Seaxan

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *sahsan.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈsæ͜ɑk.sɑn/

Proper noun

Seaxan m pl

  1. the Saxons
    • Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Manuscript E, year 605
      Augustīnus cwæþ, "Ġif Wēalas nyllaþ sibbe wiþ ūs, hīe sċulon æt Seaxna handa forweorðan."
      Augustine said, "If the Celts don't want peace with us, they'll have to perish at the hands [lit. "hand"] of the Saxons."

Usage notes
  • The genitive plural is Seaxna, not regular Seaxena. Syncopated -na was apparently the inherited gen. pl. ending in weak nouns; but *a was then inserted by analogy with the nom.-acc. pl., subsequently dissimilating to *e.[1] By the literary period, the syncopated form is uncommon except in poetry and in some weak names of peoples. The syncope is preserved consistently in Seaxan, often in Francan (“the French”) and Frīsan (“Frisians”), and never in Gotan (“Goths”) and Siġelhearwan (“Ethiopians”), though for the last two few examples survive.

Declension
Declension of Seaxan (weak)
Case Singular Plural
nominative — Seaxan
accusative — Seaxan
genitive — Seaxna
dative — Seaxum

Derived terms

See also

References
  1. Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 154
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.