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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Old English #134288 10/20/04 04:44 PM Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 67 G gonoldothrond OP journeyman OP gonoldothrond journeyman G Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 67 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? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Old English #134289 10/20/04 05:01 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York 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. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Old English #134290 10/20/04 05:03 PM Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,475 California J jheem veteran jheem veteran J Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,475 California I believe the standard spelling is: wæs ðú hál. The accents could optionally be macrons, indicating length. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Old English #134291 10/20/04 05:06 PM Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,475 California J jheem veteran jheem veteran J Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,475 California Wassail is thought to be from Old Norse ves heill similar in meaning to the Old English and definitely cognate. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Old English #134292 10/20/04 06:52 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 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 Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Old English #134293 10/21/04 11:47 AM Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,475 California J jheem veteran jheem veteran J Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,475 California wæs ~ wes ~ béo Ah, me memory ain't what it used to be ... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,913 Posts229,810 Members9,187 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo 9,187 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 members (), 373 guests, and 1 robot. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 30 A C Bowden 15 LukeJavan8 5 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 10,852 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,944 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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