Modern English to OE

[Linden]

I found this
http://www.oldenglishword.com/
which may be useful to some.  A word of caution - it gives no indication of which word might be more appropriate in a particular context. It's worth looking up the word you pick (where there is more than one given) and checking for its applicability to the context in which you wish to use it.

[David]

 
This looks like a useful addition. I agree that when looking up any word or phrase, check by translating back.
 
Having said that, I tried several words and phrases that I have been struggling with recently and it did not come up with a single suggestion for any of them.

[Linden]

 
..............................Having said that, I tried several words and phrases that I have been struggling with recently and it did not come up with a single suggestion for any of them.

If you put them on the Gegaderung, maybe someone can help?

[David]

 

 
..............................Having said that, I tried several words and phrases that I have been struggling with recently and it did not come up with a single suggestion for any of them.

If you put them on the Gegaderung, maybe someone can help?

 
I did decide on translations but you might suggest better ones. The words were plumber, dentist, calendar, drift and slip; the phrases were time drift and time slip. The only one the site gave an answer for was slip where it suggested aslīdan but I wanted a noun, or possibly an adjective. I suppose I could have used asliden but I went for something else. The words I used were:-
Plumber  –  wætermann/lēadgota
Dentist  –  tōþlǣce
Calendar  –  ġerīmbōc
Drift  –  floten
Slip  –  slide
So for time drift/time slip I wondered about floten tīma or tīmaslide.
 
Any suggestions?
 
 
 
 
 

[Linden]

 
I don't really think you need much help.  Perhaps lead-wyrhta might be better than lead-gota for plumber but lead-gota has the advantage of being listed in Bosworth&Toller (as a 'lead-founder').  Just being picky really - a founder seems to me to imply someone working in a foundry rather than out and about as a plumber?


If what you are looking for is the unpredictable element of 'drift' or 'slide', have you looked at 'wandrian', 'wandlung' and 'wendan' which incorporate many meanings of 'shift' (ed..,oþ-....,.....)?

As for the concept of 'time', it all depends upon the context.  Since you mentioned a calendar, you may be looking for precision?  The following list of terms other than 'tima' and 'tid' may help (or not):-

byre - a time, a season, an event...
cerr/cyrr - a turn, a time......
f æc/fec - interval of time
fierst/first/fyrst - an interval of time (appears more measured than fæc?)
hand-hwil - a moment
hwil - a while, a space of time
hwil-fæc - a space of time
hwil-stycce - short piece of time
hwil-þrag - a space of time
ild - an age, an era, a period of time
sæl - a time, an occasion
stefn - a fixed time, a turn
stund - a while, a time, an hour
tæl-mearc - a date
þrag - a time, a season

Incidentally, Harry Ball wrote a great article on the calendar and measurement of time which used to be on the old web-site.  I don't know whether this might be rediscovered somewhere?

[David]

 
Thanks for your efforts, Linden. You are definitely a step up on that site.
 
 
I like lēadwyrhta. However, ironically, plumbers tend not to use lead any more. Maybe it should be ārwyrhta. You don’t know the old English for plastic, do you?
 
 
You gave me quite a choice for time. Maybe, for my time drift, I should use tælmearcslide. I was dealing with how, in Anglo-Saxon times, over the centuries the dates of events drift because of the use of the Julian calendar.
 

[Linden]

  .....You don’t know the old English for plastic, do you?..................

If I needed an OE word for 'plastic', I would start with 'horn' which is a natural plastic and look for a suitable prefix.
I might resort to Latin and 'old-anglicise' the Latin root 'plast-' which might carry the meanings both of moulding something and artificiality and, used in OE, would imply also something new and foreign - so 'plasten-horn'? It also has the advantage to the modern ear of being close to the original target.
If I wanted to stick to 'pure' OE(*), I might try 'geblanden-horn' (mixed horn) or 'picen-horn' -horn made of pitch?
* In my opinion there is no such thing as pure OE - we have been borrowing words and concepts since well before what one might term the start of OE.