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#134288 10/20/04 04:44 PM
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journeyman
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This may be a bit off-topic (and off-language) but... does anybody know the correct way to spell an old english greeting? It sounds like "wess thuu hall" and my guess is "wes thu hal" but I really have no idea. I belive that it means "be you healthy" or something similar. Any takers?


#134289 10/20/04 05:01 PM
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I believe it comes from Middle(?) English wæs hæil: "wassail" but I can't remember the correct pronoun form in between. Surely jheem or Faldage or one of our other resident scholars will give you the real scoop. Been too long since I studied OE and ME.


#134290 10/20/04 05:03 PM
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I believe the standard spelling is: wæs ðú hál. The accents could optionally be macrons, indicating length.


#134291 10/20/04 05:06 PM
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Wassail is thought to be from Old Norse ves heill similar in meaning to the Old English and definitely cognate.


#134292 10/20/04 06:52 PM
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CASD offers wes ðu hál, hál westu, and hál béo ðu. As in nuncle's examples, the accents agues are meant to represent macrons. Also ð and þ are pretty much interchangeable in OE depending on dialect, time and prevailing winds.

http://penguin.pearson.swarthmore.edu/~scrist1/scanned_books/png/oe_clarkhall/b0144.png


#134293 10/21/04 11:47 AM
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wæs ~ wes ~ béo

Ah, me memory ain't what it used to be ...



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