ielda bearn

Old English

Alternative forms

• ylda bearn, ælda bearn

Etymology

From genitive plural of ield + plural of bearn. Has parallels in Old Saxon eldibarn and Old Norse alda bǫrn, possibly stemming from a Proto-Germanic *aldijǫ̂ barnō.

Noun

ielda bearn n pl (nominative plural ielda bearn)

1. (poetic) "sons of men"; mankind
   • w:Beowulf, verses 603b-606b:

     Gaéþ eft, sé þe mót
     tó medo módig siþþan morgenléoht
     ofer ylda bearn óþres dógores
     sunne sweglwered súþan scíneð.

     He who can will go back bravely to mead when the morning light of another day, the sun clothed in radiance, shines from the south over the sons of men.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	—	ielda bearn
accusative	—	ielda bearn
genitive	—	ielda bearna
dative	—	ielda bearnum