a, prefixed to verbs of Anglo-Saxon origin, has sometimes a negative,
sometimes an intensative power: before nouns and adjectives it represents
_on_ and _at_, as, a-brood, a-fore (æt-foran), a-rowe (i. e. _on a row_),
a-loft (i. e. _on high_), &c. In words of Anglo-Norman origin, it answers
to the prepositions, _a_, _ab_, _ad_, of the original Latin words
a (A.N.) 355, _ah!_ (an interjection)
abidynge (A.S.) 413, _patient_
abiggen (A.S.) 35, 127, abien, 58, abugge, 122, abye, 164, abyen, 393, _to
make amends for_, _to atone for_. _pret. s._ aboughte, 168, 190, 231, 268.
_part. past_, abought, 392
abite (A.S.) 331, _to bite, nip_
a-blende (A.S.) 377, a-blynden, _to blinde, dazzle_. _pret. s._ a-blente,
388
abosten (A.N.) 126, _to assault_
abouten, aboute (A.S.) _about_
a-brood (A.S.) _abroad_
ac (A.S.) _but, and_
a-cale (A.S.) 393, _cold_. It occurs in the Romance of the Seven Sages
(Weber, p. 59):
That night he sat wel sore _a-kale_,
And his wif lai warme a-bedde.
accidie (A.N.) 99, _sloth, a fit of slothfulness_
acombren (A.N.) _to embarrass, bring into trouble_
acorden (A.N.) _to agree, accord_
acorse, acursen (A.S.) 375, _to curse._ acorsed, 375, _accursed_
acoupen (A.N.) 272, _to blame, accuse._ (for acoulpen)
a-drad (A.S.) 397, _afraid_
a-drenchen (A.S.) 198, _to drown_
afaiten, 291, affaiten 81, 119, (A.N.) _to tame_
a-feren (A.S.) 395, 435, _to frighten_, _drive away_. a-fered, 376,
_afraid_, _terrified_
affraynen (A.S.) 347, _to ask_, _question_, _interrogate_
afore (A.S.) _before_
aforthe (A.S.) 129, _to afford_
afrounte (A.N.) _to encounter_, _attack_, _accost rudely_. _pret. s._
afrounted, 425
a-fyngred (A.S.) 133, 176, 283, 403, _a-hungered_, _hungry_
a-furst (A.S.) 176, 283, _a-thirst_, _thirsty_. The two forms, _a-fyngred_
and _a-furst_, appear to be characteristic of the dialect of the counties
which lay on the Welsh border. They occur once or twice in MS. Harl. 2253,
which, in my Specimens of Lyric Poetry, I have shown to have been written
in Herefordshire. They also occur in several other manuscripts which may
probably be traced to that part of England. In the Romance of Horn, in the
MS. just mentioned, we have the lines:--
Horn set at grounde,
Him thohte he wes y-bounde,
He seide, Quene, so hende,
To me hydeward thou wende.
Thou shench us with the vurste,
The beggares bueth _a-furste_.
i. e. the beggars are thirsty. Whitaker gives a very remarkable translation
of _a-furst and a-fyngred_, i. e. _frost-bitten, and with aching fingers_.
Ritson has no less inaccurately explained _a-furste_ in the Romance of
Horn, by _at first_: the Cambridge MS. of this Romance, earlier and better
than the MS. Harl., reads:--
Thu gef us with the furste,
The beggeres beoth _of thurste_.
