent of the OE vocabulary is estimated at 20 to 30 thousand words – less than a tenth part of the number of words registered by modern English dictionaries. It is also estimated that about 85% of the English vocabulary, particularly its rich poetic part, has been lost and replaced over centuries mostly by Latin or French loanwords.

 

Word-Building

As to the means of enriching the vocabulary, derivation and composition were more common in OE than borrowing.

 

Suffixation

Suffixation was the most productive means of word derivation in OE. Suffixes were mostly used to build nouns and adjectives and seldom – to build verbs.

OE nouns denoting the doer of the action (nomina agentis) were derived from noun and verb stems with the help of the suffix – ere (masculine) and – estre (feminine), which was less common: fiscere < fisc (fish) – fisherman, bacere < bacan (to bake) – baker, bæcestre – a woman baker, webbestre < wefan (to weave) – a woman weaver.

Abstract nouns were formed with the help of the notional words dom (doom), scipe (state), hād (title, rank): wīsdom (wisdom), frēondscipe (friendship), cildhād (childhood).

The noun man was used as a suffix too: wīfman < wīf (woman), sǣman (seaman) < sǣ (sea), aldorman < ealdor (elder), Norðman < norþ (North).

The suffixes –unʒ, -inʒ derived feminine verbal nouns from verbs: ʒrētinʒ (greeting) < ʒrētan, leornunʒ (learning) < leornian.

The suffix - inʒ; was used to derive patronymics and to show the descent of a person: Æþelwulfinʒ - son of Æþelwulf, Centinʒ - a man coming from Kent, cyninʒ - head of clan or tribe (OE cynn - clan).

The suffix - nis, -nes was used to derive abstract nouns from adjectives: īdelnis (idleness) <īdel (idle), swētnes (sweetness) < swēte (sweet). Some abstract nouns were derived from adjective stems without any suffix by mutation: lenʒþu < lonʒ (long- length), strenʒþu < stronʒ (strong - strength).

Adjectives. The most productive suffixes were: -iʒ, -isc, -ful(l), lēas -lic.

The common Gc suffix -iʒ derived adjectives from noun stems: hāliʒ (holy) < hāl (whole), īsiʒ (icy) < īs (ice).

The suffix –lic < līc (body) was used to derive qualitative adjectives: frēondlic (friendly), luflic (full of love).

From the notional words full and lēas (deprived) suffixes –ful and –lēas were formed which derived adjectives from abstract noun stems: ārlēas (deprived of honour) < ār (honour), synnfull < synn (sin), sāwollēas (lifeless, deprived of soul) < sāwol (soul), slǣplēas (sleepless) < slǣp (sleep).

The suffix –isc (usually accompanied by mutation) derived adjectives mostly denoting nationality: cf. Englisc – Anʒles (English-Angles), Frencisc – Franca (French, Frank, France).

Verbs. There were some verb- forming suffixes in OE. The most productive suffix was -i, which usually caused mutation: fyllan < full + ian (fill), lǣran < lār+ian (learn). The suffix –lǣc was formed from the verb lǣcan (come near, approach): nēalǣcan (approach) < nēah (near), ǣfenlǣcan cf R вечереть) < ǣfen (evening).