eldertongue

Modern English → Old English

Old English word for chalk

4 headwords match “chalk”, ranked by the scoring in the data pipeline. The five strongest follow; cealc ranks first.

  1. 1

    cealc

    score 17

    noun, masculine · strong a-stem · 6 inflected forms

    chalk — plaster, mortar

    • listed as an English descendant
    • has a full inflection table
    Paradigm summary
    nominative singular ċealc
    genitive singular ċealces
    dative singular ċealce
    accusative singular ċealc
    nominative plural ċealcas
    genitive plural ċealca
  2. 2

    cealcstan

    score 15

    noun, neuter · strong a-stem · 6 inflected forms

    chalk — chalk, chalkstone

    • opens the headword's definition
    • has a full inflection table
    Paradigm summary
    nominative singular ċealcstān
    genitive singular ċealcstānes
    dative singular ċealcstāne
    accusative singular ċealcstān
    nominative plural ċealcstānas
    genitive plural ċealcstāna
  3. 3

    mealm

    score 11

    noun, masculine · strong a-stem · 6 inflected forms

    chalk — sand, chalk

    • appears in the definition
    • has a full inflection table
    Paradigm summary
    nominative singular mealm
    genitive singular mealmes
    dative singular mealme
    accusative singular mealm
    nominative plural mealmas
    genitive plural mealma
  4. 4

    spærstan

    score 11

    noun, masculine · strong a-stem · 3 inflected forms

    chalk — gypsum, chalk

    • appears in the definition
    • has a full inflection table
    Paradigm summary
    nominative singular spærstān
    genitive singular spærstānes
    dative singular spærstāne
    accusative singular spærstān

How this ranking works

Scores are computed once, when the site is built, from the Wiktionary data. Every headword whose definitions mention “chalk” gets the points below; the candidates are then sorted by total. The score is shown on each entry above so the order can be checked rather than trusted.

The English word opens the headword's definition+10
It appears later in the first definition+6
It appears in any definition+3
It is in the headword's links+2
It is listed as an English descendant (etymological evidence)+9
The headword has an inflection table+3
Part of speech is a proper noun−5
Part of speech is a verb (-ian derivations are noisy)−3
The headword is an alternative form−6
The first definition is longer than three words−2

A candidate has to be a real headword with its own entry: inflected forms and grammatical terminology (genitive, nominative, preterite, …) never appear here.

Not one of these?

The match may be a different sense of “chalk”, or an inflected form rather than a headword. Look up the form directly — the entry page marks the grammatical case.

Candidates derived from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Each entry links to its source page. · CC BY-SA 4.0 and attribution · CC BY-SA 4.0