Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Swelten


Swelten (v.) - to faint, to die, to destroy, to cause to perish, to put to death.


Wondrede yeond that wald; iwundede cnihtes ouer-al. sixti hundred thar weoren; to-tredene mid horsen. beornes ther swelten; blodes at-urnen. straehten after stretes; blodie stremes.

- Layamon, fl.1200: Brut (MS Cotton Caligula) (1205)


The Middle-English Word of the Day is selected from Mayhew and Skeat's
"Concise Dictionary of Middle English."
As found on Greg Lindahl's website
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/concise/concise.html

The example text was found at the Middle English Collection of the University of Virginia Library.
http://etext.virginia.edu/collections/languages/english/mideng.browse.html