noun

• The language of the Anglo-Saxons (up to about 1150), an inflected language with a Germanic vocabulary, very different from modern English.

  Also called Anglo-Saxon

  ‘From the late 8th century on, the Vikings forced entry, occupied the land, and introduced Old Norse words into Old English.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Diligently, he traces each letter from the ancient Semitic and Phoenician alphabets through Old English and Norman French, exploring shapes and pronunciation.’
  • ‘In England laws had been written in Old English as early as the seventh century, and Bede had embarked on translating parts of the Bible in the eighth.’
  • ‘The solution to this riddle is ‘sacred scriptures’, sacra scriptura, or in Old English halige gewritu.’
  • ‘The word derives from Old English gliv or glo, meaning ‘music’.’