ayein (A.S.) _again_, _in return for_. ayeins, _against_, _towards_
a-gulte (A.S.) 273, 313, 318, 365, _to fail in duty towards any one_,
_offend_, _sin against_
aiels (A.N.) 314, _forefathers_
+aisliche (A.S.) 471, _fearfully_. The Anglo-Saxon _egeslice_
aken (A.S.) _to ache_. _pret. pl._ oke, 359
al (A.S.) _all_. _pl._ alle, _gen. pl._ alre, aller. oure aller fader, 342,
_the father of us all_. your aller heed, 424, _head of you all_
a-leggen (A.N.) 207, _to allege_
a-liry (A.S.) 124, _across_, _cross-legged_
alkenamye (A.N.) 186, _alchemy_
allowen (A.N.) 294, _to allow_, _approve_
a-loft (A.S.) 378, _on high_
almarie (A.N.) 288, _a cupboard_
almesse (A.S.) _alms_
a-lough, a-logh (A.S.) 241, 242, _below_
+aloute (A.S.) 495, _to salute_
als (A.S.) _also_
a-maistren, a-maistryen (A.N.) _to overcome_, _be master of_
amenden (A.N.) _to make amends for_
amercy (A.N.) _to amerce_
amortisen (A.N.) 314, _to amortize_, _to give property in mortmain_
ampulle (A.N.) 109, _a small vessel containing holy water or oil_
an (A.S.) 2, _on_
ancres (A.S.) 3, 308, _anachorites, monks who live in solitude_. It is
applied to nuns, in the early English Rule of Nuns. See Reliquiæ Antiquæ,
vol. ii, p. 1
and (A.S.) the conjunction, is frequently used in the sense of _if_. and
men crye, 362, _if men cry_
aniente (A.N.) 365, _to destroy, annihilate, reduce to nothing_
anoon (A.S.) _anon_
anoy (A.N.) _annoyance_
+anuel (A.N.) 475, _an annuity_: a yearly salary paid to a priest for
keeping an anniversary
apayen (A.N.) 123, _to satisfy, to please_
apeiren (A.N.) 80, 111, 125, 127, 141, _to lessen, diminish, impair_
apertli (A.N.) _openly_
appenden, apenden (A.N.) 17, _to belong, appertain to_
apposen (A.N.) 18, 43, 252, 318, _to raise questions, to object_
arate (A.S.) 208, 283, _to rate, scold, correct_ (the A.S. aretan?)
arayen (A.N.) _to array_
arere (A.N.) _backwards, back_
arwe, _pl._ arewes (A.S.) 438, _an arrow_
arst (A.S.) 287, _first, erst_
ascapen (A.N.) _to escape_
askes (A.S.) _ashes_
asondry (A.S.) 358, _separated_
aspare (A.N.) 303, _to spare_
aspien (A.N.) to _espy_. _part. s._ aspied, 350
assaien, assaie (A.N.) 334, 336, _to assay, try_
assetz (A.N.) 362, _assets sufficient to pay the debts or legacies of a
testator_. A law term
assoille (A.N.) 57, 188, 407, 419, _to assoil, absolve, to explain or
solve_
astronomien (Lat.) _an astronomer_
a-thynken (A.S.) 374, _to repent_
attachen (A.N.) 40, _to attach, indict_
atte (A.S.) _at the_. atte nale, 124, _at the ale_, a corruption of the
Saxon, æt þan ale
attre (A.S.) 243, _poison, venom_
a-tweyne (A.S.) _in two_
aught (A.S.) _something, anything, everything_
auncer (A.N.) 90, _a small vessel or cup_. In Low-Latin it is called
_anceria_. See Ducange, s. v., who quotes from a charter of the date of
1320 the words, Una cum cuppis, _anceriis_, tonis, et aliis utensilibus
auntren (A.N.) _to venture, adventure_, _pret. s._ auntrede, 382, auntred,
435
auter, _pl._ auteres (A.N.) _altar_
avarouser (A.N.) _more avaricious_
aventrous (A.N.) 370, _adventurers, adventurous persons_
aventure (A.N.) _an adventure, an accident_. an aventure, 47, _by
adventure, by chance_
avoutrye (A.N.) _adultery_
avowen (A.N.) _to make a vow_
avowes (A.N.) _vows, promises_
awaiten (A.N.) 346, _to watch, wait_. a-wayte, 193, _to see or discover by
watching_
awaken (A.S.) _to awake_. _pret. s._ awaked, 396, awakned, 424, a-wook,
147, _part. past_, awaked, 425
awreken (A.S.) _to avenge, revenge_. _part. pas._ a-wroke, 129
+awyrien (A.S.) 490, _to curse, execrate_
axen (A.S.) 71, _to ask_. _pret. s._ asked, 81
ay (A.S.) _ever, always_