wærc

Old English

Alternative forms

• werċ, wræċ

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *warkiz (“ache, pain”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-, *wreǵ- (“to work, act”). Cognate with Old Norse verkr (“pain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wært͡ʃ/, [wærˠt͡ʃ]

Noun

wærċ m

1. pain; ache
2. suffering; anguish; grief

Usage notes

• The spelling of this word and the texts in which it is found show it to be an Anglianism. The expected West Saxon form would be wierċ, late wyrċ (the latter is actually attested once, as dative singular wyrċe). However, it does not appear in originally West Saxon sources, where sār and eċe are found instead.

Declension

Strong i-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	wærċ	wærċas
accusative	wærċ	wærċas
genitive	wærċes	wærċa
dative	wærċe	wærċum

Derived terms

• bānwærċ
• brēostwærċ
• endewærċ
• hēafodwærċ

Descendants

• Middle English: warch, wark, werk (unassibilated forms due to influence from Old Norse verkr)
  • English: wark
  • Scots: werk, wark