heafodwoþ

Old English

Etymology

From hēafod- (“main”) +‎ wōþ (“song”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxæ͜ɑː.fodˌwoːθ/, [ˈhæ͜ɑː.vodˌwoːθ]

Noun

hēafodwōþ f

1. main song
   • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 8‎^[1]:

     Iċ þurh mūþ sprece mongum reordum, wrenċum singe, wrixle ġeneahhe hēafodwōþe,…

     I speak with many voices through mouth, sing melodies, change abundantly my main song,…

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	hēafodwōþ	hēafodwōþa, hēafodwōþe
accusative	hēafodwōþe	hēafodwōþa, hēafodwōþe
genitive	hēafodwōþe	hēafodwōþa
dative	hēafodwōþe	hēafodwōþum

Related terms

• wōþ

References

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