styccemælum

Old English

Alternative forms

• stiċmǣlum

Etymology

styċċe +‎ -mǣlum

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstyt.t͡ʃeˌmæː.lum/

Adverb

styċċemǣlum

1. piece by piece
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     ⁊ ēac þætte þrīe wulfas on ānre niht brōhton ānes dēades monnes līchoman binnan þā burg, ⁊ hiene þær siþþan styċċemælum tōbrugdon, oþ þā men onwōcan, ⁊ ūt urnon, ⁊ hīe siþþan aweġ flugon.

     And on one night, three wolves brought the body of a dead man into the city, and then tore it to pieces bit by bit, until the people awoke and ran out, and they ran away.

Descendants

• Middle English: *sticchemele
  • English: stitchmeal

References

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