gleostæf

Old English

Alternative forms

• glīwstæf

Etymology

From glēo (“joy, glee”) +‎ stæf (“staff”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡle͜oːˌstæf/

Noun

glēostæf m

1. (poetic) joy, mirth
   • 10th century, The Wanderer:

     þonne māga ġemynd · mōd ġeondhweorfeð,
     grēteð glīwstafum, · ġeorne ġeondsċēawað
     seċġa ġeseldan. · Swimmað oft on weġ.

     when mind goes through memory of kinsmen,
     greets with mirths, eagerly looks through
     comrades of men. They often swim away.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	glēostæf	glēostafas
accusative	glēostæf	glēostafas
genitive	glēostæfes	glēostafa
dative	glēostæfe	glēostafum

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “glēostæf”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.